Today at CES 2022, Gigabyte showed off two new versions of its flagship Aorus and Aero laptops, as well as a huge 55-inch gaming display.
More specifically, the Aorus 17 has been updated with the latest mobile components from Intel and Nvidia, and it has also undergone a slight design change. Meanwhile, the pro-creator-oriented Aero 16 laptop also features a new look, an updated OLED screen, and the latest parts. Finally, a brand-new 55-inch 4K-resolution gaming display, the Gigabyte S55U, was also revealed.
Aorus 17: Built for Enthusiast Gaming
The Aorus 17 is one of Gigabyte’s most powerful laptop offerings. (We last tested it in mid-2021, at the launch of Intel’s Tiger Lake-H mobile CPUs.) The new version is upping the ante. It will be outfitted with Nvidia’s newly announced RTX 3080 Ti mobile graphics processor, which (as of CES 2022) is Nvidia’s most powerful mobile GPU offering.
The laptop will feature Intel’s fresh 12th Generation “Alder Lake H” mobile processors; also introduced at the show. At this stage, Gigabyte hasn’t shared exactly which processor models will be available in this system.
The chassis has been tweaked, notably around the display. This 17-inch system now sports much thinner bezels, accommodating the screen real estate without needing to make the footprint larger than necessary. The display itself also has been upped to a blistering-fast 360Hz refresh rate, the top panel speed among laptops of the moment. That ceiling makes sense; it will take a powerful GPU like the RTX 3080 Ti to leverage that kind of lofty refresh rate, and even then only in a subset of games.
Aero 16: More Power for Content Creators
The Aero line has offered fast components and a great display in past models, and that’s no different in the new Aero 16. (See our review of the early-2021 Aero 15 OLED XC, which we tagged with an Editors’ Choice award.)
The main draw on this new model is, again, the display, here for its size and full range of features. The 16-inch screen is a new size for the Aero line, and at a 16:10 aspect ratio, it makes for a roomier experience for digital content creators.
It also doesn’t hurt that the screen is both 4K-resolution and an OLED panel like in the 2021 model we reviewed, resulting in a brilliant and bigger screen for editing and content work. Colors should be bright, accurate, and (thanks to 100% DCI-P3 coverage) good for tasks that require precision color. To that end, the display is certified by both X-Rite and Pantone.
Inside, to power your creations, are Intel’s 12th Generation processors and Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-Series GPUs. The laptop also ships with the Aero hub port expansion attachment, which plugs into the USB Type-A port to add HDMI, mini DisplayPort, and an Ethernet jack (as well as a USB-A port to replace the one it’s connected to).
The Gigabyte S55U: One Massive Monitor for Gamers
A 55-inch screen may sound more like a TV than a monitor to you, but this new mega-screen is designed for PC gaming, with decidedly monitor-style specs. It is not the first at this size; we reviewed Alienware’s 55-inch offering, an OLED beast, a few years back.
The Gigabyte S55U features a 4K resolution, and important for gamers, a 120Hz refresh rate. It uses quantum dot color technology, and Gigabyte says its 4K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate will be compatible with the latest game consoles.
Some actual high-end televisions these days do offer high refresh rates, as well, so this aspect of the S55U isn’t unique to the screen size. Still, it is listed as a big-format display for all usage cases, PC included. Check back for more details on these products when they become available.
