Verdict
The Gigabyte G5 rest a decent buy despite its older central processor as a result of its good - tone screen and reasonable pricing . Just do n’t buy this play laptop expecting it to last too long off a rush .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Gigabyte G5 is an unusual gaming laptop computer ; but you wo n’t be able to apprise the ways in which it stands out from a look or skin senses . It ’s somewhat average on the exterior .
Gigabyte has deliberately used a tenth - generation Intel chip to bring down price . It ’s old now , and it was old the day this finicky Gigabyte G5 model was released .
But this move actually makes sense in the wide of the mark context of this laptop computer . It means you could pick up an Nvidia RTX 3060 laptop for around £ 950 ; at the sentence of the review , the model could be found online for under £ 800 .
And the characteristic of the laptop that sway me the Gigabyte G5 is a good deal ? The screen . Sure , it ’s only 1080p in resolution , but colour breeding is great , brightness is above average and contrast is exclusively levelheaded .
There are a few compromises , but in my opinion these do n’t take in away from the fact that this is a “ bargain ” .
Design
The Gigabyte G5 is a plain laptop computer . There are no metal panels , no RGB strip on the case , and none of the lover lattice are specially ostentatious . Even the Gigabyte logotype on the lid is the plainest you ’ll find , because this laptop computer is n’t part of the higher - conclusion Aero or Aorus serial .
If you ’re looking for gamer flair , you ’ll see it only in the form of the keyboard . It has a typical typeface and an RGB backlight , although there ’s just one zone . This means the intact keyboard has to be set to the same colour . You do n’t have the full rainbow to choose from , either ; just 15 color . But , honestly , these are the sort of shade most people would employ anyway .
There ’s no “ white ” , but if you pick the colour that appear a dark blue - greyness , it ’s basically off - white .
Assessing the appearance of a laptop computer will always come down to personal penchant , but I prefer the look of the Gigabyte G5 to one of its key rivals , theAcer Nitro 5 . The stripped - back style whole kit , as does the combining of textures .
All the organic structure panels are of a lustrelessness plastic . The palpebra and keyboard home plate are ultra - fluid , while the bottom of the gadget lark a rougher texture . The section below the keyboard is prone to picking up greasy fingerprint quickly , but there ’s a dense feeling to the plastic that gives you more confidence in the Gigabyte ’s G5 build quality .
Other aspects of the build are solid for a “ budget ” gaming laptop . There ’s a bit of flex on pressing down on the centre of the eyelid when the Gigabyte G5 is closed , but it ’s minor – and what do you expect in a show with a plastic outer and a plastic - base display Earth’s surface ? The keyboard ’s flexing is minimal , suggesting there ’s a upstanding sub - form below the top - most plastic surface .
The Gigabyte G5 ’s lively statistics are all middle of the road , too . It weighs 2.1 kilogram , which is slimly light than some models , but not light enough to be notable . The gadget is 31.8 mm thick at its lumpy point , but the bottom corners are bevel to take the border off the substantial thickness .
There ’s nothing too limited going on here , but I do appreciate the way Gigabyte has position the G5 ’s connectors across the three side of the laptop . Along the rear are the ports probable to be used when the laptop computer is setup more like a desktop PC : Ethernet , HDMI and a USB - C with DisplayPort . This is also where you ’ll find the power connector . Clean cable length direction wo n’t be a problem with the G5 .
A full - sized SD card slot model on the right , just where I want it , alongside a USB - A and mini - DisplayPort . On the left hand is an additional USB - A 3.2 , a USB 2.0 and two 3.5 millimeter sockets . One is a combo mic / earpiece jack , the other a dedicated mic input .
I ’d prefer the USB 2.0 to be on the right – it ’s the obvious one to use for a mouse – but , hey , it means left - handed people score a profits for once .
The keyboard itself tender good change of location . Its keys are springier , less snappy , than the best ; but the Gigabyte G5 compare well with other laptops of this class .
In mug up in a NUM pad , the spacing of the received key is squish slightly by a few millimetres . However , I do n’t think it ’s enough to baffle the keyboard ’s puff . I prefer gaming keyboards without NUM domiciliation at 15.6 inches , but Gigabyte in all likelihood sees its inclusion as the dependable wager .
The Gigabyte G5 ’s trackpad is very introductory – a plastic pad with separate unexpended and right buttons . There ’s no clicker in the digs itself . This is a trackpad made with the noesis a computer mouse is likely to be plug into the G5 95 % of the time .
The Gigabyte G5 ’s talker are much like its trackpad : they ’re present because a laptop computer has to have these things . Sound quality is pitiable , lack any real representation of both the crushed and gamey frequency . box-shaped , flat and shy , with an upper - mid range that tends to bunch up into ear - grating inclemency with vocals in some medicine .
Still , budget gambling laptop computer do n’t incline to feature near verbalizer anyway , so this is n’t a catastrophe . It ’s for the most part what I expected – and , at most , marginally worse .
Display
The Gigabyte G5 out excogitation offers no surprises , but the display is far better than I expected . This is a 15.6 - inch Full HD “ IPS - level ” control board with a refresh rate of 144Hz .
color functioning is fantabulous for a budget gaming laptop computer . It covers 100 % of sRGB ( 114 % by intensity ) , 80.8 % of DCI - P3 and 74.8 % of Adobe RGB .
After fully expecting only fond reporting of sRGB , Gigabyte has come up with something especial here . sure as shooting , it is n’t a true wide gamut display , but it looks great in person .
A demarcation of 1100:1 is respectable , and maximum luminosity of 334 nits is above norm for an entry - level gaming laptop . The Gigabyte G5 ’s appeal flexible joint on this screen , a display well than that of the more expensiveMSI Stealth 15MI looked at recently .
move handling is sound but not remarkable , as is to be expected of a panel of this trend . Other panorama are normal gambling laptop fodder . You ca n’t push the screen door back that far – just the standard laptop angle – and the covert open is matt .
Performance
The Gigabyte G5 core spectacles mark it out as a laptop made entirely for gaming , because it habituate the relatively quondam tenth Generation Intel Core i5 - 10500H CPU .
Do n’t get me wrong , this central processor is still easily powerful enough to manage television redaction , Photoshop and other pro - level apps . However , it ’s so thoroughly outpaced by the latest twelfth - Gen CPUs , that those who will use C.P.U. - rife apps as often as they bet games should consider something with a newer chipset . Gigabyte has a twelfth - Gen version coming soon , but the below - RRP pricing of this followup model may still make it a sound bargain .
The Intel Core i5 - 10500H ’s job is n’t to bottleneck the Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics card , and it ’s highly unlikely to in more than 90 % of games .
Gigabyte ’s implementation of the RTX 3060 is also solid . Various specs of this card can draw from 60W to 130W of great power , which is naturally going to have a dramatic impingement on frame rate in games . The Gigabyte G5 coasts along at 95W in its nonremittal modality , and 105W in Performance mode .
This is better than the Acer Nitro 5 , which tap out at 95W ; but not as beneficial as Lenovo Legion 5 . That Lenovo put up full - belt 130W. If you could detect a Legion selling at a similar price online , it ’s plausibly a right stake .
In Performance mode the GPU ticks along at 86ºC , which is fine . However , the cool system is n’t especially refine . While it kicks out a good amount of red-hot tune from each side of the laptop computer , the fans do have more of a noticeable higher - frequency element to their sound than the very effective .
I do n’t find these fans ridiculously loud in a pure decibel sense , even when maxed , but that triplex component to the sound make the noise more obvious . You may want to fiddle with the fan curved shape , since the default take a leak it kick in tatty and early on . The Gigabyte G5 ’s keyboard also is n’t in particular well isolated from the oestrus generated .
After just a few minute of arc , the key begin to warm up . And while the WASD country is less warm than the zona just to the left hand of the NUM pad , the caloric pattern here just does n’t appear extremely optimised .
For example , theLenovo Legion 5has a fan program that stick out out behind the video display , which likely help to direct heat by from the most raw areas . In a money - to - performance computation , the Gigabyte G5 is compelling . But like most budget gaming laptops , a few of the finer point are a small less than idealistic .
Battery Life
electric battery life clearly is n’t a priority of the Gigabyte G5 . It has capability of 48.9Wh – which would be fine in an Ultraportable , but it ’s low for a gambling laptop computer .
After flip-flop on Windows 11 ’s Battery Saver in the nonpayment Performance visibility , the Gigabyte G5 lasted just 2hrs 44mins in PCMark 10 ’s Modern Office bench mark . This is designed to emulate bog - standard , office worker - style chore .
It ’s a pretty dreadful event . I re - take to the woods the test using the laptop computer ’s Power Saving mode , a Gigabyte lineament accessible from within one of the pre - installed apps . The Gigabyte G5 lasted 3hrs 37mins . This is closer to the peat bog - stock gambling laptop battery life story of 4 - 4.5 hours , but still poor .
However , this does n’t have to be a deal - circuit breaker if you approach the Gigabyte G5 with the right mindset . Most higher - major power play PCs deliver fairly poor barrage fire liveliness , peculiarly those with Intel mainframe . And gaming on electric battery power is never a swell experience . You mislay a lot of the GPU ’s top executive , and even with a huge content battery , 90 minutes is about the limit with a properly taxing title .
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Should you buy it?
This is a good - value laptop with a fair potent art card and a commendable display for a lower - cost modality .
This Gigabyte G5 good example has an erstwhile 10th - Gen Intel CPU . While it does n’t involve punt performance importantly in most cases , you may require to hold off for the 12th - Gen version unless you find it sell at a good price .
Final Thoughts
The Gigabyte G5 is a bite of an oddball – a gaming laptop with a now fairly ancient 10th - coevals Intel CPU that , somehow , I sense able to recommend to plenty of family line .
Why ? Three key factors are big hits : gaming carrying into action , show quality and pricing . sustain a slimly previous central processing unit does n’t matter that much when , at least for play , the GPU is go to provide the operation roof .
The screen is far more punchy than you might anticipate , offer excellent color for a laptop of this grade and above - average luminance .
sure enough , the utterer are rubbish , battery life is inadequate and the design may be a chip savorless for RGB nuts . But the only big problem here is that this juncture you could often regain old , categorically superscript play laptops on cut-rate sale at just as compelling monetary value . It ’s a affair of the Nvidia RTX 3060 having been around for quite a while at this point .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every laptop we critique die through a series of consistent checks designed to approximate fundamental things admit build quality , performance , screen quality and barrage life .
These include formal synthetic benchmarks and scripted trial , plus a serial of real - world checks , such as how well it runs the most frequently used apps .
We also make certain to use every laptop computer we review as our primary gadget to ensure our reappraisal is as precise as possible .
FAQs
The RTX 3060 graphics carte has hardware - spirit level support for beam trace core .
There ’s no Thunderbolt port here , just a slower USB - C.
The display supports a 144Hz refresh pace .
Test Data
Full Specs
Sustainability
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As part of this charge , whenever we brush up a ware we send the company a serial of questions to avail us approximate and make transparent the impingement the equipment has on the surround .
We currently have n’t received answers to the interrogation on this product , but will update this page the moment we do . you could see a elaborate breakdown of the questions we demand and why in oursustainability information page .
