Review: Aorus X3 Plus v3

Introduction and design

When you think of a laptop built for gaming, you'll probably be picturing something with a big case and a wide screen, probably in the region of 15.6- or even 17.3-inches. This larger size has become the standard for gaming laptops, but there are a number of advantages to a smaller chassis, the most obvious being portability.

Aorus has taken the concept of the small form-factor ultra-portable gaming laptop to the extreme with the X3 Plus v3, setting out with the intent to create the most powerful notebook-sized PC currently available.

If you're dropping £1,800 (around $2,780, or AU$3,500) on a laptop – or anything else for that matter – you'll want to feel that you're getting your money's worth, and unboxing the Aorus V3 certainly makes the right impression.

It arrives in a stylish black and orange presentation box, with all the components individually wrapped in fabric bags and a soft cloth suitable for cleaning the keyboard and screen. It looks like what it is – a top quality product intended for the discerning buyer who's looking for something a bit special.

Design

The device itself is also beautifully presented, with a sleek and stylish flat black case featuring a slightly pointed leading edge and gaping exhaust vents at the back, design motifs reminiscent of a high-end supercar or a stealth fighter jet. It is very slim and light, a shade less than 23mm thick and weighing 1.87kg including the battery, the sort of size and weight that you can take virtually anywhere.

The case is aluminium on the top and bottom, giving it a nice solid feel despite its light weight, with only the moulded back and sides being made of plastic. Open it up and you're looking at a 14-inch screen with a narrow quarter-inch bezel, and a full-sized backlit keyboard with an intriguing row of extra keys down the left-hand side.

The case carries a comprehensive array of ports, including HDMI and Mini DisplayPort outputs, three USB 3.0 sockets, headphone and microphone sockets for your headset, an SD card slot and an RJ45 socket on the back for hooking up at LAN parties. It even has a Kensington locking point for the security-conscious, although you probably wouldn't want to leave something this valuable and portable lying around unattended.

Specifications

Here is the spec sheet provided to TechRadar:

• CPU: 4th Generation Intel Core i7-4710HQ Processor (2.5GHz-3.5GHz)
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M GDDR5 6GB
• RAM: 16GB DDR3L-1600
• Screen: 14-inch QHD+ 3200 x 1800 Wide Viewing Angle LCD
• Storage: 2 x 256GB SSD, RAID 0
• Ports: USB 3.0 x 3, HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, RJ45, Mic-in, Earphone-out, SD Card
• Connectivity: 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0
• Camera: HD webcam
• Weight: 4.12 pounds / 1.87kg
• Size: 12.9 x 10.3 x 0.9-inches / 330 x 263 x 23mm (W x D x H)

Features and performance

The X3's internal components are every bit as impressive as the exterior. Aorus has gone all-out to create the ultimate performance notebook, with a fourth-gen Intel Core i7-4710HQ CPU running at 2.5-3.5GHz, Mobile Intel HM87 Express Chipset and 16GB of ultra-fast DDR3L-1600 RAM providing the central foundation.

Storage is handled by a pair of 256GB mSATA SSD drives in RAID 0 configuration for ultra-fast data handling at up to 1500 MB/s. Of course for a gaming machine graphics are all-important, and the X3 features the very best – an Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M with 6GB of GDDR5, capable of handling even the latest games at full bore.

If you want to stay alive in a multiplayer game you'll want superfast LAN and Wi-Fi network communications, and the X3 Plus delivers with 802.11ac wireless (70% faster than 802.11n) and a network-optimised LAN system controlled through the built-in Killer LAN chip and interface app, ensuring the fastest possible connection with the claim of zero packet loss.

A small notebook screen isn't ideal for gaming, but if you're considering the Aorus X3 then presumably you're not too worried about that. Despite its small size the 14-inch screen (incorrectly listed as 13.9-inch on the Aorus website) is extremely sharp, having a native resolution of 3200 x 1800 with a very wide 170-degree viewing angle.

This extremely high resolution on a small screen does mean that for everyday tasks such as using Windows menus or reading your email, anyone with middle-aged eyesight is going to need to squint a lot to view the tiny but very sharp text.

One standout feature of the Aorus X3 Plus is its unique Macro Hub. This is the row of additional keys mentioned earlier, and it controls a clever interface app that allows the user to set up as many as 25 macro functions and one-key shortcuts.

The 'G' key in the top left corner has a coloured backlight that changes each time you tap it, cycling through five colours. Each colour represents a bank of five macros, which can then be activated by tapping one of the numbered macro keys that lie in a row below it. There are a number of pre-baked macros already installed, and the interface app makes it easy to set up your own to automate frequently-used tasks and quickly launch favourite apps and games.

Another handy feature is the Command & Control interface. This is really just a set of shortcuts to control panel functions, but it provides quick access to things like keyboard backlighting, mouse speed, fan control and sound options. It also looks very cool, which is always a bonus.

The only feature that draws any criticism is the trackpad. It has a smooth and glossy surface which looks very striking in contrast with the matt black casing – or at least it does when it's clean – but after prolonged use it does feel quite unpleasant and sticky to the touch, and the lack of a border between the pad and the buttons is also less than ideal.

Benchmarks

• 3DMark: Cloud Gate: 17,832; Sky Diver: 15,874; Fire Strike: 6,172
• Cinebench CPU: 638 points; Graphics: 93.2 fps
• PCMark 8 (Home Test): 3,517 points
• PCMark 8 Battery Life: 2 hours and 24 minutes
• Middle Earth: SoM (1080p, Ultra): 104.1 fps; (1080p, Low): 111.4 fps
• Metro: Last Light (1080p, Ultra): 92.9 fps; (1080p, Low): 167.9 fps

It almost goes without saying that the Aorus X3 Plus v3 absolutely flies. Even with all the extra software that it boots with, startup time is less than 20 seconds. Apps and games load almost instantly thanks to the RAID SSDs, and with the graphical power of the GeForce 970 GPU it handles the latest graphics-heavy games with ease.

Elite Frontier on the high graphics setting runs at a healthy 60 fps even in the most frantic combat, and this machine is capable of three-figure frame rates with some of the latest first-person shooters.

The X3 is powered by a decent 73.3Wh li-polymer battery, which is good for around three hours of use when doing undemanding tasks like web browsing. Of course demanding games will eat into your power reserves, and playing on battery power will drain it in about an hour.

Heat control is very good despite the small size of the case, and while the underside does get quite warm after a while it's not unusually hot. The air intakes are on the underside of the case though, so you might want to check them for dust regularly.

Verdict

We liked

The design and specification make the Aorus X3 Plus one of the most desirable gaming laptops around. With an advanced chipset, 16GB of RAM and the 6GB GeForce 970M under the hood it absolutely flies, and the slim profile and light weight make it the perfect portable games machine.

We disliked

The small screen is a drawback with this form factor, and the high native resolution makes menu text almost unreadably small. The trackpad is a bit nasty, and the battery life could be better.

Final verdict

If you're looking for a high-performance ultra-portable gaming machine that looks as good as it plays, and you have perfect 20/20 eyesight and don't mind the small screen size, then look no further. The Aorus X3 Plus is expensive, but you get a lot of machine for your money.

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