P34w or Aorus X3+. help me decide

Looking to replace my fried sager have pretty much decided between the P34w or the Aorus X3+. I know the Aorus is about $500 more so trying to decide if it's worth it. The Aorus has 6gb vs the 3gb and I do plan on hooking it up to my tv for gaming but it's a 65in 1080 TV. While the Aorus has a much nicer screen I don't think its really worth it for such a small screen. My main concern is heat. Will the Aorus have better cooling or the gigabyte? I like the ability to put a normal 2.5 hdd in the gigabyte. Thoughts? Also I'm thinking of upgrading the wireless card to a killer. Think it's worth it? Thanks

 

There is a thread somewhere here with the temps of the new Aorus 3+ and they were very acceptable. I think the P34W V3 would be a clear winner if the video memory was 4-6gb. I don't know why they didn't double it like they have been with the previous versions.

I think you do get 16gb of ram and more storage with the Aorus though. I don't know if thats worth the 500+ price premium however.

 

Gigabyte P34Wv3-CF2 I7-4710HQ 2.5GHz 6GB GTX 970M
HIDevolution Gigabyte P34Wv3-CF2 P34W v3 CF2 I7-4710HQ 2.5GHz 6GB GTX 970M 14" - New Laptops

Gigabyte P34Wv3-CF2 I7-4710HQ 2.5GHz 6GB GTX 970M
XOTIC PC | GIGABYTE P34Wv3-CF2 - 14.0" Gaming Notebook with GTX 860M


Aorus is more stylish, if you put more ram and HDD/ssd on the p34 is about the same price.

Maybe the p34 has better cooling, we'll have to wait for reviews and comparison

 

P34W v3 vs aorus x3 v3 any prices on p34w v3 and release date like the Aorus x3 tho 6gb and build

 

The 3GB vram on the P34W was chosen because the 6GB was heating up too much. Obviously it doesnt have the vents that the X3 has so I think they just wanted to be safe. However 3GB is still a pretty strong amount and if you're only outputting to a 1080p display you'll have no problems. I output to a 2560x1080 display on the GTX870m (2GB Vram) and it's fine.

This debate is one i'm currently having myself and i've decided to go with the P34W. I had a P35K last year and the cooling was great on it. Much better than my current GS70.

 

What ultimately made up your mind? Heating issues is a concern for me and while 3gb is good now, I would like this laptop to last me 3+ years and wonder how sufficent it would be then. With my builds on both it really will only be about a $300 difference.
Couple questions though
Can I fit a normal 2.5hdd in the Aorus? I don't know about that glossy screen, how's the glare going to be. How does the battery life compare? IHave no experience with either manufacturers so how does build quality and toughness rank? I'm usually on the road 200+ days of the year and need something that can take that abuse.

 

heres a thought. im in the same boat but is there plans to release the regular x3 V3 and when? the x3+ V3 is well out of my price range £1799. the x3+ V2 is £1550 whilst the x3 V2 is about £1250 so that's a £300 difference for a same machine which I guess has a thicker border bezel and less resolution but than 1080p and more likely to max its 2k screen with 970m. so would it be safe to say that would be a £300 difference based on trend? so I could expect it to price in at around £1450-1499?

whilst id expect the p34W to be about £1199-£1299. depending on spec on both could determine for me what I pick. I can live with out 3k. ive never owned it so I wont miss it, however the slightly extra bump would be a nice slight change without much performance hit on native.

 

i currently have the msi gs60 860m kepler its ok but the fans are quiet loud and the battery is ok not the best i seen i hope the maxwell 970m is cooler and the p34w is full black not black and silver like the last gen

 

I purchased the P34G V2 back in September (I think?) and I love it, however I am sad to see the refresh version of it come out soon soon after. I am in the process of selling my P34G V2 4GB 860m and take a $250 loss for a quick sale and purchase either the Aorus 3+ or P34 V3.

The P34 performs well and I use it mostly for school and gaming when I stay away from home. I'm currently on the same decision boat as the OP. I feel that the best bang for buck is with the P34 but if you're one of those people who think like me and tell yourself

"Well I'm already dropping a minimum 1699 on a laptop that's gonna last me X years, would it be fine to spring the extra 400 and get a nicer looking chassis, display and slightly better hardware?" And this is usually where I do a lot of back and forth with myself. How much sacrifice do I want to apply to myself if I spring for the higher cost mobile chassis.

I think I'm going to stick with the P34 V3 however I did enjoy the temps of the A3+ and it does look so much more stylish. However it requires a lot of convincing to justify style over dollar per functionality / value. Please keep this thread updated with whatever it is you choose to get and don't forget to leave your reasoning as well.

 

if you're one of those people who think like me and tell yourself "Well I'm already dropping a minimum 1699 on a laptop that's gonna last me X years, would it be fine to spring the extra 400 and get a nicer looking chassis, display and slightly better hardware? thats just like me im telling my self that the p34w v3 is good enough but aours x3 is slightly better build nicer to look at 512gb in raid 0 6gb vram instead of 3bg vram glass trackpad but then the p34w v3 has the 2.5 hdd for large files and it will be cheaper ill wait and see when the reviews come out

 

The price haha. And I actually kind of prefer the look of the P34W. The only thing I really loved about the Aorus X3 is the bezel size and the vents at the back. Can't justify an extra £500 for that though. Plus the fact that its angular design kind of annoys me.

 

I'm waiting for the reviews this week. I really like the 2.5 hdd option but im afraid how that 3gb vram will be in a couple years. Really at least in the states, if you bump the p34w to same specs there's not much price difference. If it handles the heat well with no real throttling issues I think I'll be going that route.

 

I am on preorder for the P34W v3! I wasn't considering the Auros, but I can tell you why I decided to go with the P34.

I plan to also use this for work and can't have a laptop that looks like a gaming machine. I was considering the razor blade 14 and the upcoming P34K v3 but the 970m sold it. To me the 970m is future proof. I don't play the most demanding games but I do play DOTA 2. I'm going to start playing league of legends and maybe far cry 4. I considered a lot of 15 inch laptops however the weight under 4lbs sounds fantastic. Although I will use this for business I won't use the additional number keys on most 15 inchers. 13" felt a little too small. 14" was the sweet spot for me. I will occasionally connect an external monitor to the VGA connector which some find odd on this laptop but I find it useful. I am an IT Guy and this is still needed. After all the research I did, I have found that a 4K monitor is just not worth it yet. There is a higher battery draw, scaling issues in windows, and the graphics card will have issues pushing all those pixels. I also needed at least 16 GB. I'm not willing to sacrifice a laptop that is stuck at a 8 GB. Another great sell for the P34 is the msata ssd OS Drive and the additional storage drive. That way I have no compromise for speed or storage and can host all of my media locally and take it on the road. No need to plug in any external hard drives! I just bought the Asus 68AC and plan on taking advantage of the fastest wireless speeds available.

I hope that helps.

 

Is it really confirmed the P34 will come equipped with 3GB vram? I heard it was going to be a 6BG vram variant? Any confirmation from the peanut gallery aka vendors? Your point is very valid Logs.

Back when the desktop 680 came out 2 gbs was enough for games. Now with new triple A titles you really need 3-4gb to play at high-ultra 1080p. I'm not trying to compare desktop to mobile gpu but you get the comparison as far as future proof. I'm still on a desktop 670 and waiting to see what AMD leaks before I upgrade my desktop GPU.

It doesn't make any sense that the V2 comes with 4gb vram and the refresh drops down to 3gb. Even the P35 V3 has 8gb

 

Yea if the p34 has 6gb it would be no decision. But I think I'm going Aorus just because for only a couple hundred more you get a better screen, better cooling, 6th vram(so more future proof), better build quality, and another SSD. I just wish they fitted a normal hdd in there instead of another msata.

 

yea i wish they fitted hdd as well 512gb raid 0 is ok but i would liked the storage of 2.5 hdd 1tb for music and video

 

Between the two, I don't know if one will be cooler than the other. I sure hope they are both not too loud and don't cause too much heat, but that's asking for too much in such a small form factor. In terms of looks I prefer the P34, the Aorus looks too flashy and loud for me. Especially if your at work or in class its just too much of an attention grabber, that's just my opinion though. I'll be waiting on reviews on both machines before I decide, if not then I'll just wait for Skylake and stick with my desktop and ultrabook for now

 

I am curious how gigabyte justified the £300 price hike between the x3+ v2 and v3. The v3 has a newer gfx card which surely cost the same as the 870m when current but only has a 4710 cpu instead of the 4860.

 

Good point I like to know this as well

 

that's what I said last week. I said its priced me out. because its not even slight increase whilst the 870m is still available. its £300 for the same reason you mentioned I thought. I cant commit to that. I could just get an p35x with a 980m and satisfy my purchase with highest tier in a single card for £1500. at £1800 I could just import a next gen razer blade 14 (providing it is supplied with a 970m) and see what the fuss is about

 

Logs did you see this thread?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gigabyte/769467-can-t-install-windows-7-aorus-x3-plus-v3.html

 

Yeah, I am contemplating doing the same with the blade. I had the original x3+ but returned it due to a few issues. I liked the machine over all and wanted to re-buy it with the 9700m. But it is certainly not worth £1800, the build quality was only average and the keyboard was below par for a premium machine. Guess I will be crossing this one off my list.

 

P34w is VGA/HDMI only. No display port. I think that's making it a deal breaker for me. The VGA port is a joke. Remove it and put in a DP like a good company. -_-

 

Why is everyone in here talking about 3GB VRAM? The P34Wv3 has 6GB VRAM as was linked on the first page of this thread.

 

p34w v3 only has 3gb vram due to heat the aorus x3 v3 has 6gb vram its not that bad i have msi gs60 860m 2gb and play games fine bf4 medium 40 to 50 fps no problems about 34 fps in far cry 4 medium and the 970m is twice as fast with 3gb vram should be fine

 

HIDevolution Gigabyte P34Wv3-CF2 P34W v3 CF2 I7-4710HQ 2.5GHz 6GB GTX 970M 14" - New Laptops Says 6GB same thing on Xotic.

 

I was deciding between the P34W and the X3+ as well.

The P34W is absolutely amazing, the weight, portability, beautiful FullHD 14" screen, 2.5" Sata for maximum upgradability, 970M, LAN port (instead of wifi-only rubbish)
And a decent keyboard/mousepad without numpad. [I actually really really hate numpads on laptops. I can never have my hands set in the middle of screen when typing]

The V3 also happens to come in very professional looking black too.
You would be extremely comfortable using it in a conference meeting without looking like a middle school kid.

And then they had to gimp it by refusing to include a DPort.

The 970M is more than capable of driving 3 displays with daisy chain...even the integrated Intel graphics is capable.

I have a theory that they may have crippled it on purpose [perhaps to ensure it doesn't cannibalize the Auros] Cos getting VGA from DPort or HDMI is extremely easy using a simple dongle. But it is impossible to drive 3 external monitors with VGA/HDMI combo without messing with far inferior options such as using those USB external monitors.

 

It's wrong. Check out gigabyte's website. Rumor is they nerfed it due to heat. Part of the reason it's been delayed.

 

Yes correct I might get the x3 v3 it will be more expensive but have better specs 6go gram better display 180w charger vs 150w on the p34w so it should not throttle with the extra power

 

AAAAArrrrgh!!! I said I wouldn't buy the x3 plus V£ because it is £300 more than V2 (not worth it) but for some reason I dcide to check some website to see and the now have them in stock. they are the only website I found in the uk that is stocing them and they are n my city and I can order it and collect within 1 hour in ordering and take about 10 mins drive or less. now im like shall I or shall I not?

ive sent an email to see if I could check it out 1st hand just to se if I like it.if they say yes. then if I like the track pad then ill prob end up walking out with one which would of being perfect timing for gta V had it been released on the 27th still.

 

"because it is £300 more than V2 (not worth it)"

How so? 20% performance increase with the 970m. mSATA slots (cheaper than those M.2 slots), and three of them to boot.

 

yes 3 mSata slots i was wondering can i have the 3rd slot as storage say 500gb and keep raid 0

 

Yes. You can configure a RAID array on any of them and leave the last one out or configure them individually.

 

its not box.co.uk by any chance is it i was looking also today i live 2 hours away i can order or pick it up need little more info and reviews firstlet us know if you like it

 

I think you mean 970m? what I mean not worth it is usually a refresh usually is closely priced to its predecessors but a little bit more. if the last models are still selling. but its not its a whole £300 even if it does add another msata slot that is not occupied I must add but if it was then id accept it.
When I bought a W230ST with 765m GTX the W230SS with the 860m GTX was same price to configure or actually even less than when I bought the W230ST and with higher resolution aswell. im looking at the asus gaming line. their 970m models are stupendously high because it sports a 970m over its last model. I appreciate what you are saying about the extra performance the 970m brings over 870m. But even razer blade didn't have this kind of hike from 2013 765m to 2014 870m gtx so I don't see what you saying as valid for £300 for everything exactly the same on the outside. infact the processors even slower too from a 4860HQ even if it is to help the heat. no trade off, just take, take. if had an 980m inside id be silent lol.

but I can see why you don't have complaints. I see you like to spend money. some say you get what you pay for, but after while of owning them and comparing do you look back and think actuslly all my pcs and laptops was worth the price looking back?

 

I can say my R4 has definitely been worth what I paid. I use it every day and it hasn't failed me yet. There's a single stuck pixel on the panel but that's after a few years and not noticeable unless it's a black screen. And yes I did mean 970m. Updated my post.

 

yea id prob agree with you based on what you said cos you used it every day and it is the highest end and made good use of it but yeah I dont know how you feel about the other machones you got. but some people have too much money that when spending on expensive items. because they are used to spending on that price range it becomes normal. and good for them when they compare it to older models they may of had vs performance of new model.

oh yea since you owned a razer blade. would you recommend it over the aorus if it had a 970m in it? and what price would be a good price if I was to import one?> never owned one so looking for a good deal.

thanks

 

If the Blade had a 970m w/6GB vram like the Aorus yes. I could even live with it being 8GB ram only and only a single M2 slot and still be happy with it. My only complaint with the Blade is the 970m. Runs way too hot and less performance compared to 970m

 

yea I think that will be solved in the 2015 refresh...unless they put a 965m inside.

also what is the mouse buttons like? are they clicky when pressed or are soft so they produce a low sound like thinkpad or hp business likes which are pretty much inaudible? my experience with suff like asus was that it had a very firm press and "clunked" when pressed so it was rather loud and it would annoy the hell out of my wife who has misaphonia (if you spell it like that) so that kind of noise can be very annoying. where as when I use the business model laptops from Lenovo or hp she doesn't not complain. so basically im trying to avoid a "klaky" click or a "clunky" click lol. something like a mush click that doesn't do much noise.

that's where the raxer would help also because it has touch screen lol.

 

I think I might end up doing a full review on the Blade now. Lots of people have been asking questions like that. It's not noticeable to me. It does make a sound but I would say quieter than a MBP click.

 

yea I did think is it comparable to that. but I don't own that and I cant remember how it sounds because usually the apple store is always busy. to tell lol and usually other vidieo don't really focus on pressing it see how it feels when we should know if some one does a review because it the most fundamental part of the laptop. because you cant use a laptop with out it so I see that as important that we gotta like what we use the most right?

 

I started out looking for a high quality portable slim high performance notebook and my original intention was to get myself the Blade in "13.
I didn't like Blade"13 because it had the ugliest screen in the entire market [they prioritized screen refresh specs so much that they completely ignored picture quality], lacked an ethernet. [Which meant that if you used one of them for the missing ethernet you really only had two USB port]
I didn't like Blade"14 because it was still the same machine except for a much needed upgraded screen. The game changed as MSI and Gigabyte are offering extremely competitive alternatives especially Gigabyte.
Funny that, I was criticising the P34W v3 for not having a dPort. I realise that the P34W is everything the Blade is for a far cheaper price. I believe the advantage of the Blade though, would be better keyboard and trackpad [Do some search on the internet to give yourself a better idea]

I wound up with an Auros just yesterday. I truly don't understand why Razer didn't do it. The Auros has 3 USBs, displayPort [which the Blade in its two revisions stubbornly refused to include] and more importantly the storage options are so much more pragmatic, 3 mSata slots instead of 2 M.2 slots.
Right now, the only thing the Blade has for it would be their ultra slim 150W power brick, which I really like. [In fact, I'm considering buying it for my Auros X3, they are 100% compatible]


I'm quite blown away by the Aorus honestly. Not as much as when the first Vaio VPCZ launched but still extremely impressed...I had no idea Gigabyte would come in from no where to making the laptop which fulfills most of my requirements as far as a portable, light, slim, high performance notebook I needed.
My machine happens to come with the 512 Gb SSD in 2x256 RAID 0 config. I was further blown away because I realise that I can easily buy a 1 Tb Samsung EVO mSata and add it to the system.

Do take a look at the Razer Blade, I think it's the closest thing you can have as a fair comparison against the P34 and X3 series. [All portables below 2kg, not those other monstrous large gaming laptops]
My requirements and your requirements may be different so my choice may be not the best choice for you and I hope you find the notebook you desire.

 

There are a lot of good Razer 14 reviews on youtube already. I do wish Razer would release a maxwell refresh at the same price of the Aorus. Razer chassis is nice but the Aorus looks just as nice, not to mention sleek.

 

It works but it isn't the right wattage. You would be throttled at 150w. The Stock Aorus X3 Plus is 180w unless you meant some older model.

 

Hi LVNeptune,

The new Auros X3Plus v3 comes with a 150W brick, not a 180W. You're probably confused because this difference wasn't documented.

To be clear, the X3Plus v3 has a few "downgrades" which they predictably didn't really want to advertise.
1) Power brick is downgraded from 180W to 150W. This puts it on the same level as Razer Blade and P34
2) The chip was downgraded from Intel 4820 to 4710.
3) The downgrade in the chip also means you lose Intel Iris Pro 5200, you get Intel 4600 instead.

I have the system right in front of me btw.

 

I would like to ask about the CPU/GPU temps on this machine as well as the battery life (moderate use like web browsing, no gaming) if one of the owners of the machine would be kind enough to give me that information.

 

Hi Chris,

The machine is an absolute pleasure to use in a practical moderate use environment.
There are 3 settings for you to use in their fan control and it comes with "Auto Fan - Low", I switched it to "Auto Fan - High" and the system doesn't bother me.
It does get quite audible at max fan though I've not been able to hit it in any normal use so far.

I expect to get 3 hours thereabouts for battery life while the system is new. I've undervolted it as described later to improve the life and may fiddle with screen brightness if I want to really maximise by the minute.

I'm not a hardcore benchmarking person so you'll probably have to wait from an enthusiast for their results however I have been ploughing my Auros X3 the moment I bought it.

It's been running really well. I undervolted it using Intel XTU and it ran slightly cooler and stressed it for 15 mins.
I've also played some games on the system at at 1600x900 resolution and it didn't really feel any stress at all. [I don't run it at 1800, the 970M wasn't meant to do that...]

900 resolution for a 14" is so perfect for work. Microsoft Word, Excel, everything is nice and clear without messing around with scaling controls. It's an added bonus the system runs the games comfortably at 900 too.

The stress test has my CPU maxed out below 80 C in an ambient environment of 27 C. It passes my personal requirements. [For me as long as the XTU stress test doesn't wind up hitting 100 C and the system throttles I am fine.]


I have a high end desktop for games only [i.e. No work...it doesn't even have Microsoft Office installed LOL I'm purist] and that's when I start pushing the envelope with O/Cing, Fullmark, OCCT, heavy burn in stress tests.

 

I thought you were referring to the X3+ not the X3+ V3.

 

3 hours just doing normal work tasks? That's terrible. I was expecting at least 5-6 hours.

 

Hi LVNeptune,

Don't count me for it though. It's just a guess. I've never ever had a laptop which lasted 5 to 6 hours before. [And I've used over 14 laptops from different brands and high performance to middle performance] The only laptop I've heard lasting that long without major sacrifice in performance [i.e. slow, unresponsive ultra low voltage chips] would the the Macbooks.
You will definitely get a better "feel" checking other reviews, I err on the safe side. I believe 5 to 6 hours can be achieved with some tweaks.

I think the key thing is new batches of notebooks have a lot more energy saving technology integrated into them. Unfortunately no matter how much we can save in powering down components which aren't active, the biggest battery usage is the screen [Thankfully the IGZO screens on both Auros X3+ and Razer Blade "14 are marvelous there, great quality with power savings] and the chip/board. Since I'm not a graphics designer, I don't need to use the 970M for work and the system runs on the Intel 4600. [This is why they "downgraded" the chip from 48XX to 4710, Iris Pro is more demanding]

It's all academic though, I do not have the Auros X3+ v2 to compare and from what I've heard it's a pretty nice system too. I would expect all the improvements done to only give a better battery life for X3+ v3.

Honestly I never expected non low voltage machines to run more than 3 hours without sacrificing something. I could lower clock speed, lover voltage to extremes etc...but if I wanted that I would have been happy with low voltage ultrabooks which are even lighter than 1.4kg. There's something about the lack of responsiveness the moment I compromise in that and it tends to get to me. So my last few attempts at low voltage ultraportables have all been quite a lousy failure.

Speaking of battery technology though there's this one feature missing in the Aorus which I really miss coming from VAIO and that's the battery life extension feature. It allows me to specify the level of charge for my battery. I've seen it appear on Toshiba, Lenovo as well but Sony's implementation was where I first experienced it and is still the most superior one since they allowed me to keep my charge at 50%. [More than doubles the life expectancy of my battery]