Gigabyte Aero 17 XA HDR Laptop Review: This is a *Really* Good 17-inch Laptop

[Redaktion]

Gigabyte has just created one of the best 17.3-inch laptops in the market for both professionals and gamers alike. The system packs almost everything you'd want in an ultrathin package including both long battery life and high graphics performance - an uncommon combination.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Gigabyte-Aero-17-XA-HDR-Laptop-Review-This-is-a-Really-Good-17-inch-Laptop.433439.0.html

[william blake]

600+ brightness? jees sombody give these guys a medal.

[xpclient]

I find that NotebookCheck in many of their PC reviews does not always care about mentioning whether a USB port is 3.1 Gen 2 or Gen 1. In this article again, it mentions that only for the Type-A ports but does not mention if the USB-C only port (non Thunderbolt one) is Gen 2 or Gen 1. Please start mentioning this as people are looking to buy PCs with Gen 2 (10 Gbps) and Thunderbolt (40 Gbps), instead of Gen 1 (5 Gbps).

[arnaud]

How, that one is a beast !

So far it is difficult to find the gigabyte aero 17 hdr ya (the one with rtx 2080), will have to wait.

As i see, look to be better than razer pro 17(the latter being factory undervolt ,the gigabyte has more potential)

[M2018]

60dB is an EAR downgrade KING! :)))

[anon]

About the USB ports, the specifications chart does say 3.1 Gen 1. It's not a particularly precise list but I should hope it's accurate.

I want to thank you for checking for USB PD capability on this laptop. I'm also glad you point out that one port is TB3 capable and the other supports DP Alt mode.

[D Mytty]

How does this laptop not hit 90% score?  For a $2400 laptop with such great measured performance, it certainly would be class leading and worthy of a high score. 

Unfortunately, the spec level that was reviewed is listed online as $3200, not $2400.  At that price level, there is no excuse for Gigabyte to have not included USB Type C PD and a Latency checker score that works for recording audio (one of my use cases).  IMO, this laptop is still worth $3200 but at $2400 it would have been a screaming good deal.

Very happy that we are finally at 7 hour battery life and 600 nit matte 4k displays...and with no PWM!  The engineers on the display earned a bonus.

Hopefully the Razer Blade Studio builds on this!  And with 10nm or better just around the corner, we can hope for 120 hz @ 4k on the next generation of laptops, maybe this time with OLED that doesn't require PWM.

[william blake]

60dB is an EAR downgrade KING! :)))

42. witcher 3 ultra - 42db.

[Mr.Bean]

Again, you didn't tel which version of the GPU it uses: 80 or 90 W ?

[ted]

Pretty comprehensive review on the Aero 17


Can you test the non HDR version of the laptop as well? I'd much rather have 144Hz than 4K when I am gaming and navigating through datasheets.

[Good review]

Gigabyte could have built a slot for 2.5" HDD. There is space in the Aero 17 unlike in the Aero 15. Given that 4TB M2 SSD are still far away the only option for large storage is the 4TB 2.5" SSD. Given that there are versions with NVMe interface there is no argument about performance.
I would like to see a power setting where the fans are off. Given many tasks require a small piece of this beast why do the fans need to always spin.

[CoooLoco]

There is no mention in the review of the horrible throttling when running on battery. I have this computer, and it does it. Like 70% REDUCTION in usable power. Worst buy decision ever for a tech product.

[Klaus Hinum]

Regarden USB-C Types, we always note it in the full specs as the editor has to choose which type the ports are (and also the rating uses this information). E.g. here:
Connections: 5 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 Thunderbolt

[8TrackMind]

The response times of the display is absolutely horrible. Who cares about Pantone ratings when all those colours become a blurry smear when gaming? Pass.