Very light with its weight under the kilo mark, the Gigabyte U4 UD-50FR823SO is a versatile thin laptop with a 14-inch IPS Full HD sRGB anti-glare screen with colors more faithful than average performance in common use thanks to its 16 GB of RAM and its Intel Tiger Lake Quad Core i5-1155G7 processor with Iris Xe graphics module capable of running modest games. This elegant silver Ultrabook that runs Windows 11 sees its responsiveness reinforced by its fast SSD storage of 512 GB and benefits from a backlit keyboard as well as connectivity with Wi-Fi ax and Thunderbolt 4 USB-C. But its autonomy is disappointing.
Features of the Gigabyte U4 UD-50FR823SO
| Screen(s) | 14” Full HD LED IPS 100% sRGB thin edges (1920×1080, anti-glare) |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-1155G7 Tiger Lake (2.5 GHz, 4 cores, TDP 28W) |
| Installed RAM (max) | 16GB (8GB soldered 8GB) DDR4 3200MHz (40GB), 1 slots (occupied) |
| Video card | Intel Iris Xe integrated processor |
| Storage | 512GB M.2 SSD (NVMe PCIe, 2280) 1 free M.2 slot |
| Connection | 1 USB 3.2 (Gen1) 1 USB 3.2 (Gen2) 1 USB 4 Type-C Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.0 (HDCP), microSD card reader |
| Network | Wi-Fi 6 ax (2×2, Intel AX201), Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Backlit keyboard | Yes, white, splash resistant |
| Keypad | – |
| Windows Hello | – |
| Audio system | 2 speakers (2 x 1.5W) DTS:X Ultra |
| Operating system | Windows 11 64-bit |
| Autonomy advertised / Battery | 4 hours / 3-cell Li-Ion 36Whr |
| Weight / Dimensions (mm) | 990 grams / 322 x 216.8 x 14.9-17.2 |
Chassis, connectors, screen of the Gigabyte U4 UD-50FR823SO
Rugged with compliance with the MIL-STD-810G military resistance standard, this thin and light laptop that can be recharged to 45% in 30 minutes has an elegant and discreet look with its silver design made of thin aluminum-magnesium alloy very light.
This versatile laptop has good connectivity including 1 USB 4 Type-C Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi ax wireless modules (newer and more powerful than Wi-Fi ac) and Bluetooth 5.2 for remote connections and communications, a convenient HDMI video output to easily connect it to a TV or monitor for example, an audio port or 2 USB 3.0 (USB 2.0 compatible) ensuring transfers up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0 if USB 3.0 devices are connected.
You can backlight the chiclet keyboard – splash resistant which is appreciable – which is convenient to better distinguish its keys when ambient light is limited.
Thanks to its sRGB and IPS specifications, the display reproduces colors more accurately than average and offers wide viewing angles, both horizontal and vertical. In addition, it lends itself well to the display of High Definition content such as videos due to its Full HD definition and its 16/9th format. As it is anti-reflective, the screen is also more readable in a bright environment (e.g. outdoors) than a glossy slab.
Performance, autonomy of the Gigabyte U4 UD-50FR823SO
The Gigabyte U4 UD-50FR823SO is a compact 14-inch high-definition thin High Definition laptop designed for everyday versatile use.
Many users will be satisfied with the overall performance delivered by this versatile Ultrabook because it is built around a good amount of RAM of 16 GB and an Intel Tiger Lake-H Quad Core i5-1155G7 processor. This low-power model has a TDP of 28W higher than the classic 15W which implies better performance but impacts autonomy.
In this regard, autonomy is clearly the weak point of this model. In addition to above-average CPU consumption, the supplied battery is of low capacity.
As a result, the autonomy is around 4 hours in light use, which is more than disappointing for a model that would have clearly seduced many nomads because of its compactness, finesse and great lightness.
Gigabyte has therefore clearly missed an opportunity to stand out favorably from the competition.
Still, logically in view of the lightness and finesse of this elegant silver laptop, no dedicated graphics card is embedded.
Nevertheless you can still watch photos and videos but also play modest titles thanks to the Iris Xe graphics module (which we tested) directly integrated into the Core i5.
On the storage side, there is an SSD that clearly reinforces responsiveness and fluidity on a daily basis compared to a simple hard drive.
Thanks to the SSD, start/stop is much faster, especially as are processing and launching applications, and we reach the maps of online games faster.
An SSD is indeed much faster than a hard drive while offering other advantages such as lower power consumption, quiet operation and greater robustness.
With its 512 GB, the SSD here integrated offers a capacity similar to the standard of hard drives.
Good point if it turns out to be too fair, an M.2 slot is free to add a second SSD.
And we can obviously use an external storage unit if necessary. Choosing a USB 3.0/Thunderbolt/USB-C device is an interesting option for fast transfers.