The ASUS Zenbook S 13 is less expensive and offers great portability due to its smaller size, lighter weight, and longer battery life. It's well-suited for general use and has a high-quality OLED screen. However, for more intensive 3D, machine learning, or gaming tasks, the Gigabyte Aero 17 provides better performance with its more powerful processor and dedicated graphics card. The Aero 17 has a larger, high-resolution Mini LED screen, but it is less portable and has a shorter battery life, making it ideal for users needing a high-performance laptop primarily for use in one location. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the ASUS Zenbook S 13
Very good for software development
Best in class portability
Very good battery life
Very good speakers
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aero 17
Good for gaming and AI
Excellent overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Key differences
General Use
8.6/10
8.1/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
365.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
368.0 nits
11.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
9.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.6/10
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 and Gigabyte Aero 17 are both very good for general use, though the ASUS Zenbook S 13 is somewhat better.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
6.5/10
7.9/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Zenbook S 13 is only fair.
The Gigabyte Aero 17, with its Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics card and higher screen refresh rate, delivers superior performance for gaming and 3D applications, contrasting with the ASUS Zenbook S 13 which, despite a capable GPU for lighter gaming, falls short in these aspects due to lower graphical power and refresh rate.
Engineering and Design
8.2/10
8.8/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aero 17 and ASUS Zenbook S 13 are both very good for engineering and design, though the Gigabyte Aero 17 is somewhat better.
The ASUS Zenbook S 13, with its OLED display, is highly portable for mobile engineering and design work, but the Gigabyte Aero 17, featuring a powerful Nvidia RTX GPU and a larger screen, offers superior graphics performance which is essential for intensive computational and visual tasks. While the Zenbook benefits from high screen quality and portability, the Aero excels with a stronger CPU and GPU combo, making it more suitable for demanding engineering simulations and designs, but it's less convenient to carry around due to its larger size and weight.
Screen Quality
8.1/10
9.2/10
13.3in
SIZE
17.3in
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
365.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
368.0 nits
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aero 17 for software development, while the Gigabyte Aero 17 has a better screen for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
For general use, the ASUS Zenbook S 13's screen quality is praised due to its high resolution and brightness, but the panel type may not be as premium as the Gigabyte Aero 17, which boasts excellent screen quality, thanks to its top-tier panel that delivers vibrant colors and sharp details. Engineering and design professionals favor the Aero 17 for its wider color gamuts, providing a more accurate representation of colors necessary for their work, while the Zenbook S 13 also offers very good color accuracy but falls short of the Aero's range. However, neither laptop is ideal for 3D applications or gaming because they lack the high refresh rates required for smooth visuals in these scenarios, even though they have decent resolution and panel types.
Battery
11.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 has 11 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte Aero 17 has 5.5 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Best in Class
Fair
13.3in
SIZE
17.3in
2.2 lbs
WEIGHT
5.7 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 has best in class portability, while the Gigabyte Aero 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,400
$2,071
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 has a price of $1,400 and the Gigabyte Aero 17 costs $2,071.
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 and Gigabyte Aero 17 are both very good for content creation.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
8.3/10
7.9/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers ASUS Zenbook S 13 to be very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aero 17 is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Build Quality
7.6/10
8.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte Aero 17 to have very good build quality, while the ASUS Zenbook S 13 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the ASUS Zenbook S 13 and the Gigabyte Aero 17 compare to other laptops
"The Asus Zenbook S 13 is the slimmest OLED ultrabook worldwide struggles with annoying fans. The new Zenbook S 13 leaves us with mixed feelings, particularly since last year's model was so good. Asus has completely reworked the device, making the laptop noticeably slimmer. The result also looks good and the case makes a great impression, particularly also in terms of the stability. The new plasma ceramic surface feels great, and there are no problems with fingerprints. In addition, it now includes some of the known connections such as an HDMI port and a regular USB-A connection, which is a good achievement in such a slim device."
"Not only is the Aero 17 a very good laptop for gamers but also for content creators. With the upgrade to the Intel Core i9-11980HK, Gigabyte particularly improved the system performance. In addition, the hardware package is rounded by the extremely fast SSD and 32 GB of working memory in dual-channel mode. Compared to the predecessor, the battery life is reduced only moderately, and the 4K display also basically keeps its good qualities."
Get a great deal on the ASUS Zenbook S 13 or the Gigabyte Aero 17
About ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
About Gigabyte
Gigabyte is a Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer. While Gigabyte mainly focuses its business on desktop hardware, Gigabyte is known for its value-oriented G series laptops, thin and light Aero series, and performance-oriented Aorus series. Gigabyte laptops offer a strong value proposition to compete with mainstream alternatives.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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