MSI Announces GS65 Stealth: Thin & Lighter 15-Inch Gaming Laptop
by Joe Shields on April 10, 2018 2:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- MSI
- Notebooks
- Core 8th Gen
When most think of gaming laptops large bulky devices with aggressive styling and likely some RGB LED flare setting themselves apart from the pool of monotonous portables. However, for their newest laptop being announced alongside Intel's 8th gen Core processors, MSI has gone in a completely different direction with their GS65 Stealth Thin, offering users a thin clamshell-style laptop along with an elegant black and gold design that doesn’t show its hand as to what is under the hood. The GS65 offers users a 6C/6T 8th generation Intel processor and up to a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q GPU driving its 15.6” 144 Hz panel – all inside of a 4.14 lbs. 0.69-inch thin and stylish package.
MSI’s gaming lineup is distinctive from their other offerings with a black and red theme and the typical ‘bling’ we are used to seeing. The GS65 tones it down quite a bit and gives users a sleek black base color along with gold trim around the frame. The MSI gaming dragon on the lid is also adorned with the gold color. About the only design queues on the outside telling us it is a fit for purpose device may be the vents located on the side and back. The Steel Series keyboard is RGB backlit controlled by their software. Outside of that, it just gives the appearance of a premium ultra-thin portable. The result is a sleek and portable 15-inch laptop that fits within a 14-inch device’s footprint.
Just because it looks like something fit more for a boardroom than a game room, doesn’t mean it's lacking under that exterior. The GS65 uses the 8th generation Intel Core i7-8750 6C/12T CPU with speeds boosting to 4.1 GHz. There are two video card options – either a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5, or GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5, both using the Max-Q technology from NVIDIA. The GPUs drive a 15.6” FHD (1920x1080) TN panel with a 144 Hz refresh rate, 7ms GTG, and 72% NTSC color gamut coverage – the only panel option. System memory ranges from 16 GB DDR4-2400 up to 32 GB with all options in a dual-channel configuration.
For storage and connectivity, the GS65 only offers SSD storage and forgoes any platter based options. SSD options include both SATA and PCIe NVMe based devices ranging from 256 GB to 512GB. There is also a 1TB RAID0 option as well for those who would like ultra-fast storage. On the connectivity side of things, the GS65 includes three USB 3.1 Type-A ports, Thunderbolt 3 Type-C port, HDMI (2.0) and mini-DisplayPort (1.2) along with a mic/headphone combo jack.
Networking functionality on the wired side is handled by the Killer e2500 Gigabit LAN while there is a choice on the wireless side. Users have a choice between the latest Intel 9560 solution supporting 802.11ac 2x2 with speeds up to 1.73 Gbps or a Killer N1550 combo offering the same 802.11ac 2x2 with Wi-Fi speeds also breaking the Gigabit barrier at 1.73 Gbps. All devices support Bluetooth 5.0.
The GS65 Stealth Thin Gaming Laptop starts at $1799 with availability expected later this year.
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin (037/050/051/053/054/068) | |||
Type | Gaming Laptop | ||
Processors | i7-8750H (6C / 12T - 4.1 GHz Turbo) | ||
Maximum Memory | 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 2400 | ||
Network Connectivity | Killer Networks e2500 GbE Killer 1550 802.11ac Dual Band 2x2 Up to 1.73 Gbps, Bluetooth 5.0 Intel 9560 802.11ac Dual Band 2x2 Up to 1.73 Gbps, Bluetooth 5.0 |
||
Internal Storage | SSD | 256 GB SATA M.2 256 GB -512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 (Up to 2 in RAID0) |
|
HDD | N/A | ||
Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 8GB GDDR5 Max-Q NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 Max-Q |
||
Expansion Slots | SD Card reader | ||
Display | 15.6" FHD (1920x1080) TN panel, 140 Hz, 7ms GTG, 72% NTSC | ||
Ports and Connectors | 3 x USB 3.1 (Type-A) 1 x Thunderbolt 3 (Type-C) 1 x HDMI (2.0) 1 x mini-DisplayPort (1.2) 1 x headphone/SPDIF (ESS Sabre HiFi) 1 x Microphone |
||
Input Device | Steelseries RGB Gaming Keyboard | ||
Camera | FHD @ 30 FPS | ||
Power | 82Wh 4-Cell Lithium Ion Polymer 180W Slim AC Adapter |
||
Dimensions (H x W x D) |
14.08" x 9.75" x 0.69" | ||
Weight | 4.14 lbs | ||
Price (Starting) | $1799 |
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18 Comments
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mischlep - Tuesday, April 10, 2018 - link
Title of the table with the product details says "MSI GT63 Stealth Thin (037/050/051/053/054/068)"timecop1818 - Tuesday, April 10, 2018 - link
Another garbage with Killer NIC. Hard pass. There's no fucking way killer shit costs less than intel gbe controller.rpg1966 - Wednesday, April 11, 2018 - link
Not having used any Killer NICs... in what way would a user notice any problems with it, compared to an Intel NIC?DanNeely - Wednesday, April 11, 2018 - link
Killer's initial drivers were extremely buggy and had major stability problems. Between that and the fact that there was never any real world benefit unless you were doing something actively stupid like trying to game while simultaneously maxing out your PCs bandwidth torrenting, Killer NICs gained a toxic reputation. Supposedly their drivers are better now, but excluding sheeple who just see "gaming nic" and open their wallets assuming it'll help them win whatever they're playing no one who cares about system components wants anything to do with them anymore.rpg1966 - Wednesday, April 11, 2018 - link
Cheers. I realise there's essentially no benefit. I just wondered if there was (still) anything negative about them, as stated/implied by the comment I replied to.PeachNCream - Thursday, April 12, 2018 - link
The reason why MSI continues to offer Killer NICs is because of product stratification. Since this is a "gaming" laptop the company has to use premium components that fit its placement among consumer PCs. Although Intel and even Realtek NICs have a better reputation than Rivet Networks' adapters, those companies don't have hardware that gets marketed as premium gaming stuff so MSI turns to the only company available, Rivet Networks. I really don't get why Intel doesn't rebrand some of their existing models and change their NIC software to feature a darker/edgy theme so they can lay claim to the premium gaming network adapter market. That's basically the only thing Rivet's been doing and even they're finally buying Intel wireless cards. The only thing they develop in-house is their packet prioritization software that no one can actually prove offers any meaningful benefit in non-stupid usage situations (or stupid ones for that matter since there's little nothing online that seems to support their claims).sharath.naik - Monday, April 16, 2018 - link
need 1440p at 15.6 inch.Antwon - Saturday, May 12, 2018 - link
I'm from trinidad and tobago...how much would the MSI GS65 stealth thin laptop cost me....I'm interested