MSI Vortex G65VR 6RE GTX 1070 SLI Gaming PC Review

John Williamson / 8 years ago

Final Thoughts

Pricing

Currently, MSI has set an RRP of £2499.99 for the Vortex G65VR 6RE although it is possible to make a slight saving and order the system from the retailer, SaveonLaptops at a discounted price. After speaking to MSI, it seems this particular store is running a promotion at £2339.97 and it’s better to focus on the target price point. Usually, I research the price of individual components to gauge value and accurately outline the cost of a similar self-build. As you might expect, the MSI Vortex G65VR 6RE’s unique form factor means this just isn’t a viable strategy. Therefore, it’s a more sensible option to simply discuss the RRP and relay my overring thoughts.

Personally, I think the price point is warranted because of the incredible attention-to-detail and innovative design. Granted, it’s possible to conjure up a faster system for around half the cost and the product isn’t great if you’re focused on the price to performance ratio. When analysing the system as a whole by admiring the luxury finish, it’s easier understand why the unit costs more than £2000. Don’t get me wrong, this is a niche, extremely expensive system and finding a lower entry price would expand its appeal to a wider audience. However, I think MSI is justified in the current pricing model and selling the Vortex range as a truly unusual, showstopper piece for the user with deep pockets.

Overview

Aesthetically-speaking, the MSI Vortex G65VR 6RE is sublime and appeals to users who prefer a more elegant design philosophy. In particular, the system’s curved shape and sleek silver panels combine to form a really luxurious finish. Also, the embedded RGB lighting adds a more ostentatious touch without being too overbearing. Personally, I absolutely adore how the lighting surrounds the system’s contours and complements the neutral colour scheme. Of course, the product has a distinctive visual design although some argue it’s reminiscent of Apple’s Mac Pro “trashcan”. Honestly, I think this is an unfair comparison because MSI has forged their own innovative creation which greatly benefits from the iconic gaming dragon branding.

The system’s attention-to-detail and astounding level of engineering become apparent once the side panels have been removed. Unbelievably, MSI has managed to include two GTX 1070s and the i7-6700K in an enclosed, portable chassis. The stunning PCB layout and logical positioning of hardware are to be admired and it’s unlike anything I’ve encountered before. Throughout the build, there are tiny touches such as protective foam on the GPU heatsink and additional M.2 padding which demonstrates MSI’s attentive approach. I’d probably describe the MSI Vortex G65VR 6RE as the pinnacle of design and it’s certainly set the bar exceedingly high.

Despite MSI’s best efforts, the product’s cooling apparatus isn’t quite good enough to maintain respectable load temperatures and prevent throttling. During the testing process, the system’s processor consistently scaled back from 4.0GHz to around 3.7-3.9GHz. Thankfully, this doesn’t impact on the performance in a significant way. Saying that, the option to overclock the CPU to 4.4GHz or similar if bizarre considering the default 4.0GHz frequency cannot be tamed. On another note, the cooling system relies on the large internal fan running at a blistering pace which results in a noisy desktop experience. The noise levels are going to become irritating unless you’re wearing a pair of sound isolation headphones. Thankfully, the idle noise output is significantly lower and makes the system a joy to use.

The MSI Vortex G65VR 6RE’s connectivity options are another highlight and support the latest standards including Thunderbolt 3. As a result, it’s possible to connect an external GPU enclosure or hook the system up to an array of high-resolution monitors. There’s also dual Gigabit Ethernet, multiple USB 3.0 ports, HDMI 2.0 and mini DisplayPorts. When it comes to storage, the system’s RAID NVMe array is nothing short of groundbreaking and achieved a read rate well above 3000MB/s. Also, the write rate was incredibly high and showcased the reason why some people invest in NVMe devices. The one caveat I have is, any RAID0 configuration has an increased likelihood of failure and I’d probably sacrifice the performance slightly to enhance reliability. Perhaps, selecting an RAID1 array would be a more suitable solution.

In theory, the product’s SLI configuration is able to cope with the rigorous demands of 4K gaming at extreme visual presets. However, SLI scaling greatly depends on developer support and it’s not uncommon for games to either run worse with two GPUs or have minimal performance benefits. Not only that, modern APIs like DirectX 12 and Vulkan are lacking in support for SLI and the situation doesn’t look like improving anytime soon. When SLI does function correctly, the performance is unbelievable and makes a fluid framerate on a 4K monitor a distinct possibility. Interestingly, the system appears to be held back when running games at 1920×1080 and doesn’t use the hardware to its full potential. Even when SLI doesn’t work, the GTX 1070 can uphold a wonderful user-experience up to 2560×1440. Evidently, the end-user is paying a significant premium to access the untapped potential of two leading Pascal GPUs. Therefore, it’s so frustrating that the current state of SLI is in a shambles and complicates matters. To be perfectly clear, there’s nothing wrong with the MSI Vortex G65VR 6RE’s gaming hardware, it’s just the notion of multi-GPU remains extremely niche and developers seem disinterested in investing time to support this small section of their customer base.

Pros

Elegant styling
Excellent networking hardware
Extremely quiet in idle conditions
Gorgeous RGB lighting
Innovative design
Jaw-dropping level of engineering
Premium packaging
Relatively portable
Superb networking
Supports Thunderbolt 3 and HDMI 2.0
Unbelievable NVMe storage performance
When the games support SLI, the performance is great

Cons

Cooling system struggles to maintain a 4.0GHz turbo frequency
Noise output is substantial under load
SLI support is dreadful in many modern games

“The MSI Vortex G65VR 6RE sports a revolutionary cylindrical design and luxurious finish. Not only that, the astounding build quality and ability to house such a potent specification in a compact build almost defies belief. Sadly, the gaming experience is often let down by the lack of proper SLI support from developers and this is something which you have to take into consideration.”

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