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Gigabyte P55W v6 Notebook Review

Focused on the essentials. Gigabyte's newest version of ttheir P55W hasn't really changed that much. While the predecessor used a GeForce GTX 970M, the new model is equipped with a GTX 1060 - and that's a very noticeable difference.

As the name indicates, the P55v6 is the sixth iteration of Gigabyte's affordable gaming system. The company clearly didn't waste any time on cosmetic tweaks: the chassis including the input devices and physical ports is a direct carry-over from the predecessor. For details, please take a look at our review of the P55W v4

Our main focus is going to be directed at the internal components - especially the graphics card. Some of the components which differ slightly - like the display and the processor - are also worth taking a look at, since there are often measurable and noticeable differences.

Our review notebook is of course not without competition. The Asus Strix GL502VM and the MSI GS63VR are almost identical as far as the CPU, GPU, and the RAM is concerned. In order to distinguish the P55W v6 from notebooks in the next higher and lower performance classes, we'll also compare the Gigabyte system to the Acer Predator 15 G9-593 (with GeForce GTX 1070) and the Acer Aspire VX5-591G (with GTX 1050 Ti).

Gigabyte P55W v6 (P55 Series)
Processor
Intel Core i7-6700HQ 4 x 2.6 - 3.5 GHz (Intel Core i7)
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile - 6 GB VRAM, Core: 1405 MHz, Memory: 4000 MHz, GDDR5, ForceWare 368.71, Optimus
Memory
16 GB 
, SO-DIMM DDR4-2133, Dual-Channel, 2 slots, 2 occupied, max. 32 GB
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel 141 PPI, LG Philips LP156WF4 (LGD040E), IPS, Full-HD, glossy: no
Mainboard
Intel HM170 (Skylake PCH-H)
Storage
Transcend MTS800 128GB M.2 (TS128GMTS800), 128 GB 
, SSD + HGST TravelStar 7K1000 (HTS721010A9E630), 1 TB HDD @7200 rpm. Slots: 1x m.2 2280 (SATA/PCIe) & 1x 2.5-inch
Soundcard
Realtek ALC255 @ Intel Skylake PCH - High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
3 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 USB 3.1 Gen2, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: headphone jack (analog + S/PDIF), microphone, Card Reader: SD,SDHC,SDXC
Networking
Realtek RTL8168/8111 Gigabit-LAN (10/100/1000MBit/s), Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.1
Optical drive
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GUD0N
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 34 x 380 x 269 ( = 1.34 x 14.96 x 10.59 in)
Battery
63 Wh, 5400 mAh Lithium-Polymer, 6 cells
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: HD (720p@30fps)
Primary Camera: 0 MPix
Additional features
Speakers: 2.0 , Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: yes, 180 Watt power adapter, manual, warranty card, driver DVD, PowerDVD 12, 24 Months Warranty
Weight
2.66 kg ( = 93.83 oz / 5.86 pounds), Power Supply: 640 g ( = 22.58 oz / 1.41 pounds)
Price
1600 EUR
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Connectivity hasn't changed: the left side features Kensington Lock, VGA, RJ45 GBit-LAN, HDMI, USB 3.1 and USB 3.0 ,...
Connectivity hasn't changed: the left side features Kensington Lock, VGA, RJ45 GBit-LAN, HDMI, USB 3.1 and USB 3.0 ,...
... and the right side two 3.5 mm jacks for the microphone and the headphones, 2x USB 3.0, optical drive and the power jack.
... and the right side two 3.5 mm jacks for the microphone and the headphones, 2x USB 3.0, optical drive and the power jack.
SD Card Reader
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
 
79 MB/s +8%
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
 
75 MB/s +3%
Gigabyte P55W v6
 
73 MB/s
Gigabyte P55W v5
 
47 MB/s -36%
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
 
26 MB/s -64%
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
 
89 MB/s +2%
Gigabyte P55W v6
 
87 MB/s
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
 
85 MB/s -2%
Gigabyte P55W v5
 
76 MB/s -13%
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
 
28 MB/s -68%
Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1535 Wireless Network Adapter
608 MBit/s +24%
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260
507 MBit/s +3%
Gigabyte P55W v6
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260
492 MBit/s
iperf3 receive AX12
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260
677 MBit/s +3%
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1535 Wireless Network Adapter
670 MBit/s +2%
Gigabyte P55W v6
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260
660 MBit/s

Display

Subpixel array
Subpixel array

Gigabyte decided to use the same 15.6-inch display panel also found in versions 4 and 5 of the laptop. Interestingly enough, the measurements aren't close to identical: the review notebook features higher brightness, better color accuracy and better color space coverage than the P55W v5 and performs well when compared to the other competitors. Contrast and brightness distribution are a different story, however. In addition, we noticed light bleeding up top on dark backgrounds. A positive aspect is the fact that the brightness adjustment does not make use of PWM.

For our measurements we used the setting "Native Color" in Gigabyte's own tweaking tool "Smart Manager".

282
cd/m²
296
cd/m²
306
cd/m²
271
cd/m²
280
cd/m²
294
cd/m²
287
cd/m²
294
cd/m²
332
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
LG Philips LP156WF4 (LGD040E) tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 332 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 293.6 cd/m² Minimum: 8 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 82 %
Center on Battery: 280 cd/m²
Contrast: 609:1 (Black: 0.46 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.48 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 2.69 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
80% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
53% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
59% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
80.6% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
63.2% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.37
Gigabyte P55W v6
LG Philips LP156WF4 (LGD040E), 1920x1080
Gigabyte P55W v5
LG Philips LP156WF4-SPH1, 1920x1080
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
LG Philips LP156WF6-SPB6 (LGD046F), 1920x1080
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
Samsung 156HL01-104 (SDC324C) , 1920x1080
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
LG Philips LP156WF6-SPP1 (LGD04D5), 1920x1080
Display
-14%
3%
15%
3%
Display P3 Coverage
63.2
50.1
-21%
64.5
2%
67.8
7%
63.6
1%
sRGB Coverage
80.6
73.5
-9%
83.4
3%
97.4
21%
83.9
4%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
59
51.2
-13%
60.9
3%
69.7
18%
61.3
4%
Response Times
17%
24%
16%
28%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
56 ?(23, 33)
44 ?(18, 26)
21%
40 ?(15, 25)
29%
35 ?(14, 21)
37%
Response Time Black / White *
31 ?(8, 23)
27 ?(7, 20)
13%
25 ?(5, 20)
19%
26 ?(8, 18)
16%
25 ?(5, 20)
19%
PWM Frequency
202 ?(100)
Screen
6%
10%
14%
13%
Brightness middle
280
254
-9%
321
15%
293
5%
273
-2%
Brightness
294
267
-9%
296
1%
279
-5%
267
-9%
Brightness Distribution
82
89
9%
88
7%
84
2%
83
1%
Black Level *
0.46
0.28
39%
0.33
28%
0.33
28%
0.27
41%
Contrast
609
907
49%
973
60%
888
46%
1011
66%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
4.48
4.28
4%
4.42
1%
3.59
20%
3.77
16%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
10.16
10.6
-4%
9.78
4%
5.79
43%
10.64
-5%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
2.69
2.77
-3%
3.34
-24%
3.86
-43%
2.48
8%
Gamma
2.37 93%
2.28 96%
2.4 92%
2.53 87%
2.37 93%
CCT
6455 101%
6284 103%
6213 105%
7229 90%
6854 95%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
53
47
-11%
55
4%
63
19%
55
4%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
80
73
-9%
83
4%
97
21%
84
5%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
3% / 3%
12% / 10%
15% / 14%
15% / 13%

* ... smaller is better

P55W v6 vs. sRGB (80 %)
P55W v6 vs. sRGB (80 %)
P55W v6 vs. AdobeRGB (53 %)
P55W v6 vs. AdobeRGB (53 %)
CalMAN - Graylevels
CalMAN - Graylevels
CalMAN - Saturation
CalMAN - Saturation
CalMAN - ColorChecker
CalMAN - ColorChecker
CalMAN - Graylevels (calibrated)
CalMAN - Graylevels (calibrated)
CalMAN - Saturation (calibrated)
CalMAN - Saturation (calibrated)
CalMAN - ColorChecker (calibrated)
CalMAN - ColorChecker (calibrated)

Outdoors, the display doesn't cope well with the brightness of the sun because of the low contrast ratio - especially noticeable when viewing light-colored content. The viewing angle stability is without flaws, however. 

Outdoors, evening sun
Outdoors, evening sun
Viewing angle stability
Viewing angle stability

Display Response Times

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
31 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 8 ms rise
↘ 23 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 81 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
56 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 23 ms rise
↘ 33 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 91 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

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: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Performance

The P55W v6 offers the performance one would expect from a current-generation (and somewhat inexpensive) gaming notebook. For a price of 1600 Euro (~$1710), the buyer gets a system with a high-performance CPU, 16 GB of RAM and a powerful GPU - more than enough power to handle even modern games.

CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
GPU-Z
GPU-Z
GPU-Z
GPU-Z
HWInfo
HWInfo
HWInfo
HWInfo
Latencymon
Latencymon

Processor

The mobile high-end CPU Core i7-6700HQ was the de facto standard for gaming notebooks for a long time. We use the past tense here since the Skylake-successor Kaby Lake is already on the market. CPUs in the newer series - like the Core i7-7700HQ in the Acer Aspire VX5-591G - feature an improved 14nm-construction and offer higher performance per MHz. Speaking of performance: we expect the quad-core i7-6700HQ (2.6 GHz base frequency; 3.5 GHz Turbo) to be more than adequate for quite some time to come. 

Our review notebook performed exactly as expected during the Cinebench test. For his particular as well as all other performance tests we use the fan preset "normal". We didn't observe any throttling under load, although the CPU frequency dipped down to 650 MHz sporadically. We should clarify though that during our subsequent gaming tests, we never noticed any decline in the frame rate even after extended periods of time - so this behavior doesn't seem to affect daily use at all.

Single-core rendering
Single-core rendering
Multi-core rendering
Multi-core rendering
CPU & GPU load
CPU & GPU load
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Acer Aspire VX5-591G-D0DD
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
152 Points +6%
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
148 Points +3%
Gigabyte P55W v5
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
144 Points +1%
Gigabyte P55W v6
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
143 Points
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
143 Points 0%
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
139 Points -3%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
680 Points +1%
Acer Aspire VX5-591G-D0DD
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
677 Points +1%
Gigabyte P55W v5
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
675 Points 0%
Gigabyte P55W v6
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
673 Points
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
667 Points -1%
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
Intel Core i7-6700HQ
661 Points -2%
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
5093
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
20092
Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
6851
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
1.57 Points
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
7.37 Points
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
63.1 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
143 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
673 Points
Help

System Performance

We use the practically relevant PCMark 8 benchmark tests to evaluate overall system performance,. The "Work Score" primarily reflects the CPU performance and the performance of the hard drive. The P55W performs about as well as the predecessor and the MSI GS63VR. Both the Asus Strix and the Acer Predator are marginally faster.

The "Home Score" also incorporates the GPU performance, so it doesn't come as a surprise that the review notebook pulls ahead of the Acer Aspire (GTX 1050 Ti) and the predecessor (GTX 970M). The combination of Core i7-6700HQ and GeForce GTX 1060 allows for even better performance: the Asus Strix almost catches up to the beefier and more expensive Acer Predator. For daily use, this difference doesn't matter, as the P55W v6 performs smoothly at all times.

PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, Micron SSD 1100 (MTFDDAV256TBN)
4741 Points +18%
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6700HQ, LiteOn CV1-8B512
4692 Points +17%
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256HDGL m.2 PCI-e
4060 Points +1%
Gigabyte P55W v6
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, Transcend MTS800 128GB M.2 (TS128GMTS800)
4014 Points
Gigabyte P55W v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV128 NVMe
3832 Points -5%
Acer Aspire VX5-591G-D0DD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ, SK Hynix Canvas SC300 512GB M.2 (HFS512G39MND)
3698 Points -8%
Work Score Accelerated v2
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, Micron SSD 1100 (MTFDDAV256TBN)
5109 Points +7%
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6700HQ, LiteOn CV1-8B512
5088 Points +6%
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256HDGL m.2 PCI-e
4859 Points +2%
Gigabyte P55W v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV128 NVMe
4852 Points +1%
Gigabyte P55W v6
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, Transcend MTS800 128GB M.2 (TS128GMTS800)
4784 Points
PCMark 7 Score
5715 points
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
4014 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2
4897 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
4784 points
Help

Storage Devices

The smooth performance we talked about is on tap despite the fact that the system drive isn't one of the fasted ones out there. On the contrary: the 128 GB SSD from Transcend is actually by far the slowest drive in our comparison. The predecessor in particular outperforms the review candidate in all observed metrics. We should mention though that while the Samung SM951 NVMe drive might be one of the fastest M.2 models, it also happens to be one of the really expensive ones, so it makes sense for Gigabyte to make some cuts here to lower the price. As we mentioned already, this change doesn't really affect everyday performance. The SSD is significantly faster than the (also included) 1 TB conventional drive in any case.

Gigabyte P55W v6
Transcend MTS800 128GB M.2 (TS128GMTS800)
Gigabyte P55W v5
Samsung SM951 MZVPV128 NVMe
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
Micron SSD 1100 (MTFDDAV256TBN)
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
Samsung SM951 MZVPV256HDGL m.2 PCI-e
Acer Aspire VX5-591G-D0DD
SK Hynix Canvas SC300 512GB M.2 (HFS512G39MND)
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
LiteOn CV1-8B512
CrystalDiskMark 3.0
166%
53%
298%
50%
55%
Read Seq
511
1356
165%
462.5
-9%
1973
286%
494.2
-3%
517
1%
Write Seq
161.1
657
308%
462.7
187%
1292
702%
449.6
179%
449.7
179%
Read 512
338
1044
209%
335
-1%
1279
278%
348.1
3%
355.3
5%
Write 512
160.8
642
299%
407.1
153%
1288
701%
418.2
160%
433.7
170%
Read 4k
26.2
50.8
94%
25.61
-2%
52.3
100%
16.97
-35%
27.69
6%
Write 4k
76.7
142.7
86%
86.3
13%
153.2
100%
38.36
-50%
72.9
-5%
Read 4k QD32
264.7
588
122%
246.7
-7%
464.4
75%
394.9
49%
290.9
10%
Write 4k QD32
160.3
236.3
47%
301.5
88%
384.4
140%
317.4
98%
273.8
71%
Transcend MTS800 128GB M.2 (TS128GMTS800)
Sequential Read: 511 MB/s
Sequential Write: 161.1 MB/s
512K Read: 338 MB/s
512K Write: 160.8 MB/s
4K Read: 26.2 MB/s
4K Write: 76.7 MB/s
4K QD32 Read: 264.7 MB/s
4K QD32 Write: 160.3 MB/s

GPU Performance

Let's move on to the GPU now. The GeForce GTX 1060 is Nvidia's "entry-level" upper-class Pascal GPU and as such a very sensible choice for this system. The GPU runs at a base frequency of 1405 MHz and comes with 1280 shader units as well as 6 GB of RAM with a 192-bit interface - similar to the desktop version. Gigabyte also raised the maximum Boost by 10 % compared to the reference model, which means that the GPU frequency tops out at 1850 MHz. The system can't sustain this level under load for a long time - more on that later.

An evaluation of the 3DMark scores show that the P55W v6 offers the same 3D performance as other, identically equipped systems. The performance difference between the new GPU and the GeForce GTX 970M in the predecessor is about 50 %, which is a massive improvement considering that the system price hasn't changed at all.

3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile
101041 Points +45%
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile
78820 Points +13%
Gigabyte P55W v6
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile
69528 Points
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile
69253 Points 0%
Acer Aspire VX5-591G-D0DD
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
48626 Points -30%
Gigabyte P55W v5
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M
48597 Points -30%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile
17175 Points +50%
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile
11730 Points +3%
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile
11622 Points +2%
Gigabyte P55W v6
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile
11422 Points
Acer Aspire VX5-591G-D0DD
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
7741 Points -32%
Gigabyte P55W v5
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M
7450 Points -35%
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile
22246 Points +50%
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile
15387 Points +4%
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile
15075 Points +2%
Gigabyte P55W v6
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile
14792 Points
Gigabyte P55W v5
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M
9910 Points -33%
Acer Aspire VX5-591G-D0DD
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
9713 Points -34%
3DMark 11 Performance
12433 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
22706 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
9527 points
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score
4963 points
Help

Gaming Performance

The GeForce GTX 1060 handles gaming very well. At the native Full-HD resolution, most titles - even newer ones - run well at maximum details. Only Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - which happens to be quite demanding on the hardware - runs slower than 30 FPS and thus isn't really playable. Unfortunately, the GPU offers much less performance with the notebook running on battery and the output drops by about 40 %.

The next higher-performing model in Nvidia's current lineup is the GeForce GTX 1070, which is about 40 - 60 % faster. At this time, only users who own a 4K monitor really have a significant advantage - but this advantage doesn't come cheap.

The Witcher 3
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+)
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6700HQ
60 fps +59%
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
40.4 fps +7%
Gigabyte P55W v6
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
37.8 fps
Acer Aspire VX5-591G-D0DD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ
25.5 fps -33%
1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off)
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6700HQ
110.8 fps +75%
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
74.6 fps +18%
Gigabyte P55W v6
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
63.3 fps
Acer Aspire VX5-591G-D0DD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ
37.3 fps -41%
Deus Ex Mankind Divided
1920x1080 High Preset AF:4x
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6700HQ
81.3 fps +49%
Gigabyte P55W v6
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
54.6 fps
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
49.1 fps -10%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:2xMS AF:8x
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6700HQ
43.2 fps +54%
Gigabyte P55W v6
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
28 fps
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
26.9 fps -4%
BioShock Infinite - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset, DX11 (DDOF)
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
102.3 fps +3%
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
101.8 fps +2%
Gigabyte P55W v6
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
99.7 fps
Gigabyte P55W v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ
69.7 fps -30%
low med. high ultra
BioShock Infinite (2013) 189 176.2 151.7 99.7
The Witcher 3 (2015) 166.1 127.2 63.3 37.8
Deus Ex Mankind Divided (2016) 116.1 98.4 54.6 28

Emissions

System Noise

Similar to the predecessors, the fan of the P55W v6 never stops spinning (fan setting "normal") during idle. The fan is always audible, except when the conventional hard drive is being accessed - its clacking noise then moves slightly into the foreground.

The fan speed increases in four distinctly audible steps when the system is under load.. The fan rarely spins at its maximum - and if, it only does so to "curtail" the temperature under maximum load. The result in that case is a noise level of 52 dB, which is a bit much in our opinion. Quite annoying is the difference between the maximum and the average loudness of 41 dB: while the system noise is generally tolerable, the occasional increases of 11 dB make headphones a welcome accessory.

Noise level idle
Noise level idle
Noise level load
Noise level load
Noise level speaker
Noise level speaker

Noise Level

Idle
35 / 36 / 37 dB(A)
HDD
37 dB(A)
DVD
39 / dB(A)
Load
41 / 52 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Audix TM1, Arta (15 cm distance)   environment noise: 31 dB(A)
Gigabyte P55W v6
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
Gigabyte P55W v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6700HQ
Noise
4%
3%
8%
3%
off / environment *
31
31
-0%
30
3%
30
3%
Idle Minimum *
35
33
6%
32
9%
32
9%
31
11%
Idle Average *
36
34
6%
33
8%
33
8%
35
3%
Idle Maximum *
37
35
5%
34
8%
34
8%
38
-3%
Load Average *
41
43
-5%
44
-7%
37
10%
43
-5%
Load Maximum *
52
49
6%
53
-2%
46
12%
49
6%

* ... smaller is better

Temperature

Stress test
Stress test

Our review notebooks gets hotter than average during idle, but we wouldn't call the result uncomfortable. Under load, the temperature doesn't increase quite as much as we've observed when evaluating other competitors (including the predecessor). 

The temperature on the bottom of the notebook never quite reached 50 degrees even during extended gaming sessions. To achieve higher temperatures, we had to "resort"to our stress test with Prime95 and Furmark running in parallel for an hour. Here, the processor remained at least at its base frequency of 2.6 GHz - except for the aforementioned brief dips to 650 MHz. GPU throttling was an issue though and the system reduced the clock speed to about 1.2 GHz to keep the heat in check. 

Max. Load
 46.5 °C
116 F
44.7 °C
112 F
31.5 °C
89 F
 
 47.7 °C
118 F
46.7 °C
116 F
32 °C
90 F
 
 45.2 °C
113 F
44.7 °C
112 F
29.4 °C
85 F
 
Maximum: 47.7 °C = 118 F
Average: 40.9 °C = 106 F
28 °C
82 F
43.1 °C
110 F
51.2 °C
124 F
30.9 °C
88 F
46 °C
115 F
48.6 °C
119 F
29.2 °C
85 F
46.3 °C
115 F
49.1 °C
120 F
Maximum: 51.2 °C = 124 F
Average: 41.4 °C = 107 F
Power Supply (max.)  42.3 °C = 108 F | Room Temperature 20 °C = 68 F | Voltcraft IR-900
(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 40.9 °C / 106 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F for the devices in the class Gaming.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 47.7 °C / 118 F, compared to the average of 40.4 °C / 105 F, ranging from 21.2 to 68.8 °C for the class Gaming.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 51.2 °C / 124 F, compared to the average of 43.2 °C / 110 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28 °C / 82 F, compared to the device average of 33.8 °C / 93 F.
(-) The palmrests and touchpad can get very hot to the touch with a maximum of 45.2 °C / 113.4 F.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.9 °C / 84 F (-16.3 °C / -29.4 F).
Maximum load top (Optris PI 640)
Maximum load top (Optris PI 640)
Maximum load bottom (Optris PI 640)
Maximum load bottom (Optris PI 640)
Gigabyte P55W v6
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
Gigabyte P55W v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6700HQ
Heat
5%
-17%
5%
18%
Maximum Upper Side *
47.7
50
-5%
65.3
-37%
45.3
5%
40.5
15%
Maximum Bottom *
51.2
57.7
-13%
64.4
-26%
62.6
-22%
42
18%
Idle Upper Side *
32.1
25.7
20%
35.4
-10%
25.3
21%
28.2
12%
Idle Bottom *
32.8
27.2
17%
31.6
4%
27.3
17%
24.3
26%

* ... smaller is better

Speakers

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2030.532.3253535.73132.8344026.730.25027.730.76327.228.1802628.910023.829.412523.233.716022.834.520020.640.62502144.231521.552.440020.556.750019.758.563019.157.580018.664.1100018.874.1125018.776.3160018.971.820001970.5250019.270.9315019.370.6400019.369.3500019.373.9630019.268.6800019.371.81000019.262.31250019.165.11600018.960.7SPL31.383.2N1.553.5median 19.3median 64.1Delta0.99.638.135.744.241.14038.832.337.229.334.231.429.93134.524.335.423.525.626.634.822.343.522.851.721.260.720.36119.260.618.764.818.464.618.667.519.465.818.662.718.863.518.864.718.764.618.863.418.966.918.965.918.953.71949.718.849.318.745.431.276.31.538.8median 18.9median 611.38.7hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseGigabyte P55W v6Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
Gigabyte P55W v6 audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 24.9% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (8.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 7% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (8.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 6% higher than median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (25.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 88% of all tested devices in this class were better, 3% similar, 8% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 18%, worst was 132%
Compared to all devices tested
» 73% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 21% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T audio analysis

(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (76 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 19.1% lower than median
(-) | bass is not linear (18.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.9% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5.6% higher than median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (23% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 80% of all tested devices in this class were better, 6% similar, 14% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 18%, worst was 132%
Compared to all devices tested
» 63% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 30% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Energy Management

Power Consumption

The P55W v6 is comparatively frugal when it comes to the power consumption. We measured 8 - 17 watts during idle, which is on par with the predecessor and better than the other systems in our comparison. Under load, we measured an average power draw of 71 watts, which is also at the lower end. The power adapter supplies 180 watts and easily handles the peak power draw of 165 watts. Even at maximum load, the battery is still charging.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.1 / 0.3 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 8 / 13 / 17 Watt
Load midlight 71 / 165 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Voltcraft VC 940
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Gigabyte P55W v6
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
Gigabyte P55W v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6700HQ
Power Consumption
-4%
-34%
-56%
-65%
Idle Minimum *
8
9
-13%
16
-100%
18
-125%
18
-125%
Idle Average *
13
13
-0%
19
-46%
22
-69%
24
-85%
Idle Maximum *
17
17
-0%
23
-35%
30
-76%
29
-71%
Load Average *
71
81
-14%
68
4%
77
-8%
86
-21%
Load Maximum *
165
152
8%
157
5%
165
-0%
201
-22%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

For a gaming notebook, the P55W v6 features decent run times quite comparable to the predecessor despite the much better performance. With a battery life of up to the 10 hours, the P55W v6 is one of the longest-lasting systems in its class.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
10h 10min
WiFi Websurfing
5h 52min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
5h 38min
Load (maximum brightness)
1h 35min
Gigabyte P55W v6
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, 63 Wh
Gigabyte P55W v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, 61 Wh
Asus Strix GL502VM-FY039T
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, 64 Wh
MSI GS63VR-6RF16H22 Stealth Pro
GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6700HQ, 65 Wh
Acer Predator 15 G9-593-765Q
GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6700HQ,  Wh
Battery Runtime
-2%
-31%
-30%
-4%
Reader / Idle
610
604
-1%
315
-48%
358
-41%
H.264
338
332
-2%
235
-30%
271
-20%
298
-12%
WiFi v1.3
352
348
-1%
220
-37%
210
-40%
285
-19%
Load
95
93
-2%
87
-8%
76
-20%
114
20%

Pros

+ gaming performance is great for the money
+ good input devices
+ long battery life

Cons

- display lacks contrast
- SSD is fairly slow
- noisy under load

Verdict

In review: Gigabyte P55W v6. Test model courtesy of Gigabyte Germany
In review: Gigabyte P55W v6. Test model courtesy of Gigabyte Germany

The various editions of the Gigabyte P55W always managed to hit the sweet spot between performance and price - and version 6 is fortunately no different. The change from the GeForce GTX 970 to a GTX 1060 results in a 50 % increase in 3D performance, while the price hasn't changed at all (1600 Euro / ~$1710). "More bang for the buck" hits the nail on its head.

The external appearance hasn't changed at all - the chassis and decent selection of physical ports, the very decent input devices and the so-so speakers remain unchanged. Once again, Gigabyte uses a Skylake CPU with 16 GB of RAM, so the system has power to spare and can handle demanding tasks without slowing down much. The battery life hasn't really been affected, either. 

Compared to the predecessor, the new notebooks seems to have take a step backwards in some areas. The display features a much lower contrast ratio and the brightness distribution has taken a turn for the worse. This is remarkable primarily since the panels - at least according to their model number and type - are identical. The outrageously fast Samsung SSD the P55W v5 was equipped with had to make way for a much slower drive from Transcend. The noise emissions are also worse now - particularly annoying are the fluctuations at maximum load.

All things considered, the P55W v6 is a decent and successful evolution of the gaming series - and at 1600 Euro (~$1710), the user gets a lot of 3D performance for the money. The identically equipped Asus ROG Strix GL502VM is the only other system with the same price-to-performance ratio. Users who don't need as much gaming performance can save a lot of money and take a look at the Acer Aspire VX5-591G for about 1000 Euro (~$1070). Gamers who demand even higher performance than what the P55W v6 can offer need to be prepared to spend a lot of money: the Acer Predator 15 G9-593, for example, sells for about 2.500 Euro (~$2670).

Gigabyte P55W v6 - 01/31/2017 v6(old)
Oliver Moebel

Chassis
82 / 98 → 83%
Keyboard
81%
Pointing Device
75%
Connectivity
50 / 81 → 62%
Weight
59 / 10-66 → 88%
Battery
85%
Display
85%
Games Performance
91%
Application Performance
89%
Temperature
83 / 95 → 88%
Noise
64 / 90 → 71%
Audio
70%
Average
76%
82%
Gaming - Weighted Average

Pricecompare

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Oliver Moebel, 2017-02- 9 (Update: 2018-05-15)