MSI’s GP66 is a beast in games! We’ve tested it in 13 different
titles and compared it against other gaming laptops to show you why!
My GP66 has Intel’s Core i7-12700H CPU,
Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics, 16 gigs of DDR4 memory and a 15.6” 1440p
165Hz screen, but you can check out other configurations with the links below the video.
Now the RTX 3070 Ti graphics run at 150 watts with dynamic boost,
however I also found that they would still run at 150 watts even with the CPU also active,
so in a game for example. Other 3070 Ti laptops we’ve looked at so far like Lenovo’s Legion 5i Pro
also have a 150 watt power limit, however that one maxes out at 125 watts when the
CPU is also active, so this means that the GP66 should have an edge in games.
The MSI Center software allows us to set different performance modes,
and all testing here has been done with extreme performance mode and coolerboost,
aka max fans enabled, and this applies a small overclock to the GPU by default.
Just like last year, the 2022 version of the GP66 also has a MUX switch.
This means we’ve got the option of disabling optimus to further boost gaming performance,
so all games here have been tested like that for best results.
Alright, so what about the screen though,
given that’s what you’re going to be staring at while playing games?
MSI gaming laptops typically have faster response times based on my testing.
For a 165Hz screen like this we’re after at least 6ms for all transitions to occur
within the refresh window, and the GP66 is beating this at 4.55ms, a good result.
Screen response time is one aspect that affects the total system latency. This
is the total amount of time between a mouse click and gun shot fire appears on the screen
in CS:GO, and it’s an above average result compared to many other laptops.
Alright let’s get into the game benchmarks!
Although my GP66 came with a 1440p screen, there is also a 1080p 240Hz option as well,
so we’ll compare games at both 1080p and 1440p resolutions to find out where it
fits in compared to other laptops. Then after that we’ll check out 13 games at all setting
levels and look at features like DLSS, FSR and ray tracing, so let’s get into the results!
Cyberpunk 2077 was tested the same on all laptops, and I’ve got this year’s GP66
shown by the red highlight. This is an excellent result, it’s only behind the higher tier RTX
3080 Ti with double the VRAM and higher GPU power limits in the more expensive GE76, also from MSI,
or Razer Blade 17. The GP66 is reaching a 12% higher average FPS compared to the Legion 5i
Pro with the same CPU and GPU, which must be a result of the 20% higher GPU power limit.
We’ve got a different selection of machines at the higher 1440p resolution, as we only
test laptops that can actually run it. The GP66 is still holding up incredibly well,
again only the Blade 17, more expensive GE76 and desktop replacement X170 were ahead. It’s
only 6 FPS or so ahead of our other best 3070 Ti result, but percentage-wise this is still an 11%
gain. Not bad at all considering they both have the same CPU and GPU.
Control is also a GPU heavy game, even at 1080p, and the full powered 3070 Ti is clearly why the
GP66 is so high up on the list again. I suppose it does also have a small GPU overclock by default,
but I don't really find those to matter too much generally. This time it’s just
5 and a half percent ahead of the Legion 5i Pro with the same CPU and GPU combination,
so less of a gap, but still easily a better result.
At the higher 1440p resolution the GP66 was now just 4 FPS ahead of the same specced 5i Pro,
but in terms of a percent it’s the same performance gap as we saw at 1080p. I should
also note that the 5i Pro has newer DDR5 memory, while the GP66 is using older DDR4, so this could
be a factor too. Make sure you’re subscribed for when I compare these in a future video.
Red Dead Redemption 2 was tested with the game’s benchmark, and again the GP66 is ahead of all RTX
3070 results as you’d expect from the Ti variant, and just 5 FPS or a 5% increase compared to the
same specced 5i Pro. It’s kind of crazy that the Blade 17 with 3080 Ti and next level up CPU was
only just slightly ahead, especially when you consider that the Blade costs like $4000 USD.
That’s almost double the GP66, again you can check current prices with the links below the video.
The GP66 drops back a few positions in this one at 1440p. I’ve said in the past that some of the
older results in this game at this resolution don’t seem accurate since a game update,
and I fully suspect this is the reason that last year’s 5 Pro
appears to be ahead. This year’s 5i Pro was only tested a couple of weeks before the GP66,
so that’s a more accurate comparison, and again the GP66 had a 5% higher average FPS.
MSI’s GP66 is competing extremely well compared to other laptops, granted it is only the third 3070
Ti laptop we’ve had so far, but considering that I was expecting the Legion 5i Pro to
be one of the better results this generation, I’ve got to say that I’m impressed with this.
Now that we understand where this year’s GP66 fits in compared to other laptops,
let’s see how it performs in more games at all setting levels
as well as with features like DLSS, FSR and ray tracing.
Let’s start out with God of War. With DLSS set to quality mode even the highest ultra setting preset
was getting us around 60 FPS for the 1% low, so even the dips in performance weren’t that bad.
Forza Horizon 5 was tested with the game’s benchmark. Low settings was getting us a
frame rate close to the screen’s 165Hz refresh rate, even at 1440p,
though high settings was still easily above 100 FPS.
Dying Light 2 was another game tested with DLSS on quality mode. Even with DLSS on the
lower of the two ray tracing presets was just able to hit 60 FPS. High settings without RT
gets us 43% higher average FPS, so depends how badly you want to trace those rays.
Fortnite was also tested with DLSS on quality mode, but no ray tracing here as I think that
just makes less sense in a competitive eSports style game. High settings was close to the
screen’s refresh rate at 1440p, and even maxed out at epic settings was 100 for the 1% lows.
I’ve always found Call of Duty Warzone to run well even at higher resolutions like this,
and the GP66 was no exception to this. I’ve tested it with either all settings maxed out
or at minimum because it doesn’t have built in setting presets like the rest of the games.
Microsoft Flight Simulator on the other hand wasn’t able to hit 60 FPS
at max settings, though it also doesn’t really need a super high frame rate to enjoy
like those competitive games. Apparently this game is getting DLSS in the future,
so if that happens expect further possible boosts.
Far Cry 6 was tested with the game’s benchmark using FSR on quality mode. 100 FPS at max
settings is a good result, though the lower setting presets don’t increase performance
as much compared to many other games, so might as well play with it looking good.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla was above 60 FPS at max settings, which I honestly think is a
great result speaking as someone that played the entire game at a lower frame rate than
that. Max settings are almost never worth it though, so I’d probably stick to high settings.
Watch Dogs Legion was above 60 FPS at max settings for the 1% low,
again this one doesn’t need ultra high frame rates to enjoy either,
so even at 1440p you should be able to have the game looking good and running smooth enough.
Likewise Rainbow Six Siege was achieving 1% lows that were higher than the screen’s
refresh rate at max settings, so no problems at all here as even the dips should appear smooth.
Control was tested earlier in the comparison section, but now we’ve got ray tracing enabled
in the green bars. Combined with DLSS on, ray tracing was actually performing well even at
max settings getting us 80 FPS, though as we can see much higher is possible without it.
Cyberpunk 2077 was also tested earlier, but now with the RT presets here we can see that we’re
not getting excellent results at this higher resolution even with DLSS on quality mode. The
recently added RT low preset was able to get us 60 FPS, but ultra settings without RT was
slightly better, though we can get nearly double FPS at low settings. The point is there’s a big
range of FPS and quality presets so you’ve got some option to tune it how you want.
Red Dead Redemption 2 was reaching higher than 60 FPS at max settings with DLSS in
the game’s benchmark, but lowering just one level to high gets us a fairly decent 36%
boost, and like I mentioned earlier, max settings usually aren’t very practical.
Check out how Lenovo’s Legion 5i Pro performed in a similar selection of games over here next,
or this video to find out if it’s worth upgrading from the 3070 Ti to the 3080 Ti,
and of course make sure you’re subscribed for the upcoming full review of the GP66
which will cover everything else like battery life, thermals and more!