MSI GT73VR Titan GTX 1070 SLI Gaming Laptop Review

Peter Donnell / 8 years ago

Introduction

Getting massive amounts of performance from a desktop system is easy, you just buy the big graphics cards, the big power supply, big coolers, and plug it all in. Trying to get massive amounts of power in a laptop form factor, however, is not so easy. The latest system from MSI is designed for those who need something that’s just as powerful as an enthusiast grade desktop system but has just enough portability to be mobile. While at its heart this is setup in a way to be a powerful gaming system, it’s configuration means it’ll power through workstation tasks, rendering, even scientific applications if you really need to. Of course, all this performance doesn’t come cheap, and you won’t be getting much change from £3000, but do you get good value for money? Let’s take a look!

“MSI is the world’s 1st gaming notebook to have this latest NVIDIA next gen. GPU solution onboard. Performance of NVIDIA’s next generation GeForce® GTX 1080 GPU is expected to improve more than 40% than GeForce® GTX 900M Series. With the innovative Cooler Boost cooling solution and MSI’s special gaming features catered for gamers, the NVIDIA’s latest GeForce® GTX 1080 GPU shall be able to release its full performance completely on MSI gaming laptops. By offering “one click to VR” solution and a totally immersive and smooth gaming experiences, the new MSI gaming laptops is going to shatter desktop performance cliché and amaze gamers with refreshing point of views on MSI gaming laptops.”

Equipped with a powerful Intel CPU, dual Nvidia GTX 1070 graphics cards, dual NVMe M.2 drives in RAID 0, and high-performance DDR4 memory, this beast of a laptop should have no issues with demanding workloads or games. It should look great too, with a 3840 x 2160 display, capable of displaying 100% of the Adobe RGB range, although you can get a 120 Hz 1080p option too.

Windows 10 Home / Windows 10 Pro
Latest 6th Gen. Intel^® Core™ i7 processor
Latest GeForce^® GTX 1070 (SLI)
17.3″ built-in 4K LCD with 3840 X 2160 resolution and 100% Adobe RGB
Exclusive Cooler Boost Titan Technology
The X Boost function from MSI technology supports faster storage access speed.
Dragon Center provides six functions to get a total control of your personal computer
WTFast free premium license for 2-month
Exclusive Super RAID 4 (Dual NVMe M.2 SSDs by PCIe Gen3 X4 in RAID 0)
Thunderbolt™ 3 supporting 40Gbps ultra speed data transfer rate, 4K monitor output, and portable charging power up to 5V/3A (optional)
USB Type-C reversible plug
Easy Overclocking with MSI SHIFT Technology
Exclusive ESS SABRE HiFi DAC for lossless, high-quality audio
Nahimic 2 Sound Technology delivering 360⁰ immersive audio experience
Sound by Dynaudio system
True Color Technology for increased color contrast and greater image detail
Keyboard by Steelseries with full color backlighting
SteelSeries Engine 3 with GameSense to personalize your play style
Exclusive Silver Lining Printed keys
Killer DoubleShot Pro (Killer Gb LAN + Killer 802.11 a/c WiFi) with Smart Teaming
Upgraded Killer Gigabit LAN Controller with Advanced Stream Detect 2.0 and Killer Shield
Xsplit Gamecaster free premium license for 1 year
Matrix Display supporting surround mode and 4K output up to 3 external monitors
Brushed-metal lid and aesthetics line design imprinted with MSI iconic Dragon Tatoo, unleashing the true dragon gaming soul

Packaging and Accessories

The box for the GT73VR Titan is huge, which is to be expected given the 17.3″ laptop housed within. The box is very tough too, which should keep the hardware safe while in transit.

All the features are detailed on the box, although not all are relevant to this model as some features are optional (display type, CPU, HDD configuration, etc.)

In the box, you’ll find the laptop, of course, as well as this rather terrifying looking power adapter configuration. There are two power bricks which are wired together with a Y-splitter, and require two plugs from your mains supply.

Both power bricks then connect into a power hub, which feeds both supplies through a shorter heavy duty power cable that plugs into the laptop… that’s pretty hardcore, and should be your first sign that this system is no joke when it comes to power.