Gigabyte’s premium gaming notebook brand, Aorus, has been expanded with 13.9″ (X3) and 15.6″ (X5) models. Specifications are still lacking, but what we do know looks very interesting.
The Aorus X5 is the top-end version, using Nvidia’s new G965M mobile chip – two, in fact, in an SLI configuration. Why does it need this much graphical power? Partly to run high-end games, but also to drive the laptop’s high-end display: an UltraHD unit using IGZO technology (1920 x 1080 is also available).
Weighing 2.5kg and measuring 22.9mm thick, the X5 is a portable desktop replacement. It is packed with up to three SSDs in a RAID0 configuration, with four SO-DIMM slots supporting up to 32GB of RAM.
The X5 will be released in Q2’15, with prices ranging between $2,300 and $2,800.
Gigabyte’s other new Aorus, the X3, is billed as the world’s lightest GTX 970M gaming laptop, weighing just 1.87kg (although Anandtech points out that Gigabyte itself makes a lighter model, the 1.71kg P34W). The display is again an IGZO unit, with 3200 x 1800 resolution. While we didn’t get the chance to see it at CES, Anandtech says that it looks ‘great’ in person (and actually more compelling than the larger-bodied X5).
Like the X5, the X3 features up to three SSDs in RAID0. It will be available this month, starting at $2,200.
Display Daily Comment
Gigabyte is doing great things with the displays in its Aorus line, putting as much of a focus on them as on the internals – which is rare in laptops. The company has managed to avoid using TN panels on any of the line, including the 17.3″ X7, despite the comparative rarity of IPS panels of this size. (TA)
