Gigabyte Aero 16
MSRP $4,400.00
“Gigabyte’s Aero 16 will get the {hardware} proper, however it does not maintain as much as the competitors.”
Execs
- Respectable keyboard for typing
- Features a USB hub within the field
- Lovely OLED display
- Stable gaming and CPU efficiency
Cons
- Poor battery life
- Display is proscribed to 60Hz
- GPU is proscribed by energy
Creator laptops have gotten more and more fashionable, and why wouldn’t they? Take some elements you’ll discover in one of many finest gaming laptops, put them in an aluminum physique, add a number of platform options, and you’ve got a machine that may go towards a MacBook Professional.
A minimum of in idea.
The Gigabyte Aero 16 reveals the weaknesses of this method to design. Though it doesn’t do something sorely unsuitable, it doesn’t do a lot proper both. It’s a machine offered off a spec sheet, and it falls behind the finest laptops regardless of the {hardware} packed inside.
A be aware on bugs
Earlier than entering into the overview, I must level out a difficulty I had after a couple of week with the Aero 16. It could often shut off the display, and I would wish to restart the machine a number of instances to get the display to energy on once more. There wasn’t a lot consistency to when it occurred, both; generally the display would come again and different instances it wouldn’t.
Some customers have reported an analogous situation. Gigabyte says it wasn’t conscious of this situation and that it isn’t widespread. Nonetheless, in the event you plan on shopping for the Aero 16, you must learn about it. I’ll replace this overview as soon as I hear again about what the issue is.
Design
The design of the Aero 16 is just a little off, however not in a foul method. This gadget, like most creator-focused laptops, takes lots of cues from the MacBook Professional. It’s aluminum throughout, however Gigabyte nonetheless subverts this drained design. There’s a small deal with to open the machine, which is the place the webcam lives, together with an Aero emblem on the entrance that lights up when the machine is working.
It’s going for the look of a skinny and lightweight however not the texture. It has super-narrow bezels, however it’s a large 0.88 inches thick — and it clocks in at simply over 5 kilos. It’s lighter than Dell’s XPS 17 by a hair, however the Aero 16 remains to be thicker. It’s in a center floor between workstations targeted on mobility just like the XPS 17 and full-on gaming notebooks just like the Lenovo Legion 5 Professional.
By way of construct high quality, the Aero 16 is a tank. I couldn’t produce any flex on the keyboard, and the slight quantity of flex I discovered from the show required extra drive than I’m snug with. That is an costly laptop computer, and it appears like one.
It doesn’t at all times appear like one. The lip on prime of the display is a sore spot, particularly contemplating it exposes the webcam when the lid is closed. I’m not a fan of the stark black-on-silver distinction with the keyboard and trackpad both — the keyboard seems nice, however the trackpad makes the within appear like the designer was too keen with the paint bucket device.
Across the sides of the machine, you’ll discover three USB-C ports, two of which help Thunderbolt 4, and one amongst that pair that helps 100 watts of energy supply. Slim port choice isn’t a very good look on a creator’s pocket book, so Gigabyte generously features a small hub within the field that features a USB-A connection, an Ethernet jack, mini DisplayPort, and full-size HDMI.
I like the inclusion of this breakout field, simply not the field itself. It feels low cost, and it loosely hangs on by the USB-C connection. An inopportune swipe would break it. That’s to not point out the truth that you would set up it the unsuitable method, blocking the much-needed vents on the aspect. Nonetheless, it’s a plus that the hub is right here, and Gigabyte even features a small USB-C cable so you possibly can hook it up correctly.
Efficiency
The star of the Aero 16 is the unlocked Intel Core i9-12900HK processor. It comes with 14 cores and 20 threads, and it could actually increase as much as 5GHz — an enormous velocity for any laptop computer. We’ve solely had the possibility to check this chip in a single different laptop computer, the MSI GE76 Raider, and the model within the Aero 16 holds up.
| Gigabyte Aero 16 (Core i9-12900HK) | MSI GE76 Raider (Core i9-12900HK) | Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 Professional (Ryzen 7 5800H) | MacBook Professional (M1 Professional) | |
| Cinebench R23 | 1,907 / 12,969 | 1,872 / 16,388 | 1,419 / 11,262 | 1,531 / 12,343 |
| Geekbench 5 | 1,915 / 13,482 | 1,855 / 13,428 | 1,415 / 7,506 | 1,773 / 12,605 |
| Handbrake (decrease is best) | 73 seconds | 72 seconds | 112 seconds | 95 seconds |
| Pugetbench for Premiere Professional | 1,115 | 1,120 | 496 | 977 |
| PCMark 10 | 7,864 | 7,691 | 5,943 | N/A |
In comparison with the Raider GE76, the Aero 16 put up virtually equivalent efficiency throughout the benchmarks I ran. The one exception was Cinebench’s multi-core check, which pushes the CPU to its absolute limits. You possibly can see the Aero 16 give out earlier than the Raider GE76, exhibiting its energy constraints as a result of type issue.
When put up towards AMD, Intel is massively forward. The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 Professional doesn’t have the flagship Ryzen 5000 cellular CPU, however it’s thus far behind the Aero 16 that it hardly issues. AMD’s Ryzen 6000 cellular CPUs are virtually right here, nonetheless, which may put Group Pink again on prime.
The GPU within the Aero 16 lags behind devoted gaming machines.
What stands out right here, although, is the MacBook Professional with the M1 Professional. It’s almost $2,000 cheaper than the Aero 16 I reviewed, and the M1 Professional is rattling shut contemplating that worth distinction. The M1 Max model remains to be almost $1,000 cheaper, and it blows every part else away. For those who’re targeted on uncooked processor efficiency, Apple seems actually enticing proper now.
Graphics are a unique story. You possibly can’t get a discrete RTX 3080 Ti within the MacBook Professional like you possibly can within the Aero 16. The Aero 16 is an Nvidia Studio laptop computer, so as an alternative of the GeForce drivers that you just’d discover on gaming laptops, it updates with Nvidia Studio drivers focused at artistic functions.
| Gigabyte Aero 16 (RTX 3080 Ti) | MSI GE76 Raider (RTX 3080 Ti) | HP ZBook Studio G8 (RTX 3070) | |
| 3DMark Hearth Strike | 21,141 | 28,220 | 17,729 |
| 3DMark Time Spy | 9,833 | 12,421 | 7,391 |
| Civilization VI | 217 fps | 192 fps | 163 fps |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 52 fps | N/A | N/A |
| Cyberpunk 2077 – RT, DLSS | 50 fps | N/A | N/A |
That doesn’t imply you possibly can’t recreation. I ran the Aero 16 via a number of titles at 1200p — it has a 4K show, however 4K actually isn’t an possibility — and it held up. Fifty frames per second (fps) in a demanding title like Cyberpunk 2077 is nothing to sneeze at, particularly bolstered by ray tracing and Nvidia Deep Studying Tremendous Sampling (DLSS).
However why is the Aero 16 thus far behind the Raider GE76? They’ve equivalent specs, however the Aero 16 is nearer to the RTX 3070 within the HP ZBook Studio G8. That’s as a result of Nvidia lets laptop computer designers select how a lot energy the graphics card will get, and the Aero 16 is tuned decrease than the Raider GE76.
MSI’s laptop computer can draw as much as 175W, and with some particular tech, even push that to 220W in some circumstances. The Aero 16’s RTX 3080 Ti tops out at 105W. It’s a thinner and lighter machine, and so they comes out in efficiency with the GPU lagging behind devoted gaming machines.
Show
The Aero 16 joins a small however rising listing of laptops that include VESA’s DisplayHDR 500 True Black certification, alongside machines just like the Asus ZenBook 14X OLED. That’s the magic phrase: OLED. The Aero 16 comes with an OLED show able to true black ranges, and it’s astonishingly vivid and dynamic.
It’s a 16:10 show with a decision of three,840 x 2,400, and Gigabyte says it covers 100% of the skilled DCI-P3 shade area. My shade meter solely picked up 73% of DCI-P3, nonetheless. Much more unusual, the show comes manufacturing unit calibrated from Gigabyte, however the calibration threw the colours method off in my preliminary testing. After I went again to the default shade possibility — Gigabyte features a profile that’s enabled by default — the show achieved a Delta-E worth of 1.5, which is appropriate for shade work.
Nonetheless, I like how this show seems. At peak brightness, my shade meter measured distinction of 788,400:1, and brightness above 600 nits. Even a wonderful OLED show just like the one on the Asus Vivobook Professional 16X OLED doesn’t attain these heights.
Watching motion pictures, taking part in video games — every part seemed unbelievable on the Aero 16. I pulled up a number of LG OLED demos, and I used to be almost salivating over how good they seemed. Gigabyte additionally presents a mini LED show possibility, which comes with a decrease decision however a lot greater refresh fee. That is perhaps a high quality possibility if you wish to play video games on the Aero 16, however the OLED possibility is king in terms of picture high quality.
Refresh fee is a matter, although. This panel is locked to 60Hz. Machines just like the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon are pushing forward with 90Hz OLED shows, and I used to be lacking that further smoothness on the Aero 16.
Keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard and touchpad on the Aero 16 are strong, even when they aren’t spectacular. The keys have a shocking quantity of journey distance, as they appear to hover above the physique by only a hair. I like lengthy journey on a laptop computer keyboard, however the Aero 16 has a hole, virtually spongy really feel. I by no means had points with typing, and I’m glad with the standard, however I’m keen on keyboards on Dell’s XPS vary, and even the keyboard on the Razer Blade 15.
The trackpad is nothing thrilling. It helps Home windows Precision drivers, so I used to be in a position to get via web sites and varied home windows with gestures. It does the job effectively, however the Aero 16’s trackpad isn’t in the identical league because the luxuriously giant one on the MacBook Professional.
Battery life
The Aero 16 has dangerous battery life. Frankly, this can be a machine you need to go away plugged in for any critical work, solely liberating it from the charger for temporary, undemanding work.
The Aero 16 comes with a 99 watt-hour battery, the biggest dimension you possibly can stick with it a airplane. It nonetheless falls behind machines rocking equivalent {hardware}, although. The Raider GE76, our predominant level of comparability for Twelfth-gen Intel chips, lasted about 6% longer in our web-browsing check. The Aero 16 lasted simply three hours and 11 minutes.
In our native video playback check, the Aero 16 lasted 4 hours and one minute, far behind the competitors. For those who’re fearful about battery life, Apple is the way in which to go proper now. On this check, the MacBook Professional with an M1 Professional lasted an astounding 23 hours.
Digital camera and safety
The Aero 16 is concentrated on efficiency, so it doesn’t include the additional webcam goodies you discover on productivity-focused machines just like the HP Spectre x360. You get a 720p webcam with two microphones that try to cancel out background noise, in addition to an infrared sensor for Home windows Whats up.
It is a final resort webcam. It seems terribly noisy even below first rate lighting situations, and lowlight pictures make the digicam appear like it’s a good decrease decision than 720p. There isn’t a privateness protect, both, which appears like a missed alternative contemplating the webcam lives in its personal place on prime of the show.
The audio high quality from the microphones is equally as disappointing. They try to cancel out background noise, however find yourself making voices sound like they’re underwater. Worse, the microphones picked up the noise of the followers. Thoughts you, this isn’t fan noise, however the sound followers make from truly spinning.
It is a final resort webcam.
You’ll desire a separate webcam, or at the least a pair of earbuds, in the event you plan on attending conferences on the Aero 16. Gigabyte fortunately features a assembly mode within the bundled software program, which limits the fan velocity for much less noise.
On the safety entrance, you could have the choice for Home windows Whats up, and the machine contains firmware TPM to satisfy Home windows 11’s system necessities. Sadly, there isn’t a fingerprint reader right here, and there aren’t any choices for webcam safety past placing a chunk of tape over it.
Pricing and configurations
I’m reviewing the Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5, which is the flagship mannequin that clocks in at $4,400. It’s the one mannequin with the unlocked Core i9-12900HK, whereas 5 of the opposite six fashions use the Core i7-12700H. In core elements, the foremost distinction in any other case comes all the way down to the graphics card, with the most affordable mannequin going from an RTX 3080 Ti all the way down to an RTX 3060.
You must pay shut consideration to which mannequin you choose exterior of the processor and graphics card. Solely the highest three fashions (YE5, XE5, and KE5) include DDR5 reminiscence help, whereas the others are restricted to DDR4.
The most cost effective mannequin I may discover within the U.S. clocked in at $2,350 (the XE4 mannequin, in case you had been questioning, which is the second-to-lowest within the vary). That’s not a foul worth contemplating MSI’s Creator Z16P clocks in at $3,000. That stated, correct gaming laptops just like the MSI Raider GE76 can attain under the $2,000 mark whereas providing the identical specs.
Like lots of Twelfth-gen machines, Gigabyte is placing a premium of DDR5. This laptop computer meets a midrange worth with sure configurations, however you’ll want to leap into the high-end to unlock DDR5, even in the event you configure the machine with highly effective specs in any other case.
Our take
The Gigabyte Aero 16 packs highly effective {hardware}, however it’s not a great creator laptop computer. Poor battery life, a weakened GPU in comparison with gaming laptops, and a scarcity of quality-of-life options makes it robust for the Aero 16 to justify its asking worth. Creators are higher off with an environment friendly, and cheaper, machine just like the MacBook Professional, whereas avid gamers are higher off with a correct gaming laptop computer.
Are there any options?
Sure, a number of:
- $3,499 MacBook Professional M1 Max — Not suited to gaming, however a lot better battery life, CPU efficiency, and construct high quality.
- $5,000 MSI GE76 Raider — An amazing various if you wish to recreation in your laptop computer, and it performs higher than the Aero 16. Nonetheless, it’s costlier.
- $1,600 Asus Vivobook Professional 16X — An amazing machine for creators in the event you don’t want the GPU energy of the Aero 16 — and it comes with an OLED display.
How lengthy will it final?
The {hardware} contained in the Aero 16 is highly effective sufficient to final the subsequent 5 years.
Must you purchase it?
No. The Gigabyte Aero 16 doesn’t do something egregious, however the competitors is just too stiff to justify a laptop computer that has a slew of minor points.
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