Aorus X5S v5 review

Aorus X5S v5

The Aorus X5S v5 should have no business being this powerful while being so light and thin. At just 22.9mm, or under an inch thick, the updated notebook has an Nvidia GTX 980M graphics card hiding within its aluminum chassis, along with a 256GB solid-state drive (SSD) and a 1TB hard disk drive (HDD).

There's no question it's a hardcore gaming machine, either. The Aorus X5S v5 has a ton of gaming-specific features beyond its powerful graphics capabilities and 15.6-inch 4K screen. On the far right of the full-sized keyboard are five programmable macro keys. There's even the option to add a dedicated hardware encoder, which relieves the strain of live streaming and recording gameplay from the CPU.

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As far as its contemporaries, the Aorus X5S v5 is on par with the Gigabyte P35Xregarding the total package. For the most part, the P35X is evenly matched. In fact, they're almost identical, with the big exception being battery life. The 15-inch Aorus falls short of the monster that is the Acer Predator 15 in terms of pure performance, but has a 4K-resolution screen where the latter tops out at 1080p.

Unmistakably a gamer's laptop

High-performance laptops seem to be following the design examples set forth by high-performance automobiles, and the X5S v5 is no exception. Its smooth lines give way to sharp points and angular vents that would look like right at home on a Lamborghini.

The black aluminum body is interrupted by several exhaust ports, which helps facilitate the necessary heavy cooling. The side vents also continue the super-car feel, and the vents in the rear leave no question that there's a lot going on under the hood.

The lid comes to a slight point at its peak, with a small raised line running about an eighth of the way down. The Aorus logo, a hawkish sigil that would be right at home on war machines in a futuristic anime, lights up when the laptop is on and pluses when charging. When not powered up, however, the laptop logo is just as visible, thanks to being silver and a polished finish that reflects light like a mirror.

The full-size keyboard has low, high and off backlighting settings. Programmable macro keys run in a vertical line to the left of the keyboard, with the top key highlighted in one of five colors, depending on which of the three sets of macros are in use.

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The keys themselves have a scissor-type mechanism with a nanometer-too-little travel to feel tactile/clicky. They're also pretty close together, to save space for the extra row of macro keys. Between the lack of satisfying travel and the tightness of the keys, I find my fingers tripping up more than usual when typing

Around the matte-finish screen is a substantial bezel. The sides and bottom of the screen are half an inch or so from the edge of the lid, while the lip up on top is a bit smaller.

Just above the keyboard's number pad is the Aorus logo, which also acts as a light up power button. The touch pad also has a version of the Eagle insignia in low-contrast grey against the rest of the laptop's black aluminum.

The black interior is fairly smudge resistant, but keep a microfiber cloth on hand to keep your laptop free from finger- and hand-prints. The review version I tested came with a microfiber cloth included, which is a welcome touch.

Overall, this notebook looks 100% the part of a performance gaming laptop, and Aorus wants you to let everyone around you know it. There is no mistaking this laptop for a business class or casual machine – only gamers need apply.

One of these things is not like the other

One jarring experience with the Aorus X5S v5 is using its proprietary software. The macros, performance gauges and command and control software all have a common theme that looks absolutely out of place among the smooth, clean lines of Windows 10.

Instead of trying to match the overall feel of the OS, Aorus' software tries to match itself to the design of the laptop itself. The result is an unattractive user interface (UI) that sticks out and ends up looking cheap despite its usefulness.

Spec sheet

The specs on the updated Aorus X5S v5 provided for testing are as follows:

• CPU: 2.7GHz Intel Core i7-6700HQ (quad-core, 6MB cache, up to 3.5GHz with Turbo Boost)
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M (8GB GDDR5 VRAM)
• Memory: 16GB DDR4 (2,133 MHz)
• Screen: 15.6-inch, 3,840 x 2,160 IPS wide angle view display
• Storage: 265GB SSD (M.2), 1TB HDD (7,200 rpm)
• Connectivity: Killer LAN, Intel AC 7265 802.11ac Wireless
• Camera: HD Webcam
• Weight: 5.51 pound, 2.5kg
• Size: 15.35 x 10.72 x 0.9 inches, 390 x 272 x 22.9 mm (W x D x H)

As tested, the X5S v5 costs $2,299 (about ₤1,610, AU$3,068). There are three slots for SSDs up to 512GB each, meaning you have the option of maxing out your flash storage at over 1.5TB – and that's in addition to the 1TB HDD.

The option to expand flash storage to such huge capacities is great news for anyone who wants to store their programs and applications on an SSD. Programs like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom get a huge performance boost when booting from a solid state drive. Games also see shorter loading times running on an flash storage, and with 60GB-plus being the standard size for modern triple-A games, all that potential wiggle room future-proofs the X5S v5.

When it comes to resolution, the X5S v5 and the P35X are in a dead-heat, with both beating out the Predator's standard 1920 x 1080. If you have the bandwidth, I highly recommend checking out YouTube's 4K offerings. You've never seen such compelling blades of grass in your life. The super bright colors on the X5S v5, coupled with the crispness of UHD, make b-roll footage something you'll actively watch.

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I find myself watching, and then rewatching, wildlife videos on YouTube, simply because they looked so amazing. The screen is also bright enough that I was able to use it in direct sunlight, and there's a light sensor above the screen that automatically adjusts brightness based on the ambient lighting.

The X5S v5 can also hook up to an external monitor for full 4K output through its HDMI 2.0 port.

Final verdict

The Aorus X5S v5 is an excellent machine that offers tons of gamer-specific features beyond just its pretty screen and processing power. The bright, colorful display is adequately powered, and it handles productivity applications as easily as gaming. Part of the fun for me was seeing just how great my older games looked with their settings and resolution turned to the max.

In benchmarking, it's evenly matched with the Gigabyte P35X in every area except battery life. It falls short of the glory that is the Acer Predator 15, but makes up for it with a gorgeous, 4K screen. The Killer LAN, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, optional on-board video encoder for streaming or recording, and the comfortable amount of available storage makes the X5S v5 a serious contender for any power gamer out there looking for a beastly machine to impress their friends.

When it comes to its peers, the Aorus X5S v5 falls just short of both the P35X and Predator 15. It's a great looking laptop with plenty of power, and with a few upgrades to RAM and internal storage, it would be the top-dog. As is, however, the battery life holds it back from greatness. While a full 4K display is certainly sharper, I would have preferred the old UHD screen if it meant an upgraded battery.

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