Aorus 5 KB laptop in review: Gigabyte builds upon Clevo barebone with the RTX 2060

With this configuration, the Aorus 5 KB has to face the competing devices listed below, to which other gaming laptops from our database can be added under each section.

Gigabyte has chosen a barebone from Clevo for the case of the Aorus 5 KB as we've already seen, for example, in the 17-inch Nexoc GH7. A 15-inch model made of plastic is used here, and it shows no weaknesses in terms of workmanship. The gap dimensions are even all around, and the material used appears robust. The lid can be opened with one hand up to an aperture angle of about 120° and is held firmly by the hinges in each chosen position. The battery can be removed at the bottom of the gaming laptop without tools.

At a weight of 2.1 kg, the Aorus 5 KB belongs to the lighter gaming laptops in our test field. The dimensions and especially the thickness correspond to the level that comparable competitors have to offer.

The Aorus 5 KB offers an extensive selection of connections. The manufacturer doesn't include a Thunderbolt 3 port, but in return, there are USB ports with the USB 3.2 Gen 2 standard that also support DisplayPort via USB Type-C. 

The Aorus 5 KB's memory card reader achieves speeds of 76 MB/s for copying and 86 MB/s for writing data with our reference memory card, the 64 GB Toshiba Exceria Pro UHS-II SDXC. This result is below the average of other gaming laptops tested by us, but it's still suitable for everyday use. Inserted memory cards almost fit into the card reader completely and only protrude about 2 mm from the edge of the case.

The Aorus 5 KB has a Gigabit LAN port and can establish wireless connections over Bluetooth 5.0 as well as Wi-Fi 6. In combination with our Netgear Nighthawk AX12 reference router, the gaming laptop reaches very high speeds of 1,380 Mb/s for receiving and sending data. In our test field, only the Schenker XMG Pro 15 is a little faster in terms of data transmission.

Like most current laptops, the Aorus 5 KB's webcam has a low resolution of 0.9 MP. Even without zooming in, the photo of our test charts shows a clear blurriness and a rough graininess that becomes even more pronounced in poor light. In addition, colors appear pale and much brighter than on our ColorChecker Passport.

In the box, the Aorus 5 KB comes with a 180-watt power adapter alongside the laptop. 

Gigabyte grants buyers of the Aorus 5 KB a warranty period of three years.

Keyboard

The keyboard of the Aorus 5 KB is well suited for typing longer texts. All keys offer a nonslip surface and a pleasant pressure point. On the positive side, the normal-size arrow keys stand out as well as the fact that the delete, end, home, and insert keys have not been placed as secondary assignments. The illumination of the keys is even and doesn't dazzle, but only predefined colors are available. A white backlight, for example, is not available.

With the Aorus 5 KB, Gigabyte is targeting gamers who want to play modern and upcoming games smoothly and in Full HD resolution. Besides the configuration presented here, the gaming laptop is also available with a modified memory configuration and Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1660 Ti.

All the following benchmark tests were performed under the "Turbo" performance profile and the "Automatic" fan profile.

The Intel Core i7-10750H used here is a processor with six cores that can process up to twelve threads simultaneously. The clock rates are between 2.6 and 5 GHz, whereby high clock speeds can only be maintained over longer periods of time with sufficient cooling. Our Cinebench R15 endurance test shows that the fans of the Aorus 5 KB need a moment to be able to sufficiently cool the CPU. This results in a slightly larger performance drop, but it's leveled out after a short time.

Compared to other laptops that we've tested with this CPU, the Aorus 5 KB achieves slightly above-average results. Compared to our test field, it can consequently secure itself a good place in the upper middle section of the results.

In the PCMark 10 test for system performance, the Aorus 5 achieves second place in our test field. Depending on the individual discipline, it has to admit defeat either to the HP Pavilion Gaming 15 or to the Schenker XMG Pro 15. During our daily testing, the Aorus 5 KB ran smoothly at all times and showed no micro stuttering or the like. Programs could be started without any problems, and files were accessed without delays as well.

The performance achieved by other laptops in our tests can be found in our CPU Benchmarks article.

In our test configuration of the Aorus 5, Gigabyte uses a 512 GB SSD from Adata. It achieves very good read and write speeds, whereby only the Samsung 970 EVO Plus in the Schenker XMG Pro 15 can score even better.

The performance that can be expected from other storage devices can be found in our HDD/SSD Benchmarks article.

An Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 is responsible for displaying image content in the Aorus 5 KB. It supports features like DLSS and Real-Time Ray Tracing and is also suitable for demanding tasks. In the 3DMark benchmarks, the GPU achieves results that meet our expectations for the hardware.

The performance achieved by other graphics cards in comparison can be found in our GPU Benchmarks article.

Nvidia's GeForce RTX 2060 can run modern and upcoming games smoothly at Full HD resolution and maximum details. In the titles that we tested, high frame rates are possible without any problems. However, a stable 60 fps can't always be guaranteed in very demanding titles.

Our GPU Games article shows the performance that can be expected from the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 in other games.

The continuous load test with The Witcher 3 in the "Ultra" graphics setting shows that users have to expect a slight drop in frame rates when operating times become prolonged.

Under load, the Aorus 5 KB's fans can become very loud at up to 56 dB(A). Users who don't constantly utilize the maximum possible performance, however, can achieve a significantly lower noise level thanks to an adjustable fan profile. On our test device, there was an occasional coil whine when the battery was charged.

During our approximately one-hour stress test, the temperatures inside the Aorus 5 rose up to 92 °C (~198 °F). The CPU's clock rates dropped to about 2.6 GHz, which was still above the base clock speed. Therefore, users don't have to fear performance drops even under heavy load.

The speakers of the Aorus 5 offer relatively high volume and a wide sound spectrum, where the lower tones are somewhat underrepresented. They are certainly suitable for the occasional playback of media content, but external speakers or headphones are recommended in the long run.