So, what makes a great gaming laptop? Well, great specs, that’s for sure. A great build, definitely. And of course, a great price. And what fits that bill? This is the Gigabyte Aero X16. A great gaming laptop. Full review.
On your screen right now are the raw stats of my gaming laptop. And as you can see, it’s great. It sports a great screen, solid RAM, and a good GPU. We’ll discuss all of those momentarily.
External Build and Design
The Aero X16 comes in a 16-in metal chassis in a slate gray colorway with an accent Gigabyte reflective logo at the rear, which enables this laptop to look fairly premium in a subtle, non-attention-grabbing way. I like that it doesn’t look like an overly gamer laptop.
You can use it anywhere, and it doesn’t look like a portable spaceship, nor feel like it weighs that much either. The laptop is relatively light given its size, and that makes it very portable. Though, just like with every laptop, I do carry mine in its own case sleeve that protects it from inclement weather such as rain or snow, but also from bumps and bruises to keep it looking and feeling pristine.
The overall design of this laptop feels premium with its ventilation in the back looking almost sports car-like, and its connectivity is fantastic. The laptop sports a variety of different ports on either side with many USBs for all of your accessories, plus more. Great job, Gigabyte.
Display and Keyboard Experience
Opening up the laptop using just one hand, you’re greeted to your command console, and it’s nice. Starting off with the screen, we get a high resolution, high refresh rate, and thin bezel display that just looks great. It does have a matte finish, though, so in some brighter lighting situations, well, it won’t have any glare, but it also won’t look as good. But in the dark, this thing really shines.
Oftentimes, due to streaming and recording, I will have to decrease the resolution to 1080p from its natural higher resolution, but the display still looks amazing either way and is quite snappy.
Now, going down, let’s talk about that keyboard. I type a lot and I type fast and because of those two factors, I have specific needs with keyboards. I like ones that feel durable, especially when I’m really mashing my keys. And I also want ones that have a satisfying tactile bump. And both of those are applicable with this keyboard. It’s great. It has an RGB LED backlight that makes the laptop feel even more premium. And yes, you can configure it to your discretion if the RGB looks too gamey.
My only issue with this keyboard so far is the lack of a number pad. Now, I know it’s hard to fit a numpad into this frame, but my other gaming laptop was able to do it. So, I wish Gigabyte was able to do that as well. Though not having the numpad does make this keyboard look more symmetrical and feel less cramped.
Trackpad Performance
Going down we have the trackpad which for a gaming laptop this is really good. Ever since I got my first laptop in 2009 trackpads have been a hit or miss for me. Sometimes they just don’t respond well to feedback or they’re not tactile enough or they’re too sensitive.
But this one just works. Like how MacBooks have really good trackpads. This one is like them. No issues. So, I do understand that most of you who buy this gaming laptop will also rock gaming mice as well. So, it’s not a huge factor when buying a laptop of this caliber, but still good to know.
Hardware and Gaming Performance
When I first booted up this laptop, admittedly, it was slow. That’s often the case with laptops getting accustomed to their new situation and operating system. So, don’t be alarmed. I just let the laptop sit for a few hours while I completed other work, and it was all good after that.
Now, this laptop is snappy. super snappy. It loads up so quick after pressing its power button. I love that about the current age of laptops. The Aero X16 also supports Windows Hello, so there’s a face scanner, meaning you don’t need to type in your password to access your device. Good stuff.
In regard to how well this laptop performs, here’s a list of games with their benchmarks. And especially for that price, it is great. The RAM allows me to keep many programs open at once and really push this laptop to its maximum capacity. The CPU works really well. The laptop is catered to those who are creators, so YouTubers and the like. And for editing, it definitely has the specs to handle a lot.
Now, one thing to note is that I purchased the version of this laptop with the mid-range Nvidia RTX 5060, which is still an amazing graphics card that can run pretty much anything at this resolution. But for the highest quality settings and for better future proofing, you do have the option to purchase this laptop with the RTX 5070, which is a better GPU overall. Nevertheless, I have not experienced any issues with my graphics card performance at all. So, I’m more than happy with what I got here.
Heat, Fans, and Battery Life
So, this laptop, from what I’ve seen, has two main complaints, plus a general one for all gaming laptops. The main complaints for this one are its heat dissipation and fan noise as a result. So, does this laptop actually get super hot? Well, not from what I can tell.
Yeah, it does make my desk feel fairly warm after use, but that’s generally what happens with every computer after excess use. So, in terms of heat, I don’t think that’s a problem in regard to it burning you after use. But in terms of the fan noise, to reduce that said heat, the fans definitely pick up. They can get loud, especially if you’re playing something super intense, but not super loud, like it’s actually distracting. I generally wouldn’t recommend library gaming sessions with this laptop on any AAA title, just because those fans will probably draw attention like any gaming laptop. But no, again, not an issue. It’s completely manageable.
I use these little nubs to raise my laptop, and you can get something similar to these with the Amazon affiliate links below that can help dissipate the heat. And the other complaint that is levied commonly against gaming laptops is battery life. In the case of this laptop, yeah, it’s not great, but actually surprisingly not bad either. I’ve gotten about 4 and 1/2 hours of battery on it with some games, and I’m just as shocked as anyone would be after achieving that. That’s actually good when you’re recording or streaming a game. So, for me, not bad. Gigabyte, impressive.
Final Thoughts
And that’s how I feel overall with this laptop. I’m impressed. Is it perfect? No. It has its flaws, but they’re easily workable. And honestly, for the price, I’m hardressed to find something better for my needs.
So, with its great specs, great build, and of course, great price, I have found a great gaming laptop, the Gigabyte Aero X16. Be sure to stick around the channel for future updates on how this laptop handles things in the future. But, I like it. I’m happy I got it when I did, and I hope you find it or something similar to it at a great price.
Be sure to focus on your needs with this purchase, and have fun with it, too.my name is Seus. It’s spelled like Cyrus bouncing sea rooster. Just check out the ter. Thank you very much for reading and have a wonderful day.
