Gigabyte Aero 14

I am reporting back having had the Gigabyte Aero 14 in my hands for a few weeks whilst travelling.
-Size, just about small enough to be usable in a plane seat, but would be better with a cm or two shaved off the depth.
-Battery life is amazing. For working in Word on 30-50% screen brightness I am getting 8 hours usage, right now my battery is at 70% and Windows is estimating 6hr 15mins remaining battery at 40% screen brightness. There is so much power that I feel perfectly comfortable leaving the powerbrick in my hotel room all day, which is a substantial portability boost. One day I used the laptop during morning conference lectures and then giving my own lecture using this laptop in the afternoon, I then travelled directly to the airport and still had enough battery left to play 1.5 hours of Batman Arkham Asylum at 1080p while waiting for my plane/on the plane. I use Windows 10 battery saver mode at all times when unplugged, except when gaming.
-Screen wobble does not bother me, but for the record the screen is wobbling a bit right now whilst I type on my lap, but most of my use is on the train/plane anyway so I don't expect a perfectly stable screen under those conditions on any laptop due to my body being moved around relative to the laptop anyway.
-Fans. The revving issue is still there for me, but on silent mode the fans are off 99% of the time when used for browsing or word, so this offends me less these days. The only time the fan is on for me is when I am gaming and wearing headphones, so no issue for me.
-Undervolting. I can confirm a stable undervolt of -180 mV on the CPU and CPU cache and the Iris GPU by -130 mV using Throttle stop. The keyboard is good, keys are very slightly stiff, and now I am used to the macro keys so they do not annoy me as much as they did at the start.
-Future: Given that battery life on this model while gaming is about 2.5 hours on the GTX 970M, I think that the refreshed version of this laptop might actually be better with a GTX 1050 rather than a 1060 due to the lower TDP of the 1050. I'd also like to see the bezzle reduced or a 15.6" screen (like the Dell XPS 15) in the *same-sized* chassis. I'd also like to see a full-sized VGA port as most places I give lectures only have VGA input as an option, meaning I need to carry an HDMI converter with me at all times. Overall, this machine is not far of my ideal laptop, and I plan on keeping it for some time, but I might be envious of a Dell XPS 15 refresh later this year or early next that contains a Pascal-series GPU. Hopfully, Gigabyte can keep pace in terms of both design, specs and cost.

 

Has anyone found a fix for the fan revving/ pulsing issue?
I too have it and it gets quite annoying.

 

Thank's for your review. Just wondering how the SSD performs for general use with boot times etc? My laptops of years gone by have felt sluggish and slow. I am buying the Aero 14 on monday =)

 

Did you find one to buy somewhere? Was it a good price?

 

I got it for £1559.99 from overclockers

And @easton

There is no screen wobble from my experience... Same as any laptop i've ever used.. if anything the hinge is one of the most solid i've ever used.

 

A new BIOS update (FB07/F006); fan revving still not fixed

 

The only game i have noticed it in is CS:GO and thats when the game was muted.

I've got to be honest the fan revving doesn't bother me in the slightest, audio volume drowns out any fan noise anyway.

 

lol...what? that's screen wobble in the first 1-2 sec of the recording there...try using a macbook/razer blade/xps15 and you'll see what "no screen wobble" really means

 

lol just let him be happy

 

Does anyone have insight on when they will be back in-stock? Or when the Version 2.0 version will be released? I know that there has been hints of pre-production gtx1060 Models might be making way to reviewers.

I just am in need to buy soon and this has been the laptop that ticks all of my boxes, tb3 would be nice to have and gtx10 series / kaby lake would also be nice also so maybe the v2 model might be a godsend, but maybe im hyping things up to much in my mind.

 

I don't see one having the 1060 in it, although it does have the same TDP as the 970m

I get 100+ fps on overwatch on ultra at 1080p on the 970m and any game i play it crushes.. If you are after a gaming laptop, dont buy this.. but if you want to play AAA games at 60fps and have an ultraportable super long battery laptop that is a powerhouse.. then get it, honestly if this had a 1060 it would be the best laptop in the world for what it offers...

 

Macbook = 4th gen CPU and a **** GPU
Razer = not availible in the UK and £500-700 more expensive for the same specs if i imported
XPS 15 = GTX 960m 2gb, by comparison its a runt

My argument is that linuses video was misleading.. the screen does not wobble like people think it does.. i'm not saying it's like what happens when you see a tidy 21 year old 5ft 2 120lb blonde babe in yoga pants stiff but **** me man its solid as hell..
The screen is the most solid i've had on a laptop and on any laptop i have had real experience with (and i have tested the xps 13/15)

Here is another video if you dont believe me...

 

I checked the laptop at a business fair where they also showed off some Aorus laptops. It did exhibit screen wobble like in Linus his video. Ewminds me of my old Samsung Ativ Book 8 which exhibits a similar wobble. ALways felt the hinges where too light. But I have no clue if it is a hindrance for longevity.

 

Jiggle jiggle wobble wobble. It's like a Dead or Alive thread. I have a Gigabyte U2442N from 2012 - it's a different style of hinge but I just tested it and it has a little wobble, looking similar to the Aero 14. I have never once thought that the screen had too much wobble, in fact, I never noticed it until I tested it. In 4 years of daily use and a LOT of travel around the UK and abroad, the hinge hasn't deteriorated.

There are other build quality issues I've had with it though, which I'd be more interested in the Aero 14 remedying - those are:

The screen-front and screen-back peeling away from each other, presumably due to heat melting the glue. (I fixed this with superglue).
The battery dying after 3 years presumably due to heat death. This is with light gaming use. New battery costs £150. So use a cooling pad when gaming.
Power socket failure, presumably due to it resting at angle and putting pressure on the plug and breaking something mechanically. Needed new motherboard as power socket is integrated. Somehow repair company said it was still in warranty for this repair, even though it was 4 years old. Free repair but should have been £500 for the part and labour.

 

laptop WILL come with a 1060 from what I had read. I'm kind of holding out for it over the aorus x3.
if it doesn't then its one less portable laptop off the list making it easier to pick a small factor laptop. so far. the aorus x3, msi gs43vr, the aero 14, razer blade, and maybe AW13 and if they have a clevo 14" with 1060 in it then that be my 1st choice because of cost especially if its anything like the p640re was anything to go by.

 

And another BIOS update FB08/F006, still fan revving.

 

Now that the 1060 is out anyone looking to sell their 970m? Hit me up if so.

 

Mee too

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Hey Aero users,

If I want to get similar type of screen quality ( IPS and high resolution ) and long battery life and processing power like the Aero but have no need for gaming, is there another alternative in the 14" area?

 

Hello guys,

I am about to change my super old laptop with something that will last some years and will allow me to play some games, without looking like a gaming laptop.

1. Newegg has in stock the aero 14k (gtx 965m version).
2. Alternatively, I could get a gigabyte P34 gtx 970m fhd used from amazon.

I might go for the aero, despite the gpu, but I'd like to know whether it supports ssd pcie m.2 nvme like samsung 950 pro. (somehow newegg does not say which ssd the aero mounts.)
Moreover, the aero would have a two years warranty (even though i haven't understood whether, in case of problems, i should ship the laptopb back to newegg or gigabyte.) Do you have any experience with this warranty ?

On the other hand, the P34 would be more powerful and would for sure mount a 128gb samsung p950 pro. However, i would have only three moths of warranty and less battery.

The prices are more or less the same.

Any suggestion ?

 

Wait for nvidia's announcements on January, gtx1050 for laptops will be released, mostly the aero will be gettin' that

 

That depends on which version p34 m you get. V3 had msata but I'm sure v5 had pcie.
I wouldn't choose the aero 14 with 965m if you want it for a few years at its cost. The 1060 version is there and it can max out about 95% of games.
I'd pick version 2. On the p34w. There wasn't anything I didn't like. Only a trivial reason why I never kept it


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thank you for the answer.
I would get the p34w v5 version, my only concern is with the warranty (only three months) and battery (5-6 hours of office work)

The aero 1060m would be obviously better, but it is too out of budget

 

If you use it enough. Hopefully if any problems that were to arise comes sooner inside the warranty rather than later.
I do think the battery is modest though for the performance it delivers.


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Gigabyte uses different repair companies depending on the country you live in. For example in the UK you have to ship your laptop to http://www.mendit.com/

So it doesn't go to Gigabyte or where you bought it from, but instead a Gigabyte-approved repair company. All my problems with my old Gigabyte laptop happened after 2 years of ownership, so having a 2-year warranty actually made no difference in my case!

If you are going to do a lot of gaming on it I would favour the 2-year warranty. Lots of gaming means lots of heat, which damages the battery over time. I had to replace mine after three years as the battery would only last about an hour, instead of five hours. I didn't game a lot on it.

 

Since you had a gigabyte (p34w ?), may i ask you couple of things ?

-how long does the battery last for reading and writing on office ?
-which kind of problems did you have after 2 years ?
- what about thermals ?

in the end the aero 14k has only a better battery life...

 

Well, I have a P34G from launch. It's was said to have loose hinges, warbly screen, runs hot, throttles and all around a terrible laptop yet it's still running fine. Yes, it runs hot but only during serious gaming (most game don't even comes close to the stress test they run for reviews) that can be partially avoided just by lifting the rear of the laptop by 1/4" to improve airflow. The Gigabyte are actually well built and long as you don't handle it rough (I've seen students flipping up the screen so fast like it's a speed contest). It should last you a long time. Not battery wise, it won't last anywhere near the Aero14, 2- 2 1/2 if you're lucky when it was new and if you buy a refurb. it'll probably be less than 2 hours since the battery has already been used (like mine). Unless budget is a big concern. I think you'll be much happier with the Aero 14 with the 965m.

 

My p34w got 3-4 hrs browsing. Notebook check recorded 4:44 minutes. A refurb one should still do similar since it's only little over one year old. Maybe 18 months. It's a gaming laptop so they wouldn't be using it on battery constantly to deplete its capacity.
Saying that. Notebook check have actually achieved 8:42 with brightness on lowest brightness and wifi off. (Basically just letting it run out on its own)


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My p34w got 3-4 hrs browsing. Notebook check recorded 4:44 minutes. A refurb one should still do similar since it's only little over one year old. Maybe 18 months. It's a gaming laptop so they wouldn't be using it on battery constantly to deplete its capacity.
Saying that. Notebook check have actually achieved 8:42 with brightness on lowest brightness and wifi off. (Basically just letting it run out on its own)


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Ok. The "W' maybe doing better than the initial "G" but no amount of tuning will make up for that giant battery in a Aero 14. And it's not just a gaming laptop, a lot of us bought it since we want a gameable laptop that we can use in a professional environment without screaming "Gamer" so I use my on battery quite often.

 

Well he did ask about it. Then you gave a response. I thought they should have the same battery to be fair. Same chassis.


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Bit of a late response. I recently bought a Lenovo Yoga 910 i7 and was having fan reving issues with simple tasks like browsing. Setting the max CPU to 99% under power management advanced settings helped reduce the intermittant up and down revving but didn't completely fix the problem. It It was part of the reason I returned the 910. It is basically a 2 in 1 tablet/laptop and in my mind should have been dead silent. Ironically I missed the posts on fan rev issues and I had already ordered an Aero 14 1060. Should have it in a few days. My old laptop was an early version P34g.

 

Anyone else experiencing this issue?

When I plug the HDMI cable in, Intel only recognises the integrated display and Nvidia the external display.

I can only change the Screen setting for both screens in Windows

 

That's because the HDMI and Mini Display ports are connected directly to the GPU. That's why anything you plug in shows up in the nvidia control panel.
Only the main display is connected to the iGPU.
Intel can't do anything to those external displays.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the fast response

But does that mean that I am running both cards at the same time and use more power?

When I am working I don't need the NVIDIA card.

This is my 3rd intel/Nvidia laptop and i have seen this behaviour before

 

Unfortunately, that is the case.
I used to have the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro and the HDMI port was connected to the iGPU, so I assumed this would be the same as well.
I'm using a USB external monitor to solve the issue (USB monitor isn't good for gaming at all, but if you're willing to live with that you'll have twice more battery life than using something with the HDMI/mDP ports).
I'm getting ~4.5 hours of battery life with my Asus Zenscreen plugged in (vs 2 hours with HDMI/mDP vs 10 hours w/o external displays).

 

this is an absolute deal breaker.

I just got into work and started the laptop without HDMI and I had to change the screen resolution as it changed.

For a laptop of this price class you should expect more

 

Mind elaborating?
Does it happen on every boot?

 

yes, I have just shut it down and booted it up again.

The display is not on full resolution 2560*1440 but is on 2560*1080 and therefore has black bars on the top and botttom

WIthout HDMI plugged in

 

Have any of you had any luck with RMA's and Gigabyte. My Laptop's lower left corner of the track pad is no longer rebounding when I click it. It has always been soft with very little tactile click. Unlike the middle and far right side. Now it is total mush, with no physical click. I have only had it since may, so I will definitely need to send it back to Gigabyte. How long should I expect to be without my computer? Thanks in advance.

 

I had to send mine in. Turn around time from when it arrived to when it left was about a week. Not bad at all. Haven't had a problem since!

 

Just got an Aero 14, like it so far but the touchpad is driving me nuts. I can only right click from the far right quarter of the touchpad, most laptops would have this dividing line more towards the center. Is this normal or is there any way to improve this?

Unrelated but I'm running it with the i7-7700HQ with -0.150 undervolt, stable so far (about 14.9 hours of Prime95 + a few days normal usage).

 

Try installing the microsoft precision drivers. They helped me quite a bit.