The Gigabyte G5 has a design that is understated and straightforward: everything is black. The only indications that this laptop is a gaming laptop are the faintly textured pattern on one corner of the lid, the little Gigabyte logo on the back, and the triangle ventilation slots on the rear and sides of the device when it is closed. The keyboard and screen are both surrounded by tiny bezels, which contribute to the overall appealing restraint of the device when it is opened. While I was working in a coffee shop, I did not appear to be out of place wearing it.
In spite of the fact that it is not the lightest or tiniest laptop, the tiny bezels that surround it make it quite compact, and it fits beautifully in my small bag. To the extent that I was concerned, simply by looking at it, that it would not be able to meet the requirements of the components that are contained within the laptop, the fact that the 150W charging brick is so little is a significant advantage. It is reassuringly solid, and the plastic frame of the laptop has a matte texture that gives the impression that it is made of aluminium or something similar. The hinges ensure that the screen is securely fastened in place, and the base of the laptop is such that it is rigid that I could pick it up with one hand without having to worry about it stretching.
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]There is a full set of function keys and a number pad on the keyboard, which is something that is not typical of laptops with a screen size of 15.6 inches. This is a very ingenious use of space. On the other hand, the keys themselves have a rather cheap feel to them, and if you push on their corners, they will jiggle in place. However, this is to be anticipated for a laptop that costs this much.
Specifications
- OS: Windows 11 Home
- CPU: 12th Gen Intel i5-12500H processor (up to 4.5GHz)
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 laptop GPU 8GB GDDR6, max power 75W
- Display: 15.6” full HD (1080p), 144Hz
- Memory: 2x DDR4-3200 slots, max 64GB total (machine tested had 16GB RAM)
- Storage: 512GB SSD
Where to Get Gigabyte G5?
The RTX 4060 in the laptop is great. With the best settings, it sped through every game I put it through with smooth, steady frame rates. Forza Horizon 5, which is a very demanding game, had an in-game benchmark that ran at an average FPS of 81. This is about what you can expect from some computers that have RTX 3070s. That was the same thing I got while moving around the game, and I never saw any slowness.
With less demanding games, frame rates should be close to or above 100, and the G5’s 144Hz refresh rate can handle all of them. I played Overwatch 2 a lot, and even in the busiest firefights, I never saw any stuttering, screen breaking, slowdown, or input delay.
That’s the last version of the i5 CPU. This laptop doesn’t have a PCMark 10 Benchmark score of more than 6000, so it’s not great for heavy work or video editing. But it’s fine for this price, and the CPU is fast enough that it doesn’t slow down the RTX 4060, which is what matters most when you’re gaming. The laptop never had trouble running multiple program at once or switching between a lot of Chrome tabs when it wasn’t being used for games.