How does the new MSI GS63 stand up to the rigors of being your portable workhorse? Let’s find out in this MSI GS63 Gaming review. After all, no matter how pretty it looks on paper, if it doesn’t last the test of time and keep up with your work and play needs, you won’t be buying one (or recommend one to your friends). So let’s dig into this MSI GS63 Gaming laptop review and see how it stacks up against the competition, as well as what buyers need to know before they make the leap to buying this thing.
Quick SpecsStanding screen display size 15.6 Inches Screen Resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels Processor 8th Gen Intel® Core i7-8750H RAM 16Gb DDR 4 Battery Life 4 hours Hard Drive 256GB SSD; 1TB hard drive Graphics Coprocessor NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 1060 6GB Graphics Card Ram Size 6Gb Price Check on Amazon
Hardware and Design
Let’s get right to it: The MSI GS63 looks pretty damn good. There’s a slight taper at its edges, lending it a more streamlined look than other bulky gaming laptops. Its hard lines belie some of that bulk and make it look thinner than most 15-inch gaming laptops. But that thinness doesn’t come with a sacrifice in comfort—or performance. I spent several hours playing games on it during my review period, and my hands never felt cramped or tired.
It’s also nice and light, weighing just over 4 pounds. That may not sound like much, but when you’re carrying your laptop around all day (and maybe even bringing it back and forth from home), every ounce counts. It also has a full-size backlit keyboard with a number pad—something you don't always see on ultraportable gaming machines. The keys are well spaced out, too; there's plenty of room for my big fingers to fly across them without feeling cramped.
Port selection is a bit limited, but that’s because of its thin design. It has two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, and a mini DisplayPort— Thunderbolt 3 support. The lack of an SD card slot isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker, but it does mean that if you want to transfer files from your camera or phone, you’ll have to use a USB cable or cloud storage services like Google Photos instead of popping in an SD card and copying files over.
If you're looking for something more compact (and less expensive), check out our guide to our favorite budget gaming laptops.
Screen Size and Resolution
The screen on MSI’s gaming laptop is a 15.6 FHD (1920 x 1080), Led display, which provides excellent viewing angles and color accuracy. The 144Hz refresh rate provides plenty of response time, so it’s perfect for gamers and movie watchers alike. It’s very bright (370 nits) but not harsh to look at in any conditions.
Battery Life
The MSI GS63 gaming laptop is supposed to have a battery life of 4-5 hours, according to most reviewers. My personal experience with regard to battery life was much less impressive; I got about 3-4 hours on full brightness and light web browsing (with no videos). That said, I’m not a particularly heavy user—I generally keep my screen brightness pretty low—so your mileage may vary here.
In any case, it’s good to know that you probably won’t be able to use it for more than a few hours without having to find an outlet. This isn't so bad if you're using it at home or in other places where power outlets are plentiful, but it can be frustrating if you're out and about all day long.
Things I Like
The MSI GS63 Gaming has a beautiful display. We love how sharp and crisp it is. It gets plenty bright, too, so you can play games comfortably on even glare-heavy surfaces like an airplane tray table or your college dorm room's desk lamp. The battery life is decent; we usually got about six hours of use out of it.
The camera is surprisingly good. It’s an HD camera that can record 720p video and has face tracking, which means it’ll track your face as you move around while you're recording a video.
I like that AC Adapter is a 180W Slim adapter, and its connector is small, which makes it easy to carry when you need to travel.
Things I Don't Like
The speakers are pretty weak. They’re fine for watching a movie or listening to music while doing something else, but they’re not loud enough for gaming or watching videos where sound quality matters. The bottom of the laptop gets pretty hot while playing games or doing other processor-intensive tasks.
The Bottom Line
Featuring high-quality construction and lots of features, all in a lightweight package, MSI’s gaming laptop is a great choice for those who need powerful performance on the go. A few snags hold it back from reaching perfection, but overall it performs well at a great price.
Did you find it helpful? Did I miss anything? Did you disagree with anything? If so, leave a comment below and let me know! Let’s discuss what could be improved or add any thoughts or suggestions. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your comments below.
Comments
Post a Comment