MSI Brand Laptops

[AstroGuy]

Good Morning/Evening,

I would like your opinions on the MSI Gaming Laptops in general. I was looking at one of the models over at the base the other day, and the salesman seemed to pretty uppity about those, but you know how salesmen are, right...Make that sale...

Also, do all gaming laptops come with GPU's built in? And how does one tell if it does not? Not all are in the item description...

Thanks in advance!

Rod

 

[Tyrell]

MSI are a well known brand, quality is probably around the midrange-higher mark.
Be wary of salespeople, they will try to push you towards what nets them the biggest comission rather than the right product for yourneeds.
Normally one would expect a gaming laptop to have a good GPU but sometimes things are marketed as gaming because it sells rather than because its good. Best thing to do is note down the make / model of a few that you like, and search them online for reviews or the manufactuers website that should provide a detailed overview of the product. Be sure to get the full model number though a sometimes a model could come in different configurations.

 

[AstroGuy]

MSI are a well known brand, quality is probably around the midrange-higher mark.
Be wary of salespeople, they will try to push you towards what nets them the biggest comission rather than the right product for yourneeds.
Normally one would expect a gaming laptop to have a good GPU but sometimes things are marketed as gaming because it sells rather than because its good. Best thing to do is note down the make / model of a few that you like, and search them online for reviews or the manufactuers website that should provide a detailed overview of the product. Be sure to get the full model number though a sometimes a model could come in different configurations.

Yes, I have noticed this since I've been comparing HP's and Lenovo...Many have almost the same configs, but with slight differences, sometimes easy to miss...

Okay so I've heard a few of the folks I know over on the astronomy end of it also give decent reviews on MSI laptops, so I may start looking at those as well before deciding. I have a Lenovo ThinkPad now, so I'm looking hard at those too, and HP, of which I have never owned, but I know their reputation, and they have been around a long time.

Thanks Tyrell...!

Rod

 

[AstroGuy]

What is this, Intel Turbo Boost Technology? Is this the GPU kicking in? Once again, the Laptop I'm interested in doesn't say it has a GPU, just Turbo Boost...See link below

Lenovo PC

Thanks

Rod

​

 

[root]

Hey again @AstroGuy !

I've looked at the Lenovo machine you've linked.

• 【Processor】Intel Core i7-13700HX 16-Core Processor (Up to 5.1 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, 30 MB Intel Smart cache, 16 Cores: 8 Performance + 8 Efficient, 24 Threads)

So looking at the CPU specs in detail on Intel's website:
- The 'base speed' is 2.1Ghz. There are 8 cores that are 'performance cores' that can clock up to 5Ghz, depending on the CPU load. There are a further 8 'efficiency' cores that can clock up to 3.7Ghz - still damn fast for a laptop. The CPU should handle itself just what it can/can't do depending on how hot it is, whether the machine is in battery saving mode and things like that.

• 【Screen and Graphics】Brilliant 16" WQXGA (2560 x 1600) 165 Hz IPS 300 nits Anti-glare 100% sRGB, G-SYNC, Low Blue Light, 3 ms Response Time w/ OverDrive, Up to VESA DisplayH - DR 400 Certified Dolby VisionDisplay powered by NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB GDDR6

-In English: The screen is very, very good and high resolution.
The laptop has 'discrete' graphics, i.e a dedicated graphics circuit that will kick in when you need it. The RTX 4060 in a laptop offers very solid performance, and while it's not the absolute best on the market, for 99% of people this will be more powerful than anything released within the past few years.

My overall thoughts: this is a very solid machine for the price - certainly for performance. I can't speak for the build quality on Legion laptops but I imagine it's a cut above Lenovo's IdeaPad and perhaps towards that of ThinkPads.

 

[AstroGuy]

Hey again @AstroGuy !

I've looked at the Lenovo machine you've linked.


So looking at the CPU specs in detail on Intel's website:
- The 'base speed' is 2.1Ghz. There are 8 cores that are 'performance cores' that can clock up to 5Ghz, depending on the CPU load. There are a further 8 'efficiency' cores that can clock up to 3.7Ghz - still damn fast for a laptop. The CPU should handle itself just what it can/can't do depending on how hot it is, whether the machine is in battery saving mode and things like that.

-In English: The screen is very, very good and high resolution.
The laptop has 'discrete' graphics, i.e a dedicated graphics circuit that will kick in when you need it. The RTX 4060 in a laptop offers very solid performance, and while it's not the absolute best on the market, for 99% of people this will be more powerful than anything released within the past few years.

My overall thoughts: this is a very solid machine for the price - certainly for performance. I can't speak for the build quality on Legion laptops but I imagine it's a cut above Lenovo's IdeaPad and perhaps towards that of ThinkPads.

I've switched gears and decided to get the MSI RTX 4070....Can you give me your thoughts on this one as well? I'm about to Click, "Add to Cart" haha..I'm tired of looking, it's been a three week search...!
MSI Gaming PC RTX4070

Thanks Man!!

Rod

 

[root]

I've had a look at the MSI laptop you've linked - and compared it to the Lenovo.

You're gaining an additional 32GB of RAM, and sacrificing a very slight amount of CPU performance (2 cores and a tiny bit less cache) - not really enough to notice I'd argue but the RAM will be extremely helpful especially if the software you run is particularly memory hungry. You've also got double the SSD space - 4TB is really big for a SSD drive.
The MSI laptop also offers a 4070 over a 4060 so you should see better graphics performance from the MSI unit.

The MSI has a smaller screen, arguably more portable though, and appears to have a slightly bigger battery (I can't see the exact specs on the product page) so at a guess it would offer a slightly better battery runtime over the Lenovo. The lenovo however does have a higher resolution screen, but I don't think there would be a huge difference between the two.

The MSI is also slightly lighter than the Lenovo.

You're also getting Win11Pro vs Win11Home with the MSI, not a massive difference between the two but Pro will come with more features like being able to remotely connect to your machine from another if you wish and things like that.

Out of the two.... I'd purchase the MSI. I'd happily sacrifice a bit of CPU in exchange for double the RAM and better graphics performance. The CPU in the MSI is slightly less power hungry than the Lenovo too which should contribute to providing better battery life. I'd be surprised if you get less than 5 years use out of the MSI, and arguably it'll still be useful for around 10 years unless there's a rapid jump in tech in the meantime.

 

[AstroGuy]

I've had a look at the MSI laptop you've linked - and compared it to the Lenovo.

You're gaining an additional 32GB of RAM, and sacrificing a very slight amount of CPU performance (2 cores and a tiny bit less cache) - not really enough to notice I'd argue but the RAM will be extremely helpful especially if the software you run is particularly memory hungry. You've also got double the SSD space - 4TB is really big for a SSD drive.
The MSI laptop also offers a 4070 over a 4060 so you should see better graphics performance from the MSI unit.

The MSI has a smaller screen, arguably more portable though, and appears to have a slightly bigger battery (I can't see the exact specs on the product page) so at a guess it would offer a slightly better battery runtime over the Lenovo. The lenovo however does have a higher resolution screen, but I don't think there would be a huge difference between the two.

The MSI is also slightly lighter than the Lenovo.

You're also getting Win11Pro vs Win11Home with the MSI, not a massive difference between the two but Pro will come with more features like being able to remotely connect to your machine from another if you wish and things like that.

Out of the two.... I'd purchase the MSI. I'd happily sacrifice a bit of CPU in exchange for double the RAM and better graphics performance. The CPU in the MSI is slightly less power hungry than the Lenovo too which should contribute to providing better battery life. I'd be surprised if you get less than 5 years use out of the MSI, and arguably it'll still be useful for around 10 years unless there's a rapid jump in tech in the meantime.

Yeah, it took me three weeks to compare all the notes on those three brands MSI, HP, and Lenovo, plus price vs what I needed and what I could sacrifice! It's was a tough juggling act for sure....I'm using the MSI strictly for my astrophotgraphy, and the Pixinsight processing software requires a big demand, so i think I made a good choice.

And correct, I'll be adding a Mini PC to my telescope mount, then run everything from inside the house in comfort...! Plus I think the Pro version may have the office Suite software, so maybe I'll get MS Word...One of my rigs here, same mount, and I have three different scopes for various targets.

Can't wait to get it. probably take a few days to install all of the software required for the astro photography. It's quite a lot of stuff...!

Thanks, Root...!!