Welcome to our guide to the best MSI gaming laptops based on raw hardware performance, critic and user reviews, design and general pure gaming pedigree.
When it comes to gaming laptops there are only a few name brands that are fighting for the top spot in this highly competitive market. One of these super contenders is the Taiwanese power house MSI, who are known for their behemoth laptops which are always packed with the latest and most powerful hardware. But they have also created some of the sleekest and lightest gaming laptops available on the market, along with a few mid-ranged and cheap gaming laptops for budget-conscious gamers. MSI has always been about the gaming experience and they have made sure that their products offer some of the best displays, killer sound and keyboards that are purposely designed for gaming.
Rest assured that if you see their signature red and black color scheme that you are getting a high-quality gaming rig. To get an idea of how all the different processors and graphics cards stack up against each other head over to our best gaming laptops guide. While this article is focused more on the high-end spectrum of MSI’s gaming laptop offering, there are a few great budget MSI laptops in our mid-tier gaming laptops under $1000 guide and also our best gaming laptops under $1500 guide. These mid-tier gaming laptops from MSI feature mid-level hardware that will easily cope with everyday tasks and will handle most recent gaming titles on low to medium settings. Fans of either Razer Blade laptops or MSI Gaming Laptops will also want to head over to each of those respective guides for more top picks from leading manufacturers.
Best MSI Laptops under $1000 – Top Pick
MSI GL62M 7REX-1896US
MSI’s GL62M 7REX-1896US is a gaming laptop that affords most on a budget a decent overall mid-range gaming experience. While the NVIDIA GTX 1050Ti is modern and up to date, it is a mid-tier graphics card and does not support VR. It will play most modern titles on medium to high settings on Full-HD, but 4K gaming is unfortunately not an option. Under the hood there is an Intel i7-770HQ, which is plenty fast with more than enough processing power, and the accompanying 8GB of DDR4 RAM will allow you to multitask effectively. If 8GB of RAM is not enough, you can upgrade to 32GB. MSI have employed a thinner design compared to the MSI GL62M-line. It is more portable and stylish, and made from matte black plastic. The battery life is terrible, which is not surprising with gaming laptops, clocking in around 4 hours for most. The GL62M 7REX-1896US has 1920 x 1080 IPS matte display that most found to be crisp with great viewing angles. The dual hard drive setup, which includes one SSD and a mechanical HDD ensures fast boot up speeds and plenty of storage space. The mechanical hard drive is, however, only 5400RPM, meaning it’s slow and depending where you boot your programs or games from, it may make the experience feel rather sluggish and slow. It includes USB Type-C, two USB 3.0 Ports and a mini-display and HDMI port which supports 4K. MSI have incorporated the usual red backlit SteelSeries keyboard design which is comfortable and the touchpad is said to responsive.
Pros
- Crisp display
- Thin and portable
- Fast CPU
- SSD + HDD combination
Cons
- Middle-of-the-road GPU
- Poor battery life
- 5400RPM HDD
Specs
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 8GB RAM
- 1000GB 5400 RPM HDD / 128GB SSD
- 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 8.5 hours battery life
- 5.3 lbs
Summary & Score
While the MSI GL62M 7REX-1896US has a fast CPU and SSD, and enough RAM to have an overall responsive and snappy laptop, the GPU is comparatively fairly average for gaming purposes.
on GearBest
(as of 04-10-2022 03:48 -07:00) Details
Best MSI Laptops under $1500 – Top Pick
MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro-230
With the super portable, lightweight form factor of the MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro-230, one is surprised by the fact that it has a powerful card like the NVIDIA GTX 1060 stuffed inside it. This mid-tier card easily runs most modern AAA titles on high with ease at 1080p on max settings, but it will drop in performance at 4K somewhat. Those looking for the VR experience will also be pleased to know that it is capable of running VR applications quite comfortably. The Intel i7-7700HQ is a powerful CPU, and with the 16GB of RAM and 256GB SSD, you will have a pleasing overall experience navigating around demanding applications and websites. . There is an included 2TB 5400RPM HDD, which is significantly slower than the SSD (on which your Operating System will be installed), but it does ensure that you have copious amount of space for storage, especially if you have a massive games folder. Most users noted that its backlit Steel Series keyboard is great, but the trackpad has been scorned by many reviewers, who have noted that it is bad to say the least. It runs slightly hot when stressed by a heavy load, but most of the heat is pushed out the side vents according to some reports. The bloatware annoyed users who said they had to uninstall it all before they were happy with their machine. The MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro-230 is portable, VR-ready, and is a capable machine for both gaming and power users. What is not to love?
Pros
- Intel i7-7700HQ
- 16GB of DDR4 RAM
- NVIDIA GTX 1060
- IPS display
- Steel Series backlit keyboard
- VR-Ready
Cons
- Poor trackpad
- Runs hot
- Bloatware
Specs
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 2000GB HDD / 256GB SSD
- 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 5.25 hours battery life
- 3.96 lbs
Summary & Score
The thin, lightweight form of the MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro-230 makes it a great choice for gamers who are looking for both portability and a powerful gaming experience.
on Amazon.com
(as of 25-03-2023 19:09 UTC) Details
Best MSI Laptops under $2000 -Top Pick
MSI GT62VR Dominator Pro-238 15.6-inch
One of the first new laptops from MSI for 2017 is their MSI GT62VR Dominator Pro-238. This new edition sports a new Kaby Lake processor from Intel and one of NVIDIA’s 10-series graphics card for even better gaming performance over last year’s models. The new Dominator Pro for 2017 now features the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 and offers far better performance than its predecessor. This will make all the difference when it comes to those AAA gaming titles. The Pascal architecture has been developed for the next generation of VR gaming and will give you the edge over laptops running the older GTX 970M graphics card. A seventh generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ and 16GB of DDR4 RAM will allow you to run the latest AAA gaming titles with no lag and will even run hardware intensive design apps. You can easily upgrade the RAM to a mammoth 32GB or to a higher frequency RAM. The 1TB mechanical hard drive offers ample storage space for older games and multimedia files and the 256GB SSD takes care of those AAA gaming titles that need that extra performance. However, even at double the SSD storage space of some of its competitors, this SSD will fill up extremely quickly as the size of games has increased over the years. Titles such as Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2 and GTA V take up over 40GB each so you might want to consider a larger solid state drive. The superfast M.2 solid state drive can easily be replaced with a Samsung 960 EVO 500GB SSD or if your budget allows, the Samsung 960 Pro 1TB SSD. Like most of the higher-end MSI laptops, you get a Full-HD display. But despite the lack of a 4K display, you still get a display that offers rich colors and great viewing angles. The display also features G-SYNC which matches the display panel’s refresh rate to the frame rate of the graphics card for an impressive gaming experience.
Pros
- GTX 1070 graphics
- M.2 SSD + 7200rpm HDD
- Kaby Lake-based processor
- Full-HD display with G-SYNC
Cons
- Battery life
- Bulky
- No 4K display
- Average sized SSD
- No optical drive
Specs
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Intel GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM
- 256GB SSD / 1024GB 7200 RPM HDD
- 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 4.25 hours battery life
- 6.48 lbs
Summary & Score
The MSI GT62VR Dominator Pro-238 offers the latest hardware for the hardcore gamer, however the smaller 256GB SSD will fill up quite quickly with the latest AAA gaming titles.
on Amazon.com
(as of 25-03-2023 18:58 UTC) Details
Best Premium Laptops – Top Pick
MSI GT73VR TITAN PRO-1005 17.3-inch
If you consider yourself a serious gamer, you will be familiar with the power of NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX1080. Backing this astonishingly powerful card with the powerful Intel i7-7700HQ and 16GB of DDR4 RAM creates a machine truly capable of putting out a stellar performance. The MSI GT73VR TITAN PRO-1005 costs an arm and a leg, but it comes packed with powerful hardware to meet all your modern gaming needs. It comes with an SSD that has 512GB of space, but MSI have included an older mechanical hard drive with 1TB of space. The only real drawback with this gaming beast is its size, and therefore its portability. It is massive and you may have some trouble lugging it around with you, making it more suited to home use. Furthermore, poor battery life is a common issue with gaming laptops due to their powerful hardware demanding so much power. MSI have equipped the GT73VR TITAN PRO-1005 with plenty of ports and the 1080p display has a refresh rate of 120Hz, which was a major selling point for most. The laptop is said to run cool thanks to MSI’s “Cooler Boost Titan” and it comes with the SteelSeries RGB Keyboard. There is plenty of port space for all your needs, and the ports are said to be spaced out nicely. The GT73VR TITAN PRO-1005 is VR ready as the name suggests, and with these specs, it should run VR applications with general ease.
Pros
- Powerful
- Responsive
- SSD+HDD combo
- VR-ready
- Great 1080p display
Cons
- Battery life
- Heavy
- Touchpad sits deep
Specs
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 1000GB 7200 RPM HDD / 128GB SSD
- 17.3 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 3 hours battery life
- 9.3 lbs
Summary & Score
The battery life and weight of the machine are common drawbacks of gaming laptops, but the Acer Predator 17 G9-793-79V5 17.3-inch offers a first-class gaming performance.
on Amazon.com
(as of 25-03-2023 19:06 UTC) Details
Best MSI Laptops under $1000 – Runners-Up
MSI GL62M 7RDX-1408 15.6-inch
MSI’s GL62M 7RDX-1408 manages to pack some serious power in a rather unassuming case. This inexpensive gaming laptop has the same case design as the MSI GL72M 7RX-800, but the main difference between the two is that the MSI GL72M 7RX-800 has a larger display, but it is a TN display, while the GL62M 7RDX-1408 has an up to date IPS display. That being said, many liked the Full-HD display and its rich colors and wide viewing angles. The comfortable SteelSeries keyboard with its red backlighting is comfortable and it has great key travel, and the mouse pad is spacious and responsive. Its audio quality is said to be tinny, with many finding other laptops have offered better sound, but laptops in general lack quality audio when compared to gaming headphones or a proper speaker system. It comes with sufficient ports, including a a single USB 2.0 port, two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 3.1 USB Type-C port that supports USB 3.1 Gen1, but some were fairly disappointed that there was no USB 3.1 Gen2 support. Its fast, 128GB SSD M.2 solid state drive ensures that your system remains responsive, and you’d only have your essential programs saved on here since it is quite small, while the larger 1TB slower mechanical hard drive is ideal for multimedia storage, including games, movies and music. The MSI GL62M 7RDX-1408 comes with a powerful 7th Generation Intel i7-7700HQ and enough RAM for comfortable multitasking, and combined with NVIDIA’s GTX 1050, current games will run effortlessly on medium to high settings in Full-HD at 50 to 60 frames per second. Much like the MSI GL72M 7RDX-800, the Cooler Boost 4 cooling technology keeps the temperatures and down, so you won’t have to worry about temperature related throttling. Like any gaming laptop, we are not surprised to see that the battery life lasts 4 hours when web browsing, and only around 40 minutes under load. While this is disappointing, all the hardware packed into this machine isn’t necessarily efficient.
Pros
- Crisp display
- Thin and portable
- Fast CPU
- SSD + HDD combination
Cons
- Middle-of-the-road GPU
- Poor battery life
- 5400RPM HDD
Specs
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 8GB RAM
- 1000GB 5400 RPM HDD / 128GB SSD
- 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 8.5 hours battery life
- 5.3 lbs
Summary & Score
While the MSI GL62M 7REX-1896US has a fast CPU and SSD, and enough RAM to have an overall responsive and snappy laptop, the GPU is comparatively fairly average for gaming purposes.
on GearBest
(as of 04-10-2022 03:48 -07:00) Details
MSI GE63VR Raider-075 15.6-inch
The MSI GE63VR Raider-075 has a stylish, premium look, and is easily identifiable as an MSI design. The aluminium and brushed-metal finish makes the laptop feel solid, hence many praising its construction. It is reasonably lightweight and portable, but its poor battery life makes it less ideal for use away from home. MSI have managed to fit NVIDIA’s GTX 1070 under the hood, which is a powerful card that is able to run most modern AAA titles on max settings. Furthermore, it has all the necessary hardware backing up the powerful GTX 1070 to make the overall gaming experiencing optimal including an Intel i7-7700HQ and 16GB of DDR4 RAM. The Steel Series keyboard has received nothing but praise from those who own this machine, and each key can individually be backlit in different RGB colors, or in different zones. The touchpad has received mixed reviews, with some suggesting it is average at best Despite its powerful hardware, it comes with a TN display panel, meaning your viewing angles may suffer compared to the IPN panels on some competing high-end gaming laptops. That said, the 120Hz refresh rate will allow you to play your favorite games at the smoothest possible framerates and many users also reported great color accuracy. If you are looking for a lightweight and well designed gaming beast,the MSI GE63VR Raider-075 might just be for you, although be prepared to stick close to a wall outlet for longer sessions considering it’s mediocre battery life.
Pros
- Compact and lightweight
- Powerful NVIDIA GTX1070
- Powerful Hardware
- 120Hz display
- SSD + HDD Combo
- Great keyboard
Cons
- Small SSD
- TN display panel
- Poor touchpad
Specs
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 1000GB HDD / 128GB SSD
- 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Pro
- 5.5 hours battery life
- 4.85 lbs
Summary & Score
The biggest drawback of the MSI GE63VR Raider-075 is its screens poor viewing angles, otherwise it is a powerful gaming machine with a powerful GPU capable of running games exceptionally well.
on BHPhotoVideo
(as of 04-10-2022 03:47 -07:00) Details
MSI GL62M 7RE-407 15.6-inch
While most of MSI’s gaming laptops sell for over $1000, the MSI GL62M 7RE-407 is an affordable option for those looking for a good gaming laptop at a lower price. While most of its competitors and even the MSI GL62M 7RD-058 feature the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 GPU, the MSI GL62M 7RE-407 ships with the more powerful GTX 1050 Ti. The GTX 1050 Ti offers higher frame rates and smoother performance, which offers a better gaming experiencing overall. Its Intel Core i5-7300HQ processor might offer three quarters of the performance of the popular Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor, but it will still allow you to run any modern game on the market at the moment. You will only really notice the difference while pushing your settings, multitasking or while using CPU intensive applications. However, this does allow MSI to bring down the price of the GL62M 7RE-407. Another noticeable feature that is missing from the MSI GL62M 7RE-407 is its lack of a backlit keyboard, this once again brings down the price and is not a deal breaker. While some of the sub $1000 gaming laptops still cling on to the DDR4 2133MHz RAM modules, MSI have gone with the slightly higher frequency 2400MHz RAM which helps to increase the laptop’s overall performance. You can increase the RAM to a maximum of 32GB and we recommend looking at the G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 2x 8GB kit as a good upgrade for the MSI GL62M 7RE-407. When it comes to modern games, the space required to install these titles has shot up dramatically over the last few years. This means that while you do get a superfast M.2 SSD, its 256GB of storage space will fill up extremely quickly with games such as GTA V or Battlefield 1. Luckily there is space to install a SATA-based storage drive. It has to be mentioned that while you can upgrade the MSI GL62M 7RE-407, it is not as easy as some of MSI’s more premium laptops and requires some time and patience to pry off the bottom panel to get to the components.
Pros
- Price
- Kaby Lake CPU
- GTX 1050 Ti GPU
- Vivid display
Cons
- No optical drive
- Battery life
- Not the easiest to upgrade
- No backlit keyboard
Specs
- Intel Core i5-7300HQ 2.5GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 4GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 8GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM
- 256GB SSD
- 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Windows 10 Home
- 5.3 lbs
Summary & Score
The MSI GL62M 7RE-407 offers great performance for its sub $1000 price tag, however the small SSD will fill up fairly quickly and you should consider a second SSD or 7200rpm HDD to extend its storage.
on Amazon.com
(as of 25-03-2023 18:15 UTC) Details
MSI GL62 6QF-405 17.3-inch
MSI is known for their behemoth laptops that pack the most powerful hardware available, but they also cater to the budget conscious gamer who is after the reliability of a MSI gaming rig. MSI has added their signature SteelSeries keyboard to the MSI GL62 6QF-405, which has been specifically designed for gaming, but unlike the higher end models from MSI the GL62’s keyboard is not backlit. The MSI GL62 6QF-405 is packed with a Skylake Quad-core Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor, 8GB of DDR4 RAM and a 1TB 5400rpm hard drive, which will make light work of any day-to-day tasks. MSI has only used one of the RAM slots, which means that upgrading to 16GB of RAM is a quick and easy process. The 7200rpm hard drive is faster than the standard 5400rpm drives and MSI has added an m.2 slot for an SSD module to be installed. An NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M with 2GB of dedicated video memory will allow older games to run on higher graphics, but newer titles will have to run on medium settings to allow for higher frame rates. The 17.3-inch Full-HD display offers great viewing angles, vivid colors and a maximum resolution of 1920×1080. MSI has added their “Shift” technology to the GL62, which allows for the laptop to push the hardware to its limit while minimizing the noise and the temperature. Reviewers have had mixed results when it comes to the effectiveness of the Shift software and have reported higher fan noise levels under load. Additional features include two USB 3.0 ports, USB Type-C, HDMI, VGA, Mini-Display port and a Super Multi DVD burner.
Pros
- Full HD display
- USB Type-C
- NVIDIA GTX960M
- Extra m.2 slot
Cons
- Bulky size
- Only 8GB of RAM
Specs
- Intel Core i7-6700HQ 2.6GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M 2GB Dedicated [View Framerates]
- 8GB DDR4 2133 RAM
- 1024GB 7200 RPM HDD
- 17.3 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 2.75 hours battery life
- 5.95 lbs
Summary & Score
The MSI GL62 6QF-405 offers great performance for budget conscious gamers who are after a 17-inch laptop with dedicated graphics and a Full-HD display.
Best MSI Laptops under $1500 – Runners-Up
MSI GP72X Leopard-667 15.6-inch
MSI’s GP72X Leopard-667 gaming laptop offers a strong gaming performance at a decent price. MSI have retained their usual design, with the familiar black aluminum chassis with the MSI logo on the lid. It has a beautiful RBG backlit full keyboard and weighs in at six pounds overall, making it easier to throw in a backpack and carry around with you. While most thought that the anti-glare 1920X1080 display is beautiful, it is a TN panel, so your viewing angles are going to be limited sadly, and the colors will look washed out if your screen is not angled correctly. It has an up-to-date Intel i7-7700HQ processor and 16GB of DDR4 RAM allowing you to power through your daily tasks, and the GTX1050 GDDR5 drives some decent gaming performances with most games easily running on high settings, but ultra settings will struggle somewhat as the GTX1050 is a mid-tier card. The 1TB 7200RPM hard drive offers use more than enough space for storage, and the 128GB SSD will allow for fast boot times. Most noted that the GP72X Leopard-667 runs cool while handling demanding tasks, but the fans can get quite noisy. The speaker quality is said to be rather average, and the battery life, like most gaming laptops is not the greatest. The MSI GP72X Leopard-667 is a decent overall gaming laptop, and its hardware is up to date and powerful overall.
Pros
- Fast and responsive
- Up to date hardware
- NVIDIA GTX 1050 4G GDDR5
- SSD and HDD combo
Cons
- TN display
- Battery life
- Noisy fans
Specs
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 4GB Dedicted [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 1000GB 7200 RPM HDD / 128GB SSD
- 17.3 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Windows 10 Home
- 5.25 hours battery life
- 6 lbs
Summary & Score
The MSI GP72X Leopard-667 offers commendable gaming performance and handles demanding tasks with relative ease thanks to its powerful hardware.
on Amazon.com
(as of 25-03-2023 19:06 UTC) Details
MSI GE72VR Apache Pro-009 17.3-inch
MSI are known for their hardcore gaming laptops. The MSI GE72VR Apache Pro-009 is a new addition to their list of pedigree gaming laptops and is ready for the next generation of games. Its full metal design and aggressive looks are everything that you would expect from a high-end MSI laptop. A high-end 6th generation Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor and 16GB of DDR4 2133 MHz RAM power the MSI GE72VR Apache Pro-009 and allow for effortless multitasking and lag free gaming. To make the MSI GE72VR Apache Pro-009 more future proof, MSI have gone with a next generation graphics card, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060. The GTX 1060 offers notably more processing power than its predecessor and you can expect to play Overwatch on ultra settings with a frame rate over 100 fps. To ensure that the graphics look crisp and clear, the MSI GE72VR Apache Pro-009 features a large 17.3-inch Full-HD IPS display. The display offers bright and vivid colors, and great viewing angles thanks to its In-plane switching technology. To insure that you have ample storage space the MSI GE72VR Apache Pro-009 features both a 256GB solid state drive and a 1TB 7200rpm mechanical hard drive. The M.2 SSD allows the laptop to boot up in seconds and offers lightning fast performance while gaming. But with the size of games such as The Witcher and Battlefield 4, you will have to be selective which games you will install on your SSD. But like all gaming laptops, the battery life is poor meaning the MSI GE72VR Apache Pro-009 is more suited as being a desktop replacement.
Pros
- GTX 1060 graphics card
- Intel Skylake processor
- USB 3.1 Type-C
- M.2 SSD
- Steel Series backlit keyboard
Cons
- Bulky
- Only 3 USB ports
- Battery life
- Price
Specs
- Intel Core i7-6700HQ 2.6GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 256GB SSD / 1000GB 7200 RPM HDD
- 17.3 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 4.75 hours battery life
- 5.95 lbs
Summary & Score
The MSI GE72VR Apache Pro-009 is a high-end gaming laptop that offers powerful hardware, next generation connectivity and aggressive gaming looks. But the battery life is poor and it’s bulky for an everyday carry.
on Amazon.com
(as of 25-03-2023 18:19 UTC) Details
Best MSI Laptops under $2000 – Runners-Up
MSI GT72VR 6RD Dominator-033 17.3-inch
Built for gaming, the MSI GT72VR 6RD Dominator-033 is another great gaming laptop from the powerhouse company that is MSI. The new Dominator for 2016 now features an NVIDIA’s 10-series graphics card for even more gaming performance. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 offers far better performance than its predecessor which will make all the difference when it comes to those AAA gaming titles. The Pascal architecture has been developed for the next generation of VR gaming and will give you the edge over laptops running the older GTX 960M graphics card. A sixth generation Intel Core i7-6700HQ and 16GB of DDR4 RAM will allow you to run the latest AAA gaming titles with no lag and will even run hardware intensive design apps. However the 16GB of RAM can easily be upgraded to 24GB or even 32GB for better performance. While the 1TB mechanical hard drive offers ample storage space for older games and multimedia files, the 256GB SSD is slightly small with some modern games requiring at least 40GB or more. Luckily this superfast M.2 solid state drive can easily be replaced with a Samsung 960 EVO 500GB SSD for superior storage space. Much like most of the higher-end MSI laptops, you get a Full-HD display. But despite the lack of a 4K display, you still get a display that offers rich colors and great viewing angles. The display also features G-SYNC which matches the display panel’s refresh rate to the frame rate of the graphics card for an impressive gaming experience. Overall the GT72VR 6RD Dominator-033 offers great hardware specs and luckily the tiny SSD can easily be replaced.
Pros
- NVIDIA GTX 1060
- Full-HD display with G-SYNC
- Powerful i7 CPU
- VR ready
- Good keyboard
Cons
- Battery life
- Bulky and heavy
- Odd amount of RAM
- Smaller SSD
Specs
- Intel Core i7-6700HQ 2.6GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB Dedicated [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 2133MHz RAM
- 256GB SSD / 1024GB 7200 RPM HDD
- 17.3 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 5.25 hours battery life
- 8.3 lbs
Summary & Score
The MSI GT72VR 6RD Dominator-033 offers powerful hardware for the hardcore gamer, but the tiny 256GB SSD will fill up almost instantly with the size of modern apps and games.
on Amazon.com
(as of 25-03-2023 18:19 UTC) Details
Best Premium Laptops – Runners-Up
MSI GS63VR STEALTH PRO-229 15.6-inch
While many of MSI’s laptops are quite bulky, the Stealth range is thin and light. This makes a refreshing change for the gamer who doesn’t want a heavy and bulky laptop as an everyday carry. The build quality is great and the aggressive design complements its gaming pedigree under its hood. Not only does this MSI laptop look great, it also weighs in at a light 3.96 lbs and is 0.69-inches thick, which is not bad for a gaming laptop. However, one thing on the design that might annoy some users is the placement of the power button, and you should change your power settings to prevent your laptop from going to sleep when you accidently bump the button. Sporting the latest generation Kaby Lake Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor and a healthy 32GB of DDR4 RAM, the MSI GS63VR STEALTH PRO will run any current game with ease. To ensure that your games look amazing in the graphics department, MSI have fitted the GS63VR STEALTH PRO with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card with 6GB of GDDR5 video memory. The GTX 1060 will allow you to run almost every game on ultra settings at 1080p with a frame rate of over 30fps. However there are some games that will push this card to the limit and we recommend setting your settings slightly lower to prevent your frame rate from dropping too low. The Full-HD display offers vibrant colors and the viewing angles are pretty wide thanks to the IPS technology. Storage wise, MSI have fitted the MSI GS63VR STEALTH PRO with both a 1TB mechanical hard drive and superfast M.2 512GB SSD. The SSD will give you the edge you need and will save you precious seconds when loading into games. Another nice touch is the fact that the MSI GS63VR STEALTH PRO comes with Windows 10 Professional instead of Windows 10 Home, unlocking more of the features of Windows 10.
Pros
- Kaby Lake processor
- 32GB of RAM
- 10-series NVIDIA graphics
- Windows 10 Pro
- Thin and light
Cons
- Battery life
- Power button placement
- Price
- Average sound
- No optical drive
Specs
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 32GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM
- 512GB SSD / 1024GB 5400 RPM HDD
- 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Pro
- 6 hours battery life
- 3.96 lbs
Summary & Score
The MSI MSI GS63VR STEALTH PRO is a thin and light gaming laptop that still manages to offer powerful hardware for the gamer on the go. However the sound is not the greatest and the price is a bit steep for some.
on Amazon.com
(as of 25-03-2023 18:58 UTC) Details
MSI GT73VR Titan SLI-058 17.3-inch
MSI’s GT73VR Titan SLI-058 17.3-inch gaming laptop is a powerhouse of a gaming laptop. Running dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX1070 cards with 16GB of RAM together, combined with its sixth generation Intel Core i7-6820HK Quad Core Processor and a massive 64GB of RAM, you will be getting market leading performance for both gaming and demanding editing software. With the hefty price tag attached, you would certainly expect as much. Weighing in at 10.6 pounds, the brushed metal body MSI GT73VR Titan SLI-058 is not very portable, and everything about the sleek black and red design screams gaming. While the size is not only to cater for the awesome hardware stuffed into this machine, MSI have also made the extra room for cooling, including what they call MSI Cooler Boost Titan. The 1920×1080 17.3-inch anti-glare IPS display has a 120Hz refresh rate and a wide viewing angle, and many have commented on how spectacular the screen quality is. It comes with an SSD and HDD combo, with the Super RAID 4 SSD coming with 512GB of space, and the 7200RPM HDD a generous 1TB. Thanks to its crazy hardware specs, it should run most modern games at 4k comfortably, and it is VR-Ready, with reviewers noting that it runs VR applications with ease. It comes with Thunderbolt 3 (Type-C) for ultra fast data transfers of up to 400Gbps as well as allowing you to connect a 4K monitor. The keyboard’s LED backlite is customizable and the touchpad is said to be responsive. Its poor battery life and charging cable quality and length are the only real shortcomings, but the otherwise expensive MSI GT73VR TITAN SLI-058 is an incredibly capable gaming laptop and it is definitely a top of the line laptop.
Pros
- Top of the line performance
- Massive 64GB of RAM
- SLI GTX1070
- VR-Ready
- Full sized backlit keyboard
- Gorgeous FHD 120Hz display
- 512 SSD and 1TB 7200 RPM HDD combo
Cons
- Battery life
- Short and flimsy feeling Charging cable
- Bloatware
Specs
- Intel Core i7-6820HK 2.7GHz
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 16GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 48GB DDR4 RAM
- 1000GB 7200 RPM HDD / 256GB SSD
- 17.3 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 4.75 hours battery life
- 10.6 lbs
Summary & Score
The mighty MSI GT73VR Titan SLI-058 will make easy work of both games and demanding editing software, but it comes with a large price tag.
on Amazon.com
(as of 18-03-2020 23:10 UTC) Details
MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro-002 15.6-inch
When spending over $2000 you would expect to get a seriously powerful and impressive laptop. Even more so when you are buying a laptop for gaming purposes. The MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro-002 enters the ring swinging with its impressive display. While most laptops feature 60MHz displays, the MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro-002 features a much more impressive 120MHz display with a fairly impressive 3ms response time. It also boasts an impressive 94% NTSC color coverage, which equates to about 100% coverage of the AdobeRGB color space. This makes the MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro-002 great for both gamers and creatives who need a brilliant display for editing and design work. To make sure that you can play all of the latest AAA games on the market, the Stealth Pro comes with a dedicated NVIDIA GTX 1070 with 8GB of GDDR5 video memory. While it might not be the powerful GTX 1080, the GTX 1070 can still handle its own and features improved performance over the widely used GTX 1060. This GPU will also handle VR gaming with both the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift. The MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro-002 is run by a seventh generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ CPU and 32GB of DDR4 2400MHz RAM, meaning it will easily handle any game that you can throw at it. It will even perform lag free while you record game footage for your YouTube channel. A minor drawback of the MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro-002 is that the 1TB hard drive is a slower 5400rpm drive and we would recommend swapping it out for something a bit faster.
Pros
- Brilliant 120MHz display
- Thin and light
- Windows 10 Pro
- NVIDIA GTX 1070
Cons
- Higher price
- 5400rpm hard drive
- TN display
Specs
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 32GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM
- 1000GB 5400 RPM HDD / 512GB SSD
- 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Pro
- 5.25 hours battery life
- 4 lbs
Summary & Score
The MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro-002 is a powerful gaming laptop that features an impressive display. However, for the price we would have expected a 7200rpm hard drive.
on Amazon.com
(as of 25-03-2023 19:03 UTC) Details