Gigabyte Goes Thin And Light With Aero 14 Laptop
Ahead of biggest international tech trade show of the year, Gigabyte announced the launch of its ultra-thin and light gaming laptop, the Aero 14. The new notebook will be officially launched at Computex.
Gigabyte's product page leaves out a few key details, but we do know the Aero 14 will feature the Intel Core i7-6700HQ, up to 32 GB DDR4-2133, and a choice of graphics between the Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M and GTX 970M. It also features a 14-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) IPS display with a 60 Hz refresh rate and wide viewing angles. The Aero 14 sports up to two M.2 PCIe SSDs for storage, but the maximum capacity of each drive is currently unknown. Gigabyte noted that the storage capacity will vary by country and region, so it's not surprising this specification was left out.
The Gigabyte Aero 14 is light and thin considering the hardware on board, weighing only 4.16 lbs. and coming in at just 19.9 mm thick. It’s 94.24 WH battery promises up to 10 hours of power, although it will likely fall short of that by a significant margin if you’re gaming on the go. Three USB 3.0 ports give you enough connectivity for a mouse (which is a must for gaming laptops) with room to spare, and the USB 3.1 Type-C interface offers up to 10 GB/s transfer speeds, in addition to device charging.
Another game-centric feature of the Aero 14 is a set of macro keys on the left side of the keyboard that can be programmed with Gigabyte’s proprietary Macro Hub software. The Aero 14 also comes in three different colors for a personal touch: classic black, green and orange.
Pricing and availability for the Gigabyte Aero 14 is currently unavailable. (We get that vendors don’t want to spill all the beans before Computex, but a starting MSRP would have been nice.)
| Product | Gigabyte Aero 14 |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-6700HQ |
| Memory | Up to 32 GB DDR4-2133 |
| Graphics Options | - Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M- Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M |
| Display | 14” 2560 x 1440 QHD IPS (60 Hz) |
| Video Output | - HDMI 2.0- Mini DisplayPort |
| Storage | M.2 PCIe SSD (Up to 2) |
| Ports | - USB 3.0 x3- USB 3.1 (Gen 2, Type-C)- SD Card Reader |
| Networking | 802.11ac WiFi |
| Battery | Li-Polymer 94.24 WH (Up to 10-Hour Usage) |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 335 x 250 x 19.9 mm |
| Weight | 1.89 kg (4.16 lbs.) |
Derek Forrest is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware and Tom’s IT Pro. Follow Derek Forrest on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.
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Derek Forrest was a contributing freelance writer for Tom's Hardware. He covered hardware news and reviews, focusing on gaming desktops and laptops.
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ragenalien If the price is right than this may be the best thing to come out of Gigabyte yet. It would finally get me to upgrade from my first gen razer blade 14 with it's 6hr battery life. If they could update this with the upcoming pascal mobile GPU's than I'd buy it regardless of price.Reply -
dudmont Sure will be nice to game at 1080p on medium-high settings with a 1440 IPS display.....Reply -
wifiburger ReplyIf the price is right than this may be the best thing to come out of Gigabyte yet. It would finally get me to upgrade from my first gen razer blade 14 with it's 6hr battery life. If they could update this with the upcoming pascal mobile GPU's than I'd buy it regardless of price.
I was thinking of getting the razor back then but the p37xv4 was under 2000$ and had the 980gtx 8gb, super cool notebook still using it
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VenBaja Thin sounds all well and good, until you consider that all the current Gigabyte gaming laptops already have issues with CPU throttling during gaming due to heat. A thinner laptop likely won't be any better, and may be worse.Reply -
cats_Paw If you want to burn your lap or the laptop, this is a good choice.Reply
The 970M with a quad core inside 14 inches is just too much.
MSI tried it with the GS40 and it was a fail.
Unless this thing has a better cooling solution (cant see that in 14 inches really)... GG no RE.