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Best MSI gaming laptop online store? MSI sells so many gaming laptops that identifying a flagship among the lot is nearly impossible. If you had to try, though, a good candidate would be the GE66 Raider. It’s a classically (i.e., aggressively) styled 15-incher that boasts both excellent features and stellar build quality, as well as some seriously powerful components. The laptop starts at $1,899, but our $2,999 review unit is decked out with an eight-core, 10th Generation Intel Core i9 CPU, as well as an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q graphics chip and a 300Hz full-HD (1080p) display. Its roaring cooling fans might dampen your enthusiasm, but otherwise this is an excellent machine for hardcore, deep-pocketed gamers.
The upgrade to AMD’s Ryzen 4000 series processors is the single biggest component difference between the Alpha 15 and the Bravo 15, and it’s a big difference maker, too. The six-core, 12-thread Ryzen 5 4600H (3GHz base, 4GHz boost) in the base model is plenty fast to take on Intel’s same-core-and-thread-count Core i7-10750H, but my test unit’s eight-core, 16-thread Ryzen 7 4800H (2.9GHz base, 4.2GHz boost) hits far above it in overall performance.
As mentioned, the build of the GS66 Stealth is markedly different from the GS65. At a glance, the two look the same, but they diverge in size, feel, and color scheme. Starting with the aesthetics, MSI opted for an all-black look here, ditching the gold accents on the lid, vents, and touchpad. I personally liked the gold scheme, as it looked sharp and stood out from others, but I suppose this sandblasted “Core Black” look has a wider appeal and can blend in in more professional settings. Read more details at MSI gaming laptop.
The GL65 is hardly the only 15.6-inch gamer to retail for under a grand with a quad-core CPU and a 4GB GeForce GTX 1650, but it’s further under that mark than most. As a matter of fact, as I type this, the system I’m reviewing (model 9SC-004) is an unbeatable deal. A Lenovo Legion Y545 with comparable hardware rings up at $849 with only half the storage (256GB). The Dell G3 15 (3590) is in similar straits, costing $100 more than the MSI although that price buys you both a 128GB SSD and a 1TB hard drive. Another option is the Asus TUF Gaming FX505 series (a technology refresh of the TUF Gaming FX504G), but it’s also more expensive when outfitted with a comparable AMD Ryzen 7 3750H processor.
That said, it’s not the strongest chassis build on the market. The lid is adequately stiff, but the chassis’ lower half flexes without too much effort. I’m not apt to complain, however, since this is not unusual for a gaming notebook in this price range. The Bravo 15’s 120Hz screen is a strength at its price. The Alpha 15 offered a 144Hz display, so it’s technically a downgrade, but the reality is that the Radeon RX 5500M doesn’t have the horsepower to drive into triple-digit frame rates in most of today’s demanding titles, as the benchmarks will show. The display is otherwise nicely appointed with IPS technology for wide viewing angles, a glare-killing matte surface, and AMD FreeSync adaptive-sync technology for smoother gameplay. (Try finding Nvidia’s G-Sync tech in a machine at this price.) The colors don’t pop, but the picture isn’t undersaturated or lacking for brightness. It’s a solid-enough screen for a laptop in this range. Find even more info at https://msigaminglaptop.com/.
