Aorus 15P YD review

Frame rates

1920×1080, High preset, upscaling off.

Measured on this machine. Source: Notebookcheck, 2021-06-16.

In use

The short version

The Aorus 15P YD is a performance-led 15.6in gaming laptop built around an RTX 3080 running at a 130W GPU power limit, a Core i7-11800H and a 1920x1080, 360Hz IPS display. On Notebookcheck’s measured figures, it is plainly capable of very high frame rates in lighter and well-established games, while still delivering strong results in demanding titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 1.0 and Final Fantasy XV. The important qualification is that its 360Hz panel is much more ambitious than the frame rates available in most graphically heavy games. That screen makes the most sense for competitive games and less demanding titles, not as a promise of 360fps everywhere.

The benchmark data gives the machine a mean of 141fps across the five-game scoring suite at 1920x1080 using the High preset with upscaling disabled. That is a serious result for a laptop of this generation, but the individual figures matter more than the mean. Strange Brigade reaches 212fps, GTA V manages 161fps and Dota 2 records 141fps. Those are the games where the Aorus can make tangible use of a fast panel. Final Fantasy XV falls to 106fps and X-Plane 11 reaches 84fps, while Cyberpunk 2077 1.0 records 82fps. The laptop is still fast in those tougher workloads, but it is nowhere near saturating a 360Hz display.

That distinction should shape the buying decision. This is not best understood as a laptop that delivers a uniform frame-rate experience across every game. It is a laptop that can move quickly through less demanding games, older games and games that lean more heavily on the processor, while retaining enough GPU performance for demanding modern work at 1080p High settings. Buyers who care about fast competitive play, own a large library of titles with modest graphics demands, or want an RTX 3080 laptop without moving to a substantially heavier desktop-replacement class have a coherent reason to consider it.

It is less convincing for somebody whose priority is simply the highest possible performance from this GPU generation. The comparison data matters here. The Aorus is substantially ahead of the RTX 3050 Ti-equipped MSI Prestige 15 in the shared games, but it is essentially level with the RTX 3060 Dell G16 and the RTX 3070 Ti Razer Blade 15 OLED in the relevant shared-game averages. It also trails the higher-powered RTX 3080 Ti MSI Raider GE77 HX by a clear margin. The RTX name alone therefore does not explain how the Aorus performs. Its 130W power limit, the games being run, the processor’s influence at 1080p and the broader system design all matter.

The specification is otherwise sensible for a gaming machine of this type: 16GB of memory, a 1TB SSD and a 99Wh battery sit alongside the Core i7-11800H and RTX 3080. The 2.22kg weight is not ultrabook territory, but it is also not an obvious stay-at-home monster. It looks best suited to someone who will move it between rooms, take it to a workplace or university setting, or carry it occasionally, while accepting that this remains a substantial gaming laptop rather than a lightweight daily machine.

There is no score for this exact configuration because its UK price is not confirmed; the benchmark suite is complete and it can be placed normally on the frame-rate leaderboard, but value cannot be calculated without a price.

Performance

An RTX 3080 with a 130W limit

The Aorus 15P YD uses an RTX 3080 with a 130W GPU power limit. That figure is fundamental context, not a minor footnote. Laptop GPUs sharing the same RTX badge can operate under different power limits, and the performance result is shaped by the complete implementation rather than the name printed on the specification sheet. Here, the relevant measured outcome is a five-game scoring-suite mean of 141fps at 1920x1080 on High settings with upscaling switched off.

A 130W limit places this particular RTX 3080 in a performance-oriented position. It is not reasonable to treat it as interchangeable with every other RTX 3080 laptop, and it is equally unhelpful to assume that an RTX 3060 laptop must automatically be much slower merely because its product name sits lower in the range. The rival results demonstrate exactly why. Against the Dell G16 with an RTX 3060 at 130W, the Aorus averages 1fps behind across five shared games. Against the Razer Blade 15 OLED with an RTX 3070 Ti at 110W, it is also 1fps behind across five shared games. Neither result means the GPUs are identical. It means that in these shared 1080p results, the overall laptop implementations land almost on top of each other.

At this resolution, the lighter titles in a shared set can become processor-bound. Once that happens, faster graphics hardware cannot always turn its theoretical advantage into a proportionally higher frame rate. The Core i7-11800H still matters, as does the game engine, the settings level and the rest of the system. That is why the near-zero differences against those two rivals should be treated as real measured outcomes, rather than as evidence that the RTX 3080 label has no value. The benchmark data is showing compressed differences in a specific workload: 1920x1080 High settings, without upscaling, across the games both machines hold.

The more useful conclusion is practical. Buyers should not purchase the Aorus 15P YD on the assumption that its RTX 3080 badge automatically guarantees a large lead over every lower-tier GPU laptop. The measured figures do not support that. They do support the view that this is a capable 1080p gaming system with very high performance in some titles and good performance in demanding games, but not a machine that consistently separates itself from all lower-labelled alternatives at this particular resolution and settings level.

The high-frame-rate end of the results

Strange Brigade is the strongest result in the published set at 212fps. That is the clearest example of the Aorus 15P YD being able to exploit a high-refresh display. It is still short of the panel’s 360Hz maximum, so the display is not being fully saturated even here, but 212fps is sufficiently high that a 360Hz panel is not merely decorative. In a title with this sort of performance profile, the system has enough headroom for exceptionally fluid output at the measured settings.

GTA V follows at 161fps. Again, that is well below 360fps but far beyond the level associated with a basic 60Hz screen. It gives the Aorus enough performance to make a high-refresh panel meaningful, while also illustrating the difference between “high refresh capable” and “able to hit the display ceiling”. A 360Hz display is an upper limit, not a target the hardware reaches by default. In GTA V, the measured figure is high enough to give the panel purpose, but it does not turn the laptop into a 360fps machine.

Dota 2 records 141fps, exactly matching the five-game scoring-suite mean. That is a useful reminder that the headline average should not be viewed as a middling result. At 141fps, Dota 2 is still running at a speed where a fast display can matter. However, it is also less than half of the panel’s maximum refresh rate. The Aorus has a 360Hz screen, but the published figure does not suggest that the screen’s full capability is a routine outcome even in this game at the stated settings.

Together, Strange Brigade, GTA V and Dota 2 establish the upper part of the Aorus performance range. The machine can produce frame rates in the low hundreds, and it can exceed 200fps in the strongest result available here. That is valuable for buyers who spend most of their time in games with similar performance demands. It also explains why Gigabyte paired the laptop with a 360Hz screen rather than a lower-refresh alternative. The display has some credible use cases in the measured data, particularly where the GPU and processor are not pushed as hard by the game.

It would nevertheless be a mistake to generalise from the best result alone. A laptop review based only on Strange Brigade would present an overly flattering and incomplete view of the machine. The Aorus does not run every game at anything close to that speed. The value of a broad benchmark set is that it exposes both the ceiling and the limitations. Here, the spread is wide enough to matter: 212fps at the top, 82fps in Cyberpunk 2077 1.0 at the bottom, with several important results between those points.

The demanding-game results

Final Fantasy XV records 106fps. That is still a strong 1080p High result with upscaling disabled, and it keeps the machine above 100fps in a game that is more demanding than the high-frame-rate leaders in this set. Yet it also marks the point where the 360Hz display becomes far more aspirational than attainable. At 106fps, a fast panel can still provide a smoother presentation than a conventional 60Hz screen, but the GPU is not remotely close to feeding every refresh opportunity offered by a 360Hz display.

X-Plane 11 drops further to 84fps. This is an important data point because it shows that the Aorus is not exclusively limited by the graphics chip in every game. Simulation titles can place very different demands on a laptop than a shooter or a straightforward action game, and the 84fps result demonstrates that high-end laptop hardware does not eliminate variation between engines and workloads. The Aorus remains comfortably above 60fps in this measured result, but it is clearly in a different performance class from its 212fps Strange Brigade figure.

Cyberpunk 2077 1.0 records 82fps. This is the lowest published figure, but it should not be described as weak without context. The test is at 1920x1080 using the High preset and no upscaling. Under those conditions, 82fps shows the Aorus maintaining a substantially higher frame rate than a conventional 60fps target in a demanding game. What it does not show is any chance of using the panel’s 360Hz maximum in this sort of workload. Buyers focused primarily on visually demanding games should understand that the screen offers headroom the GPU will not usually fill at the tested settings.

The difference between Cyberpunk 2077 1.0 at 82fps and Strange Brigade at 212fps is not a contradiction. It is the expected consequence of games placing different loads on a system. Some games allow the Aorus to push extremely high frame rates; others demand enough from the graphics hardware, processor or both that the result sits much lower. The published figures show an 130fps gap between the highest and lowest results. That is why the mean of 141fps is useful only as a summary. It cannot tell a buyer whether their own preferred games will behave like Strange Brigade, GTA V, X-Plane 11 or Cyberpunk 2077 1.0.

For a prospective owner, the sensible reading is to match game type to benchmark behaviour. If the library is full of competitive games, older titles, esports-focused games or technically lighter games, the Aorus has clear scope to produce high frame rates. If the library centres on the most graphically intense games and the priority is maximum visual settings at all times, the result is still good but the 360Hz display should not be the deciding feature. In those games, the important benefit is solid 1080p High performance rather than an attempt to reach the display’s maximum refresh rate.

What the 141fps mean does and does not tell us

The five scoring-suite figures are 212fps in Strange Brigade, 161fps in GTA V, 141fps in Dota 2, 106fps in Final Fantasy XV and 84fps in X-Plane 11. Their mean is 141fps. This is a useful cross-section because it includes games with very different behaviour, but it should not be mistaken for a promise of 141fps in every game. Cyberpunk 2077 1.0, while outside that scoring-suite mean, is measured at 82fps and shows why that distinction matters.

The average is best viewed as a rough statement of the laptop’s place in this benchmark set: it is fast, it has the capacity for triple-digit performance, and it is not universally limited to conventional refresh rates. It is not a substitute for the per-game figures. Somebody interested in a particular title will learn more from the closest comparable benchmark than from the overall mean. The Aorus is a very different proposition for a player spending most evenings in Dota 2 than for one whose main interest is Cyberpunk 2077 1.0.

The 141fps mean also needs to be read alongside the test conditions. These are Notebookcheck’s measurements at 1920x1080, using the High preset with upscaling off. They do not establish performance at another resolution, another settings level, with upscaling enabled, or in every version of every game. That is not a weakness in the data; it is simply the boundary of what the published measurements can tell us. The figures are attributable and comparable because the conditions are stated. They should not be stretched beyond them.

The practical benefit of this approach is that it avoids vague claims about “RTX 3080 power”. The Aorus does not need a marketing label to make its case. Notebookcheck’s figures show 212fps in Strange Brigade, 161fps in GTA V, 141fps in Dota 2, 124fps in Far Cry 5, 106fps in Final Fantasy XV, 84fps in X-Plane 11 and 82fps in Cyberpunk 2077 1.0. That is a useful, varied performance profile. It also carries a clear message: fast 1080p gaming is the core strength, while the degree of that speed depends heavily on the game.

The screen

The Aorus 15P YD has a 15.6in IPS display with a 1920x1080 resolution and a 360Hz refresh rate. This is a deliberately gaming-first screen specification. The resolution keeps the pixel load lower than a higher-resolution panel, while the refresh rate places the emphasis on speed. For this laptop’s measured performance profile, that choice makes sense in broad terms: the RTX 3080 at 130W is being asked to drive a 1080p screen, and that helps it reach the high frame rates seen in several games.

The display’s 360Hz ceiling is also the point where the specification becomes more selective than universal. None of the published game results reaches 360fps. Strange Brigade, the strongest result, is measured at 212fps. GTA V reaches 161fps, Dota 2 reaches 141fps, Far Cry 5 reaches 124fps, Final Fantasy XV reaches 106fps, X-Plane 11 reaches 84fps and Cyberpunk 2077 1.0 reaches 82fps. The panel can refresh at 360Hz, but the benchmark data does not show the Aorus delivering 360fps in these tested games at 1920x1080 High with upscaling disabled.

That does not make the display a bad fit. A refresh rate is capacity, and high frame rates below that maximum can still make use of a panel that refreshes more frequently than a basic screen. The important point is to buy it for the right reason. The 360Hz panel is most credible for games where frame rates are likely to sit towards the top of the Aorus’s published range, not as a blanket benefit for every graphically intensive release.

Strange Brigade at 212fps is the most obvious positive case. The screen’s maximum remains out of reach, but the laptop is delivering more than 200fps under the stated test conditions. GTA V at 161fps and Dota 2 at 141fps are also strong matches for a high-refresh screen. A buyer whose gaming habits resemble those results has reason to value the panel, especially if they prefer responsiveness and high frame-rate output over a higher pixel count.

Far Cry 5 at 124fps sits in a useful middle ground. It does not get close to 360fps, but it is clearly beyond 60fps and beyond 120fps by a small margin. The Aorus can therefore offer a very fast 1080p experience in games that land around this result, without implying that the panel is being fully utilised. Final Fantasy XV at 106fps is similar in principle: still well suited to a fast display, but not a workload where the headline refresh rate should be treated as the primary performance story.

X-Plane 11 and Cyberpunk 2077 1.0 show the other side. At 84fps and 82fps respectively, the Aorus remains capable, but the display’s 360Hz specification becomes an upper bound that the hardware is not approaching in these games. For players who mainly choose demanding cinematic games or simulations, the value of the panel lies less in reaching its maximum refresh rate and more in avoiding the compromise of a 60Hz screen when frame rates are above that level. That is a worthwhile distinction, but it is not the same as buying a system that will routinely operate at 360fps.

The 1920x1080 resolution is therefore a practical match for the GPU. It is one of the reasons the Aorus can post such high results in Strange Brigade, GTA V and Dota 2. It also means that the system’s performance is focused on frame rate rather than on driving a higher-resolution display. Buyers who want a sharpness-led laptop display at a higher resolution do not have that option here; the supplied panel is explicitly a Full HD, high-refresh design. Whether that is a strength or a compromise depends on usage. For competitive and high-frame-rate gaming, it is coherent. For buyers who put resolution above refresh rate, it is a different sort of machine from the one they should be seeking.

The IPS panel type tells us the display technology, but the available fact sheet does not provide measured brightness, contrast, colour coverage, response times or other image-quality figures. It would be wrong to infer those from “IPS” alone. The safe conclusion is that the panel is specified as IPS, 15.6in, 1920x1080 and 360Hz. Its gaming purpose is clear from that combination. Its wider image-quality character is not established by the information available here.

Build, size and portability

The Aorus 15P YD weighs 2.22kg. That is the most useful portability figure available, and it positions the laptop as transportable rather than exceptionally light. It is a 15.6in gaming machine carrying an RTX 3080 at a 130W power limit, a Core i7-11800H, 16GB of memory, a 1TB SSD and a 99Wh battery. Those are not the ingredients of a featherweight laptop. At the same time, 2.22kg is a different proposition from a much larger machine intended to remain permanently on a desk.

In practical terms, this weight suits an owner who needs one system that can be moved between locations without pretending that it disappears into a bag. It should make sense for someone alternating between a desk, a living space, work, study or occasional travel. It is less obviously suited to the buyer who wants minimum carried weight above all else. The gaming hardware and 99Wh battery make clear that this is designed around capability first, with portability as a secondary but still relevant consideration.

No dimensions are provided in the fact sheet, so there is no basis for claiming that the chassis is especially thin, especially deep, compact for its class or difficult to fit in a particular bag. Weight alone tells part of the story, not all of it. The responsible conclusion is simply that 2.22kg is a substantial carry, and that prospective buyers who travel frequently should treat the complete portable setup as more than just the laptop’s listed weight.

The 99Wh battery is another specification that deserves careful interpretation. It is a large capacity figure on paper, but there is no measured battery-life result in the available information. No claim can therefore be made about how long the Aorus lasts away from mains power in games, video playback, office work or any other workload. Gaming laptops can vary dramatically depending on settings and use, and battery capacity alone cannot supply an attributable endurance figure.

What can be said is that the system has a 99Wh battery alongside performance-focused components. That may matter to a buyer choosing between machines with different battery capacities, but it should not be confused with evidence of real-world longevity. Anyone for whom unplugged use is central should look for measured battery data before treating the capacity as a reason to buy.

The memory and storage allocation is straightforward. The Aorus has 16GB of memory and a 1TB SSD. This gives it a conventional gaming-laptop configuration alongside its high-end GPU. There is enough information here to say what is fitted, but no information about memory speed, storage performance, upgrade access or internal layout. Those details can materially affect ownership and should not be assumed. The same applies to keyboard quality, trackpad behaviour, port selection, webcam quality, speakers, cooling noise and surface temperatures: no measured or specified facts are available in this sheet, so they cannot be represented as strengths or weaknesses.

That leaves a relatively clear portrait. This is a 2.22kg, 15.6in gaming laptop with a 99Wh battery and hardware aimed at high frame rates at 1080p. It is portable enough for an owner who accepts the weight as part of a gaming-capable machine, but it is not defined by effortless mobility. Buyers looking for a laptop to carry constantly should take the 2.22kg figure seriously. Buyers who mostly use a desk but do not want a larger class of gaming system may find the balance more appealing.

How it compares

The comparison set is useful because it includes a broad spread from the same GPU generation rather than only a single neighbouring product. It includes the MSI Prestige 15 with an RTX 3050 Ti at 105W, the Dell G16 with an RTX 3060 at 130W, the Razer Blade 15 OLED with an RTX 3070 Ti at 110W and the MSI Raider GE77 HX with an RTX 3080 Ti at 175W. The figures are based on games both systems hold, with preference given to the scoring suite. This is the correct basis for comparison: common games and common measurement conditions are more valuable than trying to compare unrelated headline averages.

Against the MSI Prestige 15

The Aorus 15P YD averages 69fps ahead of the MSI Prestige 15 across four shared games. This is the clearest performance separation in the Aorus’s favour within the listed rivals. The underlying hardware difference is substantial: the Aorus uses an RTX 3080 at 130W, while the Prestige 15 uses an RTX 3050 Ti at 105W. The shared-game result confirms that the gap is not merely theoretical. Across the available common titles, the Aorus delivers a much higher average frame rate.

For a buyer choosing between those two kinds of machine, the Aorus is the obvious choice if gaming performance is central. Its 360Hz 1080p screen also aligns better with the frame-rate potential represented by its results. A 69fps advantage across four shared games is large enough to change the character of use, particularly for someone aiming for high-refresh gaming rather than simply acceptable performance.

That said, the comparison only establishes gaming performance across the shared titles. It does not tell us whether the Prestige 15 is lighter, quieter, longer-lasting or better suited to non-gaming work, because those facts are not available here. The right conclusion is narrow but firm: based on the published shared-game measurements, the Aorus has a major performance advantage over the RTX 3050 Ti MSI.

Against the Dell G16

The Dell G16 is the comparison that should make buyers pause before assuming the RTX 3080 label settles the matter. It has an RTX 3060 at 130W, the same listed GPU power limit as the Aorus, and the Aorus averages 1fps behind across five shared games. That is effectively a tie in practical terms, and it is particularly notable because the comparison covers five games rather than a very small overlap.

The correct interpretation is not that the Aorus has failed. It is that GPU naming tiers do not guarantee the same size of lead in every laptop benchmark. At 1920x1080, lighter titles in the shared set can become CPU-bound, compressing genuine GPU differences. Once performance is constrained elsewhere in the system or game, a more powerful GPU cannot necessarily show its full potential. The published average therefore reflects the total result in the shared games, not a pure isolated GPU contest.

For a buyer, this means the Aorus needs to be selected on the basis of the whole package rather than assumed dominance. Its own measured figures remain strong, and its screen, processor, storage and weight are all part of its identity. But if the question is strictly whether its shared-game performance creates a meaningful average advantage over this 130W RTX 3060 Dell, the answer is no. The Aorus is 1fps behind on the available comparison.

This is precisely why attributable frame-rate data matters. Without it, an RTX 3080 laptop might be assumed to sit comfortably above an RTX 3060 machine in all circumstances. The shared-game numbers show a more nuanced reality. Buyers should use the games they actually play to decide whether differences are likely to matter, rather than paying attention only to the GPU tier.

Against the Razer Blade 15 OLED

The Razer Blade 15 OLED, in its Early 2022 form, uses an RTX 3070 Ti at 110W. Against it, the Aorus is again 1fps behind across five shared games. This is another near-zero result, and it reinforces the lesson from the Dell comparison. The Aorus’s RTX 3080 and 130W limit do not translate into a material shared-game lead at 1080p in this particular set.

The Razer’s lower 110W GPU power limit also demonstrates why a simple power-limit comparison cannot replace real measurements. The Aorus has the higher listed GPU limit, but the shared-game average is still effectively level. The reason supplied by the benchmark context is important: at 1080p, lighter titles in the shared set can be CPU-bound and compress genuine GPU gaps. Performance is therefore being shaped by more than the maximum GPU power figure.

For the Aorus, this should not be read as a negative against its own benchmark results. It still records a 141fps scoring-suite mean, reaches 212fps in Strange Brigade and stays above 80fps in both X-Plane 11 and Cyberpunk 2077 1.0. Rather, it is a warning against oversimplification. The Aorus is fast, but a buyer should not expect its RTX 3080 branding to produce an automatic, obvious lead over every RTX 3070 Ti laptop in 1080p High benchmarks.

Against the MSI Raider GE77 HX

The MSI Raider GE77 HX is the rival that beats the Aorus by the largest listed margin. It has an RTX 3080 Ti running at 175W, and the Aorus averages 28fps behind across five shared games. This is the comparison that most clearly shows what a higher-performance implementation can achieve within the same GPU generation.

The 175W GPU power limit is substantially above the Aorus’s 130W limit, and the Raider also uses the higher RTX 3080 Ti designation. The published comparison does not allow us to isolate how much of the 28fps difference comes from the GPU model, the power limit or other system factors. It does, however, make the practical result clear: the Raider is faster across the shared set by a meaningful amount.

Buyers chasing the best possible performance from this generation should regard the Raider as the stronger benchmark result. The Aorus is not the top-end answer when placed against a 175W RTX 3080 Ti machine. Its appeal instead lies in being a 15.6in, 2.22kg laptop that still produces strong 1080p figures. The Raider comparison sets the upper boundary: more GPU power and a higher-tier GPU can create a real measured advantage, especially where the shared games permit it.

There is no basis here to claim that one chassis is better made, more portable, quieter or more suitable for a particular environment than the other. The evidence is performance evidence. On that evidence, the Aorus is behind the Raider by 28fps on average across five shared games. That is a substantial enough margin to matter to buyers who prioritise raw frame rate over the rest of the package.

Who it’s for

The Aorus 15P YD is for the buyer who wants a high-performance 1080p gaming laptop with a genuinely fast display and who understands that the display’s 360Hz maximum is most relevant in the right games. The strongest fit is someone playing titles that can run towards the top of the published range. Strange Brigade at 212fps, GTA V at 161fps and Dota 2 at 141fps show that this machine can deliver the kind of frame rates that make a 360Hz IPS panel meaningful, even though none of those results reaches the screen’s maximum refresh rate.

It also suits a player who wants demanding games to remain comfortably playable at 1920x1080 High settings without relying on upscaling in the published test conditions. Final Fantasy XV at 106fps, X-Plane 11 at 84fps and Cyberpunk 2077 1.0 at 82fps are credible results for that use case. The Aorus is not a machine that turns every demanding game into a 360fps experience, but it does maintain solid results across a varied set of workloads.

The laptop makes particular sense for somebody who values a 15.6in form factor but does not require an especially light machine. At 2.22kg, it is substantial, yet still plausibly moveable between locations. The 99Wh battery, 16GB of memory and 1TB SSD give it a rounded specification on paper, although there is no measured battery-life data and no information here about storage performance or upgradeability. Buyers should treat those components as useful stated specifications, not as evidence of a specific ownership experience.

It is also for the buyer who looks beyond GPU naming. The Aorus’s RTX 3080 at 130W is capable, but the comparison data shows why a sensible purchase should be based on measured outcomes. It is far ahead of the RTX 3050 Ti MSI Prestige 15 across the shared games. It is effectively tied with the RTX 3060 Dell G16 and RTX 3070 Ti Razer Blade 15 OLED in their five-game shared averages. It falls behind the RTX 3080 Ti, 175W MSI Raider GE77 HX. A buyer who appreciates this nuance is more likely to choose the Aorus for what it actually delivers rather than for what a specification hierarchy suggests it ought to deliver.

It is not the best fit for somebody who wants the highest measured performance available from this GPU generation. The MSI Raider GE77 HX is 28fps ahead on average across five shared games, and that is the comparison to consider if maximum frame rate is the only priority. The Aorus is fast, but it is not the fastest listed alternative.

It is not the best fit for a buyer who expects the 360Hz screen to be fully driven in every game. Notebookcheck’s published figures do not show that happening in the measured set. The fastest result is 212fps, while demanding titles sit much lower. If the appeal of the laptop depends entirely on seeing 360fps in modern graphically intensive games, the benchmark data does not support that expectation.

It is also not the right choice for somebody whose main requirement is low carry weight. A 2.22kg laptop can be transported, but it is still a serious piece of hardware to carry regularly. The available information does not include dimensions, so no stronger claim should be made about bag compatibility or footprint. Nor should buyers assume a particular level of battery life from the 99Wh capacity alone, because no attributable endurance figures are available.

Finally, it is not for a buyer who needs a confirmed value judgement before committing. The UK price for this exact configuration is not confirmed, so there is no evidence-based way to say whether it is cheap, expensive or competitive against its rivals. The performance case is clear enough: it is a strong 1080p machine with a broad spread of results, excellent output in its best-performing games and solid figures in demanding titles. The value case must wait for a confirmed UK price.

Viewed on performance and specification alone, the Aorus 15P YD is a capable, focused gaming laptop. Its 130W RTX 3080 and Core i7-11800H deliver a five-game mean of 141fps at the stated test settings, but the more revealing story is the range around that average. It can reach 212fps in Strange Brigade and remain at 82fps in Cyberpunk 2077 1.0. That makes it a strong choice for high-refresh 1080p gaming, provided the buyer accepts that high-refresh and 360Hz are not the same thing, and provided the eventual UK price makes sense.

How it compares