Gaming Performance
I've now tested Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1060 GPU in six gaming laptops, so the performance here isn't anything I haven't seen before. But for those unfamiliar with the GTX 1060, it's around 30 percent slower than the GTX 1070, but 45 percent faster than the last-generation GTX 970M, in GPU-limited workloads.
In a range of games, the Gigabyte Aero 15 performed as expected. It was around 2 percent slower on average than the fastest GTX 1060 laptop I've tested, which is pretty close to the margin of error. No performance concerns here.
Like other GTX 1060 laptops, the Aero 15 is well suited to 1080p 60 FPS gaming at very high to ultra quality settings. In intensive titles like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided you'll need to drop down to high settings to achieve around a 60 FPS average, but many other games are very playable on ultra settings thanks to a decent average frame rate and a 1% low frame rate around the 40 FPS mark.
I also spent a bit of time playing Mass Effect Andromeda on the Aero 15 (I still haven't finished it) and achieved a very playable experience at 1080p ultra settings, with frame rates hovering in the 50 to 60 FPS range on average. Frame rate aficionados will prefer to drop down a few settings toggles to hit 60 FPS consistently, but the GTX 1060 is a pretty darn capable GPU in this form factor.
The cooling solution in the Aero 15 is outstanding. It's quieter than I expected under the stress of AIDA64's stability test, though it's still audible and reasonably high pitched. CPU temperatures hovered around the 86°C mark during this stress test, with the GPU sitting at 75°C, making it significantly cooler than other laptops with similar hardware, particularly on the GPU side. The Aero 15 succeeds here due to large amounts of ventilation and massive internal heat pipes.
The system sits even cooler than this during real world games. When playing Watch Dogs 2, the CPU only sat at 78°C and the system was marginally quieter. A great result for the Aero 15.