Aorus x5 - GTX965M in SLI

What are your folks' views about the soon to be released aorus x5 (15.6")?

I was a bit disappointed with their decision to go with dual 965s, but I guess they dont want to cannibalise their x7 sales.

 

Based what I'm seeing it's 10-15% faster than a mobile 980m. If that's the case I'm dissapointed. The aorus x7 pro is still a better buy in my opinion.

 

I was originally looking at the X3 Plus V3, then I learned about G-Sync appearing on laptops. Currently only the X7 and x5 are confirmed to have G-Sync.

When it comes to the GTX 965m in SLI... Well that's a mixed bag for me. One is the heat and two is the lost efficiency in rendering when going SLI. The numbers on benchmarks look great for sure, but I don't know how much SLI helps with minimum framerates and that's where a stronger single GPU comes in handy.

Still, it'll be interesting to see what the X5 brings to the table.

 

Some pics of the beast:

And the most interesting one, regarding the cooling:


And this weighs 2,5kg!

 

Wow in my light browsing this morning I read somewhere it's going to be released with the Broadwell i7 5700HQ processor. Quite nice actually.

 

So far looks amazing but sadly I'm afraid it will probably be way more than I'm willing to spend on a laptop that looks this good.

• CPU: 5th generation 14 nm Intel Broadwell

• GPU: Nvidia GTX 965M SLI with G-SYNC

• RAM: 4 SODIMM slots, up to 32 GB DDR3-1866

• Display: 15.6-inch 2880 x 1620 IPS, 350 cd/m2 brightness

• Connectivity: 802.11ac, VGA-out, Gigabit Ethernet, 4x USB, 2x HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, 3.5 mm audio, 3.5 mm mic, Kensington Lock

• Storage: 3x M.2 SSD RAID 0

• Dimensions: 0.9-inches thick

• Weight: 5.51 pounds

More pics!

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Well, if y'all didn't know, it'll supposedly be released this month on the 23rd.
ALSO, it has 8Gb of VRAM, which is more than the X7.

I think they priced it between £1,500 - £1,800 depending on the how you spec it out.

Peace out guys!

 

Hmm... I saw the 8GB VRAM being advertised too. I wonder if they mean 4GB per GPU?

Also, upon further research out of the new broadwell mobile quads, the 5700HQ is the only one that doesn't have Iris Pro. While I'm sure none of us are really going to use the integrated graphics all that much, the 128 eDRAM does function as an L4 cache for the CPU if the integrated graphics isn't used at all. (Also, Nvidia Optimus is disabled if laptoop G-Sync is active too I believe.) I know not so many games are CPU limited anymore, so perhaps it's not a big deal, but for what I'm guessing to be a $2400-$2500 USD laptop, I was hoping for something like that.

If only the X3 Plus V3 came in a version with G-Sync, that would be very nice.

 

Yeah, there's no chance they could fit in 8gb for each GPU, that would be immense.

 

Hmmmm.....
If they have a model for under $2000 ( or close to it ) it will be very tempting , the new G-Sync feature is a very nice addition.

 

Well, given the specs of the X5 and with the X3 plus V3 being at $2199 USD, I don't think that will be possible.

But I agree with you. At $1999 this would be very attractive. I'm still a bit weary of the 128 bit memory bus on the GTX965m.

Yes, the big seller of this would be the G-Sync. I'm wondering if early next year we'll start seeing 120Hz G-Sync panels on laptops though.

Exciting times. =)

 

Not from what I've seen IKAS :/ the lowest price threshold I've found was $2299. It is hellishly expensive and even worse, it's looking like Nvidia are slowly making it harder and harder to OC the GTX 900m Series.

It's still highly likely that I'm going to get another weekend job to pay for this as soon as it comes out though

 

It was more dreaming than anything factual
Still an amazing package.
We'll see how this all plays out.

 

Those screen specs line up with the Panasonic VVX16T028J00 panel used in the Gigabyte P35 v3. The lower resolution will please gamers that wish to render games at the screen's native resolution, but to me the high-quality IGZO 4K panel (think Asus NX500) was one of the biggest selling points, cost be damned. Don't get me wrong; the Panasonic panel makes for a stellar viewing experience. It just fails to excite. I thought I also read that they dropped M.2 in favour of mSata. I guess they didn't after all, since the updated spec sheet still lists M.2 SSD slots.

 

4GB VRAM is still better than what I expected. Since Aorus opted for the 3GB VRAM version of 970m instead of 6GB in the X7 Pro, I thought they would also gimp this with some half memory 2GB version of 965m.

Perhaps DX12 or some other API will unlock the additional VRAM from the second GPU.

 

question is, which one would you get? The X7 pro Sync or the X5?

 

I really really like the look of this laptop.. its size really makes me want it!! The only thing im wary of is the GPU setup, i wanna know how they perform irl situations, and also would have preferred a 1080p screen really to maximize performance.

 

Video of G-Sync in action, if it looks as good as it works in real life then it's a great addition these models









Owners manual:

http://www.aorus.com/public/download/manual/x5/x5-manual-en-v1.pdf

 

I'd be all over this but for the old cores on the GPUs. I'd normally be relaxed about being an early adopter given my generally positive experience with the X3+, but on this one I'm going to wait and see how the SLI performance translates to real life gaming, and how this thing handles the heat.

 

If the X5 incorporates two 4GB 965m cards in SLI (not two 2GB cards), I'd certainly consider this one before the X7 Pro which is limited to only 3GB total VRAM (two 3GB 970m cards).

In my case, I'm leaning toward purchasing instead either Gigabyte P35x with 980M 8GB or Clevo P750zm with 980M 8GB.

I prefer 15" size to 17"; however, if the X7 Pro had used 6GB version of 970M instead of 3GB version, I would have probably already purchased it a few months ago.

 

Wait for battery life stats. Gsync seems to mean no optimus.

 

Looking forward to seeing some benchmarks for gaming and creative applications like Adobe Premiere, After Effects, etc. Hoping the CPU throttling is not too problematic in the X5.

For me battery life is not a concern. I've been using 5 year-old hp envy 15 with no battery at all for quite some time. There is generally AC power available wherever I need to get work done, and I never run games on battery.

 

Another Computex video with close-ups, this time from LinusTechTips.



Then there's an article that's interesting to those of us in the Scandinavian market. Having a nordic keyboard would be a plus.

http://www.sweclockers.com/nyhet/20617-gigabyte-visar-aorus-x5-med-nvidia-g-sync-och-avermedia

 

http://blog.laptopmag.com/aorus-x5-g-sync-hands-on

"TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Aorus X5 blew our minds when we saw it at CES 2015, with its dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M graphics chips and powerful 5th-generation Intel Core i7 processor. The company has sweetened this already awesome rig by throwing in Nvidia’s new G-Sync technology, which promises much smoother gameplay with minimal tearing, as well as a desktop-level video encoder for optimized live streaming. The X5 will be available on June 23 as a Newegg exclusive for $2,100."

I'd love $2100 instead of $2399 but I have a feeling that's not going to happen, the x3 is priced at $2299(Sells for $2199 though) and the X7 sells for $2599. Either way I'm just waiting for this laptop, I was going to buy a new Laptop a month ago but went through a MSIGT72(Too loud under low load and not great build quality IMO) and 2 ROG G751jy(dead pixels on both, great build quality and very quite though) and a X3V3 that I loved but the Keyboard flex and Flimsy screen were to much for 2k laptop.

I'm very picky, I feel when you price a laptop over 2k it should be close to perfect(no dead pixels,great build quality and great cooling that doesn't sound like a jet) anything less is unsatisfactory IMO.

 

It'll probably be loud. Then again it's a Maxwell equivalent to a 870M. Everything sounds good on paper on this laptop but I decided to go with the X7 Pro Sync for future proofing. A higher Res display and 965Ms seem to be 20-25% slower than the 970M swayed me. I had an X7 pro non Sync in the past and I could return it within the return window to get the Sync version.

 

ok here's the thing, I play league and cs:go (hope that dont make me a heavy pc gamer), my main gaming station is the ps4, do you guys think this will be perfect for me as it is very thin with good gpu to play max settings on both of those games i listed? It also has a built in stream hardware so i can stream which i plan to do so for not so heavy duty pc games.

 

Neither game should fall below the screen's maximum of 75 Hz at max settings, even at the native 2880 x 1620 resolution. You'd be able to hook it up to a 4K monitor, stream, and still have a smooth framerate, and you probably won't even want to take Leauge of Legends beyond 1080p because of the UI scaling. For those two games only, I'd say that this notebook is overkill, but you set your own budget.

Please note that third-party benchmarking has yet to be done. Little is known about the fan noise and load temperatures of this machine.

 

"I'm not a big fan of 288- x 1620 resolution, I prefer having 1920 x 1080 resolution, would changing the resolution of the laptop screen itself effect anything in the long term?

 

If the framerate limit is the same, running games at lower resolutions will only strain the hardware less. The decreased load on the GPUs will mean that less power is being drawn from the PSU, less heat is being generated by the GPU dies, and the fans will be able to run at a lower RPM, thus making the notebook quieter. Potentially, this can translate to increased longevity of components on the motherboard, the fan bearings, and the power brick. Question is, would the notebook malfunction during the time you'd use it were you to exclusively render games at 1620p, if we knew for certain that it wouldn't were you to render them exclusively at 1080p? Highly unlikely.

 

This laptop is way overkill for you if you're only playing league and CS:GO. You should maybe look at a 860m powered laptop those will max both games above 60fps no problem at 1080p

 

Newegg posted them this morning:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834725010

[Edit: was going to order, but decided not to be tester and wait for reviews. SLI kind of makes me nervous]

N

 

I ordered one! Should be here Friday, will post pics and my thoughts. Been waiting for this laptop and I'm stoked about getting it. 2 two more heat pipes then the X7 and cooler 965m's and Windows 10 with DX12 this laptop should scream! Love that it has a 3k screen and Gsync.

Waiting is the hardest part...lol =)

 

Can't wait to see your review. I'll be ordering mine as soon as I can sell off my Alienware 15. The X5 is going to be the one to beat!

 

Got my X5 a day early, yay for me! =)























First off this beast is a work of art, very sleek and very slick. The build quality is worth the 2k price tag and there's not much to complain about. This is a Business mans gamning laptop, you could show up to a board meeting or classroom and people wouldn't think its a gaming laptop.

Pros:
Build Quality

Keyboard is a ton better then the X3 and is very solid,very little flex if any

Screen is to die for, beautiful colors and great viewing angles(60hz)

Runs almost dead silent at idle

Very fast start up with little bloatware

Light weight, feels like a half a Macbook Pro

No dead pixels and Gsync

2x 965m's with 4gigs each


Neutral:
Fans can ramp up but that's to be expected for this form factor

CPU and GPU run on the hot side, at idle its 45-50 CPU and 42-47 GPU but again this is to be expected with this form factor. My room temp is 70F and I have the fans set to silent.

Keyboard can get hot while gaming, not so much that it will burn you or make you sweat but again this is to be expected with this form factor.

The screen does have some flex to it but its not X3 bad but it is there

Power Brick is large but thin, does get pretty warm

Cons:

None, I knew what some of the trade offs were going to be and I knew the form factor would play a role in some of those things, so I can't put them down as cons as I knew that they would be there in the first place.

Would I recommend this laptop? YES! If you're looking for a sleek,slick and very well put together Laptop the X5 should be worth serious consideration. I've been though a few laptops and all of them make noise and all of them have build issues to a degree, you will never find a laptop that has no issues, whether it be heat,noise,build quality or screen issues. The X5 comes the closest I've seen yet to a perfect laptop for my needs and portability.

*I'm not going to stress test this laptop as I see no need to, I know it will get hot and I know it will get loud to a degree but for my everyday use, I will never push it that hard and the games I play won't either.*

 

Can you comment or show some comparisons on the size of the power brick?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I updated my post and put a few pics up.

 

Thanks for this. I did decide to order one. It was supposed to have been delivered today but FedEx screwed up and it won't be here until tomorrow. I'm excited!

N


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

If you don't mind, what is the wattage of the AC adapter?

N

 

Has anyone noticed, besides being a dream-machine, this beast has only got two fans for two GPUs and a CPU. Will be super curious to look at the temps during stress test.

@kickback :How noisy is the beast during playing Witcher or BF for instance? Like audible or rather annoying?

 

I believe it's 200 watt.

 

I was playing WoW on it last night @3k and its not too loud, I have kids and a TV usually going on throughout the day though. If you're in a quite room you're definitely going to hear it. When its at 100% its pretty loud but you can put it all the way down to 45% and its not that bad at all, of course its going to heat up more. I downloaded XTU and did 80- Voltage offest and its runs alot cooler then before.

 

Hey Kickback - thanks for the info. When you were playing WoW, did you run into an issue with the mouse pointer getting really small due to the screen resolution? If so, did you just play with it like that or did you turn down the resolution to get it back to it's normal size?

 

Hello Everyone. First post on here. Just received my X5 this week and I was wondering if any other X5 owners can let me know if your systems gaming performance drops considerably on battery power and if you put the game in windowed mode. I ran a monitoring program and it looks like while on battery and windowed mode one of the GPU stops working. Can someone verify that their X5 is doing this as well please. Also if anyone has any info on this let me know. I have talked to Aorus Tech support and they said SLI is still enabled on battery power but that the processor gets throttled down a bit. But that is not all that is happening with mine. My FPS drops like a rock and like I said the monitoring program shows one of the GPU pretty much shutting down. Thanks for the help.

 

That sucks man, is this your first gaming laptop?
Sorry man, but as a rule, gaming laptops are not designed for gaming on battery mode. They're designed to be portable, so you can take it to your friends house and plug it in and game, not game on the bus or something. Most gaming laptops, when unplugged, will revert to using the integrated graphics on the CPU, in order to save power. However, I'm pretty sure that with the X5 having 2 GPUs, for some reason this feature is disabled.

In essence, what I'm saying is that you will not get the same performance from an unplugged laptop as you will from a plugged in laptop.

EDIT -
I think the technology is called Optimus? or is that something else?

 

To my information on battery power, as with any laptop, the chips are down-throttled. But gaming, while obviously with less performance than plugged in, is perfectly possible.
Also to my knowledge SLI is not disabled on battery power, well not on the X7 anyway, and certainly not some sort of magical windowed mode all of the sudden.

 

just read this on notebookcheck.net

Running on battery power will reduce CPU and GPU performances. A 3DMark 11 run on batteries returns GPU and Physics scores of 6620 and 6873 points, respectively, compared to 14428 and 7408 points when on mains. This is because the CPU will run only up to its base clock rate of 2.7 GHz, while GPU memory is limited to 800 MHz compared to its regular speed of 1252 MHz. Impressively, both GPU cores maintain 949 MHz without issues.

 

Correct and this apply to all laptops.