Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG review: incredible value with some compromises

Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG: One-minute review

Before I got my hands on the Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG, I thought I was done being surprised by how good the best budget gaming laptops have become. And I absolutely slot this model in that category.

However, the value on this model sporting an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 is very impressive, especially considering that much of the competition priced similarly seems to sport the slightly weaker 4050 GPU, which is still fairly powerful.

In fact, these 4050 and 4060-equipped laptops can handle most gaming duties so the current difference between the best gaming laptops out there is not that huge unless you want to hook up a giant monitor or want something with a 4K OLED screen or something else that’s a QoL upgrade, but not all that necessary for something that’s going to be sitting two feet from your face. That said, we might start to see more pronounced performance differences when newer games take advantage of the power this generation of GPUs can provide.

Looking beyond the value here as well as the power of the current-gen GPUs, the Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG is a smart-looking laptop that looks like a gaming laptop without being in your face about it. It also comes with some AI functionalities that, while interesting, are enough in their infancy that they don’t make a noticeably huge impact on the experience.

Since it is a budget laptop, there are some sacrifices. Even though the display has a fast refresh rate, the colors aren’t that great (so no editing on this). And, the battery life is pretty weak. But, if you’re a gamer on a budget, you probably won’t care and you probably shouldn’t.

Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG: Price & availability

• How much does it cost? Starting at $1,249.00 / £998.31 / AU$1,899.00
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK and Australia

The Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG might just redefine value for gaming laptops. Or, maybe not. Regardless, it’s a damn good deal as you get a 14th-gen i7 CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, along with 16GB of RAM, for $1,249.00 / £998.31 / AU$1,899.00.

And, if you’re in Australia, you can find an even cheaper related version, known as the G6X 9MG, that is mostly differentiated by the fact that it boasts a less-powerful 4050 GPU for AU$1,699.00.

Now, Gigabyte is not alone in this mid-range performance meets budget pricing (well, budget for gaming) category but is one of the best values. The Acer Nitro 16 AMD I reviewed earlier this year, provides some very good 1080p performance and goes for a similar $1,199.99 / AU$2,099.99 (about £945) price tag. Of course, it comes with that less powerful 4050 GPU.

Another good comparison is the Lenovo LOQ 15 (AMD), which goes for $1,379.99 / £1,300 (about AU$2,162), when you get the AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and 4060 GPU. As much as I like Lenovo’s designs and found their pricing to be good, the Gigabyte still offers better pound-for-pound value, especially since you can get a version with 32GB and 2TB of storage for just slightly more at $1,499.00 / AU$2,157.00.

Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG: Specs

If you don’t count the slightly cheaper G6X 9MG, which comes with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, the only real variation in configuration comes in how much RAM and storage space you order, ranging from 16GB to 32GB and 1 to 2TB.

Of course, this laptop’s RAM slots and M.2 SSD slots are easily swappable so you can upgrade to 64GB and some retailers in Australia offer upgrades during purchase to both the RAM and storage.

Beyond that, there’s only one choice when it comes to the screen, which is a 16:10 16-inch panel with a 1920 x 1200p resolution (essentially 1080p but in that 16:10 aspect ratio) and speedy 165Hz refresh rate.

Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG: Design

• Sleek, subdued gaming design
• Decent keyboard and mouse
• Thermals are pretty good except underneath

Physically, the Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG is fairly smart looking. Its all-black colorway with some subtle gray designs on the lid and body’s top plate, both of which are aluminum, are the main indicators that this is a gaming laptop.

Otherwise, it’s a somewhat subdued, almost minimalist look that won’t rat you out if you pull it out at a cafe to work on (though once we get to battery life, you might think twice about doing this anyway).

The panel is basically a 1080p one but in a 16:10 aspect ratio (1920 x 1200p) and runs at a blazing-fast 165Hz refresh rate. It also provides a decent amount of screen space as this is a 16-inch laptop.

Image 1 of 6

Since there is plenty of space, the keyboard is a full-sized one, complete with a separate numpad. There are plenty of hotkeys for different shortcuts as well as a dedicated key to pull up Window’s new AI Copilot.

Since this is a gaming laptop, there’s also RGB backlighting. Unfortunately, it’s as basic as it comes as you can just pick one color for the whole thing. At least you can create macros for the keyboard, which is pretty cool. More importantly, typing on the keyboard is a nice experience, if nothing special.

The touchpad works well and is fairly sizable. The only minor complaint is its center-left placement – something that’s not unique here but that I never quite understood. Of course, that’s me being nit-picky, not to mention the fact that you’ll still need to use an external mouse for any gaming you do.

As far as ports go, the selection is decent with two USB-C and two USB-A along with an HDMI 2.1 port so you can keep a fast refresh rate with an external monitor. My only issue is that some of the ports are on the back – a design choice I’ve always disliked when I come across it.

When it comes to thermals, there’s a lot going on internally from heat piping and thermal intakes and outtakes to the two fans that get pretty loud whenever the laptop is under duress. While those fans can get distracting if you’re not using headphones, there aren’t too many issues with heat as long as you’re not touching the bottom of the laptop.

Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG: Performance

• Very solid gaming performance
• Screen is not the best for colors
• Audio is not bad for a laptop

I was duly impressed with the performance on the Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG. And if you’re okay adjusting some settings or taking some slight performance hits, you’ll be very happy with what this laptop can do.

Powered by a 14th-gen i7 – specifically, one of the new HX chips with AI capabilities – and a Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 (and 32GB of RAM for the test unit), I never felt inhibited by the hardware, whether I was playing Hogwarts Legacy, Cyberpunk 2077, or Battlefield 2042. Now, the hardware included is meant to power that 1920x1200p screen at 165Hz and it certainly does.

While I mentioned earlier that I feel there’s not a huge difference performance-wise between a laptop like this and something sporting more powerful internals, you are going to have to adjust settings a little bit, particularly on the ray-tracing front. As you can see with the benchmarks below, it’s not going to touch something like the Acer Predator Helios 18 and its Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080.

Whether it’s from some of the backend AI functions closing the gap, my actual subjective experience, as opposed to just looking at the number, felt like I wasn’t missing anything. Sure, there was some texture popping here and there or light screen tearing, especially when the POV has moved around quickly, but anyone who’s limited by their budget is not going to be frustrated with the experience here.

On top of that, the screen looks good enough. However, you’re not going to be able to leverage that under-the-hood power for video or photo-editing. At least not if you want accurate results. The sRGB coverage is 67% while the DCI-P3 is 48. This also means that games aren’t going to pop with as much vibrancy as with some other laptops. Also, there’s no HDR on hand.

Regarding sound, Gigabyte advertises this laptop to simulate a 5.1.2 system using Dolby Atmos. While you still end up with that somewhat boxy audio that almost all laptops seem to end up with, there is a little more of a soundstage and a tiny bit more space to what I hear when playing, say, Cyberpunk 2077, thanks to the virtual spatial audio.

Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG: Battery life

• Not very good battery life
• Charging is okay

We’ve seen some gaming laptops start to break the mold in terms of battery life. That’s not the case here. The battery life is, to speak plainly, not very good. Yes, this is the case for a lot of gaming laptops still, but you still get under four hours of regular use per our web surfing benchmark and just a little over an hour of gaming per the PC Mark 10 battery life benchmark.

If you do have to use the Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG untethered, charging it back up is not going to be a speedy affair. It’s not slow necessarily as you’ll get 10% more battery every ten minutes or so, but this is not fast charging.

Should you buy the Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG?

Buy the Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

How I tested the Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG

• Tested for a week
• Pushed it as hard as possible gaming-wise
• Played with various settings

I used the Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG for a week, playing a number of demanding games like Hogwarts Legacy, Battlefield 2042 and Cyberpunk 2077. While doing so, I ran the games at various settings, particularly at the highest ones with ray tracing on wherever possible, and took note of the results. I also tested each aspect of the laptop from the keyboard and touchpad to the webcam and speakers.

After spending time with the Gigabyte Aorus G6X 9KG, it’s clear that this is ideal for any gamer on a budget, as it delivers a lot of performance for its price tag.

I’ve spent the last few years reviewing tech gear for gaming and otherwise, where I’ve gotten a feel for what to look for and how to put a piece of kit through its paces to see whether it’s worth the recommendation.