MSI GT63 Titan 8RG-046 (i7-8750H, GTX 1080, FHD) Laptop Review

[Redaktion]

Six Cores the Richer. Aesthetically, not much has changed with the GT63 since its predecessor nearly two years ago. But the upgrades to a Core i7-8750H and GTX 1080 are promising by themselves... do they live up to expectations?

https://www.notebookcheck.net/MSI-GT63-Titan-8RG-046-i7-8750H-GTX-1080-FHD-Laptop-Review.312842.0.html

[Twaro]

It's about time laptops need to start using NVMe 1.3 and UHS-III bus standards and drop the 2.5" drive bay. And MSI should stop cramming I/O on all of their laptops.

[anon]

Hey, I use the 2.5" bay, it's the only way to have decent cheap mass storage. This is a desktop replacement. In fact, I'm using the GT62VR to type this, and right now I'm utilizing 8 of the I/O ports, one of which is a 2TB 2.5" SSD hooked up to USB that I will install internally later.

The only I/O I don't personally use is audio line-in. And, the type-C port, ironically. Rarely read/write SD cards.

I would use the type-C port so much more if it supported displayport alternate mode. As it is, I have an MB16AC monitor that supports both DP-Alt mode and some emulated displayport-over-USB3, and on the GT62VR I can only use it while connected to a USB 3.1 gen 1 type-A port, limiting the monitor's frame rate (it's a variable frame rate, oddly). My cheaper laptops have DP-Alt mode on their type-C ports!

I understand that this GT63 is simply the GT62 with better CPU and GPU, but it's annoying that the best laptop in one's home would be the only one with a crippled type-C port. I think it ought to have two, both supporting TB3. And two M.2 slots.

Please, MSI! The type-C port is practically a deal-breaker were I to want to upgrade.

[Twaro]

Oops, by cramming I/O I meant arranging them very close together without much consideration for simultaneous usage or wide peripherals.

Currently M.2 SATA SSDs are seeing steep deline in pricing thanks to NVMe, whereas 2.5" HDDs are hitting static. For gaming laptops large enough to accompany a 15mm drive bay which goes up to 5+TB expansion maybe it's a fitting choice. However most laptops use 7mm bays with a physical capacity limit of 2TB which I don't believe is worth the space.
Better to have fit x3-4 M.2 slots in RAID array and maybe x4 RAM slots as well while they're at it and it would truly be a workhorse champ.

[Purelite69]

Ever heard of a custom fan profile..... No mention of that here (within Dragon Center 2.0). The default maximum speed for the CPU fan on auto is around 65% and the GPU fan is set at approx. 78%. If you customize the profile yourself, you can achieve much better thermals and surprisingly quiet laptop (given the performance). It is really easy to do. This is just in case anyone was concerned with throttling issues.