It’s only in recent years that gamers have started taking gaming laptops seriously as contenders when it comes to their set-up. With new technological advancements and releases coming thicker and faster than ever before however, many are still sceptical about picking up one up and parting with what is usually over a thousand pounds when they’re likely incapable of upgrading the equipment in the years that come after purchase.
With all of that in mind, we decided to put the MSI GF65 Thin 10UE with NVIDIA RTX 3060 graphics card to the test, trying out a range of different titles to see just how the ray-tracing, DLSS and other features all hold up. Expected to have a life of around three to four years, it could be a viable option for those looking to enjoy the current generation of graphical ability - plus, it doesn’t cost the world to own.
The configuration we were granted to review came with an Intel Core i7-10750H Processor, along with 1TB SSD and 16GB RAM. Other RAM, storage and Core options are available; it all depends on what sort of gamer you are.
Some of the aforementioned third-gen technologies come as part of the Max-Q suite of tools, which are included within the NVIDIA 30 Series graphics cards for laptops.
Advanced Optimus for example, can detect when your laptop is putting in the strenuous work of running a game, switching between graphics processors so that your current needs can be be taken care of, whilst improving your battery life and still supporting high refresh rates, as well as G-Sync. In the month or so we’ve been allowed access to the laptop, it hasn’t once come into trouble when running high-intensity games or applications; Advanced Optimus does a perfect job of keeping everything going smoothly.
Dynamic Boost 2.0 also does tremendously in shifting power between your GPU, CPU and graphics memory automatically, making sure that the laptop's power is being utilised in the most efficient way and, is being sent to the part of the machine that needs it the most.
One of my absolute favourite features of this new technology however, is Deep Learning Super Sampling, otherwise known as DLSS. This technology upscales low-res to higher-res, increasing your laptop’s performance whilst maintaining great visuals. It’s a massive improvement to what we’ve seen from laptops in the past, with the GPU rendering at a lower res than the image you see on the screen, thanks to reconstruction from DLSS.
Then there is, of course, the excellent ray-tracing capabilities of this new generation of graphics cards. You may think you’ve seen accurate representations of reflections and the like in video games of the past, but when you really delve into the comparisons of the same frame in a game with RTX turned on and off, the difference is immeasurable.
Developers have in the past tricked us into thinking that we were getting a life-like reflection but, the proof is in the pudding. RTX elevates gaming to that next level of immersion that is necessary, bringing character to objects that were otherwise inanimate and faded into the background. If you’re somebody - like me - who likes to take plenty of jaw-dropping screenshots while you’re gaming, then you’re going to have a lot of fun here.
It’s hard to imagine just where gaming is going to go next, with further advancements in technology. It is something we should keep in mind however, as the MSI GF65 has a life expectancy of three to four years before an upgrade would be necessary for future titles and releases. Still, that’s a lot longer than gaming laptops of the past and so, you can’t be too disappointed.
If you’re a gamer who doesn’t mind a bit of background noise (or who has a closed acoustic headset to drown out the whirr of your fans), then you can’t go far wrong here.
Topping all of this off with a sleek design that does well not to be overpowering like many other laptop offerings, makes for one of the most attractive gaming laptops on the market.
As popular as expected, you may have to do some digging if you’re desperate to get your hands on the GF65 Thin 10UE as soon as possible. Retailers such as Amazon and Currys are ones to watch!
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