Unlike the MSI GX60 we recently reviewed, which sought to maximize mobile gaming performance as inexpensively as possible, the company spared no expense on its GT70 Dragon Edition 2. And after MSI laid a foundation with its barebones platform, Xotic PC stepped in to further boost the system's performance.
First, the standard Core i7-4700MQ quad-core processor was swapped out for a top-end -4930MX Extreme Edition. Next, Nvidia's GeForce GTX 780M received an overclock (both the core and memory). Finally, the system’s 17.3” FHD display was professionally calibrated. And thanks to the special Dragon Edition panels, there was no need for the company’s famous custom wraps or graphics.
The Core i7-4930XM processor inside the Dragon Edition 2 is Intel's top-of-the-line Haswell-based processor. It sports four unlocked cores running at a 3 GHz base frequency, though Turbo Boost takes one core to 3.9 GHz.
Compared to the Core i7-4700MQ you'd normally find in this system (also Haswell-based), the Extreme Edition chip has an extra 2 MB of shared L3 cache, higher clock rates, a 10 W-higher TDP, and a way higher price tag (in excess of $1000). When the GT70 isn't pushing big power consumption, it benefits from the Haswell architecture's power-saving features, plus Nvidia's Optimus video switching technology, to help extend run times on battery power.
The Dragon’s GeForce GTX 780M discrete graphics module also represents the top-of-the-line from Nvidia. With 1536 cores running at 823 MHz (and GPU Boost speeds of up to 850 MHz), plus a massive 4 GB of GDDR5 RAM running at 2.5 GT/s, the 780M offers substantially more performance than its predecessor.
But there’s more. Xotic PC takes top-end potential a step further by boosting the core clock by an additional 75 MHz and the memory by 500 MT/s, taking the module's core to 915 MHz and its memory to 3 GT/s. In order to guarantee the stability of those settings, the company tests them for three days straight before shipping and covers them under the system's warranty.
MSI definitely went the enthusiast route when it defined the Dragon’s specs. The primary system drive is composed of three 128 GB SanDisk SSDs in RAID 0, with a 1 TB hard drive serving as a secondary storage space. The 17.3” FHD WLED screen is anti-reflective, and the multi-color, backlit keyboard is by SteelSeries, makers of boutique gaming peripherals. The built-in wired and wireless networking controllers come from the Atheros Killer DoubleShot series, which includes the company's QoS technology for prioritizing gaming traffic. Moreover, the built-in speakers and subwoofer are sourced from Dynaudio, the same company that supplies sound in Bugatti automobiles. The Dragon even comes with a Blu-ray writer.
Obviously, this notebook has all of the right parts to deliver serious gaming performance, but its flagrant visual styling and imposing stature are also clearly designed to stand out. After all, nothing screams "look at me" like a two-inch-thick, red laptop emblazoned with dragons.
MSI doesn't cut corners on available I/O, either. Three different video output options mean that you can plug the Dragon into most monitors. You also have the option to drive a trio of displays simultaneously in a triple-screen array. The Dragon packs three USB 3.0 ports on the left and another pair on the right. Plus, one of the ports can charge other devices, even when the machine is powered off. You also get separate gold-plated jacks for headphones/mic/audio-in/audio-out, and an SD card reader.
| MSI GT70 Dragon Edition 2, By Xotic PC | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-4930MX (Haswell), 22 nm, 3 GHz Base Frequency, 3.9 GHz max. Turbo Boost, 4.1 GHz overclock, HD Graphics 4600, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache, 57 W TDP |
| Platform | Intel HM87 Express |
| Memory | 16 GB DDR3L @ 1600 MT/s (dual-channel) |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M, 4 GB GDDR5, Optimus Switchable Graphics Technology |
| Display | 17.3" 16:9 matte LED-backlit LCD @ 1920x1080 (Chi Mei CMO1720) |
| Solid State Drives | 3 x 128 GB SanDisk SDSA5SF2-128G mSATA, RAID 0 (Primary System Drive) |
| Hard Disk Drive | 1 TB Western Digital WD10JPVX-22JC3T0, 5400 RPM |
| Optical Disc Drive | TSST (Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology) SN-506 Blu-ray Writer |
| Wi-Fi | Atheros Killer Wireless-N 1202 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Controller w/Bluetooth v4.0 (2.4 and 5.0 GHz) |
| Ethernet | Atheros Killer e2200 PCIe 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Controller |
| Audio | Dynaudio Integrated Speakers w/Subwoofer, THX TruStudio Pro (HDMI v1.4 support) |
| Ports | 5 x USB 3.0, HDMI v1.4, mini-DisplayPort, VGA, Headphone, Mic, Line-in, Line-out |
| Miscellaneous | Integrated Webcam & Mic / SD (XC/HC)/MMC Card Reader / Kensington Security Slot |
| Battery & AC Adapter | Removable 87 Wh / 180 W |
| Size & Weight | 16.85" (Width) x 11.33" (Depth) x 2.16" (Height) / 8.59 lbs (Weight) |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8 Pro (64-bit) |
| Warranty | Two Year Limited & Lifetime 24/7 Tech Support from Xotic PC |
| Price | Starting at $2800, $3538.56 As-Configured |
On paper, it looks like MSI's GT70 Dragon Edition 2 offers a ton of gaming power and features. But before we find out if this notebook's spec sheet translates to real-world performance, let's take a tour of the Dragon, inside and out.
The exterior of the Dragon Edition 2 is both striking and well-coordinated. Its lid is brushed red metal with a large dragon logo etched into the surface. A mirrored MSI logo sits in the middle, lighting up bright white when the screen is on.
Dark grey plastic covers the rest of the exterior when the machine is closed. Below the palm rest, the chassis has a matte textured finish. The buttons above the keyboard are surrounded by glossy red and black plastic, with a large silver power button in the middle and the Dynaudio speakers flanking each side. The palm rest has the same red brushed metal texture as the lid, with complementary etched dragon imagery there as well. Around the keyboard you get a glossy black plastic surface, flanked on both sides by smooth matte black plastic strips. The screen bezel is matte black plastic, with a tiny mirror surrounding the webcam. Solidly-built screen hinges are appointed in the same matte black finish.
The overall look and feel of the Dragon Edition 2 is very gamer-oriented. Its extreme thickness and large vents up front and around back are suggestive of fast, hot hardware inside. While the design is neither svelte nor subtle, it is cohesive.
On the right side, you have a pair of USB 3.0 ports and the Blu-ray drive.
On the back of the machine, there is (from left to right) a Kensington lock, power plug, and Ethernet jack, along with VGA, mini-DisplayPort, and HDMI video outputs.
On the left side, we see (from left to right) two USB 3.0 ports and an SD card reader (SDHC/SDXC/MMC), followed by another USB 3.0 port and the four audio jacks.
Opening up the lid, we see the SteelSeries keyboard with number pad and the trackpad dominating the bottom surface. Along the top of the keyboard you'll find a strip of custom controls and indicators. Right smack dab in the middle of that is the large silver power button. Speakers are positioned at the far corners. There's a 720p webcam embedded in the middle of the screen's upper bezel, surrounded by a silver inset. Stereo mics are placed to the left of the webcam.
From the back, MSI's GT70 Dragon Edition 2 has very a custom look. The brushed red metal lid with the etched dragon really is striking.
The MSI logo in the GT70 goes from mirrored to backlit when the display is on.
The lid does have some flex to it when you push down in the middle, though the side rails are much more rigid. This flexibility wasn't a problem during our week of use, though we were particularly careful about not crushing the GT70 with heavy items like textbooks in a backpack.
The screen opens up to about 140 degrees.
Copious ventilation on the bottom of the machine is again indicative of a performance-oriented configuration. The rubber feet are absolutely massive for a notebook. There are vents everywhere. And the overall shape is shelved to give the CPU and GPU plenty of room to breathe. In fact, you can see the hard drive, SSDs, CPU, GPU, and memory just by peering through the vents. That white grille actually covers the integrated subwoofer.
The 87 Wh battery has a latch and lock to keep it from accidentally being removed.
For a battery with 87 Wh of capacity, it's relatively small and light.
On the other hand, the included Delta Electronics 180 W AC adapter is quite massive.
Compared to the 90 W adapter from an office-oriented notebook, the Dragon’s brick is quite a bit larger.
However, the 180 W adapter is exactly what gamers want to see. It uses a standard PC power cord, is chunky enough to power the high-end hardware inside MSI's notebook, and has the surface area to dissipate heat. The GT70 utilizes a standard Delta Electronics supply found with many other laptops.
The GT70's chassis comes loaded with everything a gamer will need: plenty of cooling, a nice screen, and lots of I/O. It also has a great built-in keyboard (with a number pad), plus plenty of USB ports on both sides for gaming peripherals. The built-in speakers are high-end, and there are more audio ports than on most notebooks.
The GT70's keyboard and trackpad layout is typical of most laptops. The keyboard includes a full number pad, and since the touchpad is centered to the standard portion of the keyboard, it ends up sitting slightly to the left on the palm rest.
The palm rest itself is clad in the same brushed red metal as the exterior cover, giving it a solid feel.
The GT70 Dragon Edition’s trackpad is a Synaptics model. The left- and right-click buttons have a textured finish that feels sturdy. The tracking surface works well, and is also textured, facilitating good control over the cursor. Compared to trackpads on other notebooks, the GT70's is slightly compact, especially next to the giant clickpads found on Ultrabooks. Nevertheless, it gets the job done.
One thing we noticed during the course of our testing was that the default setting for Synaptics' PalmCheck feature was too high. At this level, the touchpad is effectively disabled any time the keyboard was in use.
Setting the sensitivity of PalmCheck to Minimum fixed the issue, allowing us to use the trackpad and keyboard at the same time (sort of important for gaming, right?).
There is also a dedicated button above and slightly to the left of the trackpad that allows you to disable it quickly. This becomes useful when you're typing for an extended period. With PalmCheck set to Minimum for gaming, it’s much easier to accidentally move the cursor with your palm or thumb when typing.
Below the trackpad are indicator lights for (from left to right) Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, battery charge status, sleep mode, and hard drive activity.
The island-style SteelSeries keyboard is a full-sized 103-key model featuring a numpad.
Keys have a textured finish that contrasts well with the slick surfaces surrounding the keyboard. The keyboard itself responds well if you type with medium or light force. However, if you tend to press hard into keys, the keyboard flexes a bit. Like most notebooks, the GT70's chiclet-style keys don’t have much in the way of travel depth, but they do have a good tactile feel.
The keyboard's backlighting is particularly unique, featuring three independent zones that can be assigned one of 24 colors.

You also have five operational modes: normal, gaming, breathing, wave, and dual-color. The gaming setting shuts down all of the backlighting except for the WASD area. Meanwhile, the breathing, wave, and dual-color modes are essentially cool little light shows.
Let’s move on to the row of custom buttons and indicators above the keyboard.
To the left of the power switch are controls for Media Player, fan speed, and keyboard backlighting. Media Player is supposed to enhance the playback quality from the display and sound system. Fan speed switches between 100% duty cycle and the quietest mode available for the current system temperature (this was among our most-used control). The keyboard backlighting button simply turns the feature on and off.
To the right of the power switch are controls for Wi-Fi, built-in display, and a G-Panel button, along with caps and num lock indicators. Having the Wi-Fi switch top-and-center, without the need for any combo keys, is certainly nice. Likewise, the display control switch is also convenient to have. The G-Panel button brings up the Windows 8 Mobility Center.
Size Compared To The Alienware R17x
We have access to several other 17” notebooks for comparison. One of our favorites is the original Alienware R17x. The R17x family has gone through several iterations, and is consequently widely-used. It is a prime example of a large notebook built exclusively for high-end gaming.
The Alienware is roughly the same width as MSI's GT70, though it has more depth in its footprint.
Thickness in the back is almost the same. Up front, though, the MSI is noticeably thinner. This difference means that the R17x's palm rest raises your hands more than the GT70's, though at less of an angle.
Keyboard and trackpad layouts are similar, though the Alienware does have a larger palm rest. Each machine is striking in its own way. However, the Dragon inset on the GT70 really stands out to us.
Having the speakers near the GT70's screen yields a better stereo image than the front-mounted transducers on Alienware's machine.
Included Software
MSI and Xotic PC keep bloatware on the Dragon Edition 2 to a minimum.

With the exception of CyberLink's Media Suite, all of the installed software is required for the notebook’s hardware to function properly. While there were some leftover benchmarking apps, we wouldn't expect them to show up on Xotic PC's shipping systems.
Overclocking the GeForce GTX 780M is accomplished through MSI’s Afterburner software.

The KLM keyboard control software allows you to change backlight colors and effects.
The Realtek manager gives complete control over audio connections as well as speaker controls. From here, users can also apply digital sound effects.
The microphone also benefits from digital processing to maximize performance.

The P1 utility lets you launch the program of your choice by hitting the P1 key just above the keyboard.
Multimedia playback, along with optical disc burning, is managed by the CyberLink Media Suite. The suite also includes the company’s near-ubiquitous PowerDVD playback software.
The GT70 Dragon Edition 2 shipped from Xotic PC with reinstallation discs for drivers and utilities. By default, you'll need to create your own Windows 8 recovery DVDs. If you want, Xotic will also provide the Windows 8 recovery disc as a set of DVDs or on a 32 GB USB thumb drive.
Under the hood, the GT70 Dragon Edition 2 is essentially built around the processor and graphics module. The 17” chassis allows for a robust cooling solution to exhaust the heat dissipated by a 100+ W GPU and 57 W CPU running at full tilt. The notebook's internal layout keeps thermal energy produced by those two components away from the hard drive, battery, palm rest, and keyboard. Both the CPU and GPU heat sinks are massive, and the unit is equipped with an equally sizable fan that moves quite a bit of air when you need it to, yet remains incredibly quiet.
Seven Phillips-head screws and numerous plastic snaps attach the bottom cover to the MSI Dragon Edition 2.
Once removed, you have easy access to the mSATA SSD RAID array, GPU, RAM, CPU, and 2.5” hard drive. Note that in removing the seven cover screws, you also removed three of the four fan screws and one of two hard drive screws.
Here is closer shot of the bottom panel after removing it from the Dragon.
Here is a shot of the machine with the battery and bottom cover removed.
Starting in the upper-left corner, we see three SanDisk mSATA SSD drives attached to what appears to be a proprietary daughterboard. It looks like there might be enough room for a second 2.5” drive to also occupy this space, but alas, there is no connector. With the performance of higher-capacity mSATA drives catching up to 2.5” SSDs and the smallest models still quite a bit slower, this is a smart configuration. You get the performance of three 128 GB SSDs in RAID 0, while still leaving enough space for a large-capacity, inexpensive hard drive in its own bay. Just remember that the loss of any one drive takes down the whole array, so pick and choose what you store there carefully.
Removing the daughterboard and mSATA drives is no problem. There are two screws on the board and another two for each drive.
Close-up shot of the SanDisk 128 GB mSATA drive.
Here's the back-side of SanDisk's Marvell-powered SSD X100.
This is what the back of the three-drive mSATA daughterboard looks like. There's a proprietary connector between the daughter and motherboard.
Moving on, we encounter the GPU. The interface appears to be a standard 100 W MXM-B slot. There are two heat pipes dedicated to the GPU and a third for its on-board memory.
Two of the system’s four RAM slots are located just below of the GPU.
The GPU and CPU are both cooled by a single large fan. The upside to this is that a larger fan can move more air at lower RPMs. Plenty of fan blade surface area also means that when maximum cooling is needed, the cooler can move approximately 25 cubic feet of air per minute. Comparable 17” gaming system with dual cooling fans may do a better job at directing airflow to only the CPU or GPU. The combined flow of a triple-fan system with an 11 CFM CPU fan and a pair of 5 CFM fans still moves four fewer cubic feet of air per minute than the GT70's one fan. At a max of 3800 RPM, the fan produced 58 dB of noise. In normal use, it was very quiet.
Since three of the four fan screws were already removed with the bottom cover, we went ahead and finished the job. The fan is very easy to pop off, which can be a big plus when it becomes necessary to clean out accumulated dust.
With the fan removed, we get a good look at the heat pipes. They all feed into a large heat sink that vents out the side of the machine.
The small sink sitting on top of the heat pipes, combined with a little bit of felt, helps seal the exhaust port to the heat sink. These little details should add up to a more efficient exhaust system.
The CPU and GPU heat sinks are connected by a single heat pipe, which allows each to transfer one-third of their heat to the other. Stressing one subsystem or the other simply causes the shared fan to blow more air through both. So, a CPU under full load results in the GPU idling a few degrees cooler than normal.
Here is a closer look at the CPU heat sink. It has two main heat pipes, with the third passing through the GPU’s heat sink.
Additionally, the CPU cooling has heat sinks on both sides of the heat pipe (as well as felt) to help seal the connection with the cooling fan shroud.
Far away from the heat of the CPU and GPU, we find a 1 TB Western Digital Blue hard disk drive spinning at 5400 RPM.
Lastly, we have the Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology (TSST) Blu-ray writer.
The only issue we encountered as we accessed the GT70's internals was replacing the bottom cover. There are small plastic clips around the edges that help keep it in place, and snapping these in can be quite the white-knuckle experience. If you are careful, and figure out which to snap in first, you should be fine. During the course of our review, we removed the cover several times without issue.
With the clips in place and secured by seven Phillips-head screws, the bottom of the system is very solid.
Test System Specs
Synthetic and gaming tests are performed on the MSI GT70 Dragon Edition 2, Eurocom Panther 5D, and Alienware M18x. The Dragon uses Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 780M mobile GPU, while the M18x employs the previous-generation GTX 680M. The Eurocom Panther 5D uses a desktop processor and has a pair of Geforce GTX 680M video cards running in SLI. All comparison machines use DDR3 or DDR3L-1600 RAM, and their CPUs and GPUs run at factory clock rates. The MSI GT70 Dragon Edition 2 runs the GPU with a factory overclock of an additional 75 MHz on the core and 500 MHz for the memory.
| Alienware M18x | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3940XM (Ivy Bridge) Quad-Core @ 3.0 GHz, 55 W TDP |
| Platform | Intel HM77 Express |
| Memory | 8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 @ 1600 MT/s |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GTX 680M 2 GB GDDR5 |
| Storage | 180 GB Intel 520 Series SSD + 500 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive |

| Eurocom Panther 5D | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3970X Extreme (Ivy Bridge) Six-Core, 3.5 GHz Base Frequency, 150 W TDP |
| Platform | Intel X79 Express Chipset |
| Memory | 32 GB Dual Channel DDR3 @ 1600 MT/s |
| Graphics | 2 x (SLI) Nvidia GeForce GTX 680M, 4 GB GDDR5 |
| Storage | 3 x 256 GB Crucial m4, RAID 5 |

We perform our productivity-oriented benchmarks on systems equipped with the 3rd-gen (Ivy Bridge) Core i7-3740QM and i7-3940XM quad-core chips. The 3740QM resides in a Dell Precision M4700 mobile workstation (with its Quadro K2000M disabled during testing), while the i7-3940XM is in a Dell Precision M6700 Covet Edition. The M6700 does a great job in getting the most performance out of the XM processor without overclocking. The 4930MX processor in the MSI GT70 Dragon Edition 2 runs with a slight overclock that allows the CPU to run at 4.1 GHz in turbo boost mode.
All productivity benchmarks are run on an optimized image of Windows 8 loaded on a 180 GB Intel SSD 520 drive, which we installed ourselves. Compression tests are run on a RAM drive to minimize the impact of storage hardware on each machine.
| Dell Precision M4700 | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3740QM (Ivy Bridge), Quad-Core, 2.7 GHz Base Frequency, 45 W TDP |
| Platform | Intel QM77 Express Chipset |
| Memory | 8 GB DDR3 @ 1600 MT/s |

| Dell Precision M6700 Covet Edition | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3940XM (Ivy Bridge) Quad-Core, 3 GHz Base Frequency, 55 W TDP |
| Platform | Intel QM77 Express |
| Memory | 8 GB DDR3 @ 1600 MT/s, Dual-Channel |
| Graphics | Nvidia Quadro K5000M |

Now, let's take a quick look at our currrent notebook test lineup.
Benchmark Suite
| Synthetic | |
|---|---|
| Futuremark 3DMark 11 | Version 1.0.3.0, Benchmark Only |
| Futuremark 3DMark Vantage | Version 1.1.2, Benchmark Only |
| Productivity | |
| File Compression | 7-Zip Version 9.28: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to 7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" WinRAR Version 4.2: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3" WinZip Version 17.0 Pro: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r" |
| Photoshop CS6 | Version 13 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
| Premiere Pro CS6 | Version 6.0.0.0, 6.61 GB MXF Project to H.264 to H.264 Blu-ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality |
| Maxon Cinebench | Version 11.5 Build CB25720DEMO CPU Test, Single- and Multi-Threaded |
| HandBrake CLI | Version 0.98: Video From Canon EOS 7D (1920x1080, 25 FPS) 1 Minute 22 Seconds Audio: PCM-S16, 48,000 Hz, Two-Channel, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile) |
| iTunes | Version 11.0.2.23: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 52 min, convert .wav to .m4a audio format |
| LAME | Version 11.0.2.26: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert .wav to .mp3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s) |
| Gaming | |
| Battlefield 3 | Campaign Mode, "Going Hunting" Mission 90-Second Fraps Test Set 1: Ultra Quality Settings Test Set 2: High Quality Settings Test Set 3: Medium Quality Settings |
| Bioshock Infinite | Built-In Benchmark Utility @ 1920x1080 Test Set 1: Ultra, DirectX 11, DDOF Test Set 2: Ultra, DirectX 11 Test Set 3: Very High Test Set 4: High |
| Call Of Duty: Black Ops II | Campaign Mode, "Celerium" Mission 2-Minute Fraps Test Set 1: Extra Quality, High Filtering, 8x MSAA, Ambient Occlusion, High Depth of Field Test Set 2: High Quality, Medium Filtering, 2x MSAA, Ambient Occlusion, Medium Depth of Field Test Set 3: Normal Texture Quality, Low Texture Filtering, Low Depth of Field |
| Crysis 3 | ??? Test Set 1: Very High Details, Very High Textures, Motion Blur Medium, Lens Flare Enabled, 2x SMAA, 16x AF Test Set 2: Highe Detail, High Textures, Motion Blur Low, Lens Flare Enabled, 2x SMAA, 8x AF Test Set 3: Low Detail, Medium Textures, Motion Blur And Lens Flare Disabled, No AA, 4x AF |
| DiRT: Showdown | Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: Ultra Quality Settings Test Set 2: High Quality Settings Test Set 3: Medium Quality Settings |
| Hitman: Absolution | Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: Ultra Quality Settings Test Set 2: High Quality Settings Test Set 3: Medium Quality Settings |
| Sniper Elite V2 | Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: Ultra Quality Preset Test Set 2: High Quality Preset Test Set 3: Medium Quality Preset Test Set 4: Low Quality Preset |
| Tomb Raider | Built-In Benchmark @ 1920x1080 Test Set 1: Ultimate Test Set 2: Ultra Test Set 3: High Test Set 4: Normal |
| Total War: Shogun 2 | Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: High Graphics @ 1920x1080, FXAA Test Set 2: Very High Preset @ 1920x1080 Test Set 3: Balanced Graphics @ 1280x720 |
| World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria | Honeydew Village, Between Guards In The Rain, 60-Second Fraps Test Set 1: Ultra Preset Test Set 2: High Preset Test Set 3: Medium Preset |
| Storage | |
| CrystalDiskMark | Version 3.0.2 |
| Display | |
| Datacolor Spyder4 Elite | Brightness, Contrast, White Point, Luminance Uniformity, Color Uniformity, Color Gamut, Color Accuracy, Monitor Rating |
A Note on FPS
We realize that acceptable frame rates are debatable on a per-game and per-vendor basis, which is why we're simply listing averages. As long as we're getting smooth game play, we typically choose higher-quality visuals over higher frame rates. After all, we want to see all of the work that game designers put into making a game visually appealing. Typically, we find that 20 FPS is the absolute minimum we’re willing to call acceptable, with 30 FPS a more ideal minimum. In multi-player games we favor higher frame rates and low lag.
Display Testing Methodology
Display testing and calibration is carried out using Datacolor’s Spyder4 Elite calibration system. The system consists of a full-spectrum, seven-color sensor that plugs into the system’s USB port, and the Spyder4 Elite software to control it. All of the measurements and charts are generated by the Spyder4 Elite software. The only changes are a quick crop to make the images easier to read.
With the latest version of 3DMark now available, 3DMark Vantage is showing its age now more than ever. However, it still offers unique insight into system performance, allowing us to make comparisons to older hardware you might still own.

Nvidia's improvements to the GeForce GTX 780M are evident. Graphics performance is up roughly 25% compared to the 680M, though a pair of 680Ms in SLI is naturally faster still.
Looking at Physics performance, the new -4930MX comes out ahead of the -3940XM, but the difference is only around 7%. The desktop processor in Eurocom's Panther is 20% faster than both mobile CPUs.

3DMark Vantage lowers the number of advanced rendering features, allowing the GeForce GTX 780M to pull further ahead in the GPU test. An issue with the CPU score bottlenecks the overall outcome, though.
As expected, the Eurocom Panther registers the highest CPU score. But the difference between two GeForce GTX 680Ms in SLI and one 780 is smaller than we expected.

If we limit our results to integrated graphics, the notable advancements going from HD Graphics 4000 to 4600 are pretty clear. In this test, the HD Graphics 4000 engine is enabled by Intel's Core i7-3740QM, while HD Graphics 4600 is naturally enabled by the Haswell-based Core i7-4930MX.

The Core i7-3940XM in Dell's M6700 is much closer to the GT70's Core i7-4930MX than we expected. Then again, each Extreme Edition processor has exactly the same base and maximum Turbo Boost clock rate. Meanwhile, the M4700’s Core i7-3740QM falls behind due to its lower clock rates, regardless of utilization.
Our Premeire Pro CS6 test shows how quickly each CPU can encode an H.264-based 720p video file.

With a difference of roughly 1%, the Dell Precision M6700 is once again very close to the speed of the MSI Dragon. This is essentially the difference between Ivy Bridge and Haswell. It's tempting to think that the M7600 is keeping up without the benefit of an overclocked Turbo Boost mode, but remember that these threaded benchmarks fully tax each CPU, giving them very little opportunity to hit their top Turbo frequencies. As expected, the lower-clocked M4700 trails.

Photoshop CS6 shows slightly more distance between the two Extreme Edition processors, but it’s still only a difference of two seconds, equalling the difference between Intel's two architectures. The -3740QM is only about 10% behind. As with Premiere Pro, IPC and clock rate both play a role in defining performance. in this threaded workload.

The difference between the Core i7-3940XM and -3740QM is similar to what we saw in Premiere Pro, which makes sense given the threaded nature of HandBrake. The -3940XM is a little further behind the Core i7-4930MX, and it’s possible that the shorter test allowed the GT70's Haswell-based processor to hit a higher Turbo Boost frequency.
Moving on to Cinebench, the multi-core result reflects all four cores fully taxed, while the single-core number allows each processor to hit its maximum Turbo Boost clock rate.

Its high 4.1 GHz Turbo Boost ceiling allows the MSI GT70's Core i7-4930MX to outperform everything else. It's 4% faster than the -3940XM in the M6700 and over 10% faster than the M4700's -3740QM. Swapping over to Cinebench’s multi-core benchmark, we see similar results as previous threaded tests. The -4930MX is fastest by virtue of its Haswell architecture, but not by much. A 4% advantage in single-core processing falls to just over 2% in the multi-core test.
Further exploring single-threaded performance, we turn our attention to the iTunes benchmark.

We see clear gains from the GT70's overclocked -4930MX. Results reflect clock rate differences and the small IPC throughput advantage of Haswell over Ivy Bridge.

Single-threaded performance in the LAME audio encoding test further highlights the clock rate advantage that MSI's GT70 Dragon Edition 2 holds over our two comparison machines. Once again, results are right in line with the small architectural differences and a slight Turbo Boost overclock.
Looking at the benchmarks overall, MSI's GT70 is the certainly the fastest notebook of the bunch. But with an overclocked version of the best mobile CPU Intel can make, it had better be. The advantage in threaded workloads is actually smaller than we expected, and it's possible that this platform isn't utilizing all of the chip's potential performance. Heat didn't appear to be an issue, but we'll be testing to see if MSI's operating parameters are out of the ordinary.
Battlefield 3
Benchmark settings for Battlefield 3 are the same as those in Battlefield 3 Performance: 30+ Graphics Cards, Benchmarked.

The single-player component of Battlefield 3 also shows that the MSI GT70 Dragon Edition 2 is capable of excellent frame rates with maxed-out settings. Once again, we see a notable performance advantage over one GeForce GTX 680M in the Alienware system, though the 780M still falls behind two 680Ms in the Eurocom machine.

Taking the detail settings down to High quality yields a slight increase in average frame rate, though none of these configurations need to run at anything lower than the Ultra preset.

Dropping to Medium quality yields another slight bump. Eurocom's Panther hits the game's 200 FPS ceiling, while the GeForce GTX 780M in MSI's GT70 almost gets there with 190.
BioShock Infinite

Tested at 1920x1080, the GeForce GTX 780M in MSI's machine demonstrates excellent performance gains over the Alienware’s GeForce GTX 680M at all quality levels. While each machine can play BioShock at its highest settings, the 15 FPS bump from 35 to just under 50 shows the advantage of having an overclocked version of Nvidia’s newest card.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Benchmark settings for Call of Duty: Black Ops II are the same as those in Call Of Duty: Black Ops II Graphics Performance, Benchmarked.

The GT70 Dragon Edition 2 has no problems with performance in Black Ops II. The GK104-based 780M is notably faster the 680M, which centers on the same GPU but includes fewer enabled CUDA cores.

Employing Medium-quality details, the platform starts to impede graphics performance.

Stepping down to Low details, a processor bottleneck absolutely limits the performance of Nvidia's most modern mobile graphics chips. The Eurocom system's six-core desktop-class processor runs into its wall just over 180 FPS.
Crysis 3

All three of these systems can play Crysis, but some manage it a little better than others. The Eurocom configuration doesn't seem to scale quite as well as we've seen two GK104 GPUs perform in the past, but still manages to drive the highest frame rates with a pair of GeForce GTX 680Ms. In comparison, one GeForce GTX 780M comes very close, averaging almost 40 FPS at 1920x1080.

Dropping back to the High detail preset suggests that these platforms might actually be more processor-bound than we thought. At 1600x900 and 1366x768, the two fastest setups report identical frame rates.

Shifting down another notch, all three machines are completely platform-bound. The Core i7-3940XM and -4930MX are essentially even in this situation, while the six-core desktop processor in the Eurocom Panther allows for almost 30% higher FPS.
DiRT: Showdown
DiRT: Showdown's built-in benchmark is very tough on both the CPU and GPU.

With all quality settings maxed out, each notebook delivers playable average frame rates. The Eurocom's two GeForce GTX 680Ms in SLI maintain the top position, but again the benefit of two cards isn't as pronounced next to the 780M's compelling performance. In fact, the GeForce GTX 780M enjoys a nice 20% improvement over a single GeForce GTX 680M.

We know DiRT to be both CPU- and memory-bound, so as we start relaxing the graphics load, those bottlenecks begin showing up.

At Medium quality settings, Eurocom's machine is completely platform-bound. MSI's GT70 also exhibits the same symptoms, but still manages to stay a few FPS ahead of Alienware's system on average.
Hitman: Absolution
Hitman: Absolution is the opposite of Sniper Elite V2 when it comes to resource utilization. In the game's built-in benchmark, thousands of NPCs are animated throughout the scene. The overhead needed to animate these non-player characters means that the GPU may end up waiting for the CPU to finish.

In the Ultra quality benchmark, both the MSI and Eurocom machines are CPU-limited. Alienware's sample trails behind, but is able to pull slightly ahead of MSI at 1366x768.

Taking the quality down a notch improves scores, but not as much for MSI's GT70. The Alienware system, with its single GeForce GTX 680M and Core i7-3940XM, manages to pull ahead of both comparison machines at 1366x768.

At Medium quality, the Alienware pulls ahead of the MSI in all screen resolutions, and ahead of the Eurocom in two of them. This is largely academic since no one with any of these systems would be playing at the medium setting, or at a resolution of 1366x768. All of these machines can run Hitman with max settings.
Sniper Elite V2
The built-in benchmark for Sniper Elite V2 places a light load on our CPUs, but serves up a punishing GPU workload. These benchmarks are a good way to demonstrate the graphics capabilities of each machine.

With the game maxed-out at the Ultra quality preset, each card is able to deliver playable frame rates at every setting.

Throttling down to the High quality preset changes very little about the placing of these three mobile platforms.

Dropping to Medium quality settings allows each configuration to continue speeding up.

Although the benchmark results at Low quality settings are higher, the GT70 was playable at the Ultra preset, and that's probably where you'd find us playing the game.
Tomb Raider

The built-in benchmark for Tomb Raider shows that the Alienware system's GeForce GTX 680M falls shy of delivering the 30 FPS average we're looking for. Meanwhile, the MSI’s overclocked GeForce GTX 780M manages a more comfortable 42 FPS, and the Eurocom Panther 5D leverages SLI to remain far ahead at every resolution.
Total War: Shogun 2

None of these machines have any problems playing Shogun 2 at its highest settings. What's more, we get a good sense of how the GeForce GTX 680M, 780M, and two 680Ms in SLI scale up.

Disabling anti-aliasing yields a massive performance increase.

This is largely an academic test, since the higher-resolution benchmark was plenty playable. However, dropping to 720p relieves enough of the graphics workload that MSI's GT70 almost catches Eurocom's more potent platform.
World Of Warcraft: Mist Of Pandaria
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria offers a lush expansion with detailed new worlds. One of the most demanding sections of the game is in Honeydew Village. Placing a character directly in-between the guards of the entrance to the city when it’s raining in-game, then panning the camera just above the grassy hill beside them brings a very high number of moving objects into view. It is one of the worst-case scenarios that we’ve found in the game.

There are a ton of moving components in our test sequence. Each machine delivers excellent frame rates, with only the Eurocom platform showing signs of an outright processor bottleneck.

The best-looking settings are plenty playable, so there's no real reason to drop to Blizzard's High preset. If you were to, however, performance would shoot up palpably.

It takes a GeForce GTX 780M to cause Intel's fastest Haswell-based mobile processor to show up as a bottleneck in this game. The lower-end GeForce GTX 680M in Alienware's M18x still scales paired to its Ivy Bridge-based CPU.
AC Power Vs. Battery Performance

When you pull the AC power on MSI's GT70 Dragon Edition 2, you lose 60% of your gaming performance. However, a 3DMark score of 3288 is still fairly respectable, and able to outrun a GeForce GTX 660M. In other words, a number of games will still be playable, though the frame rates won't be nearly as compelling as what we saw over the past three pages.
Power consumption through this test was about 40 W. So, you can expect roughly two hours of run time in a game away from the wall.
System Throttling
Running Prime95 and FurMark at the same time places a very high load on any system, with both the CPU and GPU drawing maximum power while also generating maximum heat. In the GT70's case, the CPU is rated for up to 57 W and the overclocked GPU is at least 100 W. Add in 10-20 W for the other platform components and you're looking at 175 W or so.
It the system can't get more than 175 W from its supply, or isn't able to dissipate that amount of heat efficiently enough, it will throttle the CPU, GPU, or both in order to honor its thermal and electrical specifications.

In the above screenshot, the CPU is operating under full load. The GPU is as well. With the cooling fan spinning as fast as possible, we observed the power supply pulling 179 W from the wall. This is not what we were expecting. Generously assuming 90% efficiency, 179 W at the wall is 162 W to the machine. With the CPU rated for 57 W, the overclocked GPU at 100 W, and the rest of the components pulling 10 W or more, the GT70 should be registering a little more than what we measured.
The day after I wrapped this story up, MSI sent us an updated BIOS for the GT70 Dragon Edition 2, changing the power consumption characteristics of the machine and increasing performance. Now the system pulls up to 194 W from the wall during games. Strangely, with a full synthetic CPU and GPU load, it only pulls 187, suggesting something is throttling back a bit. While this represents an improvement, there is still optimization work to be done.

A look at HWInfo64 tells us where the GT70 was getting power, aside from its power brick. It actually pulls extra power from the system's battery. Obviously, the battery is not being charged at 688 W, but rather the amount of charge is falling. As you can see in the timer right below the “Reset Values” button, we were logging for about three minutes. If you look at the charge level, you can see that it dropped from 78.9% to 76.9%. The normal discharge rate was 1% every 90 seconds with the original BIOS. This rate dropped to 1% every 100 seconds with the new BIOS.
In MSI’s promotional literature, this behavior is marketed as a "feature" called NOS, which we'll be prodding over the next few pages.

Normally, the extra power is used to keep Nvidia's GPU in boost mode. With the Xotic PC-tweaked configuration, the GPU is overclocked to keep it running faster than GPU Boost would permanently. As a result, any time the CPU and GPU are fully loaded at the same time, you're draining the battery. NOS allows the battery to discharge down to 30%.
With the new firmware, battery discharge rates are greatly decreased. Most games do not drain any power from the battery, though some that fully load the system still do.

In DiRT: Showdown, which does balance CPU and GPU loading fairly well, we saw a 0.2% decrease in charge level over five minutes of play. This translates to a 2.4% drop in charge per hour of play.

The battery drain rate is highest in Crysis 3. We saw a 4.6% drop in charge level over 15 minutes of play in a particularly intense part of the game. Battery capacity drops at the rate of 18.4% an hour if you choose to play the “Welcome to the Jungle” level over and over again. In a less taxing sequence, battery drain is slower.
What happens when the GT70's battery drains to 30%? You'll find out just as soon as we present the results from our heat run, when we let the notebook suffer under the duress of maximum CPU and GPU load until the battery drops under 30% and NOS shuts down. But before we do that, let's look at the CPU's behavior.

Moving on to the Core i7's Turbo Boost performance, our chart illustrates what happens when the GT70's -4930MX is hit with a single-threaded load. One of the cores is almost always at 4.1 GHz. The smoothing in the graph masks how quickly the load is bounced from one core to another to tax the processor evenly. MSI's notebook essentially maintains 4.1 GHz in a single-threaded load forever.

With two threads in flight, performance is essentially the same as single-threaded mode. There is some occasional switching down to 4.0 GHz, but the processor has no problem maintaining its clock rate.

Four threads changes the CPU's behavior substantially. The Core i7 holds 4.1 GHz for about two seconds (Prime95 was started at seven seconds), then quickly falls to between 3.8 and 4.0 GHz. After 28 seconds, the clock rate falls to about 3.5 GHz and stays there for as long as a load is applied. At that point, the benefit of a higher maximum Turbo Boost is gone.
In the chart below, we run the same load using MSI's more experimental firmware update.

With the new BIOS, MSI's GT70 does hold onto higher Turbo Boost frequencies for longer. They still settle into the 3.4 to 3.6 GHz range, though. That jump at the end is where Prime95 was stopped and the cores returned to idle.

Fully loading the processor triggers an even more dramatic response from the processor. The 4.1 GHz Turbo Boost setting immediately falls (again, Prime95 was started at the seven-second mark) to between 3.6 and 3.8 GHz for 28 seconds, after which it falls once more to 3.3 GHz and remains there as long as the load is present. There were no heat or power issues to explain the rapid drop, though this is consistent with Intel's technology.
In the chart below, we run the same test using the newer firmware.

With the new BIOS, Turbo Boost clock rates stay higher for the first 28 seconds. The processor still settles to around 3.3 to 3.4 GHz, though. Again, the jump at the end is where Prime95 was stopped and the cores returned to idle.
These charts explain what we were seeing in the real-world productivity benchmarks. Lightly threaded apps benefit from the overclocked Core i7-4930MX processor, while more heavily threaded titles only benefit for short durations.
Still, neither the CPU nor the GPU throttled during testing. There is a drain on the battery when both subsystems are fully loaded, but the platform as a whole exhibited no worrying issues. Testing the CPU or GPU individually yields no battery drain, and each allows the battery to charge at full speed.
In order to really push the GT70 to its limits, you already saw us fully load its Core i7-4930MX CPU and GeForce GTX 780M GPU. Each part is kept at its factory-overclocked frequency, since Xotic PC fully guarantees those settings. The goal was to run the machine until its internal and external temperatures maxed out. The only reason to end a run early would be a hardware failure.

There's a lot going on in this chart. First, turn your attention to the red line, which represents CPU temperature. As the chip gets past that initial 28-second burst of Turbo Boost speed, it quickly spikes to just over 85 degrees Celsius, then quickly falls below 80 as the fan kicks in and the CPU frequency drops to about 3.3 GHz. The temperature stays below 90 degrees for the entire run, showcasing the effectiveness of MSI's cooling implementation, even in the face of Haswell's documented heat issues.
Next, we look at the yellow line illustrating the the battery's charge level. As described earlier, the GT70 employs a "feature" called NOS that draws extra power from the battery if the platform needs more than the AC adapter can provide. At 30%, NOS shuts down and performance is pulled back. Now we see what happens when NOS is disengaged. Looking at the yellow battery line, the discharge rate is even over time until hitting 29% at the 105-minute mark. The transition out of NOS is less dramatic than we expected. The CPU dips down to 800 MHz, then quickly spins back up to about 2.6 GHz. GPU power consumption does not change at all, and the battery charge rate is zero.
When NOS disengages, draw from the walls rises from 179 W to 203. Adding in 10% losses to heat, we'd expect a 180 W power supply to pull 200 W from the wall. We don't understand why MSI doesn't allow its adapter to run at full power all of the time.
The other thing we see when NOS throttles the processor down is the influence of the heat pipe joining the CPU and GPU. Even though the GPU load does not change significantly, the GPU temperature goes down as the CPU generates less heat. MSI's updated thermal solution is now a proven improvement.
The GT70 keeps an overclocked GeForce GTX 780M under 85 degrees for the entire stress test, performing excellently. Intel's chipset does warm up, but stabilizes in the mid-60-degree range. Both storage sensors actually register lower temperatures once the fans kick in, showing excellent separation from other heat sources in the machine, along with commendable overall cooling performance.
The chart below contains another run that we completed with the new BIOS. We had to extend this one to 140 minutes due to improvements in the NOS function.

Temperatures and performance during most of the test remain unchanged with the new BIOS. With the system’s power adaptor now providing 187 W, the battery lasts around 30 minutes longer than the first test. Once NOS disengages and the CPU pulls back to 800 MHz with spikes to 3.2 GHz, the chip's thermals fall off quickly. The effect of the single CPU/GPU heat pipe is even more pronounced since the CPU speed (and therefore, heat) is much lower with the newer BIOS.

Taking a closer look at CPU clock rate during the heat run, we see that the machine enjoys a bit of Turbo Boost acceleration at the beginning, settling around 3.3 GHz once the thermal situation dictates as much. If we weren't also applying a GPU load, the GT70 would likely run at this frequency indefinitely. But because the graphics module is causing battery drain, we also see the impact of NOS disengaging around the 105-minute mark. The dip goes as low as 800 MHz and recovers to 2.6 GHz. Once Prime95 is shut down at 114 minutes, the system jumps back up to 4.1 GHz.
Below is the frequency result for the same run with MSI's newer firmware.

Clock rates remain the same. Once NOS is turned off and the system no longer draws battery power, there's another drop to 800 MHz with quick spikes up to 3.2 GHz. In this situation, the new BIOS does not improve system performance.
The GT70's palm rest and keyboard remained cool throughout testing. The only areas where we felt heat were one corner by the LCD hinge and right above the side exhaust vent. Those spots get warm, but it's still possible to leave your hand there without getting uncomfortable. Plus, those aren't parts of the notebook you'd normally be grabbing. Right-handed users will have no issues with the exhaust heat, though lefties might be more likely to have their mousing hand in front of the side vent.

In the shot above, you can see the GT70's charge rate with NOS disabled and FurMark running. The system is pulling 187 W from the wall, and the battery is being charged at close to 21 W. Below, we see the CPU's power consumption.

If we take the CPU draw of about 16 W and add it to the 21 W being charged, we're able to surmise that about 37 W are available to the CPU when the GPU is fully loaded. A A 37 W Core i7-4702MQ should never have to use NOS to draw power from the system’s battery. A 47 W Core i7-4700MQ, -4800MQ, or -4900MQ is less likely to use NOS, though there are still 10 W that need to be made up somewhere else in the system. With the Core i7-4930MX and GeForce GTX 780M, you have 20 W needed from the battery under full CPU and GPU load. To really get the most out of the GT70 in this power-hungry, overclocked configuration, you really need a larger power adapter, pure and simple.
In order to test how NOS might behave with another CPU, we used Intel's Extreme Tuning Utility to limit the amount of power the CPU is allowed to use. We then played Crysis 3 for 15 minutes and compared the results. At full power, the machine used 4% of its battery in that 15-minute run. Limited to 47 W, the machine used 3%. Limited to 37 W, it consumed 2%. Only at 37 W and a stock GeForce GTX 780M (not overclocked) were we able to get around NOS, still averaging 38 FPS using Very High details at 1920x1080.
Overall, the GT70 performs really well until its battery drops below 30% charge. Because NOS deliberately uses the battery for extra power, expect performance to drop once NOS is disabled. Putting extra wear on a system’s battery during intense plugged-in gaming sessions is not what we would call a desirable feature.
This wear is exacerbated by an AC adapter the delivered less power with MSI's original firmware. With the updated BIOS, battery wear in normal gaming environments is greatly reduced. Titles like Crysis 3 place a taxing load on both the CPU and GPU, compelling NOS to tap into the battery if you're running a high-end Core i7-4930MX and GeForce GTX 780M combination.
We hope MSI continues to optimize its battery situation through additional BIOS updates. We also hope MSI considers bundling a larger power adapter to minimize reliance on NOS. Further, we wish there was a way to completely disable NOS so that you'd have the option to maintain a fully-charged battery.
As we saw on the previous page, the GT70 Dragon Edition 2 employs a feature called NOS to utilize battery power when the system needs more than the AC adapter can provide, down to 30% charge. Be aware that, after a long gaming session, your battery might not be fully charged when you go to unplug from the wall.
Battery Life
Simply put, battery life is the overall capacity of the power source (in Wh) divided by draw. The GT70 comes with an 87 Wh battery, so an average 15 W load should give you almost six hours of run time. Increasing consumption by just 5 W cuts a full hour of use. At worst, you'll get a little less than one hour from the GT70 pulling 85 W from the battery. In exchange for accepting that wide range, the GT70 doesn't throttle down like other notebooks we've tested. You can decide whether to maximize battery life or performance, depending on what you're doing.
Intel's new Haswell-based Core i7-4930MX is capable of incredibly low power consumption at idle.

As you can see in the table above, the CPU's package power dips down to an amazingly low 1.772 W. The chip's four IA cores are only pulling .101 W. And that's really what the Haswell architecture is all about.

With the screen at 30% brightness, Wi-Fi off, and Windows set to the “Power Saver” scheme, the GT70 platform pulls 11 W. This is the lowest draw possible while still keeping the display's brightness at a useable level for indoor use. Full brightness adds about 4 W of consumption.
Browsing the Web with Wi-Fi enabled increases power use at 30% brightness to roughly 16 W. Watching 720p videos on YouTube registers about 15 W, while playing back Blu-ray content at 1920x1080 ups consumption to 23 W. Fully loading the CPU drains 60 W, while the GPU alone can pull 83 W. Maxing out power draw for the system yields a drain rate of 85 W/h.
The chart below shows the expected battery life in a variety of use scenarios.

Typing notes on the GT70 for six hours or more shouldn’t be a problem. Even if you add Web browsing to the mix, you should still see somewhere in the neighborhood of five hours. Expect more than four hours watching 720p content online. Two hours of gaming is a reasonable expectation if you're using the GeForce GTX 780M at its away-from-the-wall reduced performance settings.
AC Power Draw And Charge Rate

Charging the battery with the system powered down draws 52 W from the wall, while sitting idle in Windows with a fully-charged battery draws 34 W using the High Performance power profile. The charge rate is 40 W/h with Windows running, taking the total power draw up to 102 W.
Fully loading the GPU pulls a steady 141 W from the wall with a fully-charged battery, while the CPU alone draws 105 W. Keep in mind that each of these measurements also includes the platform components, including the chipset, Wi-Fi controller, display, and storage. Benchmarking various games varies power between 168 and 179 W, while a full load pulls a relatively steady 179 W.
If the battery drops under 30%, the system draws 201 W at the wall.

Apply a full load to either the CPU or GPU and the charge rate remains 40 W/h. Only when both subsystems are loaded down does the charge rate invert and become negative as NOS kicks in, draining the battery. Once the battery is depleted to 29%, the charge rate becomes zero.
Storage Performance
Our GT70 review unit came configured by Xotic PC with three SanDisk 128 GB mSATA SSDs in RAID 0 serving as the primary system drive. It also included a Western Digital 1 TB disk spinning at 5400 RPM for user storage.

CrystalDiskMark shows us that the RAID 0 array delivers sequential read and write speeds in excess of what one 2.5” SSD can do over a SATA 6Gb/s link.

Running the same test on Western Digital's 1 TB mechanical disk yields results in line with what we'd expect from a 5400 RPM drive.
The GT70 Dragon Edition 2 boots quickly, and is generally very responsive. The primary drive's 384 GB of capacity is more than enough to install our complete benchmark suite and games. If you need even more room, there's always the option of installing apps to the 1 TB repository, too.
Audio Performance
Audio fed to external amplifiers via the analog headphone jack sounds good. Additionally, we had no issues hooking up to a receiver via HDMI. And we didn't hear any buzz or popping when we played music through the analog connectors.
The built-in Dynaudio speakers are excellent. In fact, they're among the best we’ve heard on a notebook. They offer excellent stereo imaging and tonal range, adding to the GT70's adeptness at gaming.
While the subwoofer on the bottom of MSI's GT70 is small, it certainly contributes to filling in lower frequencies. Playing back music on the system's speakers, we added a little EQ to bring out the highs. In games, we left the EQ flat.
We also listened to music via the headphone jack with several sets of IEM headphones. Through the very sensitive Etymotic HF3 in-ear earphones, we heard no unwanted noise; music playback sounded good. The sound was also good from the slightly bass-heavy Bowers and Wilkins C5 in-ear earphones. We also enjoyed listening with the very detailed and slightly bass-shy Shure SE425 in-ear earphones.
Additionally, we auditioned a couple of pairs of traditional over-the-ear headphones. The 32-ohm Grado SR125s sounded good, and the GT70 drove them without a problem. With Sennheiser's HD 600s plugged in, the headphone output drove the difficult 300-ohm load to decent listening levels. Sound through the HD 600s was neutral, but not as dynamic or detailed as a dedicated headphone amp.
Brightness, Contrast, And White Point

Xotic PC calibrated the GT70's screen before shipping, yielding a very neutral output. So, in the readings above, we removed this calibration. The Chi Mei FHD panel offers a native white point of 7300 K. Both the color temperature and contrast ratio of the screen also remain consistent across most brightness levels.
A white point of 6500 K is considered neutral and close to the color of midday sun. If a screen measures below 6500 K, it takes on a warmer appearance that leans towards reds and oranges. If a screen measures above 6500 K, it is said to have a cooler appearance that favors the color blue. Cooler color temperatures are common in a retail environment because they make screens stand out next to other displays.
The GT70's panel is spec’d for 300 nits of brightness. Looking at our brightness measurements, the center of the screen is more than 10% below that specification.
Viewing Angles
The panel has good viewing angles, and although you see some shifting tilting the screen forward or back, it's pretty consistent from the sides. In the shot above, the brightness difference is a bit exaggerated. In actual use, we found the side viewing angles more uniform.
Uniformity

Looking at brightness uniformity, the Dragon’s panel varies up to 20%. The brightest section provides 291.6 nits, which is close to the panel’s 300-nit spec. Overall, these are merely fair results.

Color uniformity on the GT70 is excellent. In simple terms, a Delta-E of one is often touted as the threshold where you can perceive a difference between reference and sample colors. That's a bit of a generalization though, since the human eye is more sensitive to certain colors. Typically, a Delta-E value below two is pretty good.
Gamma

The measured gamma response of the GT70 is very close to the standard 2.2 curve used in most Windows systems. A gamma response curve corrects for how the human eye is able to see light and dark colors, and large gamma errors may cause issues with editing or viewing photos. There are no gamma issues present here.
Color Gamut

The LCD panel in the Dragon nearly covers the standard sRGB color gamut. It has very good color response for blues and reds, though deep greens aren’t fully covered. The panel is not a wide-gamut model, so it only covers 76% of the larger AdobeRGB color gamut.
Color Accuracy

The accuracy of colors reproduced by the panel is very good. Remember, we really want to see a Delta-E of two or less. Greyscale images should look good on the GT70's screen, since all shades have a Delta-E of less than 2. This means that the MSI should do well in working with black and white photos, especially after calibration. The colors are also accurate except for the teal blue 1F color patch. The average Delta-E for all measurements is 1.05.
After calibration, the panel is excellent for an sRGB panel, with the only limiting factor being its inability to show the deepest shades of green.
Monitor Rating

The chart above shows Datacolor’s rating for the Chi Mei panel in MSI's GT70 Dragon Edition 2. While we basically agree with Datacolor’s evaluation, we'll add that the luminance uniformity in the system is not as bad, practically, as the chart suggests.
Xotic PC Calibration
The images above are photos of the Dragon’s screen before and after calibration with the Spyder4 Elite system. Depending on the monitor you're using to read this review, you should see significant differences between the top and bottom. Un-calibrated, the screen has a blue tint that is common in WLED panels. With the Spyder4 Elite or Xotic PC’s factory calibration, the screen is very neutral.
The chart above shows the corrections applied to the Chi Mei panel to correct the cooler-than-neutral color of the un-calibrated panel. The reds are boosted while the blues are pulled back.
After calibration, the screen curves are very close to the target. This shows excellent calibration results.

The only downside to calibration is that overall screen brightness is reduced by about 15%.
We’ve seen Chi Mei panels in the past that don’t perform as well as the one in the GT70 being reviewed. We’ve also seen Chi Mei panels with a rough anti-glare coating. This particular panel is better than any Chi Mei display we've used before, and while the backlighting uniformity isn’t great, the color uniformity is.
MSI's GT70 Dragon Edition 2 delivers the high-end performance we expect when you combine the best from Intel and Nvidia in one platform. In some games, the Xotic PC factory-overclocked GeForce GTX 780M comes close to the performance of two 680Ms in SLI. While some of that is attributable to platform bottlenecking on the comparison machine and newer drivers benefiting our Haswell-based sample, we also know the GeForce GTX 780M boasts more CUDA cores and aggressive clock rates. Although it isn't far and away faster than its predecessor, Intel's Core i7-4930MX also gives us a little extra performance by virtue of its architecture. With that said, notebooks bundled with larger power supplies should be able to get even more performance from Intel's mobile flagship CPU. Even with MSI's NOS technology draining the battery to keep up, this system's paltry 180 W power supply runs out of capacity too quickly.
Starting at $2800, the GT70 isn't an inexpensive platform. Our sample, as configured, runs an even steeper $3500+. But there's something to be said for the fastest available mobile processor, mobile GPU, and three 128 GB SSDs operating cooperatively, too. A comparable Alienware system with a similar configuration will run you at least $600 more, and that'll get you a third-gen Core processor and previous-gen GeForce GTX 680M, both of which are on their way out. Add in the storage config, SteelSeries keyboard, Dynaudio speakers, Atheros Killer NICs, Blu-ray burner, and attractive exterior accents, and MSI's latest offering starts looking more attractive to the mobile gamer.
In this case, we'd also approve of paying $45 bucks to have Xotic PC overclock the CPU and GPU for you, if only to get those three days of stress testing that might weed out a problematic Haswell-based processor. Plus, there's the warranty coverage on the tuned hardware, which is a plus.
The $1000+ Core i7-4930MX is overkill, we'd say. On one hand, it's a fast little chip that enjoys a 4.1 GHz peak Turbo Boost clock rate. There are bragging rights that go along with such an extravagance. Conversely, it also ups the platform's TDP by 10 W. As we saw, the system is already close to maxed out with a 47 W processor and 100 W GPU. Add in overclocking and MSI's NOS feature starts hitting the battery up for extra power any time you mash the gas pedal. MSI did send us a newer firmware that leans less severely on NOS, but we still observed the technology kicking in. Intel's $425 Core i7-4900MQ would have been an excellent alternative, we think. Alternatively, MSI could have bundled a 210 or 240 W power supply and worked around the NOS issue altogether.
The GT70 sets a high standard for large gaming notebooks in many ways. It has the performance potential to serve up playable frame rates in modern titles at the highest detail settings. It isn't embarrassingly bulky in the process, either. You can get a couple of hours of game time out of the battery, albeit at reduced-performance clock rates. Just surfing the Web, though, expect as many as six hours from MSI's GT70.
Performance-wise, this system sets the mobile standard to beat; there's very little able to post better benchmark results. As a substitute for a gaming desktop, MSI's GT70 Dragon Edition 2, built-up and tuned by Xotic PC, is a potent machine. If MSI could just iron out its power-oriented idiosyncrasies, it might even be an award candidate.


































































