The Gigabyte Aero 17, with its more powerful graphics card and large display, is ideal for intensive tasks like 3D rendering and gaming, but its size makes it less portable and it has a shorter battery life. The Lenovo Slim 7 16, while less expensive and highly portable with a longer battery life, may not handle demanding engineering or machine learning tasks as smoothly as the Aero 17 due to its less powerful hardware. Consider the Aero 17 for heavy-duty work and gaming or the Slim 7 for everyday use, travel-friendly work, and casual gaming. 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 Gigabyte Aero 17
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Advantages of the Lenovo Slim 7 16
Good portability
Good battery life
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.9/10
6.6/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.3/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo Slim 7 16 is only fair.
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is equipped with a higher-tier Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, offering robust gaming and 3D performance, complemented by a 120Hz Mini LED display that enhances visual quality and fluidity in motion. In comparison, the Lenovo Slim 7 16 has a less powerful Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU and a 165Hz IPS display which, while having a higher refresh rate, may not deliver the same level of graphical fidelity and color depth.
Engineering and Design
8.8/10
7.5/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.2/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.3/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo Slim 7 16 is good.
The Gigabyte Aero 17 stands out for engineering and design use due to its powerful Intel i7 CPU, high-end Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU, and large, high-resolution Mini LED screen, making it preferable for intensive tasks at the cost of portability and higher weight.
Content Creation
8.4/10
7.6/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.2/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo Slim 7 16 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.
Screen Quality
9.2/10
8.3/10
17.3in
SIZE
16.0in
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
368.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
500.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aero 17 has a better screen than the Lenovo Slim 7 16 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
For general use, the Gigabyte Aero 17's high resolution and brightness make for a crisp and vibrant display, while the Lenovo Slim 7 16 also provides a sharp and bright screen, meeting most users' needs effectively. Engineering and design professionals prefer the Aero 17 for its wider color gamut coverage, vital for accurate color work, a feature where the Slim 7 16 performs well but doesn't quite match up. Gamers and 3D designers, however, may find both laptops lacking due to their lower refresh rates, which can lead to less smooth visuals in fast-paced games or when working with motion graphics.
Battery
5.5 Hours
9.5 Hours
The Gigabyte Aero 17 has 5.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Slim 7 16 has 9.5 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
Fair
Good
17.3in
SIZE
16.0in
5.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.6 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Lenovo Slim 7 16 has good portability, while the Gigabyte Aero 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$2,071
$1,440
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The Gigabyte Aero 17 has a price of $2,071 and the Lenovo Slim 7 16 costs $1,440.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte Aero 17 to be very good for general use, while the Lenovo Slim 7 16 is good.
The Gigabyte Aero 17 offers a high-performance CPU and GPU, extensive RAM, and a superior Mini LED screen with impressive color accuracy which makes it ideal for demanding tasks and enjoying high-quality media, but it is less portable and has a shorter battery life compared to the Lenovo Slim 7 16.
Software Development
7.9/10
7.6/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Gigabyte Aero 17 and Lenovo Slim 7 16 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.
Build Quality
8.0/10
7.8/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte Aero 17 to have very good build quality, while the Lenovo Slim 7 16 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 Gigabyte Aero 17 and the Lenovo Slim 7 16 compare to other laptops
"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."
"At $1,011, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 Pro is a real bargain among full-sized laptops, with a handsome 16-inch, 16:10 aspect ratio touch screen, a speedy CPU, a comfortable keyboard, ample memory, and a roomy solid-state drive. It's not a blazing gaming rig or mobile workstation, but it doesn't pretend to be. Its biggest negative is that it may be hard to find—during our review, it sold out and was marked "Temporarily Unavailable" on Lenovo's site."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aero 17 or the Lenovo Slim 7 16
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.
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
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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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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