MSI GT73VR Titan Pro-201 Gaming Laptop Review

Gaming Benchmarks

Alien: Isolation

Typically when gaming on a 120Hz display, you’d refine each game's settings to keep up. Luckily, in Alien: Isolation, you don’t have to do a thing. The MSI Titan Pro packs more than enough performance to match its display’s refresh rate, even at maximum settings. The competitors don't come close (although Alien: Isolation is more than playable on all of them).

Ashes of the Singularity

Ashes of the Singularity benefits from strong multi-core performance, and the MSI Titan Pro possesses one of the strongest CPUs available for laptops today. At the game's highest settings, the Titan Pro-201 succeeds where our other systems cannot, and it's the only laptop capable of maintaining over 60 FPS. The G752VS OC Edition, which doesn't have the Titan Pro's graphical horsepower, and the P37X v6, which lacks both the GPU and CPU power of MSI's laptop, fall below 60 FPS. For Ashes, the Titan Pro is the bare minimum to play at the most demanding settings.

Bioshock Infinite

Bioshock Infinite isn’t too demanding, and modern systems usually exceed the 60 FPS sweet spot. Our Pascal-equipped laptops meet this requirement and more, scoring above 100 FPS even at the lowest end of the spectrum. Low intensity games like Bioshock Infinite are perfect for high refresh rate systems like the MSI Titan Pro, but the less expensive G752VS OC Edition and P37X v6 are able to maintain 120 FPS on average, albeit with much lower refresh rates.

DiRT Rally

DiRT Rally benefits from a strong CPU, not just a high-end GPU, and therefore the MSI Titan Pro performs quite well in this game, surpassing the Asus laptop (with the same CPU, but a lesser GPU) by more than 12 FPS, or 13.1%.

Grand Theft Auto V

Even the MSI Titan Pro's extravagant configuration breaks a sweat during the Grand Theft Auto V benchmark. The laptop delivers over 60 FPS during all but GTA V's Vinewood Sign scene. Comparatively, the G752VS OC Edition inches behind the 60 FPS mark in most scenes. It just barely manages 60 FPS in the Del Perro Pier Scene, and falls well below the Titan Pro's 45 FPS in the Vinewood Sign scene.

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GRID Autosport

A system's CPU performance adds some necessary might in GRID Autosport. Therefore, our MSI Titan Pro gets top marks againin this game, but only about 5.4% higher than the G752VS OC Edition. On the other hand, it scores over 15% better than the Gigabyte laptop, which has the less powerful i7-6700HQ CPU.

Hitman

True to form, Hitman favors a strong GPU, and our MSI Titan Pro is aptly equipped for it. The MSI averages about 8.3% short of its target 120 Hz refresh rate, but still holds a massive 30.4% performance advantage over the Asus G752VS OC Edition.

Metro: Last Light Redux

Metro: Last Light Redux has been known for taxing even the most powerful graphics setups. But it's no match for the GTX 1080. The MSI Titan Pro-201 takes first place with a considerable lead, managing a 27.6% higher framerate than the Asus G752VS OC Edition. The GTX 1070-equipped systems just manage to maintain 60 FPS average.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise of the Tomb Raider benefits from GPU strength and VRAM, and our MSI Titan Pro's GTX 1080 has plenty of booth. It manages to maintain above 60 FPS, whereas the less powerful P37X v6 and G752VS OC Edition fall in behind the Titan Pro and below that 60 FPS threshold. The GTX 1060-equipped Leopard Pro doesn't even manage a third of the Titan Pro-201's performance.

The Division

The Division's benchmark is GPU-dependent as well, but not nearly as much as Rise of the Tomb Raider. But our results are much of the same, with even more distance between the GTX 1080-based MSI Titan Pro and the GTX 1070 laptops.

Thief

Thief isn't exactly a taxing title, and since modern laptops are now configured with Pascal GPUs, 60 FPS averages are easily attainable. To ensure that extra horsepower doesn't go to waste, some vendors add higher refresh rate displays, such as the 120Hz panel on the MSI Titan Pro. Unfortunately, while the Titan Pro zooms past 60 FPS, its i7-6820HK and GTX 1080 aren't quite enough to reach 120 FPS.