The MSI GT65 is a high-end gaming laptop designed to deliver top-of-the-line performance and features. It boasts powerful hardware, stunning visuals, and advanced cooling capabilities that make it ideal for demanding gamers and professionals. In this detailed review, we'll take an in-depth look at all aspects of this machine, from its design and build quality to its display, performance, and battery life.
Design and Build Quality
The MSI GT65 has a premium look and feel, thanks to its all-aluminum chassis and clean, sharp lines. The lid features a brushed aluminum finish with the MSI logo in the center, while the bottom has a matte finish with a large air vent. The laptop measures 15.6 x 10.6 x 1.2 inches and weighs 8.27 pounds, making it slightly heavier than other gaming laptops on the market.
The keyboard is full-sized and includes a number pad, which is a nice addition for those who need to input numbers frequently. The keys are backlit and have a satisfying clicky feedback. The touchpad is large and responsive, and it supports Windows 10's gesture controls.
One of the standout features of the GT65's design is its cooling system. The laptop has a total of seven heat pipes and four fans, which help to keep the internal components cool and prevent throttling. The fans can get loud when the laptop is under heavy load, but this is to be expected from a high-performance gaming laptop.
Display
The MSI GT65 has a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080. The screen has a 144Hz refresh rate and a 3ms response time, which makes it ideal for fast-paced games and action scenes. The colors are vibrant and accurate, and the viewing angles are wide, which makes it easy to share the screen with others.
The laptop also has NVIDIA G-Sync technology, which synchronizes the refresh rate of the display with the frame rate of the graphics card to reduce screen tearing and stuttering. This results in a smoother and more immersive gaming experience. Overall, the display on the GT65 is one of its strongest features and a real selling point for gamers who demand high-quality visuals.
Performance
The MSI GT65 is powered by an Intel Core i9-9980HK processor, which is one of the fastest CPUs available for laptops. It has a base clock speed of 2.4GHz and can turbo boost up to 5GHz. The laptop also has 32GB of DDR4 RAM and a 1TB NVMe SSD, which provides lightning-fast read and write speeds.
In terms of graphics, the GT65 is equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 graphics card with 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM. This is one of the most powerful graphics cards on the market and can handle even the most demanding games and applications.
During our testing, we found that the GT65 performed exceptionally well, even when running multiple applications simultaneously. It handled games like Battlefield V, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Apex Legends with ease, maintaining high frame rates and delivering smooth, fluid gameplay.
Battery Life
Battery life is not a strong suit of gaming laptops, and the MSI GT65 is no exception. It has a 90Whr battery, which is larger than most gaming laptops, but it still only lasts for around 3-4 hours of normal usage. When gaming, the battery life drops significantly, and you can expect to get only around an hour of playtime before needing to recharge.
It's worth noting that the GT65 comes with a 330W power brick, which is quite large and heavy, but necessary to power the laptop's high-end hardware.
Connectivity
The MSI GT 65 has a good selection of ports and connectivity options. It has three USB 3.2 Type-A ports, a Thunderbolt 3 port, an HDMI port, a mini DisplayPort, an Ethernet port, an SD card reader, and separate headphone and microphone jacks. The Thunderbolt 3 port supports fast data transfer and can also be used to connect to an external display or an eGPU for even better graphics performance.
The laptop also has Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, which provide fast and reliable wireless connections. During our testing, we found that the Wi-Fi signal was strong and stable, and we experienced no dropouts or connection issues.
Software
The MSI GT65 comes with Windows 10 pre-installed, along with a few MSI-specific software applications. These include Dragon Center, which allows you to customize the laptop's performance, monitor system status, and adjust fan speeds, and MSI True Color, which lets you adjust the color temperature and calibration of the display.
We found that these applications were useful and easy to use, and they provided useful information about the laptop's performance and temperature.
Summary
The MSI GT65 is an impressive gaming laptop that delivers top-of-the-line performance and features. It has a sleek and durable design, a stunning display, and advanced cooling capabilities that make it ideal for demanding gamers and professionals.
The laptop's powerful hardware, including the Intel Core i9 processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 graphics card, provide exceptional performance, allowing it to handle even the most demanding games and applications.
While battery life is not a strong suit of gaming laptops, the GT65's large battery and advanced cooling system help to mitigate this issue somewhat. And while the laptop is quite heavy, this is to be expected from a high-performance gaming laptop.
Overall, if you're looking for a premium gaming laptop that can deliver top-tier performance and features, the MSI GT65 is definitely worth considering.
