Aorus X7 Pro Notebook Review: GeForce GTX 970M Gets Slim In SLI

By Thomas Soderstrom
published

Combining the power of two GeForce GTX 970M GPU in a compact chassis, Aorus enables the mobile market with incredible graphics potential. Can its X7 Pro really live up to the firm’s claims of desktop-class performance?

Aorus’ X7 Pro In Focus

A logo that evokes Hawk’s Spaceship sends a clear signal that the Aorus brand wants to differentiate itself from Gigabyte’s more mainstream portables.

The X7 Pro’s 0.9” thickness becomes even more impressive in light of its huge 16.8” width and 17.3” screen.

The only thing missing is a multichromatic keyboard. Instead, the X7 Pro offers three brightness levels of soft blue.

The X7 Pro’s left edge provides network, HDMI, VGA, a single USB 3.0, headphone and microphone jacks. Gigabit Ethernet is served up from a Killer E2200 PCIe-based controller.

The X7 Pro’s right edge provides two more USB 3.0 ports, along with an XD card slot, a second HDMI port and a mini-DisplayPort connection.

Rear connections include a 19V DC power input and dual USB 2.0 ports.

The X7 Pro serves the high-end portable gaming market with SLI graphics and a Core i7 CPU, so we were truly surprised to see that it doesn’t have a battery bay. We’re not certain that this is a limitation of the system’s sub-1” thickness, but we are sure that it makes battery replacement difficult.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
Topics
Gigabyte
Laptops
22 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Nuckles_56
    A nice machine but I wouldn't consider buying one til Nvidia fixes up the issues that the machine is having with SLI
    Reply
  • blackmagnum
    Boo SLI. You create more miserly than happiness. Do yourself a favor and buy a top single-gpu gaming notebook instead.
    Reply
  • StarBound
    I'm assuming the screen is a 60hz making the SLI somewhat pointless. Still the machine is impressive but at the end of the day I cannot see myself getting something that lasts only 40min when performing its primary function (in this case gaming).
    Reply
  • eriko
    Certainly has my attention...
    Reply
  • Steveymoo
    Colour me impressed. This could be the first truly functional gaming desktop replacement! It's faster than my desktop, and my GPU is less than a year old. Wowzers. And such a slim package.
    Reply
  • AndrewBrodie
    Does the HDMI Port support HDMI 2.0? I would like to use it with a 4K TV and hope to exceed 30 FPS.
    Reply
  • xyster
    FYI: Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M is offered also in 8GB capacities; not just 4gb. ie: MSI Dominator versions have it.
    Reply
  • npyrhone
    The performance figures are really impressive, but why on earth are the "idle" and "reading" power consumption levels so absurdly high?

    I mean, I can somehow even understand the zombie drain by the other gpu, but even so: how is it possible that if you just write a word document and read news from the internet, you get something like 2h of battery life.

    Obviously, the person who purchases this might not need even 1h battery life ever, but that does not change the fact that something seems to be wrong here, or even broken, when the previous gen laptop achieves 5-6h of battery life in such scenarios.

    I am like 95% sure that either the power saving options were not enabled, or they were not functioning properly or some component was flawed or some driver was misbehaving. Or then something else weird was going on.

    In any case, I am 100% certain that I can get 3-4h of battery life in a light use, non-gaming scenario with a properly built laptop even if it was sporting this kind of hardware (ie. i7-4870HQ, 970M SLI, 17,3" FHD...)

    Reply
  • sportfreak23
    Was thinking of purchasing this to replace my current Sony Vaio S as the dual core is starting to show its age. But the 1080p screen is kinda turn off when aorus offers a high res screen on its X3. Wish they made a high res 980M sli option to be purchased as this current 970m setup doesn't impress me much.
    Reply
  • hst101rox
    On page 4, it is not just the Aorus x7 pro that has an AC adapter with an efficiency rating of "V", but the Delta 180W of the MSI GT60/70 and most any other new laptop, and tablet/smart phone charger should also be at that efficiency rating.
    Reply