Product Specification

GE65 Raider 9SF Tech Specs from Official Website
https://au.msi.com/Laptop/GE65-RAIDER-9SX/Specification

Product Unboxing

Package Appearance
The outer packaging is still packed with yellow recycled carton

The inner box is made of black cardboard. Unlike the GT series, there are no lines and patterns on the GE series box

The laptop is protected by a thick and shock-proof foam, and the main body is wrapped by a double-layered suit which has an anti-static layer and a black fabric layer

Product Analysis

Compared to the previous-gen GE63 8SF, 9SF has taken off the RGB L-shaped decorative strip on the A panel, replaced with two I-shaped red-light strips, and changed the red dragon shield in favour of a silver metal onel

The D panel has increased the heat dissipation

The maximum opening angle is about 130°

The 240 Hz B panel has the thin-bezel design, using a full-sized keyboard and a large-sized Key-separation designed touchpad

The RGB Per-key keyboard comes from Steelseries

The 2.2(2x2W Speaker,2x3W Woofer) sound system is still from Dynaudio

The GE63 nameplate sticker

The rear side of the laptop has a GT series like design, which increases the area of the cooling and prints the ‘Raider’ nameplate

The power supply is the 280W ABP-280BB from Delta, the output is 20V, 14A

The laptop overall weight: 2.36KG

The power adapter package overall weight: 1.03KG

I/O Analysis

The laptop front side – the thickness of 27 mm, the three indicators in the middle are wifi, battery, and hard drive

The laptop rear side – The heat sink cover is redesigned and enlarged

The laptop right side – I/O is 2 x USB3.2 Type-A Gen1, a full-size SD (XC/HC) card readers and the power jack

TThe laptop left side – I/O is the Kensington lock port, Killer Gb LAN, an HDMI(4K @ 60Hz), a mini DP, a USB3.2 Type-A Gen2 and headphone + microphone port

Hardware & Software Introduction

HWiNFO64 System details

Aida64 CPU details

Thaiphoon Burner – Memory Details

LAN chip – Killer E2600 Gigabit LAN
WIFI Card – Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650x with Bluetooth v5

SSD – 1TB Samsung PM981
HDD – 1TB Seagate Barracuda

Screen Panel – 15.6″ IGZO Panel, 1080P 240Hz manufactured by Sharp

Run-time Benchmark Test

CPU-Z snapshots

CPU-Z Benchmark – according to the result, there is around 80% performance compared with a desktop version i9-9900K

GPU-Z snapshots

AIDA64 Memory & Cache benchmark

Cinebench R15 Results – Single core & multi-core

Cinebench R20 Results – Single core & multi-core

FURMARK test result

SSD Benchmark – TxBENCH

3DMark Fire Strike Extreme : 9,009

3DMark Fire Strike Ultra : 4,720

Unigine Superposition (Extreme 1080P) : 4,602 | Avg FPS : 34.42

Final Fantasy XV – Benchmark (1080P,HQ pack) : 8,074

Overclocking Test

Since the MSI Dragon Center provides overclocking options, we definitely need to use it. In all tests, fan cooling is selected to Auto mode and Cooler Boost mode if necessary

We also enabled the Ultimate Power Performance setting in Win10

None Overclocking Idle – Fan Auto mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 3,600rpm | CPU package Temp : 59°C | CPU average FQ ≈ 3.1Ghz

None Overclocking – Aida64 Stress FPU – Both Auto and Max cooling, CPU Overheat and throttled
Fan Speed ≈ 5,520rpm | CPU package Temp : 99°C | CPU FQ ≈ 3.6Ghz (Max 23% loss)

In MSI Dragon Center, under Turbo mode, we have maximised all OC settings both on CPU and GPU

Overclocking Idle – CPU Overheat and throttled – Fan Auto mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 4,400rpm | CPU package Temp : 81°C | CPU FQ ≈ 4.3Ghz (Max 7% loss)

Overclocking Idle – Fan Cooler Boost mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 5,500rpm | CPU package Temp : 51°C | CPU FQ ≈ 4.7Ghz

Overclocking – Aida64 Stress FPU – CPU Overheat and throttled – Auto Mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 4,800rpm | CPU package Temp : 99°C | CPU FQ ≈ 3.9Ghz (21% loss)

Overclocking – Aida64 Stress FPU – CPU Overheat and throttled – Fan Cooler Boost mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 5,520rpm | CPU package Temp : 97°C | CPU FQ ≈ 3.7Ghz (Max 22% loss)

PRIME95 Test – CPU Overheat and throttled – Fan Cooler Boost mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 4,485rpm | CPU package Temp : 84°C | CPU FQ ≈ 4.6Ghz (3% loss)

overclocking GPU & CPU – Furmark Normal test – Fan Cooler Boost mode turned on – CPU Overheat and throttled
Fan Speed ≈ 5,600rpm | GPU Max Temp : 72°C | GPU Max Clock ≈ 1.21Ghz | Max Memory Clock ≈ 1.75Ghz | CPU Max Temp : 78°C

3DMARK Test – CPU Overheat and throttled – Fan Cooler Boost mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 5,500rpm | CPU Avg package Temp : 68°C | CPU FQ ≈ 4.7Ghz (Max 16% loss)

UNIGINE Superposition Test – Fan Cooler Boost mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 5,500rpm | CPU Avg package Temp : 65°C | CPU FQ ≈ 2.3Ghz

Overclocking summary
The MSI GE65 Raider 9SF is only average in terms of heat dissipation. Compared with the GT76’s 11 heat pipes and the double-layer 4 fan design, GE65’s 7 heat pipes are a bit weaker, which causes overheating and throttling issues for the CPU and GPU overclocking. Although the Intel i9-9880H has only 45W TDP and running together with an overclocked RTX 2070, the total power consumption close to 160W.

In actual use, Aida64’s single FPU test will lead to overheating issues for your CPU, in some AAA games, the temperature of CPU and GPU will probably remain at 70°C – 75°C. There is no throttling, and during gameplay, it is recommended to turn on the Cooler Boost mode to prevent overheating. However, after ray tracing is turned on, if the DLSS setting is not opened simultaneously, the in-game fps will be extremely low. When we connected a external 4K monitor to test more 2K and 4K games, their in-game fps is around 30 and sometimes will drop below 25. After the DLSS is turned on, the fps is just barely acceptable.

SUMMARY

We really like the overall design of the MSI GE65, which is thinner and packs a punch compared with other brands at a similar level. As a portable gaming device, the GE65 has a powerful and balanced hardware configuration.

For the design, the mould of thin-bezel designed GE75 is feasible to apply on the GE63 directly, but it is unbelievable that the 15-inch thin-bezel design has forced MSI to give up previous heatsink module. However, MSI made the decision to directly cut off the right outlet in order to use the old heatsink mould. Due to the limitation of the laptop body size, the volume of the right fan’s air chamber has been compressed again. Even if the heat-dissipating module on the right side was castrated, the body of the laptop will still be unable to cope with the power interface. Therefore, the power interface and the rest I/O ports on the right side were moved to the front half.

In the heat dissipation design, GE65 uses a ‘7 copper tubes + double fans’ design, but this mould has only a single air outlet on the right side, which is about 25cm² of the specification and a 45W TDP. The part of CPU’s copper tube is actually shared with the graphics card, so as long as the graphics card has a high temperature, this i9 has frequent throttling issues.

In terms of price, AUD$4,599 has a $1,000 higher than the previous generation GS65 Stealth 9SF. It should be noted that the GS65 Stealth 9SF uses the i7-9750H and a Max-Q version RTX 2070 graphics card, and the rest of the hardware is basically similar to GE65 9SF, and the whole machine is lighter and thinner, and the heat dissipation has very good control. Although the performance of GE65 exceeds the GS65 9SF, the cost-performance ratio suffers.

In general, MSI has always been a bridgehead of the laptop field and likes to be the first to innovate, but it is always copied by other manufacturers in the future. Although the laptop has integrated some components from other manufacturers, it also weakened MSI’s brand cohesion. Cohesion is a magic weapon to ensure that a brand has a long-lasting market, and we also believe MSI will continue to improve its brand cohesion and brand image in the future.

EPIC PC RATE SCORE: 82/100

EPIC REWARD: EDITOR’S CHOICE

GE65 Raider 9SF OFFICIAL WEBSITE: HERE

In order to support the powerful performance, GT76 Titan DT 9SG uses MSI’s new generation Cooler Boost Titan cooling system, with 4 sets of turbofans and 11 high-performance cooling ducts designed to bring greater airflow and heat dissipation, which is 2.25 times higher than the traditional dual fan design.

So let’s dig in the details with the following benchmark.

Product Specification

GT76 Titan DT 9SG Tech Specs from Official Website
https://au.msi.com/Laptop/GT76-Titan-9SX/Specification

Product Unboxing

Package Appearance
Like the previous MSI packaging, the GT76 Titan’s packaging has night sky black colour, and the front of the MSI dragon shield has a large red domineering dragon pattern behind it

The back of the package is a multi-angled line avant-garde design of the GT76 Titan laptop, which is very fashionable

The GT76 TITAN’s electroplated red text and red beveled design on the side bring a sense of sharpness

The notebook is protected by the thick and shock-proof foam, and the main body is warped by a double-layered suit which has an anti-static layer and a black fabric layer

Product Analysis

Compared to the similar size GS75 Stealth, the GT76 Titan DT 9SG is more biased towards their Prestige series laptop

Although the rest material is made of plastic, the re-designed side A provides a diffused channel for its thick and prominent rear exhaust pipe. Plus, a cool RGB lighting system around the body is a bonus

RGB strips are distributed at the rear, left, front, right, and keyboard sections

The heat-dissipating part at the back of the laptop mimics the design of supercars, and all the sharp corners act to prevent scratches

The design of the Dragon Shield has been changed from the old red to the silver. This custom shield looks and feels expensive

The keyboard comes from Steelseries. This time, the mechanical keyboard has not been used to reduce the weight and thickness of the whole machine

The RGB brightness of the keyboard is pretty well distributed, and the built-in Fn function key can change the RGB effect directly

The 2.1 sound system is still from Dynaudio

The C panel buttons from left to right are the Cooler Boost button, the on/off switch button and the Dragon Center button

The touchpad is separated by the touch area and buttons, which avoids accidental touch and improves the feel

The GT76 nameplate sticker

The 720p camera on the top of the B cover is next to the built-in directional noise reduction microphone

The power supply is the classic “double-headed dragon”, two 230W A12-230P1A from Chicony with 4pin interface design, these adapters can be replaced by the Delta ADP-230EB T

Power aggregation Adapter, the computer side of this adapter is a special connector, if it is damaged, then it cannot be replaced, the only way is to contact customer service and request a replacement

I/O Analysis

The laptop front side – the thickness of 42 mm is reduced compared to the previous generation, and the bottom side has integrated an RGB light strip

The laptop rear side – The heat sink almost covers the entire rear side and it is the heat dissipation channel of the entire machine

The laptop right side – I/O are the Micro SD card readers, 2 x USB3.2 Type-A Gen2, 1 x USB3.2 Type-C Gen2, 1 x mini DP and 1 x HDMI 2.0 (4K@60Hz)

The laptop left side – I/O are the power jack, Killer 2.5Gb LAN, 1 x Type-C (USB3.2 Gen2 / DP / Thunderbolt™3), 2 x USB3.2 Type-A Gen2, headphone port and microphone port

The laptop overall weight: 4.21KG

The power adapter package overall weight: 2.43KG

Screen Analysis

The screen panel is B173ZAN03.0, 17.3″, 16:9 60Hz 4K IPS IGZO, 100% Adobe RGB, manufactured by AUO

Screen Calibration
Before the calibration, we have tested the MSI TRUEcolour application, but the software remains at the previous version, there is no “Adobe RGB” mode but a Designer mode instead, it’s not quite functional

According to the media update email from MSI, we have installed the latest MSI TRUE COLOR, now it shows the correct model and it’s functional

We are using the Datacolor Spyder 4 Elite for screen calibration, the screen temperature is under 6500K
The Gamut test result, this panel comes in with 100% of sRGB, 98% of AdobeRGB

The Tone Response test result, the two curves almost coincide

The Brightness & Contrast tests result

The OSD tests results

The Screen Uniformity tests result
Colour Uniformity for Brightness from 50% to 100%

Luminance Uniformity for Brightness from 50% to 100%

Colour Accuracy test result, Average ΔE≈0.55

There is almost no difference before and after the colour calibration. The quality of this screen is very good.

Hardware & Software Introduction

BIOS details, the main view

BIOS details, SSD details

BIOS details, Advanced view

BIOS details, Advanced view, Raid details

MSI Desktop Background Picture

Windows 10 Info page

HWiNFO64 System details

Aida64 CPU details

Memory Details

Thaiphoon Burner – Memory Details

LAN chip – Killer E3000 Gigabit LAN
WIFI Card – Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650x with Bluetooth v5

SSD – 2 x 512GB Samsung PM981 Raid-0

Steelseries Engine 3

MSI Nahimic Control Panel

Overclocking Test

Since the MSI Dragon Center provides overclocking options, we definitely need to use it. In all tests, fan cooling is selected to Auto mode and Cooler Boost mode if necessary

We also enabled the Ultimate Power Performance setting in Win10

None Overclocking Idle – Fan Auto mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 3,700rpm | CPU package Temp : 52°C | CPU average FQ ≈ 4.0Ghz

None Overclocking – Aida64 Stress FPU – Both Auto and Max cooling, CPU Overheat and throttled
Fan Speed ≈ 5,580rpm | CPU package Temp : 99°C | CPU FQ ≈ 3.6Ghz (9% loss)

In MSI Dragon Center, under Turbo mode, we have maximised all OC settings both on CPU and GPU

Overclocking Idle – CPU Overheat and throttled – Fan Auto mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 4,200rpm | CPU package Temp : 75°C | CPU FQ ≈ 4.1Ghz (23% loss)

Overclocking Idle – Fan Cooler Boost mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 5,580rpm | CPU package Temp : 63°C | CPU FQ ≈ 4.8Ghz

Overclocking – Aida64 Stress FPU – CPU Overheat and throttled – Auto Mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 4,800rpm | CPU package Temp : 99°C | CPU FQ ≈ 3.9Ghz (21% loss)

Overclocking – Aida64 Stress FPU – CPU Overheat and throttled – Fan Cooler Boost mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 5,530rpm | CPU package Temp : 99°C | CPU FQ ≈ 3.8Ghz (24% loss)

PRIME95 Test – CPU Overheat and throttled – Auto Mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 4,485rpm | CPU package Temp : 85°C | CPU FQ ≈ 4.2Ghz (16% loss)

overclocking GPU & CPU – Furmark 4K Normal test – Fan Cooler Boost mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 5,600rpm | GPU Max Temp : 69°C | GPU Max Clock ≈ 1.72Ghz | Max Memory Clock ≈ 1.70Ghz | CPU Max Temp : 66°C

overclocking GPU & CPU – Furmark 4K + 8xMSAA stress test – Fan Cooler Boost mode turned on
Fan Speed ≈ 5,600rpm | GPU Max Temp : 72°C | GPU Max Clock ≈ 1.89Ghz | Max Memory Clock ≈ 1.75Ghz | CPU Max Temp : 43°C

Overclocking summary
The GT76 TITAN DT 9SG uses a desktop-class CPU, and the desktop CPU generates more heat either from the power supply module or the CPU itself. This requires large-area multi-channel heat pipes plus multiple high-speed turbofans to balance the heat for efficient discharge. luckily, MSI has always been ahead of other brands in thermal design.

Under actual usage, it is difficult to break the power and heat limit. During the test, whether opening a large number of big software or playing AAA games and broadcasting at the same time, the CPU temperature has been very good, and there is no CPU throttling happened.

Run-time Benchmark Test

CPU-Z snapshots

CPU-Z Benchmark – according to the result, there is nearly no difference compared with an i9-9900K on a desktop

GPU-Z snapshots

AIDA64 Memory & Cache benchmark

AIDA64 GPGPU Benchmark

Cinebench R15 Results – Single core & multi-core

Cinebench R20 Results – Single core & multi-core

FURMARK 4K Stress test

SSD Benchmark – AS SSD 10GB tests

SSD Benchmark – TxBENCH

SSD Benchmark – Anvil’s Storage Utilities

SSD Benchmark – Blackmagicdesign DST

PCMark10 Extended Benchmark: 7,979
Results Link: http://www.3dmark.com/pcm10exb/71340

3DMark API Overhead Feature Test :

3DMark Fire Strike : 21,510

3DMark Fire Strike Extreme : 11,628

3DMark Fire Strike Ultra : 6,262

Unigine Superposition (Extreme 4K) : 8,464 | Avg FPS : 63.31

Final Fantasy XV – Benchmark (4K,HQ pack) : 3,126

HALDDEAD2 Bench : 61.28FPS

Workstation Benchmark
VRAY Benchmark

SPECviewperf 13 – The overall results

SPECviewperf 13 – Catia

SPECviewperf 13 – CREO

SPECviewperf 13 – Energy

SPECviewperf 13 – MAYA

SPECviewperf 13 – Medical

SPECviewperf 13 – SNX8

SPECviewperf 13 – Solid works

Thermal and Noise Tests

Test room temperature : 16℃±2℃
CPU Idle temperature : 49℃±2℃
GPU idle temperature : 42℃
AIDA64 Extreme full load stress test CPU&FPU: 99℃
Furmark full load stress test GPU: 76℃

The surface full load temperature :

The surface full load temperature (Back part of the exhausting fence):

The Noise level under Max Cooling mode : Front | around 57 dB

The Noise level under Max Cooling mode : Exhausting fence | around 78 dB

Disassembling analysis

It’s extremely easy to disassemble the backplate

The heat dissipation system uses up to 11 heat pipes and 4 fans (dual-layer design, 2 on top and 2 on bottom), we can see 7 pipes directly from the D panel

The power supply uses a 90Wh eight-cell battery, which requires a single 330W or two 240W adapters. If you choose the i9-9900K, it uses the latter

Battery, 6250mAh manufactured by Getac, 90Wh

Samsung DDR4 2666 2 x 16GB Dual Channel : M471A2K43CB1 – CTD

The flagship design of 3 SSD slots working with superRaid

SSD : Samsung PM981 512GB x 2

WIFI & Bluetooth card : Killer 1650x from Intel(AX200NGW), 2.4G/5G, AX200 2×2 Wi-Fi 6, 1024QAM and 160MHz channels, Bluetooth v5

Sound system: LR+SUB, 2 x 2W midrange units are distributed on the left and right sides, and a 3W woofer is placed next to the touchpad

The GPU chip from Nvidia, N18E-G3-A1 which is the Nvidia TU104 chipset

The LGA CPU socket with INTEL i9-9900K

The LGA CPU socket with power supply module

The INTEL i9-9900K Desktop level CPU

The middle power control board, driven by an STM32F072 microcontroller

The RGB board

The Whole Beast Cooling system of GT76

The Graphics Memory and power supply Heatsink: 2 Pipes

The Graphic chipset Heatsink: 4 Pipes

The CPU chipset and power supply Heatsink : 5 Pipes

Main cooling fans are from AAVID, PABD18525BH, around 5200rpm speed

Supporting Layer 2 twin-pack cooling fans are from AAVID, PABD0A308SH, around 5000rpm speed

Touchpad board

The motherboard front side

The motherboard backside

HDD is Seagate Barracuda Pro 1TB

The disassembled laptop

SUMMARY

The MSI GT76 Titan DT 9SG is a very bold laptop with an overclocked desktop-class Intel i9 processor, equipped with MSI’s new generation cooling system that includes a total of 4 turbine fans and eleven cooling pipes designed to suppress this top-level 8-core 5.0GHz CPU. Supported by the Nvidia RTX 2080 BGA video chip to achieve extreme performance, the GT76 Titan DT 9SG easily matches the performance of a desktop computer.

In terms of design, the body shape is guided by the RGB light to show a sports car style streamline appearance, and the metal texture accompanied by the carbon fiber grain design to make the product aesthetics more in line with a supercar. The RGB full-colour lighting effect makes dazzling light toward the laptop body line, while the narrow frame design reduces the overall size of the body, providing a refreshing gameplay experience for players.

In terms of weight, GT76 Titan DT 9SG is also significantly lower than the previous generation, the laptop weight is about 4.4kg. However, compared to those thinner, but lower-performance gaming laptops, the mobility of GT76 is still not that good.

On the price part, the pricing of AUD$7,399 is indeed a bit high for ordinary users, but compared to the performance and thermal design of other brands, this notebook can be used not only for games, but also for some professional applications and designs.

As a manufacturer of e-sports hardware products, MSI has been deeply involved in the field of gaming hardware and peripherals. The GT76 Titan DT 9SG itself is an achievement of a commitment to research with development spirit and the continuous exploration in the field of e-sports hardware at MSI. In the face of the turbulent gaming laptop market, MSI is more concerned about products, only the quality and reliability of the products themselves will be sustained by consumers. MSI will continue to optimise product performance based on the rapid changes in the gaming market, making it the best choice for players.

EPIC PC RATE SCORE: 87.5/100

EPIC REWARD: EPIC EXTREME POWER, EDITOR’S CHOICE & DESIGN AWARD

GT76 Titan DT 9SG OFFICIAL WEBSITE: HERE

Product Specification

GS65 8RF-212AU uses the latest Intel 8^th Gen i7-8750H processor with a 15.6” Full HD IPS screen, 144Hz refresh rate. Graphics card is Nvidia GTX 1070 Max-Q platform. Memory uses DDR4. In addition, MSI provides a 180W Slim power adapter, which is a good decision.

Product Analysis – A/D Panel
The outer packaging is still the classical MSI style – Laptop case and PSU box

PSU box

The gaming grade laptop usually come with a super-big-and-silly-brick power supply, MSI seems to be the first manufacturer to respond, the size of this power brick is significantly reduced, especially the thick-less design, which will benefit users to carry out more convenient.

The power adapter is 180W, super slim design.

The laptop protector bag has the classic MSI dragon shield logo printed on

On the top case, only with a golden MSI dragon shield Logo but nothing. Very impressive and clean. The material of A panel is full aluminium, very comfortable touch feeling.

All edges are chamfered and with golden anode process.

Side hinges and cooling vents are also adorned with gold

The laptop length is around 360mm, width is around 245mm, full height is around 25mm

There is no I/O at the front of the laptop

The back side of the laptop is full of intake heat sink

The left side of the laptop has a Kensington lock port, the heat outlet tunnel, the Killer ethernet port, 2 x USB 3.0 ports and audio ports.

The right side of the laptop has a USB 3.0 port, a USB Type-C with Thunderbolt 3 output, a mini-dp output, a HDMI output, a charging port and heat outlet tunnel. However, the one important thing that we need to pay attention is the right side I/O design is not really suit for user who using mouse at the right side of the laptop, especially when user is actually using an external monitor and also plug the ac adaptor. The thick and not right-angle designed HDMI cable will be easy to block the mouse movement.

D panel is back of the laptop, nearly half of the area is cooling purposes. There are two anti-slip rubber pads has been implemented at top and bottom. The left and right speakers are DYNAUDIO certified, quality is just average.

Product Analysis – B/C Panel
The super-slim designed bezel is the eyeball catcher, the left and right edges are only 5mm thick, top edge is around 9mm and 30mm of the bottom edge.

The top of B panel also has a build-in HD webcam(30fps@720p) and microphone

The bottom of B panel has printed the MSI logo

The C panel has integrated a full-size SteelSeries RGB backlight keyboard, which has a solid tactile feel.

The power button is located in the middle which has a nice looking golden circle around it.

The heat outlet grid has the same design as the back panel.

The touchpad has the same design as the power button.

The laptop could flip up to 180 degrees horizontal. And the total weight is only 1.88kg (4.1 lbs)

Screen Analysis
We are using Spyder4 Elite professional colorimeter during the evaluation test session. All test results are based on 120nit/6500K colour temperature.

GS65 uses a model ‘B156HAN08.0’ IPS 144Hz and 74% Adobe RGB panel from AUO

After calibration, we can find out the panel is around 74% of Adobe RGB, 69% of NTSC and 96% of sRGB. ΔE≈1.41

Before the calibration

After the calibration

As we mentioned before, GS65 is a gaming grade laptop, so we didn’t test the further panel attributes such as Gray Ramp, Luminance Uniformity for Brightness or White Balance etc.

Flash rate test

We are using the famous UFO test
link: https://www.testufo.com/framerates
the setting is : 3 UFO, black background and 3840 px/s

Performance Testing
Win10 and MSI Dragon Center are pre-installed into the laptop

Turbo Mode is the overclocking function.

The True Color mode is a quick selection for different use perposes

CPU-Z snapshot, Intel latest 8th Gen CPU

GPU-Z shows the graphics card is nVIDIA GTX 1070 MAX-Q, 8GB GDDR5

The pre-installed SSD is Samsung PM981 OEM M.2 NVMe, 512G

Run-time Benchmark Test
3DMark Time Spy : 5205

Time Spy Extreme : 2460

Sky Diver : 35 707

Fire Strike : 14 724

Fire Strike Extreme : 7442

Fire Strike Ultra : 3830

Cinebench R15 Test
OpenGL : 105.6 fps
CPU multi-core : 1133cb
CPU single core : 172cb

Battery Drain Test

We are using 3D benchmark software and a hardcore video to test the battery drain
3D Benchmark: 2 hours 47 minutes.
Hardcore Video: 5 hours 8 minutes.

Thermal and Noise Tests
Test room temperature : 24℃±2℃
CPU Idle temperature : 55℃±4℃
GPU idle temperature : 48℃

AIDA64 Extreme full load stress test CPU&FPU: 91℃
Furmark full load stress test GPU: 80℃

The surface temperature during full load:

The back cover temperature during full load:

Then, we turned on the full fan speed ‘Cooler Boost mode’ via MSI Dragon center,

After max cooling mode has been switched on, CPU temperature has dropped around 10℃ for all cores.

Noise level when system idle: 38.5dB

Noise level when CPU and GPU Full loaded: 46.6dB

Noise level next to exhausting fan: 56.8dB

After switch on the full fan speed ‘Cooler Boost mode’,
From left side to right side, the noise levels are: 71.5dB, 72.4dB, 73.0dB, 74.6dB

Disassembling analysis
We are using the Wowstick electric screwdriver, the back cover is only locked with few of same size screws.

The left fan is from A-power, model: 16Q2-CPU-CW

Battery is 15.2V, 80.25Wh, total of 5280mAh

Some connectors and the ENE KB9028Q Embedded control chip, the upper side is GPU and CPU

Wi-fi Bluetooth card is Intel 9560NGW, AKA: Killer 1550i, it’s a wireless AC standard which using the m.2 PCIe interface, it is a powerful card that integrated Bluetooth 5.0 and the max theoretical networking throughput is up to 1.73Gbps.

Right side is the dual-fan for CPU and GPU, same model as the left one.

After removing all cable, screw, and connectors, the upper side of the motherboard can be taken out.

We can find the m.2 NVMe ssd slot and DDR 4 slots, we can fully put 2 of NVMe SSDs and 2 of DDR 4 SoDIMMs.
After the test, the SSD1 slot can take both M.2 SATA and NVMe SSD, SSD2 slot only support NVMe SSD.
The OEM DDR4 is from Kingston, model: KVR24S17D8/16, which is the low-voltage 1.2V 2400MHz CL17 DDR4
The OEM SSD is from Samsung, model: PM981(970EVO OEM), which is an M.2 NVMe SSD, 3D V-nand flash, 512G, the main controller is PHOENIX (960EVO/PRO is POLARIS), type S4LR020. Speed test is around 3GB/s read, 1.8GB/s write, random r/w IOPs is 270,000/420,000.

Summary
As a new generation of MSI GS series ultra-thin gaming grade laptop, GS65 has various of improvement compared to the previous product. First, the appearance design becomes more introverted and spiritual. The visual impact brought by the super-slim side frame is absolutely beyond our imagination, the 144Hz IPS panel has a huge improvement for the gaming experience, the control of weight and thickness has been extremally reduced. Second, the battery life has increased due to the 80Wh battery, and the full x4 speed, dual-slot of NVMe SSDs and DDR4 memory slots can also be easily upgraded and expanded. Third, the max cooling function cooperated with three turbine fans and heap pipes will effectively control the heat when hardcore gaming or other heavy loading purposes. In addition, the brick-looked power supply has been slimed after the thin treatment. Taken together, GS65 is both a gaming laptop and capable of any occasion outside uses. It’s lightweight and super easy to carry, and a very good and comprehensive laptop.

MSI GS65 8RF-212AU Official Website: https://www.msi.com/Laptop/GS65-Stealth-Thin-8RF