PC World Evaluation Team Review

MSI GT76

MSI GT76

Reviewed by Lolita Wang

Gamer

4.50

It really doesn’t get more “gaming laptop” than this.

The first thing I noticed about the MSI GT76 Titan DT 9SG was its matte-grey chassis, much akin to a sports car hood, which contrasts with the sleek, black interior with the 144 Hz monitor and SteelSeries keyboard. While it is not the most portable in terms of weight - at 4.5kg it is heavier than many laptops - the GT76 is more portable than a desktop and still maintains the required high-end capabilities, fulfilling its role as a desktop-replacement gaming laptop. With the keyboard and bottom display having customisable RGB LED lights; it really doesn’t get more “gaming laptop” than this.

Now to testing games: the GT76 performed well - even on the highest graphics settings - in most games in my Steam library. For example, for Endless Space 2, watching HD space battles and having 8 AI input decisions each turn was always taxing on my desktop computer; but with the GT76, there was none of the lag, no stutter, and no frame drops, even on high graphics settings. GTA V can be played smoothly on the highest graphics settings with no noticeable hindrance to gameplay, while greatly enhancing the gaming experience. CS:GO can be played on high settings with a decent fps at 4K resolution.

Even though the GT76 was designed with gaming in mind, it can definitely perform other tasks optimally, and as a digital artist this is especially handy.
The laptop comes with Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-9900K Processor, 32 GB of RAM, 1 TB SSD for efficient performance and 1 TB HDD for storage, and a NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 2080 graphics card. They are some of the best, if not the top line, products on the market right now, and with upcoming games such as Cyberpunk 2077, the GT76 should be able to handle any new releases.

With a game like Endless Space 2, the background music really helps immerse the player in the turn-based 4X space opera, so audio is important. Other games, such as League of Legends and CS:GO, where sound cues (Morgana Q for example) and pings can really make or break a play, audio is especially important. The GT76’s Dynaudio speakers are probably some of the best laptop speakers I’ve ever heard, and definitely help immerse players into most games; but for listening to songs or making music, headphones are probably still better.

The GT76 comes with a 17.3 inch screen at a 144Hz refresh rate.. The specs of the GT76 allows games to run at high graphics settings, and this is especially noticeable with a 144Hz refresh rate. On top of the crisp details and beautiful colours of the 100% Adobe RGB gamut monitor, the high refresh rate also allows for smoother animations. I liked the narrow bezel, as it provides a more immersive experience with more screen space. Screen colour and display options are also customisable in applications provided with the laptop. This along with the 100% Adobe RGB gamut makes the GT76 also great for things other than gaming, such as digital arts, photomedia/photo editing, and graphic design.

The GT76 keyboard layout is similar to a traditional keyboard, which makes it easier to get used to. It is well-spaced, and the membrane keys feel quite satisfying to use and produces no loud clicks, which can be a positive or a negative depending on the user. I personally like softer clicks.
It was very easy to customise the RGB lighting on the keyboard, especially with programs that come with the laptop (SteelSeries Engine 3) which allowed me to customise LED colour of individual keys, different styles of lights (disco vs wavy or radiating), or just having a plain colour for all the keys. The program also allowed me to remap keys and use macros.

GT76 has a normal battery life of around 4 - 5 hours for doing common tasks, such as Microsoft Office, running Discord, and Steam. However, it is best to have the laptop plugged in when gaming, as games on high settings can be very draining on the battery, and this applies for most, if not all, laptops, especially ones with high GPU and CPU usage. I really enjoyed playing on this laptop and would recommend to any avid gamer.

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