GIGABYTE A5 K1 Laptop: 15.6" FHD, Ryzen 5 5600H, 16GB DDR4, 512GB SSD, RTX 3060 Expired

Yes, the GPU + RAM is absolutely worth the $50 difference.

https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Com...vsm1559532

I bought one of these at the $729 price point back on November 1st. It's a great laptop - looks to maybe be a rebranded Clevo model. I swapped the no name brand M/2 drive out for a Samsung 980 SSD 1TB M.2 drive and swapped the ram for 32GB of Corsair Vengeance.

My purchase said it came with "Black Friday Price Protection", but they won't do anything about it due to the purchase requiring Zip to get the discount. Looks like I'm doing the the 'return the one I have and purchase a new one' dance... I'd be saving $86.80, which pretty much covers the cost of the Samsung M.2 I put in it. Thanks to the OP for posting this!

I'll just swap my new drive and ram over to the laptop I bought today, and put the original drive and ram back into the one I'm typing on today, and send it back.

-----
ZIP deal 11/22
Item(s): $729.00
Delivery: $0.00
Promo Code Discount: –$80.19
Shipping: $0.00
Tax: $53.53
Total: $702.34
-----
My purchase from 11/1
Item(s): $729.00
TX Tax: $60.14
Shipping: $0.00
Total: $789.14
Return shipping: $0.00
-----
Money Saved by swapping: $86.80
-----

I've been using it since the 8th or so, and here's some thoughts on it:
Pros:
* I'd be very surprised if you found another laptop that compared to these specs (16GB Ram, 512GB M.2, Ryzen 5 5600H class cpu or better, AND a 130watt 3060 RTX) at a better price point.
* 122FPS average in Heaven Bench 4.0
* Runs World of Warcraft (retail version) with everything cranked to the max with zero issues.
* Runs Prey with everything cranked to the max with zero issues.
* Screen hinge feels kinda strong and beefy
* Windows 11 Home, instead of Windows 10.
* When not used for gaming, the system runs the integrated RX Vega 7, so temperatures on your lap aren't too bad. It automatically switches to the 3060 when you launch a game.
* Very quiet when used just to surf the net while watching TV - use the Fan speed control part of the Gigabyte 'Gaming Control Center' app to set fan curves.
* Can use "Flexikey" to set up macros and/or keybinds - I haven't tried to use it yet, so i have no idea how great it is compared to Logitech's or Corsair's software, but it's


Cons:
* An RTX 3060 pulling 130 watts on your lap gets warm. Learn to deal with it, the RTX 3060 is a fantastic card for 1920x1080.
* The keyboard backlighting is all one color or nothing. You get 15 colors to pick from and that's it.
* The screen is not Gsync or Freesync compatible, which is a bit disappointing, but I guess we can't have everything we want all the time.
* chassis exterior is a lot of plain dark grey/blackish plastic that shows handling smuges any time you touch it. If this bothers you, you can easily wipe it down with a microfiber (doesn't need to be damp) to get rid of the smuges
* Very plain and utilitarian looks
* Battery life is pretty bad, especially if you're gaming. You'll get about 2 to 3 hrs, unless you start underclocking and doing things like dimming the screen, turning off the keyboard LCD, etc
* BIOS is very stripped down and there are not many options. For instance, there is no way to select any options for the RAM - you get what is detected and that's it.
* The onboard speakers suck, but hey, it's a laptop, what did you expect?

Both laptops have 3060? 🤦 ♂️
https://slickdeals.net/share/android_app/t/16215943