A Closer Look

The AORUS 15G XB is at first glance a sleek and clean-looking notebook with an illuminated logo dead center. Its aluminium shell and plastic bottom plate feel solid, and it's a nice step up compared to the overly gaming-centric, nearly all-plastic designs of the past. But in light of stiff competition, it's not exactly amazing, either. Sure, the illuminated logo can be considered a bit tacky, but it's not nearly as in your face as the illuminated light bars and other eccentric design choices I have seen over the years. As such, I commend Gigabyte for keeping things a little bit simpler and a bit more professional here.

Flipping the unit over and looking at the bottom, we can see Gigabyte wants to keep the unit cool since it has proper venting for components. While this does mean dust will make its way in more quickly, the upside is greatly reduced temperatures, which typically means more performance.


The front edge is clean, with only a small vented opening breaking up the otherwise solid fascia. On the left side is a large vented area for exhausting heat. Regarding connectivity, you will find 1x HDMI 2.0 port, 1x Mini DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A port, 1x combo audio jack, and an RJ45 Ethernet jack.


The unit's back has a massive exhaust vent for the two cooling fans, and better yet, it's not completely boxed in or overly complex in design. Obviously, with fewer obstructions, airflow will see an improvement, which is a good thing. On the right side are 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports, 1x Thunderbolt 3 (Type-C) port, 1x SD card reader, and the power plug. As for the vented opening, it's much the same as on the other side in that it functions as another exhaust port.


The keyboard is backlit and mechanical, which is certainly quite nice, but the OMRON switches for said keyboard are the biggest surprise here. According to Gigabyte, this is the first laptop with OMRON mechanical switches, so I cannot attest to their reliability. However, considering my experience with OMRON switches in various gaming mice and how well they have held up, I suspect these will hold up just fine, but again, only time will tell. That said, it doesn't hurt that they have a 15 million keystroke lifespan. As for how they feel, I would describe them as similar to MX Blue mechanical switches, but not quite as loud, and with a resistance similar to my keyboard with MX Red switches. It's a weird combination, but I was able to adjust quickly and had no issues typing at my typical pace.

The trackpad is average in regards to size, but tracking felt accurate while completing daily tasks. When it comes to the left and right buttons, they felt good but not great. Compared to the middle, the outer edges had to be depressed a bit further for a click to register. It is not a drastic difference and can be considered much improved over the more typically mushy trackpad buttons I have used on older gaming laptops. However, I would still like it slightly firmer on those outer corners. Regardless, the trackpad is above average overall, but it won't wow you. When it comes to gaming or any kind of productivity work, you will probably want a traditional mouse anyway.

Finally, the terrible 720p webcam is positioned right above the power button beneath the display. The little privacy cover is a nice touch, but unless you really need to use it, leave the cover in place and just forget it exists as the picture quality is terrible.