Gigabyte P56XT (7700HQ, GTX 1070, Full HD) Laptop

The P56XT's quality is based on the usual gaming standard. The case has dark plastic surfaces that look and feel good. However, the case does rattle a little. The workmanship is good, although there would still be a little room for improvement where the materials are not flush (lid and display frame, for example).

The base unit is very stable. Even under strong pressure we did not manage to warp the case. The display cover was less resistant to warping and made noises when bending it with two hands - as is often the case with display covers. There is nothing to criticize about the hinges that keep the screen mostly in place with just a few wobbles when the road gets bumpy.

With a height of 3.0 cm (~1.2 in), the P56XT is neither thick nor slim. It seems as if Gigabyte had thrown the two gaming models P55 (3.4 cm/~1.3 in) and P35 (2.1 cm/~0.8 in) into a pot and melted them into something new that combines the best of both devices (strong GPU and compact build). As you can see from our size comparison, the P56XT's dimensions are quite similar to the Clevo Barebone P651HS-G that we tested as a Schenker XMG P507. 

The device also has an average weight of 2.67 kg (~5.8 lbs). Overall, we would say that the P56XT is easily portable. The case has a distinctive design with accentuated orange lines on both sides (that are not covered by the display cover) as well as orange hinges. 

Our device's connectivity is what you would expect for this price. While most Gigabyte notebooks in the past had to manage without Thunderbolt 3, the P56XT now offers a Thunderbolt 3 Type-C that also supports USB 3.1 Gen2 and DisplayPort. You can easily connect external screens via the HDMI 2.0 port, the Mini DisplayPort 1.2 or the VGA output.

A USB-A 3.0 port and power supply are positioned on the right side. We would have preferred this to be on the left to avoid being in the way of the mouse (for right-handed people). The left side is fitted with a card reader, two audio jacks (headphones and microphone), two USB-A 3.0 ports and an RJ45 LAN port.

The card reader's performance is rather average. It manages 89 MB/s in sequential reading and 76 MB/s when transferring photos - which are normal values that could have just as well come from the Acer Predator 15, Schenker XMG P507 or the Aero 15. Only the MSI GS63VF and the Acer Aspire V15 Nitro fall behind with 21 to 27 MB/s. Note: half of the SD card stands out of the port. USB sticks also have quite a bit of leeway.

The Wi-Fi performance gave us an average to good impression. In terms of reception, the Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 8265 chip is on par with the Killer Wireless n/a/ac 1435 that is used in many gaming notebooks. It cannot keep up with its competition when sending data, however. Other 15-inch devices are one and a half to two times faster.

But there still should not be any restrictions in everyday use. We managed to connect the P56XT to the router and the internet even through several walls.

The device comes with some reading material: a user's manual and warranty information. It also includes a driver DVD and power supply (200 watts, 17 x 9.5 x 2.5 cm/6.7 x 3.7 x 0.9 in). The most interesting accessory is the Hot Swap bay, which - as already mentioned above - can be inserted instead of the optical drive and can hold a 2.5-inch hard drive with which internal storage can be expanded.

The warranty for the P56XT lasts 24 months. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

The fact that the manufacturer has decided to do without a maintenance hatch is not a big problem as the entire cover of the base unit can be removed with a simple double-slot screwdriver (11 screws). Beneath the cover you will find two DDR4 slots, the WLAN module, the battery and drive bays (1x 2.5 inch + 2x M.2 Type 2280 with PCIe support.) One of these slots was free in our test unit.

The cooling system is made up of two fans and two heat pipes, which seems rather sparse in view of the device's graphics performance and its strong heat and system noise development. Although other high-end notebooks also offer two cooling fans at the most, they often have a lot more heat pipes and/or separate cooling systems for CPU and GPU. By the way, the Core i7-7700HQ and the GeForce GTX 1070 are both soldered onto the motherboard.

Touchpad

The ClickPad (10.5 x 7.8 cm/4.1 x 3 in) is rather large for a 15-inch device and comes without dedicated keys. As Gigabyte has decided to go with a smooth finish, fingers glide nicely. The ClickPad reacts precisely and gesture control with multiple fingers (zooming, scrolling, rotating) works well too.

Unfortunately, click recognition is not always reliable. The device does not register right clicks properly, requiring us to sometimes click twice or even three times. The same can be said for the keyboard's Escape key, which is why we are taking 1% off the overall rating. The latter is also connected to some software bugs that might not occur in the standard production. In our case, the system would not shut down properly, which obliged us to force a reboot. Furthermore, the P56XT had some problems with a few tools (HWiNFO, Core Temp and HWMonitor kept crashing or simply would not start).

Update 07/27/17: The aforementioned problems unfortunately occurred with the second test model as well, so the 1% deduction still applies.

Our test unit is equipped with the Full HD panel LG Philips LP156WF6, which we are already familiar with from many gaming notebooks. Not long ago, we tested it in the XMG A517, for example, where it gave us the usual good impression. The P56XT is no exception. Although brightness is a little too low for outdoors (280 cd/m²), the IPS display won us over.

Reaction time is at the typical IPS level: 24.8 ms (back to white) and 37.2 ms (gray to gray). There is flickering up to a brightness level of 95%, but this should not be a problem even for sensitive users due to its high frequency (20 KHz).

With the GeForce GTX 1070, Gigabyte is aiming for the high-end segment, a place where the GTX 1080 (Max-Q) is already taking over. It is equipped with 16 GB of DDR4 RAM and 1.25 TB of storage capacity, which are supposed to offer sufficient reserves for the coming years – at least for most users.

The Turbo Boost feature reaches its full potential in the P56XT. A maximum of 3.8 GHz under single-core load and exactly 3.4 GHz under multi-core load are the exact same numbers as Intel cites. Our test device easily kept up these good results over prolonged periods of time. Even after 50 rounds of our Cinebench loop, the Core i7-7700HQ kept up the same good performance.

The CPU benchmarks confirm the positive impression that we have received so far. Both in the Cinebench R15 and the Cinebench R11.5, the P56XT performs just as fast as its i7-7700HQ-based competition.

The 15-inch device has good cards for system performance. The PCMark 8 suites show no surprises and the P56XT’s performance slots in well among the comparison devices. In practice, system speed was not always optimal. Windows 10 tended to crash or play up when starting programs, which is possibly due to the badly programmed drivers (see latency screenshots further above). This is a problem that we have occasionally noticed in other notebooks as well. These problems happen within a fraction of a second during which the operating system will not react to anything.

Update 07/27/17: We also experienced the mentioned stutters on the second test model. 

Should storage space become tight at some point, games and other data can be saved to the secondary hard drive. The 1-TB drive HGST Travelstar 7K1000 (7200 RPM) is present in many gaming notebooks. This is not surprising, as it offers very good value for your money. If you use the free M.2 slot and change the optical drive for a 2.5-inch drive with the Hot Swap function, you can use up to four storage devices in the P56XT.

There are two chips available for GPU calculations. Thanks to Nvidia’s Optimus technology, the P56XT can smoothly switch from the integrated HD Graphics 630 to the GeForce GTX 1070, which saves a lot of power when doing simple tasks such as Office, watching videos or surfing the web. On the downside, there is no G-Sync (nor 120-Hz display), which would round-off the content display nicely.

After the GeForce GTX 1080 and GTX 1080 Max-Q, the GeForce GTX 1070 is Nvidia’s third-strongest Pascal GPU for notebooks. The DirectX-12 model offers 2048 shaders and 8 GB of GDDR5 VRAM that is attached via a 193-bit-wide interface and effectively runs at 8000 MHz. Nvidia cites a Turbo clock rate of 1443 to 1645 MHz, although more is possible in perfect conditions (a maximum of 1835 in the GPU-Z render test). 

Our first impression was that the P56XT seemed to be making good use of its graphics power. The Acer Predator 15 and Schenker XMG P507 do perform a little faster during the 3DMark tests, but a certain level of fluctuations is normal. We became suspicious when competing devices with the GTX 1070 performed better by 10% during the Unigine Heaven 4.0 benchmark.

As it turned out when we checked the clock rates, throttling was increasing in the core of the GeForce GTX 1070. Although throttling occurs regularly during unrealistic stress tests such as FurMark and Prime95, during normal 3D use (including benchmarks and games), clock rates should not sink below base clock rates.

This drop in performance is particularly noticeable in our “The Witcher 3” test, which runs for 60 minutes with 1920x1080 pixels and maximum details. During the test, the frame rate dropped from about 57 fps to an average of 45 fps very quickly. That corresponds to a loss of 20%. We therefore feel compelled to subtract 20% off the game performance. The main reason for throttling in our test unit was the GPU temperature that reached 90°C (~194 °F) in a flash. Although we could not find any deficiencies during our intensive check of the cooling system (there is enough thermal paste), our test unit, which is a sample for the press, must have some defect.

Despite the throttling mentioned above that also makes its mark on the gaming benchmarks, the P56XT’s speed is still closer to the other GTX 1070 notebooks rather than the cheaper GTX 1060 devices. As long as everything is done properly, all modern games can be played in native resolution with full details. This includes role-playing games such as “Mass Effect Andromeda”, racing games such as “Dirt 4”, action-adventures like “Assassins’' Creed Syndicate”, strategy games such as “Warhammer Dawn of War 3” or Ego-Shooters or multiplayer games (“Star Wars Battlefront”, “Rainbow Six Siege”, “Rocket League”…).

Update 07/27/17: We added the benchmark results for the new survival hit PUBG, but we did not repeat the other gaming tests with the replacement device. The frame rates should be slightly higher compared to the first test sample thanks to the lack of GPU throttling.

While idling, the P56XT could be quieter as well. The two cooling fans never turn off completely (even when the Smart Manager is set to "Quiet"), but continue running at a constant audible level of 34 to 35 dB(A). Apart from when the system is booting, the cooling fans never turn on for no reason, as is the case in the XMG P507. However, the P56XT does have some annoying characteristics. Depending on its load, the cooling fans tend to hum (while idling) or throb (under load).

Update 07/27/17: The fan characteristics of the second test model were not perfect, either, but the overall impression is better this time. The notebook was much quieter in 3D application at 39-49 dB(A).

A maximum of 63 °C (~145 °F) in “The Witcher 3” and a max. 68 °C (~154 °F) in the stress test mean that it is not a good idea to use the P56XT for gaming on your lap. The top of the base unit also heats up to 54 and 60 °C respectively (~129 and 140 °F). Its competition does a better job during prolonged sessions.

Update 07/27/17: While the second test model is quieter, the chassis temperatures are even a couple of degrees higher, so the distance to the competition grows and the rating in this section is lower.

The sound quality is normal. The 2.0 system is positioned at the front of the notebook and has no blatant errors, as you will see from our audio analysis. This is also due to the pre-installed software Dolby Home Theater that offers several profiles, sound improvements and an equalizer. The maximum volume of 81 dB(A) is enough for the P56XT to fill small to medium-sized rooms. Most comparison devices had similar capacities.

Frequency diagram in comparison (checkboxes above can be turned on/off)

Power consumption while idling is rather low due to graphics switching. It needs 13 to 22 watts, which is lower than the already energy-efficient Schenker XMG P507 (14 to 24 watts). Under load, power consumption values remain acceptable. 85 watts during the first scene of the 3DMark 06 and up to 208 watts during the stress test are typical for a GTX 1070 notebook, although we would have given the P56XT a 230-watt power supply, just to be on the safe side (200 watts seems a little tight).

The biggest highlight of this entire review is the device's long battery runtime. While 2 hours during 3D mode (at full brightness) are average, the P56XT hums its way past most of its competitors during real-life testing with medium brightness. It can manage about 6.5 hours of surfing the web via Wi-Fi and 6 hours of playing HD films. This is long for a gaming laptop. We managed to get a maximum of 9.5 hours out of the 15-inch device, which is a great result.

These top-notch results are not coming out of nowhere. Gigabyte has given the device a strong battery with 91 Wh. This is admirable considering three storage device bays and the Hot Swap bay, which all take up a lot of space.