Aorus 15 BSF review: The QHD gaming laptop with an RTX 4070 and great runtimes

Gigabyte’s Aorus 15 BSF is a mid-range 15. 6-inch gaming laptop that relies on up-to-date hardware: Raptor Lake, Ada Lovelace, DDR5, PCIe 4. The total package is available for around US$1,700.

Competitors include the HP Omen Transcend 16 , MSI Pulse 17 B13VGK , Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 , Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41 and the Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS . Gigabyte has gone for a black metal case with smooth, matte surfaces. The laptop doesn’t feature any extroverted design features.

An LED strip attached to the bottom front of the lid (when the laptop is open) brings some color to the device – along with its illuminated keyboard. The battery (screwed in, not glued on) as well as the rest of the laptop’s innards can be accessed after removing the bottom of the case. The laptop doesn’t seem to have any design or build flaws.

All the gaps line up and there is no material excess to be seen. The base unit can only be slightly twisted – the lid more so. Although: Pressing the back doesn’t lead to any changes in picture.

The hinges hold the lid securely in position and its maximum opening angle is about 130 degrees. It is possible to open the device with one hand. Within the comparison field, the Aorus 15 counts as one of the largest laptops in terms of footprint.

Its weight is about average. The Aorus features three USB-A ports (2x USB 3. 2 Gen 2, 1x USB 3.

2 Gen 1) and two USB-C connections (1x Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB 3. 2 Gen 2). The TB4 port supports Power Delivery but it can’t output a DisplayPort signal.

This means it has a total of two video outputs, namely one HDMI port (2. 1) and one dedicated Mini DisplayPort (1. 4).

The laptop doesn’t have an SD card reader. Its video outputs, power connection and Gigabit Ethernet port are all situated on the back of the device, meaning cables all run out the back and will likely not get in your way. In ideal conditions (no WLAN devices in close vicinity, short distance between laptop and server PC), the laptop achieves excellent WiFi data rates.

The device uses a WiFi 6E chip (Intel AX211). Wired connections are taken care of by a controller (RTL8125; 2. 5 GBit) from Realtek.

The quality of its webcam (2. 1 MP, max. 1,920 x 1,080 pixels) doesn’t differ compared to the competition.

It doesn’t feature a mechanical cover. Aside from the usual documents (quick start guide and warranty information), the laptop doesn’t come with any additional accessories. After removing all of the screws on the bottom of the device, the bottom section of the case can be removed with the help of a spatula or a plectrum.

Subsequently, you can access the RAM slots (both occupied), the SSD (PCIe 4, M. 2 2280), the second M. 2 2280 slot (PCIe 4, M.

2 2280), the BIOS battery, the WLAN module, the fans, the speakers and the battery. The 15. 6-inch Gigabyte laptop comes with a one-year warranty.

It isn’t possible to extend this. The illuminated chiclet keyboard’s smooth keys have a medium lift and a clear pressure point. The keys’ resistance is fine – while typing, they have a small amount of give, but this shouldn’t be too annoying.

Positive: All four arrow keys are regularly sized. All-in-all, this is a good keyboard for everyday use. A click pad (12.

1 x 7. 6 cm) acts as a replacement for a mouse and your fingers glide over its smooth surface nicely. It has a short lift and a clear pressure point.

The fast-reacting 165-Hz screen scores points thanks to its matte surface and lack of PWM flickering. The 15. 6-inch display (2,560 x 1,440 pixels, IPS), which has a ratio of 16:9, achieved brightness and contrast levels which failed to meet their respective targets (> 300 cd/m² and 1.

000:1). The display already showed a good color depiction in its delivered state: With a deviation of 2. 24, its target was met (DeltaE < 3).

Calibrating didn’t lead to any noticeable difference. Color accuracy is present: The panel can completely depict the sRGB and DCI-P3 color spaces and 86 per cent of the Adobe RGB space can be depicted. The viewing-angle stable IPS panel can be read from any position.

Outside, you can read from the screen if the sun isn’t shining all too brightly. The Aorus 15 BSF counts as one of the more powerful mid-range gaming laptops and it can also be used in different fields. The necessary performance is provided by Raptor Lake and Ada Lovelace.

The present device can be found for around US$1,700. The computer’s control center (Gigabyte Control Center) provides a higher-level AI Boost function which we used in addition to the typical performance modes (see table). Subsequently, the Control Center selected the appropriate profile – “Gaming Mode” and “Creator Mode” for the benchmarks, “Energy Saving Sleep Mode” for the battery tests.

The Core-i7-13700H processor (Raptor Lake) consists of eight efficiency cores (no hyper threading, 1. 8 – 3. 7 GHz) and six performance cores (hyper threading, 2.

4 – 5 GHz). In total, this adds up to 20 logical CPU cores. The laptop’s benchmark results when connected to the power were above the CPU average.

In battery use, its more relevant single-thread performance (163 points) dropped a similar amount to its multi-thread performance (1,614 points). The CB15 loop test confirmed the CPU turbo as being permanently used. although, the clock rate sank a bit after the first run, regardless of which profile was used.

“Turbo” affected the in total higher performance level. The smooth-running system isn’t missing any computing performance. Rendering and gaming proves to be no problem for the laptop.

The RAM’s transfer rates were about on an average level for DDR5 4800 RAM. The standardized latency monitor test (web surfing, 4k video playback, Prime95 high-load) revealed some anomalies. The system does not seem to be suitable for real-time video and audio editing.

Future software updates could lead to improvements or even degradations. The laptop is fitted with a 1-TB SSD (PCIe 4, M. 2 2280) from Gigabyte which showed very good data rates.

Positive: We didn’t note any temperature related throttling. The device has space for a further SSD. The GeForce RTX 4070 features 4,608 shaders, fast GDDR6 memory (although only 8,192 MB) and a 128 bit wide bus.

Gigabyte has given it a maximum TGP of 140 watts (115 watts + 25 watts) – more isn’t possible. According to the Witcher 3 test, the full TGP isn’t taken advantage of. Its benchmark results were above the previous RTX 4070 average.

Using dGPU mode didn’t lead to any improvements. Changing between Optimus Mode (“Intel graphics output mode”) and dGPU Mode (“Nvidia graphics output mode”) can be done by through the Control Center (general -> GPU MUX switch). You always have to restart the laptop.

Gigabyte relies on a MUX switch – Advanced Optimus is not supported. The laptop is intended for QHD gaming at high to maximum settings. Higher resolutions would work in combination with a suitable monitor – at times, with reduced settings.

The frame rates on the games we tested ranged above the determined RTX 4070 average. Using dGPU mode didn’t lead to any higher performance. Using Meeting Mode allows for gaming with lower noise emissions: While the GPU performance remains on the same level, the CPU performance sinks due to its reduced Power Limit.

The settings may have to be reduced then. In order to test whether frame rates remain stable over a longer period of time, we let the game The Witcher 3 run for around 60 minutes in Full HD resolution and using maximum quality settings. We didn’t move the character.

We didn’t note any drops in frame rate. While gaming, noise emissions rise up to 55 dB(A) (“Turbo”). When we used “AI Boost” mode, we measured 53 dB(A).

Meeting Mode offers a more balanced combination of performance, emissions and power consumption. In idle mode and in everyday use (office, internet), the two fans generally don’t make too much noise – they sometimes don’t turn at all. That doesn’t mean they stay silent all the time – we measured up to 37 dB(A).

Our stress test and Witcher 3 test caused the laptop to heat up noticeably, but not extremely. In everyday use (office, internet), case temperatures generally remain within the green area – compared to similar laptops, they are a little on the high side. The stress test (Prime95 and Furmark in continuous use) creates an extreme scenario in order to check the system stability under full load.

The CPU (P: 2. 7 – 2. 8 GHz, E: 2.

5 GHz) began the test with average clock speeds. After a short while, the clock sank down to around 2. 6 – 2.

7 GHz (P cores) and 2. 1 – 2. 2 GHz (E cores).

The GPU’s clock sank from 2. 3 GHz to 2. 1 GHz.

The stereo speakers produce a decent sound, but there is hardly any bass. Headphones or external speakers are recommended for a better sound experience. The Gigabyte laptop didn’t flag up any issues in terms of power consumption.

The rates are on a normal level for the installed hardware. The Witcher 3 test and stress test were run with relatively constant power consumption. The power supply (240 watts) is sufficiently sized.

The 15. 6-inch device achieved runtimes of 10:19 h and 9:01 h in the WLAN test (calling up websites via a script) and video test (short movie Big Buck Bunny (H. 264 encoding, FHD) in a loop), respectively.

During both tests, the laptop’s energy-saving features were disabled and the display brightness was set to about 150 cd/m². The wireless modules were also disabled for the video test. The device delivered very good runtimes.

Many of the competitors came in far behind the Aorus 15 despite their similar battery capacities. The Aorus laptop still couldn’t come close to the Asus TUF Gaming A16 ‘s incredible results. The Asus computer benefits from its more frugal AMD APU.

The Aorus 15 is made for QHD gaming (high to maximum settings), but it also does great in other fields of use (video editing, rendering). Its Core i7-13700H and GeForce RTX 4070 deliver the necessary performance. Both chips run with a consistently high clock rate.

A fast PCIe 4 SSD (1 TB) delivers the required storage and makes sure loading times are kept short. Gigabyte’s Aorus 15 BSF is a great and well-rounded mid-range gaming laptop. Noise and heat emissions are on the expected levels for this price-range.

Lower noise emissions could be achieved at the expense of some of the laptop’s performance. Its matte IPS panel (15. 6 inches, 2,560 x 1,440 pixels, 165 Hz, DCI P3) generally made a good impression.

Although, its brightness and contrast could be a little better. Charging the battery fully (99 Wh) leads to practical runtimes of around 9 to 10 h – a very good result. Positive: The battery can be charged via a USB-C cable (min 65 watts, 20 V) – its USB-C port (Thunderbolt 4) supports Power Delivery.

This means the bulky proprietary power connector (240 watts) doesn’t always have to be transported with the device. An alternative to this laptop could be the Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS , which offers better CPU performance, a 16:10 display and even longer runtimes. In terms of graphics performance, it is at a bit of a disadvantage compared to the Aorus 15.

The version of the Aorus 15 BSF which we tested can be found on Amazon for US$1,699. .