*** OFFICIAL GIGABYTE AERO 15 OWNERS LOUNGE ***

I specifically DON'T want anything higher than 1080. One, 1080 looks just fine for a 15 inch screen for games, etc. Two, the 4K screens often have occasional scaling issues. Three, I'd much rather have significantly longer batter life and a little less weight than the 4K.

FWIW

 

Even a 1070 may be marginal on 4k for some games. But I'd think a 4k display should look OK if you change resolution to 1080 before gaming and back to 4K for productivity. In theory it's a perfect 4:1 scale.

 

Me, I specially put scaling down on 100% on my AERO as I find it unacceptable to have blurry UI.
I didn't play with 4k but saw this on other.
Very expensive monitor and blurry UI due to scaling.
Maybe they did something wrong - don't know. I didn't find any other way than put down scaling from 125% to 100% on a HD monitor.
That wouldn't be practical on a 15" 4K.
I am into graphics and video btw.
If you need a reference 4k Monitor - plug it in. Editing will be scaled down anyway.
That's my truth, maybe others work different.

 

Changing the scaling from 125% to 100% is actually not bad! Smaller tabs and larger YouTube videos when playing in theater mode. Yet everything just feels so... small. 110% in the browser is a good compromise. The smaller text I feel helps to improve reading comprehension.

 

Hello. GentechPC will be shipping my unit sometime next week and I have quick question. This laptop has two m.2 slots correct? Would like to get another ssd throw in there.

 

Yes 2x M.2 slots.

I've been using 100% scaling on my built-in display and like it just fine. I tried the 125% briefly and it's frustrating how even just within basic built-in Windows screens, some of the text is scaled beautifully (i.e., windows title bars) and other parts look like junk (i.e., file detail rows within Explorer windows.) Clearly the technology is there it's just applied inconsistently. Maybe by Windows 2020 they'll have caught up, until then I'm skeptical I'd want higher than 1080p on Windows unless most of my work demanded it and was in an application that fully supported it.

 

My son's arrived from @GenTechPC with a Transcend mts800 oem sata drive. I had them add a 500gb 960 evo pro in the empty m.2 slot.

 

@scrod
I would change the Samsung to system SSD. Way faster than 500MB/s Transcend MTS800
This is something Gigabyte should clarify by posting the specs with according number.
The tested builds I've seen at notebookcheck
https://www.notebookcheck.com/Test-Gigabyte-Aero-15-7700HQ-GTX-1060-FHD-Laptop.214624.0.html
and Dave2D

are two different versions - non of them are available in Germany as far as I know, i.e.

Not every shop puts the specs detailed enough to identify.
What is tested and "advertised" as the 2100€ Version is equipped with Win 64 pro / 2x8GB Ram / LIteOn m2.SSD (notebookcheck)
Or Win 64 Pro /1x16GB Ram / LiteOn m.2 SSD (Dave 2D)

What is available are the Win 64 Home / 1x16GB Kingston / Transcend MTS800 m.2 SSD in Germany.
I couldn't find any hint on the Transcend in any shop in Germany.
Needless to say that this is a cheaper build than the tested above, but both tests are announcing price of cheap build, as far as I know.
The Transcend is less than half speed of the LiteOn i.e.
Kind of alternative facts

So this was kind of bad surprise when running HWinfo64 first time.
Everyone who wants to buy this laptop should try to clarify exactly what build he gets before buying, that is my advice.
I was in a hurry so no time for Laptop Ping Pong.

@brucek2 and @brucek2- same here. better small and clean than big and blurry. It's like running an iphone app on an ipad - no fun.And yes, It's a question of single software developers to fix this. 2020 is a good mark But then you still got some old progs, you don't wanna miss

 

In UK the Black version seems to come with a LiteOn NVMe and the Orange one I briefly had came with an Samsung SM961 NVMe.

 

Ah just saw this test with the Samsung:

Just more reasons to check carefully.
Seems that I have the worst build
Anyway, still cool and quick - it just leaves this little taste.

 

As i am expecting mine in the week and have already ordered the EVO 960, my strategy to migrate would be to use the Gigabyte utility to create a recovery usb, swap the m.2s and then perform a recovery, followed by uninstalling all bloatware.

Do you think this would retain the screen calibration etc?

Also does anyone have an opinion if the installation of gigabyte utilities leaves any unwanted load? I mean is a clean install preferable? in this case would the Gigabyte update tool be enough to install everything? the screen calibration is apparently not restored.. but am i missing anything else?

Thanks a lot everyone

 

@lemegetin To save the color calibration, it's likely necessary to run the USB backup utility.

On the drive, it will be here: GIGABYTE > Display Profiles

I believe that by executing the file it will apply the profile, but I'm not sure. Below is a copy of my display profile, I do not know how color accurate it will be for your screen.
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As far as hinges go, the screen will eventually fall if the angle of the screen is closer to horizontal than vertical. I'm not bothered by this, but perhaps there's a way for them to be tightened? Tighter hinges might make the screen considerably harder to open.
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I have tried repasting the CPU and GPU, and I have not had much luck. I first tried repasting with some left over Arctic Silver 5 that I had in storage, and I did this several times, trying for better results, and from the tests it would appear that the thermals got worse. And, I might just be imagining it, but the fans would seem to kick in sooner. I did not account for changes in ambient temperature with these tests, and that would have affected the test results. I then tried applying Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut and did not notice any difference between that and the arctic silver 5, yet the days have been getting considerably hotter since the initial tests, so it could just be that, but I was expecting some real improvements regardless that I'm just not seeing. Right now the fans are going and audible with the CPU at about 38 c. The ambient temperature being 75 f / 24 c. I no longer know if that's normal or whether there was anything different that I could have done to get better results. My gut feeling is that I would have been better off just leaving it alone.

 

You don't have to do an entire USB recovery backup just for the color profile. Color profiles are ultimately just a file stored in:

C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\color

Windows also provides various GUI screens for accessing or installing them via display adapter properties tabs. For example you could install a profile with:

Desktop right click -> display settings -> advanced display settings -> color management -> Add...

 

I'm getting a little anxious, no movement on my order. =]

 

Oh oh - went to turn on my Aero 15 this evening and looks like something died. Main power button lights up, as does the tiny power LED, for maybe 15 seconds but no signal to screen, nothing sent on the HDMI port, no audio. I can't think of any reason it would choose now to die, last usage was a few hours ago, unremarkable, and it hasn't been moved or altered since then.

 

Hey guys, new to forum. I want to share my feedback with Aero 15

I got my Aero 15 around 2 weeks ago in Seoul, but due to work in mainland i had no chance to use it. So i am at 4th day of it using. So good so far, but there are few things:

1) Laptop build quality is good, but its very easy to make finger print marks on it. It's a bit glossy and even washing your hands doesnt really help that much. It's mildly infuriating but bearable i guess. I have to polish it with micro fibre cloth once in a while.
2) Today windows just suddenly started auto repairing itself and i am not even sure what happened. I did clean install of windows 10 few days ago, installed basic software and antivirus and used only Office/Chrome to work yesterday and today it just suddenly didnt boot at first. After second attempt it did boot and everything was fine, but i was really pissed, because laptop is new and fresh and somehow i already started experiencing some problems. Does anyone know if it is somehow related to hardware ? Maybe ssd faulty? I usually never turn off my laptop and just close it to force auto sleep. Could it be an issue?
3) I have Aero 15 with 8gb of ram (that was the only version available) and for me laptop boot is a bit too slow on start up.
I already ordered Samsung 960 EVO SSD 500GB M2.E for OS and Crucial DDR4 2400 16GB. Hopefully it will make things smoother.

Overall i really enjoy this laptop. I didnt try any games yet. Gonna test when i have some spare time. I am also planning to repaste it/undervolt and add some new thermal pads. Did anyone already tried doing it? Maybe someone can share guide. I really dont want to **** up with it so i am waiting until someone posts a video of how to disassemble, repaste and etc with Aero 15.

 

I did clean install of my Windows 10. Formatting pretty much everything. Does it mean i lost default Colour Calibration? Oh god.
I didn't even know.

 

Have you tried booting it up with the power supply attached? Sounds like the battery might be dead.

 

Looks to me either your hard drive or motherboard died. Try using a different hard drive, if not working, i guess something is burned in the motherboard.....Was it raining and thunder-storming in your area?

 

Thanks guys. Same symptoms with or without external power. Built in battery meter (holding down on touchpad corner) still functions and reports full charge.

Even with no working hard drive I'd expect the BIOS screen or at least the Gigabyte logo, but screen never emits any light at all. No storms in area but messed up motherboard is possible I guess. I'm going to call support in the morning. Bummer is I have a big trip starting a day from now so looks like I'll be back to my old ancient warhorse of a DTR.

 

It is just a shame to see how bad the quality is for such an expansive laptop.. Gigabyte should have done a much better job... Hope that mine won't have the same issue....

 

Same. I've been waiting for my 2nd replacement laptop. 1st one had dust under the LCD glass (to be fair had to have your face up to screen to see it) but the finish on laptop wasn't up to scratch. Then I got my second one and it looked perfect except that the keyboard on the laptop was dead out of the box. Now hoping the replacement for the replacement is faultless have been stressed out enough already just want this to end now!

 

:-( Sorry to hear this. Sounds like a fried voltage regulator or something else major on the motherboard. I hope they can resolve it for you quickly.

 

Prove yourself, I need to order one =]

Also, why the slower benches than the retail version?
http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compar...ung-960-Evo-NVMe-PCIe-M2-1TB/m165378vsm211052

 

So often what we evaluate about a laptop is its performance, price or mobility. Today I get to experience the less focused on but now crucial to me aspect of company support.

I filed an online ticket for help. That interface advises a response time of 3 to 7 days. Yikes.

I called the technical support number listed at Newegg. That allowed to me to enter my phone number into a callback queue estimated at 2 to 4 hours. I received the call closer to 2 hours later. The gentleman who called me was not yet familiar with the brand name "Aero" and as soon as he understood it was a laptop he said I'd need to speak to the laptop specialist. He forwarded me to an individual's voice mail where I've left a message.

I'm not sure how this compares to any other purchase decisions I had. From looking at various forums it seems there's similar stories everywhere.

I've timed the power light cycle to 17 seconds: it reliably turns on for 17 seconds, then turns off. I wouldn't be shocked if it's as simple as a connection has come loose in the underneath but I don't know where to look. I've checked all the wires visible just by removing the back corner against various images posted online and all that looks ok (although I notice one of the connections to what I think is the wireless antenna, above the left speaker, is loose.)

 

Link for the deal: https://slickdeals.net/f/10224804-1...-nvme-oem-ssd-350-free-shipping?src=catpagev2
Even cheaper now, It is $350.

The reason for the slightly different speeds are the different firmwares. One reason for the different firmwares is that the retail EVO 960 has less available space. Samsung has optimized the firmware based on having a fairly sizeable non-provisioned space. This allows them to be more aggressive in a few different ways which winds up allowing for slightly higher peek performance but roughly the same sustained performance. The OEM PM961 has more storage available (512GB vs 500GB, 1024GB vs 1000GB)

In addition to the different firmware, the retail version can use Samsung's own NVME drivers. These typically eek out a little extra performance though often at the cost of power efficiency.

If the 960 EVO and PM961 were the same price, I'd get the 960 EVO. It has slightly higher performance and a nice warranty.

 

Yes, that is how I asked them to set it up in customization. I wanted to add a second SSD for extra space anyway, so I went with the least expensive 500GB NVME option they had available. Maybe a bit of overkill for gaming, but perhaps the extra speed will be handy for future use with databases or scientific applications. Plus, I'm just a little skeptical of companies like Transcend that don't appear to bother to publish MTBF or TBW limits for reliability.

 

Just received my Aero 15 and damn is it sexy! I love how simple it looks, very low key none of that gamer aesthetics.

Mine came with the same ssd, I'm waiting for a deal for the 960 EVO 1TB. So far I've messed with the laptop for about 6 hours and only encounter 3 minor annoying issues other than that this laptop is a flawless awesome upgrade from my 2 year old Sager NP8651.

1. My "C" key doesn't register consistently it would register twice in a row than the 3rd time it doesn't, then I'll press it again and it registers the 4th time but would or wouldn't register the 5th time. Or just random patterns all together. First and second stroke wouldn't register than the 3rd it would so in order for it to register everytime I have to press it a bit harder than the rest of other keys...ARGGGH guess I'll have to get use to it.

2. Small screen bleeding on the right side that's only visible on black colors. Barely visible if I don't focus on it during gaming.

3. This last one is my temps CPU and GPU at idle is kinda high. From when I first boot it up I've noticed it. GPU @ 58 and CPU @ 60. As I'm typing this I'm playing Crysis 3 on high settings for about 30 mins and temps are GPU @ 71 and CPU @ 69. I know those are still low numbers but are my idle temps similar to others? At high settings, I'm getting high 20-40fps, playable but I thought it would be higher. I haven't updated any of the drivers besides the Gigabyte Fusion program because the pre-installed version for some reason started crashing on me every time I clicked on light control after I changed the settings once.

So those are the only 3 things that I don't like about this laptop. So I'm flying out of the country next week back to my motherland, Vietnam and I wanted to bring this laptop but the idle temps are worrying now me because Vietnam is very hot and humid. Wish to hear some inputs.


**UPDATE** GPU and CPU temps significantly dropped this morning for some reason..maybe I just need to break it in? they now idle at GPU @ 47 and CPU @ 46. I feel much better about these temps now even though the GPU is still high compared to my Sager which idles around 34 but as soon as I game it goes up to the high 70s.

Oh yeah, I want to mention the battery life. I unplugged around 10 pm and it was telling me 2-3 hours than when it dropped to about 70ish percent and the estimated time was 5-6 hours. Brightness was set to 50% and backlit keys off. Before I crashed I left on music playing and turned the brightness to 0% woke up around 430am and still had juice ~15% which would last me another 1:30 or so. Overall I'm very happy with this battery. My Sager only gets about 3-4 hours.

Also, I discovered this last night when I turned off the backlit keys.

 

Try updating the firmware by going to Gigabyte Fusion and click on the gear button in the upper right hand corner.

See if that fixes your keyboard issues.

Also, my Aero 15 has very similar temperatures to yours. Haven't experienced any problems yet. (This is on quiet mode btw)

 

I actually did update the firmware for Gigabyte Fusion because 10 mins into testing out the laptop I was messing with the lighting control then all of a sudden it kept crashing on me after I changed the setting. Updating it fixed it but I'm unsure if I was getting the issue before the update because I didn't test it then. Similar temps huh...interesting did you get it repaste with IC Diamond?

 

No, it came stock from Amazon from Mobile Advance.

 

wait why is your GPU active in idle?

 

I have no clue actually. I checked the temps of both iGPU and dGPU and they're the same which is odd because my Sager isn't like that. On my Sager the iGPU is idle @ 44 and dGPU is idle @ 34. How do I check why GPU is active in idle? I just checked and found out its a file called emptyproject11.exe is causing it to be active.

 

ah okay. you need to update your smart manager, and also kill that file. It just wasted battery life.

 

Anyone tried to update the bluetooth drivers through smart manager?

Seems like it's the same version when the install begins, but smart manager seems to think it's different?

 

Can I ask owners what it's like typing documents on the keyboard with two hands given that the number keys take up about a quarter do you find this difficult on your hands/wrists and positioning in front of the screen?

 

I have zero problems on my 15" sager with 10key. Look at the XPS15 and you'll realize there's so much wasted real estate by the keyboard.

The one gripe people have had is that the touchpad is centered but the keyboard is center left of the touchpad.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

Ok I've played my games enough I'm going back to my ThinkPad x230. Anyone interested in buying my iUnlock-enhanced Aero 15?

 

Never an issue once you find the home rows. I do still put my hands a little too far to the right on occasion

 

Did you or @iunlock ever write a review? If not, could you please summarize some likes and dislikes?

 

You're joking, right? Didn't you just sell the x230?

 

lol I'm serious. I got a new x230 because I want to do the FHD ips mod. I don't know what's wrong with me lol

 

I believe iUnlock did, but he's quite busy with work and so it's been delayed.

Likes:
Quiet
Cool
Fast (holds turbo through all games)
No stutters or latency in AAA games
nice screen
Relatively compact
decent battery life (6:30 regularly)

Dislike: gap at the bottom of the sides of the screen. It gives the laptop a different look that I'm not a fan of. I prefer unibody.
trackpad is just okay.
I'd rather have a centered keyboard, but this is because I rarely use a numpad

 

Does anyone know if opening up the back cover to add an SSD voids warranty?

The reason why I'm asking is because there are 3 screws that are covered up by a black sticker on mine.

 

The time-honored tradition with anything like that is 'don't tell them you opened it and if you need it serviced, take out whatever you put in.'

Waiting on one of these to be delivered next week. Seems like some variety in the SSDs - I ordered an EVO on the assumption that all the Aero 15s had SATA SSDs. Any US customers finding that isn't the case?

 

Still patiently waiting for @iunlock as I want to see the step by step of how to do the LM repaste realllly bad!

 

Arrives Tuesday. Pretty stoked!

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

The one that came with mine (purchased from Mobile Advance through Amazon) came with a TS512GMTS800 which is a SATA based SSD.

I just stuck in a Samsung PM961 SSD as a storage drive today to store all my games and files on. Works great.

 

So it seems my laptop doesn't choose to use the Nvidia card during gaming. Anyone know how I can fix this?

 

Never mind! Figured out that if I have the fan profile set to silent, the performance sucks.