Pros: -BIOS is very easy to use and navigate, as well as all the built-in features. Setup was a breeze. -Looks pretty w/ all the customizable RGB lighting effects (goes great with my TridentZ memory and Gigabyte 1070), plus the overall design imo is awesome looking -Love the metal supports for the PCI-E slots (helps keep heavy cards snug and doesn't sag like plastic ports can with larger cards) -Overclocking is a breeze

Cons: -Could use more USB ports on the back. My 3 year old Asus mobo had more USB slots, but not a huge deal. At least these are pretty much all USB 3.0. Not worth knocking an egg off for.

Overall Review: I had used AMD products for two builds and decided to go Intel for once. I was running an ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z, 16gb of DDR3 memory, and an FX 8350. Let me tell you, what a difference it made when I paired this board with an i7 6700k! Never going AMD again. I am now an Intel fanboy ;) Build: ThermalTake Level 10 GT case w/ Corsair H105 cooler i7 6700k @ 4.4ghz Gigabyte GeForce 1070 16gb Trident Z 1000 watt Rosewill PSU 128gb Samsung 850 EVO (boot drive) 1 TB SSHD Seagate

Pros: -Lowest price Raider atm (I think) that nets you a 13980HX w/ a 4080 and 32gb of 5600mhz ram -Very well built and beautiful styling imo -Very fast, temps are good, screen is great at 17" 16x10

Cons: -No advanced optimus or g-sync at this price point which seems odd (Lenovo includes these for less, but I had two Legion 7i Pro's and didn't like the look or feel of those which is why I ultimately ended up with this machine) -Fans can be loud, mine occassionally make a weird whirring noise but likely due to the fan blades/speed -Win 11 Home (but I guess getting Pro would drive the price up a bit more)

Overall Review: I initally got a GE78 Raider from Micro Center w/ the 13950HX and 4080 for $200 more than what I paid here, but out of the box it had a dead/stuck pixel. I gave it within the 15 day return period for it to go away, and despite trying other methods to fix it, I ended up returning it and getting a Legion 7i Pro. However, it was just not nearly as good to look at and comfortable to use (the wrist rest was not great and the touchpad was off center to the left, causing my wrist/hand to brush on the edges, causing some annoying miscomfort), so I returned that as well. This machine is much more comfortable to use despite a few shortcomings (no advanced optimus or g-sync), but on Optimus you at least get Intel's Advanced Sync. I also tried the GE68 Vector for $1749 on Newegg (i9 12900HX/4080/16gb ram) but man, the screen was terrible (FHD+/144hz/45% NTSC). Once I found this Raider on here, I sent that back and ordered this and so far am very happy with my purchase. Good first impression from an MSI laptop, as I was strictly an ASUS ROG buyer before this, but the latest Scar 17 gave me a multitude of issues which caused me to branch out to other brands, and happy MSI fulfilled my needs here.

Pros: -Much faster, cooler, and quieter than my Zephyrus S15 I bought last year (2020, i7 10875H, 2070 super) even though that had a mux switch (this doesn't). Very satisfied with the performance despite not having a mux switch. I don't play ESports titles much, but some retro FPS games can easily hit 300fps which works for me. -Screen colors and 300hz is still awesome, 1080 seems perfect for a 15" screen. -Love the design and aesthetics of the Strix Scar laptops and Asus in general. The optomechanical keyboard is fun to use.

Cons: -Left corner IPS backlight bleed (not super noticeable but much less worse than what my S15 had). Rest of the panel looks really good though! It's always a gamble with how much you'll end up with but some backlight bleed is normal on these kinds of displays. -Some coil whine under heavy load (there's a slight buzz but honestly can only hear it if the laptop is muted in a quiet room, so not really a huge issue and doesn't affect performance, etc.) -I have the exact same bulge in the same spot (not as pronounced though) on my trackpad as Carlos Perez Arques does in his review, though my chassis on the bottom seems more aligned. Not sure if this is just a case defect or potential battery bulge, which is my only real concern.

Overall Review: Despite some minor setbacks, this is my favorite laptop I've owned so far, second being a G14 I had for a brief time before I ended up getting an S15 and selling the G14 to my sister as she needed a decent laptop and I wanted to upgrade. Performance is stellar, it looks and runs great, and stays cool and quiet while doing so. I got it for $400 off which made the purchase a bit more justifiable, and I can easily live with the cons, as long as the bulge isn't a swelling battery. I could only find one or two other users that said anything about this bulge, and one had it above his trackpad, but no complaints about batteries like I've seen with some of the Razer Blade's. I'll have to inspect it to be sure.

Pros: -Blazing fast -Blows my old FX 8350 out of the water. For example, PUBG performance went from 30-40 fps on high to a solid 60 fps

Cons: -Was expensive, but you get what you pay for

Overall Review: I had mostly AMD hardware prior to making the decision to go full intel and do a rebuild of sorts. I sported an FX 8350, ASUS Crosshair V mobo, and 16gb of DDR3 RIPJAWS RAM. Ended up swapping that out with this i7 6700k, an AsRock Fatal1ty Z270, and 16gb DDR4 G.Skill RBG RAM. My, what a difference that made! Couldn't be more pleased with my current setup.

Pros: -Bought this case to replace an NZXT mid-size case for more room, and wow did I get a TON of extra room! Also, love the looks. Had a friend recommend this case and I was not disappointed. Everything still works in this case 2 years after buying it (except one thing, see Cons). Dust filters are a plus and keep the inside of my case relatively dust-free (still gets a little dusty, but don't have to clean it as often). It's definitely a heavy-duty case that looks unique and does its job well. I also like being able to push a button to open up the side of the case vs. unscrewing screws and pulling off a side door like my old case and being able to lock it shut using a key.

Cons: -Hard drive hot swap bay connection panel (where they all get plugged into) was intermittently defective, as in it would "sometimes" recognize my drives, and sometimes it wouldn't, leading to playing a game of "will my PC boot into Windows this time?". Fixed this by removing the back plate and just plugging the cables directly into the drives. I don't need to hot swap drives anyways, so this wasn't a big deal. This was the only Con that I've run into in 2+ years of owning this case. Guess I got a good one!

Overall Review: -Oddly enough, my power button still works and always has for over 2 years. Seen a few reviews on here with the power buttons failing after a short period of time. Guess I was lucky! -LED button on the top to switch colors for the fans wouldn't remember the speed or color profile after powering the PC off. Would have to change it every time. "Fixed" this by installing a fan controller and hooking up the fans to that instead. Lost the ability to change the colors to red or green, but they are blue which matches the case anyways (and my fan speeds stay the same and can fully adjust them!).