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amazon GIGABYTE AERO 15XD reviews
After a long time being known in the market thanks to gaming gear, graphics cards, etc., GIGABYTE has encroached on the laptop segment with the first series of genuine products. The models introduced by the Taiwanese brand have enough to meet users’ needs from heavy-duty, light gaming, or even more versatile. Currently in my hand is the GIGABYTE AERO 15XD – a model introduced to be more creative. It’s a bit strange for a famous name for gaming.
How will GIGABYTE make the AERO 15XD a good choice in this supposedly new field? Let’s have a quick experience with the product to see what interesting products are.
Design: Still has a lot of gaming qualities
Before being known as a laptop for creative people, AERO was originally one of GIGABYTE’s gaming product lines. But according to my research, since the beginning of last month, the Taiwanese brand has slightly changed the model: Removed the gaming role and directed it to the current user audience.
But it seems that this process is not very thorough when the GIGABYTE AERO 15XD still has a game-like appearance. That is evident in the colorful RGB keyboard cluster in each cut, each bunker heat dissipation slot.
At first, I was not very familiar with the 15XD, basically because it was so different from the delicate, soft, and Creator products that I had experienced. But when I discovered more, I thought; differently, it turns out that keeping the same can still be beneficial. The pitfalls aside, the quality of this frame is undeniable: The CNC Aluminum finish is very good, the pairing is neat, and most importantly, the key areas (Back, keyframe, etc.) little flex phenomenon. With this being a product with many expensive components, this is the ideal cover to protect them, giving you peace of mind to take it with you wherever you go.
Regarding portability, the device is also quite light at approximately 2.0kg – not bad, considering the “terrific” hardware will be mentioned later.
In addition, compared with other Genuine Creator products in the market, the design of 15XD can be considered a new breeze. A bold cut makes the series stand out, and accordingly, somewhat closer to the creative world – especially young people with entertainment needs – the work is still quite balanced.
If I am not satisfied with something, it will be the hinge, with the stability not enough to support the screen. When left to normal, it is quite easy to shake, but when folded down, it will be very weak, easy to lose your hand if you are not used to it. That is probably the reason why GIGABYTE made an extra rubber rim around the screen, helping to limit unintended shocks during opening and closing.
Screen: It’s brilliant
Although it has a hard appearance, inside the 15XD are components that favor creative purposes. For example, from the screen, our product will use Samsung’s AMOLED panels with a resolution of 4K (3840 x 2160); very deep and vibrant colors. In addition, we can also adjust the color temperature through the software, making the experience compatible with a variety of objects and purposes of use. Combined with the harmonious thinness on all four edges, in theory, the visibility of the AERO 15XD will be spacious and full of eyes. But the curtain part at this time will be very glossy, causing inconvenient reflections if you use it outdoors.
As for practice, I also measured the color coverage parameters of the 15XD with specialized equipment. And since it has been certified by PANTONE to guarantee color longevity, it is not surprising that the numbers obtained are very impressive. The AMOLED screen is somewhat disadvantageous when it gives too deep black. A slightly high DeltaE deviation (2.2, measured in PANTONE color profile) affects if you want to use it for product design for printing, color grading, etc.
But objectively speaking, 2.2 is still an acceptable number – considering the use of OLED / AMOLED screens, characterized by high color deviation. So if you can be a little careful with very deep blacks, you can still take advantage of the 15XD to edit the image. With 100% DCI-P3, the 15XD’s screen can still be used to edit and experience high-quality movies and videos, thanks to the distinctive characteristics of the cinematic color range.
Below the screen is the location of the HD webcam cluster, with a lever so that you can cover it when not in use, absolute security. Good features; But the minus point will be that the position on the chin is quite bad, and the lever is still a bit hard and difficult to use.
Keyboard and touchpad: Slightly “industrial,” but high quality
This area of GIGABYTE AERO 15XD reminds me of OEM models such as OverPowered, Eluktronics,… with a slightly “industrial” layout and design, not many highlights. I am satisfied with certainty and a complete guarantee for all activities.
The 15XD keyboard is a full-size format for you to take advantage of comfortably. The typing feeling is very compact, the good response, and the low noise – I like this point. The LEDs here will also be per-key RGB, which can be adjusted using the GIGABYTE Control Center to produce unique effects. In addition, we can still install macros, turn off Windows keys, create individual key profiles for specific applications, and many other features to control the device. Doesn’t it sound like a Creator laptop? And its interface is also very eye-catching.
The touchpad of the AERO 15XD has a fairly common size, is covered with glass, and uses Precision drivers to provide accuracy. Everything is generally normal until considering the fingerprint sensor cluster in the upper left corner. In terms of sensitivity, it’s really good, but every time I want to use it, I have to reach my finger up; it’s not good at all. Unless you get into the habit of using your left hand to unlock, it’s a bit confusing from the GIGABYTE position.
Configuration and performance: Innovative, versatile
In terms of configuration, the GIGABYTE AERO 15XD version I am experiencing is equipped with an Intel Core i7-11800H Tiger Lake 8-core 16-thread CPU, accompanied by an RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6 graphics card. All the latest options on the market, especially the i7-11800H, have only been released for about a month. For those of you who don’t know, this is an option from Intel’s new line of high-performance Tiger Lake CPUs, with high power consumption and thread multipliers to power high-end hardware.
Compared with the recently released H-35 options, those are also the biggest differences, helping our hardware to get powerful enough performance for all kinds of tasks. Especially excelling in threading will make CPU-intensive multi-core rendering tasks, such as Blender, much more stable.
As for the RTX 3070 graphics card, a special feature on the AERO 15XD will be pre-installed by NVIDIA with Studio Driver to optimize graphics tools and content creation. Sticking to Studio Driver will bring many different benefits depending on the type of tool. For example, with Lightroom Classic, Premiere Pro, we will get faster-rendering speed, smooth playback. Or with technical graphics applications, long-term processing performance is also guaranteed.
However, if you only use technical tools with short tasks, in my opinion, GameReady Driver will be a better choice. If we use this type, GameReady gives us the advantage of pulses right at the time of use, thereby helping to process short-term tasks quickly. Studio Driver, in my opinion, will be more beneficial if used to render cubes for a long time, thanks to its ability to optimize using the CUDA kernel completely.
If you want to play games, you can still install GameReady Driver to play normally because this is GeForce RTX. A resolution is fine even at 4K, but perhaps a little tweaking will be more appropriate. Performance is still high thanks to the amount of power transmitted through the card of DynamicBoost 2.0. The temperature is also good, but with a 60Hz refresh rate screen, it will be difficult for us to “tryhard” only with FPS games.
In general, with a model that balances work – entertainment like the 15XD, this is a suitable piece of hardware and is not too biased in any way. Especially with the option of Studio Driver for the RTX 3070, you will have good performance for professional tasks and a guaranteed price – with the RTX Quadro options being rare and expensive on the market.
Gateway: The return of old values, peace of mind to use
Despite possessing a gaming-oriented chassis, the 15XD has many beneficial connections for creators. The most typical, in my opinion, is the full and diverse output port system (HDMI 2.1, mini-DisplayPort 1.4, and Thunderbolt 4); the SD card slot included is not always present on similar products.
In addition, we also have three more USB-A 3.2 Gen1 ports, RJ-45 LAN port, and 3.5 combos headphone jack; combined will be a pleasant, secure connection experience.
Battery, upgradeability: Comfortable enough
Finally, about the battery, GIGABYTE AERO 15XD will have a 99Wh battery, which has just reached the limit of carrying on the plane, giving us about 4.5 – 5 hours of use with common tasks with 70% brightness. Combined with stable weight (approximately 2.0kg), you can safely carry the device with you on trips without too much inconvenience. Included inside will be extensive upgradeability when users can install up to 1TB of NVMe SSD and arrange the RAM level to 64GB if needed.
Conclude
In general, the AERO 15XD can be considered a quality launch of GIGABYTE in the market, with the ability to balance quite well between work – high-end entertainment. Although according to my research, GIGABYTE also Even the pure gaming products are included, but I see the potential of a multi-purpose laptop like AERO is slightly better in the market. That is especially true when this is still the high-end Creator segment, which has few products and does not have many new directions like what 15XD is doing.
Even so, GIGABYTE will still have a lot of work to do if it wants to win in this segment. For example, improve the hinge quality, further optimize the Studio Driver or edit the style differently from AORUS. Those changes will take time, but for me, it is the right thing to do if the Taiwanese brand wants to leave an impression in users’ eyes.
where can you get a GIGABYTE AERO 15XD online
GIGABYTE AERO 15 OLED XD – 15.6″ UHD 4k AMOLED IPS, Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU 8GB GDDR6, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Win10 Pro, Creator Laptop (AERO 15 OLED XD-73US624SP): Buy it now