Gaming on a PC can be cumbersome. With the best setups being large hulking machines that primarily live underneath our desks, PC gaming isn’t a very mobile hobby. In response to this, gaming laptops have been on the rise to meet the demands of players looking for a mobile solution that can still provide them with power comparable to their home systems. MSI has stepped up as one of the premier builders of portable gaming machines. Recently, I’ve gotten my hands on an MSI Stealth Pro laptop, a portable machine that features much of the same hardware that can be found in a top-tier home PC.
Laptops are designed to be carried around and the MSI Stealth Pro certainly accomplishes that. It is one of the lighter 15-inch laptops around weighing in at 4.2 lbs. This means that the laptop can easily slide into a backpack or bag and sit comfortably while you go about your day. When you finally take the laptop out, you are greeted with a wonderful black brushed aluminum finish with red accents. The laptop’s interior is a similar black aluminum construction. Nestled in the body of the laptop is the backlit keyboard in all its colourful glory.
| MSI Stealth Pro GS63VR | |
|---|---|
| Sreen | 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 resolution, IPS, 60 Hz, Wide angle 15.6 inch, 3840 x 2160 resolution, PLS, 60Hz, Wide angle |
| Processor | Intel Skylake Core i7-6700HQ CPU, quad-core 2.6 GHz(3.5Ghz boost) |
| Video | Intel HD 530 and NVIDIA GTX 1060 with 6GB GDDR5 VRAM |
| Memory | 16 GB DDR4 2400Mhz (2 x DIMMs) |
| Storage | 128 or 512 GB M.2 SATA + 1 TB 5200rpm HDD |
| Connectivity | Killer Wireless-AC 1535, Qualcomm Atheros Bluetooth 4.1(Intel for the -001 model) |
| Ports | 3x USB 3.0, Thunderbolt 3, HDMI 1.4b, mini-DP, USB 2.0, mic, earphone, ethernet |
| Battery | 57 Wh |
| Operating system | Windows 10 |
| Size | 380 mm or 14.96” (w) x 249 mm or 9.80” (d) x 17.7 mm or .70” (h) |
| Weight | 1.8 kg or 3.96 lb |
| Extras | Multi-colored backlit keyboard, trackpad, HD webcam |
The MSI Stealth Pro comes with a 1920 x 1080 screen that just begs to be seen. Colours on the screen are vibrant. The muted pastels and sharp details of Absolver looked stunning. Playing other games such as The Witcher 3 and Total War: Warhammer, I found myself amazed at how crisp and clean the visuals were. This laptop certainly brings its A-game in the graphics department.
Underneath the hood of this machine is some amazing hardware. The star of the show is the Nvidia GTX 1060 GPU. This card, while a bit aged, still carries its weight. Many of the games that I played on this machine were auto-detected to ultra settings and the card handled it all with ease. Only in The Witcher 3 did I find myself lowering the settings down to high so that I could keep the FPS around 60 instead of the 40 that it was at on high.
Alongside the wonderful graphics card is an Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor. Comparable to many other top of the line laptop CPUs, the MSI Stealth Pro can comfortably stand alongside them. Even with many tabs open in Chrome, video streaming, and a game running, the laptop handled it all wonderfully.
The MSI Stealth Pro comes with a 256 GB SSD that has plenty of space for all of your important programs and services. Alongside the SSD is a 1 TB HDD. Between the two hard drives, there is plenty of space for anything you might ever need.
All this strength does come at a cost. That cost is most evident in the battery life of the MSI Stealth Pro. With just normal web browsing over Wi-Fi, this laptop only lasted around 3 hours. When gaming on battery, that lasted much shorter.
At the end of the day, the MSI Stealth Pro is an amazing laptop. It packs strength comparable to an average home system with the portability of a laptop. All of this comes without cost to the laptop’s size or weight. While this laptop suffers from poor battery life and some users have reported issues with heat, it still managed to handle anything I threw at it. For anyone looking for a strong laptop that is always ready to go, you cannot go wrong with the MSI Stealth Pro.
