Gigabyte Aorus 17G
New age hardware, old school vibes.
The Gigabyte Aorus 17G didn’t get the memo that gaming laptops have been following a trend of late, discarding the previously chunky aesthetic in favor of a slimmer, more portable build. Instead, this powerful laptop is still rocking the tank-like appearance, and makes no effort to hide its identity as a dedicated gaming machine.
If you liked the previous RTX 2070-powered Gigabyte Aorus 17G (2020) then you’re sure to love the latest offering too – the familiar exterior has been upgraded to contain an Nvidia 3070 laptop graphics card to power the latest AAA games, and the already impressive 240Hz display has been replaced with a faster
300Hz one for an edge in competitive titles.
Design
There’s no sugar coating it – the Gigabyte Aorus 17G is thicc. The chunky design feels almost retro when compared to the current skinny offerings from other brands such as the MSI GE66 Raider or the Asus TUF Dash, but that isn’t inherently a bad thing. There’s a sense of nostalgia for a time when gaming laptops both looked and felt as heavy as a truck, and opening something that large gave you a sense of real power.
It could of course cause some issues if you’re in the market for something that needs to live in a backpack and travel with you frequently. Given its portable nature as a laptop, this is still an option if you’re feeling up to the task of hefting its 2.7kg of weight around all day, but there are much lighter options available for those who game on the go.
You get some serious benefits to the Gigabyte Aorus 17G weighing roughly the same as two boxes of wine though, with a large factor being build quality. We joke about
The updated Gigabyte Aorus 17G is one of the latest gaming laptops to come with Nvidia’s new RTX 3000 series of laptop graphics cards, with our review configuration featuring an RTX 3070.
it looking like a tank, but it feels almost as indestructible as one. The chassis is a CNC milled aluminum that didn’t warp or flex in any area that we applied pressure, even around the ventilation located across the top of the keyboard.
And what a keyboard it is. This isn’t a true mechanical keyboard of course, given its need to be crammed into such a slim space, but all the important features are present and makes this undoubtedly one of the best keyboards we’ve ever used on a laptop. The OMRON mechanical switches manage to have a 1.6mm actuation distance despite the cramped conditions and sound delightfully clicky.
The overall appearance of the laptop doesn’t have an ‘in your face’ gamer aesthetic, but RGB lighting shines through the Gigabyte logo on the lid and
throughout the keyboard when the device is open. Without the rainbow lights though, you’d be forgiven for thinking this is an old business laptop. The lack of upgrade to the chassis is understandable, but it’s relatively bland compared to rival offerings currently on the market.
The matte black finish to the aluminum case resists fingerprints relatively well and wipes down easily, so this certainly feels like a laptop that could take some punishment if you’re concerned about buying a more delicate device, though we would stress that it isn’t worth purposefully trying to damage your new hardware to test this yourself.
Performance
The updated Gigabyte Aorus 17G is one of the latest gaming laptops to come with Nvidia’s new RTX 3000 series of laptop graphics cards, with our review configuration featuring an RTX 3070. The desktop GPUs have been a nightmare to get hold of since release, and with prices being inflated so high, purchasing one of these expensive new gaming laptops is actually looking to be a suitably economical alternative.
You’re getting an Intel Core i7-10870H CPU and 32GB of RAM to help this shiny new addition to the Nvidia GPU family power all of your games and software, making this triple threat easily one of the most powerful gaming laptops currently available on the market – if you can afford it.
Luckily for those with deep pockets, the specs translate incredibly well to real-world performance. Metro Exodus, a graphically demanding game, scored on average 68fps on Ultra settings which is more than enough to enjoy the title with an incredibly smooth gaming experience.
We also noticed that boot times for games were exceptionally fast too, with titles like Rust launching in under 30 seconds. Anyone who agonises looking at loading screens or boot menus will enjoy the times saved using the Gigabyte Aorus 17G, especially if you’re coming from using much older hardware or game consoles.
Battery life
The battery life for the Gigabyte Aorus 17G is actually rather impressive for a gaming laptop, allowing for around six hours of use away from a power source. In the PCMark 10 battery test it trundled on for six hours and four minutes, while managing six hours and 32 minutes in the TechLife home battery test.
This is better than rival products such as the Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 that achieved a less impressive four hours and 43 minutes in our home battery test, so at least you’re getting some decent longevity in return for the sheer mass of the Gigabyte offering. Our own gaming experience also held up, with multiple Rust sessions easily achieving an average of five hours and 20 minutes.
Gaming laptops aren’t known for being able to run on battery for lengthy periods of time, due to how much juice their powerful hardware needs to run effectively, but given a typical gaming session runs between three to five hours this shouldn’t give you any anxiety about playing away from a wall socket.
The Gigabyte Aorus 17G is an incredible gaming laptop for anyone looking for an alternative to desktop gaming PCs. With its tactile keyboard and 300Hz refresh rate, this is a great device for competitive gamers who need a portable machine for tournaments or events.
Jess Weatherbed