Gigabyte P34W v3 Gaming Laptop Review

Gigabyte's P34W v3 is one of the only two 14-inch gaming notebooks with GeForce GTX 970M graphics. Can portability and performance really coexist?

By Chris Angelini
published

Early Verdict

When you see the P34W v3, you won’t believe it features a fast quad-core processor and high-end mobile GPU (Nvidia’s GM204, no less). And yet, the compact system blasts through today’s most demanding games at its panel’s native FHD resolution. This laptop isn’t at all quiet when it’s asked to work hard; invest in a nice headset, though, and the acoustics won’t bother you as much.

Pros

  • +

    Build quality • Dimensions • Gaming performance • Price

Cons

  • -

    Noise under load • Peak performance consistency

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Introduction

Gaming laptops are inherently exercises in compromise. You can emphasize the gaming aspect by cramming lots of fast hardware into a big, heavy chassis. Or you can focus on mobility, cutting power and cooling to make the machine more portable. Everything in between represents a rebalancing act to attract customers with different priorities.

When Gigabyte’s P34W v3 first landed in our lab, we thought there was no way it’d game competently. Measuring just under 13.5” wide, less than 9.5” deep and roughly three-quarters of an inch thick, it easily fits in a backpack. Without its bundled power adapter, the P34W weighs just four pounds. By all accounts, the platform is thin and light—two adjectives rarely associated with gaming.

And yet, our sample includes a Haswell-based Core i7-4720HQ host processor, 16GB of DDR3-1600 in a dual-channel configuration, Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 970M with 3GB of GDDR5, a 128GB SSD and a 1TB hard drive. Knowing what we know about quad-core i7s and the GM204 GPU, it’d be reasonable to expect playable frame rates in demanding AAA titles at the 14” panel’s native 1920x1080 resolution.

Surely, then, the P34W v3 must cost a mint, right? Not really, no. You can customize the notebook on xoticpc.com to look like ours for just under $1700. Or, Amazon has a similar model with 8GB of RAM for less than $1600. That's quite a bit less expensive than Razer's 14" Blade.

Gigabyte does lose points when it comes to what you hear from the P34W v3—both through the sound you get through its anemic stereo speakers and the fan noise that escapes as a byproduct of its powerful hardware. Even with no load applied, expect the cooling subsystem to spin up to noticeable volume sporadically. More on that later, though.

There are a few different part numbers listed for this notebook. One, the P34Wv3-CF2, includes 8GB of DDR3, a 128GB SSD, a 1TB hard drive and Windows 8.1. Another, the P34Wv3-CF3, boasts 16GB of DDR3, a 256GB SSD, the same terabyte-class disk and Windows 7 pre-loaded with a Windows 8.1 upgrade. Those are both on Newegg. Other vendors market this system as the P34W v3 and then allow you to customize it to suit. The box containing our sample didn’t list any specifications or model numbers, so you’ll want to pay particular attention when it comes to comparing parts and price tags.

Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini is an Editor Emeritus at Tom's Hardware US. He edits hardware reviews and covers high-profile CPU and GPU launches.
21 Comments Comment from the forums
  • royalcrown
    UGH, Stupid, Crappy VGA port...Dissappear already !
    Reply
  • Solandri
    I have this laptop. I'm not sure what brightness setting is 200 nits, but I find 50% good for daytime indoors, and 30% comfortable at night. I only feel the need to crank it above 50% if I'm by a sunny window. At 30% I get over 4 hours of battery life running office tasks and web browsing. Turning off hyperthreading in the BIOS extends that to almost 5 hours.

    The thermal throttling is a problem. But other owners have reported eliminating it by repasting and undervolting the CPU. I'm planning to do that, but haven't yet had time.

    The VGA port is there because Gigabyte knows their market. Real gamers don't mind buying a big and heavy gaming laptop. These thin and light gaming laptops are mostly being bought by business people, who use it as their work laptop when they travel, then relax with some gaming in their hotel room. The lid is very nondescript - completely black with only the Gigabyte logo. Anyone looking at it would never guess it's a gaming laptop. Anyway, the VGA port is there so these business people can plug it into older projectors that are ubiquitous in meeting rooms. The laptop also has a HDMI port (and can output to both + screen simultaneously), though I would've preferred Displayport.

    The fan noise can be obnoxious, but Gigabyte has included an app to let you quickly select fan and performance profiles. At the lowest setting ("stealth") the fan noise is completely acceptable in an office environment. Probably too much for a library when gaming. Performance takes a big hit, but it's more than adequate for most of the games I play. If you plan to use the other settings (low, high, max), break out the headphones.

    Others have complained of problems with fit and finish. Some pieces of plastic aren't completely straight, or have gaps. Backlight bleed seems to be a common problem too. I'm fortunate in that mine doesn't have any backlight bleed or problems with fit and finish. I would buy it again in a heartbeat.
    Reply
  • mapesdhs
    Just wondering, when the GPU has pulled itself back to 848, is it still quicker than a 960M? If not, maybe Gigabyte would have been better off making this 960M-based, though if the mobile versions differ in the way the desktop cards do, perhaps even a reduced 970M is still way quicker than a 960M.

    Don't laptops at least have the option of running on full power from the battery, instead of always reducing the clocks, etc.? One should at least have the option of staying a max speed even on batter power, kinda handy if one knows the game time is only going to be 30 mins anyway, short train journey or something.

    Ian.

    Reply
  • soldier44
    I stopped reading at 1080p.
    Reply
  • rohitbaran
    @soldier44
    Well, as said in the review, there are not any laptops with that form factor and capability of 1440p gaming since it is really tough to get suitable performance from a card that can suitably fit in that form factor without burning itself out. So what do you expect? Unless you prefer jet engines for cooling fans...
    Reply
  • 10tacle
    16140667 said:
    @soldier44
    Well, as said in the review, there are not any laptops with that form factor and capability of 1440p gaming since it is really tough to get suitable performance from a card that can suitably fit in that form factor without burning itself out. So what do you expect? Unless you prefer jet engines for cooling fans...

    Thank you. Not to mention that generally mobile GPUs have to run at lower clock settings, have cut down shader and texture units, have less memory, and have a cut memory bus all to help keep not only the temps down but the power use down as well. A quick comparison link to a 970M vs. 970:

    http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-geforce-maxwell-mobile-gtx-970m-gtx-980m,27833.html

    But with that said, these days I find it hard to justify spending big bucks on a mobile PC gaming solution. I first and last spent nearly $2k on a high end Dell Alienware gaming laptop about 7 years ago (with a 1920x1200 17" display) and will never do it again. No way to upgrade and every new game out continued to need to be detuned in quality. Due to that, portable gaming for me eventually got transferred to the PS3 and more recently the PS4.

    Reply
  • TallestJon96
    It would be nice to get the 970m as a desktop card (960 ti). It's seems nearly perfect for 1080p
    Reply
  • Traciatim
    It would be nice to get the 970m as a desktop card (960 ti). It's seems nearly perfect for 1080p

    The 970m already has desktop equivalents in the 660ti and 760. The desktop 960 already outmatches the 970m by a good amount, the other way you can get a 750ti for cheap 1080p gaming with a good amount of settings turned up.

    There are no desktop 900 series cards yet as slow as the 970m.
    Reply
  • fimbulvinter
    The VGA port is there because Gigabyte knows their market. Real gamers don't mind buying a big and heavy gaming laptop. These thin and light gaming laptops are mostly being bought by business people, who use it as their work laptop when they travel, then relax with some gaming in their hotel room. The lid is very nondescript - completely black with only the Gigabyte logo. Anyone looking at it would never guess it's a gaming laptop.

    I have an older version of this model. Exact same chassis but previous model CPU and GPU.

    But what you said is why I got it. This is a 70% work 30% gaming system for me and I honestly don't think there is too many other gaming laptops out there that don't scream GAMING LAPTOP with garish case lights and logos.

    Although the thing really does scream GAMING LAPTOP when those fans spin up lol
    Reply
  • Manticorp
    I have this laptop - I chose it over the Razer Blade because it was ~£600 cheaper AND I wanted the 1080p display over the 1800p display, and over the MSI ghost pro because I wanted something 14 inch and a bit more inconspicuous - and I have to say, it suits me down to the ground.

    Regarding gaming, it's been able to handle everything I throw at it enormously well. I play Far Cry 4 on a 3K Dell U2515H at max settings and it handles it fine, not an ounce of stutter.

    I also use it at work every day, the battery lasts a good 4-5 hours for normal chores, and it's so unassuming and professional looking that I don't feel conspicuous using it. I have to plug it in if I'm out and about and want to watch a movie, as it'll only go about 1.5-2 hours then.

    But then I go home, plug it into a nice big screen, and that's when the real playtime starts.

    I found the Gigabyte P34W to be the only laptop to offer sleek, inconspicuous looks with extremely good gaming power underneath in a relatively affordable package.

    I have a colleague who bought a Acer V Nitro - I'm so glad the Gigabyte has white backlit keys instead of RED (urgh).

    I absolutely haven't looked back since buying this laptop - it's simply the best on the market if you want to use it for gaming and for work.
    Reply