Conclusion
The $2,999 GT72 2QE leaves no doubt; it is the fastest gaming laptop we’ve ever reviewed, thanks almost exclusively to its NVIDIA GTX 980M and its class-leading performance. But let’s not also forget the outright absurdity of its storage solution: a quad-SSD RAID 0 array, which is something we don’t recall having seen since the days of the Sony VAIO Z.
Elsewhere, changes are more practical. We gleefully wave goodbye to the shiny plastic surfaces of yesterday (that’s so early 2014) and finally greet a design which is mentionable in the same breath as the Alienwares and the ASUS ROGs of the world. The annoying capacitive control center buttons have been replaced by much more convenient physical buttons to the left of the keyboard. The touchpad is much improved, and the SteelSeries keyboard is still likely to be divisive in some respects, but we love it.
As for thermal design, the GT72 adds a second cooling fan—now one for the CPU and GPU each independently—and pairs it with a heavily-perforated bottom panel which greatly improves ventilation. We never even needed Cooler Boost 3, but the option exists. The machine is actually notably quieter than its predecessors; it’s obviously audible, but during gaming, it really isn’t all that noticeable.
What about battery life? As we’ve said a thousand times before, longevity under general computing use really isn’t what the GT72 is about. But while the conventional test results fail to impress, the Battery Boost functionality in this latest generation of NVIDIA hardware and the accompanying driver improvements produce runtimes that are literally more than double in many games versus Battery Boost off, and nearly always at least 60% better at minimum in others. That’s a huge difference and a truly practical asset if you’re ever planning on playing some games while unplugged.
Negatives? Of course, there’s always a few. For starters, we have to mention the warranty void sticker on the bottom if you choose to open or maintain your PC, even if it isn’t truly enforced (as some users report). Next, there’s the reliability concerns that come along with a four-drive RAID 0 array of any type; yes, they’re SSDs, but a failure rate that’s four times as high (and a recoverability rate in the event of failure that is close to zero), the admittedly impressive gains in storage speed seem more superfluous than practical. There’s the small irritation of having to reboot in-between switching between integrated and dedicated graphics (if you decide to do so). The significant difficulty of replacing the internal battery (a process which requires disassembly/removal ofaround 60% of the unit's internal parts) is a bummer. And finally, we suppose you could complain about weight and battery life—though we wouldn’t consider either of these items to be relevant drawbacks for most intended uses of the machine.
If it were our money, we’d probably spring for the $2,299 model, which is arguably a better value. By contrast, it features just one 128 GB M.2 SSD, 16 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB hard drive. If storage capacity is an issue, a replacement down the road would be cheap and easy. Regardless of which one you pick, however, you can rest assured that—at least in terms of gaming performance—the result will be second-to-none. Between the record-breaking GTX 980M and the vastly improved design, the GT72 earns our coveted PC Perspective Editor’s Choice award.
More photos:
Oh my science.
Oh my science.
For $3000 you can have a
For $3000 you can have a gaming desktop with 4790k a 500 gig ssd 2 gtx 970s in sli all the bells and whistles plus have a decent laptop probably with the same specs minus the mobile gpu for some remote steam big picture gameplay.
Thanks for the feedback
Thanks for the feedback guys!
There's no disputing that gaming desktops are far cheaper, but then, what's the point of even looking at gaming laptops if you're satisfied with being tethered to a desktop in the same place each time? Most people are, but some people want to move around. That's what these machines are all about.
Besides, in the conclusion, I mentioned "If it were our money, we’d probably spring for the $2,299 model, which is arguably a better value." It is–and for most people, it makes a heck of a lot more sense. You also skirt the issue of the quad-SSD failure rate concerns if that bugs you too. Quite frankly, at that price, with the GTX 980M, there isn't a better competitor around right now. The display isn't perfect, but apart from that and the internal battery, there's really not much else to hate on here. Until some other comparable machines pop up with considerably lower prices (not likely), it's IMO the best option around.
It's a cream of the crop machine with a couple of small niggles. If that's not what you're after, look elsewhere I say!
Highly disagree with those
Highly disagree with those specs.
A TN panel and it isnt even 120hz.
32 gig ram? for gaming?, 16 is more than enough, 8 isnt even tapped out yet.
Instead of all that mess of hard drives, can i just have ONE 500gig SSD? ill utilize the USB3 ports if i need more for all my legal movies.
At least that i7 is a quad core, instead of the dual core i7s.
Good thing the display is 1080p, it could have been 1366×768.
Wow, such a arrogant comment
Wow, such a arrogant comment for a person with loads of money. I get your point. But you can still have your preferred hardware with GT72 with added cost. Hope you done your research. And guess what, those days you never need more than 2GB RAM for gaming, and now you yourself saying that 16 GB sufficient.
I’m gaming right now and I
I’m gaming right now and I NEED 16Gb… Yeah I have 20 Chrome Tabs opened (1Gb), Minecraft FTB opened using 6Gb and Minecraft Vanilla using 5Gb and Skype using not much but yeah stil needing 16 Gb… Atleast I don’t have my server ON!
Thank you for an excellent
Thank you for an excellent and well-thought review! I purchased the GT72 Dominator Pro and I must say that I am extremely happy with the build quality and performance of this PC. I purchased the 24GB RAM/256 SSD option with the 980M. This was a catch-weight choice for $2,500, I want the computer to be future-proof and last for years. Everything about this PC is so slick and high quality, the aesthetics are just amazing! The GT72 is easy to love, sometimes I just stare at this beautiful beast in admiration. Every game title is easily played on Ultra with virtually no performance challenges that I have seen. Supersampling is the only option that I have seen lower fps. I accepted the fact the LCD screen was TN and 1080P when I made the purchase. I find the screen to be bright and colorful, with great contrast and sharpness. Screen perfection is one of the more discriminating elements of a laptop and it’s a huge cash investment to get modest gains, in my option. I’m glad that MSI invested in engineering that substantially affects performance. Besides, the GT72 allows for (3) 4K displays to be connected in tandem, so if you want to get nerdy, there are certainly options. The 1TB 7200RPM HDD also performs well for gaming, so I keep my key titles and frequent load apps on the 256 SSD and offload the rest to HDD. Lastly I’ll say the audio is immersive and enjoyable while playing games, impressive.
I have always found the desktop/laptop argument to be curious. It’s obvious that gaming laptops are for users that want to be mobile. Streaming is coming along but it’s still very early in that concept. In the 2000’s, I would play games with friend and I would have to travel with a desktop computer, monitor, peripherals. Those days are long behind me and I am willing to take a moderate hit on my wallet to ensure that I am mobile in any situation. Even if you are mildly cost conscious, the GT72 is a beautiful juggernaut and it’s an absolute pleasure to own.
The Nvidia Geforce GTX 460m
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I have the 970m upgraded to a
I have the 970m upgraded to a 256gb m.2 and added two matching 4gb sticks to the 12gb to have 24gb.(freq brand are a macth). Great laptop smokes my i7 860, gtx670 desktop.