Gigabyte G5 and G7: Gaming notebooks with Core i5-12500H and RTX 3060 presented

Gigabyte updates its popular gaming notebooks to the 12th Intel Core generation with regard to the price-performance ratio. The Gigabyte G5 and G7 get an update and now come with an Intel Core i5-12500H, as well as a maximum of an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card.

Gigabyte G5 and G7: What’s in the hardware refresh

The two gaming notebooks Gigabyte G5 and G7 get a 2022 hardware refresh. One of the most important innovations is the change to the Intel Alder Lake CPU generation. All laptop models are equipped with the Intel Core i5-12500H, which enables a maximum clock rate of 4.5 GHz.

However, there are differences in the graphics card, because the 15.6-inch Gigabyte G5 and the 17.3-inch Gigabyte G7 are each offered in three variants. They start with a GeForce RTX 3050 from Nvidia with 4 GB GDDR6 memory, which can optionally be replaced by an RTX 3050 Ti or an RTX 3060 with 6 GB GDDR6 RAM. The latter also gets more powerful with 180 watts (compared to 150W for the 3050 models).

Thanks to the integrated MUX switch, the power of the graphics cards can also be transmitted directly to the display, which results in an increase in performance and generally higher frame rates, according to the manufacturer.

The whole thing is combined, regardless of the model, with 16 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM in dual-channel mode (2x 8 GB), which can be expanded up to 64 GB. Storage is provided on a total of 512 GB in the form of two M.2 2280 SSDs, one with PCIe Gen 3×4 and a faster one with PCIe Gen 4×4 connectivity.

144 Hz displays with full HD resolution

The displays of the Gigabyte G5 and G7 gaming notebooks differ only in terms of size. Both rely on a Full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels and offer a refresh rate of 144 Hz. However, the manufacturer does not mention concrete details about the brightness and more.

The manufacturer’s own Windforce cooling system provides a strong cooling performance. It consists of dual fans with 59 fins and five heat pipes and is thus supposed to cool down the notebooks properly even under extreme load.

Despite the large cooling capacity, both notebooks are comparatively slim. The G5 measures 36.0 x 23.8 x 2.39 cm (width x depth x height) and weighs 1.99 kg. The 17.3 inch G7 weighs 2.49 kg and measures 39.7 x 26.2 x 2.5 cm.

Both notebooks have a 64 Wh lithium-ion battery in common, which Gigabyte does not specify in terms of runtimes. Other features include Gigabit-LA, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. Two 2-watt stereo speakers are also installed, which also support DTS:X Ultra Audio, as well as a microphone and a 1 MP HD webcam.

Thunderbolt 4 only in combination with RTX 3060

The selection of ports is also wide, which the Gigabyte G5 and G7 models share to a large extent. You have one USB 2.0 Type A, one USB 3.2 Gen 1, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-C), one Mini-DisplayPort 1.4, one HDMI 2.1, one combined 3.5 mm jack, one additional 3.5 mm microphone input and one RJ-45 LAN port.

One of the two USB-C ports of the GeForce RTX 3060 variants also supports Thunderbolt 4. The selection is rounded off by a microSD card reader. Of course, a backlit keyboard is not to be missed, which comes in 15 different colors in the case of the new notebooks.

We were able to test for ourselves that Gigabyte can build excellent gaming notebooks in October 2021 with the Gigabyte AORUS 15P YD. Here, a compact case was combined with a strong performance. Presumably, new hardware refreshes with a switch to the Alder Lake platform will also be coming from the AORUS division in the near future.

Prices and availabilities

So far, the manufacturer does not mention details about the prices and availabilities of the two new gaming notebooks Gigabyte G5 and G7 in the announcement. The predecessor model G5 KD-52DE123SD is currently 849.00 Euros in the Idealo price comparison with comparable features with i5-11400H, 16 GB RAM and RTX 3060.

However, you can get more details on the product websites of the G5 (Intel 12th Gen) and G7 (Intel 12th Gen).