MSI GS60 Gaming Ultrabook Review

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Introduction:

As MSI re-launches its latest line of gaming laptops in India, there are lofty expectations from gamers. This is so since MSI has repeatedly shown a knack for producing gaming laptops that are well received by the target audience, and a quick glance at the GS60’s credentials suggest we have another crowd pleaser.

MSI’s GS60 is a 15.6in machine that attempts to deliver the best of two worlds: it’s thin enough to pass as an Ultrabook, yet with a quad-core Intel processor and dedicated Nvidia GeForce 800-series graphics, it’s also powerful enough to qualify as a potent 1080p gaming PC. That’s why we prefer to call it a portable gaming rig.

Design

Remember when gaming laptops were typically hefty? Well, times have changed. Today, you have thinner, lighter and more attractive designs, and we’ve already seen some impressive results from the likes of Razer’s trend-setting Blade.

MSI’s GS60 is one of the world’s thinnest and lightest 15.6in gaming laptop. Measuring just 19.9mm thick, it’s surprisingly slender for a gamer-focussed rig which is very portable at a weight of 1.96kg.

The form factor of the device does not affect the connectivity options, either — Ethernet, Mini DisplayPort and HDMI sockets run down the laptop’s right edge, accompanied by an SD card reader and a USB 3.0 port. Two more USB 3.0 connections fill out the device’s left side, flanked by a pair of audio jacks and the machine’s AC adapter.

Air vents circle around the back of the GS60. All in all, if it weren’t for MSI’s Dragon Army branding on the lid, the GS60 Ghost could easily be mistaken for a 15-inch Ultrabook.We’re quite pleased with the overall look and feel. Finished almost entirely in black, the GS60 is looks really good.

The look is clean without any stickers on the palm rest, only a black Intel Core i7 sticker sits on the palm rest, while all the other repeat offenders have been sent under the laptop.

Display & Media Playback

With a Wide viewing angle, bright colors and a non-reflective screen: everything you might want in a laptop display is what the GS60 has to offer. It’s a relief too: Far too many gaming laptops cram up the screens.  So it is a bright, beautiful and glare-free display. There isn’t much else to say 🙂

The speakers proudly flaunt Dynaudio branding, they do the job quite well. They don’t distort, crackle or buzz at high volumes.

Keyboard & Trackpad

The GS60 takes things a step further when you talk about the keyboard. The notebook’s SteelSeries-sourced keyboard gives users control over not just the robust LED backlight, but also the specific function of each individual key. The included SteelSeries Engine can reprogram any key (except F1-F12) to launch applications, run customized macros or simply emulate a different keyboard function.

Custom profiles can be configured to automatically launch with specific games or applications too, and can be visually differentiated by custom backlight configurations. It makes for a decent typewriter too, though the keys could stand to have a little more travel. The trackpad is quite responsive, still gaming using a trackpad takes a lot of skill and patience.

Performance and Battery Life

We know you are looking forward to seeing how NVIDIA’s new GPU architecture Maxwell performs on notebooks?  You’ll have to wait a little longer.

The GeForce GTX 860M at the GS60’s core happens to have both Maxwell and Kepler variants, differentiated by clock speed and total core count. NVIDIA says the two chips should perform on the same level – but it’s worth noting that MSI’s Ghost is outfitted with the GPU’s Kepler silicon.

Even so, last year’s GPU architecture doesn’t seem to be much of a hindrance: The GS60 Ghost consistently walked the line between ultra and very high graphic settings, with few games struggling to reach playable frame rates at maximum settings like Battlefield 4. Games like Infinite Crisis and Ghost Recon Phantoms all maintained a good frame counts staying in the high twenties.

While NVIDIA announced the GeForce GTX 800M series will extend a laptop’s on-battery playtime by 50 to 100 percent.  The Ghost gave itself up after just 52 minutes of gameplay, which is about average so you can expect battery backup of 3.5 hrs on an average day with decent gaming.

Conclusion:

With the GS60 Ghost, MSI has managed to cram the performance level of much larger machines into a 15.6in chassis that measures less than 20mm thick and weighs no more than 2kg. That’s an impressive feat for a system that has no trouble playing demanding games on a fantastic 1080p IPS display, yet while the system’s thin-light-and-powerful credentials are clear to see.

MSI might need to work a bit on the battery life and the price of the product which is a bit steep for the Indian market. You can get cool offers from Major e-tailers like Flipkart.

MSI GS60 gets a thumbs up from us 🙂

Note of Thanks:

We would like to thank the folks at MSI for sending us the GS60 and the folks at Acro Engineering as well.