The MSI Creator Z16 Hiroshi Fujiwara Limited Edition is the first collaboration that MSI has done with a fashion designer, but coming in at $4,000 AUD, can this machine perform as well as its price-tag, or will it be relegated to people with deep pockets who are just after the design? please check out the video below! Please ‘like’ and subscribe to my channel, and don’t forget to click the ‘bell’ icon to get the latest video updates.

We have a raffle at the end of the video, please take part, thank you!

So, let’s dig into the detail!

The Package Appearance

Package Front

Package Back

Package Sides

The internal packaging
The black and red colour scheme is still covered in Mayan patterns, complemented by the ROG logo that can be seen everywhere

The design of the opposite door is still the flagship, with the product placed in the middle

The space in the middle of the headset body is made with a monument-like design, on which players are welcomed into the elite community, full of ceremony

The contents of the accessories – includes 2 x D-shape lightweight earmuffs, a 3.5mm detachable microphone, a Type-c extension cable, an instruction manual and a warranty card

The main body of ROG Theta 7.1
The overall design combines the previous flagship ROG Centurion and ROG Delta

Front of the headset with microphone

Two sides of the headset with microphone

The headset weighs 604g, about twice as much as the Delta and 1/3 as much as the Centurion

The Left and right symmetrical design

5-levels Headband expansion arm

The rotating structure of the headset and its extension length

The extra-soft headband inside is a padded foam mesh fabric similar to the ROG Hybrid ear cups, which breaths well

The famous ROG logo on the headband

The headset is complemented by a cooling grid on both sides

At the bottom of the right side of the headset, there is a slider for switching between PC and phone and a 2-in-1 microphone volume potentiometer

On the bottom left side of the headset, there is a separate microphone jack

The D-shape earmuffs have a ROG logo integrated

The ROG logo with RGB translucency design

Software Analysis

Asus has integrated their peripheral controls into the ROG Armoury II software, if users are using an Asus motherboard, they can also use the Armoury Crate directly to control.

The main page of the control panel
Users can utilise this software to adjust almost all functions including Sampling options, EQ adjustment, bass boost, sound selection, virtual surround, channel selection and microphone AI noise reduction options

The RGB settings of the headset can also be adjusted under the Lightning tab

The AURA Sync settings

Disassembling Analysis

The greatest selling point of these headphones is the true 7.1 + separate DAC design. To see what’s inside, we decided to take it apart

The headphone unit part has to be disassembled from the inside of the rotating structure

Snap-in construction of the headset section, locked by a Phillips screw

The headband part

The extra pair of lightweight D-shape earmuffs

The body of the headphones, with the 8 units clearly visible. These are 40mm front units, 30mm centre units, 30mm left and right units and 30mm rear surround units. As all units are independently driven, the subwoofer section could be simulated by an algorithm, meaning that it is also sounded by these units

Remove the headset casing to reveal the motherboard components. The headset is a semi-modular design with relatively neat internal routing

Disassembly of the right half part includes rotating structure, motherboard and housing

Disassembly of the left half part

The motherboard model name and version number

The AURA 82UA0 RGB controller chip

Potentiometers and diverter switches side

The SupremeFX CODECs S1220 conroller chip, Realtek ALC4042H QFN Audio CODEC IC and Wolfson WM8960G stereo audio codec driver chip

ESS Sabre 9601K amps

The Hearing Analysis

Test premise: EPIC PC does not compare the listening experience of PC peripheral headphones with Hi-Fi/Hi-End or Monitor-grade headphones. All comparative terms used in the test are comparisons between PC peripherals.

Compatability
This headset has excellent support and compatibility with the new generation of gaming consoles and mobile devices due to its Type-c interface.

On the Android platform, we tested with the ROG Phone 3. Because they are Asus’ own products, Theta 7.1 can be directly recognised by the ROG Phone 3 and automatically optimised to the game. Although PUBG Mobile does not support a 7.1 soundtrack, in-game footsteps are slightly amplified, making it easy to determine the location of enemies, and the reverberation of gunfire is great in terms of distance and proximity. And in ‘Genshin Impact’, players can enjoy the game’s high-quality music, vocals and effects. Theta 7.1 performs impeccably in both ‘Deemo’ and ‘Cytus II’, as well as ‘Lanota’.

The apple platform lives up to its nobility. To hear quality music on the iPhone with Theta 7.1, we not only need an expensive Hub with a Lightning connector that comes with a chip and has Apple certification, but we also need to purchase Apple’s hi-res lossless music service. With all these front-end items taken care of, we finally got a taste of the quality of these headphones on the iPhone, which actually doesn’t sound much different from the Android platform. Incidentally, the iPad Pro, which comes with a Type-c port, is also directly compatible with this headphone.

Listening experience
The audition tracks include popular male/female voices, rock music, small compilation strings, and large-scale symphonies. All Hi-Res quality 88200Hz 24bit, around 4kbps. This headphone is very well tuned to music, the high frequencies are not sharp and harsh but slightly softer, the sense of transparency is perfect, no EQ adjustment, the mid-range is rich and the resolution is very strong; the low frequencies are simulated but surprisingly thick and layered, good sinking, and no sense of passage and fading. Without EQ on, the vocals are relatively forward and the nasal resonance is very well reproduced; for pop songs, the vocals are slightly overshadowed by the instruments and seem underpowered; in classical music, the beautiful vocal performance in opera is outstanding, especially in the baritone, tenor and florid soprano, and in Mozart’s “der höllerache”(from “die zauberflöte” K. 620 II), Diana Damrau’s florid part brought me goosebumps, very stunning!

On Desktop/Laptop during gaming
To know that the ROG Centurion is already outstanding. Keep in mind that the ROG Centurion was already very good, while the Theta 7.1 upgraded the rear and side speakers to 30mm, but neutered the original 40mm subwoofer and changed it to a virtual approach, making the bass, while present, underpowered by its shorter duration. In the FPS genre, the headset reinforces the weighting of footsteps and players can reinforce their judgement with the ability to adjust the position of the surround points in the software, while the AI noise-cancelled microphone does filter out the noise of keyboard taps to ensure efficient communication between players. This is equally suitable for RTS and MOBA games. In theory, larger units can improve the quality of fine sound, but in games, it actually has very little impact, as the sound is calculated by simulation and is a collaboration between several units, the difference is actually minimal when distributed evenly. To sum up, if you already have a true 7.1 headset like the ROG Centurion or Razer Tiamat, the relative improvement of the Theta 7.1 is considerably limited.

Overall

Overall, Theta 7.1 doesn’t bring a quantum leap in the gaming experience because its predecessor, the ROG Delta, was already quite good and because most current competitive games don’t support 7.1 surround sound. Since Virtual 7.1 was already at the top of its game a few years ago, the upgrade to Theta 7.1’s DAC is only icing on the cake. The relatively heavy weight also reduces the player’s immersion, increases fatigue, and puts pressure on the cervical spine. It also means that Theta 7.1 will not be chosen by true gaming players at all.

When it comes to the price, the AU$549 “price tag” will dissuade the majority of consumers, and perhaps the quality of this extreme material build-up will be perfectly unleashed in a AAA gaming masterpiece. Even though Theta 7.1 has great compatibility and can be used across multiple platforms, it is still a wired product. As the quality of this headset is already top of the line in the PC peripheral world, with luxurious materials, multiple device support, a high price tag and ROG’s faith added, limiting the users to high-end gamers with deep wallets. Asus has rarely innovated in terms of peripherals anymore, will such a ROG series continue to capture the hearts of all gamers or will it gradually fall by the wayside with the brand premium? It’s up to the gamer to choose in the future.

EPIC PC RATE SCORE: 92/100

EPIC REWARD: EPIC DESIGN AWARD, EXTREME POWER AWARD

 
 
 

ASUS ROG THETA 7.1 OFFICIAL WEBSITE: HERE

This time, the Keris mouse focuses on a lightweight design, with no external holes but honeycomb support inside to reduce the weight, and a sensor fitted with a maximum of 16,000 dpi and a 1000Hz polling rate. It also inherits the same interchangeable Micro switch design(push-fit switch sockets) as the Gladius II series, and the interchangeable magnetic side buttons allow for more personalisation of the mouse. The mouse comes with RGB lighting effects and supports Asus AURA Sync. The included cable uses a Type-C connector and the Asus’ own ultra-soft ‘Paracord'(similar to Razer’s SpeedFlex cable).

So, let’s dig into the detail!

Package Appearance
The outside packaging
New mouse features are printed on the back of the packaging

The inside packaging

The mouse, connection cable and the replacement side buttons

Instructions menu, ROG stickers, replacement feet pads and Omron switches

Product Analysis
In terms of size, this mouse is a medium-small, mid-rear bulge setting and is only suitable for right-handed grips, which will take some time to get used to in larger hands

In terms of materials, the mouse has a zoned setting, with a matte finish on the PBT polymer buttons and left/right side grips and a smooth surface on the rest of the mouse

The scroll wheel is made of translucent plastic and the RGB light effect can be projected directly through the wheel

The ROG logo on the back has the same effect and brightness is guaranteed

The mouse feet pads have a novel design, with a triangular design spread over the four corners, the reflective prism is in the middle, the DPI toggle button on the upper left and the pairing button is next to it; the switch on the right is responsible for switching between wireless and Bluetooth modes, at the bottom is the USB receiver storage slot, a very thoughtful design

The front looking – Cable connection with Type-C connector

The back looking

The side-looking
The included side keys have a black translucent design and are magnetically replaceable. But the keys feel very loose in the hand

The interchangeable side keys are available in two colours: grey and pink

The weight of the mouse is 115g with cable, the weight of the mouse itself is only 81g

Software Analysis
The ROG products are now managed by Armoury Crate
Button settings

Performance settings
Users can change the 4 DPIs up to 16000, Polling rate, Button response time and turn Angle snapping on/off

Lightning settings
The mouse supports ASUS AURA SYNC and the brightness can be adjusted here

Calibration settings
This setting allows users to calibrate the lift gap between mouse and mousepad

Power settings
This allows users to monitor the battery level and set up the power saving profile

Firmware update
this allows users to keep the latest firmware of this mouse

Performance Test
The Teflon footpad provides an ultra-smooth feeling, but they are not as comfortable to use as the larger ones, and had it not been for the included set of replacements, we would have thought for a moment that this was the result of Asus saving cost.

We have tested the mouse on the most popular mouse pads: Fine coated pad, aluminium, soft silicone pad, fine fabric cloths thin/thick pad and coarse fabric cloths thin pad.

The tests are based on the mouse’s start, Smoothness, Brake, and Transparency.

Fine coated pad
Start: Medium level on both Static friction and dynamic friction
Smoothness: Very smooth
Brake: Very easy to brake and good positioning accuracy
Transparency: Very good contact, no heightened sense of passage that results in misalignment on the Z-axis

Aluminium pad
Start: Very low level on both Static friction and dynamic friction
Smoothness: Extremely smooth, but the maintenance is relatively difficult. The Teflon feet skates will be frayed quickly by the aluminium surface
Brake: Very easy to brake and good positioning accuracy
Transparency: Very good contact, no heightened sense of passage that results in misalignment on the Z-axis

Soft silicone pad
Start: This textured pad makes the higher static and dynamic friction feeling
Smoothness: Very smooth
Brake: Very easy to brake and good positioning accuracy
Transparency: a relatively thin thickness of the cushion, the material is quite solid and the permeability is good

Fine fabric cloths thin pad
Start: Low static friction and very high dynamic friction
Smoothness: Extremely smooth
Brake: Very easy to brake and good positioning accuracy
Transparency: A thin pad with soft material and good permeability

Fine fabric cloths thick pad
Start: Very low level on both Static friction and dynamic friction
Smoothness: Very smooth
Brake: Easy to brake, positioning is accurate after calibration, the resistance is light. Muscle memory is easier to form and more friendly for novices
Transparency: A thick pad with soft material and good permeability

Coarse fabric cloths thin pad
Start: Very low level on both Static friction and dynamic friction
Smoothness: Extremely smooth
Brake: Easy to brake and relatively accurate positioning
Transparency: A thin pad with soft material and good permeability

This mouse is powered by the PAW3335 optical engine, still one of the mainstream solutions in wireless gaming mouse today, and it also has the ability to compete with Logitech’s HERO 12K. Some may question why the PAW3399 was not used, after all, Logitech’s HERO and Razer’s FOCUS+ series use the PAW3399 as a custom engine with 20,000 ultra-high DPI which is not that particularly practical.

Disassembling Analysis
The backplate is locked with only two screws to reduce weight, under the round rubber plugs on each side

The inside looking of this mouse

The mouse bottom case & inside after decomposition

The main left/right button switch board

Microswitch
The two main buttons are using the ROG Micro Switch which has a 70 million click lifespan with a gold-coated mechanical structure, this micro switch comes in a cool red translucent case with the ROG logo on it. The sound is crisp and clean with a clear sense of passage and great feedback from the switch bounce.

The interchangeable design

The complimentary interchangeable microswitch from Omron

The mainboard with side button micro switches
The 2 blue-dots microswitches used by the side buttons are from Kailh, the model is ‘CMI126603D09’ with 30 million click lifespan and 60 ± 15 gf operation force

The roller encoder comes from Kailh’s 12mm series (CEN981212R01), 10-25 gf.cm, 800,000 lifecycles

The roller

The sensor is PAW3335 from PixArt, which has 16000 cpi, 400 IPS and 40 G acceleration speed

The ultra-low-power microcontroller chip STM32L412 from STI

The CC2640 SimpleLink Bluetooth Wireless MCU from Texas Instruments

Usability Analysis
To test the line correction, frame loss, and smoothness, we are using the mouse test from Areson

This mouse without line correction function enabled

This mouse with line correction function enabled

The Frame loss control and the smoothness control are also quite good

Enotus Mouse Test

Finally, we are using the powerful MouseTester v1.5
By using its powerful plot function, we are tested several mouse performances

xCounts vs Time
While the average line is smoother, which means it’s more linear on the mouse track movement; while the points of the counts are much closer to the line, which means the jitter of the engine is lower. As the graph shows, the result of this performance is acceptable in different CPIs

1600 cpi is under a normal use level, jitter is not large and relatively stable

800 cpi, jitter is low

800 cpi, jitter is low

1600 cpi, jitter is a little bit unstable

3200 cpi, jitter is average

6400 cpi, jitter is under control

12800 cpi, jitter is surprisingly under control

16000 cpi, jitter is still under control

X vs Y
This function is to detect mouse frame loss, As the graph shows, the result of this performance is good

xyVelocity vs Time
The unit of velocity is m/s. This test is mainly to look at the acceleration of the mouse. As the graph shows, the point of ROG Aeris is better for curve fitting, which means the jumped-like rapid acceleration rarely appears, The line of fit is coherent and also has a dense distribution

If there is a good device that allows the mouse to move at a constant speed, in this case, the speed line is straight, if the engine has acceleration, it will fluctuate, so this is the most ideal test method. The result of this performance is quite good

Summary
As a mid-sized wireless gaming mouse, the Keris Wireless is more suitable for FPS design type games. The lightweight design and excellent hardware quality bring players a very smooth and comfortable experience, and the interchangeable micro-action design can meet the different needs of users. The Bluetooth and wireless connections are responsive and stable, and the battery life, while slightly lower than the official claims, is still reasonable.

Pricing is a little on the expensive side for a mid-sized mouse at AU$139 – after all, the Glorious Model O Wireless is only AU$129 in Australia at 69g – and gamers may prefer to spend a little more on a larger, two-handed mouse like the Logitech G Pro wireless or Razer Viper Ultimate.

In terms of overall quality, the Keris wireless has improved the internal structure of the buttons to avoid the springing sound caused by reverse vibration, removed the non-slip rubber pads like the Gladius II which were very prone to ageing and breaking on the left and right sides, and replaced them with a frosted PBT design to reduce the likelihood of oiling. These details really bring this mouse to the next level of quality.

For a more detailed hands-on experience with this mouse, check out our review video below

EPIC PC RATE SCORE: 91.5/100

EPIC REWARD: EPIC DESIGN AWARD

ASUS ROG AERIS WIRELESS GAMING MOUSE OFFICIAL WEBSITE: HERE

We’ve got the latest wireless gaming mouse — The ROG Keris from Asus, what new features does this mouse bring to the table? Let’s check out the video below! Please ‘like’ and subscribe to my channel, and don’t forget to click the ‘bell’ icon to get the latest video updates.

The new 30 Series laptop graphics cards abandon the naming convention of the previous generation, dropping the Max-Q or Max-P logos and unifying them as Laptop versions. New features are integrated into the ‘3rd Gen Max-Q Technology’. The test product we got comes with Nvidia’s latest RTX3080 laptop version with up to 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM, 6GB more than the desktop version, and the new technologies that come with the new generation of graphics cards are as follows:

The new Resizable Bar
It is a standardised PCIe interface technology that can be found on many of the latest CPU and motherboard platforms, according to Nvidia. As you navigate the world of a game, GP video memory (VRAM) is constantly transferring the textures, shaders and geometry of the world with many small CPU to GPU transfers. As modern gaming resources become increasingly large, this can lead to a large number of transfers. With the help of Resizable BAR, the system can thus request resources on-demand and holistically transfers, so that the CPU can efficiently access the entire frame cache. Also, if there are multiple requests, the transfers can be performed simultaneously rather than sequentially. This technique can improve the performance of some games by up to 10%.

The new Dynamic Boost 2.0
This is a dynamic power balancing technology driven by AI. Unlike desktops, gaming laptops usually use a power adapter of around 120W-280W for portability, and this includes powering other components such as the display, SSD etc, so there is a total cap on the amount of power allocated to the CPU and GPU. When an application or a game is very GPU-intensive, the power consumption is called from the CPU to prioritise the supply to the GPU so that it can work at maximum performance. The new Dynamic Boost 2.0 adds a way to shift power consumption from the GPU to the CPU and even to the graphics memory, which is available on MSI GE76 with Nvidia’s RTX3080 laptop version, where the Intel Core i9-10980HK is designed for 45W TDP and the RTX3080 laptop version is 150W maximum, which means that with Dynamic Boost 2.0 technology, it is more flexible in its power deployment, and when the user needs a higher graphics resources, this technology will dynamically increase the power consumption of the graphics card to meet the demand.

The new DLSS AI Acceleration & Ray Tracing
Nvidia introduced DLSS, a technology that improves images through artificial intelligence. This algorithm is usually based on some kind of logical computational model, and the finer the results needed the more arithmetic power is naturally required, thus consuming more GPU resources. DLSS, on the other hand, generates images through a dedicated Tensor Core’s deep learning method that does not take up screen processing resources and supports real-time processing of deep learning models. And on laptops equipped with the Nvidia RTX3080 laptop version, it brings up to 2x performance increase at the same power consumption and support for VR. Besides, the new version of DLSS offers dynamic resolution support. If the game’s rendering engine supports the dynamic resolution, DLSS can be used to perform the advanced operations required to display the resolution, with the input buffer changing size from frame to frame while the output size remains the same. Also, the new Ampere architecture brings a new generation of Ray Tracing combined with DLSS technology that allows games and applications to achieve ideal results while optimising resource usage and getting the most out of every watt of power consumed.

With a huge wave of shortages due to lack of productivity, the Nvidia RTX3080 is extremely hard to buy. However, with the new laptop version released, users have another option to choose from. So what can we expect from the MSI GE76 with the new generation of 30 series graphics cards?

So let’s dig in the details.

Product Specification

MSI GE76 RAIDER Tech Specs from Official Website
https://au.msi.com/Laptop/GE76-Raider-10UX/Specification

Product Unboxing

Package Appearance
The outer packaging is the MSI classic black background with their logo

On the top of the box is the slogan of MSI “True Gaming”

Opening the package we can see the laptop is wrapped with a thick foam protection

Underneath the laptop is a plastic bag with the user manual and warranty card etc.

The AC adapter has an output of 20V 14A, total of 280W and manufactured by Chicony

The power header has a special flat design

The weight of the AC adapter is 1.06KG plus the power cable

Product Analysis

the main body is warped by a double-layered suit which has an anti-static layer and a black fabric layer

The main look of GE76 Raider

The D-panel has large cooling openings, allowing a direct view of the internal fan structure

The rear end is integrated with a wealth of IOs in a very popular sports car streamline design, which is very stylish and technologically advanced

The chamfered corners are slightly rounded and without sharp edges

The thin-bezel design

Steelseries has redesigned the structure of this keyboard, shortening the switch distance, reducing key effort and strengthening the keycap support structure. The touch is easier to trigger than before and the rebound is crisp, making it difficult to press by mistake

The Keyboard per-key backlight and the stylish RGB edge bar

The benefits badge

The 10th Gen Intel and Nvidia RTX Logo badges

The 2.1 configuration from Dynaudio provides very good acoustics, and the 2W Woofer adds to the richness of the bass

The 1080p FHD camera on the top of the B cover is next to the built-in directional noise reduction microphone

The laptop front side – Smooth design without any indicator. The entire RGB light bar occupies the whole front section

MSI has brought back the Rich IO design in this generation of the GE76, which means that MSI is listening to user feedback and making positive changes to the design. The IOs allocation on the back is thicker display and power cable connectors, which is much more convenient for the user and effectively avoids the thick cables that difficult to bend being allocated to the left and right sides and blocking the hands.

The laptop rear side – Symmetrical design with a large-sized opening area
1 x mDP v1.4, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 with DP1.4, 1 x 2.5Gb Ethernet port, 1 x HDMI (supports 4K @ 60Hz), Power jack

The laptop left side – Kensington lock port, Battery/charge indicator, 1 x Type-A 3.2 Gen2, 1 x Type-C 3.2 Gen2x2, 1 x Audio Combo port, 1W side speaker

The laptop right side – 2 x Type-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1 x SDXC reader (v5.0), 1W side speaker

The opening angle of this laptop is 120 degree

The laptop weight: 3.0KG, around 4.0KG total with AC adapter and power cable

Screen Calibration
MSI GE76 Raider is using a high-end 4K UHD D 60Hz IPS-Level, 100% DCI-P3 (259ppi) Anti-Glare Wide View Angle panel, manufactured by AUO, model no. B173ZAN03.3(AUOA988)

Before the calibration, we have to use the MSI True colour software to adjust the screen colour and measure the brightness

Calibration result: Average △E≈0.13, Maximum △E≈1.88, RMS 0.30
After the calibration, we have a 151.7% of sRGB, 104.5% of Adobe RGB and 107.5% of DCI P3 coverage

Calibration Curves

Gamut

Tone Response Curves

Software & Hardware Introduction

The Steelseries control panel
Main Menu

Keyboard RGB and function setup

The Steelseries Aurora RGB bar setup

The MSI “LIGHT ‘EM UP” wallpaper

HWiNFO64 System detail – Intel 10th gen i9-10980HK with Nvidia RTX3080 Laptop version

HwINFO Network detail
MSI uses Intel’s world’s first WiFi 6E enabled M.2 wireless card in GE76 Raider. This M.2 wireless card still uses the popular 2230 type and supports both 802.11ac and 802.11ax protocols.

The biggest upgrade to the AX210 over the AX201 is support for the WiFi 6E standard, which is mandated by the FCC to allow WiFi 6E devices to operate in the 6GHz band, not just the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. This gives users a huge broadband and speed boost, increasing the number of bands available for WiFi by almost five times, with up to 1200MHz bandwidth channels available.

WIFI Card – Intel Wifi6E AX210 with Bluetooth v5.2

LAN Card – Intel Killer E3100X 2.5Gb LAN

CPU-Z snapshots

MSI has gone crazy and equipped this laptop with 64G(2x32G) DDR4 3200 So-DIMM memory

HwINFO Memory detail

GPU-Z Snapshots
GPU-Z was not up to date at the time of our testing and was still at version 2.36 as of November 2020 and could not read all the information from the RTX 3080 laptop

The latest version of HwINFO reads this new 30-series laptop card very smoothly

HwINFO SSD Detail
2TB Samsung PM981 PCIe Gen3 SSD

HwINFO Battery Detail

Run-time Benchmark Test

Before the benchmark, we have changed the power plan to the ‘Ultimate Power Performance’ in Win10. All tests are based on the ‘Extreme performance’ mode in the settings of MSI Dragon Centre

Nvidia has released the latest graphics driver ver 461.40

Cinebench R15 Single & Multicore

Cinebench R20 Single & Multicore

Cinebench R23 Single & Multicore

PCMark10 | 6,207

3DMARK – Port Royal | 7,935

3DMARK – Time Spy | 11,933

3DMARK – Time Spy Extreme | 6,060

3DMARK – Fire Strike | 23,145

3DMARK – Fire Strike Extreme | 14,846

3DMARK – Fire Strike Ultra | 8,382

3DMARK – DirectX Raytracing feature test | 19.30 Average FPS

3DMARK – VRS: Tier 2 | OFF: 80.19 FPS, ON: 132.94 FPS

3DMARK – DLSS v2 | OFF: 36.09 FPS, ON: 83.93 FPS

AIDA64 CACHE

AIDA64 GPGPU

FURMARK 4K ｜ 69 Average FPS

CPU-Z Benchmark

BLENDER BMW27 & Classroom

7ZIP 128MB Dictionary Size

X264 Benchmark

TxBENCH SSD Benchmark

Gaming Benchmarks
Final Fantasy XV | High-Quality @ 4K | 5,695

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided | Ultra @ 4K | 46 FPS Average

GTAV | Very High @ 4K | 4 x MSAA + TXAA | 60 FPS Average

GTAV | Very High @ 4K | 8 x MSAA | 41 FPS Average

The Witcher 3 | Ultra @ 4K | 55 FPS Average

CS:GO | Ultra @ 4K | 178 FPS Average

Cyberpunk 2077 4K Settings

Cyberpunk 2077 4K + DLSS Ultra Performance | 47-58 FPS Average

Genshin Impact Very High @ 4K | 61 FPS Average

Thermal Tests

We are pressure testing this laptop by using AIDA64 and FURMARK.

Test room temperature: 26℃±2℃
CPU Idle temperature: 51℃±2℃
GPU idle temperature: 50℃±2℃

With Auto FAN profile and non-OC settings:
Under AIDA64 Single FPU pressure test, this Intel i9-10850HK is partial throttling down @ 3.72GHz
The CPU package temperature is around 77℃±20℃

Under AIDA64 Single CPU pressure test, the Intel i9-10850HK is running normally @ 4.27GHz
The CPU package temperature is around 80℃±6℃

Under AIDA64 CPU + Memory & Furmark GPU pressure test, the Intel i9-10850HK is partial throttling down @ 3.91GHz
The CPU package temperature is around 83℃±13℃
The GPU temperature is around 76℃

With Cooler Boost FAN profile and non-OC settings:
Under AIDA64 Single FPU pressure test, this Intel i9-10850HK is partial throttling down @ 3.73GHz
The CPU package temperature is around 81℃±16℃

Under AIDA64 Single CPU pressure test, the Intel i9-10850HK is running normally @ 4.27GHz
The CPU package temperature is around 76℃±3℃

Under AIDA64 CPU + Memory & Furmark GPU pressure test, the Intel i9-10850HK is partial throttling down @ 4.04GHz
The CPU package temperature is around 88℃±7℃
The GPU temperature is around 75℃

The temperature control of this laptop is extremely good, knowing that the heat generated by the i9 is huge, MSI’s Cooler Boost 5 cooling system this time has a 6 wide heatpipe design with a pair of large-sized fans. Running daily games and slightly more stressful software is no problem at all. When running AAA gaming such as Cyberpunk 2077 with full effects + Ray Tracing, the CPU usage is only about 67% and the video memory usage is 7.7G. The cooling pressure is completely suppressed, but the fan noise is on the loud side.

Overclock test
Test room temperature: 26℃±2℃
CPU Idle temperature: 51℃±2℃
GPU idle temperature: 41℃±2℃

With Cooler Boost FAN profile and Full OC settings:

This i9-10980HK has a lot of overclocking potential, but in practice, the CPU overheated so badly that we gave up on CPU overclocking and moved on to the GPU. We found that this laptop version of the 3080 actually had overclocking potential, but based on the fact that the power consumption was only 150W and there was no way to modify it, we managed to pull up 50MHz extra on both Core Clock and Memory Clock using MSI Afterburner.

3DMARK Time Spy OC | 12,240 +2.5%

3DMARK Time Spy Extreme OC | 6,200 +2.3%

The maximum GPU Core clock is around 1995Mhz and Memory clock is around 1817.7Mhz during the OC benchmark

Under AIDA64 Single FPU pressure test, this Intel i9-10850HK is partial throttling down @ 3.75GHz
The CPU package temperature is around 88℃±7℃

Under AIDA64 Single CPU pressure test, the Intel i9-10850HK is running normally @ 4.27GHz
The CPU package temperature is around 68℃±6℃

Under AIDA64 CPU + Memory & Furmark GPU pressure test, the Intel i9-10850HK is running normally @ 4.12GHz
The CPU package temperature is around 87℃±2℃
The GPU temperature is around 74℃

The thermal snapshots under the MAX pressure test(AIDA64 + Furmark)
Front – Top of the C panel | It’s around 41.6℃ on the side of the right vent and 40℃ on the middle of the keyboard

Bottom – D panel | It’s around 35.8℃ crossing the CPU and GPU between the two exhausting fans and around 46-47℃ around the fans

Rear – Left and Right vent temperature | It’s around 60℃ on both sides of the vents

Sides – Left and Right vent temperature | It’s around 60℃ on both sides of the vents

Under Cooler Boost mode, the noise level is around 59.5dBA

Overall, both the i9 and 3080 laptop have some overclocking potential, but due to power consumption and cooling limitations, there is not particularly much room for overclocking and the overall improvement is limited. Also, the cooling performance of this laptop is very impressive. MSI’s Laptop cooling system has always been an industry leader, from their GS series to GT top gaming series both use the ‘Cooler Boost’ cooling system. In this GE76 Raider, the Cooler Boost 5 can almost perfectly suppress the i9-10980HK and 3080 laptop chip. The Nvidia’s DYNAMIC BOOST v2 playing a key role in dynamically adjusting power consumption to keep the combined CPU and GPU heat generation well under control, with WHISPERMODE v2 technology, along with MSI Dragon Centre for intelligent control of fans to further heat dissipation management and reduce the potential time wasted by users on managing PC temperatures.

Disassembling analysis

The back panel with its large number of cooling holes is easy to remove, just remove all the screws on the back

The main inside look
The intuitive design makes it extremely easy to upgrade, just disconnect the battery and handle a few screws to easily add a hard drive and replace the memory

The D-Panel front and back

The C-Panel inside look

Dynaudio Tech 2W Speakers left and right

The Touchpad inside look, the controller is using S910ZB from Synaptics

Battery, 6578mAh manufactured by Getac, 4-cell 99.99Wh

The powerful 6 heat-Pipes ‘Cooler Boost 5’ heatsink
The exhausting fans are PABD1A010SHL(DC 12V 0.6A) and PABD1A010SHR(DC 12V 0.6A) manufactured by Aavid Thermalloy

The Motherboard front and back main look

The M.2 SSD Slots, both support NVMe and SATA SSDs

The Intel i9-10850HK CPU

The GPU chip from Nvidia, GN20-E7-A1 which is the Nvidia RTX 3080 Laptop with 16GB GDDR6, based on GA104 die

The PCH chip

The STM32F072 Mainstream Arm Cortex-M0 USB line MCU from STMicroelectronics

The ENE KB9028G Keyboard controller IC

The ALC298 Audio chip and ALC1306 Amp chips from Realtek

The ASMedia ASM3242 USB 3.2 2×2 Controller

The NCP81215P 4+2+1 Phase Controller for CPU power supply by ON Semiconductor

The TUSB46 USB Type-C DisplayPort ALT Mode 10-Gbps Linear Redriver Crosspoint Switch by Texas Instruments

The Intel Killer LAN E3100X controller chip

The additional card reader & 2 x USB Type-A expansion board

The Realtek 525QS Card reader controller chip

The additional card reader & 2 x USB Type-A expansion board

The ribbon cable for connecting expansion board and motherboard

SSD: 2TB Samsung PM981 NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen3 x 4)

Samsung DDR4 3200 2 x 32GB: M471A4G43AB1 – CWE

WIFI & Bluetooth card: Intel AX210NGW, Wifi6E 2.4G/5G/6G, 160MHz channels, Bluetooth v5.2

SUMMARY

The GE76 Raider is currently in the top tier of gaming Laptops that can run smoothly at very high frame rates for even the most demanding games.

Configuration-wise, since the flagship 11th generation i9 CPU is not available yet, MSI has chosen to use 10th generation i9-10980HK with 64GB of DDR4 and a 2TB NVMe SSD, Nvidia’s latest 3080 Laptop graphics card, a Steelseries keyboard and Dynaudio speakers, this is a top-of-the-line configuration that is rarely found on a non-workstation laptop today. One of the biggest highlights of the Laptop is the wide range of ports, with full-sized HDMI, 2.5Gb LAN port, MiniDP, SD card reader and up to 5 USB ports turning the Laptop into an ace productivity tool. The FHD camera also gives a quantum leap forward in chat and video conferencing. Nvidia brings us more than just a simple port this time, with the new Max-Q technology bringing the benefits of AI deep learning to get the most out of every bit of power. The simple yet cool body design also gives ample freedom to upgrade configurations, with only the back cover opening up to replace or add hard drives and memory, making upgrades much easier.

On the downside, fan noise is a real issue, but who doesn’t have a decent gaming headset? Weight may also be an issue, but to be thin and light you have to sacrifice some performance, configuration and cooling, and the GE76 Raider is not positioned to be thin and light, so please don’t complain about its weight. Price-wise, at $7,199 it really isn’t for the average user’s wallet, and since it’s positioned at the top end, there will be people who will buy it. Such a Laptop can satisfy the top gamers’ request for portability, but it can also be used as a high-end productivity tool, whether it’s 3D modelling, music photo video post-production, or deep learning, the i9 with 3080 Laptop plus a huge 64G of RAM can easily handle it all. It’s truly a machine in your hand, and there’s nothing else you could ask for. Besides, there are other more cost-effective versions of GE76 series, such as i7 with RTX 3060 laptop version is only starting from $3499.

EPIC PC RATE SCORE: 95.5/100

EPIC REWARD: EPIC RECOMMENDED, DESIGN AWARD, EPIC EXTREME POWER

MSI GE76 RAIDER OFFICIAL WEBSITE: HERE

As the originator of RGB memory, G.SKILL officially launched the Trident Z Royal DDR4 memory, with a newly designed crystalline light bar, high-quality plated mirror vest, while retaining the great performance of their existing RAM. There are two colours; royal gold and armor silver. It is available in 3000MHz, 3200MHz, 3600MHz, 4000MHz, 4266MHz, 4400MHz and 4600MHz with lifetime warranty services.

The 2 sets we received are both 3200MHz, 16-18-18-38, 1.35v, 8G x 2, Silver & Gold.

In each package, G.SKILL kindly provides a micro fiber cloth for cleaning the mirror-glass metal panel to prevent the fingerprints

Each package contains 2 sticks

The top & bottom view

A close up of the memory stick

There are two different colours available, silver and gold

Product Analysis
The Benchmark details:
CPU | INTEL i9-9900K ◎ CORSAIR H105(2 x COUGAR VORTEX PWM 120)
RAM | G.SKILL TRIDENT Z ROYAL DDR4 C16 16GB KIT (SILVER & GOLD)
MTB | ASUS ROG MAXIMUS XI Gene
GRA | NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX1080
SSD | SAMSUNG 970 EVO 240G
PSU | SEASONIC 850W PRIME 80+ Platinum
TBC | STREACOM BC1 Silver

The look of the RAM on a motherboard

The AIDA64 Memory page

The Thaiphoon Burner memory read page
The Thaiphoon Burner shows this memory is using a good quality M-Die chip from Hynix

Performance Test
The AIDA64 cache benchmark result without XMP, 2142Mhz 15-15-15-36 @ 1.2V

The AIDA64 cache benchmark result with XMP, 3200Mhz 16-18-18-38 @ 1.35V

The AIDA64 cache benchmark result with OC setting, 3400Mhz 15-17-17-37 @ 1.35V

The AIDA64 cache benchmark result with OC setting, 3600Mhz 16-18-18-38 @ 1.35V

According to the M-die quality, we could easily overclock this memory to 3600Mhz 16-18-18-38 @ 1.35V without a voltage increase and latency change, the result of the enhancement is obvious

READ        |32609      OC3600|51107         |+36.2%
WRITE      |31232       OC3600|51935        |+39.9%
COPY         |29916       OC3600|45862       |+34.8%
LATENCY |58.8ns      OC3600|48.5ns      |+21.2%

The Appearance
G.skill made a lot of effort in this memory design

The Top view of RGB on the RAM

The side view of the RGB on the RAM

Overall
There is no doubt that the G.SKILL Trident Z Royal has almost no opponents in RGB design and the patented crystalline light bar shows an innovative take on this RGB dominance. Obviously, in the future, the Trident Z Royal will be the best memory to inherit the “RGB lighting design”. However, according to G.SKILL’s previous pricing strategy, the pricing of this memory stick will not be very cost-effective.

EPIC PC RATE SCORE: 96/100

EPIC REWARD: EDITOR’S CHOICE & DESIGN AWARD

G.SKILL TRIDENT Z ROYAL OFFICIAL WEBSITE: https://www.gskill.com/en/finder?cat=31&series=3512

The industry-leading ESS 9218 Quad-DAC uses ESS Sabre silicon capable of pumping out high-definition clear sound at up to 32 bits and 384kHz. The 4 DAC chips, which have been widely implemented into latest HI-FI mobile devices, have different divisions of labour and have an impressive 130dB SNR after integration.

The Package Appearance

Package Front

Package Back

Package Sides

Package bottom

Opening the box – The packaging is an engineering sample. The inside package is extremely simple and the plastic mould has a rough texture. It’s hard to imagine this is a flagship product that will sell well over $500

The headset main body and the accessories box

The contents of the accessories box – includes 2 x D-shape lightweight earmuffs, a USB type-C to USB type-A cable, and a 3.5mm detachable microphone. Compared with the previous gaming flagship headsets, the ROG Centurion and Fusion 500/700, the accessories for the ROG Delta leave a lot to be desired. Hopefully, this is just the packaging of the engineering sample, not the final retail packaging

The main body of ROG DELTA
The design adopts the principle of simplicity and supremacy, and there are barely any buttons on the outside

The ROG DELTA is the first to adopt the RGB ring on the headset, it supports ASUS AURA and the light also can be manually turned off, whether you are playing games or walking in the street, you can show off your unique personal style. In order to ensure that the lighting circuit does not interfere with the audio circuit, the main board of the headset uses a 4-layer PCB design, and the two layers in the middle are connected to the ground, then the lighting circuit and the audio circuit are respectively located on the upper and lower sides of the circuit board, this, in turn, helps isolate the electromagnetic interference generated by the lighting circuit

5-levels Headband expansion arm

The famous ROG logo on the headband

The left and right signs are printed on the inside of the universal joint. The exposed screw holes affect the overall appearance of the headset

The headset has an ‘extraordinary’ clamping force – it’s around 550 grams pressure

The D-shape earmuffs have a ROG logo integrated

Unfortunately, we are not authorised to disassemble this headset, so we are unable to know the exact model of these driver units. However, we are judging from its appearance, it looks like the same 50mm units used in the ASUS’s Fusion series

The extra pair of lightweight D-shape earmuffs

The button of lightning on/off and the volume control rocker

The microphone 3.5mm port, the microphone can be bent and shaped as you wish

The USB Type-C Female to Type-A Male

The USB Type-C connection supports most mobile phones and tablets

The RGB lightning appearance

The latest version of AURA Peripheral software will support this headset

The Hearing Analysis

Music
The audition tracks include popular male/female voices, rock music, small compilation strings, and large-scale symphonies. All Hi-Res quality 88200Hz 24bit, around 4kbps. Basically, most of the music genres are used to measure the high frequency, low frequency, vocal, analytical, sound field, positioning and resolution of the headphones.

On iPhone (via an adapter from Lightning to USB-C Female)
Emmm…IT DOESN’T WORK

On Razer Phone (and other Android phones/tablets)
USB Type-C with the enabled DAC brings a full range of upgrades when connecting directly to the phone comparing to the 3.5mm line (via Type-C to 3.5mm adapter). The voice is warmer and has a bit of emotion, but the headset still creates a decent amount of soundstage. Although the sound field is not very wide, the surrounding effect feels very good. The low frequency is not enough, and the rebound is still somewhat dragged, but the texture is quite good and tight. The analysis actually meets the price level, and all the details can be expressed. The high frequency is slightly darker, which affects the performance of violins. Classical style music also did not perform well due to the slightly darker sound.

On Desktop/Laptop during gaming
Headset performs better during gaming sessions on the desktop/laptop. When the DAC function is turned on, the real power of the headset will be activated. The sensitivity of the headset is increased in a geometric form. When playing an FPS game, the headset will lead you to perform a very precise spherical positioning in both footsteps and gunshots. In the ACT games, the magic effects sounds can also be linearly presented. The layering of the fireball descends from the sky, the crushed ice and the wind and flame are extremely three-dimensional. This headset will allow players to immerse themselves in the game.

Overall
In general, this ROG DELTA headset has removed a lot of unnecessary outside hardware equipment compared to the previous flagship. The Type-C interface can support more devices across platforms and also bring more convenience to mobile gamers. Although the price of this headset is extremely high, and the ROG’s style flair has been tamed, the powerful performance and moderate appearance make the headset not hard-core, but something you can use outside of gaming sessions and with much more versatility.

EPIC PC RATE SCORE: 93.5/100

ASUS ROG DELTA OFFICIAL WEBSITE: N/A

Lian-li has released their RGB extension kit on Computex 2018. The ‘Strimer’ kit that everyone can purchase is the 24pin PWR extension kit only, it includes the extension cable and the transparent RGB LED tube add-on kit. The actual product is designed by Lian-li and DER8AUER, it also achieved the D&I Design Awards during Computex. Today, we are going to test this kit that also includes the 8pin PCI-E RGB extension kit, it’s the engineering sample version and also not released in the retail market.

The test bench we currently using has removed nearly all other brands RGB light strips and fans

The 24pin extension cable and the RGB mounting kit

The cable comb includes a single-side sliding socket, which is used to lock the mounting kit

The top part of the RGB mounting kit

The side view of the RGB mounting kit

The ‘Locked’ RGB mounting kit

The 8pin PCI-E extension cable

The 8pin PCI-E RGB kit

The ‘Locked’ RGB mounting kit

The built-in expansion cable – All mounting kit has included the 2-headers(female & male) cable for the series connecting

The extension cable – 3pin to 5V RGB 3pin

Due to the engineering sample has not included the controller kit, we are using the Coolermaster pro controller instead of the retail package version

Please enjoy the RGB Lighting!

Theoretically, this ES extension kit has no limitation on the number of RGB devices, in the further test, we tried to connect totally to kits together and they light perfect with the controller. Surprisingly, this ES kit also supports 5V 3pin onboard-control by software such as ASUS AURA, and works smoothly with other brands controller such as Coolermaster which contains the standard 5V 3pin RGB header. To be honest, this product is designed for the RGB-Lover but not for everyone, it’s a little bit complecated for installation and the controller that Lian-li provides in their retail package is extremely difficult for people who want to touch the back of their case or user is using their own DK series table case. Compare with the retail package, people may need a remote controller or a 5V 3pin extension cable to support by the onboard-control, and we have to wait for the further update from Lian-li officially.

We are excited to get this product on hand later in early July. Then we will post the detailed review for this sexy RGB cable.