MSI is expand the gaming notebook
market, with a new line of thin and light gaming machines that offer some
seriously high-end specs. The company has just announced the GP62X and GP72X
Leopard Pro series, and they appear focused on ensuring not just high
performance but also some of the best refresh rates you’ll find on gaming
notebooks today.
The highlight of both machines is MSI’s offering up
a full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS display option that features a 120Mhz panel with
5ms response times. Normally available only in desktop displays, these specs
offer smooth and tear-free gaming. The display is available exclusively on the
17.3-inch GP72X Leopard Pro machines to go with a more mundane panel, while the
15.6-inch GP62X Leopard Pro offers two FHD displays using wide-view and IPS
panels.
Both the GP62X and the GP72X utilize NVMe
solid-state drives (SSDs) for fast game loading with read performance up to
2.2GB/s. The use of seventh-generation Intel Core i7–7700HQ quad-core processor
and GeForce GTX 1060 3GB graphics in the GP62MVR and GP72VR variants should
provide outstanding 1080p gaming performance and support for virtual reality
(VR) systems. The non-VR machines utilize GeForce GTX 1050 or 1050 TI GPUs, and
a maximum of 32GB of DDR4 RAM can be configured for all machines in the series.
MSI has built in its Cooler Boost 4 technology to
keep things cool, which utilizes two fans with six separate heat pipes
dedicated to the CPU and GPU. Overall, the cooling system increases airflow by
20 percent and results in what MSI lables “the most advanced heat pipe design
in a gaming notebook.”
In terms of input options, MSI worked with
SteelSeries to pack in keyboards that offer highly customizable RGB lighting
utilizing SteelSeries Engine 3 technology. SteelSeries GameSense means that
titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Minecraft allow changing
keyboards backlighting based on in-game action. Connectivity is robust with a
USB Type-C 3.0 connection, two USB Type-A 3.0 ports, a USB Type-A 2.0
connection, an SD card reader, and both HDMI and mini-DisplayPort outputs.
The machines are available today at retailers like
Newegg, Amazon, and Best Buy. Pricing starts at US$ 1,099 and goes up from there.
Anyone looking to add another gaming notebook to the list now has a brand new
line of versatile of portable gaming and VR systems to consider.
