Conclusion
...the gaming laptop market is hotting up and Gigabyte has put down a marker with a contemporary solution that strikes a lot of the right notes.
When you consider how lopsided many gaming laptops tend to be, it's satisfying to see Gigabyte take a more balanced approach with the Aero 15.
Striving to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, the 15.6in machine has a CPU well suited to a variety workloads, a GPU primed for 1080p gameplay, a spacious SSD and a matte HD display that's colour-calibrated right out of the box.
The fact that all this is delivered in a sub-20mm form factor is all the more impressive, and our list of provisos is unusually short. Sure, the keyboard and trackpad aren't best-in-class, the webcam position is awkward, and the display won't suit the most demanding professionals, but such niggles are offset by a number of positives that include minimal fan noise, a good selection of I/O ports and all-day battery life.
Plenty to like, yet what's interesting about the modern gaming PC is the way in which it competes against premium laptops. The Aero 15's biggest competitor may not be the likes of the Razer Blade, but rather the XPS 15, and while Gigabyte's machine offers the more potent GPU, the Dell continues to hold sway with regards to screen quality, input devices and mainstream appeal.
Bottom line: the gaming laptop market is hotting up and Gigabyte has put down a marker with a contemporary solution that strikes a lot of the right notes.
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The Good
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The Bad
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Slim and portable 15.6in gaming laptop
Core i7-7700HQ and GeForce GTX 1060 512GB SSD and 16GB DDR4 RAM Colour-calibrated WVA HD display Keeps fan noise down to a minimum Good selection of I/O ports All-day battery life |
Pricey at £1,900
Keyboard and trackpad not the best Awkward webcam position No touchscreen option |
Gigabyte Aero 15
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