Gigabyte has announced the launch of two new gaming laptops, the 15-inch Gigabyte G5 and the 17-inch Gigabyte G7. Both are equipped with an Intel Core i5 and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050, RTX 3050 Ti or RTX 3060 graphics card.
These particular laptops were made with multitasking in mind, according to the company, and not only are they able to balance work- or school-related tasks with decent gaming performance, but they’re also 22% lighter than previous generations. It also includes a Thunderbolt 4-compatible USB Type-C port, as well as a PCle Gen4-compatible SSD slot. Even though these new laptops have a 12th Gen Intel Core i5, they only have DDR4 RAM.
This isn’t Gigabyte’s first foray into the laptop market in 2022, with an earlier launch of the Gigabyte Aorus 17. However, that was a purely dedicated high-end gaming laptop, while the G5 and G7 are hybrid gaming machines meant to also chew work, school, and games and spit them out (within reason, of course).
As of now, there is no confirmed release date or price for any of the configurations listed in Gigabyte press release (opens in new tab)but given the specs, we suspect the price is in the sub-$1,500 range.
Analysis: Entering the casual market
It makes sense why Gigabyte is trying to get a piece of what it calls “Generation Z” gamers, as COVID-19 has completely changed the PC and laptop markets.
While dedicated gaming laptops still have their dedicated audience, there is a much greater need for laptops that can function as work machines for the remote worker, yet still affordable. The G5 and G7 try to capture this emerging casual market made up of a significant amount of Zoomers.
We’ll have to wait and see if they stack up against the best thin and light gaming laptops on the market and if Gen Z will end up biting.