Gigabyte P35W v2 Laptop review

With entrants like the Razer Blade and MSI GS60 Ghost Pro, the trend in laptops toward slimming down has spread like wildfire in the gaming space. Gigabyte has been there right alongside its rivals, but has focused on conceiting as little as possible in its quest for shaving off inches and pounds.

The latest proof of that is the Gigabyte P35W v2, its 15.6-inch thin and light gaming notebook refreshed for Nvidia's latest mobile GPUs, the 800M series. Packed with a 1920 x 1080 IPS LCD panel, this mobile rig is home to the latest Intel Core i7 chips and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 870M with 6GB of GDDR5 video RAM.
But here's the kicker: in addition to space for a whopping three storage slots, this monster has an optical drive slot front and center in the base. (The unit I saw on the PAX East show floor housed a 128GB solid-state drive and a 1TB, 5400 rpm mechanical unit.) And if you're the type who cares little for physical media, Gigabyte includes a 2.5-inch drive bay bracket for you to swap in yet another SSD.

Slim without (much) sacrifice

Even with the optical drive and two storage units, the P35W v2 measures a wafer-thin 15.16 x 10.63 x 0.83 inches (W x D x H) and hits the scale at 5.07 pounds. Not too shabby for a mid-sized gaming rig with all the trimmings. Not to mention that this machine is just as thin as its tinier, drive-less counterpart, the Gigabyte P34G.

And while every model comes with either a DVD or Blu-ray drive, you can swap that out with an empty bay to hack off another few ounces. This is all about giving the player choice while still maintaining that price-per-part advantage that Gigabyte maintains over the competition.

However, you're not looking at an all-aluminum unibody design here – that would cost you a considerable amount of cash. To keep the price point sane, Gigabyte didn't change much, if anything, about the P35W v2 on the outside. That means the arguably tacky plastic bezel and separate keyboard frame remain. You'll invariably feel some flex under these keys, but bright backlighting and some snappy travel help make up for that.
While I wasn't able to test it out much – the unit was running a demo reel that I was not permitted to interfere with – the clickpad looked nice enough. But judging from previous Gigabyte gaming laptops, I wouldn't expect much here either.

Staying away from 3K

One thing that's immediately apparent in Gigabyte's gaming lineup is that the company has yet to dip its feet deeper into the pixel pool. None of the vendor's gaming rigs sport beyond-HD displays, but are firmly rooted in FHD.
Given the company's focus on value over the latest and greatest, the move makes sense. That's fine for even 2014, but come next year, it will definitely be time to catch up. PC game makers already support 2, 3 and 4K resolutions in their latest releases.

Playing a demo video of Path of Exile, the P35W v2 still spit out gorgeous, vibrant visuals, with bright and vivid reds from bursts of flame and deep blacks throughout some dank dungeons. Plus, the screen's super wide – 178 degrees, Gigabyte claims – viewing angles will make viewing or playing content with more friends all the merrier.

Early verdict

It's tough to make too firm of judgment calls yet on Gigabyte's refreshed gaming laptops for Nvidia's fastest mobile graphics chips yet. Especially considering I wasn't able to play games on the P35W v2 on the PAX East show floor.

However, it's crystal clear that the company's focus remains on cramming the most into its mobile rigs for your cash. An optical drive or three storage bays is, as far as I know, unheard of from a gaming notebook this thin.
Gigabyte promises that the P35W v2 will launch later this month, and the company is targeting a $1,599 (about £956, AU$1,702) starting price. I'll be the judge of whether the price is, you know, right when we score this machine for a full review.