CES 2017: Gigabyte "Aorus" Press Event Live Blog

04:18PM EST - I'm here at Gigabyte's CES 2017 Aorus press event

04:19PM EST - Aorus is Gigabyte's premium gaming brand

04:20PM EST - So expect to see a gaming-focused lineup from Gigabyte's product stack, including PC and laptops

04:21PM EST - (Gigabyte's slide deck is having some technical difficulties)

04:22PM EST - Aorus is going to become a more encompassing brand for the company. More than just a handful of products, but also replacing sub-brands like the G1 Gaming brand

04:23PM EST - Aorus will now include motherboards, video cards, laptops, and other peripherals

04:24PM EST - Note that this isn't all gaming, but high-end products. LED-backlit parts and the like

04:25PM EST - Now rolling a promo video

04:26PM EST - Video emphasizing premium features such as advanced cooling and lighting on various Aorus products

04:28PM EST - Intel is now on stage to talk about their relationship with Gigabyte

04:28PM EST - Desktop Kaby Lake just launched, of course, so it's about to be a major buying period for new motherboards

04:30PM EST - Next up, Leon Chen, technical marketing manager for Gigabyte

04:31PM EST - 3 big focus areas for Gigabyte will be on liquid cooling, RGB lighting (RGB Fusion), and Gigabyte's latest Smart Fan 5 technology

04:32PM EST - Some of the latest Z200-series motherboards include waterblocks pre-installed on the motherboard

04:33PM EST - Gigabyte is also including some additional RGB functionality beyond the usual RGB LEDs on some of their high-end boards

04:33PM EST - Such as pin headers for additional light strips

04:36PM EST - Gigabyte wants to build out a whole ecosystem. Validating chassis and LED strip lighting systems to work with their lighting controllers

04:38PM EST - Moving on to Smart Fan 5, Gigabyte is reiterating how comprehensive the system is, including having multiple sensor zones for better monitoring with liquid cooling

04:39PM EST - On motherboard overclocking, Gigabyte's engineers have been working to improve XMP memory set compatibility, including supporting 4000MHz+ sets

04:41PM EST - Gigabyte's CEO is here by telepresence bot

04:42PM EST - Discussing a bit more how much he enjoys working with the company's partners, and thanking the audience for coming

04:42PM EST - Excuse me, President, not CEO

04:44PM EST - Up next is Andy Chu, the product manager for Gigabyte's laptop group

04:45PM EST - Gigabyte is proud that their Aorus X5 gaming laptop has won a CES 2017 innovation award

04:45PM EST - Also new for CES this year is the X7 laptop, a 17.3-inch SLI-equipped gaming laptop

04:46PM EST - Gigabyte wants to be a trend leader in the gaming laptop market

04:48PM EST - One of the ways they want to lead: a laptop with mechnical keys, but not the traditional weight and thickness

04:49PM EST - To that end, Gigabyte is discussing the Aorus X9, a proof of concept design for a 17.3-inch gaming laptop including a thin mechanical keyboard

04:50PM EST - Moving on, the launch of Kaby Lake has allowed Gigabyte to add some new software features to the Aorus laptop line

04:51PM EST - This includes full HEVC 8-bit and 10-bit hardware decode support, a good mix for the new 4K streaming services

04:53PM EST - Gigabyte is also touting that they are still the only laptop vendor to include dedicated hardware (from AverMedia) for video processing and streaming

04:54PM EST - Switching gears to video cards

04:57PM EST - Gigabyte is also doing greater promotion of their other peripherals as well, such as headphones and keyboards

04:58PM EST - Gigabyte is doing their first gaming chair, the XGC3000

04:59PM EST - And a 1200W PSU, the XP1200M

04:59PM EST - Modular, 80Plus Platinum

05:00PM EST - The company is also doing a full tower case, the XC700W

05:02PM EST - Up next: HyperX

05:03PM EST - HyperX is getting into audio peripherals

05:05PM EST - HyperX believes audio is underappreciated in gaming, and wants to do more with it

05:06PM EST - For VR this is especially important, due to the use of 3D audio as part of the experience

05:11PM EST - Now discussing overall goals in expanding their gaming product line, and specifically how they went about setting up a lab to design and build their headphones

05:13PM EST - 3 headset lines: Stinger, Cloud, and Revolver at $50, $100, and $150 respectively

05:14PM EST - CES 2017 new product announcement: Revolver S, with a USB audio dongle

05:14PM EST - Shipping in March

05:15PM EST - Doing a new mechanical keyboard as well

05:16PM EST - And their first gaming mouse: the Pulsefire

05:17PM EST - $49, shipping in a couple of months

05:18PM EST - And that's a wrap. Thanks for joining us