1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,040 Another day, another gaming notebook. Or 2 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:11,759 if MSI is to be believed, another weapon 3 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:14,799 to save mankind. I mean, really, MSI, 4 00:00:11,759 --> 00:00:16,880 really? Wow. For you, the viewer, I'm 5 00:00:14,799 --> 00:00:20,480 not recommending that you go watch that video. Although it is kind of hard to 6 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:24,320 look away from cuz if you're that into cringe, you guys should probably be 7 00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:28,960 dropping a like on this video to let us know if you're excited for the 8 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:36,550 conclusion of Scrapyard Wars 2, which is coming this weekend with probably more 9 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:43,440 cringe than the MSI promotional video. 10 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:50,800 Kingston KC 310 series businessgrade SSDs feature firmwarebased power loss 11 00:00:48,079 --> 00:00:54,079 protection. Massive capacities and performance to spare. In fact, we're 12 00:00:52,399 --> 00:00:58,079 using them for our new production server. Click right here to learn more 13 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:03,680 about them. Let's start as always with specs because 14 00:01:00,879 --> 00:01:08,000 a gaming laptop could have as many RGB keyboards as it wants, but if it can't 15 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:13,360 back it up with raw horsepower, I'm not going to recommend you buy it. At its 16 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:17,439 heart, the GT72 2QE features an Intel 17 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:19,360 Core i7 5700HQ. Yes, that is a Broadwell 18 00:01:17,439 --> 00:01:23,439 quadcore mobile CPU, which means about a 10% improvement over the last generation 19 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:29,439 equivalent, 4720HQ. 16 gigs of DDR3L memory, and a GTX 980M 20 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:33,840 graphics card, the best mobile GPU available, and only a stones throw from 21 00:01:31,439 --> 00:01:39,200 a desktop GTX 970 in terms of performance. So, lots of raw horsepower 22 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:44,479 under the hood. looks good, too, with two massive cooling fans, a metric butt 23 00:01:42,159 --> 00:01:51,119 ton of heat pipes, and expandability galore with four M.2 SSD slots, a 2 and 24 00:01:48,399 --> 00:01:55,520 1/2 in drive slot, and four DIM slots available for upgraders to throw in up 25 00:01:52,960 --> 00:02:01,280 to four 8 gig sticks for a total of 32 gigs. I actually did try my 16 gig DDR3 26 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:06,079 modules in the bottom slots. And while the BIOS and Windows picked up 48 gigs 27 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:09,840 of RAM, which was sick, unfortunately, Windows only reported 32 as usable. So, 28 00:02:08,399 --> 00:02:14,239 who knows if that support will come in the future. Can you imagine 64 gigs of 29 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:20,080 RAM? Anyway, withdrawing to the outside, the industrial design screams MSI with a 30 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:23,280 gamey black and red color scheme. The screen backing is an aggressively 31 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:28,319 sculpted brushed aluminum with an illuminated MSI Gaming Series logo. The 32 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:32,800 bottom has tall rubber feet to allow ample air flow through the red grills to 33 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:35,920 the bottom components. Oh, and there's a subwoofer port down there as well. A 34 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:40,720 feature I usually ignore, but this laptop, perhaps actually more thanks to 35 00:02:38,239 --> 00:02:45,599 its large internal volume and that massive speaker on the inside, actually 36 00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:50,160 has a surprisingly potent sound system. On the back for IO, we find power in for 37 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:55,360 the large included power brick. Gigabit Ethernet powered by a Killer E2200 38 00:02:52,239 --> 00:02:57,920 chipset to go along with the Killer 1525 39 00:02:55,360 --> 00:03:04,640 AC wireless inside. Two mini DisplayPort 1.2 ports and an HDMI 1.4A port for 40 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:08,959 easy display expansion. On the right side, a Blu-ray burner, something I was 41 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:12,879 surprised was missing from the last 17-in gaming notebook I checked out and 42 00:03:10,959 --> 00:03:17,519 yet something I didn't touch throughout my entire time with this one. As well as 43 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:22,400 two USB 3 ports. Then on the left, we've got an SD card reader, audio ports, and 44 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:27,440 four more USB3 ports, but you might have noticed, Lis, why didn't you 45 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:35,519 specifically say USB 3.0? You always do that. Well, they're not. Two of them are 46 00:03:30,959 --> 00:03:37,920 USB 3.1 suckers. That means 10 gigabit 47 00:03:35,519 --> 00:03:41,280 max rated speeds on supported devices. And you can check out this video by 48 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:46,080 clicking the little eye in the top right corner to learn the full dates of USB 49 00:03:44,319 --> 00:03:49,519 3.1. Cracking open the device, we'll start 50 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:54,000 with the that huge speaker grill with the Dine Audio branding. Sounds 51 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:59,280 surprisingly good. And then we'll follow up with one of MSI's characteristically 52 00:03:56,319 --> 00:04:04,400 solid Steeler co-branded keyboards. The layout is standard in all the good ways, 53 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:09,599 including a full number pad and properly laid out arrow keys. Take notes, Razer. 54 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:16,479 And in spite of its size, MSI has done a good job of keeping overall flex to a 55 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:21,040 minimum. But if I was to complain about something, and I'm pretty sure that's my 56 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:26,800 job, the keys have nice long travels, but are a little stiff at the top. Oh, 57 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:29,120 and the function arrows. Function up and 58 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:33,759 down are page up and down. Function left and right are home and end. Everyone 59 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:38,639 needs to quit screwing this up, especially when it's the one damn thing 60 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:44,800 about an otherwise fully programmable macro compatible keyboard that can't be 61 00:04:41,919 --> 00:04:49,440 changed. The touchpad is above average. It tracks well. It's responsive. It's a 62 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:54,160 nice size and it has the usual gesture support, but this is going to be a love 63 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:59,680 it or hate it thing. It's seamlessly integrated into the plastic wrist rest 64 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:04,800 surface that's separate from the rest of the metal bottom under the keyboard. 65 00:05:02,479 --> 00:05:09,199 Personally, I like it cuz it'll keep crumbs out of the edges of my trackpad, 66 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:12,960 but it does make it harder to find the edge without looking down and you can 67 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:16,639 accidentally run out of trackpad unexpectedly. But that's not even my 68 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:20,720 biggest complaint about the trackpad. And there's always one, isn't there? 69 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:25,680 It's again a stiffness related one. The clicky buttons, which I like normally, 70 00:05:23,199 --> 00:05:30,880 are quite difficult to press down, and I'd like to see that dialed back a bit. 71 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:37,199 Now, let's move on to the screen. Like the Seagar NP 9773 that we checked out 72 00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:41,520 recently, the 1080 IPS display in the 73 00:05:37,199 --> 00:05:44,080 GT72 features NVIDIA G-Sync. So, unlike 74 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:48,479 on the desktop, notebook G-Sync works by having the GPU communicate directly with 75 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:53,280 the panel. And instead of NVIDIA creating a scaler, they're just 76 00:05:50,479 --> 00:05:58,000 selecting G-Sync certified panels according to good behavior with variable 77 00:05:55,199 --> 00:06:02,000 refresh, solid color reproduction, and pixel responsiveness. And there's a 78 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:06,319 couple of new features, although they're not limited to notebooks. G-Sync now 79 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:11,039 allows the behavior beyond the max panel refresh rate to be modified to either 80 00:06:08,479 --> 00:06:15,199 VSYNC or no VSYNC, just like AMD's Freync. And it allows games to be run in 81 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:20,720 windowed full screen mode. Now, very cool. But while variable refresh is 82 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:26,080 undeniably a better gaming experience than the alternative, it's not all rosy. 83 00:06:23,919 --> 00:06:29,680 G-Sync doesn't work with Optimus right now. So, if you want to use the onboard 84 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:34,240 graphics to save battery, you'll actually need to press this button, 85 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:39,520 which will prompt you to reboot to switch. Bummer. The good news is that 86 00:06:37,039 --> 00:06:43,120 Maxwell's idle power consumption is much better than previous mobile graphics 87 00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:47,759 cards, so it's not as much of a kick in the teeth as it would be. So, let's talk 88 00:06:45,919 --> 00:06:54,400 temps and performance now. Then, I put it up against the NP9773 and the Razer 89 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:58,080 Blade 14205 to see how it fared. In IDA 90 00:06:54,400 --> 00:07:00,000 64 CPU test, the GT72 walked away with 91 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:03,680 it. This is going to be due to the fact that it's literally over twice the 92 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:09,360 thickness of the only other one of these notebooks also using a mobile CPU and a 93 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:11,199 last generation one at that. GPU is a 94 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:17,440 bit of a tighter race here. We have to look not only at temperatures of our GTX 95 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:20,639 980 or 970M graphics cores, but also at 96 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:22,400 GPU boost turbo speeds. Again, MSI is 97 00:07:20,639 --> 00:07:27,280 looking really good here with solid boost clock speeds in Crisis 3. So then 98 00:07:25,199 --> 00:07:32,880 what about the gaming experience here? MSI delivers almost the whole package. 99 00:07:30,319 --> 00:07:38,479 The GTX 980M rocks and the new generation Broadwell CPU bridges the gap 100 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:41,599 nicely between last gen mobile flagships 101 00:07:38,479 --> 00:07:44,000 and a full board desktop CPU. But for 102 00:07:41,599 --> 00:07:47,520 some reason, while I really appreciate the astonishing viewing angles of this 103 00:07:45,919 --> 00:07:53,680 particular IPS panel and the nonoversaturated default color profile, 104 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:59,520 MSI opted for a 60 Hz panel, while competitors like Seager and ASUS are 105 00:07:56,560 --> 00:08:04,639 coming to the table with 75 Hz panels that from my experience can sometimes 106 00:08:01,599 --> 00:08:07,840 even overclock to a 100 hertz, making 107 00:08:04,639 --> 00:08:11,199 for a great mobile gaming experience. My 108 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:14,240 GT72 managed a mere 70 Hz once 109 00:08:11,199 --> 00:08:16,400 overclocked. Which isn't to say that if 110 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:21,280 we look past the hilariously stupid promotional video, this isn't a butt 111 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:26,479 kicker of a laptop. I just have some reservations at this kind of price. I 112 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:31,440 expect no compromises. And while I accept that I'm trading thin and light 113 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:35,120 for cool and quiet in this case, I mean, it's gaming right now. You can hardly 114 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:41,440 hear the thing. I don't think the 128 gig SSD and one 115 00:08:38,560 --> 00:08:47,680 TBTE hard drive are particularly competitive with other $3,000 machines. 116 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:53,519 The good news is at least there's a variety of configs available. 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And if you choose good 126 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:35,760 images, basically that's all it comes down to. If you choose good-looking 127 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:39,760 images, then your site will look awesome, whether it's on a desktop, a 128 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:44,880 notebook, a phone, or whatever the case may be because Squarespace is all about 129 00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:46,640 making the web more beautiful. So, sign 130 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:51,519 up today at squarespace.com and use offer code Linus to get 10% off your 131 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:57,519 first purchase. So, if you buy a year, right, that's $8 a month plus you get a 132 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:59,200 free domain minus 10%. Woo! Very cool. 133 00:09:57,519 --> 00:10:04,000 So, thanks to Squarespace for supporting our show and uh I'm supposed to do their 134 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:07,360 slogan. I think Squarespace build it beautiful. I think the one I said at the 135 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:13,839 beginning was their old slogan. Hopefully, they don't watch this, but you guys should watch it and go try it. 136 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:16,480 Free trial. So, I think that's pretty much it. 137 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:21,200 Thanks for watching, guys. If the video sucked, you know what to do. But if it 138 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:22,959 was awesome, get subscribed, hit the 139 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:26,640 like button, and even consider supporting us by using our affiliate 140 00:10:24,560 --> 00:10:30,160 code to shop at Amazon, buying a cool t-shirt like this one, or even with a 141 00:10:28,399 --> 00:10:33,519 direct monthly contribution through our community forum. Now that you're done 142 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:37,440 doing all that stuff, you're probably wondering what to watch next. So, click 143 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:43,680 that little button in the top right corner, the little eye, to check out our 144 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:45,279 Radeon R9 Fury X video, which hope 145 00:10:43,680 --> 00:10:50,240 you've probably actually already watched if you're into this kind of stuff, but it's a pretty sick graphics card. Got 146 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:58,640 like water cooling on it. Good stuff. Go watch that or something else of ours or 147 00:10:53,920 --> 00:11:01,680 someone else's video, I guess. Just 148 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:04,640 I don't know what to say anymore. 149 00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:08,519 I'm wearing an Apple Watch. Do I look cooler yet?