GIGABYTE – 16″ 165Hz Gaming Laptop IPS – Intel i7-13650HX with 32GB RAM – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 – 1TB SSD – Black

I’ve happily used many GIGABYTE PC components over the years, and this is the first time that I have used a prebuilt system so I was excited to try it out. Packaging and unboxing G6X was a relatively pleasant experience. Components were easy to find and minimal usage of useless plastic bags and wraps. There was a small baggie with a couple of peculiar foam strips with double sided tape that I have no idea what they are supposed to be used for. Quick start guide printed in about 20 different languages basically just shows how to plug in and turn on (Duh!) and describes the exterior ports and components. I did download the full user manual which describes Fn keys and other features in more detail. I did have to put in a bit of effort to find in on the GIGABYTE website. The case is handsome with slight beveled edges and some unobtrusive X branding graphic screen prints on the lid and base. There are large fan vents on back and sides with orange-colored grills that look nice. There are 2 USB-A ports on the sides and USB-C ports on the right and back. The power connector is in the back along with LAN and HDMI. I’m not a big fan of the power connector being in the center on the back of the unit with the right-angle power connector. For some reason it just seems to be in the way much of the time. As far as the specs go this is a very capable laptop. The i7-13650 is more than sufficient for gaming and could handle many other more demanding apps as well. 32GB of DDR5 is also very handy for running multiple things and not having to worry about maxing out memory usage. Only having 1TB of storage is rather disappointing and somewhat inadequate with many popular game titles easily using 100GB you’ll quickly run out of space. The specs state that there are 2 M.2 SSD slots so I guess you could add more, however, there is no documentation regarding how to do it. It looks like if you remove the 12 or so bottom plate screws it will give you direct access to where the drive slots are but I could not tell for sure. The graphics with the GeForce RTX4060 is great and I was able to run most games at max settings even when only on battery. The display is vibrant with great color reproduction and at 165Hz was super smooth on every game that I tried on it. The battery life is average for normal usage. I did not do any formal battery level testing but can say that it drains fast when gaming. After about 45 minutes playing the battery went from nearly full to about 35%. You will want definitely to be plugged in. With the Control Center app you can set a max charge level if leaving it plugged in most of the time to extend battery life. Was kind of disappointed with the camera quality, very grainy image and not Windows Hello Compatible so you’re stuck with only being able to unlock Windows with a PIN as there also is no fingerprint reader. The built-in speakers are nothing to really get excited about and are average. I guess most gamers will be using some sort of headphones anyway. I did really like the GIGABYTE Control center. It is one of the nicest tuning apps I’ve used. It is easy to use and gives you quick access to basic performance tweaking, fan control, lighting, and charging options. It also has a FlexKey section that allows you to assign keyboard and mouse macros that I did not have a chance to try out. When fan control is set to auto since there is lots of ventilation and good airflow, fans do not have to run that fast and there is minimal noise. I found that to be sufficient for everything that I ran. The keyboard layout is good, and I like having a number pad. It’s probably not going to be your main gaming keyboard anyway but when you must use it there is a pretty good responsive feel and adequate key travel. The backlight is RGB which adds a nice touch. There are many Fn keys to perform various tasks such as disabling the Touchpad among others that are not marked on the keys but documented in the manual Not sure why bundled apps included the Minecraft educational edition which you can’t log into unless you have a valid school account. The Xbox ultimate game pass 1 month trial included was nice and you can download the regular consumer version of Minecraft to replace the edu installed version. GIGABYTE could also do a little better job with English translations. There is a System Update progress status window that looks nice, but the text grammar was really poor.

I recently received the GIGABYTE G6X 9KG 16” 165Hz Gaming Laptop IPS, and to be honest, I have positive but mixed emotions about my review of this device. To get going, I want to say out the door that this laptop is now my everyday computer, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. I love the upgrade to the NVIDIA RTX 4060 on an INTEL 13th Gen i7 from a 3060 on an INTEL 11th Gen i9, but more than that, I can feel and see the upgrade perks during the use of the G6X. Right out of the box, the GIGABYTE G6X impresses with its sleek design and top-notch build quality. The laptop boasts an excellent bevel to screen ratio and edges that draw inspiration from what seems to be luxury sports cars. While the exterior may not be as flashy as some other models, the G6X features tasteful etching-like markings and copper rear vent underlays. The build feels robust and well-crafted, a testament to its durability. Setup was quick and as easy as setting up any Windows device with updates and what not. Having a bit of knowledge on this, I was able to go and make some necessary changes to the NVIDIA processor and how Windows delegates activities between the internal Intel graphics processor and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060. I would highly recommend watching an online video to set up yours as well for optimal performance. One major green flag that I cannot say enough wonderful things in favor of and worth five stars by itself is the fact that this unit came preinstalled with a 1TB SSD, which is pretty standard but also comes with 32 glorious GB of DDR5 RAM. In most cases these are both enough of each to get you by but both are expandable too. Like a high-quality display, most companies will find cheaper options and forgo frills items like RAM to keep the unit’s overall cost down. The display is one area where GIGABYTE has clearly set a difference between its price ranges with regard to its current 2024 releases. I think the screen-to-bezel ratio of 90% provides an immersive experience on a big 16” WUXGA display. The darks, however, are dark, and it is a struggle to squeeze a decent brightness out without sacrificing something else, like saturation. The unit out of the box is silent while running. GIGABYTE offers internal monitoring, RGB controls, and an overclocking program. I typically run any game at as much max as a system will give me. This system does giveth! The 4060 rips every ounce of FPS possible, and then some. The 165Hz, as advertised, is a bit hard to maintain on modern games, which pull a lot of resources. However, it is achievable or almost there consistently on older games or operating at lower graphic output ranges. I ran a free benchmark software that I have been using for a while to see if my experience was from a place of actual impressiveness or if I was just driving a newer car than mine. The included pictures show that at 1080P Extreme, the only internally tweaked package boasts a 6248, putting it in the top-tier performance percentile for the configuration. But if you dial back output requirements, you will find the goldilocks of its operational configuration. For the record, the score, as I could tell for a 4060 on a 13th Gen i7, was a top-five score within the 1080P Medium field. The audio is another area where I would say that the G6X could be better, but I am not overly dissatisfied. The out is loud but not entrancing and does not travel over large areas well acoustically. For gaming, I recommend a headset. For sitting up in bed streaming a movie or series it is fine and amply loud enough. As for the battery, it is a gaming laptop, and to get high-end performance, you will suck down juice. I would suggest always having the cord handy. My cons are the cooling and keys. The top and side shells stay cool to the touch thanks to the aerodynamic and ergonomically designed WINDFORCE cooling system. The keys and the base are like ovens, though, which, combined with the sticky soft keys themselves, makes it a no-go for me for any extended session period, short of writing this. This is where my mixed emotions derive from. Again, I am impressed, amazed, and currently enamored with this computer. But I would recommend this unit as a fixed-placement desktop laptop that utilizes a cooling mat, extended displays, and aftermarket peripherals. Sidenote: I do like the inclusion of a ten-key since the display provides the board room. My concluding thoughts are that the GIGABYTE 16” G6X 9KG gaming laptop offers exceptional performance that anyone should be able to appreciate. With only minor tweaks, you can open the box and run a top-tier device from what I would call a budget gaming laptop. I do not think you can go wrong with this unit, and under the right circumstances, it could definitely be a differentiator in your gameplay.