








Using the latest CPU architecture and faster DDR4 memory support the new Intel 6th Generation Core® i5 processors, codenamed Skylake, brings significant improvements to gaming performance, multiple application data processing, and 4K video transcoding delivering superb performance leaps as the next platform for extreme gaming.
Enables lowest power consumption of both CPU and GPU while maintaining coolest constant temperatures for both
COMFORTEnables enough power consumption of the GPU while maintaining comfortable temperatures of the GPU
SPORTEnables max power consumption of both CPU and GPU for extreme performance
Discover desktop-class gaming on a notebook with the next-generation GeForce® GTX™ 960M. Plus, Get improved battery life you need to game longer, unplugged. The GeForce GTX 960M brings smooth, high-definition PC gaming performance to the notebook, driving impressive 1080p gameplay at high settings in sleek new designs.
Get the best possible performance out of your notebook with support of the advanced DDR4 memory. With over 32% faster performance than previous generations, DDR4 is the new standard to take your gaming experience to the next level.
Play hours on end with an intelligently and efficiently designed dual fan cooling system with Cooler Boost 3. Drawing heat away from both the CPU and GPU with designated heat pipes significantly reduces heat generation and increases heat dissipation for stable gameplay after hours of gaming.
Do everything, all at once with MSI’s Matrix Display technology, supporting multiple external displays so you can multi-task like a pro via HDMI and mini-Display Ports. Stream on Twitch or watch your favorite shows while playing your games, whatever it is you do, you’ll never miss another moment.
Technology originally developed for the military fighter jets, Nahimic specializes in 3D sound software processing and audio improvements offering virtual 7.1 sound in immersive high definition. Designed to work with standard audio and stereo equipment, Nahimic transports gamers into the action, allowing them to sense every footstep, hear every bullet whizzing past, and feel every explosion. Nahimic highlights even the smallest sounds, intensifies gameplay by boosting bass, and reducing exterior noise pollution for optimum in-game voice clarity and comprehension. It also features a high definition audio recorder to easily capture and stream studio quality sound. This new technology is exclusive with MSI gaming laptops.
Amplify the experience of your headset with gold plated and boosted audio jacks for higher fidelity sound quality to gain the advantage during the heat of battle.
Perfectly crafted, extremely accurate. The SteelSeries gaming keyboard is a powerful tool at the hands of any gamer with strong tactile feedback and anti-ghosting capabilities, delivering the best gaming experience hands-down.
Pros: - Excellent build quality. Aluminum surrounds the touch pad and keyboard keys. The hinge is strong and both the keys and touch pad are very responsive, unlike my old Asus G73JH laptop which sometimes wouldn't register keystrokes or touch pad interaction from time to time, even when it was new. - 2x SODIMM slots, but only 1 is being used. To have a matched pair of memory, I removed the factory 8GB module and installed a 2x8GB Crucial DDR4-2133 pair for 16GB of RAM. - Empty M.2 slot. I added a 500GB Samsung M.2 drive to install the OS and applications on an SSD. This is fantastic as it allows for 1.5TB of SSD+HDD space. - Using a SanDisk 32GB USB drive, MSI's Recovery software is easily backed up to an external drive. The recovery partition is around 18-19GB, so a 32GB USB drive is necessary. I used this drive to do a factory recovery to install the OS/system apps to the Samsung M.2 drive, then used the (free) EaseUS Partition Master software to delete the *5* partitions from the factory 1TB drive and format as a single large 1TB HDD for data/files/etc. - The i5-6300, GTX 960M, and M.2 SSD work well to play The Division when portable gaming is necessary. It won't get 60fps on ultra settings, but that wasn't the point. It plays smoothly on a mix of low/medium settings.
Cons: - As others mentioned, you will void your warranty to do any upgrades, even RAM. For me, this wasn't intimidating at all, and was a similar experience when upgrading my Mac Mini a few years ago. There is one screw hidden behind the "Warranty Void If Removed" sticker that you must remove to get to the internals of the laptop. - Even if you're willing to void the warranty, getting to the internals has a couple tricks. - The factory HDD is formatted into 5 partitions. Windows partition manager can't combine the two drives into one due to a recovery partition being between the two logical drives. I used EaseUS Partition Master to make one large 1TB drive after adding the M.2 drive for OS/apps.
Overall Review: This is an excellent laptop for those looking for a sub-$1000 laptop for portable gaming. Sure, you won't run The Division on ultra settings at 60fps on a GTX 960m, but it can play the game quite well on a mix of low & medium graphics settings. Steps to disassemble the laptop for RAM/M.2/HDD upgrades: - Be willing to void your warranty. Know what you're doing. Fully test all features of the laptop BEFORE voiding your warranty. I used it for a week with stress testing benchmarking apps while checking all ports and wireless connectivity with various programs before deciding that it was ready for long-term use as a modified laptop with no warranty. - Close the laptop. - Pry off the flat, long, thin plate between the hinges. Start with the corners at the back of the laptop at the inside of the hinges. - Turn over the laptop and place it on a cloth - no sense in scratching up the back of the laptop as you work on the other side. - Remove all the visible screws, plus the one hidden by the Warranty Void If Removed sticker. - Now remove the optical drive. It will slide out (with a little force at the SATA connector) since you removed the one screw on the back plate that holds it in. - Remove the 3 flat black screws that were hidden behind the optical drive. These are the last screws holding the back plate to the laptop frame. - Lift the back plate up at the optical drive side, then slide it out and away from the opposite side of the laptop to take care of how the ports (headphones, mic, etc) are poking through that side of the back plate. You're done and can now do hardware upgrades to RAM, M.2, and HDD. Installation is the same steps in reverse order. I would make sure everything works, including all the steps below if you're reconfiguring the OS to M.2 and partitioning the HDD before screwing in the back plate again. Just place the backplate in the right spot and let the laptop "sit" in it while you're doing the OS recovery to M.2. You don't need the optical drive installed. To install the OS on the M.2 drive and make the HDD one large drive, do the following: - Get a clean 32+GB USB drive, preferably USB 3.0. (I used a SanDisk 32GB USB 2.0 and it took some time due to 18-19GB of data to transfer.) - Use the MSI Recovery software to create a USB recovery drive. You can't miss this software as it pops up the first time you boot the laptop. It's in the Start menu if you've dismissed that prompt and it never pops back up. - Install the M.2 drive. I temporarily removed the HDD at this time as I considered installing a SSD as well, but decided to stick with the factory HDD after I had the M.2 drive configured and running perfectly. - Boot from the USB recovery drive to begin the recovery process on to the M.2 drive. (If you removed the HDD, it will boot from USB by default. You may need to press DEL when booting to select the USB drive as boot drive in BIOS if you still have the factory drive installed.) - Reboot into BIOS and make sure your boot priority is M.2, then USB. You're not going back to booting from other devices. - After installing the OS to the M.2 drive, keep the 32GB USB Recovery drive in a safe place. You will need to use this for recovery if you follow through with the next steps to configure the HDD as one large data drive instead of an OS/recovery/data partitions. USB devices are much less prone to failure over time than a HDD anyway if they're stored securely. - Install EaseUS Partition Master (free), or other partitioning software. - Install the factory HDD, but be sure to boot from the M.2 drive since they'll both have the OS installed. If you set your boot order in BIOS correctly, this isn't an issue. - Use partitioning software to delete all *5* partitions on the factory drive. You will be prompted to reboot during this process to remove the boot and OS partitions, so do so when prompted. - Now partition and format the factory HDD as desired. I created a single partition of max size to fully use the 1TB of storage space as one large data drive. It has been running flawlessly for a couple weeks now, and I couldn't be happier with this purchase. $800 laptop + $160 500GB M.2 SSD + $73 16GB RAM is an excellent PC. You could cut some corners and go with 128/256GB M.2 and adding a single 8GB RAM module to the factory 8GB module that exists if you're more concerned about budgeting upgrades. Here are the newegg products I purchased that I can confirm work perfectly in this laptop (prices may vary): 1 x ($159.99) SAMSUNG 850 EVO M.2 500GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal SSD Single Unit Version MZ-N5E500BW 1 x ($72.99) Crucial 16GB (2 x 8G) 260-Pin DDR4 SO-DIMM DDR4 2133 (PC4 17000) Laptop Memory Model CT2K8G4SFD8213 If there is demand for it, I'll install some monitoring software and give more of a gaming performance review with specific graphics settings for smooth play in the future.