The ASUS ROG Flow X16 offers flexibility as a 2-in-1 convertible laptop-tablet device, and tends to be much more affordable compared to the Gigabyte Aorus 5. It also has a higher resolution screen with a better aspect ratio for productivity tasks, but trades off some gaming performance as it has a less powerful graphics card than the Aorus 5. If you're looking for a machine with strong gaming performance and don't mind spending more, the Gigabyte Aorus 5 with its high-refresh-rate display and superior graphics might satisfy your needs; however, it sacrifices portability with greater weight and lacks the convertible feature of the ASUS laptop. 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 ROG Flow X16
Very good for general use
Very good for content creation
Very good overall build quality
Good portability
Best in class speakers
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aorus 5
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 has no clear advantages over the ASUS ROG Flow X16.
Key differences
Screen Quality
8.5/10
8.0/10
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
502.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
280.0 nits
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aorus 5 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 likely provides vibrant, sharp visuals with its high-resolution display and bright panel, enhancing both daily tasks and detail-oriented engineering work, but its lower refresh rate could make fast-paced gaming less fluid. Meanwhile, the Gigabyte Aorus 5 probably offers sufficient clarity and luminosity for everyday and professional applications, but like the ASUS, it may not deliver the smooth motion gamers seek. Screen quality satisfaction will vary significantly between general use and specialized tasks due to these differences in refresh rate and panel characteristics.
Portability
Good
Fair
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
4.6 lbs
WEIGHT
5.0 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 has good portability, while the Gigabyte Aorus 5 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.5/10
7.4/10
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 has very good build quality, while the Gigabyte Aorus 5 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,300
$2,359
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 has a price of $1,300 and the Gigabyte Aorus 5 costs $2,359.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers ASUS ROG Flow X16 to be very good for general use, while the Gigabyte Aorus 5 is good.
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
7.6/10
7.9/10
7.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.2/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 and ASUS ROG Flow X16 are both good for gaming and AI.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
8.3/10
8.2/10
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
7.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 and Gigabyte Aorus 5 are both very good for engineering and design.
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 stands out for engineering and design use due to its high-resolution 16-inch touchscreen with a color-accurate display and a versatile 2-in-1 design, complemented by a potent AMD Ryzen CPU and Nvidia RTX GPU, which support demanding applications and creative workloads. In contrast, the Gigabyte Aorus 5 offers stronger raw computing power with an Intel i7 CPU and higher-tier Nvidia RTX GPU, tailored for high-performance needs in engineering software, but with a standard screen size and quality, trading off the advanced display and form factor advantages of the ASUS.
Content Creation
8.0/10
7.6/10
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers ASUS ROG Flow X16 to be very good for content creation, while the Gigabyte Aorus 5 is good.
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
7.7/10
7.3/10
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 and Gigabyte Aorus 5 are both good for software development.
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.
Battery
5.5 Hours
5.0 Hours
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 has 5.5 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte Aorus 5 has 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.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the ASUS ROG Flow X16 and the Gigabyte Aorus 5 compare to other laptops
"Above all else, the Asus ROG Flow X16 is one thing - versatile! It is a thin, mobile work device, it's a 2-in-1, tablet, a powerful workstation and even a gaming PC. But something even more surprising: It does all of these things really well without making any big blunders. It's anything but a lazy compromise. Because, despite its compact dimensions and 2-in-1 functionality, the hardware isn't throttled and boasts, at least in turbo mode, above-average performance."
"The Gigabyte Aorus 5 SE4 is a capable mainstream gaming notebook that will run the latest PC games with aplomb. However, it's not your stereotypical flashy gaming PC. Gigabyte has added some interesting tweaks. For example, the webcam placement and its Microsoft Azure AI tool — to automatically switch between power modes — are unusual for this genre. But more importantly, the pricing is fairly competitive and reasonable."
Get a great deal on the ASUS ROG Flow X16 or the Gigabyte Aorus 5
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
102,195
Recommendations made
22,143
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.