Best MSI gaming laptops currently: Which laptop is suitable for end-of-year 2021 shopping season?

MSI is certainly not a stranger to gamers who enjoy gaming on laptops. With a plethora of impressive gaming laptop products that MSI has introduced recently, it's understandable that some of you may find it challenging to choose a gaming laptop that suits your needs. To address this, I have compiled a list of the best MSI gaming laptops currently available to help you find the laptop model that suits you best!

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1. MSI GF65 Thin – A mainstream gaming laptop with a compact, lightweight design and powerful performance

The first laptop I want to introduce to you is the MSI GF65 Thin, which is a great gaming laptop priced at under 30 million VND (price at Mytour). Besides its compact and lightweight design, the MSI GF65 Thin boasts powerful specifications with a 10th-generation Intel Core chip and an RTX 3060 Max-Q graphics card. Let's take a look at the specifications of the MSI GF65 Thin:

• Display: 15.6-inch Full HD screen, 144 Hz refresh rate.
• CPU: Intel Core i5-10500H.
• RAM: DDR4 16 GB (1 slot 8 GB + 1 slot 8 GB), upgradable to 64 GB.
• Storage: 512 GB SSD NVMe PCIe, with support for additional M.2 PCIe SSD slot.
• Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Max-Q 6 GB.

Based on these specifications, the MSI GF65 Thin delivers excellent performance for playing League of Legends at high graphics settings, with FPS (frames per second) ranging from 190-232 FPS, providing absolute stability and smooth handling of solo or team combat. However, when I record the screen, the FPS drops to 128-144 FPS. Not only does it excel in gaming performance, but the MSI GF65 Thin's power also extends to impressive graphic processing capabilities. The device can handle graphics tasks well, and I confidently use it simultaneously with Photoshop, Lightroom, and other software without encountering any difficulties.

The design is a highlight of the MSI GF65 Thin, weighing only 1.86 kg, which is impressive compared to other gaming laptops. The back of the MSI laptop is also designed simply with striped patterns created from metal surface processing, featuring the characteristic red dragon logo and a bold red-black color scheme for a gaming vibe.

The MSI GF65 Thin is equipped with a 15.6-inch IPS LCD display, Full HD resolution, offering wide viewing angles and beautiful color reproduction, ideal for graphic design work. Additionally, the MSI GF65 Thin features a 144 Hz refresh rate, providing a smooth experience not only for graphic design but also for entertainment such as movies and gaming, delivering impressive quality.

Regarding the keyboard and touchpad on the MSI GF65 Thin, due to its compact size, you won't find a physical numeric keypad, nor is there any space above the keyboard. In terms of user experience, I find the key travel on the MSI GF65 Thin to be quite shallow and lacking, as I have large hands.

However, a plus for the keyboard of the MSI GF65 Thin is the integrated red backlight, allowing me to use it in low-light environments and create a strong, stylish gaming effect. As for the touchpad, it offers a relatively smooth surface, no sticking, with enough space for me to navigate and quick response speed.

Finally, I used the BatteryMon software to measure the battery life of the MSI GF65 Thin. During the test, I used Photoshop and played League of Legends on the MSI laptop, and the results were quite impressive. The laptop lasted 1 hour and 11 minutes with the screen at 100%, sound at 70%, and battery saver off. This is a fairly good result considering the MSI GF65 Thin is a gaming laptop.

Watch more: MSI GF65 Thin Review: Compact design, powerful performance with RTX 3060

2. MSI GF76 Katana – Powerful Performance, New and More Robust Design, and Attractive Price

The next product I want to introduce to you is the MSI GF76 Katana, a gaming laptop equipped with excellent performance, a new design compared to its predecessor, and an equally attractive price. Let's take a quick look at the specifications of the MSI GF76 Katana.

• Display: 17.3-inch, Full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080), 144Hz refresh rate.
• CPU: Intel Core i7-11800H, 2.3 GHz.
• RAM: DDR4 8 GB, supports up to 64 GB upgrade.
• Storage: 512 GB NVMe PCIe SSD, does not support additional M.2 PCIe SSD slot.
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4GB.

Firstly, when it comes to gaming laptops, we cannot ignore the power of performance, right? With the specifications listed above, the MSI GF76 Katana promises to bring you a powerful device that can handle current games well and meet your graphic design needs as well.

In terms of design, I highly appreciate the appearance of the MSI GF76 Katana with the robustness that a gaming laptop needs, but still compact and not too bulky to limit you when using the device in various conditions. The MSI Gaming GF76 Katana is also equipped with many connectivity ports such as: 3.5mm headphone jack, USB 3.2, HDMI, LAN (RJ45), USB 2.0, and USB Type-C, allowing you to easily connect to peripherals.

True to its name, the MSI GF76 is inspired by the Katana sword, a famous weapon used by many Japanese warriors in ancient times. That's why every cut, edge of this laptop is meticulously finished, very similar to the manual process of forging a Katana sword. The A-side of the MSI GF76 Katana has a textured design with the highlight being the logo of a dragon printed in a minimalist but unique and elegant way.

When you open the MSI GF76 Katana, you will immediately notice the IPS display measuring up to 17.3 inches with Full HD resolution, giving you a spacious and comfortable entertainment and work space. Moreover, the screen of the MSI GF76 Katana has a refresh rate of 144 Hz, making mouse movements, scrolling, and displayed content such as movies, games, look very smooth and seamless.

Additionally, the MSI GF76 Katana features an Anti-Glare display that allows you to use the laptop in various conditions, even outdoors, without worrying about display visibility. After admiring the screen, let's take a look at the keyboard system of the MSI GF76 Katana. It comes with a mechanical-like keyboard with large keys and deep key travel, providing a good typing experience. This keyboard system also has a red backlight that looks very stylish, helping you work or play games in low-light conditions more easily.

As for the TouchPad, it is slightly offset to the left on the MSI GF76 Katana, creating a wider resting area for your hand. Although using this TouchPad may not be as smooth and might feel a bit sticky in some cases, the response speed is relatively fast and sensitive.

3. MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth – High-end gaming laptop with luxurious design and top-notch configuration

Let's first take a look at the specifications of the MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth:

• Display: 15.6-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) display with a 360Hz refresh rate.
• CPU: Intel Core i7-11800H, 2.3 GHz.
• RAM: 32 GB DDR4, upgradable to 64 GB.
• Storage: 2 TB SSD NVMe PCIe, supports an additional M.2 PCIe SSD slot (up to 2TB).
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 MAX-Q 8GB.

Just looking at the specifications, MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth is sure to deliver excellent performance. When experiencing the game Valorant on MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth with Max Performance mode, the machine achieves a stable FPS of around 200, even during shooting activities, it only drops by about 5-6 FPS.

In addition to gaming, the powerful configuration of MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth, if not used for graphics work, would be a waste, wouldn't it? Oh, and I'll reveal more that MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth also has an impressive screen to help you with graphics work on this product even more easily. In conclusion, through the tests and during use, I found MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth to operate very powerfully and stably in the tasks I performed on the machine.

I highly appreciate the design of MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth, not only because the machine looks beautiful and luxurious, but also because this design is highly practical. I can take the machine to work, to meetings, or to play anywhere without worrying about the machine being too flashy, attracting unwanted attention.

The front of MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth also looks very minimalist with mysterious black color and the MSI logo intricately and elegantly engraved. The edges and corners of MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth also look square and strong, with a size that is quite suitable for carrying in a backpack when going out. In terms of connectivity, MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth provides you with 3 USB-A 3.2 ports, 2 USB-C ports, an Ethernet port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an HDMI port, more than enough for your connectivity needs.

The screen of MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth measures 15.6 inches, with Full HD resolution, providing you with a sufficient display space, not too large but not too small. What stands out among the screen specifications of MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth is the high refresh rate of up to 360 Hz, giving you an incredibly smooth screen experience for watching movies, playing games, or working, designing, etc.

MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth features a keyboard system with a fairly logical layout, keys of adequate size for a good typing experience. The keyboard of MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth also stands out with a unique RGB LED backlight system with many different color modes, making the machine very prominent when in use.

Finally, in terms of battery life, MSI Gaming GS66 Stealth is equipped with a 99.9 Wh battery, providing a battery life of over 4 hours. This is a very promising number considering the high refresh rate, RGB LED system, etc. Personally, I think this is a good number, and when using a gaming laptop, we often charge while using it, so I don't think we need to focus too much on this issue.

4. MSI GE66 Raider - A powerful and extremely high-end 'spaceship' from MSI

MSI GE66 Raider, priced under 60 million (price at Mytour), is an extremely impressive gaming laptop from MSI. The device impresses me with its unique design featuring a beautiful Panoramic Aurora RGB strip, a solid metal case, and especially the MSI GE66 Raider's powerful configuration.

Before diving into details, let's quickly go over the specifications of the MSI GE66 Raider.

• Display: 15.6-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), 360 Hz refresh rate support.
• CPU: Intel Core i7 Tiger Lake - 11800H.
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB.
• RAM: 16 GB, 32 GB.
• Storage: 2 TB SSD NVMe PCIe.
• Operating System: Windows 10 (upgraded to official Windows 11).
• Battery Capacity: 99.9 Wh.

MSI GE66 Raider achieves extremely high scores, and I was particularly impressed with its graphics score (in GeekBench 5) reaching 89,508 points. The single-core/multi-core score in Cinebench R23 of MSI GE66 Raider is also high compared to some competitors in the same segment.

In terms of actual gaming performance, I tested FIFA Online 4 at the highest graphics settings. The MSI GE66 Raider can maintain frame rates above 150 FPS and reach as high as 230 FPS during a match. Occasionally, sudden transition effects like instant replays, slow motion, etc., may drop the FPS to around 40-50 FPS, but I found the experience to be very stable and smooth.

Regarding design, the standout feature of the MSI GE66 Raider is its premium CoolerBoost 5 cooling system, with 6 heat pipes, 2 large fans, and 4 heat vents (2 vents at the back and 2 vents on the left/right sides), which better optimizes the temperature of the CPU and GPU on the MSI GE66 Raider, making the machine more stable when gaming or performing heavy multitasking.

Overall, the exterior design of the MSI GE66 Raider looks unique with its spaceship-like design. The machine is also relatively compact and lightweight for users to carry everywhere. The GE66 Raider sports a titan gray color that looks striking and distinct from the crowd of gaming laptops in the current market. The metal chassis and the dragon logo embossed to create a focal point for the device.

Another distinctive feature of the MSI GE66 Raider is the RGB Panoramic Aurora lighting strip, which creates a very attractive effect. The matte black plastic layer prevents the light from being too bright when I use the machine in the evening. The ports located mostly at the back are mainly output ports such as mini DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, LAN port, power port, which look quite similar to USB-A ports and a USB-C port. On the left side, the machine has a USB-A port, a USB-C port, and a 3.5mm headphone + mic port. Moving to the right side, we have 2 more USB-A ports and an SD card reader slot.

One of the most outstanding features of the MSI GE66 Raider's display is its 360Hz refresh rate, which is incredibly smooth. This panel is sure to meet the entertainment needs of movies and especially provide a very eye-catching gaming experience. The color, detail, contrast, saturation, etc., of this screen are all at a good level. For those of you who work in graphics-related fields such as photo editing or video editing, the MSI GE66 Raider completely meets this requirement.

Below the screen is the SteelSeries keyboard and the TouchPad of the MSI GE66 Raider. Perhaps I don't need to say much more about MSI's SteelSeries keyboard. The smooth typing feel, responsive keys, and deep key travel are what I feel about the keyboard of this laptop. Furthermore, the MSI GE66 Raider's keyboard also supports super high-quality RGB lighting.

The GE66 Raider's touchpad provides a good experience, but I find this area to be relatively small compared to the remaining space. However, this touchpad is a ClickPad type, smooth surface, not sticky with sweat, and fully supports multi-touch gestures on Windows 10 with Precision TouchPad driver.

To power a powerful machine, the MSI GE66 Raider is equipped with a 99.9 Wh battery, providing approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes of runtime for normal tasks without turning on the cooling fan. When performing normal tasks, including gaming (15 minutes) and with the cooling fan on, the MSI GE66 Raider can last about 1 hour and 45 minutes. This is understandable because the device's battery has to bear quite heavy hardware. For me, I don't demand much in terms of battery life for this product.

Read more: MSI GE66 Raider Review: Colorful Design, Powerful Performance with RTX 3070

Conclusion

Above are the best MSI gaming laptops to buy right now, compiled to help you easily update information and find the most suitable choice for yourself. However, these are still reviews based on my personal opinion, so for the most accurate view, please visit Mytour to experience these products yourself. If any of you have experienced the machines in this list, don't forget to leave a comment, your review of these products. Thank you very much for reading my entire article.

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