This coverage at CES 2019 has been sponsored by MSI, without them I wouldn’t be here
to check out all of these new laptops.
I’ll start with perhaps the craziest, the MSI GT75 Titan, as a few of you were asking
me to find out if there would be a new one at CES, and I can indeed report that there
is. From what I can see on the spec sheet and visually it looks the same as before,
except now we’ve got up to Nvidia RTX 2080 graphics inside the 8SG model, and that’s
the full 2080, not Max-Q along with an i9 CPU. Based on my own previous review of the
GT75 I think it’s very well equipped to handle cooling, though this does result in
it being quite thick so it’s not for everyone. MSI also have RTX versions of the GT63 Titan,
although they didn’t have that one on display, it’s similar but in a 15 inch size compared
to the 17 inch GT75.
Next up the GE series, the GE75 and GE63 models were on display at CES. We’ll start with
the GE63 as I’ve got more experience with it, having reviewed the intel 7th and 8th
gen models. This new GE63, again, looks basically the same visually, I think we’re just getting
the upgrade to RTX graphics. This is still pretty crazy though, considering the previous
GE63 came with 1070 graphics, while the 8SG config will be available with 2080, so I’m
very interested to see how that goes in the future. The GE75 on the the other hand looked
very nice, I can only assume it was also very similar to the previous GE75, but again now
with RTX graphics, as I haven’t been able to get one of these for review just yet.
It’s a similar story with the GL series, I don’t yet have any personal experience
with any yet. MSI mentioned in the presentation that the GL series are designed for mainstream
gamers, which seems to be why it only has 2060 graphics. I say only because up til now
everything else is also available with 2070 and 2080s too, but if Nvidia’s claim about
the RTX 2060 being similar in performance to a 1070 Ti is accurate then it should be
a pretty solid option, though of course as always we’ll have to wait for third party
testing to verify.
The GF75 was also on display, from my understanding it’s the larger version of the GF63 that
I recently reviewed, although no new RTX graphics here, so we’re looking at the same 1050
Ti Max-Q and 1050 that I noted in my GF63 review, just in a larger 17 inch size.
We’ve also got the GS65, interestingly with up to 2080 Max-Q graphics. On my previous
video a lot of you asked me to find out if the motherboard was still reversed, and MSI
have confirmed to me that this is indeed the case, although they have changed this in the
new GS75, but more on that in a moment. I also asked about cooling, and at the event
was advised by MSI that the cooling was the same, however after looking through the specs
provided it appears to be listed as using Cooler Boost Trinity + like the GS75, MSI’s
new cooling design, again more on that in a bit, so I’ll need to confirm that, though
it would make sense, I can only really see the 2080 Max-Q standing a chance with improved
cooling.
As you’ve probably noticed most of these models are the same as what we’ve already
had available, but with upgrades to Nvidia RTX 20 series graphics.
If you caught my live stream of MSI’s event here at CES, you may have heard about the
new 17 inch GS75. From the specs that I was given it will be available in three models,
the 8SG with RTX 2080 Max-Q graphics, 8SF with 2070 Max-Q graphics, and 8SE with RTX
2060 graphics. For the CPU they noted up to the 8th gen i9, so the 8950HK, I presume there
might also be an i7 model but it doesn’t appear to be fully specified yet. I’m very
interested to test out how hot the i9 and 2080 Max-Q combination would get in such a
thin build, these are top end specs after all.
MSI had their new cooler on display used in the GS75, known as cooler boost trinity plus,
and compared to others I’ve seen it looks pretty decent. We’ve got 7 heatpipes and
3 fans, most gaming laptops I’ve tested typically have 2 fans just for reference,
and MSI also note that this solution is capable of 45% higher air pressure.
Another interesting point was that it also has room for three M.2 drives, I don’t think
I’ve ever seen that in a laptop of this size, the most you usually see is two.
The motherboard also isn’t upside down as we saw with the GS65, their previous thin
and light gaming laptop, so accessibility to perform these upgrades should be much easier
for the regular user.
Otherwise the GS75 has a wider than normal touchpad, it’s got thunderbolt support,
thin bezels, and 144Hz IPS-level display, I’m very interested in trying it out! Although
no pricing or release date was mentioned, MSI kept stressing that they’ll be first
to market with 20 series laptops, so I can only assume that means the 29th of January
as per Nvidia’s announcement, so hopefully all will be revealed soon enough.
I’ve got more coverage of CES 2019 on the way, so if you’re new to the channel get
subscribed so you don’t miss any.