Full Load Temperatures
Full load temperatures for the CPU reached a max of 89 degrees Celsius, while the GeForce RTX 2070 (with Max-Q) hit a high of 75 degrees Celsius. Although it may seem high, Gigabyte’s Supra Cool 2 handled it very well … as comes with two 71-blade fans, 5 heat pipes and 11 intake/exhaust vents.
60Hz Refresh Rate @ 4K
Most 4K panels I know have a maximum refresh rate of 60Hz. It’s acceptable for casual gaming and for everyday use. I know everyone expects 120Hz or 144Hz, but come on … it is 4K display after all. And anything higher than 60Hz on a 4K panel, will cost you and arm and a leg!
Verdict and Conclusion
I have to say the Gigabyte AERO 15 OLED XA (with Max-Q) is an extremely well designed laptop, that offers a nice sleek looking design. Build quality is very good and it does feels pretty solid in your hand. With a thickness of only 20mm and weighing in at a respectable 2 kgs, the Gigabyte AERO 15 OLED XA is pretty slim and light-weight for a laptop that offers so much.
When I heard that the Gigabyte AERO 15 OLED XA comes with on onboard GeForce RTX 2070, I was super excited. But on closer inspection, I realized it was a RTX 2070 with Max-Q.
During our tests, we managed to get a high sore of 5,743 in PCMark 10, and in 3DMark Port Royal, we managed to get 3,244 with a s DLSS score of 21.98 fps. For Timespy and Firestrike, we got scores of 5,761 and 13,591 respectively.
After some in-depth reading about Max-Q, I have to say … I’m not a real fan of it. Basically, it’s a mobile version of the RTX 20 series with lower power consumption, and therefore less heat. This allows manufacturers to design and build thinner laptops. This may sound all good … but but there’s a price. The Max-Q version of the RTX graphics cards tend perform slightly below that of non Max-Q cards.
But don’t let this deter you. The Gigabyte AERO 15 OLED XA is one of the thinnest 15.6-inch 4K laptops I’ve tested to date. It’s powered by a 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H, along with a RTX 2070 (with Max-Q), 16Gb os Samsung DDR4-2666 ram, an Intel 760p SSD with a capacity of 512GB, and much much more.
And if that’s not enough to sway you, then just take a look at the list of amazing features that’s included. For example, you get a gorgeous 15.6-inch 4K screen (made by Samsung) with super thin 3mm bezel. There’s also the Gigabyte Fusion RGB Per-Key keyboard, Thunderbolt 3 support, Nahimic 3 3D audio and a Killer™ Ethernet E2600, as well as a Killer™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 connectivity.
For battery life, you should get around 8.5 hours of use … that’s according to Gigabyte. In real-life, I got between 5-6 hours of heavy usage.
All-in-all, I do like this laptop. It has everything I need and more … I just wished they didn’t use the RTX 2070 with Max-Q, but instead a standard RTX 2070 would have been better. But having said that, it is one of the thinnest 15.6-inch 4K laptops I’ve tested to date. Without Max-Q, it wouldn’t have been possible,
You can buy the Gigabyte AERO 15 OLED XA
Pros:
- Intel 9th Gen Core i7-9750H @ 2.6GHZ (max boost 4.5 GHz)
- Very good performance
- Very thin only 20mm thickness
- Lightweight at 2 kgs (4.4 lbs)
- GeForce RTX 2070 (with Max-Q) and 8GB GDDR6 ram
- 512GB Intel 760p SSD
- 16GB Samsung DDR4-2666 ram
- 15.6-inch 4K Sumsung panel with 3mm bezel
- Killer LAN with Wifi 6
- Per-Key RGB keyboard
Cons:
- Some users may not like the GeForce RTX 2070 with Max-Q
- Pricey
Final Thoughts
The Gigabyte AERO 15 OLED XA
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