Gigabyte is using CES 2021 as an occasion to refresh its Aero creative notebooks and Aorus gaming laptops, and while the CPUs are the same old Intel Comet Lake processors, the graphics cards are getting an upgrade.
Specifically, the Aorus 15G, Aorus 17G, Gigabyte Aero 15 and Gigabyte Aero 17 are all getting the latest Nvidia GeForce RTX GPUs, up to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Max-Q.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Aorus 15G | Aorus 17G | Gigabyte Aero 15 | Gigabyte Aero 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-10870H | Intel Core i7-10870H | Up to Intel Core i9-10980HK | Up to Intel Core i9-10980HK |
| GPU | Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Max-Q (8GB) | Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Max-Q (8GB) | Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Max-Q (8GB) | Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Max-Q (8GB) |
| RAM | Up to 32GB DDR4-2933 | Up to 32GB DDR4-2933 | Up to 32GB DDR4-2933 | Up to 32GB DDR4-2933 |
| Storage | 2x M.2 SSD slots | 2x M.2 SSD slots | 2x M.2 SSD slots | 2x M.2 SSD slots |
| Display | 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080, 240Hz, Pantone calibrated | 17.3-inch, 1920 x 1080, 300 Hz, Pantone calibrated | 4K HDR OLED or FHD 144 Hz | 4K HDR IPS or FHD 300 Hz |
| Networking | Intel AX200 Wireless (Wi-Fi 6), Bluetooth 5 | Intel AX200 Wireless (Wi-Fi 6), Bluetooth 5 | Intel AX200 Wireless (Wi-Fi 6), Bluetooth 5 | Intel AX200 Wireless (Wi-Fi 6), Bluetooth 5 |
| Battery | 99 Wh | 99 Wh | 99 Wh | 99 Wh |
| Starting Price | $1,499 | $2,099 | $1,999 | $1,699 |
The two gaming notebooks are largely the same, each using the same Intel Core i7-10870H Comet Lake processor. The 15G pairs that with either the RTX 3060, RTX 3070 Max-Q or RTX 3080 Max-Q, while the 17G only uses the 3070 or 3080 Max-Q variants. Additionally, the 15G uses an FHD, 240 Hz screen while the 17G has a faster 300 Hz panel. Both are Pantone certified and factory calibrated.
As for the Aeros, those have CPU options up to the Intel Core i9-10980HK. The 15-incher has a 4K OLED option of 144 Hz FHD panel, while the 17-inch version has a 300 Hz FHD screen and a 4K version, but it's not OLED.
Those laptops are getting a very slight design change this year, replacing the Aero arrow with a series of patterned lines on the top cover.
We look forward to seeing how these stack up to the best gaming laptops when they launch.
