Review of Gigabyte Aero 14 – Razer Blade Killer?

Alright, maybe all gamers are wondering, what other product are we reviewing. Understandably, pemmz is indeed the culprit of a unique product, especially the gaming one. The Gigabyte Aero 14 is a new SKU in the Gigabyte premium line of laptops that offers many advantages over the P series that you may have seen in the review on pemmzchannel.

Gigabyte Aero 14 Overview

Aero is a Latin word which means wind if we are not mistaken. And based on that philosophy, Gigabyte created a gaming laptop product with the aim of going against all the paradigms that are generally attached to this type of product. For example, gaming laptops are big, gaming laptops are thick and gaming laptops are heavy.

The Gigabyte Aero 14 comes with a 14-inch panel as its code name suggests. Whether later Gigabyte will release Aero 14, Aero 15 and even Aero 18 versions, pemmzchannel has not received further information. What is clear, the first impression when we hold this unit is “Handy”. However, for the size of a 14-inch gaming laptop, pemmzchannel does not agree that this product carries the Aero philosophy. At first glance, it weighs heavier even than some 14-inch gaming laptops that have entered the pemmzchannel lab.

Design

The design of the Gigabyte Aero 14 isn’t too wow overall. Still tends to be stiff even though in some parts it is shaped shapy. But it’s not enough to get rid of the conventional “box” image in the entire Aero 14 design. The surface of the front cover or A cover, as Gigabyte puts it, comes in a duo tone with a different type of texture on each surface. Doff-matte texture dominates this area with a choice of orange, green and black. Incidentally, the pemmzchannel review is the orange one. For the second surface, use a carbon look texture with a matte surface without laminating. The Gigabyte logo comes as an embossed without illumination.

The bottom uses the concept of single door access which requires the battery to go inside. Of course, with a thickness of 18.9mm, it is impossible to have an easy detachable battery option. Users or service teams should have no trouble opening this bottom case, just pay attention when you want to lift the bottom panel which is strong and sharp because it is made of aluminum metal. The air vent for fresh air inlet is futuristic like the Aorus series. This air vent is made of textured which seems to function to minimize dust that is sucked directly into it. Rubberfoot is made to be minimalist in size, perhaps to further strengthen the slim impression when placed on the table. For Exhaust, designed out through the back, just below the LCD panel.

Displays & Workstations

Entering the inner shell, the entire area is dominated by matte black. From a certain angle, it looks even more fierce with the matte LCD surface. The upper part of the LCD frame is only filled with a webcam side by side with a mic hole and a hole that pemmzchannel estimates is a light sensor.

The Gigabyte Aero 14 uses a panel made by LG Philips with the LP140QH1-SPB1 series that offers a resolution of 3K or 2560 x 1440. A panel type that is quite rare in a 14-inch laptop. With IPS technology and Anti-Glare coating, you can rely on the display quality of this LCD panel in many environments, even in outdoor areas where there is too much light. When compared to the Gigabyte P34W V3 which offers the same QHD resolution, the Aero 14 Panel is better in contrast and color accuracy.

The workstation comes with a combination of P series and Aorus X3 especially on the keyboard. The power button is the only dedicated button that can be found here. The Aero 14 keyboard board offers a key size that is proportional to the overall workstation dimensions. Not too big but also leaving the appropriate estrangement. Using it to type a long review article is quite helpful. The Aero 14 keyboard is equipped with a white backlit that can be adjusted in intensity up to 3 levels. There is a row of dedicated macro keys at the far left of the keyboard as offered by the Aorus series. In total, you can create 5 different macro presets on this Gigabyte Aero 14.

The touchpad comes with a classic design, a square with blunt corners with a matte finish without separate buttons. Unfortunately, the touchpad does not get a backlit decoration like the keyboard. The good news, Gigabyte lets you change the DPI like a gaming mouse. This is certainly very helpful when you are faced with the character of each application.

Ports & Connectivity

Many types of connectivity are actually absent on the Aero 14. But if you see him pursuing a slim philosophy, indeed this point must be sacrificed. You will no longer be friends with old projectors that still rely on VGA or D-Sub. But fortunately, you can still be connected to a wired network at your home or office with the help of an external USB to LAN adapter that is included in the sales package.

On the bright side, modern connection types, which in fact are more compact, come complete on the Aero 14. There is HDMI 2.0, mini DisplayPort, USB 3.1 type C as well as an SD Card reader. There are a total of USB ports which are all version 3.0, two on the right and one on the left. For audio, Aero 14 forces you to use a combo type like the default smartphone.

Specification

Gigabyte AERO 14 Technical Specification

Display : 14″ Quad HD 2560×1440 Wide Viewing Angle LCD
Processor : 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ (2.6GHz-3.5GHz)
Graphics : NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 965M GDDR5 2GB
Chipset : Mobile Intel® HM170 Express Chipset
Memory : 8GB DDR4 2133, 2 slots (Max 32GB)
Hard Drive : m.2 256G Samsung PCIe SSD
Operating System : Windows 10
Keyboard : Auto Adjusting Backlit Keyboard
Optical Drive : Not Available
Audio : 1.5 Watt Speaker*2, Microphone, Dolby® Digital Plus™ Home Theater
Dimensions : 335(W) x 250(D) x 19.9(H) mm
weight : ~1.89 kg (w/Battery, M.2 SSD)
Battery : Li Polymer 94.24Wh
Camera : HD Web Camera
Warranty : 2 Years Warranty
Interface : USB 3.0 (Type-A)*3, USB 3.1(Type-C)*1, HDMI 2.0, mini-DP, Headphone-out jack (Audio-in Combo), SD Card Reader, DC-in Jack
Networking : LAN:10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet
Wireless LANs: 802.11ac/b/g/n
Bluetooth: Bluetooth V4.1 + LE

Further Specifications: http://goo.gl/haVZxC

Aero 14 offers a combination of mid-range hardware that is actually quite impossible to implement on barebones with the thinnest side is less than 19mm this. Quad core hyperthreading processors such as the Intel core i7 6700HQ require adequate dissipation space to keep running fast without having to lower the clockspeed due to heat that reaches normal limits. On the GPU side, the Nvidia Geforce GTX965M is not a GPU class with an excessive number of Cuda Cores. But pemmzchannel is sure, enough to be able to overwhelm the heatpipe when it sulks at more than 80 degrees Celsius.

2 SLOT RAM DDR4 can accommodate main memory up to 32GB cp 2400MHz. Medium 2 pieces M.2 slot is an option that you can use to increase the storage capacity of this notebook. Pemmzchannel doesn’t care about the absence of a 2.5-inch slot, because currently the use of HDD for gaming and productivity is not wise. Several other slim gaming laptops have also used this method. Aero 14 itself comes with a standard SSD and PCIe option, coincidentally the pemmzchannel review uses the PCIe type made by Samsung.

For Networking, it is controlled by an Intel wireless AC 8260 wifi card which is also integrated with Bluetooth 4.1. And what made Pemmzchannel not believe it was the battery capacity which reached 94.24Wh. This finally answers why the Aero 14 still feels heavy compared to some of its competitors.

Performance & Cooling System

The Intel core i7 6700HQ isn’t something unique anymore to talk about. Performance on the Aero 14 did not look prominent. Unlike the GPU geforce GTX965M which we know is a dark horse in the ranks of the mainstream mobile GPU. Noted, the overall performance of Aero 14 is able to leave several other gaming laptop products that only rely on the Geforce GTX960M up to 30%. This makes Aero 14 with the Geforce GTX965M have a performance that is not much different from the 3GB version of the Geforce GTX970M in several types of games.

Pemmzchannel itself had doubts about the performance of the cooling system on the Aero 14, which incidentally will not have a large dissipation space. Gigabyte uses the heatpipes and heatsinks of very good materials. Plus the fan speed that we can set manually so that it always rotates 100% at a speed of 6000 rpm, helping to minimize the increase in heat that often causes the fps drop.

By combining high performance presets with full speed fan mode via the Gigabyte Smart Manager console, the Aero 14’s ability to run long-term gaming can be compared to many gaming laptops that have much thicker barebones.

Conclusion

The 14-inch laptop clearly offers better handling points than the 15.6-inch. But the choice of a 14-inch gaming laptop, especially one that offers a unique QHD resolution like the Aero 14, is hard to find on the market. Gigabyte makes Aero 14 even more special with the offer of the Geforce GTX965M where many other vendors rarely take this opportunity.

According to pemmzchannel, this laptop has a very wide opportunity as an alternative for many people who are concerned with handling but don’t want to compromise on performance. The name Gigabyte, which is already well-known for the durability of its products, will more or less help transition the trust of potential users from the hegemony of several gaming laptop brands that are more common in the Indonesian market.

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