This will be a detailed review for those looking to know some things about the laptop.
Firstly, this computer comes with Windows 10, so you will be running on the latest Windows Operating System (OS) once you've set it up. The version I purchased was the i7-6700HQ 12 GB RAM version, for $779 which was a great deal. $1000 still isn't that bad for the performance, SSD, and extra RAM you get (12 is enough for most people, unless you are a really heavy multitasker), but I would make sure to check for any other cheaper laptops that offer similar performance for a cheaper price as prices change all the time.
PLEASE NOTE: You must perform system updates to make sure your computer is up to date (which it won't be as it's been sitting in a box for some time) and check through all of your drivers in the "Device Manager" to make sure those are up to date as well. Reportedly some people have had trouble with the Wi-Fi at first, so you may have to plug in an Ethernet cable from your router into the RJ-45 Ethernet port and then update the Wi-Fi and other drivers. ONE THING YOU MUST NOTE: Your audio drivers may not function properly and the laptop audio quality may sound horrendous. This was what happened to me, so you have to go to MSI's site and download their audio drivers directly from the site. Here is the link: https://www.msi.com/Laptop/support/GL62-6QF.html#down-driver&Win10 64 Simply find the "Audio" driver (roughly 360 MB) and download it. Other drivers are also available if need be.
Gaming and Rendering/Content Creation | Processor:
I have not purchased this laptop for gaming, at least for now, but the GTX 960M graphics card does provide some good 1080p performance on every game at Medium detail or better. Many games can run on High detail though and some on Ultra detail. The 960M has 2 GB of RAM, which is pretty much enough to run all current games at 1080p, so no need to worry about the vRAM (virtual RAM, term used for graphic card RAM). This laptop is also nice for 3D Rendering and content creation/streaming. The processor is an i7-6700HQ which is pretty powerful so streaming to Twitch and other services will not be an issue. It has a clock speed of 2.6 GHz (powerful enough for streaming right then and there) with a turbo boost to about 3.5 GHz (usually only needs to go up to about 3.1 GHz though). The processor has 4 cores and 8 threads, which is great for multitasking and heavy tasks.
Battery Life:
Not the greatest, but it is to be expected of a mid-level gaming laptop. You will get roughly 3-3 1/2 hours of battery life from normal tasks, such as browsing the web and watching videos. You may get close to 4 hours if you're lucky. Any extensive tasks (e.g. gaming, rendering, streaming, etc.) will definitely eat at the battery pretty quickly in about an hour or less, so be sure to have a charger handy.
Keyboard:
It's a pretty nice keyboard that is somewhat softer than cheaper laptop keyboards, even though it still isn't the best. It's definitely doable though. The keyboard does not come with RGB lighting to my knowledge.
Storage:
The version I have purchased comes with 12 GB of RAM, a 128 GB SSD (solid-state drive, wicked fast boot performance and program load times. Windows 10 will be running on the SSD), and a 1 TB 7200 rpm HDD (hard drive, which is a lot slower than an SSD but it is a bit faster than your typical HDD). Store your favorite programs on the SSD for fast loading times and performance, while storing documents and videos and other big files on your HDD. The C: drive is always the drive with Windows on it, so in this case, the SSD is the C: drive. The D: drive is the HDD. If you get confused, simply look at the space and you will see it is relatively close to the 128 GB SSD or 1000 GB HDD. The RAM is enough to run all current games and open many programs. It is DDR4 RAM as well, which is faster than DDR3 RAM.
Screen/Weight:
The screen I have is a 15.6" Full HD laptop, which means the resolution is 1920x1080p. The display is an LCD IPS (in-plane switching) Matte display, which is great because the viewing angles are nice and Matte means it is not reflective. It weighs about 5.3 lbs, which is not light but it is not super heavy.
Cooling:
The cooling is pretty good. You have two fans ready to go if need be, with only one working during normal tasks and the other one sitting idle. There is also a button on the computer (right above the "INSERT" key and to the left of the "G" button) that turns on both fans at full speed if you ever needed it to run that high. This is most certainly not a quiet fan though, as the fan always seems to be working at around 3200-3300 rpm during normal tasks, which is definitely noticeable to the ears but you can get used to it. I have used Sony Vegas Pro 13 and it runs at about 170 degrees Fahrenheit (76.67 degrees Celsius). That is very warm, but definitely not super hot. This laptop cools properly. My older one with Sony went above 200 degrees Fahrenheit and even needed to have an external fan cooling it in order to prevent overheating. This computer generally always runs below 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38-39 degrees Celsius) with normal tasks running, which is pretty cool.
Side things to note:
- This comes with a Norton trial period. Once that is done, please do not purchase it. Instead, make sure Windows Defender is on. It will get the job done.
- "MSI Dragon Gaming Center" can be used to monitor your computer, although the Task Manager is definitely much more handy and recommended. The Dragon one is pretty much for quick stats, such as CPU % usage and fan speed.
I will add to this review over time if new things arise. Overall, this laptop is definitely a good mid-upper level laptop with good performance all-around.
| Standing screen display size | 17.3 Inches |
|---|---|
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixels |
| Memory Speed | 2133 MHz |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M |
| Chipset Brand | Nvidia |
| Card Description | Dedicated |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 2000 MB |
| Wireless Type | 802.11ac |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 2 |
