Review: Gigabyte P2742G

Final Thoughts and Rating

Examining the latest crop of £1,000 consumer laptops suggests that a compromise typically has to be made. Among the many choices are Ultrabooks that offer responsive everyday performance in a sleek, ultra-portable form factor. However, if it's gaming potential that's important, you're often required to forego portability, subtlety and style in favour of something that offers more bang for the buck.

Gigabyte's P2742G falls into the latter category. Using a large 17.3in Clevo chassis, it combines a latest-generation Intel quad-core 'Ivy Bridge' processor and dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 660M graphics in a laptop that has game-playing credentials. The matte 17.3in full-HD display is a real highlight, and it's put to good use with an accompanying Blu-ray optical drive, and Gigabyte's dual storage configuration ensures that users get the best of both worlds; SSD speed and HDD capacity.

Yet the specification alone doesn't reveal all, and in use the P2742G presents a few shortcomings that detract from the overall package. The most troublesome is the laptop's inability to run both the CPU and GPU at their maximum speeds simultaneously. The frequency of the former is often sacrificed when the latter is called into action, limiting ultimate performance, and the need to throttle the CPU is reflected in other areas; the laptop has an uncomfortable hot-spot and can become quite loud under load.

Gigabyte has the right idea - the P2742G combines a great selection of hardware components and clutter-free software in a tidy-looking chassis - but there are enough rough edges here to diminish the appeal of what could have been a very good gaming laptop.

The Good

Enjoyable 17.3in matte display
Gaming-grade performance
SSD and HDD storage
Very little bloatware

The Bad

Largely plastic chassis
Heat and noise could be an issue
CPU throttling when GPU in use
Average keyboard and trackpad

HEXUS Rating

Gigabyte P2742G

HEXUS Where2Buy

The reviewed Gigabyte P2742G-CF2 laptop is available to purchase from Amazon UK.

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