Gigabyte U4 UD (Core i7-1195G7) Laptop Review

1. Gigabyte U4 Laptop2. Testing Configurations & Methodology3. Performance Results - Technical4. Performance Results - Cinebench & Blender5. Performance Results - Handbrake, 7-Zip, Memory6. Performance Results - 3DMark & PCMark 107. Closing Thoughts8. View All Pages

It is difficult to not be happy with the Gigabyte U4 UD laptop. This highly-affordable 14-inch offering delivers solid performance, strong build quality, and an array of sensible design choices.

The Intel Core i7-1195G7 Tiger Lake-U Refresh processor performs reasonably well in lightly-threaded tasks where the high boost frequency can be leveraged. But it is clearly no match for some of the AMD competition when it comes to heavily multi-threaded tasks.

I liked Tiger Lake-U for its purpose, and I like Tiger Lake-U Refresh in this laptop. But it is quite clear that the Intel 11^th Gen U-series is ready for an upgrade to Intel 12^th Gen spec very soon. Four cores with limited frequency is fine in today’s market, but it’s hardly exciting.

Gigabyte’s operation of the 28W-capable chip at 20W long duration even in the ‘Performance’ mode certainly leaves considerable performance on the table. But this is realistically a constraint of the cooling and power delivery capacity of this sub-1kg unit.

No complaints when it comes to the screen. 14-inches of 400-nits IPS goodness with 100% sRGB coverage is a strong formula for a budget notebook. The bezels are mediocre if you’re really concerned about sleekness. But the screen was enjoyable to use and had ample quality and sturdiness, despite this laptop’s affordable price point and lightweight design.

Thunderbolt 4 is great to see. However, some extra USB-C connectivity would have been appreciated. And I’d have preferred Type-C charging from the 65W adapter.

The 36Whr battery is uninspiring. But that shouldn’t be too much of an issue if you’re happy with not really being able to get a workday’s worth of lightweight general usage on a single charge. And one other point is that the cooling performance should be adjusted to make the noise output less annoying or sporadic.

Overall, I am reasonably happy with what Gigabyte has done with the U4 UD. At the current availability price of just under £700, this is a good option on the market.

There are clear downsides, as we have highlighted – particularly the mediocre battery life, louder-than-necessary fan behaviour, and processor performance left on the table. But less than £700 for a sub-1kg notebook with a competent 14-inch IPS screen and solid under-the-hood hardware – that’s pretty difficult to argue against!

You can buy the U4 UD for £669.99 from Box HERE.

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Pros:

• Very good hardware configuration for the cost.
• Upgradable SODIMM RAM is positive.
• Excellent design and manufacturing choices at this price point.
• Pleasant 14” IPS display.
• Lightweight, compact form factor with strong build quality.
• Thunderbolt 4/USB4 connectivity.

Cons:

• Core i7-1195G7 doesn’t show its full horsepower and 11^th Gen is looking aged.
• Battery life is mediocre, at best.
• Fan noise can often be irritating.

KitGuru says: The Gigabyte U4 UD is a smartly-designed, well-built laptop that offers strong value at £700. There are some notable compromises, but the overall package provides a lot to like.

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