my favourite gaming laptop is on special, maybe will help someone looking for a similar set of specs
NB: looks like Scorptec stopped selling, UMart still available
UMart: https://www.umart.com.au/product/gigabyte-aorus-17g-17-3in-f…
NB: thanks @fidelio same price at PCByte and Amazon (HT):
https://www.amazon.com.au/Gigabyte-17G-i7-11800H-Windows-Gam…
https://www.pcbyte.com.au/p/gigabyte-aorus-17g-xd-73au325sh-…
PS: another useful thing to try: when you register your laptop on AORUS website (for warranty purposes) use the following invite code: INVIT3COD3
check if it gives you an additional year of warranty? somewhere I saw that mentioned.
i7-11800H 8C/16T
16GB DDR4-3200 RAM
512GB PCIe gen4 SSD
second SSD slot available (gen3 PCIe)
RTX 3070 105w
Thunderbolt 4
HDMI 2.1
DP 1.4
mechanical keyboard, per key RGB
FHD 17.3" panel with 100% sRGB and 300hz refresh rate
full metal chassis - machined aluminium
fingerprint reader
99Wh battery
last but not least, 2.5G Ethernet - let's LAN party like it's 1990
pros:
- very efficient cooling
- very sturdy chassis, seriously first laptop I have seen in years that just can't be bent, including the lid
- not a fingerprint magnet like Razer
- mech keyboard with Omron switches is a win
- easy to adjust power and cooling settings in Gigabyte software
- up to date with gen4 PCIe NVMe (one slot out of 2, second is still gen3) and TB4, also HDMI 2.1 and DP 1.4
- haven't encountered a game that wasn't smoothly playable (death stranding, control, Ghostrunner)
cons:
- even though this is compact for 17 incher, it is heavy at 2.7kg
- 105w for 3070 isn't top of the crop, but this means running cool. have never fealt heat on the keyboard
- mech keyboard can be a bit loud
- Gigabyte software has a bit of a learning curve, and it's better to get updated version from the Gigabyte website straight away
- no profiles for RGB, you have one custom setting, or a variety of preprogrammed ones
- battery life is 4+ hours on battery saver
chose this model after trying and returning or selling on Acer Nitro with 3060, Razer 17 Pro with 2080S, Omen 16 with 3060, Gigabyte A5 with 3070, Intel X15 (Kraken) with 3070 etc.
chose this over L5P with 3070 because of:
- full metal build
- mech keyboard with per key RGB
- FHD panel with 300hz vs. QHD and lower refresh rate at L5P
- L5P has long lead time
have fun!
Looks great, thanks for the writeup. I would really like a 16:10 screen, even if 1920x1200. Looks like I will have to wait for the legion model