Review – AORUS 15G XC (i7-10870H | RTX 3070 (max 105W) | 2x16GB DDR4-2933 | 512GB NVMe SSD | 15.6″ FHD 240Hz)

AORUS has recently announced their brand-new refreshed gaming laptop lineup with the latest RTX 30 series GPU. Today what we have in our studio is the AORUS 15G XC which comes equipped with the Intel Core i7 10870H and RTX 3070 Laptop. Spoiler alert, I think AORUS has done a pretty good job this time.

Previously, we reviewed the AORUS 15G XB and we had a love-hate relationship with that particular model. Frankly speaking, my biggest grudge against that model is the higher price tag which was contributed by the use of premium materials as well as the mechanical keyboard. To be fair to AORUS, some users do willing to pay the premium for high-end materials and features.

Video Review

AORUS 15G XC Specs

Like I mentioned earlier, this is a hardware refresh for their existing 15G lineup. That goes without saying, the chassis design has largely remained the same with the exception of the material. Instead of a full-metal build, the 15G XC is now made out of plastic. Not the kind of flimsy plastic but the standard plastic used by many laptops with internal structures to support it. So you don’t have to worry about the compromised durability.

Another advantage of using plastic is the reduced weight, this model is coming at 2KG, a whopping 300grams lighter than its predecessor.

I must give AORUS credits for leaving plenty of breathing room at the bottom panel, allowing the intake fans to cool down the components effectively.

Opening the lid, you will see a 15.6″ Full HD 240Hz Sharp IGZO LCD panel. It has 72% NTSC colour gamut coverage which translates to about 99% sRGB. In short, it is a great panel for both video entertainment as well as fast-paced gaming thanks to the 240Hz refresh rate. One thing to take note of is that you don’t get adaptive sync which can be a bit annoying when gaming at lower frame rates.

On that side note, the webcam is still around for your conference calls just that the positioning is a bit weird considering AORUS wanted sleek thin bezels on the screen.

The built-in speakers are fine. At 2W per channel, don’t expect it to sound great and you’re better off with a pair of good headphones for a better gaming experience.

Then, the keyboard. Interesting enough, we’re not getting the mechanical keyboard this time and I think it is perfectly alright. First of all, a mechanical keyboard with a clicky mechanism is out of the equation for being a good gaming keyboard. Secondly, this standard chiclet keyboard provides a better user experience, doesn’t matter if you use it for typing or gaming.

My only complaint is the arrow cluster being jumbled up together with the numpad and modifier keys.

As for the IO:

Left:

• HDMI 2.0
• Mini DisplayPort 1.4
• USB 3.0 (Type-A)
• 3.5mm audio combo jack
• 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet

Right

• 2x USB 3.0 (Type-A)
• USB 3.0 (Type-C)
• UHS-II SD Card Reader
• Barrel charging port

Now, here’s some compromise AORUS has made for the 15G XC. Previously, the USB-C port supports Thunderbolt 3, this time, it is just plain USB 3.0.

Performance

Synthetic Benchmark

In terms of the CPU synthetic benchmark, it is expected that the Intel Core i7-10870H to be outperformed by the Core i7-10875H. Generally, you won’t be able to tell the difference between the two in real-life usage situations. We are seeing an increased score largely due to the use of the RTX 30 series graphics which will ultimately provide better productivity and gaming performance.

Gaming Benchmark

Gaming performance is very dependant on the driver updates as well as the game support. As you can see the number is everywhere even if we were to compare it with our historical data from the 15G XB. Sometimes the RTX 3070 is hardly any better than its predecessor, then in some other games, it totally smokes the RTX 2070 Super Max-Q. All in all, you will experience a better and much more consistent gaming performance on newer titles. For example, we’re getting a very enjoyable Full HD 50-60 fps on games such as Control and CyberPunk 2077 with maxed out graphics.

The rated TGP for this RTX 3070 Laptop is at 90W with 15W of Dynamic Boost 2.0. Most of the time during gaming we observed the GPU TDP hovering around 95-100W. The cooling system has done an excellent job at cooling both the CPU and GPU. The maximum temperature for both CPU and GPU after 30 minutes of torture test only to max out at 91c for the CPU and 85c for the GPU.

Upgradability

The bottom cover can be lifted after removing a couple of Torx screws. There are two RAM slots and two M.2 slots for storage. The WiFi card can also be changed but since it comes with a Killer WiFi by default, it is pretty much good to go.

Battery Life

For a gaming laptop, battery life is definitely not its strength. Even if AORUS has provided a 99WHr battery, you can’t expect it to last long with all the powerful components that come with it. General usage such as web browsing and video watching with the laptop at balanced power mode only will extract about 5-6 hours of battery life out of it.

Conclusion: AORUS 15G XC

All in all, I think AORUS has done a great job for this generation. The build quality is still impressive as always and they manage to shave off some weight through the chassis material changes without compromising the durability. Most importantly, the price is now way more competitive, starting at just RM7,699 for this particular model. It is RM2,000 cheaper when compared with the previous generation which starts from RM10,000.

What I wanted to see AORUS could improve is their factory default specification. I know you can always upgrade it after purchasing but hear me out. For example, our unit comes with a massive 32GB RAM but only to pair with a 512GB SSD. Hey, games nowadays are taking up storage space like no tomorrow and I think 1TB SSD is a good pairing for the AORUS 15G. Apart from that, this is a solid gaming laptop with RTX 30 series card on it.

Pros:

• Excellent display for work, movies or games
• Good performance and excellent cooling
• Competitive pricing

Cons:

• Dropped support for Thunderbolt 3
• Low capacity SSD (out of the factory)
• Requires TORX screwdriver to access the internals

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