The Gigabyte P35X v3 Review: Slim GTX980M Gaming Laptop

GPU Performance

The P35X is certainly not the first system we have seen with the NVIDIA GTX980M GPU inside, but it is currently the thinnest notebook to sport the highest tier GPU from NVIDIA. We have seen the GTX980M in two other systems so far. The MSI GT72 has it, but that is a 17.3 inch device with a weight of 3.82 kg or 8.4 lbs. The Clevo P750ZM is a 15.6 inch device, but weighs almost as much as the larger MSI, at 3.4 kg or 7.48 lbs. The P35X is only 2.2-2.3 kg (4.85-5.07 lbs) depending on configuration, which puts it much closer in mass to the 2015 Razer Blade, but the Blade only has a GTX970M GPU.

So we know that the GTX980M is a potent GPU, but can the P35X handle this much GPU in such a small chassis? That comes down to system cooling, and we will dig into that soon, but for now, let’s take a look at how the P35X handles gaming. First we will look at our synthetic tests, and then move on to some gaming workloads.

3DMark

The P35X does very well in 3DMark, scoring right in line with the other GTX980M devices. On Fire Strike in particular, which is the most demanding test that we run from 3DMark, you can see there is a very big gap between the 980M in the P35X and the 970M in the Razer Blade. Let’s move on to actual gaming workloads now.

Bioshock Infinite

Although Bioshock Infinite is getting a bit long in the tooth, it is still a fantastic game, and on maximum settings it can still tax even the fastest gaming laptops. On this test, the P35X slots in right behind the Clevo which is a great result. The smaller chassis does not seem to affect performance.

GRID Autosport

This is a new addition to our notebook suite, and as such we have only a few results available to compare against. The P35X can very easily run this game at over 60 FPS though, so no worries here.

Civilization: Beyond Earth

Another new addition to our 2015 gaming suite, this is the latest in the very popular Civilization series. We only have a couple of data points right now, but even at our Enthusiast settings, the P35X does very well here.

Shadow of Mordor

We have a couple more new additions coming for our 2015 gaming suite, but the final one for today (due to a lack of data points on the others) is Shadow of Mordor. At 66.8 FPS, the P35X even outperforms the Clevo on this test.

Metro Last Light

4A Games has created one of our most demanding titles in Metro Last Light. The P35X scores very close to the P750ZM in this test, but neither of them can crack the elusive 60 FPS mark at this setting.

Tomb Raider

One of my favorite games in some time was Tomb Raider. At maximum settings, it can offer a lot of options that can bring slower cards to their knees, especially when TressFX is enabled like it is on our Enthusiast setting. However the P35X handles this game like a champ.

High Resolution Gaming

One of the things I mentioned earlier in the review is that Gigabyte has an optional display with a resolution of 2880x1620, and that this can benefit gaming. Razer’s Blade has a 3200x1800 panel, and while much sharper on the desktop, the GTX970M can struggle at such a high resolution. The P35X has around a million less pixels to deal with than a 3200x1800 panel, and it has a stronger GPU than the Razer Blade. It is also far less pixels to deal with than something like the Clevo which has a 4K display. So in theory, you should be able to game with reasonable settings at the native resolution of the panel. To see how well the P35X performs at this resolution, here is a chart of how it does with the detail settings listed beside the title.

There can be a significant decrease in framerate moving up to 2880x1620, but the GTX980M has enough headroom that most of our gaming suite is fairly playable. For those that are not, the GeForce Experience should help customize the settings for better performance. NVIDIA has made a big jump in performance with the GTX980M, and the P35X takes advantage of that, and couples it with a great display.