Aorus X7 Pro V5 Gaming Laptop Review

The previous model used two Transcend 512GB SSDs in RAID 0 plus a 1TB hard disk, but in 2016, Aorus appears to be using Samsung's SM951 M.2 SSDs in its gaming laptops, and there's two of them in our sample (as well as the 1TB hard disk). The sensible option would be a single 512GB drive, but you could even use three as there's another free M.2 slot. As with its predecessor, the graphics card of choice is the GTX 970M - two of them in SLI - so there probably won't be too much of an improvement performance-wise due to Nvidia not having anything newer yet.


The chassis is all but identical too, with a largely aluminium construction, except the weight has increased a little from 3.1kg to 3.2kg, with a similar single-piece touchpad and buttons. The finish is smooth and thankfully the button areas aren't touch-sensitive and are just textured although, like its predecessor, the force required to activate the buttons varies quite a bit from the edge of the pad to centre.


The scissor switch keys offer up no complaints and have better feedback and aren't as harsh as some slimmer laptops, so are quite comfortable to use for long periods. As you'd expect, the keyboard is backlit in white too with full-size keys and a numpad. The same row of macro keys are present too and these, like the older model, can be customised using the included software to execute macros or other tasks such as fan speed modes.


The included Command and Control software plus Macro suite make good use of the additional macro keys with full customisation of shortcuts and macros. The Command and Control software has received a slight tweak with the X7 Pro V5 thanks to the addition of its unlocked CPU, and there's now an option to boost the multiplier up from its standard 36x to 40x. However, this didn't seem to do anything, whereas using Intel's Extreme tuning Utility did work and offered more control too.

Specifications

• CPU Intel Core i7-6820HK (2.7GHz/ 3.6GHz turbo-boost)
  
• CPU cores Four physical (quad core) + Hyper-threading
  
• Memory 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 2,133MHz
  
• Graphics 2 x Nvidia GeForce GTX970M 6GB
  
• Storage 2 x Samsung 256GB SM951 M.2 NVMe SSD
  
• Chipset Intel H170
  
• Screen 17.3inin, 1,920 x 1,080 matt anti-glare, IPS, non-touch
  
• Optical Drive None
  
• Dimensions (mm) 428 x 305 x 25 (W x D x H)
  
• Networking 1 x Killer E2200 Gigabit LAN, 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth V4.1
  
• Audio Mic, headphone, 2 x 2W speakers
  
• Keyboard backlighting Yes
  
• Battery Li-Po 94.24Wh
  
• Webcam HD
  
• Operating system Windows 10
  
• Weight 3.2kg (with battery)
  
• Ports 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, 3 x USB 3, 1 x Mini-DisplayPort, 1 x HDMI 2.0, 1 x VGA, SD card reader, 1 x LAN
  
• Warranty 2 Year Global collect and return, parts and labour
  
• Extras USB driver flash drive