PROS
- Thin and light
- Great performance
- Solid IPS display
CONS
- Very expensive
- Poor build quality
- Inconsistent trackpad
KEY FEATURES
- 2.6GHz Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor
- 8GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M
- 256GB SSD + 1TB hard disk
- 15.6in 1,920x1,080-pixel display
- 8GB RAM
- 2.3kg
- Manufacturer: Gigabyte
- Review Price: £1,600.00
What is the Gigabyte P35Xv5?
Portability or performance – this is the compromise we usually have to make when buying a gaming notebook. Traditionally, such machines are big and bulky behemoths that stretch the meaning of portable about as far as it can go.
Not the Gigabyte P35Xv5, however. This capable gaming machine, featuring Intel’s latest Skylake processor with a choice of Nvidia 970M or 980M graphics card, is one of the thinnest and lightest gaming notebooks on the market.
But is its solid gaming performance and slimline design enough to warrant it’s £1,600 price tag? I’m not convinced.
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Let’s start with the good news. Weighing 2.4kg, the 15.6-inch Gigabyte P35Xv5 is only 350g heavier than the 15.4-inch MacBook Pro and close to half the weight of the competing Asus ROG G752. It isn't exactly featherweight though – you’ll definitely still notice it if you carry it around in your backpack – but for a gaming notebook it’s impressively light.
The build quality leaves a lot to be desired, too. Put simply, it’s cheap, plasticky and doesn't offer the premium quality you’d expect of such an expensive laptop. There’s a gap between the bezel and the display, the body creaks and flexes, and in one model I tested, there was a distinct buzzing sound when using the headphone port. This was worse when connected to the power supply, suggesting it’s an electrical whine.
In terms of connectivity, the P35Xv5 has everything you need, including the latest USB Type-C port, 3 x USB 3, a full-size HDMI input, card reader, RJ-45 Ethernet, D-SUB, mini-DisplayPort, Kensington lock, mic in, headphones out and DC power port.
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Gigabyte hasn't made any significant changes to the body of its gaming notebooks for a few years now, and that’s evident in the fact that the smaller USB Type-C port is surrounded by a bright orange plastic filler in place of where an older standard USB port sat. Not exactly what we'd describe as an elegant solution.
The SSD uses the faster M.2 PCI Express interface (as opposed to SATA), which means it can reach even higher speeds. The P35 reached incredibly fast 1,861MB/sec read speeds in the AS SSD benchmark, which is around 3x faster than a traditional SATA-6 Samsung 850 EVO SSD. Write times weren’t nearly as impressive, reaching just 130MB/sec.
Overall, the fast SSD means that the P35Xv5 feels incredibly fast to use; however, you’ll struggle to fit your Steam library on it. So games, video files and larger applications are best installed on the larger 1TB 7,200rpm hard disk.
Gigabyte P35Xv5 – Display
While the P35Xv5 is available with a 4K resolution display, the model on review has a far more sensible Full HD 1080p display. With a 15.6-inch screen size this equates to 141 pixels per inch, which is reasonably sharp, although individual pixels are still noticeable on closer inspection.
I say "sensible", because as nice and sharp as a 4K (3,840 x 2,160) resolution would be, it would absolutely destroy your frame rate in games (not to mention battery life). Even the Nvidia GTX 980M in this version of the P35Xv5 would struggle to run modern games at 30fps in 4K. Sticking with a 1080p resolution means you can enjoy much higher frame rates and have a far smoother gaming experience, which is pretty important for a gaming notebook.
In terms of the screen quality, the IPS panel is actually pretty good. Viewing angles are solid and colours are vibrant. At 306 nits, it’s bright too. You won’t have a problem seeing the screen if you’re using the laptop in a bright environment.
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