A gaming laptop with 105W RTX 3060 variant and 16GB of RAM out of the box? And also a nice 144Hz IPS screen and 512GB SSD storage rather than a 256GB? Is it possible to have all of this at a reasonable price? Yes, it is, let us introduce you to the Gigabyte G5 KD-52US123SO 15.6″ gaming laptop with 11th Gen i5-11400H Intel’s CPU, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU on this review.
If this hardware really can complete your gaming setup? Let’s find that out.
A Civilized Look
If you are a gamer on the go, the design of this laptop will impress you. With the matte black finish chassis, the aesthetic of this laptop looks civilized, subtle, and premium, yet it packs killer technology inside. The 3-sides thin bezels are also a plus point.
Despite the thin top bezel, they still include an HD webcam so you won’t need to purchase and carry around an external webcam. We appreciate this feature since the more-expensive machines like this one does not even include one.
What does it contain?
Starting off, let’s take a look quick at the specs. To be honest, it does not contain the best technology today, but for the price, it’s amazing value, especially the 105W version of RTX 3060 GPU.
| Product | GIGABYTE G5 KD - 15.6" FHD 144Hz, Intel Core i5-11400H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU 6GB GDDR6, 16GB Memory, 512GB SSD, Win11 Home, Gaming Laptop (G5 KD-52US123SO) |
| Screen | 15.6″ Full-HD IPS screen with 144Hz refresh rate and 1920×1080 screen resolution
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| CPU | 11th Gen i5-11400H with 4.50GHz Turbo Boost |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 with 105W TGP |
| RAM (2x memory slots) | 16GB DDR4-3200 (2x8GB, dual-channel, Max 64GB) |
| Storage | 512GB SSD |
| Other Features | 1x HDMI 2.0 (with HDCP), 1x mini DP 1.4, 1x USB2.0 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type-A), 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-A), 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 1x Audio combo jack, 1x SD Card Reader, Wi-Fi 6, RJ-45 Network port, Bluetooth v5.2, a 720p webcam, a backlit Keyboard with Numpad, Gigabyte Control Center app |
| Pros & Cons | VIEW |
Games Killer
The G5 KD-52US123SO holds a “High” performance 11th Gen i5-11400H CPU along with 16GB of RAM, an RTX 3060 GPU, and 512GB SSD. As expected with a 6-Core CPU and an RTX 3060, this laptop delivers. It is capable to run recent games in ultra settings with a fair FPS result and older titles will perform even better.
A Prime CPU & RAM
Among the most popular high-performance processors for today’s fast laptops, the CPU of this laptop, the Intel’s i5-11400H roars. This 6-Cores and 12-Threads CPU makes this Gigabyte G5 KD model capable to deliver all-around results. During intensive gameplays or heavy editing processes, this chip can offer around 4.50 GHz. As for the base clock speed, it is 2.7 GHz.
Furthermore, we also see the benchmark of this CPU’s performance, which outperforms many high-end chips such as the 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11370H and 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10750H. This means you are getting a laptop that can run multiple PC tasks including gaming without issues.
We also want to emphasize that this machine comes with dual-channel RAM mode, which also helps to boost its performance.
For the RAM, it has 16GB DDR4 RAM instead of 8GB pre-installed. So without the hassle to open your new laptop and doing an upgrade, you are having a capable laptop out of the box, which is important. If needed, you can also expand the RAM capacity up to 64GB down the road. It is a big plus that you have this option.
A Formidable GPU
The Gigabyte G5 KD-52US123SO packs the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU 105W variant, which is faster than the other variants, such as 60, 65, 70, 80, and even 100W variants. This GPU also has 6GB VRAM which is on the higher end when compared to the RTX 30-series that have 4GB VRAM, such as RT 3050.
When it comes to the gaming performance, this GPU is 25% faster than its prior generation, the RTX 20-series chip, the RTX 2060. This means it can tackle very demanding games with high settings. And for less-demanding games, like Star Wars Squadrons, will be playable in 4K quality. If you are a creative user who often does photo or video editing or rendering, this laptop is a good option as well.
What is more, this next-gen RTX 3060 has the new NVIDIA technologies like DLSS and Ray-Tracing support. This generation of Graphics chips can bring your games’ graphics more life-like. Here is the difference when the RTX (Ray-Tracing) is on or off with Minecraft.
It’s only a matter of time before new games use more and more of your laptop’s graphics capabilities. More and more cinematic games will be published in the coming years so it’s really a big plus to have a laptop that can keep up with those new games. And most importantly without breaking your bank.
Blazing Fast SSD
Lastly, we have a 512GB SSD storage pre-installed inside this G5 KD-52US123SO laptop. Then there are also two additional expansion slots available, a PCIe 3 & SATA 2280 M.2 SSD port and a 2.5″ HDD/ SSD slot for 7mm drives. So what you are getting here is a total of three storage options. This is an amazing value and a very rare option for a gaming laptop.
We really love the SSD hard drives. It loads games and programs in a heartbeat, definitely way faster than non-SSD hard drives.
Where else does it shine?
Other than the trio combined for the performance we’ve already mentioned above, there are also hot features that make this laptop shines:
Smart Control Center
The G5 KD-52US123SO comes with a smart Control Center program, which you can use to take advantage of so many useful features with your Gigabyte laptop.
Download the user guide of the program here (from Gigabyte website).
Once opened, you can change many settings here. For example, you can change the performance mode to a balanced or silent one. That will save the battery life, and silence the fans, but it will reduce the performance.
You can also change the LED lighting of the keyboard with this Control Center, as well as change the backlit brightness, and adjust the fan speed, it’s a useful program.
Speaking about the fans’ noise, yes, this laptop can get loud when performing very demanding games or programs, but that’s to be expected with a gaming laptop due to its power and functional cooling system. However, the fans’ noise is not that unbearable. If it becomes a problem for you, investing a good headphones will do the trick.
Colorful Display
One of the nice features of this G5 KD-52US123SO laptop is its colorful and stunning 15.6″ screen with a 144Hz refresh rate. A full-HD 1080p display with vibrant color and great viewing angles. This resolution is ideal for the 15-inch gaming notebooks category.
What is more, the RTX 3060 GPU pairs with the 144Hz screen to offer a more buttery smooth gaming result. Watch the video below to see how silky smooth a gaming scene is on a 144Hz display rather than 120 or 60Hz.
In addition, the Ray-Tracing technology makes the game’s graphics come to life in full-HD glory. The anti-glare coating helps to cuts down reflections and eye strains.
Want to set up 2 monitors? No problem, you can utilize the HDMI port to connect your PC to a monitor and increase your framerates.
Modern Keyboard
The other feature you will enjoy using is the keyboard. It’s a chiclet-style backlit keyboard with a dedicated Numpad on the right side. With the keyboard’s backlit settings, you can choose up to 15 different solid colors. It’s nice to have a keyboard that will light up in a dark room, so hitting the wrong keys can be avoided.
Moving to the trackpad, it is a quite large trackpad with a Windows precision driver that can perform multi-gesture movements.
Rare ports
When it comes to connectivity, Gigabyte has always been very generous with its products, including this G5 KD-52US123SO model. There are 4 USB ports, an HDMI, a mini DisplayPort, and an Ethernet port, as well as an SD card reader slot which is quite rare to find on a gaming laptop these days.
So it is great to have them on your new laptop. Yes, wireless technology has advanced significantly, but for gaming, there is no replacement for a hard-wired connection. You don’t want to lose your “battle” just because your wireless drops right? Thanks to the ethernet port of this laptop so you can take advantage of your network performance.
Furthermore, it has Bluetooth v5.2, a built-in HD webcam, a set of stereo speakers, a dual-array microphone, and DTS:X Ultra technology.
Are we impressed?
Yes, we are very impressed. Although it is not the best out there, Gigabyte packs this laptop with all those features that many gamers will appreciate. The 105W variant of RTX 3060 GPU sets this apart from its competitors in this price range.
Especially today where the graphics chips are very hard to get, it’s great to get a laptop with this 105W GPU, so yes, we highly recommend this Gigabyte G5 KD-52US123SO.
