MSI’s Gaming Laptop Lineup Gets Makeover with Nvidia Pascal and More

On the heels of Nvidia’s debut of Pascal-based mobile graphics, MSI announced a complete overhaul of its entire gaming lineup, which included the new GTX 1080, 1070 and 1060 GPUs; 120 Hz displays; and thinner, lighter designs.

The lineup names were slightly altered, with “VR” officially added to (you guessed it) VR-ready laptops. At this point, that pertains to most of MSI’s laptop lineup, thanks to the new GPUs. The differences between the new notebooks and the old generation are mostly the choice of graphics.

New Titans On The Block: GT83VR Titan, GT73VR

The new Titans feature 6th generation (Skylake) Intel Core i7 processors (with unlocked options) in addition to GTX 1070 and 1080 configurations. The GT83VR Titan SLI supports SLI (as the name implies) for both of the aforementioned GPUs, but it doesn’t list a single-GPU option on the promotional materials. The GT73VR supports only GTX 1070 SLI, in addition to single-GPU 1080 and 1070 configurations.

The GT83VR Titan SLI features an 18.4-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS display, but disappointingly, it’s not one of the new 120 Hz panels. The edges around the display are narrower than the previous version (the GT80S Titan), and the whole chassis is thinner and lighter than its predecessor. It still features a mechanical SteelSeries keyboard with Cherry MX switches and all the extras (RGB LED backlighting, fan control, overclocking) as the old model. This is the king of MSI’s gaming laptop line.

The GT73VR sports a 17.3-inch display, which comes in three different flavors. It can be a 1920 x 1080 IPS panel, a 1920 x 1080 120 Hz screen, or a 4K (3840 x 2160) IPS display. This model is also slimmed down (thinner and lighter) compared to its predecessor, and although the SteelSeries keyboard isn’t mechanical like the GT83VR’s, it does have a stylish look and RGB LED backlighting.

Dominator Domination: GT72/62VR, GT72VR Tobii

MSI’s dominator lineup received a similar treatment, with notebooks featuring GTX 1080 and 1070 GPUs. The GT72VR models can be equipped with the 120 Hz 1920 x 1080 display, in addition to a standard 1080p IPS display or a 4K panel. However, the GT62VR (15.6-inch model) doesn’t receive the 120 Hz option.

The GT72VR Tobii also received an update, with the same GPU options as the other GT72VR laptops, in addition to the 120 Hz display option. Tobii’s onboard eye-tracking sensor technology adds a considerable premium to the price tag, but it’s good to see MSI updating this laptop along with the rest of the Dominator lineup.

Thin And Light Just Got Thinner And Lighter: GS73VR, GS63VR, GS43VR

The GS-series (otherwise known as the Stealth Pro and Phantom) is MSI’s thin-and-light lineup, which previously was not considered to be all that powerful compared to the horsepower of the Dominator series. This still holds true, but now the GS73VR, GS63VR and GS43VR all come equipped with a GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card.

The increased performance compared the previous generation makes the Stealth and Phantom notebooks VR-ready and more powerful than ever. However, only the GS73VR can feature a 120 Hz display. Both the GS73VR and the GS63VR can be outfitted with a 4K screen, but the GS43VR is limited to only a 1920 x 1080 IPS panel.