Buzz
If you're looking for a mid-range gaming laptop, then take a look at the MSI GL65 Leopard. It's not the thinnest or lightest device. It doesn't have crazy specs or a lot of RGB lighting. However, it's a typical gaming laptop that offers a lot of gaming performance without demanding too high a cost.
The classic yet attractive design of the GL65 Leopard
The MSI GL65 Leopard laptop immediately evokes the feeling of a mid-range gaming laptop.
Weighing 2.3kg and measuring 27.5mm thick, it's certainly not the thinnest and lightest 15-inch laptop on the market.
Not only that, the machine also sports a very classic look with large ventilation holes. Along with that are red accents, red LED lights, and a dragon emblem that is very prominent on the back.
The build quality of the machine is also not overly premium. The chassis is mainly plastic with a thin metal panel on the lid.
The screen has a high refresh rate but isn't really good
The MSI GL65 Leopard laptop features a 15.6-inch FHD IPS display with a quality 144Hz refresh rate.
It's indeed a low-grade gaming screen with a response time of about 25 milliseconds and very poor color reproduction. Reviewers only measured a 50% SRGB color gamut.
For that reason, the machine will be okay for office applications and casual gaming. But if you want to play competitively or anything that requires any level of color accuracy, then the GL65 is unlikely to meet the requirements.
Although not all aspects of the screen are lacking, such as fairly good brightness, that alone is not enough to prevent the GL65 Leopard's screen from being classified as subpar.
Impressive performance with high-end components
The MSI GL65 Leopard laptop is equipped with a 10th generation Intel Core i7-10750H CPU and paired with 16GB LPDDR4 RAM. Coupled with a 512GB NVMe PCIe SSD, it delivers impressive performance.
The Intel Core i7-10750H is a good and fairly fast CPU, especially strong in single-core performance. However, for multi-core tasks, it can easily be outperformed by newer AMD Ryzen CPUs.
But overall, with this configuration, the machine can easily handle multiple Chrome tabs along with video editing sessions in Adobe Premiere Pro.
The GL65 Leopard uses the GeForce RTX 2060 115-watt variant suitable for gaming and performs better than other RTX 2060 laptops.
You won't encounter any issues when playing large AAA games at high settings or lightweight games at very high frame rates.
If that's still not enough to convince you, you can choose to spend a little extra for the RTX 2070 or even the RTX 2070 Max-Q.
Eye-catching backlit keyboard
The MSI GL65 Leopard laptop boasts a very attractive keyboard when in use. The reviewed version comes with red backlit keys. But you also have the option of multi-colored RGB models to choose from.
The keyboard also features a full NumPad and provides a great typing and gaming experience. There's a turbo cooling button at the top right and next to it is another button believed to open the Dragon Center software.
The touchpad is nothing special with its plastic surface. It's fairly accurate and not overly sensitive to accidental wrist contact.
If you're not concerned about your laptop being a bit bulky, then the MSI GL65 Leopard is definitely a worthy consideration. Especially with the performance it delivers.
