Official Aorus X3 and X3+ Owners' Lounge

Hi Petrov,

Nice to be here also, and thanks for the welcome.

Regards,

Gigabyte UK NB Team

 

where's all the videos of aours x3 plus

 

Could you be a little bit more specific on what sort of videos?

There are a lot of video reviews on youtube of the Aorus X3 Plus: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=aorus+x3+plus
There are also a lot of online reviews easily reachable with a google search.

 

Sorry I mean gaming and stuff I have seen reviews but there are not many youtube videos

 

Apart from what's on YouTube, I've not seen much else for the Aorus X3+, however, if you're looking for rough performance characteristics for the graphics cards on board, Notebookcheck benchmark the cards in the Aorus X3+ on many modern games. Note that the resolution has a heavy impact on FPS, and Notebookcheck do not benchmark 3K resolutions like what is available on the Aorus X3+. In my experience, however, playing at a lower resolution still looks incredible on the Aorus X3's screen.

For the Aorus X3 Plus (w/ GTX 870m): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M - NotebookCheck.net Tech
For the new Aorus X3 Plus (w/ GTX 970m): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M - NotebookCheck.net Tech

Hope this helps

 

yes thanks for your help i should wait for the next couple of weeks 970m videos should pop up thanks

 

Aorus reps, I'd appreciate some advice on how to get windows 7 installed on my new X3 V3's - the X3 V3 BIOS's seem to have some serious issues: http://forum.notebookreview.com/gig...l-windows-7-aorus-x3-plus-v3.html#post9896113 thanks!

 

I'd appreciate some videos and benchmarks of the V3. There is NO information on this laptop. On paper it looks nice. I need more info to justify returning my Razer Blade.

 

same with me im ready to pull the trigger but need more info im also interested in p34w v3 also overclockers said they should have the p34w v3 in first week in feb

 

I received this laptop three and half months ago (Sept 2014). There were no glaring issues when I initially received it (aside from the spotty wireless). So I decided to put it through its paces and provide a review after a couple months of use.

Performance-wise ... CPU, RAM, storage and GPU are spot on. I primarily got this laptop for 3D modeling/rendering work (3ds Max, SketchUp, Rhino, Lumion, VRay) and this has been able to handle some of largest scenes I work with (at times 13+ million polygons in both OpenGL and Direct3D).

The GTX 870M with 6GB of VRAM has been a joy to use and has handled both 3D CAD applications and some graphically taxing games beautifully. These games are not the most current, but I've been able to set the graphics quality to its highest while maintaining very playable frame rates (UT4, Serious Sam 3, Red Alert 3, Torchlight II).

The Iris 5200 integrated graphics also performed surprisingly well ... accelerating 3D CAD viewport performance and some less taxing games (emulation) smoothly. This also allowed access to dual graphics in certain work scenarios ... where the Iris 5200 accelerated 3D viewport while the GTX 870M handled real time rendering (via VRay RT) simultaneously.

Form factor has been great as well. Its similar to carrying a medium-sized text book and I have been able to fit it in one of the smaller Timbuk2 messenger bags without tiring my shoulder/back (I am sensitive to prolonged weight pressure due to a history with slipped discs).

The screen has great viewing angles and contrast for a non-IPS display. There is a shifting with light on the display when tilting from side to side (not so much vertical). However, this only lightens the content and does not shift the displayed color itself.

Keyboard, track pad and I/O ports have been fine. Nothing really outstanding. They all work well.

Finally, battery life has been great. With basic web browsing and word processing, I managed to stretch battery life to around five - six hours (set to Balanced power profile). Battery life drops to two hours or less once the GTX 870M is brought into the fold.

Cons: There are three things I am dissatisfied with after a couple months of use.

BUILD QUALITY
I understand the display itself is thin and it has its merits. However, I am finding that due to the slim profile of the display and how the hinge is located at the center, you have to hold the bezel at the center to open/close it. Most people tend to grab laptop display bezel at a corner to close/open it, but this results in twisting flex with the Aorus X3PLUS. This twisting flex issue has started to affect the bezel itself, causing the bezel to start splitting/separating from the back of the display (this was mentioned in another review).

The bottom panel of the laptop also does not line up properly with surrounding edge. There are portions of it that are higher/lower than the casing of the laptop, causing an edge to protrude out.

WIRELESS
This is not so much an issue with the laptop, but is an ongoing problem with Intel's AC wireless drivers not working properly with Windows ... most likely related to Windows' power profile settings under-powering the adapter itself.

Noticed that ping time was extremely slow when laptop was set to a battery power profile. This then resulted in sluggish performance for any applications that relied on internet connectivity (browsers, antivirus definition updates, distributed rendering, LAN/WAN games).

The wireless range was also quite disappointing. All my other wireless devices get five bars with the wireless router in the room. The Aorus X3PLUS could only manage three-four bars in the same scenario in both 2.4 and 5Ghz frequency bands. Possibly an issue with how the antenna in the Aorus is routed/configured?

POWER BRICK/ADAPTER
The power brick could be a lot smaller. This would definitely add to the cost, but would be worthwhile to keep in line with the enthusiast category of the laptop. Razer's power brick for their Blade laptop proves that this can be done.

Other Thoughts: Performance has been great as advertised. However, the build quality has me questioning how long this laptop will last.

I will be contacting Gigabyte support for the bezel which is separating from the back of the display. Hopefully, they are able to address that this is design flaw (due to twisting flex of the thin display when opening/closing from the corner and with the hinge located at the center).

And here are images of the splitting bevel/lid issues:

Left side



Starting on right side

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the x3 plus I'm ready to pull the trigger soon waiting for a review of the x3 v3 also the screen splitting concern me I like to keep my laptops about 2 to 3 years and I'm hoping they have sorted these issues out with v3 also is it much smaller than a 15 laptop and how's the finish on top plastic or aluminium thanks''

 

Hi Daza ... if you are wondering regarding the build (which is aluminum and which is plastic) ... for me its a little hard to tell. The bottom of the laptop (containing the vents) are definitely aluminum. However, I feel the lid, monitor bezel, palm rest and keyboard area seem to be plastic.

Welcome anyone to correct me on this.

 

Sorry to hear about that, it definitely demonstrates really bad design. I wonder how Gigabyte is going to react.

 

I was advising a friend to get the X3. After seeing the screen bezel problem I have changed my recommendation to Clevo W230SS, or, if he is prepared to wait till March, W230SD (better graphics card, otherwise the same design). Looking at photos of the X3 Plus v3 I can not see how they could improve on the screen bezel design, it is simply too thin, too narrow for the materials used, which makes it prone to cracking. Simply bad, flimsy design - but looks cool. I guess Dell Alienware (ugly - but this is personal, of course) shows how to do the screen mounting properly - but this is a separate topic.

 

This will be an inherent problem with all 15" and smaller notebooks the thinner they try to make them. The only solution is to go aluminum.

 

Hi Hephaestos,

I am an X3+ owner and I agree with yoggie's review points.
I looked at my screen, none of those problems are appearing on mine and I'm really thankful for yoggie's warning and will be careful with mine. I believe it's a design flaw and I will try to prevent it by being careful with opening the screen myself.

However I don't understand why you would compare it to the Clevo W230 and call them the same.
The X3 is thinner, lighter, has a display port, and comes with a far more superior IGZO 1800 screen. All of which are reasons why I got myself one.

I really like the value and configurable position of Sager/Clevo and I own two of them myself, but I know that they will never be similar to the ultraportables due to their design approach.

 

Yeah, and coupled with magnesium alloy.

Nobody ever makes notebooks on the level like the Sony VPCZ series anymore.

Even when I've finally stopped using it, I still keep it around just to marvel at how it's simply way beyond it's time and still rules in terms of quality of design and worksmanship.

 

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your comments. We apologize for your difficulty with your AORUS product. Please contact us at [email protected] or please call (626) 854-9338. We will provide personalized service and analysis to help solve your issue ASAP.

AORUS VIP Support Team

 

Gigabyte, I just purchased an x3 v3. I put windows 7 on it an am now encountering the known wireless issue With Intel wireless drivers. WiFi worked fine in win8. I tried to call your tech support but I was hung up on after one minute of hold time. Needless to say, this is un-freaking-acceptable. Now I have a $2500 machine that barely functions on wifi. I can't reach support. How will you help me, or do I just have to return this? I'm appalled at the total lack of service for a supposedly premium product.....

Edit: had to fix the issue myself with multiple re-installs of the wifi driver, finally removing the intel bloatware and manually applying the driver in device manager. Never heard from Aorus.

Well worth it for the awesomeness, stability, and gaming ability that is Windows 7.

 

Hi guys I have recivied my x3 v3 laptop first thought s is it is small thin and light build quality is good little squeek from the hinges but very well built just setting it up now I will bench test it soon

 

All so I have bought 250gb samsung evo msata for the 3rd slot does anyone know what Torx size for this laptop this thing looks sweet btw.

 

Hi whwtan,
But of course the X3 and Clevo W230 are not the same. Every design is a compromise, every design is different, with unique strong and weak points. For example if having a display port is an absolute requirement, some models would be automatically out. However some compromises go to far: a small, portable notebook people often use while traveling which has flimsy screen lid one needs to open in a special way not to damage is simply unacceptable design.

Alternative, better solutions do exist. This is definitely NOT an inherent problem with all smaller notebooks! Yes, if they are made thinner at all cost, the design has to be flimsy. And "going aluminum" is hardly a solution: thin aluminum screen lids can bend and loose their shape, thicker aluminum does not cushion impacts, while quality, properly designed plastic or carbon fibre covers can take a lot of punishment. Look at Alienware - yes, a bit thicker and heavier (and yes, one may not like it because of other design decisions), but serves as an example of solid screen lid with good weight and robustness compromise.

So, has Aorus made a mistake? Yes, but they are making bigger one now by NOT reacting to the issue. Aorus should take it on board, redesign the top lid using different materials, make it stronger, release improved version, and offer free screen replacement to every user who requests it. This is how you become a respectful brand, NOT by keeping silent. This is supposedly a premium product. Other companies often did similar improvements and on request replacement of re-designed parts in the past with different products (one example: recently Nikon did it with an expensive digital SLR). It decreases the company profits a bit in the short run - but in the long run, this is how a brand becomes solid and reputable.

 

T6 iirc.

 

I have installed it thanks just an update I have played far cry 4 for about an hour and no tweaks just stock cpu high 80s gpu stayed about 74c with a underclock and under voltage should get it down more I have a problem with afterburner won't show gpu it's just blank just installing software and stuff will play more games soon

 

I don't think any tools are reading the Maxwell mobile chips properly. If you try and dump your vBIOS in GPU-Z the whole laptop hard locks.

 

Honestly, this is the first time I've ever bought a non dell/alienware system. The reason I went with the X3 is that the AW13 *still* isn't shipping yet with the config I want, and they also jacked up the price by over $300 when broadwell came out. Insult to injury! That being said, nobody has the customer service that Dell does.

You are quite right about a compromise - there is no such thing as a "perfect" machine for everyone, and all the discussions/reviews talking about such is both amusing and a waste of time. The Aorus was a good compromise from me because I need lots of drive slots and my personal requirements are/were high DPI display, 14" or smaller, ~4lbs or lighter, 16gb RAM, and 1" or less because I live a world traveler lifestyle. As I said, the AW13 was my first choice, but the anemic 860m put me off a bit, and when combined with the incredibly slow release for the config I wanted + the price hike, that was out. The Razer Blade has a pitiful warranty, low disk capacity, and not enough RAM, and my experience with Razer products has been the worst of any computing device/peripheral I've ever owned, so that was out. The PW3wtfever is hideous and the screen isn't as good, and obviously anything clevo is a giant, fat, heavy, ugly brick, so that pretty much left the X3

 

hi, been using the x3 plus v3 for 2 weeks, been monitoring the temps with cpuid, my cpu always up to 88-91C, is this normal or i got a defective set? please share some temp reading for comparison. Blasting the fan on max too.... seem not to aid in cooling.

 

Hi Breezerex,

Something definitely sounds wrong.
My system only goes up to about 60C during normal usage. It may go higher with constant 100% use but it certainly shouldn't be in the 90C range.

My guess is that there's something wrong with the cooling, maybe the contact isn't good. If your fans are running and it ain't doing anything it would suggest that heat isn't actually being transferred away.

BTW, my working environment isn't exactly very cold either, it's around 28C.

 

Hi there! Is your CPU at 88-91C on gaming or just normal usage? If you are having these temps when gaming, most thin laptops with the 4th gen i7 CPUs are around these temps. I've gotten 98C before on my 1st gen Aorus X3 with a Core i7-4860HQ CPU (now I am at 90C after undervolting). But if you are experiencing such high temps on normal usage, I'd recommend you to send for a RMA.

 

Thx the temp was from gaming, will changing thermal compound paste helps? Think of repaste for both gpu and cpu

 

Yes, u can try. I believe that the temperatures will decrease. But for me, I am unable to do so as it will void my warranty.

 

My x3 v3 cpu does not go past 85c when gaming gpu not past 78c

 

Hi Breezer,

I had the impression you were implying your CPU goes up to 90C during normal usage as opposed to peak temperature during gaming.

Yes, 90C sounds fair for ultraportable powerhouses. The Clevo/Sager are designed to be far cooler. [Except you need to look at 2-3 times in volume]

I would avoid repasting for now if you're not hitting throttling 100C yet.

You may think 90C is bad, but you ain't seen bad yet. The Gigabyte Brix Pro hits 100C within less than a minute when you try to strain it with Intel XTU and throttles to death.

 

Daza,

At which environmental temperature?
If you're able to hold that in an environment of 40C it's amazing, if you're having 85C in a snowstorm -10C I would be concerned about your cooling.

 

Now that it is almost 6 months since owning the Aorus X3 Plus (GTX 870M). I have been using throttlestop all along to lock my CPU (i7-4860HQ) at 2.5Ghz and -70mV so that both the CPU and GPU does not pass 90C. And now that there are way more X3 users (YAY!), has anyone managed to undervolt their GPU (GTX 870M or GTX970M) yet? Seems really hard to obtain the vBios through GPU-Z

 

Regarding the 970M. You can't use GPU-Z. You have to dump it using mnvflash Disable the dGPU in Windows then run the tool to dump the vbios. If you check http://forum.techinferno.com/genera...s-mods-900m-series-overclocking-versions.html you will see my vBIOS near one of the last pages plus the tool on the first.

(870m should be dumpable using the older nvflash tool)

 

Hmmm.... I tried to retrieve the GTX 870M bios using nvflash and when I used NiBiTor, nothing could be read, even clock rates are not found. Seems very restrictive from Aorus....

 

NiBiTor is unusable. That software hasn't been updated in forever.

 

I see, thanks for clarifying. This means I hope someone has already modified the X3+ vbios or someone willing to help me undervolt it?

 

Ok, nvm. I edited and customized the GTX 870M bios using Kepler Bios Tweaker. Upped the GPU speed from 941Ghz Base to 945Mhz and 967Mhz boost to 1006Mhz. Memory speed is also increased slightly from 5000Mhz to 5200Mhz with an undervolt from 1.0V to 0.9560V from the readings by GPU-Z.

Temps dropped from 88 C to 82 C at Auto High Speed Settings with CPU locked at 2.8Ghz with undervolt of -65mV with max temps of 85 C from Throttlestop 7.00.

Thank LVNeptune on letting me know how to extract the vBIOS.

 

Just FYI using the Command & Control application and switching to power saver seems to increase battery life quite a bit.

 

Just bought one! Should be here tomorrow, stoked! I already have a gaming PC with two 980's and a 4790k paired with an ROG Swift so I was looking for a smaller non-desktop replacement laptop that could still play games but had a nice screen and was portable and light.

I do have a question though, does anyone know of a Keyboard protector I can place on the keys? Or plam rest covers? My hands tend to sweat and I don't want to ruin the keys or the palm rest.

 

Congratulations! Hope you really enjoy it and also make use of its the macro keys.

I'm almost just like you with gaming hardware, but older as i tend to upgrade only once every 4 years. Two liquid cooled GTX 680s with a 3570K and an Asus PB278Q monitor (gonna wait for Pascal before upgrading!). I use my Aorus X3 for Solidworks and other programs in university, which is why I need the performance on the go.

Is this skin on the palm rest is what you are referring to?


I managed to get a person to do the faux brushed metal custom skin on the palm rest and a matt skin for the touch pad. This is because there isn't any template for the X3's palm rest nor keyboard right now and the labour cost to customize the palm rest is the one that made it pretty expensive (which is why I did not put any protective skin on the keyboard except the space bar). That is the unfortunate part of owning a laptop that is neither popular nor well known to the general public. It gets worse when there is not even a single laptop sleeve for the X3 in the market now!!

 

Thanks for the response =)

Wow, that is so nice! I love that metal skin...looks very slick. I know this is a bad question but who would I go to or call if I wanted to do this? Like the phone cover guys in the Mall? I know some of them do laptop skins for MacBooks. I know its rude to ask for price but a round about number that you paid?

That's really a bummer that there's no sleeves for this amazing Laptop....My wife has a plastic skin for the Keyboard on her Macbook that I really like too bad there aren't any for this laptop, at least that I could find.

 

Guess you will have to find those who do custom wraps for mobile phones and laptops.

I've paid around USD$70 (after conversion). Yeah, not cheap, but its worth as it is protecting a laptop that costs more than 2 grand when new. :/

 

Thanks BlueSwift, $70 is well worth it! lol to tell you the truth I was thinking over $100 so $70 well within my budget.

That's what I thought, I'll ask around and see if someone can do a custom faux brushed metal skin, that's exactly what I would want. Thank you for the great idea.

 

Darn it, I can't find a soul haha, nobody does custom Palm Rest covers for laptops....only places I found are online and their only for covers and not Palm Rests.

If anyone knows of a place on or off line that I can call or order online for a Palm Rest, I would really really appreciate it. I guess I'll just keep looking and ask around....

 

This thing is sweet! Just as nice as my wife's Macbook, the keyboard feels good and build quality so far is very very nice. I know everyone goes through the Honeymoon stage so i'll give is a few days or a week or two until then I reserve judgment.

 

Its crazy how small and light it is though.....amazing!

 

Just passed 7 months using the X3 plus and so far this purchase has been surprisingly better than those which I seriously considered last year.

My battery life lasted 5 hours from 95% to 10%. Was busy doing reports, with wifi and chrome on all the time during that period at 50% screen brightness. If I bought the MSI GS60, I definitely would not make it through the day and will have to lug that heavy power brick along just to do reports.

Due to Design programs, FEA element calculations running at the same time with multiple chrome tabs on, I do once in awhile go past 8GB of RAM. If I was using last year's Razer Blade 14, that will not go well...

Imagine I had actually waited for the Asus GX500, which now they called it the G501 that only has a GTX 960M. Bleah!

Just sad to see the keyboard getting worned out and doesnt feel like the matt finishing will last long. The typing experience is also nice, and you will not notice the keyboard flex as long as you do not look at the keyboard directly.

Another issue I am still frustrated to see is the i7-4860HQ performing worse than the i7-4720HQ or 4710HQ for that matter. The Turbo boost does not maintain decent 3Ghz clocks when benchmarking and always TDP throttles (No thermal throttling at all from Throttlestop or XTU)) from the 47W limit. But what I do not get it is how the i7-4710HQ maintains at decent 3Ghz+ speeds with the same TDP and Cinebench R15 scores easily in the 600 range while the 4860 gets stuck in the low 500s. Ridiculous!