MSI Raider GE76-12UHS Review: Beastly Power at a Price

Laptops that includes high-end 12^th Gen Intel Core CPUs have began displaying up in shops in India, and players can get the primary style of this new {hardware} proper now. With constant competitors from AMD over the previous few years, plus Apple’s shift to its personal in-house M1 Professional and M1 Max processors, Intel has quite a bit to show within the premium laptop computer area. The largest change with the 12^th Gen lineup is a transfer to a heterogenous structure with a number of CPU core sorts. We have already seen how this modifications issues for high-end desktops, and now it is time to speak about our first expertise with a laptop computer powered by certainly one of these CPUs.

MSI is among the first corporations to refresh its portfolio of gaming laptops in India with 12^th Gen Core CPUs. The brand new fashions cowl a variety of worth factors with completely different display sizes and a number of CPU and GPU choices. Whereas the business general is shifting in direction of slimmer and lighter fashions, even within the gaming market, what we have now with us as we speak is the top-of-the-line MSI Raider GE76-12UHS, a beefy gaming laptop computer with specs that max out virtually each possible parameter, and a worth that could be laborious for most individuals to abdomen.

When you want a gaming laptop computer and do not wish to compromise even a little bit bit on efficiency, this evaluation gives you a style of what a vast funds can get you in 2022.

Excessive-end {hardware} requires appreciable cooling, making the Raider GE76 comparatively cumbersome

MSI Raider GE76-12UHS worth in India

MSI has introduced a number of variants of the Raider collection with a variety of specs. The Raider GE66 mannequin quantity signifies a 15.6-inch display whereas GE76 means you get a 17.3-inch display. In India, the MSI Raider GE76 begins with a 12^th Gen Core i7 CPU and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GPU for Rs. 2,85,990 whereas a Core i9 CPU and GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU will push the value as much as a blistering Rs. 4,81,990.

The Raider GE66 is priced at Rs. 2,79,990 and Rs. 4,47,990 for a similar two variants. These are all official costs and retail listings are available in a bit decrease. Clearly, these laptops will not be for the faint of coronary heart. Nonetheless, not all permutations and mixtures of {hardware} seem like out there in India – extra on that in a second.

The Titanium Blue exterior of the MSI Raider GE76 does not match the standard gamer aesthetic however appears to be like good

MSI Raider GE76-12UHS design

Initially, the Raider GE76 is is among the largest laptops I’ve seen in a very long time. At the same time as most producers are pushing thin-and-light choices within the gaming market, MSI has gone with a totally unapologetic method that prioritises top-end elements plus the cooling they’re going to require.

Nonetheless, it isn’t as cumbersome and heavy as top-tier gaming laptops was once only a few years in the past, and MSI has used the area properly – for instance, the 17.3-inch display spans almost the complete width of the lid; there is not a lot plastic round it making the Raider GE76’s physique any wider than it must be. Regardless of its look, the Raider GE76 weighs solely 2.9kg (not together with the big energy brick) which is lower than what most on a regular basis 15-inch laptops weighed not too way back. You may truly carry it round every single day with out an excessive amount of bother if you wish to.

The lid is metallic with an icy silver-blue end that MSI calls Titanium Blue. That is considerably uncommon for a gaming laptop computer, but it surely appears to be like fairly good – the one draw back is that smudges are extremely seen. MSI has averted the apparent “gamer” aesthetic although the hinges and corners are barely pronounced, and there are massive vents on the rear. The MSI dragon badge is a little bit garish however that is the one branding you may see wherever.

If you flip this laptop computer on, nevertheless, all subtlety goes out the window. MSI has chosen to implement a big RGB LED bar throughout the complete entrance lip of the GE76 Raider. By default it cycles by jewel-toned crimson, inexperienced, and blue. This may be customised by MSI’s software program but it surely surprisingly is not built-in with the keyboard’s lighting results and there is not any method to flip it off rapidly when watching a film, for instance.

MSI has gone all in on lighting results with per-key RGB illumination and an enormous bar on the entrance

The keyboard has per-key RGB LED backlighting, and MSI has gone for a barely muted, frosted tone reasonably than the brilliant colors you would possibly count on. The impact is eye-catching, and you may change patterns or flip it off rapidly utilizing Fn key shortcuts.

As for keyboard format, not one of the keyboard keys are too small or cramped. There is a full-sized quantity pad however no paging block. The Fn shortcut secret is to the precise of the spacebar, which could take some getting used to. Shortcuts for quantity and display brightness adjustment are on the arrow cluster reasonably than the Fn row. The ability button within the top-right nook is a bit stiffer than the others to make it more durable to press unintentionally.

As a result of this keyboard was designed by SteelSeries, you get the corporate’s GG app which helps you to synchronise RGB settings and shortcuts throughout completely different equipment. A number of video games and apps help customized RGB results. You may monitor stats similar to well being, mana, teammates, spawn time, and buff timers in League of Legends, or compass instructions and gear sturdiness in Minecraft, for instance. Sadly the app pushes you to join an account as a way to seize and share gameplay clips, and there is additionally a lot of undesirable promotion for different Steelseries merchandise.

The trackpad appears tiny on such an enormous physique however is definitely an honest dimension. It is aligned to the keyboard’s house keys, not the chassis, which is sweet. I felt a little bit an excessive amount of friction when swiping round. It’s kind of of a shock that there are not any bodily buttons, however the mechanism is okay for informal use. You will have a mouse for severe gaming anyway.

The MSI Raider GE76’s keyboard is spacious however has just a few format quirks

MSI Raider GE76-12UHS specs

MSI lists two choices for Indian patrons, one with a 12^th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU paired with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, and the opposite with a Core i9 CPU and GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU. The unit I’ve for evaluation was offered by Intel and MSI, and there are some slight variations in comparison with what’s on sale right here, although this should not have an effect on efficiency. The Core i9-12900HK CPU, which is that this era’s top-end cellular half, has six P-cores with Hyper-Threading working at as much as 5GHz and eight single-threaded E-cores working at as much as 3.8GHz. The nominal TDP is 45W however this may be pushed manner as much as 115W if a laptop computer’s energy and cooling design enable it. It does have built-in graphics capabilities based mostly on Intel’s Iris Xe structure for low-demand utilization.

There are a number of show choices – full-HD at 360Hz, QHD at 240Hz, and 4K at 120Hz. Every possibility represents a tradeoff, and there are after all completely different video games and duties that would profit from both mixture. Contemplating the 17.3-inch panel dimension, I would lean in direction of the upper resolutions to steadiness productiveness and gaming, however I can see how some twitch-style players need the quickest refresh fee attainable and are not going to push past full-HD in video games anyway. The evaluation unit has the 1080p 360Hz panel. All of those are described as “IPS-level” shows.

RAM help goes as much as 64GB of DDR5-4800 and there are two user-accessible slots. There are additionally two M.2 slots fed by PCIe 4.0 lanes so upgrading should not be a lot of an issue. The evaluation unit had 32GB of DDR5 RAM and two 1TB Samsung OEM SSDs. Retail items have just one 1TB SSD. There’s Wi-Fi 6e and Bluetooth 5.2. The 99.9Wh battery was chosen to max out the capability that is allowed on industrial flights, and also you get a hefty 330W charger within the field.

Many of the ports you’d want steadily are on the perimeters of the MSI GE76 Raider

Ports are positioned on the perimeters and again of the Raider GE76. Beginning with the left, there are USB 3.2 Gen2 (10Gbps) Sort-A and Sort-C ports (the latter of which helps DisplayPort 1.4 video output), plus a 3.5mm audio socket. On the precise are two USB 3.2 Gen1 (5Gbps) Sort-A ports and an SD Categorical card slot. The rear has the DC energy inlet, HDMI 2.1 and Mini-DisplayPort 1.4 video outputs, a single Thunderbolt 4 Sort-C port, and a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet jack. 

There is a 1080p webcam however no face recognition or perhaps a fingerprint sensor. The Raider GE76 has stereo 2W audio system plus twin 1W woofers designed by Dynaudio. The keyboard has Steelseries branding. MSI has used six heatpipes two followers, one for the CPU and one for the GPU, which it says are bigger than earlier than.

You will get Home windows 11, which is required to take full benefit of Intel’s Thread Director function which assigns duties to the suitable kind of core. There’s some preloaded software program too – MSI Heart helps you to handle on-device noise cancellation, backups, fan profiles, lighting results, and extra. App Participant makes use of Bluestacks’ expertise to permit you to play Android video games. There’s additionally a short-term Norton Safety subscription.

Giant vents exhaust sizzling air out the rear, and extra ports are positioned right here too

MSI Raider GE76-12UHS efficiency

Let’s first speak about on a regular basis utilization. The show on my evaluation unit was non-reflective and customarily nice to work with. Content material on display wasn’t particularly sharp, contemplating the 1920×1080 decision at 17.3 inches, and I’ve seen higher. Colors are pretty punchy and watching movies was fulfilling sufficient. HDR is not on the spec sheet however this panel can get fairly brilliant. The audio system fireplace upwards and sideways, creating a large soundstage. They’ll get loud sufficient to fill a small room, and you may simply watch movies with a pal or two at a substantial distance from the display. Sound is evident, particularly voices, however is usually a bit shrill at excessive quantity.

The keyboard is a bit spongy however the keys do have good journey. The format takes some getting used to, particularly having the Fn key to the precise of the spacebar. One neat contact is that if you maintain the Fn key down, your backlight impact is paused and all out there combo keys mild up in crimson. The trackpad is fortunately centred to the keyboard. It really works properly sufficient and its click on mechanism feels crisp.

Now it is lastly time to check Intel’s newest and biggest, within the type of the MSI Raider GE76 gaming laptop computer. In fact, we begin with PCMark 10, which measures efficiency throughout a number of real-world use instances. The usual run produced a rating of seven,172 whereas the Prolonged run managed 9,948. The brand new UL Procyon take a look at is extra specialised – its Workplace Productiveness suite confirmed a results of 7,278 whereas the Picture Modifying benchmark rating was 8,198. In comparison with the just lately examined Asus ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED, which is predicated on an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU, the 12^th Gen Intel Core i9 confirmed vital features.

The browser-based WebXprt 3 and Basemark checks produced 344 and 1,247.37 factors respectively. Cinebench R20’s single-core and multi-core scores had been 634 and 5,614. POVRay’s default benchmark scene was rendered in 49s whereas V-Ray confirmed CPU and GPU render scores of 16,226 and 554 respectively. The Blender 3D benchmark took 2 minutes, 56 seconds to finish the acquainted BMW render, 7 minutes 54 seconds for the Classroom take a look at, and seven minutes, 58 seconds for the Barcelona Pavilion scene.

Accessible shortcuts are highlighted if you maintain the Fn key down

In real-world checks, the MSI Raider GE76 was in a position to compress a 3.24GB of varied information utilizing 7zip in 1 minute, 12 seconds, whereas Handbrake took 36 seconds to transcode a 1.3GB AVI file to H.265. On this latter take a look at, the Ryzen-based laptop computer had an enormous benefit due to its greater variety of highly effective cores working in parallel. CrystalDiskMark measured sequential reads and writes for the first SSD at 7,031MBps and 5,116.7MBps respectively, whereas random reads and writes got here in at 2,827.6MBps and 1,381.3MBps.

Coming to graphics and gaming efficiency, which is what everybody needs to learn about, we once more begin with artificial checks. 3DMark’s DX12 Time Spy Excessive take a look at rating was 5,881, whereas the Port Royal take a look at with ray tracing managed 7,940 factors. The Nvidia DLSS function take a look at confirmed scores of 36.86fps with DLSS off and 85.63fps with it enabled. Unigine’s Superposition benchmark was restricted to 1920×1080, however with pushing high quality as much as the Excessive preset, the typical efficiency was 46.32fps.

We begin our in-game checks with Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which averaged 134fps at 1920×1080 on the Highest high quality preset. Surprisingly, with shadow ray tracing enabled and DLSS set to Balanced mode, the body fee stayed just about the identical. Metro: Exodus additionally helps each options. At its Extremely preset, the sport’s benchmark device reported a 90.72fps common. With ray tracing set to Excessive, that dropped to 76.72fps, however with DLSS enabled, the typical bouced again to 83.98fps.

Far Cry 5 averaged 125fps and there was no want to check at something under its Extremely preset. Assasin’s Creed: Odyssey put up a rating of 80fps at its Extremely Excessive settings. Center Earth: Shadow of Warfare had no bother hitting 150fps at Extremely high quality, and Gears Ways averaged 143.2fps at its personal Extremely setting.

I noticed extraordinarily fluid efficiency when manually working by some video games. Doom Everlasting, which has little bother even with mid-range {hardware}, comfortably hit 250fps even at its Extremely Nightmare high quality setting, however that dropped fairly a bit in heavy combat scenes. With ray tracing turned on and DLSS set to balanced, I noticed the body fee differ between 170fps and 220fps utilizing the in-game overlay. I then fired up Management with its high quality set to Excessive. With none results, I noticed efficiency as much as 120fps utilizing Nvidia’s efficiency overlay. That dropped to round 75fps with ray tracing on, and about 100fps with DLSS set to Balanced mode to compensate.

The ability brick you get with the MSI Raider GE76 is huge and heavy

These are all very excessive body charges, however I might have most well-liked to have been in a position to take a look at all these video games at greater resolutions. It is not doubtless that anybody would spend a lot on an enormous laptop computer with a 17.3-inch 360Hz panel after which use an exterior monitor as a substitute, in order that was not a take a look at situation for this evaluation. In fact a decision of 1920×1080 will enable video games to run very properly.

That stated, the 360Hz refresh fee plus the efficiency of the CPU and GPU on this laptop computer made video games look unimaginable. Microstuttering was just about a non-issue. I noticed no tearing in any way, even in benchmark scenes that usually run poorly. It is laborious to quantify whether or not 360Hz is that significantly better than, say 240Hz and even 144Hz for most individuals. Positive, there are some kinds of video games that can profit from this mix of decision and refresh fee, however others will discover 1080p a bit too restrictive. I might have most well-liked both of MSI’s different choices; QHD at 240Hz and 4K at 120Hz.

When working video games and checks, the followers of the MSI Raider GE76 spin up inside just a few seconds and might get fairly loud – not distracting, however positively noticeable. Sizzling air is pushed out the again and sides, and I needed to pull my mouse ahead to keep away from discomfort. The keyboard will get heat however that is tolerable across the WASD space. Nonetheless, the metallic space above and close to the higher sides of the keyboard tray can develop into too sizzling to the touch for greater than a second or two.

With regards to a 17.3-inch gaming laptop computer with flagship specs, battery life in all probability is not excessive on patrons’ lists of priorities. Intel does declare energy effectivity enhancements for the Alder Lake structure, partly due to the E-cores and partly to its ‘Intel 7′ manufacturing course of. Even so, MSI has gone with the very best capability that can be allowed by airport safety – 99.9Wh.

Do not count on to play high-end video games whereas working on battery energy. I ran just a few checks to see whether or not we’re at a degree the place that is attainable, but it surely is not. 3DMark’s Port Royal and Time Spy Excessive scores crashed to 1,650 and 1,355 respectively, and Center Earth: Shadow of Warfare managed solely 38fps on the identical settings as earlier than.

I observed that the Raider GE76’s followers would typically develop into audible even when performing mundane duties, indicating spikes in energy consumption. With common on a regular basis use, involving some video streaming and lots of browser-based work, I did not get greater than six hours on a single cost (the LED results and refresh fee had been at their default settings). The intensive Battery Eater Professional take a look at ran for 1 hour, 43 minutes with LEDs disabled and our common take a look at circumstances enforced. It charged to about 78 p.c in two hours, which is alright.

The MSI Raider GE76 might be referred to as a “desktop substitute” but it surely is not too heavy to hold round every single day

Verdict

Intel’s top-end 12^th Gen ‘Alder Lake’ cellular CPU, the Core i9-12900HK, is a beast. It reached new heights in a number of benchmarks and units a excessive bar for AMD to match with its upcoming Ryzen 6000 collection. The mix of this CPU, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU, the 360Hz display, and all the opposite top-end {hardware} within the Raider GE76 made for an outstanding gaming expertise. When you get used to enjoying at properly over 100fps in a number of high-end titles at their highest attainable settings, it is laborious to return. I am nonetheless not satisfied that the 360Hz refresh fee is price dropping to 1080p for, however that is why a number of choices can be found.

In fact this sort of laptop computer is not for everybody. Not solely is the MSI Raider GE76 cumbersome by as we speak’s requirements, but it surely additionally runs sizzling and is ludicrously costly. This sort of cash might purchase you a reasonably succesful small automotive, model new, and it is fairly sure that one thing considerably higher will come alongside in a 12 months or much less. A laptop computer of this calibre is an opulent indulgence, and whereas it ought to work nice for a few years, it will not be top-of-the-line for lengthy.

Let’s additionally speak in regards to the creator laptop computer market. Many individuals who want severe efficiency for content material creation work similar to 3D modelling, high-res video manufacturing, animation, and even data-heavy workloads typically purchase gaming laptops for his or her {hardware}. Efficiency in our benchmarks reveals that if time is cash, an funding of this magnitude would possibly make sense for lots of pros. There are certain to be a number of laptops out there quickly extra tailor-made to this market, but it surely’s good to have choices that serve for work in addition to play.