MSI introduced the GS30 Shadow, the company’s newest gaming notebook that packs the latest fourth generation Core i7 processor and a 13.3-inch screen. MSI also introduced a “GamingDock” built for the GS30 Shadow that houses a discrete graphics card. This dock will be released in January 2015, and the laptop is expected to launch in the USA sometime before that.
The laptop include the previously mentioned 13.3-inch anti-glare screen, which has a 2560 x 1440 resolution. There’s the Core i7 processor with Iris Pro graphics (MSI didn’t specify the model number), up to 16 GB of DDR3L memory (up to 1600 MHz), two M.2 SSDs with Super Raid and an HD webcam capable of 30 frames per second at 720p.
The new gaming laptop also includes a backlit keyboard, two USB 3.0 ports, an SD card reader, an HDMI 1.4b port, gigabit Ethernet and Wireless AC and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. There’s also a microphone and headphone jack and a built-in 4-cell Li-ion battery. The laptop weighs 2.86 pounds and measures a super-slim 0.78 inches in height.
“The amazing graphics powered by Intel Iris Pro is designed and targeted to the majority [of] gaming titles and the performance is more than double while compared with previous generation,” the press release said. “With support to DX11.1, OpenCL 1.2, OpenGL 4.0 and enhanced 4k x 2k, the GS30 Shadow sets the new benchmark for gaming notebooks and makes every user gaming everywhere.”
According to the announcement, the GamingDock doesn’t come with a pre-mounted desktop graphics card; that’s for the customer to buy and install. The company didn’t provide specs, but there appears to be a speaker on each side, as well as USB ports. The company also hinted at the possibility that other laptops could use this dock, as well. Presumably, the main connection between the dock and laptop will be through USB 3.0.
At press time, MSI hadn’t provided any pricing info.
