Official Aorus X3 and X3+ Owners' Lounge

Use this thread for all things x3 related. I'll try and keep the OP updated for tips, tricks, reviews, bios links etc as they become available.

Reviews
BlueSwift's Review: http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/notebook-clinic-knowledge-base-trial-339/aorus-x3-unboxing-early-impressions-mini-review-4791472.html
Xentar712's Review: http://www.ultrabookreview.com/5205-gigabyte-aorus-x3-plus-review/
TrustedReviews's: http://www.trustedreviews.com/gigabyte-aorus-x3-plus_Laptop_review#tr-review-summary
XoticPC's Video Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOos6hLO9mE&feature=youtu.be
GenTech Video Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKrDjTdpCvo
HexusNet Review: http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/laptop/73501-aorus-x3-plus/

Drivers

http://www.aorus.com/x3.aspx go to "Downloads" on this website


Petrov.

 

Very interested in this machine for development (and maybe a little gaming). Love the specs. Real curious as to the battery life for mundane tasks and noise levels both under load and idle.

Thanks.

 

Just received mine yesterday.

Just noticed the fonction auto keyboard backlight doesn't work. Still I can activate it manually eather via Fonction touch or Command and control. Anyone has the same issue?

Since few months trying to get replacement of my VAIO SA13. Looking for light, powefull config and good screen.

I tested , MSI GS60 Ghost pro (too big for me) , ASUS UX32 , Gigabyte P34G V2 and X3+ which suits me better.

some stated the sound not good, but I would say by far the best sound compared to the 3 others laptops.

My concern is the scalling problem at the moment as in some games for avoid to have the mouse cursor invisible we need to scale from 250% to 100% and text are barely unreadable.

 

Hello! I believe this is my first post here. I have been following notebookreview for 1 or 2 years now, just that I searching on google helped me till the point there was no need to ask people for help... YET. Anyway, I believe Petrov actually linked my review which is on another forum. Aorus X3+ Unboxing, early impressions & mini review. - www.hardwarezone.com.sg

But why I am posting here is because there is something which I believe the people in this forum is capable to do and that Is to undervolt the X3+'s GTX 870M (with Kepler BIOS Tweaker). Now, I do own a Gaming Desktop with 2 GTX 680 SLI and they are extremely easy to tweak the vBIOS (flashed mine to GTX770 Bios), but laptops are so much more restricted. I am unable to save the vBIOS under GPU-Z and nvflash. So I was wondering if any other Aorus X3 owners are able to undervolt their GTX870M and how.

 

Mine set to arrive tomorrow, will check the aforementioned issues and see if my unit has them as well. I had an X7 vs1 and was so impressed with it (but too big), I was willing to give them another shot with the X3.

Was a Razer guy, and still really am, (had nearly every iteration of the Razer Blade except for the most recent vs.) but the price point here for better specs also won me over. Also had to return my surface pro 3 to buy this little beast, so hoping its worth it.

someone mentioned the ASUS UX32, I had the UX32VD which was really great for an ultraportable with a dedicated GFX. Which ASUS would come out with a Broadwell ultrabook with an 830m inside or something.

 

The Ux303LN is new and has an 840m and ULV processor. Was considering it (and a MacBook Pro) before this came out. It doesn't have the muscle this one does. It's light but has mediocre battery life. Can't have everything huh?

 

Hi Guys,

Like me, you must have received your new wonder. Not lot comment.

Anyone could post the driver instaled from factor as since I updated bunch of drivers seems the beast not running as good as the start.

Pls do an screen print from the "driver update" software window.

Anyone got the same issue re the Auto keyboard backlight? Mine not working on auto but only on manual

 

Waiting for the non-plus version of the X3 to release, but I'm really looking forward to hearing more about this line, generally, and users' opinions. Please keep 'em comin!

Sent using Tapatalk

 

Overclockers UK replaced my X3+ within a day of me sending it back due to a couple of "bright smudges" on the screen. The new screen seems flawless, no smudges, no dead or stuck pixels.

Updated OP for reviews and drivers page. If there's anything else anyone wants included, just shout.

P.

 

I've been using my X3+ for the last week and am a little concerned about the temperatures. It's possible these are normal for this size/form factor, but I just wanted to make sure I don't have a defective laptop.

When I am doing basic tasks like Microsoft Word, web browsing, music, etc Core Temp is reading my CPU between 50 C to 57 C. And sometimes when I am doing these basic tasks if I leave the fan's on normal, they will turn on pretty loud. If I leave the fans on silent, they will not turn on.

When I played Wolfenstein to test the temperatures the system was getting between 78 C to 81 C. I was playing with high quality graphics.

Can any of you let me know what you temperatures are reading? If this is normal with the rest of you, then I will just move forward. Or maybe you would suggest different software to read my CPU temperatures. Thanks for your help!

 

That looks very normal to me. Playing Diablo 3, my CPU hits mid-high 90s and GPU in the 85-86 area typically. This is a gaming laptop, it's expected to run quite hot and this is consistent with most of the more detailed reviews I've linked in the OP.


Hope this helps to ease your concerns!
P.

 

Petrov,

Thanks for the quick response. It is helpful to know that this is 'normal' for a gaming laptop. It's my first and just wanted to verify that it's what I should expect.

Today is the second time I have had serious wireless connectivity problems and I have seen on other forums, that others are having intermittent issues with the wireless as well. Tech support told me to re-install the driver for the wireless card which I am doing right now.

Have you had any problems with your wireless card?

Thanks for your help!

 

I've not had any wireless issues. That being said, so far it's only been connected to an Asus AC router.

 

Once I re-installed the drivers it has worked much better. I've been pushing the system to see what to can handle. I have experienced some screen tearing - has anyone else run into this?

 

Screen tearing? Have you got vsync turned on in whatever game you see the tearing in?

 

Looks like the Aorus will be treated to the 900 series GPU when they are released in mid October, hopefully they can upgrade the 800 series

 

Is that confirmed, or (like me) are you hopeful?! Wondering if any benchmarks for the aorus with the 9xx have shown up or something...

 

not a matter of confirmation but rather when it will happen

 

Recently picked up an X3 Plus to replace my aging (but still great) Vaio Z.

I had two quick questions after my first couple of days of working with the machine:

1. My machine seems to have a bug where it boots with the Number Lock light off when the Number Lock is actually on. If I hit the function key once, it turns NumLock off, then I click it again to turn it back on, then the light comes on as expected. But, the light should be on at boot if the NumLock is on. Can anyone else confirm this on their machine? It's no problem, but it does seem like a bug.

2. Using the Drives Update software, it shows that the installed Nvidia driver is a higher version number than the "Official Driver" listed in Drivers Update. Is that because I allowed the GeForce software to do its own updates? It seems like the is software recommending that I downgrade the Nvidia driver. Do you think it's better to use the Drivers Update or the GeForce software for video driver updates?

Thanks everyone!

 

Yes this happened to me too after I used Geforce Experience to update my gpu driver. I figured it would be safer to let the nvidia application manage the gpu drivers.

 

Can anyone comment on the keyboard in particular. How is it compared to say a macbook or a thinkpad. I'm not used to mushy keyboards. Also, I heard concerns on the build quality, does it feel solid?

 

I am typing on the keyboard as we speak, its solid nothing mushy about them, it certainly feels solid in terms of build quality, if one thing i would add is, wait for the updated 900 series GFX cards, dont get me wrong i play Shadows of mordor at max settings and max 3k resolution, it looks great and has absolutely no lag in FPS, so currently its more than able to run this gen games with ease.

 

For anyone considering an Aorus X3 or X3+, beware, as the warranty service appears to be quite appalling from personal experience. My Aorus X3+ developed faults with mushy unresponsive "G" keys and screen assembly coming away at the hinge. Now, the laptop has been identified having a faulty mainboard, so it's now having it's mainboard replaced. During this ongoing 3 week+ experience, I discovered that Gigabyte do not cover workmanship around the screen area— doesn't matter if the laptop has just left the factory or whether it's nearing the end of warranty. While I may have got away lightly without fee due to the extraordinary time the repair centre has had my laptop sitting around, typically the repair centre would pass this cost back to you.

While this may seem like a "so" point for many, the screen/hinge area of a laptop is arguably one of the most likely place a physical defect will happen. While I can accept I have been unlucky with my Aorus X3+, I'm left questioning the quality of the warranty provided with Gigabyte's "premium" range and whether it deserves the price tag. I have attached the part of the conversation with Gigabyte's UK repair centre which confirms this is the case.

----------------------------------------------

[12/5/2014 11:50:51 AM] Chloe said:
I have chased this for you and unfortunately it was discovered that part for the back panel was coming away from the LCD. We have now rectified this for you, please note this would normally be a charged repair but we have done this free of charge as a good will gesture. The device will now need to go further testing and will be shipped back Monday. Apologies about the delay

[12/5/2014 11:52:30 AM] Me said:
The LCD assembly coming away from the hinge was one of the initially reported faults with the laptop and should have been covered under manufacturer's warranty under manufacturing defects.

[12/5/2014 11:53:22 AM] Me said:
I was expecting this to be fixed and don't really consider it a gesture of any means.

[12/5/2014 11:54:39 AM] Chloe said:
Unfortunately gigabyte do not class this as a warranty fault this would normally be a charged repair but we have taken care of this for you. I understand there has been a delay and we can only apologise as soon as the device has passed testing it will be shipped out to you.

[12/5/2014 11:58:50 AM] Me said:
That is rather concerning considering structural assembly of the laptop should be covered by the limited Gigabyte/Aorus warranty, especially for a laptop which has practically came straight from their factory (the laptop was just over a month old).

[12/5/2014 12:01:21 PM] Me said:
Are you sure that fact is correct before I inform others that there is no guarantee on Gigabyte's workmanship?

[12/5/2014 12:03:25 PM] Me said:
I actually feel quite insulted being told that something which should be covered under any manufacturer's limited warranty has been done for free as a good gesture.

[12/5/2014 12:07:30 PM] Chloe said:
Unfortunately this is correct gigabyte do not accept the panel coming away as a manufacturing fault. I am sorry to hear you feel like this but in other incidents we have had to charge for this repair to be done.

[12/5/2014 12:09:55 PM] Me said:
That is preposterous. Thanks for highlighting this Chloe, I myself am a little more informed, but I'm sure others will find this information fruitful when considering their next laptop

[12/5/2014 12:11:10 PM] Chloe said:
I am sorry to be the barer or bad news but i do have to pass on the information i have been told.

[12/5/2014 12:11:34 PM] Me said:
Understandable, you don't make the rules, only follow them

[12/5/2014 12:11:56 PM] Chloe said:
Exactly thank you for your understanding. Is there anything further i can help you with ethan ?

[12/5/2014 12:12:05 PM] Me said:
Thanks for making the exception in my case, besides the rant, I'm glad I wasn't charged in this case

 

Yep, warranty is the reason I won't buy 'disposable' brands like Asus and MSI, and now it appears Aorus is in the same boat. Guess it's back to dellalienware yet again

 

Yep. ..I guess I'm back to Alienware. See ya Aorus.

 

While I don't question the authenticity of mrskibas post taking into consideration rep power and join date might be beneficial for prospective owners.

 

Oh I insure you it's authentic. While I'm not active on this forum, I do hope to warn prospective buyers about the quality of the warranty they are signing up for, and since this is the first hit on Google (searching "Aorus X3 owners"), it's an ideal platform to warn people. On a side note, I'm not faulting the actual laptop itself, the Aorus X3+ is an absolute beast of a machine.

My X3+ was sent into Gigabyte warranty repair here in the UK early November last year, I'm still waiting for the laptop to be returned (they apparently don't stock Aorus parts and I've been told there are a shortage of mainboards, hence the further delay). I have tried to seek a replacement laptop, however, despite the length of time it's been in repair and shortage of parts, "Gigabyte's policy is that they will never replace a fixable laptop" (according to the service manager at the UK repair centre), which leaves me in wait even further.

I seem to have been incredibly unlucky with my Aorus, but I don't believe such a premium laptop should come with such an abysmal warranty service (and I can't stress this point enough). I'll post an update when I get it back in the form of a complete post with pictures with a full start to finish of my experience.

If there is one bit of advice I could give though, if you're adamant that you want an Aorus, thoroughly stress test and check the physical build of the laptop in the first instance. If I had, I may have avoided suffering with Gigabyte's warranty service and had a nice quick replacement from my reseller.

 

Reminds me of the issue I had with Gigabyte last year. You can see the details in this thread - Need some advice, What am I entitled to? (Gigabyte RMA) - Overclockers UK Forums
I was lucky enough to eventually get them to refund me the full price I paid for the laptop. After going through 3 RMA's. WHere did you buy your X3 from?

 

I bought it from Box.co.uk, and I have to say they've been great in contacting Gigabyte HQ on my regards regarding the laptop. Unfortunately, they can only do so much as it's up to Gigabyte on whether the laptop is replaced or not. Gigabyte HQ informed Box on two seperate occasions that parts were going to be sent "next day" and the UK Gigabyte repair centre should have them to solve the issue. A week following those occasions I phoned the service centre and spoke to the service manager to hear another side of the story and that they have not received the parts.

I contacted the UK Gigabyte repair centre last monday to hear they received delivery of parts for "x3" but couldn't confirm for sure whether it was for my laptop. I am going to phone the repair centre again tomorrow and see what they say, failing that I'll have to rely on a little more assistance from Box to see if I'll ever reach the end of this nightmare.

@Robbsy - do you have any advice or Gigabyte contacts that I might use for a faster resolution/response?

 

It's unacceptable that they are making you wait because they can't get the parts in. I'd say keep ringing them and try and get hold of one of the managers. I have one of them on Skype but I can't really give out his details. Sorry to hear that you're having these issues :/ I know how it feels.

 

I actually did, however, the service centre managers are about as useful as a chocolate teapot. He just kept iterating that he couldn't do anything and that I should speak to my reseller where I bought it from "as they are ultimately responsible for my purchase". Seems a bit unfair considering it's their f*£$ up.

I'm just off the phone to the repair centre, apparently they have the part and fitting/testing it today. Looking at your YouTube video on the state they sent your Gigabyte back in, it appears I'm not out of the woods yet. Fingers crossed that it's not being put together by the engineer that done yours...

 

Keep us updated on how it goes.

 

Good news everybody, spoke to them again today and apparently the replacement mainboard didn't help either, the whole system was still unstable— my laptop is clearly possessed. The repair centre has contacted Gigabyte HQ this morning and apparently they are now trying to sort me out with a new replacement one from my reseller.

They insist that I'll be contacted soon from either Gigabyte or the reseller to confirm this. So, my RMA has been active for 7 weeks and 1 day and I'm finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Overwhelmed with happiness now, lets just hope the next one isn't as broken as the first.

 

Ah that's great news! Glad you're finally getting there after 7 weeks!

 

This kind of thing is good to know. I already know the X7 is Mr. Overheat; even had another user get graphical artifacts in BF4 with it. So basically.... avoid whole Aorus line?

 

Aorus is quite unique in their offerings of laptops, and the X3+ still, for me, seems to be the only 13" powerhouse I can comfortably travel with (and the IGZO screen, might I add, is *gorgeous*).

With my experience, however, I did lose faith in the quality of Gigabyte's limited warranty that came with the Aorus, as it didn't assure me that my laptop would be safe in the future from other possible workmanship issues (also factoring the time it's been at the service centre and availability of spare parts from the manufacturer). If I knew the warranty didn't cover areas of workmanship, I would have taken my money elsewhere as some others are indicating on this thread.

 

which manufacturers are these?

 

Which manufacturers I'd invest with instead of Aorus? Personally, I'm not certain, but I know it wouldn't be Aorus/Gigabyte until they revise their warranty to be more comprehensive. I've had great experience with Alienware in the past as Dell support in the UK is very good (it's hard to beat next working day on-site support from these guys). However, the hardware offerings from other manufacturers have proven to be innovative in their gaming notebooks of late (hence my initial choice going for Aorus with their compact size, IGZO screens and RAID SSDs), so it's one I would have to research more with the discovery of other laptops that suit my needs.

I believe that the right gaming laptop should have a warranty that supports all aspects of workmanship and have a reasonable turnaround for warranty repairs. You yourself seem to have had a lot of laptops from a multitude of manufacturers, have you had one that stood out above all else?

 

for me Lenovo and hp are very good. iv ehad onsite warranty with Lenovo and I was impressed with the speed and service. no complaints. im not sure about the workmanship though. but accidental damage warranty is a plus for any laptop that's £1000+ when buying a laptop. just get it all covered if you are buying a brand you are not used too. then in time if you buy them more often you will know if you need that added warranty or not. but I think the business lines from hp and Lenovo products are very durable.
others I find ok. the least impressive one is sony...even if I bought a brand new laptop from ebay id have problems verifying. good warranty is warranty that follows the machine not the owner.

 

Hi mrskiba

I've just spoken to the UK country manager for Aorus/Gigabyte on Skype and he is in the process of setting up an account to help you out.

He wanted me to let you know.

 

thanks robbsy

 

Hi Mrskiba,

We are sincerely sorry for the poor experience you have suffered here. It is clearly unacceptable and should not have happened. This is being investigated internally to identify what has gone wrong as we would have expected your machine to have been replaced quickly, so that you could continue have a fully functioning machine.

This issue has been escalated to highest level and you have our assurance that we take failings link this very seriously.

As you rightly said, for a premium product, we expect to give our customers a premium service, on this occasion we have fallen very short of this. At this stage we can only apologise for the inconvenience and assure you that once we have clarified what has gone wrong, you will receive further contact from us.

Can you please let us know the Case Reference that you have?

Regards,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

 

Hi again mrskiba,

To finally give you what you should have had in the first place, ie premium service, we will send you a replacement brand new machine.

We do have stock at your original place of purchase (BOX ltd) and we have spoken to them and secured 1 unit for you.

This can be despatched to you once we have your details. Do you have your original order reference from the BOX order, this should be sufficient details for us to confirm your address etc.

Once again, we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this has cause and assure other users that this is an exception to the usual experience we aim to deliver to our customers.

We look forward to your reply,

Regards,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

 

Nice to see the Gigabyte reps on here (and not just on overclockers.co.uk). Welcome chaps and thanks for the public responses.

Petrov.

 

So, the forums have been down for a few days where I couldn't check for replies (horrible timing!!).. thanks Robbsy and Atom 80 for trying to contact me.

True to their word, Gigabyte's UK regional manager has hunted me down and got in contact with me regarding my case. They were truly horrified to hear of my case and reassured me that Aorus strived to provide a service which matched the premium product they offered. From our long conversation regarding my experience over the past (now) 8 weeks, it seemed like my case was a rare occurrence. They kindly offered me a full refund or a replacement, however, having personally being reassured of the quality of the warranty, I have decided to opt for a replacement Aorus X3. It's good to know that Gigabyte has a presence outside of Taiwan ensuring customer satisfaction.

Faith restored

 

Awesome, great to hear! Hope this kind of service is replicated around the world too.

 

I received my X3 Plus V3 on 1/6. I was upset to see that the bottom of the laptop had damage as soon as took it out of the box. It looks like the right corner was singed, or burned by something hot. I am still waiting to see if I can get a replacement.First time customer of Arous and so far its been a negative one. Great hardware specs though. Here is a pic of the damage.

View attachment 119763

 

Looks nasty, hope you get a quick resolution!

 

Well its been a week, still waiting for a resolution.

 

Hi coolesnce,

We have forwarded this thread back to HQ team and someone from USA team will be made aware very soon.

Thanks,

Gigabyte UK NB Team