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The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
Choosing between the Gigabyte Aero 5 and the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 depends on your priorities. The Aero 5, being somewhat less expensive, offers powerful graphics performance and larger battery capacity, which is ideal for intensive gaming and 3D or machine learning applications. However, it's heavier and thicker, which affects portability. Conversely, the ThinkPad Z16, at a premium price point, features higher storage capacity, more RAM, a sharper and slightly larger touchscreen display, and it's lighter and slimmer for better portability. It's also designed with business use in mind and offers superior build quality, keyboard, and webcam but doesn't match the Aero 5's raw performance for highly demanding tasks. 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 5
- Good for gaming and AI
Advantages of the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16
- Very good for general use
- Very good for software development
- Very good overall build quality
- Good portability
- Best in class speakers
- Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.9
8.6
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
446.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
393.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
6.7/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for general use, while the Gigabyte Aero 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
7.9
6.7
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.6/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Gigabyte Aero 5 is good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is only fair.
The Gigabyte Aero 5 stands out in gaming and 3D due to its more powerful Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, which is superior to the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16's AMD RX 6500M, providing better frame rates and visual fidelity. While both have the same screen refresh rate, the Gigabyte's stronger GPU and ThinkPad's stronger CPU, each contribute to their respective performances in different aspects of gaming and 3D applications.
Screen Quality
8.6
8.5
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
446.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
393.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aero 5 has a better screen than the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 for general use, while the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has a better screen for content creation, and software development.
The Gigabyte Aero 5 boasts a high-resolution display with impressive brightness levels, making it a solid choice for daily tasks and viewing content, while its color gamut coverage aids precision in engineering and design work. Conversely, the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16, with very good display attributes, offers the reliability and color accuracy needed for technical applications, though perhaps not quite as vibrant for casual use. However, both machines fall short for gaming and 3D purposes due to their lack of high refresh rates, which are crucial for smooth motion and fast-paced visuals in those areas.
Portability
Fair
Good
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
5.0 lbs
WEIGHT
4.2 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has good portability, while the Gigabyte Aero 5 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,250
$1,120
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Gigabyte Aero 5 has a price of $1,250 and the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 costs $1,120.
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Key similarities
Engineering and Design
8.7
8.4
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aero 5 and Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 are both very good for engineering and design.
The Gigabyte Aero 5 offers a high-quality OLED display, ample RAM, and a powerful Nvidia GPU, making it well-suited for graphic-intensive engineering and design tasks; although, its heft may limit portability. Conversely, the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16, while also featuring an excellent OLED touchscreen and superior RAM capacity for demanding applications, stands out with its exceptional keyboard and lighter weight, enhancing its portability for on-the-go professionals.
Content Creation
8.2
8.5
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 and Gigabyte Aero 5 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
7.9
8.2
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 to be very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aero 5 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
7.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aero 5 has 7 hours of battery life. The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 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.
Build Quality
7.8
8.0
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 to have very good build quality, while the Gigabyte Aero 5 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 5 and the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Gigabyte Aero 5 | Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,250 | $1,120 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | May 1, 2022 | May 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14'' x 10'' x 1.08'' | 14'' x 9.4'' x 0.62'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 5.07 lbs | 4.27 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14" | 13.95" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 10" | 9.35" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i7-12700H | AMD Ryzen 7 6850H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 32 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 2048 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 7 Hours | 7 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 99 Wh | 72 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | 16" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | OLED | OLED | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 3840 x 2160 | 3840 x 2400 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 446 nits | 393 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.8/10 | 8/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 6.7/10 | 7.9/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | Yes | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 7/10 | 8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8.5/10 | 9/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6.8/10 | 9.6/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | Yes | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 3 | 0 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 3 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 3 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | N/A | |
Shopping
Gigabyte Aero 5
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Dig into reviews and images
The Tech Revolutionist
Zhi Cheng | May 2022
"It is unfortunate that the Gigabyte AERO notebook series have seem to lost its charm, as it’s not exactly any much different from the AORUS series now. Regardless, content creators and designers will certainly still appreciate the features on the AERO 5 XE4, which are fundamental to their work. This largely revolved around the notebook’s display, which is colour calibrated and validated, high resolution (4K) and with great AMOLED colour representation. Now that the AERO 5 XE4 has improved its performance with the latest CPU and GPU, the professionals can also appreciate the improved productivity from the notebook."
Lenovo ThinkPad Z16
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Dig into reviews and images
PCWorld
Matthew S. Smith | September 2022
"Lenovo’s ThinkPad Z16 tries has some success in its effort to tweak the ThinkPad formula. The laptop is attractive, yet still tame, and material quality is on par with the best Windows competition. I also like the smooth, responsive haptic touchpad and the wide range of modern connectivity. Yet the Z16 doesn’t fix ThinkPad’s typical weakness: value. Starting around $1,550, and more typically near $1,700, the Z16 finds itself facing alternatives that have better performance or an improved display for the same price, or less."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aero 5 or the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16
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.
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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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