Systems

GIGABYTE P34W v5 Review

vortez
December 21, 2015 6 Min Read
5 0

GIGABYTE’s super-slim and compact gaming notebook is in the spotlight – featuring Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 16GB DDR4 and NVIDIA’s GTX 970M.


Product on Review: P34W v5
Manufacturer & Sponsor: GIGABYTE
Street Price: £1399 GBP / $1600 USD

With the advent of powerful mobile processors, gaming on-the-go has become an ever increasing leisure activity. Desktop computers certainly have their value but are generally awkward and cumbersome to transport between locations. Delivering the latest technology and hardware specifications is crucial for the manufacturers of such mobile units as they battle it out in a fiercely competitive market.

Today we are set to look at what GIGABYTE has to offer in the P34W v5. This gaming notebook arrives with some exciting hardware courtesy of a number of renowned vendors – including Intel’s Core i7-6700HQ, NVIDIA’s GTX 970M and Samsung’s 951 NVMe M.2 SSD. GIGABYTE claims that P34W v5 is the “world’s most powerful slim 14” laptop”. In our review today, we’ll be seeing if this claim holds true – let’s begin!


GIGABYTE on their P34W v5
P34W v5 features a NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970M, capable of P9,000+ in 3DMARK 11*, ensuring users a solid edge over the competition. Battery Boost 2.0 delivers an uncompromised gaming experience with 30% extra battery life at same frame rate. Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR) upscales the native 1080p to 4K resolution for upgraded viewing pleasure.

Technical Specifications


OS
Windows 10
CPU
6th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ (2.6GHz-3.5GHz)
Chipset
Mobile Intel® HM170 Express Chipset
System Memory
16GB DDR4 2133, 2 slots (Max 32GB)
Video Graphics
Intel® HD Graphics 530
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970M GDDR5 6GB/3GB
Supports NVIDIA® Optimus™ Technology
Display
14″ QHD 2560×1440 Wide Viewing Angle LCD
Storage
– 2.5” Mechanical HDD 1TB 5400RPM
– 1 x Samsung 951 NVMe M.2 SSD
Keyboard Type
Auto-Adjusting Backlit Keyboard
I/O Ports
USB 3.0 (Type-A)*3, USB 3.1(Type-C)*1, HDMI 2.0, D-sub, RJ45, Headphone-out jack (Audio-in Combo), SD Card Reader, DC-in Jack
Audio
1.5 Watt Speaker*2, Microphone
Dolby® Digital Plus™ Home Theater
Communications
LAN:10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet
Wireless LAN: 802.11ac/b/g/n
Bluetooth: Bluetooth V4.1 + LE
Webcam
HD Camera
Security
Kensington Lock
Battery
Li-polymer, 15.2V, 61.25Wh
Dimensions
340(W) x 239(D) x 20.9(H) mm
Weight
~1.74kg (w/ Battery)

Unboxing & Closer Look Video


For this review we’ve produced a video which reveals the packaging, bundle and a close, detailed overview of P34W v5. Please check out the video below for a comprehensive look at this new product:

Benchmarks: Temperatures

For our first benchmark test we observe the max. CPU/GPU temperatures of the system during 3DMark. To report back on the temperatures we use RealTemp and GPU-Z which provide the peak figures.

Benchmarks: Boot Time & Battery Uptime

In this test we observe how fast the boot into Windows 10 is by using a digital stopwatch. Battery uptime is another important observation, for this we charge the notebook up to 100% and then disconnect the charging unit and leave Heaven 4.0 running on a continuous loop until the notebook loses all power.

Benchmarks: Cinebench R15 & x264 HD

CINEBENCH can measure systems with up to 64 processor threads. This test scene contains approximately 2,000 objects which in turn contain more than 300,000 polygons in total, and uses sharp and blurred reflections, area lights, shadows, procedural shaders, antialiasing, and much more. The result is displayed in points (pts). The higher the number, the faster your processor is.



Benchmarks: 3DMark & Heaven 4.0

The new 3DMark includes everything you need to benchmark your hardware. With three all new tests you can bench everything from smartphones and tablets, to notebooks and home PCs, to the latest high-end, multi-GPU gaming desktops. And it’s not just for Windows. With 3DMark you can compare your scores with Android and iOS devices too. It’s the most powerful and flexible 3DMark we’ve ever created.

Benchmarks: DiRT Rally, The Witcher 3, Star Wars Battlefront

The P34W V5 uses the GTX 970M graphics delivery, in this section we test the latest gaming titles to see how effective the 3D capabilities are. We report on the average framerate using FRAPS.

Conclusion


We’ve looked at many notebooks at Vortez but this is the first time we’ve examined a mobile unit from GIGABYTE. Following many days of testing and first-hand experience we’re quite impressed by what P34W v5 has to offer.

By this notebook adopting understated aesthetics, those who prefer a simplistic and discreet theme will favour the design which has been implemented. It’s quite unusual to see a gaming notebook lack an aggressive, bulky approach and also see an absence of flashy LEDs. From a build quality standpoint P34W v5 embodies class – the chassis is robust and feels sturdy.

As far as functionality goes, this notebook carries with it numerous ports which include USB 3.0, USB 3.1 type C and some useful video outputs including HDMI 2.0 – providing up to 4K @ 60Hz.

Inside P34W v5 there is a strong lineup of renowned hardware. At the very heart of this notebook we have the newly released Intel Core i7-6700HQ and since we have Intel Skylake and the HM170 chipset there is support for an array of innovation by way of 16GB DDR4 and 128GB M.2 NVMe SSD. Both these components enhance overall performance in a range of different tasks and have rather a significant effect on a mobile device like P34W v5.

One of the key advantages in P34W v5’s favour is its footprint. This notebook is slim and compact, yet it still packs in a powerful core specification. Having a 14” screen we’d have assumed GIGABYTE to set a maximum resolution of 1080p but instead they’ve permitted 3K. Having a native resolution of 2560×1440 pushes the limits of the GTX 970M and gamers who want to enjoy medium-high settings at such a resolution will unfortunately have to compromise on FPS performance. In this regard we’d have preferred GIGABYTE to stick with 1920×1080 – this resolution scales perfectly on a 14” display and will allow the detail presets to be maxed out without to compromise on performance. P34W v5 is punching above its weight by using such a hi-resolution display.


This notebook is marketed as having up to 7 hours of battery life but it’s important to note: this figure is only idle usage. In our battery uptime test we charged P34W v5 to maximum, detached the charging unit and left Heaven 4.0 on a loop – this obviously represents intensive usage and could be likened to a long gaming session. The result left us with just 1 and a half hours of usage until all of the life drained out of the notebook.

After observing the temperatures of the CPU and GPU after fully loading P34W v5 we have to say the recordings are quite high, as such the cooling fans operate at their maximum RPM when the system is performing demanding tasks such as video editing or playing games. In turn, this results in a considerable amount of noise as shown in our video review.

Arriving with a price-tag of £1399 GBP / $1600 USD, P34W v5 is quite a large sum of money for a mobile device of such size but we do have to remember the core specifications. This notebook is very capable for its size and it of course arrives with 2 years’ warranty which is surely an attractive perk too.

GIGABYTE’s P34W v5 is jam-packed with the latest cutting edge technology. This slim, lightweight notebook is a great companion for the avid gamer who is on-the-go.

VIDEO REVIEW – VORTEZ TV


Pros
+ Sleek, professional design
+ Slim and compact
+ Lightweight and portable
+ Skylake-powered
+ Comes with 16GB DDR4
+ Primary NVMe M.2 SSD
+ USB 3.1 Type C
+ Card slot reader
+ HDMI 2.0 port
+ LED backlit keyboard

Cons
– Native resolution outside of specifications capabilities
– Gets rather hot under load
– Quite noisy when performing demanding tasks

Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.

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