The Gigabyte P34W v5 is a fairly typical gaming laptop, with a standard array of high-end hardware, a decent display, and a body that won’t be setting any records for slimness or lightness. While there definitely are laptops that are more powerful, that are thinner, and that include crazy mechanical keyboards, there are also a ton of run-of-the-mill laptops out there that rely entirely on great hardware at a reasonable price to sell. The Gigabyte P34 is one of them.
There are two variants of the P34W v5 on the market, although both contain the same base hardware: an Intel ‘Skylake’ Core i7-6700HQ processor, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M discrete GPU with 3 GB of GDDR5 frame buffer. The base model, available for $1,499, features a 14-inch 1080p display with 8 GB of RAM; while the top model, and the model I reviewed, features a 14-inch 1440p display and 16 GB of RAM for $1,759.
Much like the hardware and design of the P34W v5, the price is fairly typical. An Alienware 15 equivalent to the base model will set you back $1,569, and there are also similar systems from MSI and Asus that cost just over $1,600. So how will Gigabyte’s offering stack up in a market with a reasonable selection of options already available?
