MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8SG review (Core i7, RTX 2080 Max-Q)

27 Comments

  1. David

    February 16, 2019 at 11:08 am

    Great review. In your opinion in the new GS65 the best 15 inch 2080 maxi laptop or the Zephrus/ Razer Blade Advanced?

    • Andrei Girbea

      February 16, 2019 at 11:42 am

      Not sure yet. We're still working on the reviews of the Blade 15 and the Zephryus 15. Each has their own particularities though, those, the GS65, the Triton and the Aero, so there's no BEST one, just one that could better cater to each one's needs.

      • David

        February 16, 2019 at 11:45 am

        Thanks for the reply. I’ve read the Blade will have better performance and be optimised for that. I’m after ultimate gaming performance overall.

        Could you give me an idea of particularities of the ones you’ve seen so far?

      • Andrei Girbea

        February 16, 2019 at 12:09 pm

        I think you should go through the reviews on the site for that.

        Our articles on the Blade and Zephyrus should be available in the near future, and we'll know which performs best at that point. From what we've tested so far, the Triton 500 come at the top as the best performer RTX 2080 max-q option, however, we had a pre-release model and final units might be clocked lower, in order to cope with temperatures and noise. Bottom point, give us a week or two and we'll be able to answer which is the best performer. Right now we can't, yet :)

      • Esteban B

        March 1, 2019 at 7:36 am

        Can't wait for your Razer Blade 15 2019 review! One thing I would love you to take into consideration with that laptop if you have the chance, is the Coil Whine issue a lot of people have been complaining about with the 2019 Blade 15. No review has talked about it, even if it is non existing, but many users are reporting lots of issues with that (and sincerely that's the only thing stopping me to consider it personally at the moment until there is official word).

        If you have the time to report on that too that would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

  2. Alex

    February 17, 2019 at 1:52 pm

    Interesting and on point review of the GS65. However I have already bought the GS65 2060 RTX. Do you thin it is a major difference between the 2070 and 2060 rtx models?

    • Andrei Girbea

      February 17, 2019 at 4:21 pm

      I can't tell for sure, but I'd be inclined to say not really. 2060 configurations are most likely the better value of all the available options, as long as you don't care much about Ray Tracing in games

      • Alex

        February 17, 2019 at 4:28 pm

        Thanks

      • Andrei Girbea

        February 17, 2019 at 4:32 pm

        Do you plan to run any benchmarks, perhaps 3Dmark, uniengine? If yes, can you share the results? It would help others interested in the 2060 model.

      • Alex

        February 17, 2019 at 4:34 pm

        I am more than open to share them once I get the laptop on Tuesday.

      • Andrei Girbea

        February 17, 2019 at 4:39 pm

        Cool, I'll send you an email and we can further talk there. Thanks

  3. ratcashh

    February 17, 2019 at 7:21 pm

    How come noone talks about Lenovo Y740 as a competitor for these gaming laptops? Price wise they beat everything else hands down. Cooling is very good. The only issue is the smaller battery… Only if Lenovo offered to use M2 instead of the 2nd HDD and putting in a bigger battery…

    • Andrei Girbea

      February 17, 2019 at 8:35 pm

      Hardware wise, yes, it is. But the Y740 is a little thicker and heavier, and it's not as nicely made, so it's more of a competitor for the likes of the Asus ROG Strix GL504 and perhaps MSI GS63 Raider imo. The GS65, Razer Blade, Gigabyte Aero, Asus Zephyrus, Acer Triton etc are in different class.

      • ratcashh

        February 17, 2019 at 8:54 pm

        Nicely made, maybe, but that is subjective. Build quality is very strong, though, on the Lenovo.

        Weight is 2.2Kg which is almost on par with the Aero 15 X9. The only difference is 17mm more depth (250 vs 267mm) and 3.5mm more height (18.9mm vs 22.45mm). Hardly noticeable. The significant difference is the weight of the power brick. 0.9Kg (with cables) of Lenovo, vs ??? of the MSI?

      • Andrei Girbea

        February 17, 2019 at 9:03 pm

        It's about the same for the MSI as well. I agree those differences are small, and I agree there might be better value for the money in something like the Y740 or GL504, but at the same time, I also understand why some might prefer paying extra for on these premium tier options.

  4. Phongbv901

    March 13, 2019 at 8:13 am

    I bought a rtx 2060 version. It's quite good with the baterry life is nearly 7 hours. Gaming experience is not too hot if you're playing in the room with air-con turned on. For me it's a very good laptop for both working and gaming purpose.

    • Ratul Sarna

      March 16, 2019 at 11:04 am

      How do you find the build quality? For work and carrying it around in a backpack, do you feel it is fragile and might result in accidental damage?

  5. Bodo

    June 30, 2019 at 1:25 pm

    Hi. I bought this laptop a few months ago and my CPU temperature while gaming is always aroung 90 degrees, even though some games only take up 30% of the CPU. But what I was wondering is if you could give me some tips about undervolting the CPU, or if you think it would help. I've never tried overclocking so I will do some research on that. But I would like to know if your tried something similar and if it's worth it.
    Thank you in advance.

  6. Trilok

    August 6, 2019 at 1:42 am

    Hi There,

    I am planning to buy a gaming laptop and confused between these 3 models- asus zephyrus s gx502, asus zephyrus s gx531
    and MSI Gs65. All of these laptop have pretty much same configuration like i7 9th gen, 240hz display, rtx 2060 etc.

    I think in terms of performance these are almost same.

    My preference would be – better screen quality, build quality , speakers, better heat management.

    thanks in advance

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 6, 2019 at 10:43 am

      Hi.

      I'd go with the Gx502 and here's why:
      – the screens and speakers similar between the three
      – the GX531 has the best thermal module, but also has the keyboard on the bottom, so it's not very practical when not used on a desk
      – the GX502 has the second-best thermal module
      – Asus offers a good software package that allows juggling with fan speed and performance/thermals
      – the GX502 is nicely built
      – The GS65 is smaller and thinner than the others, but not as well built
      – lastly, as far as I know, the GS65 is more expensive than the others

      • Trilok

        August 7, 2019 at 3:58 am

        Hi Andrei Girbea,

        Thanks for your reply.

        If I am getting asus zephyrus s gx502 with rtx2060 and 144hz and msi gs65 with rtx2060 and 240hz for same price, Would you still prefer asus zephyrus s gx502?

        Thanks

      • Andrei Girbea

        August 7, 2019 at 10:31 am

        Personally, I would, for the reasons explained earlier. But that doesn't mean you should go the same route.

        The 240 Hz screen would make sense if you play fast action games, shooters, etc. Otherwise, you're not going to feel the difference between 144 and 240 imo.

      • Trilok

        August 7, 2019 at 4:20 am

        And yes one more thing.

        I got a chance to check msi gs65 with 240hz display in store and it was so smooth but the s gx502 was packed so I just saw the barebone without turning it on and it was definitely better than gs65. Would the s gx502 144hz be same as gs65?

      • Andrei Girbea

        August 7, 2019 at 10:33 am

        Ask them to open the Zephyrus for you and check it out, tell them you're interested in getting one of them, I don't see why they wouldn't do it.

  7. Trilok

    August 7, 2019 at 4:52 pm

    Hi Andrei,

    Thanks for the response.
    Yes I tried because I wanted to see the screen quality but according to them once the box is opened and set upped it would be hard for them to sell it.

    • Hussein Khedr

      August 24, 2019 at 9:36 pm

      Hi, I was in the same exact position you were in. Was either gonna get the MSI GS65 or the GX502, ended up getting the GX502. The screens are almost IDENTICAL, with the gx502 gaining a very slight edge. Build quality is much better on the gx502 and if you're worried about the refresh rate, it's felt the same across all laptops. The only thing the MSI does better than the GX502 is the battery life.

  8. Trilok

    August 30, 2019 at 7:00 am

    Hi Hussein

    Thanks for the reply. I ended up with gx502 too. Going to upgrade the ram with 32gb because it comes with single channel 16gb and storage too.

    Thanks

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