MSI GS77 Stealth assessment: Do not let the title idiot you

Do not let the title idiot you – there’s nothing hidden about this machine.

The MSI GS77 Stealth has lengthy been the transportable possibility amongst MSI’s gaming elite, and whereas that truth has arguably remained true with final 12 months’s 5.Four-pound GS76 Stealth, the zero.79-inch-thick, 6.17-pound GS77 this 12 months really launched this concept into the solar. This laptop computer is huge, thick and hulking, and whereas it lacks the sunshine strips and LED grills that different flashy gaming laptops boast, its RGB keyboard nonetheless makes it very clear that it is for gaming above all else.

This is not essentially an enormous knock in opposition to the machine – the GS76 was fairly mild for what it was, and the GS77 introduced the Stealth collection again in keeping with the remainder of the 17-inch market. It now weighs barely greater than Razer’s Blade 17 and Asus’ Zephyrus S17. And it weighs virtually the identical as MSI’s extra highly effective GE76 Raider.

One can see why MSI would need to go greater, because the chips inside have fried virtually each chassis they’ve touched this 12 months. The mannequin we had been despatched features a 12th-gen Core i7-12900H – probably the most highly effective cell chips in Intel’s historical past – paired with Nvidia’s RTX 3070 Ti, 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, all powering a 240Hz QHD show.

However the brand new girth takes away one main benefit the GS77 beforehand had over these fashions: The GS77 Stealth appears to have misplaced a few of what made it fascinating as a “transportable” buy. The keyboard is on the flat aspect, the touchpad is uncomfortably stiff, the battery life is not good, and the machine is simply too huge and heavy to deliver anyplace. What we’re left with is a pc that calls for lots of the identical compromises as essentially the most highly effective gaming laptops in the marketplace, with out delivering the identical distinctive body charges.

For extra info on our rating, see how we consider.

The primary benefit the Stealth has proper now could be its value. My take a look at unit is at the moment listed for $2,899. To get this GPU within the GE76 Raider (which has an excellent beefier Core i9 in addition to a sleeker design) can be $100 extra, whereas a QHD Razer Blade 17 with a 3070 Ti can be a whopping $three,399. $99. I’ve additionally been capable of finding GS77 fashions for simply $1,799 (for a 144Hz 1080p display screen, an RTX 3060, and 16GB of RAM), whereas the most affordable Blade on Razer’s web site is $2,799, and the 12th-gen Raider begins at $2,299. Nonetheless, $2,899 is not a funds value, and it is value figuring out what trade-offs you make for that decrease price.

First, the facet of the GS77 that’s an simple enchancment over final 12 months: construct high quality. We have had gripes with MSI’s chassis previously, however the GS77’s base and lid are each sturdy and sturdy. The trackpad collected a number of fingerprints pretty simply, however the remainder of the chassis wasn’t a lot of a magnet for them. It is a good looking pc and it did not get any scratches or scuffs after being pounded round in a suitcase for a number of days.

Different benefits of earlier fashions stay. There is a good vary of ports, together with two USB-C, two USB-A, a headphone jack, HDMI, ethernet and an SD card reader. (Nonetheless, the SD reader is oddly slower than final 12 months, as different reviewers have famous.) The QHD display screen makes video games look nice. There are six enormous audio system inside, and whereas they do not ship the most effective sound on the 17-inch market, my video games nonetheless sounded fairly good. I had no points with the microphones, which help AI noise cancellation, and the webcam has a bodily shutter swap on the aspect for some quietness.

That mentioned, I actually cannot see myself utilizing this machine as a every day driver for 2 huge causes: the keyboard and the touchpad. The keyboard has fairly good lighting, however it’s fairly skinny to sort on, with extra of a spongy really feel than a click on. And whereas there is a quantity pad, the keys are all a bit cramped because of this. The arrow keys particularly really feel small.

And the touchpad is the place I actually had bother. It is huge, however it was as tough a click on as I’ve ever skilled on a touchpad. (And it is fairly loud, too.) I felt like I needed to slam my finger all the way down to get a registered click on. I used to be near plugging in a mouse (which I do not do when testing productiveness use circumstances as a normal coverage) due to how a lot I hated navigating with it. These aren’t exceptional compromises in relation to 17-inch gaming laptops, however they do emphasize how little I would advocate this as a every day driver.

On the subject of body charges, how do these specs stack up? With all sliders at most, Pink Useless Redemption 2 it ran at a median of 60 frames per second at native decision (technically 59.three, however we will name it 60). That elevated to 65 at 1080p. On Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 1080p, we noticed a median of 83 frames per second with ray tracing on Extremely (its most setting) and 121 with the function disabled. At native decision, these translated to 58 frames per second (one other quantity we will loosely name 60) and 86, respectively. All in all, greater than playable.

The GS77 generated an absurd 400 frames per second on the heavy processor CS: GO in 1080p and a nonetheless fairly huge 286 at native 1440p. The one title that gave the sport issues was Cyberpunk 2077, which — at native decision, max settings, with ray tracing cranked as much as “Psycho” — ran at 19 frames per second (however bought 33 at these settings in 1080p).

All in all, these are positively an enchancment over the outcomes from final 12 months’s mannequin, and present that you should not have any bother working most trendy video games at QHD decision, though they’re beneath what you will get from a Core i9 and dearer. RTX 3080 machines. There’s one disappointing omission although: the GS77 lacks a MUX swap. This part (which each the Raider and Blade have) permits laptops to help adaptive options like G-Sync, and also can lead to a considerable distinction in efficiency. It is an odd factor to rule out at this value level, and one thing I would think about many people who find themselves keen to pay $2,900 will not be keen to compromise on.

On the subject of different workloads, the Stealth was extra aggressive. It accomplished our Adobe Premiere Professional 4K video export take a look at of 5 minutes and 33 seconds in two minutes and 15 seconds. The Raider beat this time with a time of 1 minute and 56 seconds, however it’s one of many few laptops ever to take action. Final 12 months’s 3070 GS76 was 12 seconds slower. (These aren’t meant to be apples-to-apples comparisons, as completely different variations of Premiere can change over time; they’re meant extra to present you an concept of ​​how lengthy an export may take.)

The GS77 additionally outperformed the GS76, in addition to the Blade and different inventive workstations such because the Gigabyte Aero 16, on Puget Programs’ benchmark for Premiere Professional, which assessments stay playback and export efficiency at 4K and 8K. (He misplaced closely to the Raider). This is not a laptop computer I would advocate folks use for workplace duties, so the GS77’s good efficiency right here is not the most important level in its favor.

MSI’s software program is actually not as dangerous because it has been lately, which is an encouraging signal. I had no downside adjusting fan profiles and the like with the pre-installed applications. I ran right into a bug the place the display screen began freezing after I tried to run video games (an issue on a gaming laptop computer). MSI despatched me a alternative unit that didn’t have this downside. It is not the form of factor we wish to see on $2,900 merchandise, although.

After which we get to what I see as the most important trade-off right here: battery life. I solely averaged about two hours and 16 minutes of steady use on this factor, with some makes an attempt lasting even below two hours. It must be near the worst battery I’ve ever gotten from a gaming laptop computer. Whereas it is typically understood that cheaper laptops could have much less highly effective chips in them, having to surrender battery life on high of that energy (the Raider lasted me about two hours longer with the identical load work) is a tough tablet to swallow.

Should you’re simply taking a look at body charges on paper, this laptop computer is an effective purchase. It will possibly run every kind of video games at QHD decision with out burning your basement.

However the Stealth moniker, and the way the road has traditionally been positioned, may suggest to some folks that this machine is an effective alternative for extra than simply gaming. Just isn’t; MSI’s adjustments to the Stealth line made it extra highly effective on the expense of different options that made it, nicely, Stealthy. It is too huge and heavy to always carry round in a briefcase or backpack, the battery life is not usable for every day work away from an outlet, and the keyboard and touchpad simply would not be my alternative to make use of. I take advantage of them each day. This is not actually a conveyable different to the Raider anymore. It is only a extra inexpensive model of the Raider.

Which is ok, if that is what you are on the lookout for. However with the Raider providing extra highly effective specs, higher battery life, extra RGB and a MUX swap for a number of hundred dollars extra, I feel it presents a greater expertise that shall be definitely worth the cash for many who purchasing on this vary.