Aorus 15-W9 (i7-8750H, RTX 2060) Laptop Review

Progress meets regression. The Aorus 15-W9 is able to bring all the current computer games smoothly to the matte 15.6-inch display (144 Hz, FHD, IPS). The components are also suitable: an NVMe SSD, HDD, and 16 GB of working memory. But it is not free of weaknesses: the battery life is meager and there is no Thunderbolt 3.

Sascha Mölck, 👁 Florian Glaser (translated by Mark Riege), 04/23/2019 🇩🇪 🇵🇹 ...

The Aorus 15-W9 is not unknown to us, since it is the identically built sibling of the Aorus 15-X9 that we have already tested. The difference between the two devices lies in the graphics core. While the X9 has a GeForce-RTX-2070 GPU on board, our current test unit brings a GeForce RTX 2060. The competitors include notebooks such as the MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE, the Alienware m15, the Razer Blade 15, the Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICH, the Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S), and the Gigabyte Aero 15-X9.

Since the Aorus 15-W9 and the Aorus 15-X9 have an identical build, we will not discuss the case, connections, input devices, display, and speakers here. You can find the corresponding information in our Aorus 15-X9 review.

Test device courtesy of Gigabyte DE

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Size Comparison

Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg Aorus 15 W9 Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q ❌

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Multimedia, Budget Multimedia, Gaming, Budget Gaming, Lightweight Gaming, Business, Budget Office, Workstation, Subnotebooks, Ultrabooks, Chromebooks

under 300 USD/Euros, under 500 USD/Euros, 1.000 USD/Euros

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Networking
iperf3 Client (receive) TCP 1 m 4M x10
Average of class Gaming (215 - 1720, n=175, last 2 years)	1033 MBit/s ∼100% +54%
Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q Killer Wireless-AC 1550 Wireless Network Adapter	688 MBit/s ∼67% +3%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q Intel Wireless-AC 9560	684 MBit/s ∼66% +2%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 Killer Wireless-AC 1550i Wireless Network Adapter (9560NGW)	678 MBit/s ∼66% +1%
Aorus 15 W9 Killer Wireless-AC 1550i Wireless Network Adapter (9560NGW)	671 MBit/s ∼65%
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US Intel Wireless-AC 9560	666 MBit/s ∼64% -1%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) Intel Wireless-AC 9560	646 (611^min - 665^max) MBit/s ∼63% -4%
Aorus 15 X9 Killer Wireless-AC 1550i Wireless Network Adapter (9560NGW)	645 MBit/s ∼62% -4%
Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg Killer Wireless-AC 1550i Wireless Network Adapter (9560NGW)	596 MBit/s ∼58% -11%
iperf3 Client (transmit) TCP 1 m 4M x10
Average of class Gaming (201 - 1645, n=175, last 2 years)	961 MBit/s ∼100% +41%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 Killer Wireless-AC 1550i Wireless Network Adapter (9560NGW)	680 MBit/s ∼71% 0%
Aorus 15 W9 Killer Wireless-AC 1550i Wireless Network Adapter (9560NGW)	680 MBit/s ∼71%
Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q Killer Wireless-AC 1550 Wireless Network Adapter	658 MBit/s ∼68% -3%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q Intel Wireless-AC 9560	655 MBit/s ∼68% -4%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) Intel Wireless-AC 9560	650 (456^min - 801^max) MBit/s ∼68% -4%
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US Intel Wireless-AC 9560	633 MBit/s ∼66% -7%
Aorus 15 X9 Killer Wireless-AC 1550i Wireless Network Adapter (9560NGW)	622 MBit/s ∼65% -9%
Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg Killer Wireless-AC 1550i Wireless Network Adapter (9560NGW)	588 MBit/s ∼61% -14%

Display - 144 Hz, no G-Sync

The 15.6-inch display of the Aorus 15 has a native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. While the contrast (868:1) and brightness (292 cd/m²) can be deemed acceptable, they could have been higher, considering the price level of the notebook. We think that values beyond 300 cd/m² and 1000:1 are good.

The 15-W9 is equipped with the same 144-Hz IPS display that is also in the Aorus 15-X9 and whose viewing angles are stable. The results we measured here are slightly different, which is normal since two displays from the same series are never 100% identical.

	Aorus 15 W9 LG Philips LP156WFG-SPB2 (LGD05E8), IPS, 1920x1080	Aorus 15 X9 LG Philips LP156WFG-SPB2, IPS, 1920x1080	MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US AUO80ED, IPS, 1920x1080	Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q AU Optronics B156HAN, IPS, 1920x1080	Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg LP156WFG-SPB2, IPS, 1920x1080	Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 LGD05C0, IPS, 1920x1080	Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q LG Philips LGD05C0, IPS, 1920x1080	Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) AU Optronics B156HAN08.2, IPS, 1920x1080
Response Times		7%	-7%	-1%	-8%	-2%	5%	36%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *	16.8 (9.2, 7.6)	15.2 (8.4, 6.8) 10%	20 (10, 10) -19%	18 (9.2, 8.8) -7%	18.8 (11.6, 7.2) -12%	16.4 (8.8, 7.6) 2%	16.8 (9.2, 7.6) -0%	7 (4, 3) 58%
Response Time Black / White *	12.8 (7.6, 5.2)	12.4 (7.6, 4.8) 3%	12 (6.8, 5.2) 6%	12 (6.8, 5.2) 6%	13.2 (8, 5.2) -3%	13.6 (8.4, 5.2) -6%	11.6 (7.2, 4.4) 9%	11 (6, 5) 14%
PWM Frequency
Screen		12%	-3%	-5%	-2%	19%	8%	7%
Brightness middle	295	305.1 3%	250.9 -15%	353.6 20%	320.4 9%	250 -15%	314.7 7%	323 9%
Brightness	292	295 1%	257 -12%	346 18%	298 2%	235 -20%	312 7%	309 6%
Brightness Distribution	80	78 -2%	83 4%	86 8%	85 6%	85 6%	90 13%	93 16%
Black Level *	0.34	0.33 3%	0.32 6%	0.3 12%	0.42 -24%	0.29 15%	0.38 -12%	0.29 15%
Contrast	868	925 7%	784 -10%	1179 36%	763 -12%	862 -1%	828 -5%	1114 28%
Colorchecker DeltaE2000 *	3.89	2.58 34%	2.77 29%	4.55 -17%	3.21 17%	1.46 62%	2.56 34%	4.33 -11%
Colorchecker DeltaE2000 max. *	7.28	4.32 41%	5.89 19%	7.91 -9%	5.54 24%	2.47 66%	4.89 33%	7.64 -5%
Colorchecker DeltaE2000 calibrated *	1.44	1.33 8%	2.5 -74%	3.37 -134%	2.36 -64%		1.71 -19%
Greyscale DeltaE2000 *	4.98	3.4 32%	4 20%	4.1 18%	3.6 28%	1.27 74%	3.4 32%	4.12 17%
Gamma	2.45 ^90%	2.28 ^96%	2.27 ^97%	2.27 ^97%	2.27 ^97%	2.4 ^92%	2.3 ^96%	2.43 ^91%
CCT	6407 ^101%	6374 ^102%	6901 ^94%	7434 ^87%	6503 ^100%	6749 ^96%	6435 ^101%	7427 ^88%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)	60	60.7 1%	60 0%	57.9 -3%	59 -2%	60 0%	60.7 1%	59 -2%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)	93	95.2 2%	92 -1%	88.9 -4%	92 -1%	93 0%	94.6 2%	90 -3%
Total Average (Program / Settings)		10% / 11%	-5% / -4%	-3% / -4%	-5% / -2%	9% / 15%	7% / 8%	22% / 12%

* ... smaller is better

Display Response Times

ℹ

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.

↔ Response Time Black to White
12.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 7.6 ms rise
12.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↘ 5.2 ms fall
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.8 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 18 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (24.2 ms).
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
16.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 9.2 ms rise
16.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↘ 7.6 ms fall
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.8 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 14 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (38.4 ms).

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

ℹ

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.

Screen flickering / PWM not detected

In comparison: 51 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 9665 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 151500) Hz was measured.

Performance - More than enough

With the Aorus 15-W9, Gigabyte delivers a gaming notebook in the 15.6-inch format that brings all the current games smoothly to the screen and also strikes a good figure in all other application areas. You have to pay about 1900 Euros (~$2138; currently starting from $1650 in the US) for your test unit, and other equipment variants are also available.

Testing Conditions

The preinstalled Control Center offers the option to specify a power profile, among other things. However, we are not doing this, but are selecting the "Customize" option instead. We are using Windows' own power profiles in our testing, with the fan control remaining on "Normal."

Processor

Gigabyte has equipped the Aorus 15 with an Intel Core i7-8750H (Coffee Lake) hexa-core processor. This processor offers a good compromise between computing performance and power consumption and can therefore be found in many gaming notebooks. It is a mobile CPU that has a TDP of 45 watts. The Core i7 runs at a basic clock speed of 2.2 GHz, which can be increased via Turbo up to 3.9 GHz (six cores), 4 GHz (four cores) or 4.1 GHz (one or two cores).

During the multi-thread tests of the Cinebench benchmarks, the processor runs at 3.2 to 3.9 GHz for a short time, before the speed changes to 3.4 - 3.5 GHz. It runs through the single-thread tests at 3.6 to 4.1 GHz so far as the behavior during mains operation is concerned. During battery operation, the CPU runs at a constant 1.7 GHz.

We evaluate whether the CPU Turbo is also used constantly in mains operation by running the multi-thread test of the Cinebench R15 benchmarks for about 30 minutes in a constant loop. From the first to the second run, the results drop by a good 10 percent, but then remain to a large extent at a constant level.

The Control Center offers the option to run the fan constantly at full speed. We therefore also ran the CB15 loop at maximum fan speed. With this, the Aorus offers better results than when using the regular fan adjustment.

Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H, Intel Core i7-8750H: Ø1017 (1003.76-1122.08)

Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H, Intel Core i7-8750H; Lüfter-Turbo: Ø1084 (1076.02-1128.25)

MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US Intel Core i7-8750H, Intel Core i7-8750H: Ø991 (974.33-1083.86)

Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q Intel Core i7-8750H, Intel Core i7-8750H: Ø1164 (1146.3-1213.67)

Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg Intel Core i7-8750H, Intel Core i7-8750H: Ø1183 (1168.7-1209.56)

Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 Intel Core i7-8750H, Intel Core i7-8750H: Ø1095 (1087.31-1156.25)

Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q Intel Core i7-8750H, Intel Core i7-8750H: Ø922 (913.2-999)

Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) Intel Core i7-8750H, Intel Core i7-8750H: Ø985 (977.23-1096.32)

Aorus 15 X9 Intel Core i7-8750H, Intel Core i7-8750H: Ø964 (958.5-1022)

CPU speed while running the CB15 loop ("Normal" fan mode)

CPU speed while running the CB15 loop ("Max" fan mode)

Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit

6404

Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit

33595

Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit

8356

Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit

170 Points

Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit

1122 Points

Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit

109.62 fps

Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit

99.6 %

Help

... in comparison

Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Average of class Gaming (108 - 254, n=209, last 2 years)	189 Points ∼100% +11%
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US Intel Core i7-8750H	175 Points ∼93% +3%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q Intel Core i7-8750H	174 Points ∼92% +2%
Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg Intel Core i7-8750H	173 Points ∼92% +2%
Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q Intel Core i7-8750H	172 Points ∼91% +1%
Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H	170 Points ∼90%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) Intel Core i7-8750H	168 Points ∼89% -1%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 Intel Core i7-8750H	166 Points ∼88% -2%
Aorus 15 X9 Intel Core i7-8750H	166 Points ∼88% -2%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Average of class Gaming (536 - 2804, n=216, last 2 years)	1381 Points ∼100% +23%
Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg Intel Core i7-8750H	1238 Points ∼90% +10%
Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q Intel Core i7-8750H	1218 Points ∼88% +9%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 Intel Core i7-8750H	1156 Points ∼84% +3%
Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H	1122 Points ∼81%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) Intel Core i7-8750H	1096 Points ∼79% -2%
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US Intel Core i7-8750H	1083 Points ∼78% -3%
Aorus 15 X9 Intel Core i7-8750H	1022 Points ∼74% -9%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q Intel Core i7-8750H	999 Points ∼72% -11%

Cinebench R10
Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 Intel Core i7-8750H	33923 Points ∼100% +1%
Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H	33595 Points ∼99%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) Intel Core i7-8750H	32791 Points ∼97% -2%
Average of class Gaming (19002 - 50462, n=36, last 2 years)	32709 Points ∼96% -3%
Rendering Single 32Bit
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) Intel Core i7-8750H	6416 Points ∼100% 0%
Average of class Gaming (4527 - 8143, n=36, last 2 years)	6409 Points ∼100% 0%
Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H	6404 Points ∼100%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 Intel Core i7-8750H	6351 Points ∼99% -1%

Cinebench R20
CPU (Single Core)
Average of class Gaming (312 - 634, n=176, last 2 years)	466 Points ∼100% +12%
Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H	416 Points ∼89%
CPU (Multi Core)
Average of class Gaming (1397 - 6321, n=177, last 2 years)	3219 Points ∼100% +30%
Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H	2468 Points ∼77%

Geekbench 3
32 Bit Multi-Core Score
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) Intel Core i7-8750H	22650 Points ∼100% +3%
Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H	21977 Points ∼97%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 Intel Core i7-8750H	21358 Points ∼94% -3%
Average of class Gaming (13474 - 24397, n=17, last 2 years)	19466 Points ∼86% -11%
32 Bit Single-Core Score
Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H	4100 Points ∼100%
Average of class Gaming (3348 - 4567, n=17, last 2 years)	4007 Points ∼98% -2%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) Intel Core i7-8750H	3998 Points ∼98% -2%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 Intel Core i7-8750H	3741 Points ∼91% -9%

Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4
64 Bit Multi-Core Score
Average of class Gaming (11396 - 40720, n=61, last 2 years)	23484 Points ∼100% +9%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) Intel Core i7-8750H	22276 Points ∼95% +3%
Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H	21630 Points ∼92%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 Intel Core i7-8750H	18716 Points ∼80% -13%
64 Bit Single-Core Score
Average of class Gaming (3807 - 6336, n=61, last 2 years)	5218 Points ∼100% +2%
Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H	5100 Points ∼98%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) Intel Core i7-8750H	4995 Points ∼96% -2%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 Intel Core i7-8750H	4810 Points ∼92% -6%

Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total Score
Aorus 15 X9 Intel Core i7-8750H (Edge 42.17134.1.0)	1220.3 ms * ∼100% -9%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 Intel Core i7-8750H (Edge 44)	1138.1 ms * ∼93% -2%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q Intel Core i7-8750H (Edge 44.17763.1.0)	1125.7 ms * ∼92% -1%
Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg Intel Core i7-8750H (Microsoft Edge 44.17763.1.0)	1119.3 ms * ∼92% -0%
Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q Intel Core i7-8750H (Edge 42.17134.1.0)	1115.7 ms * ∼91% -0%
Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H (Edge 44)	1114.8 ms * ∼91%
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US Intel Core i7-8750H (Microsoft Edge 42.17134.1.0)	1098.8 ms * ∼90% +1%
Average of class Gaming (568 - 1713, n=167, last 2 years)	896 ms * ∼73% +20%

Octane V2 - Total Score
Average of class Gaming (22225 - 60762, n=68, last 2 years)	36620 Points ∼100% +6%
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US Intel Core i7-8750H (Microsoft Edge 42.17134.1.0)	35329 Points ∼96% +2%
Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H (Edge 44)	34686 Points ∼95%
Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg Intel Core i7-8750H (Microsoft Edge 44.17763.1.0)	34062 Points ∼93% -2%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 Intel Core i7-8750H (Edge 44)	33659 Points ∼92% -3%
Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q Intel Core i7-8750H (Edge 42.17134.1.0)	33402 Points ∼91% -4%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q Intel Core i7-8750H (Edge 44.17763.1.0)	30594 Points ∼84% -12%
Aorus 15 X9 Intel Core i7-8750H (Edge 42.17134.1.0)	27460 Points ∼75% -21%

WebXPRT 3 - ---
Average of class Gaming (134 - 290, n=99, last 2 years)	230 Points ∼100% +8%
Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H (Edge 44)	213 Points ∼93%

Speedometer 2.0 - Result
Aorus 15 W9 Intel Core i7-8750H (Edge 44)	64.5 runs/min ∼100%
Average of class Gaming (42.1 - 67.4, n=2, last 2 years)	54.8 runs/min ∼85% -15%

* ... smaller is better

System Performance

The 15.6-incher does not lack anything in terms of system performance. The built-in hexa-core processor offers more than enough computing performance also for applications beyond gaming - and this also goes for the next few years. In combination with the NVMe SSD and the working memory running in dual-channel mode, it ensures a fast and smooth running system. The dedicated graphics core allows playing computer games. This is accompanied by very good results in the PC-Mark benchmarks.

PCMark 7 Score		7400 points
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2		5077 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2		5955 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2		5899 points
PCMark 10 Score		5839 points
Help

... in comparison

PCMark 10 | PCMark 8

PCMark 10 - Score
Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ	5941 Points ∼100% +2%
Aorus 15 X9 GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile, i7-8750H, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8	5870 Points ∼99% +1%
Aorus 15 W9 GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-8750H, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8	5839 Points ∼98%
Average of class Gaming (3952 - 7884, n=190, last 2 years)	5721 Points ∼96% -2%
Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G	5426 Points ∼91% -7%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ	5416 Points ∼91% -7%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW010T8	5353 Points ∼90% -8%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H, Intel SSD 660p SSDPEKNW512G8	5102 Points ∼86% -13%
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ	4646 Points ∼78% -20%

PCMark 8
Work Score Accelerated v2
Aorus 15 W9 GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-8750H, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8	5899 Points ∼100%
Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ	5852 Points ∼99% -1%
Aorus 15 X9 GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile, i7-8750H, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8	5828 Points ∼99% -1%
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ	5731 Points ∼97% -3%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW010T8	5645 Points ∼96% -4%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ	5607 Points ∼95% -5%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H, Intel SSD 660p SSDPEKNW512G8	5579 Points ∼95% -5%
Average of class Gaming (4265 - 6825, n=132, last 2 years)	5555 Points ∼94% -6%
Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G	5407 Points ∼92% -8%
Home Score Accelerated v2
Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ	5115 Points ∼100% +1%
Aorus 15 W9 GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-8750H, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8	5077 Points ∼99%
Aorus 15 X9 GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile, i7-8750H, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8	4843 Points ∼95% -5%
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ	4676 Points ∼91% -8%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H, Intel SSD 660p SSDPEKNW512G8	4560 Points ∼89% -10%
Average of class Gaming (2832 - 6277, n=131, last 2 years)	4453 Points ∼87% -12%
Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G	4418 Points ∼86% -13%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW010T8	4338 Points ∼85% -15%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ	4150 Points ∼81% -18%

Storage Solution

An NVMe SSD from Intel is used as system storage. This is an M.2-2280 model that has a total capacity of 512 GB, 426 GB of which is still available at the time of delivery, and the rest of the storage is occupied by the recovery partition and the Windows installation. The SSD delivers very good transfer rates. Here, the connection via PCI Express becomes noticeable.

Inside the notebook is a second, unoccupied M.2-2280 storage slot. Both slots can accept SATA-III as well as NVMe SSDs. In addition to the SSD, Gigabyte has also equipped the Aorus 15-W9 with a 2.5-inch hard drive (2 TB, 5400 RPM).

CrystalDiskMark 3.0

CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6

AS SSD

Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8

Sequential Read: 2234 MB/s

Sequential Write: 1258 MB/s

512K Read: 1252 MB/s

512K Write: 1047 MB/s

4K Read: 63.74 MB/s

4K Write: 136.4 MB/s

4K QD32 Read: 610 MB/s

4K QD32 Write: 528.5 MB/s

	Aorus 15 W9 Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8	Aorus 15 X9 Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8	MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ	Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G	Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ	Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW010T8	Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ	Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) Intel SSD 660p SSDPEKNW512G8
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6		35%	-6%	-15%	-10%	-3%	-1%	-20%
Write 4K	99.18	147.2 48%	91.46 -8%	107.4 8%	80.98 -18%	97.13 -2%	93.88 -5%	100.8 2%
Read 4K	54.06	63.65 18%	40.41 -25%	42.91 -21%	36.03 -33%	53.66 -1%	40.56 -25%	48.75 -10%
Write Seq	1524	1573 3%	1528 0%	467.5 -69%	1687 11%	1526 0%	1468 -4%	975.1 -36%
Read Seq	2325	2602 12%	1235 -47%	2335 0%	1835 -21%	2020 -13%	1540 -34%	1344 -42%
Write 4K Q32T1	259.2	530.5 105%	259 0%	289.7 12%	205.3 -21%	285.6 10%	293.5 13%	283.7 9%
Read 4K Q32T1	328.9	597.6 82%	364.9 11%	354.4 8%	229 -30%	321.8 -2%	346 5%	330.3 0%
Write Seq Q32T1	1566	1592 2%	1529 -2%	460.9 -71%	1683 7%	1533 -2%	1941 24%	986.3 -37%
Read Seq Q32T1	2767	2981 8%	3472 25%	3111 12%	3363 22%	2351 -15%	3266 18%	1579 -43%

Graphics Card

The Aorus 15 includes a GeForce RTX-2060 graphics core. The GPU is based on the Turing architecture, supports DirectX 12, and achieves a maximum speed of 1755 MHz. However, this value cannot be maintained constantly. During our benchmarks, we measured an operating speed of 1530 MHz on average. The GPU is able to make use of fast GDDR6 storage (6144 MB). The results in the 3D-Mark benchmarks range at a normal level for the built-in GPU.

While Intel's integrated UHD Graphics-630 GPU is also included in the notebook together with the Core-i7 processor, this GPU has been deactivated by the manufacturer. Thus, there is no switching graphics solution (Nvidia Optimus), but the GeForce core runs constantly.

3DMark 06 Standard		36381 points
3DMark 11 Performance		16598 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score		164238 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score		31982 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score		13646 points
3DMark Time Spy Score		5984 points
Help

... in comparison

3DMark | 3DMark 11

3DMark
2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics
Aorus 15 X9 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile	7754 Points ∼100% +29%
Average of class Gaming (852 - 13144, n=200, last 2 years)	6901 Points ∼89% +15%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q	6728 Points ∼87% +12%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q	6562 Points ∼85% +9%
Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q	6460 Points ∼83% +8%
Aorus 15 W9 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile	6007 Points ∼77%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile	3626 Points ∼47% -40%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Aorus 15 X9 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile	20227 Points ∼100% +30%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q	18153 Points ∼90% +17%
Average of class Gaming (2932 - 32366, n=204, last 2 years)	17925 Points ∼89% +16%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q	17598 Points ∼87% +14%
Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q	16589 Points ∼82% +7%
Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q	16010 Points ∼79% +3%
Aorus 15 W9 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile	15501 Points ∼77%
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile	11814 Points ∼58% -24%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile	11332 Points ∼56% -27%

3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
Aorus 15 X9 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile	26645 Points ∼100% +30%
Average of class Gaming (4545 - 43077, n=196, last 2 years)	23685 Points ∼89% +16%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q	22723 Points ∼85% +11%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q	22089 Points ∼83% +8%
Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q	21860 Points ∼82% +7%
Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q	20573 Points ∼77% +1%
Aorus 15 W9 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile	20464 Points ∼77%
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile	14879 Points ∼56% -27%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile	12620 Points ∼47% -38%

Gaming Performance

The hardware of the Gigabyte notebook is able to bring all the games from our database smoothly to the screen. You can always select the Full HD resolution and high to maximum quality settings. While the GPU is also able to handle resolutions beyond Full HD, you then have to hold back on the quality settings. Games that pose only moderate demands on the hardware allow an increase in the quality settings - we can mention the "FIFA 19" game here as an example.

The Witcher 3 | BioShock Infinite | X-Plane 11.11

The Witcher 3 - 1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+)
Aorus 15 X9 GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile, i7-8750H	71.8 fps ∼100% +24%
Average of class Gaming (24.3 - 123, n=199, last 2 years)	69 fps ∼96% +19%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H	68.9 fps ∼96% +19%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H	58.3 (48^min) fps ∼81% +1%
Aorus 15 W9 GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-8750H	58 fps ∼81%
Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H	57 fps ∼79% -2%
Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q, i7-8750H	54.2 fps ∼75% -7%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H	40 fps ∼56% -31%
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H	40 fps ∼56% -31%

BioShock Infinite - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset, DX11 (DDOF)
Lenovo Legion Y740-15ICHg GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H	211 fps ∼100% +55%
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE-051US GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H	159 fps ∼75% +17%
Aorus 15 X9 GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile, i7-8750H	154.3 fps ∼73% +14%
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H	152.5 fps ∼72% +12%
Average of class Gaming (61.4 - 208, n=94, last 2 years)	137 fps ∼65% +1%
Alienware m15 GTX 1070 Max-Q GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q, i7-8750H	136.8 fps ∼65% +1%
Aorus 15 W9 GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-8750H	135.9 fps ∼64%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H	127.7 fps ∼61% -6%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H	109.4 fps ∼52% -19%

X-Plane 11.11 - 1920x1080 high (fps_test=3)
Aorus 15 W9 GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-8750H	78.3 fps ∼100%
Average of class Gaming (33.3 - 113, n=109, last 2 years)	74.4 fps ∼95% -5%
Asus GX531GM (Zephyrus S) GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H	70.4 fps ∼90% -10%
Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H	61.6 fps ∼79% -21%

In order to evaluate whether the frame rates can also be maintained to a large extent constantly over a longer time period, we run "The Witcher 3" for about 60 minutes in Full-HD resolution and maximum quality settings. During the whole time, the character embodied by the gamer is not moved. We did not notice any drop in the frame rates.