MSI
Latest
MSI's new 'content creator' laptops are powered by Intel's 10th-gen chips
The PC-making business has slowly been shifting its attention from gamers to content creators. For example, Acer launched the ConceptD line of computers in April, specifically targeted at those who want a powerful PC without the bulk ( or ostentatious aesthetic) that often comes with such rigs. Gaming company MSI also wants in, launching a slew of laptops today designed for creative professionals -- namely, the Modern 14, Prestige 14 and Prestige 15. These are also the first laptops to use Intel's latest 10th-generation 6-core CPUs that the chipmaker announced today.
MSI GT 76 Titan hands-on: A very powerful, beefy laptop
Have you ever toiled on something, only for a rival to release something just days before your own effort is completed? No matter your intentions, the timing makes you look like a copycat. It's a fact that must rankle MSI, which spent four and a half years developing a laptop with a desktop CPU. Alienware may have gotten there first with its Area-51M, but MSI thinks that the GT 76 Titan is worth the wait.
MSI crams an unlocked, desktop-class Core i9 into its new laptop
MSI's Titan-series laptops can only be described as an Absolute Unit, and with a laptop this beefy, you need a chip that can keep up. That's why the new GT76 Titan is packing an unlocked, desktop-class Core i9 into its hefty frame.
These gaming laptops pack the latest Intel and NVIDIA hardware
If you prefer your PC gaming in portable form, you're enjoying an embarrassment of riches right now. Intel has unveiled gaming-friendly 9th-generation Core laptop processors, while NVIDIA has unveiled GTX 16-series mobile GPUs that promise solid performance without giant budgets (or giant coolers). That also means a lot of PC makers introducing systems, though, and that's a lot to wade through if you're in the market. Don't worry -- we've rounded up some of the bigger introductions to help you keep track of what's new.
MSI is also upgrading its gaming laptops with Intel's new CPUs
MSI is joining a slew of other hardware makers in refreshing its gaming laptops with 9th-gen Core CPUs. It says these processors will allow its machines to deliver up to 45 percent better performance than previous versions.
NVIDIA's GTX 1660 lowers the high-performance gaming price barrier
NVIDIA has unveiled its cheapest Turing-based card yet, the $219 GeForce GTX 1660. Much like the $279 GTX 1660 Ti, it offers Turing performance that bests the GTX 1060 by around 15-30 percent. At the same time, it lacks the RT (ray tracing) and Tensor cores on NVIDIA's RTX series cards, making it about a third cheaper than its RT doppleganger, the $349 RTX 2060.
NVIDIA's GTX 1660 Ti offers gaming power without ray-tracing for $279
NVIDIA has officially unveiled the much-leaked GTX 1660 Ti. It's a next-gen Turing card that lacks the RTX-series' ray tracing, but costs less and boosts performance over the last-generation GTX 1060. The new cards come with 6GB of GDDR6 RAM running at 12Gbps, 1,536 CUDA cores and a 1.8GHz boost clock speed that allows further overclocking. It'll deliver 1.5 times the performance of the GTX 1060 6GB card, with 1.4 times the power efficiency -- fast enough to power games like Fortnite, PUBG and Apex Legends at 120 fps/1080p.
What's next for MSI in gaming PCs
MSI's GS65 Stealth Thin was one of the most remarkable gaming notebooks of 2018. It was powerful, thin and weighed just 4.1 pounds at a time when the competition was 4.5 pounds or higher. This week, they debuted a 17-inch Stealth Thin with NVIDIA's RTX 20-series GPU, which they also brought over to the GS65. Now, MSI wants to make a splash in professional notebooks with the PS63 Modern. At CES, we chatted with Andy Tung, CEO of MSI Pan Americas, and Cliff Chun, the company's director of product system management, about where MSI is going next.
MSI adds NVIDIA RTX graphics to two gaming laptops
MSI has unveiled a pair of gaming laptops that will appeal to enthusiasts whether they want a lightweight notebook or beast-level performance. The GS75 actually offers both, coming with the latest Intel Core i7 CPU, NVIDIA RTX 2080 graphics, a passive radiator speaker with "booming" sound and a 17.3-inch, 144Hz IPS display, all packed into a body that's just 0.75 inches thick.
MSI’s 25-inch gaming display is absurdly fast
MSI has unveiled a 25-inch, 1080p NVIDIA G-Sync-compatible display with a scorching 240 Hz refresh rate and 0.5 millisecond response time. As you'd expect with those specs, the Oculux NXG251 (yes, that's the name) is aimed at eSports professionals and wannabes, so the $599 price tag reflects its high-end purpose. For that sum, however, gamers can expect a near-instant, lag-free response time and ghost-free images, even at 200 fps gaming speeds.
MSI's latest Prestige notebook is lightweight but powerful
MSI's laptops aren't just all play, no work. Though best known for its gaming laptops, MSI also revealed a more sedate, but still well-equipped model, the 14-inch Prestige PS42. It packs decent an Intel Core i7-8550U quad-core CPU, near bezel-less 1080p screen, a fingerprint reader, two fans and optional 25W MX150 discrete graphics. What's best, all of that is packed into a very decent-looking 15.9mm (0.6-inch) thick, 2.64-pound brushed aluminum housing.
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin review: A milestone for laptop gaming
There's no question that gaming laptops are more interesting than ever before. Mostly, that's due to NVIDIA's Max-Q GPUs, which allow PC makers to cram a ton of power into slim laptop cases. Last year we saw the 17.9mm-thick, 4.9-pound ASUS Zephyrus, which packed in GTX 1080 Max-Q graphics. Most recently there was Gigabyte's Aero 15X, which wowed us with its light 4.5-pound frame. Now MSI is taking its latest stab at a Max-Q design with the GS65 Stealth Thin, and it's even more impressive than what we've seen before. It weighs just 4.1 pounds, but it fits in a GTX 1070 GPU. Even though NVIDIA's laptop-graphics chips haven't changed since last year, it's clear that MSI and other computer makers are getting smarter about how they implement that hardware.
The best lightweight gaming laptops
Over the past few months, a slew of lightweight gaming laptops using this tech have hit the market. But which ones are best? Let's take a look.
MSI's 4.1-lb slim gaming laptop has a 144hz, 15-inch screen
The race is on to making gaming laptops thinner and lighter than before. We were wowed by ASUS's ROG Zephyrus last year, which packed in an NVIDIA GTX 1080 Max-Q GPU in an incredibly svelte frame. Now MSI is taking that on directly with its new GS65 "Stealth Thin," an even slimmer addition to its lightweight gaming lineup. It clocks in at just 4.1 pounds, while also fitting in a 15.6-inch 144Hz display (which should make gameplay look incredibly smooth), an NVIDIA GTX 1070 Max-Q GPU and Intel's 8th generation Core i7 CPU.
'Ghost In The Shell' VR arcade game is a four-on-four firefight
For everybody that's watched Ghost in the Shell and thought to themselves, "yes, I too would like to experience tearing tanks apart with my bare hands," your day has come. Well, sort of. After a four-month delay, Bandai Namco's VR Zone Shinjuku is finally ready to launch its Ghost in the Shell: Arise Stealth Hounds game with large-space full-body tracking.
MSI says its VR backpack computer is the lightest yet
Remember the virtual reality backpack PC design MSI showed off at Computex just a few months ago? It's already obsolete. MSI has unveiled the finished product, the VR One, and it looks nothing like the prototype you saw in June. There's a good reason for that, though: the official hardware is billed as the world's "lightest and thinnest" VR backpack, weighing a more reasonable 7.9 pounds versus the 10 of before. It won't be quite so noticeable when you're spinning around the room, in other words. And that's not the only improvement -- MSI has taken concerns over performance and battery life to heart.
MSI and Origin PC use NVIDIA's desktop-grade laptop graphics
PC makers aren't wasting any time implementing NVIDIA's GTX 10 series laptop graphics in their lineups. Both MSI and Origin PC have revealed that their higher-end gaming portables will be among the first to pack the much faster, desktop-class graphics. At MSI, the big deal is that it's not just big, chunky systems that are getting a refresh -- even relatively slim laptops like the GS and GE series will have VR-worthy graphics thanks to the mobile GTX 1060. You'll have to move up to the GT range to get the 1070 or 1080 (up to two of them in Titan SLI variants like the GT73VR above), but that's a solid baseline.
MSI's Backpack PC is an imperfect solution to VR wires
One of the problems with the current crop of non-smartphone VR headsets is that they need to be connected to PCs via thick, heavy cables. These might hamper your movements when you're busy playing a game, or worse, you could trip over an errant wire and fall face flat on the floor. Well, a few companies have come up with an interesting solution: VR backpacks that carry a full-fledged PC, enabling you to move around unencumbered. MSI's version is called the Backpack PC. Since it was on display here at Computex 2016, so I took a few minutes to try it out for myself.
Computex's most excessive PC mod is a cotton candy machine
Asia's biggest tech show regularly delivers on the PC case mods. If they're not labors of love courtesy of international case-modders, then it's a company producing the case mods itself. MSI possibly went too far commissioning this blood sugar-baiting monstrosity. PC modder Mike Petereyns was responsible for the MSI "Cotton Candy," made to coincide with the company's 30th anniversary, pairing the state fair diabetes trap with the PC producers' own GFX (GTX780Ti), camouflage motherboard and white liquid cooling system. Oh and someone was making cotton candy for everyone. Which always helps draw a crowd. Elsewhere,there was a vibranium-tinged Marvel tribute. Have a look at that in the gallery below.
Backpack PCs will help you avoid VR cable catastrophe
HP revealed an arsenal of new gaming gear yesterday, but it had one more device up it's sleeve. Another PC that's part of the recently announced Omen line is a backpack machine that's VR-ready. It's still in development, so details are a bit scarce at this point, but the mobile setup packs a Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, up to 32GB RAM and everything else you'll need to power an HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. There's no word on the graphics card just yet, but a belt holds two batteries -- one for the CPU and one for the graphics card.
