Reviewing the Gigabyte Sabre 15: A $1000 Gaming Laptop with an All-Black Design

As I sit down to review the Gigabyte Sabre 15, I'm reminded that this laptop is not exactly a household name. However, it's one of the first laptops in its price range that I've had the opportunity to review without any flashy color accents. The result is a sleek, all-black design that exudes a sense of understated sophistication.

The angular design of the Sabre 15 isn't obnoxious by any means; rather, it's a subtle nod to the laptop's modern aesthetic. With no red or orange accents in sight, this laptop presents itself as a more subdued alternative to its competitors. I appreciate the subtlety of this approach, and I think it's a deliberate choice that sets the Sabre 15 apart from other laptops in its class.

One area where I feel the Sabre 15 could be improved is in its build quality. While the chassis feels sturdy enough, there are some areas where flexibility becomes an issue. The top panel, for instance, has more give than I'd like, and it's not particularly reassuring to press down on it. The keyboard deck itself is a different story altogether; when I'm typing away, it feels remarkably solid and stable. However, the hinge also seems to be well-engineered, providing a smooth and quiet operation that's free from any noticeable wobble.

It's worth noting that while the Sabre 15 doesn't feel particularly delicate by any means, I wouldn't want to drop this laptop on the floor. The build quality, as I mentioned earlier, is decent but not exceptional. On the other hand, I do appreciate the matte finish, which does show fingerprints rather readily. However, for those who prefer a cleaner look, there's always the option of keeping their laptop clean and dust-free.

In terms of ports, the Sabre 15 delivers on this front in spades. There are four USB ports, including one Type-C port that supports faster data transfer speeds. Additionally, there's an SD card slot, as well as audio jacks for connecting headphones or speakers. I do have one quibble with the placement of these ports: when you're right-handed and all connected up, it can get a bit congested at the bottom of the laptop.

One area where the Sabre 15 truly shines is in its keyboard. I've always been a fan of backlighting on laptops, and the Sabre 15 delivers with a base model that features a nice white LED illumination. However, for those who want to get fancy, there are upgraded models that offer RGB lighting with three zones of controllable color.

For those who prefer a more subdued aesthetic or simply want to avoid red accents altogether, this feature is a welcome relief. And honestly, I think it's just plain cool to have options beyond the usual standard-issue red backlighting. So while I don't want to overstate the importance of this feature, I do appreciate the fact that the Sabre 15 offers users some flexibility when it comes to customization.

Overall, my experience with the Gigabyte Sabre 15 has left me with mixed feelings about its design and build quality. While there are certainly areas for improvement – particularly in terms of overall sturdiness and port placement – I do think this laptop represents a solid choice for those shopping in the $1000 gaming laptop market. With its sleek, understated design and generous array of ports, it's an option that deserves serious consideration from anyone looking for a reliable and feature-rich laptop.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHey, how's it going? Dave2D here, and this is the review of the Gigabyte Sabre 15.This is not a particularly well-known laptop, but it's in that $1000 gaming laptop market,and I think it's pretty interesting.So, this is one of the first laptops at this price point that I've reviewedthat didn't have some kind of color accents on it.There's no red, orange; it's all black, inside and outside.There's still some edges and it's got a bit of an angular design, but there's nothing obnoxious about this laptop.I like that.The build quality on this thing is decent, it could be better,the top panel has a bit more flex than I'd like.Chassis has some flex, nothing out of the ordinary.The keyboard deck itself is sturdy when you're typing, the hinge also seems to be good.As a whole, it doesn't feel delicate but I wouldn't want to drop this laptop.The other thing is that it's got a matte finish, so fingerprints show pretty readily on this thing.There's a good selection of ports, there's ethernet, three display outputs, and SD card slot.Four USB ports, one of them being 3.1 Type-C, and lastly some audio jacks.I don't like how the ports on the right are clustered on the bottom.If you're right handed and you're all connected up, it can get a little jungly down there.I like the keyboard a lot, part of it is the backlighting,the base model comes with a white backlight.The upgraded models have RGB backlighting that's controllable in three zones.Not individually lit, but it's a nice spectrum to choose from.And honestly, it's just nice to have options that aren't red.Now, I might laying it a little thick with the whole \"I don't like red\" thing,But seriously, every single gaming laptop at this pricepoint has red on it.This is so refreshing to see.Okay, the keyboard is also nice to type on, layout isn't bad, it has a 2mm stroke.More than most laptop keyboards, but I don't know if it makes that much of a difference.Mechanism feels a little soft, but I like it overall.The trackpad, it's a plastic surface, feels smooth, and because it uses Windows drivers,the accuracy and gesture controls are great.It uses dedicated physical buttons and I like them, not everyone likes physical buttons,but they do a good job on these ones.The click feels good and it's not too loud or anything.Okay, in terms of performance, it's your standard-issue Kaby Lake i7 and GTX 1050 or 1050 Ti combo.And if you want to see detailed benchmarks for this combination, there's a link below.But if you get the 1050 Ti, it's a device that'll get you really solid frame rates on most AAA titles.Light-to-moderate demanding games, like Overwatch and Doom,will break 60 FPS on ultra graphics.Heavier games, like Battlefield 1,will be in the mid-to-high 50s on high graphics, it still looks really good, though.The heaviest games, like Watch Dogs 2, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Witcher 3,those need the graphics to be on medium to get really smooth frame rates.But for the price, this has great performance.The screen is an IPS panel, 1080p.Bezels aren't too thick, viewing angles are also pretty good.It could get a little brighter, though.This is just bright enough for me at work, and if you bring this outdoors,it'll be tough to see the screen.Color gamut and accuracy aren't the best, but it's on par for a laptop at this price point.720p webcam, looks pretty average.Opening the device up involves removing a bunch of screws, including some in the battery area.Inside, you can upgrade or replace the RAM sticks, they've included one stick of 16 gigs.And you also have access to both drive bays.The included SSD in this unit uses a SATA interface, but it does support NVMe drives.The 47 watt battery is removable,I'm actually surprised that this thing packs 47 watt hours, that's not very big.The obvious advantage is that you can swap out batteries, if you purchase spares.It feels like something from the 1990s, but for the right user, this can be super useful.Battery life is short, you're looking at around 3.5, 4 hours of regular use,with the screen at max brightness.Playing games, it's going to be less than an hour.The single heat pipes that they use aren't my favorite.And for the GPU, the heat needs to travel quite a bit before it gets to the fins to cool down.Now when I play games, I don't notice any kind of throttling.I literally played four hours of Overwatch one night, and it didn't skip a beat.But it gets hot.GPU temperatures in game can get to around 85 degrees.But on extended stress tests, it's closer to 90 degrees.External temperatures are fine, even the warmer GPU doesn't make that part of the laptop uncomfortable.Fan noise is moderately controllable, through their software.With performance mode, fans kick in frequently on idle, and it's noticeable but not too loud.And then on full load the fans get a bit louder.The speakers sound okay, but they're not in a great location.They're facing downwards onto the table and audio clarity isn't great.The volume gets reasonably loud, though.Okay, the Sabre 15, it's Gigabyte's entry into that whole $1000 gaming laptop market.It has a plastic build, decent structural integrity, but the exterior feels a little less sturdy.The screen is about average for the price point of a gaming laptop.Slightly more color accurate, but slightly dimmer.The keyboard is good, the RGB backlighting is particularly nice at this price.Trackpad and buttons are also both pretty good.Inside, the Kaby Lake i7 and the GTX 1050 can deliver really strong performance,but the thermal management on the GPU isn't the best.The RAM and the storage are easily upgraded if you need and there's a user-swappable 47Wh batterythat'll give you a little less than four hours of battery life.So, with the Sabre 15, you're paying for a device that doesn't have black and red,which is a win in my books.But you're also getting a device that doesn't have the best thermal management or the best build quality.Now, if you're looking for a device that has this type of look, you won't be disappointed with this.I mean, you're not going to have the best thermals, but they're pretty good,and I think, overall, this device is a great performing laptop.Hope you guys enjoyed this video, thumbs if you liked it, subs if you loved it!I'll see you guys next time.\n"