MSI Launches Lightweight, Portable GS40 Phantom Gaming Laptop With Skylake, GTX 970M
MSI announced the availability of its latest portable gaming laptop. It's well known by now that MSI has been revamping its gaming laptop lineup with some of the most advanced hardware available for mobile computers, such as the dual GTX 980M GPUs and mechanical keyboard that the GT80 Titan includes. The latest reveal, the GS40 Phantom, isn't quite as robust, but it's certainly impressive on paper.
Where the GT80 Titan lacks, the GS40 soars. MSI is calling this new gaming laptop the thinnest in the world at 0.87-inches thick, and even with its low profile, it manages to pack in some impressive specifications. The GS40 Phantom comes equipped with a 6th Generation Intel "Skylake" Core i7-6700HQ CPU operating at 2.6 GHz, 16 GB of DDR4 2133 MHz RAM, and a powerful GTX 970M GPU with 3 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory. MSI's Cooler Boost 3 heatpipe and dual fan cooler has been installed to keep the hardware chilled.
For storage needs, the GS40 Phantom manages to include two drives: a 128 GB PCI-e Gen3x4 SSD and a 1 TB SATA hard drive. Network communication is handled by Wi-Fi and LAN devices provided by Killer Networks, which enable QoS packet routing through software for the best possible online gaming experience.
MSI's GS40 Phantom doesn't skip on the audio features, either. The company has included Dynaudio speakers with dedicated bass, speaker and headset AMPs. An ESS Sabre Hi-Fi Audio DAC has been included, which MSI said brings out subtle audio details that can be of great benefit in competitive gaming. The GS40 Phantom also includes Nahimic virtual surround sound, which offers 3D and virtual 7.1 audio in high definition.
The built-in 14-inch 1080p display panel on the GS40 Phantom includes True Color technology, which MSI said improves color accuracy. The laptop also has the ability to hook up multiple external displays. There is one HDMI and one mini-Display Port on the laptop, as well as a "Super Port" (which is MSI's name for its USB 3.1 Type-C port). The Super Port can handle up to two daisy-chained 4K displays.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | MSI GS40 Phantom |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-6700HQ 2.6 GHz (3.5 GHz Turbo Boost) |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Chipset | Intel HM170 |
| Display | 14-inch non-reflective |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 (16:9) |
| Graphics Processor | Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M with 3 GB GDDR5 |
| Hard Disk Drive | 128 GB PCIe Gen3x4 SSD + 1 TB SATA 7200 RPM HDD |
| Memory | 16 GB DDR4 2133 MHz |
| LAN | Killer E2400 Game Networking |
| Wi-Fi | Killer N1525 Combo |
| Card Reader | SDXC, SDHC card reader |
| USB | 2x USB 3.0 |
| Webcam | 1080p |
| Speaker | Dynaudio Tech Speakers 4 with Nahimic Sound |
| Battery | 4-cell |
| Keyboard | SteelSeries single color backlit |
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 13.58 x 9.65 x 0.87 inches |
| Weight | 3.75 lbs |
MSI's GS40 Phantom is available now for a suggested price of $1,599.99.
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Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years.
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hst101rox Why no option for the Samsung M9T 2TB 9.5mm 2.5" laptop hard drive?Reply
It looks like both Asus and MSI don't like Samsung.
Impressive hardware, I hope the CFM of the fans is enough to prevent throttling with the CPU and GPU fully taxed (unlike the Asus Zenbook UX501 , G501 laptops that throttle). That would make for an impressive machine. Also hope the battery isn't too difficult to replace when it comes time.
Non-reflective screen, very good. -
uglyduckling81 A really well rounded machine.Reply
This is precisely the kind of laptop I would go for. Good specs in a portable configuration. Without the silly desktop power hungry parts.
Nice. -
uglyduckling81 I can't edit for some reason. I wanted to add does it natively support G-Sync as it is a laptop? G-Sync is really at home in lower powered machines like laptops.Reply -
clifftam This is a great laptop being lightweight and still have decent hardware to run games.Reply
Love to see the battery life on it. I don't expect it will last too long though.
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hst101rox Reply
It has nVidia optimus so should be quite power efficient with the dGPU off. Kit Guru has a preview video of it. Should last 4+ hours with office work?16810073 said:This is a great laptop being lightweight and still have decent hardware to run games.
Love to see the battery life on it. I don't expect it will last too long though.
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twoc "I wanted to add does it natively support G-Sync as it is a laptop? G-Sync is really at home in lower powered machines like laptops."Reply
G-Sync is not compatible with Optimus graphics. So this laptop will not support it. -
Bibbit This looks like it's really worth considering. The price isn't crazy, though admittedly the GPU isn't the strongest out there.Reply -
cats_Paw Id say the price is not bad. DDR4, 970M, quad 6XXX, SSD...Reply
Problem is that in my country it will probably cost closer to 2K.