Should you game on a laptop, or a desktop?
This question is always right up there whenever we review gaming laptops. Sure, there are a lot of factors in mind, but thanks to creative engineering solutions from companies like MSI, the gap betweek the two are growing smaller by the day.
I’m going to say this right up front: This MSI GS63 Stealth Pro gaming laptop can easily replace any desktop rig for every enthusiast out there who wants to take their gaming skills outside of their room. Let’s dig deeper, shall we?
Specifications:
- 6th Gen. Intel Core i7-6700HQ Processor
- 15.6″ FHD (1920×1080), IPS-Level display
- Intel HM170 Chipset
- GeForce GTX 1060 with 6GB GDDR5 graphics card
- DDR4, 2 Slots, Max 32GB Memory
- M.2 SSD Combo (NVMe PCIe Gen3 x4 / SATA) SSD
- 2.5″ SATA HDD
- Backlit Keyboard
- Killer Gb LAN, Killer ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.1
- 3-Cell, 65 Whr Battery
- 380 x 249 x 17.7 mm dimension (WxDxH)
- 1.8 kg Weight (w/ Battery)
Design
The overall design of the MSI Stealth Pro follows the usual theme of the company’s GS series with the black, brush-aluminum finish. But what catches the attention of many is the fact that it has a very slim chassis considering the specs mentioned above. It’s one of the slimmest 15-inch gaming laptops on the market that makes other competitors at the same range look absurdly big when you put them together side by side.
I really like the black and some hints of red on the sides of the laptop — really stealthy but shouts “gaming laptop” when you take a really close look at it. Speaking of taking a closer look, be sure to wipe of the fingerprints as they laptop will always have it because of its build.
As for the I/O, you’ll surely be satisfied with 3 USB 3.0 ports, SD card reader, Gigabit Ethernet, secure lock slot, a Hi-Fi headphone and microphone jack on the left and USB 2.0, USB 3.1 Thunderbolt port, HDMI, mini DisplayPort on the right.
Display
The screen that is found on the MSI Stealth Pro has a matte finish on a 15.6 Full HD (1920×1080) resolution. The lack of brightness will surely be noticeable when you’re working outside but when you’re just using it indoors it’s very satisfying and sufficient enough for your needs. Colors are decent and viewing angles are good enough when you want to consume video content as a group.
Do keep in mind that this laptop does not have a touchscreen display. I’m not really a fan of touchscreen laptops especially when it comes to gaming but I’m just going to put that out there in case it’s a factor for you. Overall, the screen on this laptop is okay and will definitely deliver when you’re playing games.
Keyboard and Trackpad
With SteelSeries partnering up with MSI, you’ll be sure that the keyboard will be great. And it is. The island-style keyboard delivers a satisfying feedback that will surely be in our list of top keyboard laptops. The keyboard provides a good amount of travel that’ll help you type faster and greatly assists you when playing FPS games like Overwatch and CS:GO. And with keyboard giving off a nice illumination to every keys, you won’t have a hard time playing in the dark.
Just like high-end laptops, you’ll also be able to configure the lighting on the keyboard. Thanks to MSI all-in-one gaming software, you can assign any of the 16.8 million colors to the three zones of your keyboard. Plus, you’ll get multiple light effects and GameSense feature (custom profile for each game) if you’re into deeper customization. And did I mention that it can light up with every beat of the music you’re playing? Check this out:
The trackpad is good and satisfying — there are times when it skips around but it does a great job of identifying gestures at first try. It’s not the best trackpad out there, but it’s high up there in the rankings.
Performance
The MSI Stealth Pro features a 2.6GHz Intel Core i7-6700HQ with up to 32GB of RAM, which is like a standard spec for gaming laptops with the same price range in the market. Overall, you won’t have to worry about having too many tabs in your browser and having multiple applications at the same time.
I really like the SSD and HDD combo that is found in this laptop. Not only that it actually gives you multiple drives that you can store data and files with, the M.2 PCIe SSD and 5,400-rpm HDD has great read and write speeds that actually beats most of its competition.
Temperature-wise, with the nature of gaming laptops, the Stealth Pro can run fairly hot. So we don’t suggest you to use this on your lap as it can get really unbearably warm.
To give you the best gaming experience, MSI has a software called Dragon Center that serves as your all-in-one control center. It includes useful apps like the SteelSeries Enging, Nvidia GeForce Experience, MSI True Color and Killer Network Manager that you can to you can play with.
As for gaming itself, the GTX 1060 is a good choice for a gaming laptop especially with 1080p resolution. We got more than 115 fps when playing Overwatch with a maxed-out settings, a good 60-65 fps on Rise of the Tomb Raider, also in extreme settings and an average of 55-60 fps in Witcher 3 (with HairWorks turned off). These numbers pretty much give you a good conclusion that you can play all existing triple-A games with no problem and gives you the confidence that it will last fairly long with in future games.
Conclusion
Don’t mistake the MSI Stealth Pro’s ultra-slim form factor for lack of gaming prowess. Underneath that thinness are specifications that you typically find in a larger laptop. With the 6th gen processor and the GTX 1060, we assure you that it will perform smoothly and will definitely pass by any punches that throw at it.
If you’re looking for an extremely good-looking and extremely thin laptop that can handle VR games and other AAA games with a price tag that’s actually presents itself fairly, the MSI GS63VR 6RF Stealth Pro may be the perfect laptop for you.
The MSI GS63VR 6RF Stealth Pro is priced at Php 134,995.00.
