MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro Gaming Laptop Review
The thin and light MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro-034 contains a 6th generation Intel Core i7 and Nvidia's new GTX 1060 Pascal GPU. At just under 0.7", can the Stealth Pro perform well, or does its thin profile introduce unnecessary compromises?
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Synthetic And Productivity Benchmarks
We're comparing the MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro to a couple of similarly-equipped laptops within the same price range. One of these systems is the Stealth Pro's sibling, the MSI GE72VR Apache Pro-010. Like the Stealth Pro, this Apache Pro configuration features an Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor and 6GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card. Unlike its stealthier contemporary, the Apache Pro only has a 128GB M.2 SSD and 12GB of DDR4-2133 memory.
We're also comparing the Stealth Pro to another 15" competitor from Asus. The recently reviewed Asus Strix GL502VM-DB71's specifications are more or less the same as the Stealth Pro's. It features an i7-6700HQ processor, a 6GB GTX 1060 graphics card, and 16GB of DDR4-2133 memory. The biggest difference is the lack of an SSD; the 15" Strix main drive is a 7200RPM HDD. It also happens to be our recommended pick of the gaming laptops we've tested so far, thanks to solid performance at a very reasonable price. We'll see how the Stealth Pro stacks up to it.
Finally, just to demonstrate what $600 more will purchase, we're comparing the Stealth Pro to the previously reviewed Gigabyte P37X v6, which features an i7-6700HQ, a GTX 1070, 16GB of DDR4-2400 memory, and a 512GB NVMe SSD. It also has a UHD 17" display. We'll review the MSI Apache Pro shortly, so stay tuned!
3DMark
The Intel Core i7-6700HQ and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 pull the MSI Stealth Pro into a comfortable position against similarly-equipped laptops. During Fire Strike and Fire Strike Extreme benchmarks, the Stealth Pro falls slightly behind the Apache Pro and Strix 15, but it ends up in between the two during the Time Spy test, with definitive losses coming at the hands of the more powerful Gigabyte laptop.
Cinebench R15
The Stealth Pro takes an ever-so-slight lead against the other GTX 1060 laptops during Cinebench’s single and multi-core rendering tests. For the most part, the results between all of these systems are so close that small differences can be attributed to the margin of error. Even the P37X v6 comes out only slightly ahead of the Stealth Pro during the OpenGL Shading test.
CompuBench
Our CompuBench results paint a similar picture for the Stealth Pro; it holds a minuscule lead over the Apache Pro and just as small of a disadvantage against the Strix 15, but the slight difference is attributed to margin of error, except where the stronger Gigabyte bests MSI's offering.
Disk Speed
To test read and write speeds, we run Disk Speed from the system's primary drive. Most gaming systems $1500 or more will have at least a 128GB SSD as the OS drive and a 1TB HDD for the main data storage. Two of the systems in our comparison — the Asus GL502VM and MSI Apache Pro — only have a 1TB HDD, and as a result, their storage speeds are vastly outmatched by the Gigabyte and the Stealth Pro. Thus, we've omitted them from the Stealth Pro's chart.
The MSI Stealth Pro and Gigabyte P37X v6 both share a Samsung SM951 M.2 SSD, but the Gigabyte laptop has twice the capacity of our MSI system. It should come as no surprise that the Stealth Pro was outclassed in both random and sequential speeds.
PCMark 8
As far as Adobe Creative and Microsoft Office suite performance goes, the Stealth Pro falls in the middle of the pack, between the Apache Pro and the GL502VM. The Stealth Pro has 4GB more memory than the Apache Pro, securing it the slight victory. Note that after multiple tests, the Gigabyte P37X v6 scored less than we predicted, even to the point where our GTX 1060 laptops outperformed it during the Microsoft Office benchmark. This is likely attributable to the Gigabyte's poor thermal performance, which we noted in our review of the system.
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cats_Paw When I saw the Price I thought to myself "let me guess, a 1060".Reply
See, back in the day of the 570M and the 580M, an MSI laptop with a 570M would set you back 1.5k, the 580M would be at 1.7k (the cheapest I could find them).
Now, with no need to make both desktop and mobile chipsets (so, lower costs), the price has gone up. Now I know everything is going up (even if they say there is no inflation), but electronics used to go DOWN in price, not up.
And older gen hardware used to go down when new came up, not stay the same... -
Niva Ok, bottom of page 1:Reply
"Removing the bottom panel reveals just how tightly packed the system is packed. The CPU has one fan on the bottom right, whereas the GPU has two on the bottom left. The 2.5mm hard drive is located on the top right, next to the battery. The memory and SSD slots are beneath the motherboard, making them inaccessible."
You can remove the first "packed" from the opening sentence and it will read better.
The memory and SSD slots? You mean the M.2 slot is my guess, since the 2.5" drive can also be an SSD. So when you say "inaccessible", does that mean that memory cannot be upgraded and the boot drive cannot be replaced at all? I'm guessing you're trying to say that accessing those components requires to remove the motherboard from the chasis... or perhaps removing the keyboard, which in some cases is just as easy as opening up the back of the laptop.
Bottom line, that's a very poor paragraph. You're welcome editor! -
FritzEiv 19003234 said:Ok, bottom of page 1:
"Removing the bottom panel reveals just how tightly packed the system is packed. The CPU has one fan on the bottom right, whereas the GPU has two on the bottom left. The 2.5mm hard drive is located on the top right, next to the battery. The memory and SSD slots are beneath the motherboard, making them inaccessible."
You can remove the first "packed" from the opening sentence and it will read better.
The memory and SSD slots? You mean the M.2 slot is my guess, since the 2.5" drive can also be an SSD. So when you say "inaccessible", does that mean that memory cannot be upgraded and the boot drive cannot be replaced at all? I'm guessing you're trying to say that accessing those components requires to remove the motherboard from the chasis... or perhaps removing the keyboard, which in some cases is just as easy as opening up the back of the laptop.
Bottom line, that's a very poor paragraph. You're welcome editor!
You're right. I edited this piece, and I remember making a note about the accessibility issue. Bad job on my part. Thanks for pointing this out. I'll clarify it and update this shortly. -
Rookie_MIB Also, I didn't realize that they made a spinning HDD that was only '2.5mm' - might want to touch that up as well...Reply -
brucek2 I was close to buying a MSI Titan the other day when I saw a post claiming there is no service option available that will get a defective laptop (in warranty) repaired in less than several weeks, during which time the customer is dead in the water. (it was something like 25 business days for repairs, then 5-10 days more for processing/shipping.) That nixxed the purchase for me. I don't know what the ASUS situation is but it may not be any better?Reply
My point is that I think these details should be included in these reviews. They may not be technical but they could be important factors in a purchase decision. (And shedding more light on them might help motivate saner policies in a competitive marketplace or at the very least make sure more consumers went into their decision knowing the risks they are taking.) -
Clamyboy74 Please do a review of the Sager NP8152-S/ clevo P650RP6-G make sure its the -s version or the -G version for g-sync(toggleable between that and optimus)Reply -
Clamyboy74 Could you do a review of the Sager NP8152-S (Clevo P650RP6)? The verison with g-syncReply -
hst101rox I really like how the MSI has 3 fans! Though 1 of the three are smaller than the other 2, which causes beat waves. Do any of the other laptops tested in this article have 3 fans, or just the normal 2 count? I think the Clevo P650RP6 has 3 fans as well but not sure if identical thermal design.Reply
I am very impressed with the thermal engineering effort put into this laptop. Will probably get the 17" 120HZ version fully specced out when the Kaby Lake version comes out, hopefully with a good 300MHZ CPU boost or so. -
realpetrolium Late 2014 I bought a MSI GS30.Reply
CPU fan failure in 2015 and they had no replacement parts on hand. Replaced from ebay after months of monitoring.
2016 the screen cracked and they have no replacement parts either.
MSI does not stand by their products support wise. Purchase if you'd be ok with owning a paperweight after 2 years.