Tag: MSI

MSI is refreshing its gaming laptop lineup, including its popular GS Stealth and GE Raider series computers, to add Intel’s new 10th-generation Comet Lake mobile processors and the new Super variants of NVIDIA’s RTX mobile GPUs. In all, there are 12 new models to pick from, and, depending on the model, you’ll be able to max it out with either a Core i9 or Core i7 processor. Similarly, you can configure several of MSI’s new laptops with the RTX 2080 Super. 

Intel’s new 10th-generation chips feature mostly modest improvements over their predecessors. They have higher turbo frequencies by up to 500MHz and support for 2933MHz DDR4 RAM. In some situations, those enhancements should lead to performance improvements, but probably not the 50 percent gains MSI is touting. The big thing here is Intel is still manufacturing these chips using a 14nm process, whereas AMD has moved to a much more efficient 7nm process for its Ryzen 4000 series CPUs. 

Similarly, NVIDIA’s new Super series laptop GPUs aren’t a huge change from the already excellent RTX cards you could buy inside of notebooks last year. Both the RTX 2080 Super and RTX 2070 Super have additional CUDA cores compared to their non-Super counterparts but feature slower boost clock speeds. However, they include NVIDIA’s new Dynamic Boost and Advanced Optimus technologies. The former can lead to better performance in some instances. 

Besides new internals, there a couple of other smaller updates. To start, the GE66 Raider and GS66 Stealth include new higher capacity 99.9Wh batteries — which is the biggest battery you can take on a plane. They’ll now also come with 300Hz Full HD display option. Considering you can equip both the GS66 Stealth and GE66 Raider with an RTX 2080 Super, a GPU that’s overkill for 1080p gaming, you may actually be able to play some games at 300 frames per second to take advantage of the display’s refresh rate. MSI will also sell the GS66 Stealth in a new matte “Core Black” color that’s more subdued than the black and gold finish found on the GS65 Stealth.

However, the highlight of MSI’s refreshed lineup is the Creator 17. The company claims the Creator 17 is the world’s first laptop with a Mini LED screen, a relatively new display technology that has some of the same benefits of OLED for significantly less money. On paper, there’s a lot to like about the display. It’s a 17-inch 4K screen with a peak brightness of more than 1000 nits, 100 percent DCI-P3 coverage and HDR 1000 certification. Engadget Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar got a chance to see the Creator 17 at CES 2020. At the time, he said the display looked “brighter than any laptop I’ve ever seen.” You’ll be able to pair the Creator 17’s display with a GeForce RTX 2080 Super and Core i7-10875H processor. Like with its gaming laptops, MSI is also refreshing the Creator 15M and 17M with Intel’s new 10th-generation Comet Lake chips and NVIDIA’s new RTX Super cards. 

You’ll be able to purchase all of MSI’s new laptops starting on April 15th. 

Gaming monitors can get very expensive very quickly, especially once you go past 60Hz models. If you’re not looking for the absolute best picture quality, this curved 144Hz display from MSI is now just $139.99 from Office Depot. That’s a savings of $110 from the original MSRP.

This is an older monitor, originally released in mid-2017 (hence why it’s out of stock at Amazon right now). Still, this model offers a 24-inch curved design, a 1080p resolution, and a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz. For inputs, you get DVI, HDMI 1.4, and DisplayPort 1.2. It uses a lower-quality Twisted Nematic (TN) panel, but high refresh rate IPS screens come with a higher price tag, and TN is perfectly serviceable for gaming, and preferred by some for its responsiveness.

This is a FreeSync monitor, so the higher refresh rate mode is intended for use with AMD graphics cards. However, there are multiple reports of it working perfectly with Nvidia’s G-Sync compatibility mode, once you manually enable it from your GPU’s settings.

MSI managed to earn a CES innovation award for a portable gaming monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate, which we wrote about a few weeks ago. It’s now available, but with a much lower refresh rate—it’s listed at 60Hz instead of 240Hz. So, what’s going on?

The Optix MAG161V now available is a precursor to faster versions that will debut sometime later. Even though the MAG161V’s product page for the MAG161V prominently displays the same award badge as the MAG161 (no “V” at the end) that was touted in MSI’s award announcement, it’s a different monitor—I’m told MSI will release two more models, one with a 240Hz refresh rate and one with a 120Hz refresh rate.

This portable display consists of a 15.6-inch IPS panel situated on a kickstand, similar to a Microsoft Surface tablet, minus the keyboard and other hardware. It has a 1920×1080 resolution, 178-degree viewing angles (vertical and horizontal), 180 nits brightness, and a 700:1 contrast ratio (the global product page lists it at 800:1, but MSI tells me that’s incorrect, and that the US product page is accurate).

None of MSI’s product pages or datasheets list the response time, but on Newegg, it shows as being 25ms (gray-to-gray). That seems awfully high, even on an IPS screen, yet it’s accurate—I confirmed it with MSI directly.

“The future models may not be entirely the same as the 60Hz [model], we are looking to improve the overall build quality and features on the other models,” MSI told me.

Fair enough. Also, dropping to 60Hz is not necessarily a deal killer, if this is to be used as a secondary monitor for chat and other things that wouldn’t benefit from a fast refresh rate. Maybe it would work well with Stadia.

For anyone who might have purchased a laptop with a lower refresh rate and was looking forward to a portable 240Hz display for gaming (one of the niche markets for something like this), the 60Hz refresh rate is certainly disappointing. But, it’s not the end of the road—240Hz and 120Hz variants are coming.

In the meantime, the Optix MAG161V is available now on Newegg for $249.99.

Prices for gaming laptops just keep dropping, perhaps in preparation for Black Friday. No matter the reason, it’s great to see laptops with modern Nvidia graphics becoming cheaper, and now you can get one MSI laptop with a GTX 1650 for just $649.00 at Walmart. For context, that’s $50 less than the cheapest GTX 1650 laptop on Newegg right now.

The full specifications of this model aren’t bad at all for under $700. The CPU is an Intel Core i5-9300H, with 4 cores, 8 threads, a 45W TDP, and a max turbo clock of 4.10GHz. Other hardware include 8GB of 2666MHz RAM, a 512GB NVMe SSD, and a 15.6-inch 1080p “IPS-Level” screen. The display only 60Hz, but 120Hz+ screens are usually only available on laptops $1,000 or more. Windows 10 Home is preinstalled.

The GTX 1650 in this laptop is an entry-level graphics card, so while it’s a lot better than Intel HD integrated graphics, you might have trouble playing some large-scale AAA titles. This laptop is best suited for games like Fortnite, The Sims, Overwatch, and other optimized titles. You can get a good idea for how it performs from our review.

The MSI Cubi line of tiny desktop computers are getting a spec bump. MSI added the new Cubi 5 10M to its website this week, with support for up to a 10th-gen Intel Core i7 U-series processor.

Since Intel hasn’t officially launched its upcoming Frost Canyon NUC yet, (even though we know it’s coming), that makes the Cubi 5 the first compact desktop computer in this category to feature 10th-gen Intel Core processors (Comet Lake, in this case).

The Cubi 5 measures 4.9″ x 4.9″ x 2.1″ and has room inside for an M.2 solid state drive and/or a 2.5 inch hard drive or SSD.

There are two SODIMM slots for up to 64GB of DDR4-2666 memmory.

And on the outside you’ll find:

1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port

3 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports

2 x USB 2.0 ports

1 x RJ45 Ethernet jack

1 x HDMI 1.4 port

1 x DisplayPort 1.2

1 x mic input

1 x headphone/speaker output

MSI will also offer 802.11ac or 802.11ax wireless cards.

With a VESA mount kit, you can attach the little computer to the back of a monitor. And there’s support for an optional external power switch so you can turn it on and off easily even if the PC is stuffed in a hard-to-reach spot.