Gigabyte AORUS X7 DT v6 GTX 1080 Gaming Laptop Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing 

Currently, the AORUS X7 DT v6 utilising the GTX 1080 is available from Overclockers UK for £2999.99 and Scan Computers for £2999.99. If this seems out of your price range, it’s possible to acquire the GTX 1070 version for £2483.99.  Clearly, this is a massive sum of money and the only way to fairly judge value involves comparisons with similar products. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find an identical configuration which complicates the process somewhat. One alternative is the MSI GT73 VR which retails for £2699.99 and has 32GB RAM, an Intel Core i7 6820HK and the GTX 1080. However, the screen is only 1920×1080 and doesn’t support G-Sync. Also, the memory runs at a slower speed although the RAID0 NVMe array might be a selling point to some.

The only other option is the MSI GT73 VR 4K GTX 1070 SLI edition which costs the same as AORUS’ creation. Interestingly, this product has a 4K IPS panel, dual GTX 1070s, 32GB RAM and an Intel Core i7 6820HK. Once again, the panel doesn’t appear to support G-Sync and you’re trusting developers to implement SLI scaling to outperform the GTX 1080. After assessing the competing options, I’d argue that the laptop is priced fairly and has a unique place in the current market. This makes it a great choice for someone with £3000 to spend on a desktop replacement.

Overview

The AORUS X7 DT v6 sports a really distinctive, elegant design which exudes a premium feel. In particular, the neutral charcoal finish is splendid and combines rather nicely with the silver AORUS logo. The product’s remarkably slim frame is surprising when you consider the mammoth horsepower at your disposal. While the laptop isn’t the most portable option available today, it’s lighter than competing models opting for a similar form factor. For example, the MSI GT73VR weighs 3.9Kg while the AORUS X7 DT v6 is 3.2KG. Judging a product’s visual appeal is difficult because it depends on subjective taste. Saying that, I personally believe that the AORUS X7 DT v6 is one of the most attractive laptops ever devised.

AORUS incorporated a 17.3-inch 2560×1440 120Hz WVA panel which supports NVIDIA’s G-Sync technology. The high refresh rate is a wonderful asset which makes cursor movements in Windows feel more responsive and allows for smoother motion when playing video games. On another note, NVIDIA’s G-Sync technology is fantastic and removes stutter as well as ugly screen tearing. This contributes towards a much more enjoyable and consistent user experience. The laptop’s panel has a stunning colour reproduction and good contrast ratio. Although, the viewing angles could be improved ever so slightly.

The laptop’s audio solution is surprisingly decent and able to deliver high volumes without distortion. Furthermore, the sound isn’t tinny or lifeless and has a good amount of bass despite the thin frame. Of course, it’s not going to compete with a pair of headphones, but the sound was much better than I expected. Connectivity-wise, the AORUS X7 DT v6 supports numerous interfaces including USB 3.1 Type-C, USB 3.0, HDMI 2.0 and Mini-DisplayPort. The only omission is Thunderbolt 3 which would have added a great upgrade path due to the advent of Thunderbolt 3 GPU enclosures.

AORUS also made significant strides forward with the keyboard which now supports RGB backlighting. As previously mentioned, the colours are gorgeous and add a spectacular twist to the laptop’s subtle design. Also, the keys feel responsive and the chiclet layout helps to position your fingers in a more proficient way. The macro keys are easy to reach without stretching and come in handy when playing MMOs or MOBAs. The laptop’s touchpad has a soft finish and large area which leads to a higher level of accuracy.

Successfully taming the laptop’s CPU while maintaining a slim profile was always going to be an uphill task. Upon inspecting the cooling hardware, I was impressed with the heat pipes thickness and logical arrangement. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to cope with the default 4.0GHz frequency. Subsequently, the processor downclocks to 3.8GHz and below due to thermal restrictions. Not only that, the noise output is huge and this even occurs when utilising the modest fan speed settings. It’s not a shocking revelation, but the noise output will be irksome to many people. Thankfully, the idle noise output is much better and almost silent.

On a more positive note, the Samsung SM951 NVMe boot drive offers exceptional performance which makes traditional SATA devices look painfully slow. The end result is faster rendering times and Windows reacts your commands instantly. The laptop’s WiFi and wired results were exceptional and didn’t exhibit any sudden packet loss or large speed drops. I wasn’t too pleased with the battery life though and expected more given the amount of space it takes up.

NVIDIA’s Pascal architecture completely destroys the previous generation chips and make gaming laptops a more sensible investment. The AORUS X7 DT v6’s GTX 1080 easily copes with demanding graphical settings and can even drive an external 4K display while achieving playable frame rates. Throughout the review, the laptop’s graphics card matched a number of premium desktops. Amazingly, the GPU offers a glorious user experience and complements the 120Hz panel rather well. The embedded GPU doesn’t encounter stutter or erratic dips. Honestly, it’s astounding to think this much performance can be crammed into such a thin laptop.

Pros

• 120Hz 2560×1440 G-Sync panel
• Attractive per key RGB backlighting
• Comfortable keyboard
• Elegant design
• Fantastic networking performance
• Great software package
• Luxurious packaging
• Remarkably thin frame for the horsepower on offer
• Stellar build quality
• USB 3.1 Type-C
• Wonderful storage read/write speeds
• Vibrant sounding audio system

Cons

• Extremely loud under load
• Mediocre battery life
• Runs hot when the CPU hovers between 3.8-4.0GHz

“The Gigabyte AORUS X7 DT v6 offers a premium gaming experience which rivals traditional desktops. While the noise output could be better, the product’s gorgeous slim frame, astonishing build quality and responsive 120Hz display should be an attractive proposition for users wanting the absolute best performance in a relatively portable form factor.”

Gigabyte AORUS X7 DT v6 GTX 1080 Gaming Laptop Review

Thank you Gigabyte for providing us with this sample.