Choosing between the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 and the Gigabyte Aero 16 depends on your preferences and needs. If portability and a higher refresh rate for smooth visuals are priorities, the ASUS with its smaller, lighter build and superior refresh rate may serve you better, ideal for gaming and on-the-go use. However, the Gigabyte Aero 16 offers a larger, higher-resolution OLED screen, which could be more appealing for content creation and media consumption, plus it has double the storage space and a bigger battery, which may translate to longer usage between charges, but it comes at the expense of added weight. Both offer solid performance for general use, engineering applications, and machine learning, so your choice should consider the balance between screen quality, portability, and battery life. 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 Z13
Very good for software development
Very good overall build quality
Excellent portability
Good speakers
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aero 16
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Screen Quality
8.4/10
8.4/10
13.4in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
511.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
368.0 nits
The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aero 16 for gaming and AI, and software development, while the Gigabyte Aero 16 has a better screen for general use, and engineering and design.
When considering general use, both the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 and the Gigabyte Aero 16 offer high-resolution displays with sufficient brightness, ensuring crisp and clear images for everyday tasks. For engineering and design, the Gigabyte Aero 16 stands out with its wider color gamuts, providing more accurate color representation which is crucial for detailed and color-sensitive work. However, for gaming and 3D applications, both laptops fall short due to lower refresh rates, which can result in less smooth motion and gameplay experience compared to models with higher refresh rates.
Portability
Excellent
Good
13.4in
SIZE
16.0in
2.6 lbs
WEIGHT
5.0 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 has excellent portability, while the Gigabyte Aero 16 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.5/10
7.8/10
The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 has very good build quality, while the Gigabyte Aero 16 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,575
$1,260
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 has a price of $1,575 and the Gigabyte Aero 16 costs $1,260.
The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 and Gigabyte Aero 16 are both very good for general use.
The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 offers excellent portability and battery life, accompanied by a high-quality touchscreen, suitable for everyday tasks and easy to carry around, while the Gigabyte Aero 16, though less portable due to its size and weight, provides a larger, high-resolution OLED screen and greater storage, which may appeal to users prioritizing screen real estate and storage space for their general use.
Gaming and AI
7.5/10
7.8/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.2/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Gigabyte Aero 16 and ASUS ROG Flow Z13 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
8.4/10
8.6/10
9.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aero 16 and ASUS ROG Flow Z13 are both very good for engineering and design.
The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 stands out for engineering and design with its top-tier CPU, a high-end GPU, and a very high-resolution IPS touchscreen display, suited for detailed work and portability due to its lightweight, detachable keyboard design. In contrast, the Gigabyte Aero 16, with a slightly lower-tier CPU and a powerful GPU, boasts a larger, vivid OLED screen with superior color accuracy and more storage, though it's less portable because of its increased size and weight.
Content Creation
8.2/10
8.2/10
9.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The Gigabyte Aero 16 and ASUS ROG Flow Z13 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
8.0/10
7.9/10
9.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers ASUS ROG Flow Z13 to be very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aero 16 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.
Battery
6.5 Hours
7.0 Hours
The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 has 6.5 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte Aero 16 has 7 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.
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How the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 and the Gigabyte Aero 16 compare to other laptops
"The Asus ROG Flow Z13 is a gaming tablet with powerful Alder Lake i9 CPU. The ROG Flow Z13 impresses with its good cooling. After our review, the impression is predominantly positive. Besides a very fast Alder Lake CPU and stable gaming performance, especially the cooling system is surprisingly effective and quiet. You can use the integrated speakers without any issues while gaming. The 1200p display in the 16:10 format also impresses with good color reproduction and high brightness. Since the battery runtimes aren't particularly long as it is, we wouldn't recommend the optional 4K panel."
"The Gigabyte Aero 16 is a workstation laptop for light gaming. It's design is still muted, with a silver chassis alongside a black keyboard and trackpad that provides some contrast. The Gigabyte Aero’s full-size chiclet-style keyboard is enjoyable to type on thanks to its snappy feel and responsiveness. The 4K+ AMOLED display is good, but it could be better. It doesn’t handle true black very well and suffers from strong reflections and glare. The Gigabyte Aero excels at productivity performance and can keep up with other gaming laptops in 1080p. But it has very few ports and its refresh rate leaves a bit to be desired."
Get a great deal on the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 or the Gigabyte Aero 16
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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