GIGABYTE SABRE 15
As it turns out, Gigabyte’s Sabre 15 is more or less the same laptop as the Aftershock MX-15 Elite. They’re both based on the same Clevo reference model, and save for some minor stylistic differences, they have the same keyboard layout and port arrangement.
This means that most of what we said about the MX-15 Elite applies here as well. It is plain and functional, although its Spartan aesthetic may not appeal to everyone.
It’s also slightly pricier than the MX-15 Elite, likely because of its larger 16GB of RAM. The extra memory gives it a small advantage in games, but that’s mostly in the range of just a couple of percentage points.
The keyboard offers similar features and the same Control Center software as the Aftershock, allowing you to customize lighting color in three independent zones and bind macros.
The display isn’t the brightest either, and you’ll have to pump it up close to 100 per cent brightness for the best experience. The screen also appeared to have a noticeably cooler bias, although it’s nothing overly bothersome.
When it came to audio quality, the dual speakers at the front failed to impress, and the Creative Sound Blaster Cinema 3 enhancements didn’t seem to do much more. Of course, this is pretty much par for the course for laptop speakers, such that it’s more of a surprise when a speaker turns out to be good rather than bad.
On the left, you’ll nd two Mini DisplayPorts and one full-sized HDMI output that supports up to three external displays at the same time, a useful inclusion for anyone planning to work with such extensive screen real estate.
To cap things off, the 47Wh battery is removable as well, so you can leave it hooked up for hours on end.
Both the MX-15 Elite and Sabre 15 are fairly chunky and heavy notebooks at 2.5kg. They’re not the most portable devices around, but that’s a tradeoff you’ll have to make at this price range. ���
Good value for money Poor sound quality