Test device courtesy of MSI Deutschland. Intel Core i9-10980HK; NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER (Laptop) 8000GB SSD; 64GB RAM; Not available. There’s also no GSync support. As a result, it’s a bit larger and heavier than the GE65, but seriously compensates for those aspects with the sturdy build and excellent craftsmanship quality. It’s pretty much the most powerful GPU you can get in this form-factor and leaves room for overclocking in this implementation, but is also expensive, and not necessarily worth paying the significant extra over the other GPU options available on this chassis, namely the RTX 2070 Super 115W or the RTX 2060 110W variants. I’ve also added a top-end i7-10750H implementation, so you’ll know what to generally expect if you go with that CPU option. Both the performance and the thermals are top-notch on this laptop in most titles, with the CPU running in the mid-70s and the GPU in the mid to high 70s in Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2 or Battlefield 5. However, better-balanced versions are available from around 1800 USD/ 2000 EUR with the i7 processor, Nvidia RTX 2070 graphics, and the 240 Hz screen. I for one can see myself using this as a daily typer, though. MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS (i9-10980HK ,RTX2070 Super GDDR6 8GB, 16GB DDR4, 2TB SSD,15.6''FHD 240Hz Windows 10 Pro) 2Year Warranty -10SFS-099SG $ 5,049.00 I’d advise giving it a thorough cleanup once every 2-3 months with a can of compressed air. If no, these are solid options, October 28, 2020 at 7:07 pm. If you had to try, though, a good candidate would be the GE66 Raider. Normally, a laptop should only rest on a flat surface on grippy and soft rubber feet, but this one also uses this hard plastic part for support, which comes in contact with the desk and can definitely scratch sensitive surfaces. Would you say: Luxmark 3.1 fully loads both the CPU and GPU at the same time, but is not properly supported on the i9-10980HK, so not relevant here. Next, we ran the entire suite of tests and benchmarks, on the stock Extreme Performance profile in Dragon Center. Thus, gaming sessions with the laptop siting on the desk are a hard pass on this laptop, but running most games on Silent with the laptop raised up keeps the external temperatures within acceptable limits, with temperatures in the 50s in the hottest interior spots, and low to mid-40s around the WASD and arrow regions. This further lowered the maximum brightness, but once calibrated, we measured solid color/luminosity uniformity and didn’t notice any obvious light bleeding on black backgrounds, with only one small pinch on the bottom bezel. I got the idea that you also analyzed these, sorry for the misinterpretation. As far as using this keyboard every day, this is one of the softest and shallowest implementations in this 15-inch niche of full-size performance laptops, and even shallower than what you’d get in most of the portable form-factors. This shopping feature will continue to load items when the Enter key is pressed. On top of that, MSI greatly improved on the build quality from the previous generation, added a larger battery inside, and didn't compromise on any of the important aspects, including inputs, screen choices, or the IO. Finally, the GE66 is also a fair candidate for external monitor use with the laptop’s lid closed and the device placed into a vertical stand. To put these findings in perspective, I’ve added the i9-10980HK configurations of the Asus ROG Scar and Zephyrus Duo in the following chart, as well as a Ryzen 4800H implementation in the 15-inch Legion 5 chassis. Audio is handled by a pair of fairly punchy speakers that fire through these tiny holes in the right and left edge. However, raising up the laptop helps a whole lot in this Silent mode as well, allowing for both more comfortable temperatures and improved performance. Required fields are marked *. Surprisingly, switching over to the Silent profile has almost no impact on the CPU’s performance, which initially still runs at higher power and ends-up limited at around 70W. I would pick this over the Scar 15 and over the GE75 if you're OK with a 15-inch screen. Competitive fps games might benefit from that one, but for the most part, this 240 Hz option is just fine. In conclusion, this MSI GE66 Raider is an excellent performer in daily use, synthetic tests, workloads, and games, and for the most part, runs cooler and quieter than the competition, even with its small rear-rubber feet that obstruct the air-intake. On the other hand, I should add that some of you might have a hard time adapting to the shallow and soft keyboard, the kind you’d normally get in an ultrabook, and not in this sort of a gaming laptop. 2) Is the GE66 better than the ones mentioned above? MSI offers the GE66 Raider with a couple of different screen options, including 144/240 and 300 Hz FHD IPS panels, as well as a 60 Hz UHD option with wider color-gamut support, a potential option for creators. As already mentioned in previous reviews, I feel that their entire software suite could use a complete revamp. That brings us to the choice in GPU. As an extra note, the wide-open back mesh allows excellent ventilation, especially when raising up the laptop to improve the airflow underneath, but dust also easily gathers inside with this design. I’ve had several Zephyrus G14 models on my desk during these last two months, and have been using them both as daily drivers and while running our various tests.... Lenovo Legion 5 review (AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, GTX 1650Ti gaming laptop), ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 review (2020 G732LXS model – Core i7/i9, RTX 2080 150W), ASUS ZenBook S UX393EA review (Core i7-1165G7 Tiger Lake, 3:2 3K touchscreen), Acer Predator Helios 300 review (PH315-53 2020 model – Core i7, RTX 2070 graphics). The sci-fi design with panoramic aurora … To use in architecture work (2D design and 3D rendering), do you have any other models that you have already analyzed and recommended to check? On one hand, the layout doesn’t include a NumPad section, and that allows MSI to implement this keyboard centered on the chassis. Shop MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield 15.6. Asus Scar …. Last important question 1. On the other hand, I’m not that fond of how MSI designed the bottom panel, particularly the fact that they put small rubber feet supplemented by a hard-plastic foot in the middle. I've been covering mobile computers since the 2000s and you'll mostly find reviews and thorough guides written by me here on the site. Much like with the GS66 Stealth, a pair of headphones is a must with this laptop if you care about sound quality. Having tested it a bit later than other publications, we were able to run it on mature software, so your unit should perform similarly to ours if you are to get one. The GE66 is primarily a performance laptop, but it can also handle everyday multitasking, browsing, and video, while running coolly and mostly quietly. I also find the interior a bit friendlier than on the GS66 Stealth; it still shows smudges after a while, but not as badly as the keys and clickpad, which you’ll have to rub clean quite often. Amazon has encountered an error. It’s very quick and very quiet, but also rather unforgiving on any straying fingers with those soft actuations, and that took a slight toll on my typing experience and required time to get used to it. That’s too much in my opinion, but it actually grew on me over time, so I can see why some of you might like it. MSI equips the latest 10th Gen. Intel Core i9 processor to cut through multitasking works and heavy games. We ran a couple of DX11, DX12, and Vulkan titles on the stock Extreme and Extreme Tweaked profiles, with the fans on Auto, on both FHD (internal screen) and QHD (external monitor) resolutions. As mentioned already, this laptop runs quietly with daily use. 3) Is the GE66 better than the Asus ROG Strix Scar (G532/G732), the Gigabyte Aorus 15X and the Lenovo Legion 7i to use in architecture work (2D design and 3D rendering)? With these out of the way, let’s look at some games. MSI GE66 Raider 10SGS Gaming Laptop (I9-10980HK/32GB DDR4/2TB SSD/8GB NVIDIA RTX 2080 Super GDDR6 /15.6″FHD 240Hz /W10) – 10SGS-097 (2Y) Here’s what to expect, according to our Sypder4 sensor: What we got on this test model required calibration in order to address the WhitePoint and Gamma imbalances. This GE66 Raider had big shoes to fill-up, following on the competent GE65 Raider model from 2019. It might look like an easy task, but it’s not. Despite the voracious power appetites of its components (the Core i9 alone consumes up to 45 watts of power), the GE66 still manages to offer decent battery life, at least when you're not gaming. The GE66 Raider now returns with Mystic Light, a panoramic aurora lighting … We also found this to be brighter than the same panel tested in the MSI GS66 Stealth, with 320+ nits of max brightness, which is plenty enough for indoor use, but still not enough for outdoor or bright environments. Extreme Performance, fans on Cooler Boost – 52-53 dB with games; Extreme Performance, fans on Auto – 46-47 dB with games, 46-47 dB with Cinebench loop test; Silent, fans on Auto – 37-38 dB with games, 0-37 dB with daily use. You can also subscribe without commenting. In fact, this is by far the nicest MSI laptop I’ve come upon in many years. MSI GE66 Dragonshield 10SFS-426 Gaming and Entertainment Laptop (Intel i9-10980HK 8-Core, 64GB RAM, 8TB PCIe SSD, NVIDIA RTX 2070 Super, 15.6" Full HD (1920x1080), WiFi, Win 10 … Refilling the battery takes 2 to 3 hours, and up to 65W of USB-C charging is also supported with a compatible charger, for those times when you don’t want to bring along the main power brick. Most of the IO is now conveniently placed back here, hiding away the cables when connecting peripherals, with only some USB-A, USB-C, and a card-reader on the sides. Furthermore, these rubber feet barely push up the laptop from the desk and don’t allow enough fresh air to get into the fans, which somewhat negates the otherwise excellent open-back intakes, as you’ll see in the performance section. i7-10750H RTX 2070 512GB SSD 16GB Memory. It took me a while to figure out where the sounds comes out from. Power limiting doesn’t kick in in this mode. October 28, 2020 at 7:01 pm, Do you also require a high color accuracy screen with close to 100% AdobeRGB coverage? Welcome aboard to the GE66 Dragonshield. MSI GS66 Stealth 10SFS-032 15.6" 300Hz 3ms Ultra Thin and Light Gaming Laptop Intel Core i9-10980HK RTX 2070 Super 32GB 1TB NVMe SSD TB3 Win10PRO VR Ready 4.3 out of 5 stars 111 $2,449.00 MSI GE66 Raider 10SF-285 15.6" 240Hz 3ms Gaming Laptop Intel Core i7-10875H RTX2070 16GB 512GB NVMe SSD Win10 VR Ready Intel Core i9-10980HK ... MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS-426. Indulged in the extraordinary performance with cutting-edge technologies. No word on the RTX 2060 model, though, at least for now. The per-key RGB illumination carried over from the previous generations, with bright enough LEDs, good uniformity, and almost no light creeping out from under the keycaps. MSI GE66 Raider performance MSI is serving up power on the gaming and multitasking front. I’ve purposely taken a picture of the interior after using this GE66 for the last two days without cleaning it in any way, so you’ll know what to expect. Intel ® Core™ i9 processors GS66 Stealth is a sleek laptop that features up to the latest 10th Gen. Intel ® Core TM i9 processor and NVIDIA ® GeForce ® RTX 2080 SUPER TM graphics. Search for answers. While our review unit is a top-specced configuration, most of our findings apply to the other variants, and we’ll also touch on the other CPU/GPU options in the performance section. The games are perfectly playable, even if the components clock down as the heat builds up, but the high internal and external temperatures advise against using the laptop in this way for long, especially with demanding titles. I like the new Dragon Shield badge on the lid, it looks exquisite. 80+ W for the first loops and is thermally limited at around 95C, until it is eventually power limited at ~70W, with temperatures of around 90 degrees Celsius.Â. Raising up the laptop lowers these temperatures by up to 5 degrees in the hottest parts. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0";amzn_assoc_enable_interest_ads = "true";amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "fatherday00-20";amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "auto";amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart";amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon";amzn_assoc_region = "US";amzn_assoc_linkid = "b9262bfd0a741abacb709b2abd1d1026";amzn_assoc_emphasize_categories = "13900871";amzn_assoc_fallback_mode = {"type":"search","value":"laptop"};amzn_assoc_default_category = "PCHardware"; As for the elephant in the room, MSI put a giant light-bar on this laptop’s front-lip, customizable through the Steelseries app. Power becomes the limiting factor in this case as well. Our sample performed well on WiFi both near the router and at 30+ feet with obstacles in between. That aside, these results put the GE66 i9 in between the two other implementations, while requiring less power and running quieter. Not much. GE66 Raider is the cross between aesthetics and performance, the keys to a solid laptop. These are not as noticeable as on the older MSI models or even the GE66 Stealth and I’d say most of you won’t probably even notice them at all, but I did as I was specifically looking into this new model’s build quality. With the laptop sitting on the desk, both the CPU and GPU are thermally limited and run in the 80s (on the GPU) and 90s (on the CPU). With 1.5 mm of travel and very little effort required to register a stroke, this keyboard feels a lot like an ultrabook keyboard, so those used to stiffer inputs might have a hard time getting used to it. We do not collect your personal data. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. AMD still have an edge in this test, but the i9 Intel models are fairly close. For comparison, the few other i9-10980HK configurations we’ve tested, namely the ROG Scar and Zephyrus DUO, scored similarly in both the CPU and GPU tests. It only goes back to about 145 degrees, though. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. 1) Now that you have reviewed the GE66, do you still recommend the GE75? Sorry, we were unable to perform your search at this time. Intel ® Core™ i9 processors GS66 Stealth is a robust portable laptop packed with up to 10 th Gen. Intel ® Core™ i9 processor and the NVIDIA ® GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER™ graphics. However, they greatly lack bass and sound weird and tinny once pushed above volumes of 50%. More Info. On to more demanding loads, we start by testing the CPU’s performance by running the Cinebench R15 test for 15+ times in a loop, with 2-3 seconds delay between each run. Thick pieces of metal are used for the main deck and the lid-cover, which feel strong and barely bulge even when pressed harder. Select a location to see product availability. The image quality isn’t amazing, but overall better than the standard laptop webcam available these days. First off, careful that in some regions MSI still put a warranty sticker on one of the screws, so you might want to inquire about warranty conditions if you plan to open this up. This here is one of the best-balanced performance laptops we’ve tested in years. Our test model is a top-specced configuration of the MSI GE66 Raider, with an Intel Core i9-10980HK processor, 16 GB of DDR4 3200 MHz of memory, 1 TB of fast SSD storage and dual graphics: the Nvidia RTX 2070 dGPU and the Intel UHD within the Intel platforms, with Optimus. There was a problem adding this item to Cart. Details below. MSI MPG Z490 GAMING CARBON WIFI Gaming Motherboard MPG-Z490-GCW $ 439.00 MSI GE66 Raider 10SGS (i9-10980HK ,RTX2080 Super Max-Q GDDR6 8GB, 32GB DDR4, 2TB SSD,15.6”FHD 240Hz Windows 10 Pro) 2Year Warranty -10SGS-097SG The GE66 Raider now returns with Mystic Light, a panoramic aurora lighting featured that is designed to give users the ultimate RGB gaming setup. We also ran some Workstation related loads, on the Extreme and Extreme Tweaked profiles: Overall, we’re looking at a slight 2-3% improvement in CPU scores and 2-5% improvement in the GPU tests. It's a full-size 15-inch computer, so not as portable as some other options, but compensates by excellently balancing the performance, thermals, and noise-levels in pretty much every activity, from casual use to demanding workloads and games. MSI offers the GE66 Raider in a multitude of configurations, starting with 6Core Intel i7-10750H processors and RTX 2060/2070 graphics and a 240 Hz screen at the lower end, and up to an 8Core i9-10980HK configuration with RTX 2070/2080 Super graphics and an optional 300 Hz display at the very top. You need to pop out the back cover in order to get to the components, hold in place by a handful of Philips screws. Don’t pull too hard, our you’ll risk snapping up some of the plastic hooks. That aside, the GE66 Raider is also a significant step forward for MSI in terms of design and build quality, and doesn’t compromise on any of its important traits. Your email address will not be published. I know it can, because I can see its marks on my desk. That wraps up our review of the MSI GE66 Raider, but I’d love to hear your thoughts and impressions on it, both if you’re looking to get one and especially if you’ve already bought it and can share your ownership experience. Sure, MSI could have made this laptop even better with slightly taller rubber feet that would have further helped the thermal module, but even as it is, this runs cooler and quieter than the few competitors with similar specs that we’ve tested. October 28, 2020 at 6:59 pm, I don't speak fluent English, so I used google translate to read the entire review. On top of that, some might resent the poor audio solution or might not be able to look past the lack of Thunderbolt 3 support, but these are overall minor quirks in the grand scheme of what this laptop is, with the exception of the speakers, which are my single major gripe with this unit. 2. I asked this before … but at that time you had not yet reviewed the GE66. Taht’s why the 6Core Intel i7-10750H processor might be the better-balanced model for most buyers, especially if you’re primarily getting a GE66 Raider for gaming. Raised up or placed on a cooling pad, this truly excels and ends-up one of the best-balanced notebooks we’ve ever tested, in terms of performance, thermals, and noise. good (85%) MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS Intel Core i9-10980HK NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super Mobile Gaming - 07/05/2020 - v7. No worries if you don’t, you can turn it off from the settings. However, keep in mind that the system down not automatically switch the screen to 60 Hz when unplugging the laptop, which you might want to when looking to maximize runtimes, as running it at 240 Hz takes its slight toll. Hi. Customer Questions The exterior of the GE66 features an oblique angle which unfolds its crafted sharp image. 3. Before we proceed, keep in mind that our review unit was sent over by MSI, running on the software available as of Mid-October 2020 (BIOS E1541IMS.30A, Dragon Center 2.0.82.0, GeForce Game Ready 456.71 drivers). We’ve only reviewed the 2020 ROG Scar, so you should look into the other two as well before deciding on your option within this class of full-size 15-inch performance laptops. As mentioned already, MSI’s software suite is fairly functional, but dated in terms of design and interfaces. Please get in touch in the comments section down below. 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Our test unit came with the mid-range 240 Hz IPS panel, a popular option in this niche, and implemented on many other mid to high-tier gaming laptops of this generation. Thank you very much and keep doing the best work. The keyboard on this GE66 Raider is identical to the one used in the GS66 Stealth reviewed earlier this year, and is overall a mixed bag.