Gaming laptop msi dominator pro gt72. Keyboard and touchpad
Left a good impression. And let the performance of the latter be enough for the next few years, but this is not the top solution in the company's lineup. At the pinnacle of technology is the GT series, led by several models. MSI GT72 2QE Dominator Pro is one of the most sophisticated gaming laptops from MSI. In the arsenal of the latest Intel Core i7, 32 GB random access memory, 17” Full HD display and the best mobile graphics card of today NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M. It is worth getting to know such a hero better.
The device looks serious and gaming-aggressive. The lid, like its predecessor, remained metal, which adds only pluses.
When you open the laptop, the SteelSeries keyboard immediately catches your eye, especially when the multi-colored backlighting of the keys themselves and the front “bumper” is turned on.
The very same working surface is made of soft-touch plastic in front and a little closer to the metal screen. In the open state, the laptop looks restrained - a flat surface and a lot of free space affect. The speakers are located under the screen, for which there is a wide perforation. The display is framed by a frame, which is made of matte and glossy plastic.
The thickness of the device is acceptable for this class and is 54 mm at its thickest point. There are no design frills on the sides, but the back part simply shines with decorative black and red elements and air ducts - it looks great.
The lower part of the laptop is also made in an aggressive design and colors of the series, has a remote subwoofer and 4 rubberized feet.
Ergonomics
As mentioned above, the model is thick and far from the lightest - 3.78 kg. This is due to the productive stuffing and the display diagonal of 17”. But in our market this is one of the lightest laptops with such equipment, competing ASUS ROG with GTX 980M weigh 1 kg more.
Conveniently, the display is able to open almost 180. The backlit keyboard not only adds a bright appearance, but also helps a lot when working with a laptop in the dark.
The laptop is easy to open with one hand, you do not need to hold the main unit. True, we would be very surprised if, with such a massive bottom, this was not so.
Keyboard, touchpad
AT MSI review GE62 2GF we talked about how well SteelSeries did a great job with the new keyboard. The latter also applies to the Dominator Pro - the keyboard is chic, comfortable both to work and play.
But personally, I had to get used to the more massive work surface under the keyboard for some time, which is why I have to put my hands a little further than in most modern laptops. The backlight can be adjusted in completely different colors and combinations, which is the responsibility of the SteelSeries Engine. In the latter, you can also assign macros.
The large touchpad is only formally highlighted on the case - with the help of a drawn frame that glows in the dark, but there is no physical separation, the touchpad is tactilely the same as the work area. Due to the large size of the latter, it is convenient to use, the buttons have a short and clear stroke.
Connection, indication
In terms of all kinds of connectors and ports, the MSI GT72 2QE, if not a leader, is very close to one. The left end has collected as many as 4 USB port 3.0, one of which is capable of charging a smartphone or tablet when the laptop is turned off, four mini Jack 3.5 mm (headphones / acoustics (combined with S / PDIF), microphone, line in and out), as well as a slot for SD memory cards.
On the right are two USB 3.0 ports and a BD-RE drive. On the back are two Mini DisplayPort V1.2 ports, one HDMI 1.4, Ethernet, a charging slot, and a lock hole. Battery, Wi-Fi and hard drive indicators are located on the front panel on the left.
Communications
The Killer e2200 controller is responsible for the wired connection to the network - the ideal solution for gamers, guaranteeing minimal latency in online games. The Realtek RTL8723E Wi-Fi module supports the n standard, in more expensive Dominator Pro modifications you can find Killer DoubleShot Pro 11ac. In our case, the network component worked stably, both wired and wireless.
Display
The display in the laptop is made using TN technology, has a diagonal of 17.3 ″ and a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels. Many may ask the question - why not IPS in a model of this level? The semi-official version is that there is a shortage of large IPS matrices for laptops on the market. Also, TN matrices have a faster response, which is important for games. In other aspects, we have a good contrast screen with natural color reproduction and average viewing angles. Brightness varies from 12.5 to 235 cd/m².
Multimedia
Just like in Apache Pro, our hero has Dynaudio acoustics installed, which does its job perfectly and surprises with surround sound, like for a laptop. In addition to two speakers, there is a separate subwoofer, it is located below and is hidden under the grid.
The classic Realtek ALC892 is used as an audio codec, which makes it possible to output 7.1 sound using a digital interface. The built-in DAC and amplifier are quite capable of driving high-impedance headphones and unlocking their potential.
Functionality
Before us is a heavyweight and almost an absolute champion in his class. The heart of the Dominator is the Intel Core i7-4710HQ processor with integrated Intel HD Graphics 4600.
As mentioned above, the NIVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M with 8 GB of memory, which no one is able to compete with, is responsible for high performance in modern games.
The peculiarity of the latter is that the adapter is removable and is made in the form of an MXM board, which in the future will allow updating graphics using special kits from the manufacturer.
Starting in June 2015, support for overclocking mobile graphics cards on GT72 and GT80 series laptops was added to the regular MSI Afterburner application. For those who like to “drive” iron, this is a weighty argument that will improve performance in games.
The RAM in the device is 32 GB - 4 DDR3 strips from Kingston, 8 GB each. Two strips are easy to replace, the other two are hidden right under the keyboard.
If Apache Pro has a Super RAID 2 disk subsystem, then Dominator Pro already has a Super RAID 3 version. The latter consists of 4 Toshiba SSDs of 128 GB, which are combined into RAID 0, and a 1 TB HDD from Hitachi. For those who do not have enough of this volume, you can always install more capacious SSD drives in the M.2 slots or change the hard drive.
The read and write speed is incredible - judge for yourself.
The laptop comes with pre-installed operating system Windows 8.1 and an extended set of software, especially gaming. The latter includes Xplit Gamecaster, battery calibration software, Nahimic Audio, Dragon Gaming Center, Norton Antivirus, etc.
Expect some kind of friezes or lags, of course, no one will come to mind. The system works like a Ferrari engine - fast and precise. Benchmarks, as expected, give out almost the maximum that modern mobile gaming solutions are capable of.
The games are also great. GTA V on ultra graphics settings gives out 40 FPS and above, Assassin's Creed Unity and Witcher 3: Wild Hunt about 35 FPS.
As with other gaming laptops from MSI, the “SHIFT” function is available, which allows you to select the operating modes of the processor and video card, as well as limit the maximum temperature of the processor.
Cooling system
I would like to note how easily the bottom cover is removed, under which all the insides of the laptop are located. The cooling system consists of two impressive, as for this class of devices, fans, heat pipes and two radiators.
And it not only looks cool, this system also works great - the processor temperature did not exceed 78 degrees even when playing GTA V for a long time, which is a good indicator. For maximum loads, the Cooler Boost button is designed, which activates the coolers to the maximum, thereby cooling the laptop in the shortest possible time.
autonomy
A gaming laptop is not a device that should boast of high autonomy, otherwise you would have to carry a battery with an impressive weight. Measurements on Battery Eater with maximum brightness showed the following: a little over 1 hour at maximum load, almost 2.5 hours in reading mode, and almost 4 hours in reading mode with minimum brightness and wireless interfaces turned off.
Eventually
The MSI GT72E 2QE Dominator Pro is a powerful top-end gaming laptop that incorporates MSI's latest innovations. There are practically no moments in the device that you want to correct or remove, except for the high price, and the screen in the flagship device should be better.
Liked:
Performance
Replaceable NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M
Dynaudio 2.1 sound
Ease of disassembly
Cooling system
Killer Gigabit Controller
A large number of ports
SteelSeries Keyboard with SteelSeries Engine
Four M.2 slots and Super RAID 3 storage subsystem
Did not like:
- High price
- Average display quality
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| Class | Notebook |
| Design | Classical |
| Screen diagonal, inches | 17,3 |
| Matrix type | TN+film |
| Screen cover type | matte |
| Screen resolution | 1920×1080 |
| Touch screen | — |
| Processor type | Intel Core i7-4710HQ |
| Frequency, GHz | 2,5 |
| Number of processor cores | 4 |
| Preinstalled OS | Windows 8.1 |
| Chipset | Intel HM87 |
| The amount of RAM, GB | 32 |
| Maximum RAM, GB | 32 |
| Hard disk, GB | 1000 |
| SSD, GB | 512 |
| optical drive | BD Writer / DVD Super Multi |
| Graphics adapter, memory size | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M 8 GB GDDR5 |
| External ports | 6x USB 3.0, Thunderbolt port, VGA, HDMI, 2x mini Display Port, microphone line-in/out |
| card reader | SD(XC/HC) |
| webcam | HD( [email protected] fps) |
| Keyboard backlight | + |
| Network adapter | 100/1000 (Killer e2200 Gigabit Ethernet) |
| WiFi | 802.11b/g/n/ac |
| Bluetooth | 4.0 |
| 3G | — |
| Weight, kg | 3.78 |
| Dimensions, mm | 428x294x48 |
| Housing material | aluminium/plastic |
| Case color | black/black |
| Number of cells | 9 |
| Power, W*h | 83 |
| Battery type | Li-Ion |
MSI has established itself well in the Ukrainian notebook market. AT model range The company offers both budget solutions for home and office, and productive machines for demanding gamers. It was the last option that fell into our hands. The GT72 2PE Dominator Pro is a top-of-the-line laptop that rivals a desktop PC for the title of the main gaming device in the home. How good it is and what it can offer demanding players, read below.
MSI GT72 2PE Dominator Pro Video Review
Appearance, buttons, connectors
The GT72 2PE Dominator Pro comes in a large black cardboard box. Unfortunately, despite its size, inside we find only the laptop itself, the power adapter and a set of documentation. The weight of the laptop with battery is 3.78 kg, which is a good indicator for a gaming device. The nearest competitors weigh more than four kilograms.
The body of the laptop is made of black matte plastic, and the top cover is covered with a single piece of aluminum. On the bottom cover there are massive holes in the cooling system, which resemble the Decepticon icon from the Transformers cartoon. The front face is freed from connectors, it has only two LEDs, signaling the operation of the laptop.
On the left and right sides are six USB 3.0 ports, gold-plated audio outputs, a card reader and a Blu-Ray drive. On the back side there is a power connector, two mini-DisplayPorts, one HDMI, an RJ45 port with Gigabit LAN support and a Kensington lock connector. The presence of three video outputs will allow you to be surrounded by monitors from head to toe and watch what is happening on four screens at once. Dota 2, World of Warcraft or ArmA 3 players will definitely appreciate this feature.
We open the lid and we are greeted by a full-size keyboard from Steelseries and a large touchpad with two mechanical keys. The keyboard buttons are made of pleasant to the touch slightly rough plastic. They are easy to press, do not rumble or stagger, providing maximum comfort when playing. In addition, the keyboard supports up to ten simultaneous keystrokes, and SteelSeries Engine technology allows you to remap any button or record a macro for it. With this useful feature, you can cheat well in online fighting games or MMORPGs.
Questions are caused only by the arrows recessed into the numeric keypad. Because of this design, false clicks often occur, and blindly finding them is quite problematic.
Five buttons are placed in a separate block: a power key, a switch between integrated and discrete video cards, fan control, a power button for Xsplit Gamecaster - applications for streaming and recording game sessions, and most importantly - a key that changes the color of the keyboard backlight. With it, you can turn the gloomy GT72 2PE Dominator Pro into a geeky Christmas decoration (the holiday is still approaching!). Yes, and with such a backlight, you can become your own on the board at any LAN party.
Stylish appearance spoil the speaker holes above the keyboard, which look sloppy and visually reduce the cost of the laptop, as well as very easily soiled surfaces that collect fingerprints and dust. To keep the device in proper condition, you will have to carry a cleaning cloth with you everywhere.
Display
The GT72 2PE Dominator Pro has a 17.3″ TN+Film anti-glare display with FullHD resolution. For a top-end gaming device, this is not entirely solid, of course, I would like to see a 4K matrix, but the manufacturer decided otherwise. However, this is not a critical problem, the display has good viewing angles, and color distortion is observed only if you tilt the screen a lot.
Above the display is a camera eye that can shoot video in 1080p. It is suitable for streaming games on Twitch and video conferencing. The frames around the screen are quite wide, but in general, this does not interfere with a comfortable game or work.
Sound
The GT72 2PE Dominator Pro produces a very decent sound and has a good volume margin. All thanks to two speakers and a subwoofer from Dynaudio. The laptop also boasts three separate amplifiers for speakers, headphones and a subwoofer. All this, combined with Creative Sound Blaster Cinema 2 and Audio Boost 2 technologies, allows you to enjoy high-quality sound in your favorite games and movies. There is also no lack of high and low frequencies.
Hardware and performance
MSI decided not to be greedy and equipped the GT72 2PE Dominator Pro with enough hardware to run any modern game at maximum graphics settings. On board we have a fourth-generation Intel Core i7-4710HQ processor with a base frequency of 2.5 GHz, which can reach 3.5 GHz in Turbo Boost mode, and 32 GB of RAM from Kingston. The video card in our sample is an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M with 8 GB of video memory (models with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M are also available with the ability to upgrade to more powerful graphics). The disk subsystem consists of four M.2 SSDs with a total capacity of 512 GB, combined in a RAID 0 array, and a 1 TB HGST hard drive. In the synthetic test CrystalDiskMark, the laptop showed a read speed of 1464 MB / s, which is impressive.
But these are all dry numbers, the main thing for a gaming laptop is the real performance in games. And with this, the GT72 2PE Dominator Pro is in perfect order. Metro: Last Light Redux, Far Cry 4 and Battlefield 4 were chosen for the test. We also tested the laptop on synthetic benchmarks: 3DMark and Unigine Valley 1.0.
All games run smoothly, without sagging, a slight drop in fps is observed only in particularly difficult scenes like explosions. In synthetic tests, the GT72 2PE Dominator Pro does not feel so confident anymore, in some moments there is a strong slowdown in the picture. But for this kind of tests, this is the norm, it doesn’t change the essence - after all, we can’t play 3DMark.
By the way, the laptop supports MSI Shift technology, which allows you to control the clock speed of the processor and video card, as well as their temperature and fan speed. There are three MSI Shift profiles available: Green, Comfort and Sport. A green profile will help reduce noise levels, while a sport profile will allow you to achieve maximum performance in top games. True, the laptop will no longer be able to maintain silence in this mode. And if these capacities are not enough, which is unlikely, Hybrid Power will come to the rescue. This technology allows you to combine the power of the power supply and the built-in battery, which gives a small increase in performance.
Test results:
In a synthetic test 3D Mark Fire Strike the laptop showed the following results: Graphic Score 8202, Physics Score 7019, Combined Score 3165. And in Unigine Valley 1.0 Score 2464 at 58.6 FPS.
Specifications:
- Processor: Intel Core i7-4710HQ, 2.5 GHz.
- Chipset: Intel HM87.
- RAM: 32 GB, DDR3 - 1600 MHz.
- Display: 17.3″ Full HD anti-glare.
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M 8 GB.
- Disk subsystem: 512GB Super RAID 3 + 1TB HDD 7200rpm.
- Optical drive: Blu-ray (BD Writer / BD Combo / DVD Super Multi).
- Communications: Killer Double Shot Pro (Killer Gb LAN + Killer 802.11 a/c WiFi) with Smart Teaming
- Audio: Sound from Dynaudio 2.1 with built-in subwoofer.
- Power adapter: 230W.
- Size: 428 x 294 x 48 mm.
- Weight: 3.78 kg (with battery).
Conclusion
MSI has released an expensive toy for adult boys. GT72 2PE Dominator Pro is equipped with powerful hardware, good sound and screen. It's comfortable to play, delivers exactly the kind of experience you'd expect from a modern game (mandatory in Full HD and 60 fps), it's comfortable to work with, and in the end, it's just nice to have it on your desk. The GT72 can be a complete replacement for a desktop PC and can be recommended to all gamers who want to get the most out of their favorite games even when they are away from home. The GT72 2PE Dominator Pro can last up to two hours on battery under heavy load, and in office mode it can withstand all four.
Before moving on to the review of the laptop, it must be clarified that the new MSI GT72 family of gaming laptops has the same names as the previous GT70 family - "Dominator" and "Dominator Pro". As before, "Pro" will be added to the name if the laptop has the most powerful - for its family - video card. So, for the old MSI GT70, the most powerful graphics will be NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M, and for the new MSI GT72 - GTX 980M. In this article, we will often refer to our test subject as the "Dominator Pro", while we will always mean a model from the GT72 family, namely the MSI GT27 2QE Dominator Pro.
The days when all it took to create a gaming laptop was to take a fast graphics card and a powerful processor, stuff it into a thick case and equip it with backlighting in all the colors of the rainbow, are gradually fading into the past. Now, to attract buyers, manufacturers have to try hard to add something special to powerful hardware. And if competitors do not have this “something”, so much the better for the manufacturer and worse for competitors. For example, one of the fashionable trends is the ability to programmatically reassign buttons on the keyboard - this trend was successfully set in MSI and picked up by ASUS.
As you might guess, MSI did not limit itself to the ability to "rebuild" the keyboard. One of the main trump cards of the Dominator Pro we are considering is the ability to upgrade its graphics. A discrete video adapter, together with its video memory, is an MXM board - a mobile module on the PCI-Express bus. In theory, to replace graphics, it is enough to replace the old module with a new video card, but in practice things are a little different. The first MXM video card that comes across will not be suitable for such an upgrade - MSI plans to launch the release of "upgrade kits", or, as they call them in the company, the MXM Gaming Graphics Upgrade Kit. Such a set will include a video card and part of the laptop cooling system.
At the time of this writing, the MXM Gaming Graphics Upgrade Kit with NVIDIA GTX 980M graphics already exists. It is intended for GT72 models with graphics older than the GTX 980M. But there is no such set on sale in Russia yet. The timing of its appearance, as well as the price, is still unclear.
As for the other "chips" of the laptop, in addition to upgradable graphics and a customizable keyboard, it is worth noting several RAID 0 arrays assembled from four M.2 SSDs, a Cooler Boost 3 cooling system, three independent audio amplifiers and an MSI Shift system that is able to control laptop performance depending on the selected profile.
All features of MSI GT72 2QE Notebook
⇡ Appearance
The design of the MSI GT72 2QE has completely changed: the new Dominator Pro looks much stricter and more pleasant than the previous one. As for the materials the laptop is made of, its lid remains metal, which allows it to pick up fingerprints just as well as its predecessor. The maximum opening angle of the lid is almost 180 degrees.
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The working area is also made of metal, with the exception of the palm rest, which was made of plastic and covered with a “soft touch”. It is noteworthy that the “fingers” do not gather as strongly on the palm rest as on the lid or on other parts of the work area. Probably, an oleophobic coating is used here.
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On the left is the old MSI GT70 and on the right is the new MSI GT72
The updated Dominator Pro turned out to be a little thinner than the old one. Recall that the MSI GT70 had a maximum case thickness of 62 mm. And our today's test subject, MSI GT72, has a maximum case thickness of almost 54 mm, which is very good. The most powerful gaming laptops have never been slim - this is not feasible due to technical reasons, however, the decrease in the thickness of the device cannot but rejoice.
The keyboard of our test subject was a success - thanks to the metal substrate, it will not flex even in the center, and the Windows button, moved to the right side of the keyboard, eliminates accidental pressing during the game. Pressing the buttons is pleasant and easy to distinguish. The software key remapping function has remained in place, because SteelSeries is still responsible for the production of keyboards for MSI gaming laptops.
To the left of the keyboard are several multimedia keys. Under the button are the graphics switch key, the Cooler Boost 3 launch button, XSplit Gamecaster, and the key to switch keyboard profiles.
Switching graphics in the GT72 is made nowhere easier: after pressing the desired key, a window appears on the screen in which it is proposed to restart the laptop. If you agree with this proposal, then after a reboot, either discrete or integrated graphics will be activated - it all depends on which video adapter was active before the reboot. This is nice, because when using only the processor video core, the battery life will noticeably increase. Technology NVIDIA Optimus not implemented in MSI GT72, that is, the graphics can only be switched manually.
The touchpad of the Dominator Pro is very interesting. A large touch area (110 × 65 mm) is on the same level as the work area, and it is made of the same material, and it is separated from the “insensitive” plastic by frames that glow in the dark and are completely invisible to the touch. Working with the touchpad is convenient: gestures were processed without problems, and the keys, located separately, greatly facilitate the work. Due to the large size of the touchpad, the absence of tactilely perceptible frames did not affect the usability in any way, however, we are not ready to say that all users will like such a move by the manufacturer.
Touchpad GT72 front-back
The Dominator Pro has enough connectors for all occasions. On the left side of the laptop there is a memory card reader, 4 USB 3.0 ports (from one of which you can charge phones and tablets when the laptop is powered off) and the same 3.5 mm mini-jacks - headphone and microphone jacks, as well as linear exit and entrance. On the right side of the laptop is the latest USB 3.0 pair and an optical drive. In our modification, a BD-RE drive is installed, which allows you to burn BD-R and BD-RE discs.
There's nothing on the front besides the battery, wireless network, and hard drive activity indicators, which are closer to the left side. But on the rear panel of the GT72 you can find two Mini DisplayPort (V1.2), upside down HDMI 1.4 and a gigabit Ethernet port.
⇡ Specifications
| MSI GT72 2QE-240RU Dominaor Pro | |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-4710HQ; 2.5 GHz (up to 3.5 GHz with Turbo Boost); 6 MB L3; Four cores, eight threads, TDP 47W |
| Graphics controller | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M (8 GB GDDR5), MXM standard; Processor video core Intel HD Graphics 4600; It is possible to upgrade discrete graphics in the future Switching between adapters is carried out using a special key |
| Display | 17.3 inches; Resolution 1920x1080 (129 PPI), matrix type - TN; Matte finish, LED backlight; Matrix model: CHIMEI INNOLUX N173HGE-E11 |
| RAM | 32 GB DDR3L-1600 (four expansion slots, four modules of 8 GB are installed, partial replacement of modules is provided) |
| HDD | 512 GB RAID-0 (actually 475 GB) is made up of four Toshiba THNSNJ128G8NU M.2 SSDs with a capacity of 128 GB each; HDD 1 TB (HGST HTS721010A9E630); Form factor 2.5″, thickness 9.5 mm |
| Interfaces | 6 x USB 3.0; 2x Mini DisplayPort v1.2; 1 x HDMI v1.4; 1 x Ethernet; 1 × headphone output (mini-jack 3.5 mm); 1 × microphone input (mini-jack 3.5 mm); 1 × line output (mini-jack 3.5 mm); 1 × line input (mini-jack 3.5 mm); |
| WiFi | 802.11 b/g/n, 1x1, 2.4GHz, (Realtek RTL8723BE Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI-E NIC) |
| Bluetooth | 4.0 |
| Network adapter | 10/100/1000 Mbps (Qualcomm Killer e2200) |
| optical drive | BD-RE (Hitachi-LG HL-DT-ST BD-RE BU20N) |
| Flash card slot | SD (SDHC/SDXC) |
| Sound | One microphone, two speakers, one subwoofer |
| Battery | Built-in, 83.25 Wh (7500 mAh, 11.1 V), 9 cells |
| Power Supply | 230W (19.5V, 11.8A) |
| The size | 428×294×53.8 |
| Weight | 3.8 kg |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows 8.1 Single Language (64-bit) |
| Guarantee | 2 years |
| Estimated price | 160 000 rubles |
The laptop is equipped with an Intel Core i7-4710HQ processor with a frequency of 2.5 GHz (up to 3.5 GHz in Turbo Boost mode), 6 MB L3 cache and a 47 W TDP. According to the official MSI website, GT72 2QE modifications with a more powerful processor can be found on sale: i7-4980HQ with a frequency of 2.8 GHz (up to 4 GHz in Turbo Boost mode).
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The RAM in the laptop is enough not only for games, but also for serious work. Inside the "Dominator Pro" is 32 GB DDR3L-1600, typed in four modules of 8 GB each. At the same time, two memory modules are located under the keyboard - the user will not be able to get to them, and the other two modules can be found under the service panel, which is dismantled without any problems.
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The laptop has two video adapters: the Intel HD 4600 processor core and discrete video, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M with a huge amount of video memory - 8 GB GDDR5. Such an abundance of memory is explained by the fact that you can connect as many as three external monitors to a laptop and still continue to use the display of the portable PC itself. In other words, the GT72 has support for NVIDIA Surround. For games running in this mode, just such a large amount of video memory is useful. True, it is not yet clear how a mobile video adapter will cope with such a high load in modern top games like Far Cry 4.
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But with wireless networks, our hero is not doing very well. The Realtek RTL8723BE module installed in our GT72 modification does not support the 802.11ac standard and operation at a frequency of 5 GHz. Support for Bluetooth 4.0, of course, is available. In addition, on some forums you can find reports of problems with the Realtek RTL8723BE module. Therefore, the 3DNews test lab recommends paying attention to the GT72 modifications with the Killer DoubleShot Pro network adapter, which supports 802.11ac wireless networks and 5 GHz frequencies. In any case, there were no complaints about this module.
The disk subsystem of MSI GT72 - which the manufacturer calls Super Raid 3 - consists of four M.2 SSDs combined into a RAID 0 array. On the one hand, such an array can show excellent read and write speeds. On the other hand, if one of the drives fails, you will have to forget about all the data that was in the RAID array. Therefore, the most important files are best stored on a regular hard drive, which is also installed inside the laptop. Its volume is 1 TB.
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The battery of our test subject is built-in, with a very impressive capacity: 83.25 Wh (7500 mAh, 11.1 V), and it consists of 9 cells. As for the power supply, its power is 230 W (19.5 V, 11.8 A).
You can find MSI GT72 laptops for sale, but prices will vary greatly from store to store and depend on the modification. The unstable exchange rate of the ruble and the excitement that gripped the citizens, under the influence of which they began to urgently buy up all the electronics, are to blame for this. At the time of writing this article, the MSI GT72 2QE laptop was found in only a few online stores, and its average price was about 160,000 rubles. Most likely, this is a temporary, inflated price due to the rapidly growing dollar exchange rate - in early December, the MSI GT72 2QE cost much less: about 115,000 rubles. We also note that for various reasons, the configuration of MSI samples that fall into our test lab most often differs from what then goes to store shelves. That is, most likely, just such a configuration, which we are considering, will not be on sale, however, it will be possible to find both more powerful and cheaper options.
⇡ Internal arrangement
The bottom of the laptop is held in place with 7 Phillips head screws and a large number of plastic clips. However, removing it is quite easy, mainly thanks to the palm rest that can be found on the back of the laptop, under the connectors.
After dismantling the bottom, you can access almost all the important components of the laptop: a hard drive, a daughter board with M.2 SSD drives, two RAM modules, a Wi-Fi module and a cooling system. The remaining components of the laptop are covered with a plastic frame.
The processor and video card of the Dominator Pro are cooled by a massive cooling system, which includes two turbines 22 mm high. For comparison, let's say that the thickness of many ultrabooks does not exceed 21 mm, so the dimensions of the Dominator Pro CO inspire respect.
with Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M graphics card
In this article, we're going to take a look at another MSI novelty: the 17-inch GT72 2QE Dominator Pro gaming laptop, which features a top-end Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M mobile graphics card.
Completion and packaging
The MSI GT72 2QE Dominator Pro comes in a large black cardboard box with a handle emblazoned with a red dragon (the logo of the MSI notebook gaming series).
In addition to the laptop itself, the package traditionally includes a quick start guide, a DVD with drivers and utilities, a bonus DVD with War game Thunder, a cloth laptop sleeve and, of course, a 230 W (19.5 V; 11.8 A) power adapter.
Laptop Configuration
The results of testing in the iXBT Application Benchmark 2015 are shown in the table.
| Logical group of tests | Reference system | MSI GT72 2QE Dominator Pro |
| Video conversion and video processing, points | 100 | 303,0 |
| MediaCoder x64 0.8.33.5680, seconds | 458,1 | 150,6 |
| SVPmark 3.0 points | 922,2 | 2783,4 |
| Creation of video content, points | 100 | 253,8 |
| Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2014.1, seconds | 1794,4 | 630,7 |
| Adobe After Effects CC 2014.1.1 (Test #1), seconds | 2036,3 | 806,0 |
| Adobe After Effects CC 2014.1.1 (Test #2), seconds | 1116,8 | 367,4 |
| Photodex ProShow Producer 6.0.3410, seconds | 991,6 | 522,0 |
| Digital photo processing, points | 100 | 252,6 |
| Adobe Photoshop CC 2014.2.1, seconds | 2215,8 | 794,1 |
| ACDSee Pro 8, seconds | 770,4 | 336,8 |
| Vector graphics, scores | 100 | 139,2 |
| Adobe Illustrator CC 2014.1.1, seconds | 515,0 | 369,9 |
| Audio processing, points | 100 | 204,8 |
| Adobe Audition CC 2014.2, seconds | 1046,9 | 511,3 |
| Text recognition, points | 100 | 273,5 |
| Abbyy FineReader 12 seconds | 548,6 | 200,6 |
| Archiving and unarchiving data, points | 100 | 185,8 |
| WinRAR 5.11 archiving, seconds | 313,8 | 140,0 |
| WinRAR 5.11 unzipping, seconds | 12,9 | 8,4 |
| Application installation and uninstallation speed, points | 100 | 147,2 |
| Application installation and uninstallation speed, seconds | 339,4 | 230,5 |
| File operations, points | 100 | 541,7 |
| Copying data, seconds | 89,7 | 13,3 |
| UltraISO Premium Edition 9.6.2.3059, seconds | 32,8 | 7,5 |
| Browser speed, points | 100 | 156,2 |
| Peacekeeper (Mozilla Firefox 35), points | 3351 | 5235 |
| Integral performance result, points | 100 | 235,7 |
In short, MSI GT72 2QE Dominator Pro outperforms our reference system based on Intel Core i5-3317U processor by more than two times in integrated performance. Actually, this is not the level of a laptop, but a high-performance desktop PC. Of course, our test subject does not reach the performance of the MSI GT80 2QE Titan SLI laptop with an Intel Core i7-4890HQ processor, but, nevertheless, in this case we can say that this is a very high-performance laptop that can handle any resource-intensive tasks. The advantage of the MSI GT72 2QE Dominator Pro notebook is especially significant in tasks, the speed of which depends on the performance of the storage subsystem (file operations). In them, he overtakes the reference system by more than five times. And this is taking into account the fact that the reference system uses an SSD drive!
Now let's look at the test results of the MSI GT72 2QE Dominator Pro laptop in games. Testing was carried out at a resolution of 1920x1080 and, of course, using an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M graphics card.
| Gaming test | Maximum quality | Minimum quality | ||
| Average FPS | Minimum FPS | Average FPS | Minimum FPS | |
| Aliens vs Predators | 76,5 | - | 201,9 | - |
| Grid 2 | 78,7 | 57,2 | 215,6 | 162,0 |
| World of Tanks | 56,4 | 39,4 | 86,9 | 62,2 |
| Metro: LL Redux | 33,6 | 12,0 | 136,8 | 26,4 |
| Metro: 2033 Redux | 28,9 | 9,2 | 110,0 | 30,2 |
| Hitman: Absolution | 35,1 | 25,0 | 97,0 | 77,6 |
| Thief | 57,3 | 39,4 | 90,7 | 61,4 |
| tomb raider | 40,1 | 27,8 | 330,0 | 201,2 |
| Sleeping Dogs | 37,6 | 22,5 | 147,2 | 91,1 |
| Sniper Elite V2 | 40,1 | 16,1 | 198,7 | 59,6 |
So, as you can see from the test results, even with settings for maximum quality, most games can be played comfortably, that is, with an FPS of more than 40. The only exceptions are such “heavy” games as Metro: LL, Metro: 2033, Hitman: Absolution and Sleeping Dogs. However, it should be noted that even in these games, the FPS value is quite high (30 and higher), and due to a slight change in the quality settings in the game, you can achieve FPS above 40. In a word, in terms of gaming capabilities, the MSI GT72 2QE Dominator Pro is quite corresponds to the concept of a top gaming laptop.
conclusions
So, after testing the MSI GT72 2QE-240RU Dominator Pro laptop, we can draw the following conclusions. This laptop is equipped with a powerful processor, a top-end graphics card and a very powerful storage subsystem of four SSDs in RAID. Naturally, it belongs to the category of the most high-performance solutions. In addition to performance, the advantages of this laptop include good sound, stylish design, good keyboard, the ability to easily disassemble the laptop and upgrade it. In addition, we would note the excellent build quality.
If you set yourself the task of finding flaws in this laptop and being very picky at the same time, then we can say that the TN matrix of this laptop does not match the rest of the configuration and that such a laptop should have an IPS or PLS matrix. However, the TN panel this notebook is equipped with is not the worst, and in this case we are just trying to find fault. In addition, as we noted in the course of the study, there are complaints about the touchpad of this laptop.
As for the cost, it is, of course, not very humane. Before Black Tuesday, the cost of this model was 155 thousand rubles, and after the collapse of the ruble and hopes for a brighter future, the cost of the MSI GT72 2QE-240RU Dominator Pro model was already about 240 thousand rubles.
Some time after the release of the new generation of Intel Skylake processors, many laptop manufacturers began to actively update their devices. MSI is no exception with its line of productive gaming laptops. Today we will talk about one of the representatives of the top solutions, namely the GT72S 6QE model.
About the differences between models
There are two variations: GT72 and GT72S. The non-S variant is based on the Intel HM170 chipset and has only one NVMe PCIe x4 slot (Slot for the fastest SSDs), while the GT72S model has the Intel CM236 chipset, which allows you to use another NVMe PCIe x4 slot (You can create an MSI SuperRAID 4 here) .
These models are also divided into Dominator Pro and Dominator Pro G. The letter G means support for NVIDIA G-SYNC technology.
The last option is the MSI GT72S 6Q F. In it, in addition to other advantages of models with the S index, the most productive to date mobile version NVIDIA GTX 980 graphics (please note it's not GTX 980M) and a modified cooling system.
A complete list of all models is worth looking at the official MSI website.
Specifications of the test model
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 6820HK @ 2.7 - 3.6 Ghz (boost)
Chipset: Intel® CM236
Memory: 16GB DDR4-2133, 2 slots, max 32GB
LCD: 17.3" Full HD (1920x1080), anti-glare, AH-IPS
Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 980M 4GB GDDR5 VRA
Storage: 2x128 GB PCIe x4 RAID0 + 1TB HDD 7200rpm + 2 empty M.2 SATA slots
Audio: Dynaudio 2.1 speaker system, ESS SABER DAC (for headphones)
Network card: Killer Gaming LAN E2400 with Shield
Wireless network card: Killer Wireless 1535 (N\A\AC)
Keyboard: SteelSeries keyboard with full color backlight
Power: 230W
Battery: 9-cell Lithium Ion (86Wh)
Dimensions: 428(w) x 294(l) x 48(h)mm
Weight: 3.78kg
Packaging and equipment
The laptop comes in a fairly compact cardboard box. It can be in the version with a promotional overlay of the WarThunder game (a tank and a plane as a gift, these are given only with MSI laptops). The laptop itself is pasted over with a lot of protective films, and there is also a special soft fabric gasket between the display and the keyboard, which allows you to further protect the matrix. It is recommended to use it during transportation (in case you accidentally push the cover very hard).
The box has a carrying handle (some manufacturers like to forget this).
The set itself is quite modest. No additional chips: only the laptop itself, a set of brochures and CDs, a power adapter.
Appearance, input / output ports
GT series laptops have always been famous for the use of metals in the finishing of the case. The GT72S successfully continues this wonderful tradition. First, let's talk about the top cover of the device. It is made almost entirely of metal alloy. The side frame (glossy) and the matrix frame (matte) are made of plastic. The surface has a stylish pressing, betraying the lid "aggressiveness". In the center is the logo of the MSI gaming series - a dragon, illuminated by the matrix substrate.
Not without some shortcomings. When opened, the lid tends to creak a little with plastic, and the surface can be pressed with a finger. This makes you a little afraid for the matrix. The lid has a special textured coating that survives various impacts quite well. Scratches, if any, are almost imperceptible. It should be understood that since this is a coating, it is possible to strip it to the metal. The hinges are quite tight, the lid is held well. Perhaps it is because of this that the plastic creaks (it is worth loosening them a little).
The front of the laptop is decorated with luminous strips, one of which contains an indication of system activity in white. In last year's GT72 models, it was not so bright and noticeable, but now everything is fine. By the way, using the SSE utility, you can set it to almost any glow color (except white).
The rear part carries much more load: there are two grilles for removing hot air from the cooling system, an input for a network adapter, and a LAN port. There is an HDMI output v1.4 (support for 4K 60 Hz is also there, but with some nuances of version 1.4). The last of the ports is the MSI SuperPort. This is nothing more than USB 3.1 Type-C combined with Thunderbolt and DisplayPort. With the help of a special adapter (which is still difficult to find on sale), you can connect an external monitor through it (or you can use two - it supports, but it's even more difficult), while there is full 4K support. Two more monitors can be simultaneously connected to HDMI and mini DisplayPort, this whole system forms the MatrixDisplay technology. The laptop screen will also be active.
The left side of the GT72S has as many as four USB 3.0 ports, one of which is equipped with a Super Charger function that allows you to supply about 1.5A to charge Apple devices (there is a trick - you can charge any other devices). What's missing is at least one USB 2.0 port for some older problematic devices. An SD card reader is also located here, as well as 4 gold-plated jacks for an audio system.
On the right side we have two more USB 3.0 ports (already six in total) and a floppy drive. It is difficult to say whether it is needed in modern realities, because this place could be taken by something much more useful (on the other hand, games are still sold on disks). All side surfaces are made of ordinary matte plastic; when pressed, they do not emit any squeaks.
The internal working surface can be conditionally divided into two "zones". The first of them is the upper part of the case itself (by the way, the keyboard is without a separate frame) made of metal. The other part is a huge plastic surface under the wrist, which is one with the touchpad. Looks impressive enough.
The bottom cover is also made entirely of plastic, has a huge number of ventilation grilles, so you should not worry about the flow of cold air. By the way, this design increases the efficiency of cooling pads (which are definitely not needed here). Here one of the main features of the laptop is revealed. The cover is very easy to remove - just unscrew a few ordinary screws and unfasten it (there are latches, but removing it is not a problem). Then you can do anything: it's easy to replace the video card, deliver RAM (minus two bars under the keyboard), SSD \ HDD, WLAN, or simply clean the heatsinks from dust and replace the thermal paste.
I/O devices
Matrix
Finally, a sufficient number of good IPS displays with a diagonal of 17.3 inches appeared on the market. GT72S can please us with LG Philips LP173WF4-SPF1 matrix with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. Here you can feel the main advantage of the AH-IPS matrix - gorgeous viewing angles, especially when compared with the old TN matrices in the previous generation. It is worth noting that 262 thousand colors (6 bits) are supported.
By the way, the matrix works with a refresh rate of 75 hertz initially, and by applying some tuning tricks, you can set a higher frequency (about 90-95 Hz, but remember - this can have a bad effect on its durability). The screen, according to the manufacturer, has a contrast ratio of 700:1 and an average brightness of 300 cd/m^2. The color gamut of the matrix according to data from various sources really corresponds to about 100% of the sRGB space.
In general, the laptop has a very decent screen, and for more "showiness" there is an MSI True Color application. It is designed to fine-tune the matrix "for itself", has several ready-made profiles for various tasks. Lacks only built-in support for standard icc profiles
Keyboard and touchpad
Perhaps one of the most important components of any laptop (not just gaming) is good keyboard. MSI GT72S has in its arsenal a chic craft from SteelSeries with a three-zone full-color backlight. Not so long ago, the keyboard was updated: now the buttons have transparent sides, which significantly improves the perception of the backlight.
Traditionally, the device has a short key travel with a good perceptible operation. I am glad that the keyboard is full-fledged, as there is a numeric keypad. Not without pleasant trifles: the CAPS LOCK and NUM LOCK keys have separate small LEDs next to them, which perfectly allows you to control their activity.
Since the keyboard is a "gaming" button, the Windows button is missing from the left side. However, in the BIOS, you can swap it with the Fn key. For user needs, there is a P1 key, to which you can assign the launch of any program (by the way, if you remove XSplit Gamecaster, you can use its button for your business).
Remaining additional keys on the left:
Power button (lights up white only)
The GPU button (Glows white when using discrete graphics) is one of the most important "chips" of the laptop. Allows you to manually switch between NVIDIA GTX graphics and the processor's built-in Intel HD Graphics. This eliminates all problems with NVIDIA Optimus, since only one of the video cards will be in the system at a time. The disadvantage is that when switching, you need to reboot the device.
The CoolerBoost button will help to overclock the CO to maximum speed if you suddenly need it (for example, a serious test overclocking). The last thing that remains is the button for quickly switching profiles of the SteelSeries Engine program (you can immediately jump to the desired profile using the Fn + 1-4 combination). This utility is designed to fine-tune the gaming keyboard, includes many profiles with the ability to create separate macros for almost every button. It also controls the entire backlight of the laptop.
Another input device is the touchpad. As mentioned earlier - it is integral with the entire area under the wrists. Made of plastic, which does not heat up at all. All this looks very impressive due to the lack of a tangible edge in the sensory area, only the backlight apparently limits it. The buttons here are full-fledged, pressing is well felt, and most importantly, they click very quietly. Minus - large gaps collect dirt.
Here lies a slight inconvenience: you need to get used to it, and for a long time, and the matte surface itself is not very conducive to finger movements. In general, I would rate the beauty of the performance at four plus due to small irregularities in the backlight, and the convenience at three (there are thousands of times more comfortable panels).
Sound
One of the main advantages is the sound of the laptop. The system is assembled in a 2.1 configuration using high-quality acoustics from Dynaudio. The left and right channels are assigned 2 speakers with a diameter of 1 inch (located under the top perforation with a red backing), as well as one subwoofer about 1.2 inches in size (under the bottom cover). MSI calls its system AudioBoost 2. Its peculiarity lies in the use of a separate amplifier for speakers, subwoofer and headphones (the total power of all amplifiers is 15 watts). Sound chip - Realtek ALC899. By the way, 4 gold-plated 3.5mm jacks for connecting external sound devices are brought to a separate board (at least they can be easily replaced in case of a breakdown).
The new generation GT72S 6QE has one great innovation: a built-in ESS SABER class HI-FI D/A converter. Such solutions allow you to get really very high-quality and clear sound at the output. To appreciate this, you need to have really top-end expensive headphones (according to the manufacturer, support up to 600 ohms).
Of course, the traditional Nahimic Audio Enhancer was also included. It makes the sound much better and cleaner (at least for my taste), but has a small number of settings. I would love to see a built-in equalizer, which is not there. Processing can be disabled. The most important advantage of this DSP lies in the chic processing of the built-in microphone. Comparison of test recordings showed a really huge difference in recording quality, and most importantly, the noise from the cooling system is almost completely suppressed (at full speed).
Iron
So we got to the filling of the laptop. It is worth noting that the Skylake generation brought many innovations. Our test device has one of the most interesting and top-of-the-range (only the GT72S 6QF is better, but also much more expensive) configurations with a Core i7-6820HK processor and an NVIDIA GTX 980M graphics card.
Processor and RAM, BIOS
The brightest and most interesting in the Skylake generation is the Intel Core i7-6820HK processor installed in the MSI GT72S. The letters HK at the end stand for nothing more than an unlocked multiplier! This means that we can safely treat ourselves to overclocking (the cooling system and power supply allow).
The processor is made using a new 14 nm process technology on the Skylake architecture already mentioned above. The TDP level of the processor is still 45 watts, however, it heats up noticeably less than its predecessors. There are 4 cores split into 8 threads using Intel HT technology backed up by 8 megabytes of L3 cache. The maximum frequency in Boost mode is 3.2 GHz for four, 3.3 GHz for three, 3.4 GHz for two and 3.6 GHz for one core.
There is also an energy-saving graphics Intel HD Graphics 530 built into the processor, the operating range of which is 350 - 1050 MHz. It only makes sense to turn it on for office work or surfing when running on battery power.
One of the key innovations of the new architecture is support for the new DDR4 RAM operating at 2133 MHz (at some instances managed to run 2400 MHz modules, but they are not officially supported by the processor).
Unfortunately, new memory does not bring a serious increase in performance in games.
A nice feature of i7-6820HK laptops is the unlocked overclocking tab in the BIOS. All basic settings that initially limit CPU performance are available here.
I chose 4.0 GHz as the optimal frequency, however, the laptop will work fine at 4.1 GHz. I strongly do not recommend touching the BCLK base frequency settings, perhaps the most dangerous setting for an unprepared user. Also, some overclocking of RAM is available to us. It should be understood that any overclocking is done at your own peril and risk.
Discrete graphics
The laptop is equipped with one of the top NVIDIA GTX 980M discrete graphics cards with 4 GB GDDR5 on board and support for G-SYNC. For a long time, this graphics adapter was the top solution in the traditional MXM 3.0b format for the GT series (and remains so among cards with the M index). The 4GB version of the card only has memory on the top side, so you don't have to worry about cooling it (some manufacturers don't put an extra bottom heatsink on cards with 8GB of memory).
NVIDIA GTX 980M is built on the basis of the GM204 chip using not the newest 28 nm process technology. It operates at frequencies of 1038 - 1127 MHz (Boost), has 1536 CUDA cores, the effective memory frequency is 5 GHz with a 256-bit bus. The architecture includes 4 GPCs, each with 3 active SMMs. The card's TDP is limited by its BIOS and is 100W.
Additional features include BatteryBoost technology, which limits the frame rate (you can choose a limit) so as not to waste battery power just like that when the game produces too many FPS.
There is support for ShadowPlay, it allows you to record video from games without a significant load on the processor (only disk load).
This card supports NVIDIA G-SYNC technology, which is rather new in the mobile environment. It provides a smoother picture without frame breaks and other artifacts by synchronizing the video card and monitor (frames are displayed immediately after rendering). The advantage compared to vertical synchronization is obvious - the new technology does not introduce additional delays.
Not without drawbacks: the upper bar of the frame rate will be limited by the monitor frequency (in our case it is 75 Hz), and the saddest thing is that G-SYNC is most effective only if the game produces more than 30 FPS. If things are bad, then you have to lower the settings a little (in the heaviest games).
Cooling system
First of all, I will say a few words about MSI SHIFT technology (Ctrl + F7). Its purpose is to help the user choose the optimal noise level when using a laptop. There are three operating modes in total: GREEN - minimum noise and performance, COMFORT - moderate noise, components work without built-in overclocking functions, SPORT - maximum performance.
The MSI GT72S is equipped with an excellent cooling system called CoolerBoost 3, and what is really cool is that it has some overclocking headroom.
Let's start our testing with a graph of FurMark + Prime95 fully loaded without overclocking and without the CoolerBoost feature:
In this mode, the processor demonstrates a frequency of 3.2 GHz (the maximum for 4 cores according to the specification). No throttling or problems were noticed. It is worth noting that the MSI Dragon Gaming Center utility in the new version will set all cores to 3.7 GHz as standard. As you can see, the turbines are very far from their maximum rotational speed (about 3.700 rpm).
The laptop is getting noisier, but still significantly quieter than the older generation (we're talking about the GT70). Here you can see the same "overclocking" stock. Yes, and there are no problems with power supply, because we have a theoretical limit of 230W (the processor power controller supports a maximum of 90A, you should remember this).
Next, let's try to properly disperse the laptop. I chose the frequency of 4.0 GHz, the current limit was set to 75A, the TDP restrictions were removed. CPU V offset is set to -80 mV. For convenience, all manipulations were carried out in Intel XTU - it is fully supported. The GTX 980M was overclocked with MSI Afterberner, the clocks can be seen in the screenshot.
According to the results of testing the CO, I can unequivocally say that it is excellent. With an unlocked video bios, you can squeeze out even more interesting results from the card, and overclocking the processor is fully available without any manipulation at all! By the way, the same MSI Dragon Gaming Center utility allows you to change the processor frequency without any knowledge in the field of overclocking.
Storage System
MSI GT72S 6QE will please us with a chic storage system called MSI SuperRAID 4. This system provides us with 4 x 2280 size m.2 slots: Two slots support PCIe x4 SSD drives, and the other two slots only SATA3 mode. Additionally, we have one full-fledged 2.5-inch slot for conventional hard drives (or SSDs).
Our configuration: 2x128 GB m.2 Toshiba THNSN5128GPU7 PCIe x4 in RAID0 + HGST HTS721010A9E630 (1 TB, 32 MB, 7200 rpm) + 2 empty m.2 SATA slots.
Support for PCIe x4 lanes in m.2 slots is new to the mobile world. It is worth noting that two SSD drives can only be connected thanks to the Intel CM236 chipset, which has 20 PCIe lanes, which is 4 more than in the HM170. Such a standard allows you to achieve insane read / write speeds. By the way, an additional heatsink is installed on SSD drives in some cases.
As you can see, the speeds are really cosmic. At the same time, SSD drives from Toshiba are good, but not champions, which allows you to achieve even greater speeds by purchasing the most top-end and larger drives.
The 1TB HDD shows good results and is perfect for storing heavy data or undemanding games. The only thing I didn't like was the lack of screws. The disc is simply clamped with rubber bands and a bottom cover. Be careful not to turn over the laptop without it, as the drive may fall out.
LAN, WLAN
Our test sample has new version Killer Gaming LAN e2400 with Shield technology that promises even better ping and jitter reduction. The latter is a measure of the amount of ping spread during streaming. For online games, this is a rather important parameter, reducing the influence of which should significantly reduce lags.
In general, the new adapter retained the main functionality of the old version: the ability to set priority to various applications (for example, games), which allows you not to suffer from the same lags when the connection is highly loaded. As wireless adapter the Killer Wireless AC 1535 solution with 2x2 MIMO is used. We can say that this is one of the top solutions. There is support for all important current standards (N\AC). Here I can only say one thing: the solutions are really good and productive, but there are often problems with crooked drivers (especially with Wi-Fi).
Power supply
The laptop is equipped with a very good battery with a capacity of 86 Wh, consisting of 9 Li-ion cans. Battery life is good enough for this class.
The complete power adapter is quite large and heavy, with a capacity of 230 watts. The plug is used on the side, there is an activity LED and Velcro for convenient folding of the wire.
Performance
So, I present to you a summary of benchmarks for all MSI laptops that I have ever had for testing. GT72S 6QE is presented in two versions: standard and with the maximum allowable overclocking. As you can see, the results are quite different from the baseline in a positive direction.
Gaming Performance
Time passes, new games come out, but we are still waiting for a new line of graphics adapters from NVIDIA. There is nothing to be surprised at, a serious increase in performance was obtained only in processor-dependent games. Testing was carried out without overclocking.
As you can see, on this moment there was only one game that obviously undermined the performance of the test laptop. If you're aiming specifically at Assassin's Creed (games in the series have always been very demanding), then you might want to take a closer look at the GT72S 6QF or just lower the settings a bit.
conclusions
MSI GT72S Dominator Pro G can be safely called one of the best representatives of top gaming solutions. In my opinion, the key advantages over competitors are the presence of a chic cooling system and replaceable MXM graphics without the use of NVIDIA Optimus technology. An important feature is the presence of G-SYNC. Of course, it is worth noting the excellent sound and a good AH-IPS matrix, and the microphone recording quality has generally reached a new level. Not without drawbacks: a rather weak lid and not the most convenient touchpad spoil the overall picture a little.
Pros:
+ Good AH-IPS matrix
+ NVIDIA G-SYNC
+ Replaceable MXM3.0b graphics
+ Graphics toggle button (without NVIDIA Optimus)
+ High performance
+ Processor with unlocked multiplier
+ Unlocked bios
+ Excellent sound and microphone recording quality
+ Excellent and quiet cooling system
+ Seven USB ports, one of which is version 3.1 type C
+ Nice backlit keyboard
+ The most productive storage system
+ Easy disassembly and maintenance \ modernization
Minuses:
- Flimsy foldable lid
- Irregularities and inaccuracies of illumination
- High visibility of the touch panel area
- Need to reboot to switch graphics
- No USB 2.0 ports
- Uncomfortable touchpad
