MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

Final 12 months, MSI launched the Titan GT77 with the Intel Core i9-12900HX and the RTX 3080 Ti Laptop computer GPU, and it was probably the most highly effective gaming laptop computer on the face of the planet. It was the heaviest of heavy hitters and will deal with something you’d throw at it with … The post MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car appeared first on Ferdja.

May 1, 2023 - 03:00
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MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

Final 12 months, MSI launched the Titan GT77 with the Intel Core i9-12900HX and the RTX 3080 Ti Laptop computer GPU, and it was probably the most highly effective gaming laptop computer on the face of the planet. It was the heaviest of heavy hitters and will deal with something you’d throw at it with out breaking a sweat. MSI has now refreshed the Titan GT77 with the Core i9-13950 HX that Intel launched in January this 12 months (2023) and Nvidia’s RTX 4090 16GB laptop computer GPU. How effectively does the brand new MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V maintain up, although? Let’s discover out in our in-depth evaluation.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Evaluation (2023)

I spent greater than two weeks with the evaluation unit of the MSI Titan GT77 loaned to us by Intel and examined it underneath completely different eventualities (and repeatedly) to carry you an unbiased evaluation. Having mentioned that, let’s have a look at the design and construct of this gaming laptop computer earlier than shifting on to the efficiency part.

Specs Desk

CPU Thirteenth-Gen Intel Core i9-13950HX
RAM 64GB DDR5 4800MHz
Show 17.3-inch UHD (3840 x 2160), 144Hz, Mini-LED, HDR 1000
GPU 16GB GDDR6 Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 laptop computer GPU
Storage 4TB (2x 2TB Samsung PM9A1 NVMe Gen 4×4 SSDs in a RAID 0 configuration)
I/O Ports 1x Thunderbolt 4 port (USB Kind-C) with PD Charging
1x Thunderbolt 4 port (USB Kind-C)
3x USB 3.2 Gen2 Kind-A ports
1x SD Specific Card Reader
1x HDMI 2.1 (8K @ 60Hz or 4K @ 120Hz)
1x Mini-DisplayPort
1x RJ45 Ethernet port
1x Headphone + Microphone Combo audio Jack
Battery & Charging 99.9Whr (4-Cell), 330W Adapter
Wi-fi Connectivity Killer Gb LAN (As much as 2.5G), Killer AX Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth v5.3
Weight Laptop computer — 3.3 kg | Energy Adapter — 1.4 kg

Design & Construct High quality

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

The MSI Titan GT77 HX is a hefty beast — even lifting this behemoth out of the field required some muscle work. For those who plan on ordering one for your self, we advise you begin figuring out earlier than it arrives. We aptly named our unit “The Massive Chungus” on the beebom workplace.

The Titan GT77 HX 13V affords respectable construct high quality. Regardless that it options an all-plastic chassis, the laptop computer is constructed effectively and retains deck flex to a minimal. The highest lid, however, flexes a little bit greater than we’d like. Whereas not a trigger for concern, it might have been constructed higher. There are laptops in the marketplace that value 4 to 5 instances much less (ahem! ahem! Legion) however have equal or higher construct high quality, so there’s that. 

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

The highest lid options an RGB-backlit MSI Dragon brand, which seems to be implausible! The silver-colored show hinges complement the darkish/ midnight end of the laptop computer completely, and the mixture seems to be slightly tasteful. You additionally get a very good view of the huge fan grills, which home two RGB strips within the center. 

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

Flipping the laptop computer over reveals massive rubber toes, angular ridges (performing as supporting toes, we presume), and a number of slits for air flow. When positioned on a desk (or any strong floor), the rubber toes present a big sufficient hole between the floor and the bottom of the laptop computer for air to move by way of. 

Transferring over to the perimeters of the MSI Titan GT77 HX reveals extra air flow slots for the cooling system, together with a wide variety of I/O ports. Extra on that later.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

The Titan GT77 HX is barely 23mm thick on the sides, which (as MSI claims) improves mobility. Nonetheless, we nonetheless really feel this laptop computer is best suited as a desktop alternative. It weighs 3.3 kilograms (or 7.28 kilos), and its energy brick weighs one other 1.4 kilograms (or 3.14 kilos). Lugging it round usually to work or college won’t be probably the most possible factor. Additionally, due to its uncommon (and extreme) depth, becoming this laptop computer in a backpack is a process and a half. 

The rear portion of the Titan GT77 options extra air flow and handsome RGB lighting. Nonetheless, we’d have preferred it if MSI moved some I/O ports to the again like Lenovo’s Legion sequence does, which makes managing cables simpler and retains issues quite a bit tidier. 

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

Upon lifting up the highest lid, you might be greeted with a lovely 17.3-inch UHD display screen with minimal bezels throughout (besides a considerable chin with the MSI branding), a well-sized trackpad, a full-sized Cherry mechanical low-profile keyboard (though with a squished quantity pad), a fingerprint scanner, and sizeable speaker grills alongside the left and proper edges of the keyboard deck. The show hinges are well-tuned. The laptop computer passes the one-hand-open check flawlessly, and the display screen wobble is stored to a minimal. Nonetheless, the show doesn’t go all the way in which again. 

General, the Titan GT77 HX is well-made and affords a clear aesthetic. Nonetheless, the clear facet of its design is thrown out the window as quickly as you place your arms on it — the laptop computer is a fingerprint magnet and holding it clear means a ton of scrubbing with a microfiber material. 

MSI Titan GT77: Show

No exaggeration or sugarcoating right here — the show of the MSI Titan GT77 HX is implausible (and big, at 17.3 inches)! Our evaluation unit got here with a mini-LED panel with a 4K decision (3840 x 2160), 16:9 facet ratio, 144Hz refresh charge, and help for HDR-1000. Nonetheless, you may also spec it out with a QHD IPS display screen with a 240Hz refresh charge. 

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

The image high quality is breathtaking, with deep blacks, wonderful coloration replica, and spectacular sharpness. Use this machine for gaming, enhancing pictures/ movies, or consuming content material on the web, and it’ll amaze you each time you set your eyes on it. It’s that good! 

It’s a matte anti-glare show, not a shiny one. Nonetheless, that’s not a nasty factor. I used this laptop computer as my main machine for a whole week (with 8-hour workdays) and by no means skilled eye fatigue. The panel stored reflections to a minimal, even underneath direct daylight, and the occasional shiny studio lighting within the background. The brightness ranges are top-notch — greater than serviceable underneath direct daylight and harsh lighting. You received’t must rush to a darkish nook to make use of the Titan GT77 HX. The viewing angles are additionally strong, with minimal to no coloration shift when wanting on the show from completely different sides. General, it’s a wonderful show that you’ll completely take pleasure in utilizing. 

Utilizing a Datacolor SpyderX Professional Calibration instrument, we measured a most brightness of 675 nits with HDR turned off. When you activate HDR-1000, the utmost brightness climbs to 1069 nits. 

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car
With out HDR
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car
With HDR

Nonetheless, there are two issues to notice right here. One, HDR can’t be turned on when operating on battery energy, and second, you can not use coloration profiles within the MSI True Coloration app when HDR is enabled. For those who flip HDR off, you possibly can change between the completely different coloration profiles in MSI True Coloration. You get devoted profiles for sRGB, AdobeRGB, and Show P3 coloration gamut, and the protection varies accordingly. Listed here are the outcomes for reference:

  • MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car
  • MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car
  • MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car
  • MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

MSI Titan GT77: Efficiency

Each day Use

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

Whereas I exploit laptops sparingly, I made a decision to carry nothing again when testing the MSI Titan GT77. I usually had 20+ Firefox tabs open within the background (with two or extra of them streaming 4K movies) and purposes like Slack, Steam, and Discord operating within the background as I typed my articles within the Libre Workplace Author. Unsurprisingly, the Titan GT77 breezed by way of each process I threw at it. The CPU sat at 9% utilization, with the RAM at 17%

You possibly can undoubtedly use the MSI Titan GT77 as your on a regular basis work laptop computer. Though I might suggest choosing up a extra conservative gadget for workplace work. The one two justifiable causes to hold this to work each day are:

  1. You completely NEED this stage of efficiency in a (considerably) transportable type issue, and something much less won’t do, or
  2. You’re employed lengthy hours and don’t discover the time to go to the health club. You wish to squeeze in a strong exercise earlier than, throughout, and after the workplace. 

Gaming

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

Powering the beastly MSI Titan GT77 is the newly launched Thirteenth-Gen Intel Core i9-13950 HX, and it’s a powerhouse! It has 24 cores (8 efficiency cores, 16 effectivity cores) and 32 threads with a turbo frequency of 5.50 GHz and a most energy draw of a whopping 157 watts. Undoubtedly, that is probably the most highly effective laptop computer CPU Intel has ever made.

On the GPU aspect, we’ve got the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 rated at 175 Watts with 16GB of VRAM and a core clock as much as 2340 MHz. You get top-of-the-line elements, and the efficiency displays that.

Gaming is the core focus of the Titan GT77, and there’s no second-guessing that. Studying the specs alone is sufficient to offer you an thought of its gaming capabilities. However as they are saying — don’t choose earlier than you recognize the entire story. Let’s have a look at the entire story, we could? Listed here are some benchmarks.

Be aware: I ran all benchmarks with the Excessive Efficiency Mode turned on from the MSI middle and the Finest Efficiency energy mode chosen throughout the Energy & Battery settings in Home windows 11.

Cyberpunk 2077 | 1440p, Texture High quality @ Excessive, Ray Tracing @ Extremely
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

If there’s any sport that may cripple your PC and produce it again right down to the bottom, it’s Cyberpunk 2077. We ran the sport at excessive settings with Ray Tracing set to Extremely and acquired a mean FPS of 44. With DLSS body era turned on and determination scaling set to Balanced, the typical FPS jumped to 141, which is a large distinction!

Over 100 frames per second extra with DLSS 3? I’ll take that any day! The CPU stood at 71° Celsius whereas the GPU (on the hottest level) reached 57.6° Celsius.

Metro Exodus (Enhanced Version) | 1440p, Texture High quality @ Extremely, Ray Tracing @ Extremely
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

With Metro Exodus, the typical FPS stood at 106. The expertise was tremendous clean, to start with, however DLSS 3 kicked it up a notch. With DLSS 3 turned on and determination scaling set to Balanced, I acquired a staggering 188 FPS on common. Beautiful certainly!

Management | 1440p, Texture High quality @ Excessive, Ray Tracing @ Extremely
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

I needed to check out one other demanding AAA title with putting visuals, and Management was a no brainer. Working the sport at 1440p with the Excessive High quality preset resulted in a gentle 65 FPS on common. Even throughout intense motion scenes, I didn’t expertise important body drops or stutters, and the general gameplay was clean. The recorded 0.1% lows didn’t go beneath 56 FPS, which is spectacular.

Turning DLSS on and setting the render decision to 1707 x 960 gave us a mean of 125 FPS, with 0.1% lows of 85, which is nice.

Counter-Strike: World Offensive | 1440p Excessive
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car
Untitled design – 4

Working CS:GO was a simple affair for the Titan GT77, and it managed 354 FPS on common at 1440p. It seemed nice and performed even higher. Even throughout intense gunfights with smokes and Molotovs thrown round, I skilled no important FPS drops or stutters. Regardless that the benchmarks present 0.1% lows of 26 FPS, the in-game expertise was clean.

Be aware: I examined CS:GO on the Mirage, Mud II, Historical, and Vertigo maps for consistency. The outcomes had been comparable on every map.

Artificial Benchmarks

Gaming benchmarks are one factor. What if you wish to use the MSI Titan GT77 for productiveness and artistic workloads? Does it maintain up? Let’s discover out by way of these benchmark numbers.

Cinebench R23

We accomplished each single-core and multi-core runs on the Excessive Efficiency mode. Listed here are the outcomes:

The Core i9-13950 HX scored 29,447 factors within the multi-core check, comfortably outperforming the Core i9-12900K, which is a desktop CPU and never a laptop computer chip. It additionally performs throughout the margin of error of the Core i7-13700K desktop CPU, which is unbelievable! It solely loses to the Core i9-13900K desktop CPU, which we reviewed earlier this 12 months. Try our Intel Core i9-13900K evaluation right here.

The Core i9-13950 HX hit a most clock velocity of 5.48 GHz on the efficiency core, which is consistent with the 5.50 GHz that Intel advertises. The utmost temperature (CPU Package deal) recorded throughout the Cinebench R23 run was 96°C.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

Within the single-core check, the Core i9-13950 HX scored 2,085 factors, solely falling behind the Core i9-13900K (the flagship desktop CPU) by a small margin. It races forward of the Ryzen 9 7950X, Core i7-13700K, and the Core i7-12900K.

Just like the multi-core exams, the CPU persistently reached clock speeds as much as 5.48 GHz on the efficiency cores right here, which is an efficient signal. The utmost temperature (CPU Package deal) recorded right here was 91°C.

Geekbench 5
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

The Core i9-13950 HX scored 20,533 in multi-core, comfortably beating the Core i9-13900K, the Ryzen 9 7950X, the Core i7-13700K, and the Core i7-12900K.

The Core i9-13950 HX fares effectively in single-core exams, too. It scored 1,999 factors, competing head-to-head with the Ryzen 9 7950X and solely marginally shedding out to the i9-13900K.

PCMark 10 Prolonged
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

PCMark 10 Prolonged exams your system’s capabilities for basic use & productiveness duties. Whereas I had seen for myself how effectively the Titan GT77 fared in real-world utilization, it’s good to see the benchmarks mirror my expertise.

The MSI Titan GT77 achieved a whopping 12,038 factors, which is a significantly greater rating than our full-fledged Core i9-13900K + RTX 3070 Ti desktop rig we used for our i9-13900K evaluation.

3DMark TimeSpy
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

The TimeSpy benchmark yielded an total rating of 20,685. As 3DMark itself factors out — it’s a wonderful rating! The CPU briefly hit 99°C throughout the ultimate levels of the benchmark. Nonetheless, I’m completely happy to report that the Titan GT77 didn’t throttle. The GPU persistently hit 2,415 MHz and reached a most temperature of 72.4°C.

3DMark TimeSpy Excessive
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

The Excessive run fetched us 10,833 factors. At this level, I’m at a loss for adjectives to explain how effectively the Titan GT77 performs. I didn’t discover any body drops or stutters throughout the benchmark run, and the {hardware} metrics turned out as anticipated.

The Intel Core i9-13950HX CPU clock frequency persistently hit 5.48 GHz, and the temperature didn’t exceed 95°C. The GPU always reached its marketed clock frequency of two,415 MHz, and its temperature didn’t exceed 69°C.

PugetBench Photoshop Benchmark
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

For those who’re a photographer or graphic designer, there’s excellent news. The Titan GT77 can deal with Adobe Photoshop effortlessly. The PugetBench Photoshop benchmark gave out an total rating of 1,213. Modifying these snazzy product photographs or the beautiful landscapes you clicked throughout your pictures journey will likely be a joyful expertise on this laptop computer. With its strong {hardware} configuration and delightful color-accurate show, the Titan GT77 has you coated for years.

PugetBench Premiere Professional Benchmark
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

Video editors could have a ton of enjoyable with this. The Premiere Professional benchmark yielded a more-than-respectable 1,126 factors. Furthermore, it ran flawlessly with none hiccups.

PugetBench After Results Benchmark
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

The After Results benchmark tells an analogous story, with 1,217 factors on the desk. Evaluating the scores on-line throughout the PugetBench Outcome Browser, it’s clear that the Titan GT77 solely loses out to desktop-class Thirteenth Gen Core i9 and i7 processors paired with RTX 4080s and RTX 4090s. A laptop computer reaching these outcomes is good, proper?

CrystalDiskMark
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

Now, let’s check the storage learn and write speeds. Because of 2x 2TB Samsung NVMe Gen 4 drives operating in a RAID 0 configuration, we get sequential learn speeds of 12,855.44MB/s and write speeds of 10,371.49MB/s. These are blazing-fast speeds! Evidently, you received’t have any complaints in regards to the SSD efficiency right here.

Thermals & Cooling

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

Popping off the underside lid reveals a formidable cooling answer with 4 followers (sure, you learn that proper) and several other warmth pipes touring throughout the CPU and GPU. That is arms down the beefiest cooling answer I’ve ever seen on a laptop computer. Thankfully, for all of us, it delivers!

Beneath load, the followers ramp up rapidly and get terribly loud, sounding nothing in need of a jet engine. Fortunately, the followers do their job slightly admirably. The laptop computer didn’t thermal throttle even as soon as throughout our circuit of exams and benchmarks and solely spiked as much as 99°C on one event. Props to MSI for designing a cooling answer succesful sufficient to chill the mighty Core i9-13950 HX and the RTX 4090. Not at all is that a simple feat to attain.

MSI Titan GT77: Upgradability

If there’s a laptop computer that you may really name “future-proof,” it’s the MSI Titan GT77. It already boasts a {hardware} configuration that can maintain you afloat for years and years into the long run, however that wasn’t sufficient for MSI. In an period the place extra laptop computer producers are soldering elements to the PCB to keep away from consumer restore and upgrades, MSI determined to take the alternative method and double down on it. For this, I like you, MSI!

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

Not that I’m ever going to be wealthy sufficient to afford the Titan GT77, but when I had been, I’d be one completely happy duck! The MSI Titan GT77 has 4 RAM slots. Not 1, not 2 — 4! You possibly can set up 4 DDR5 RAM sticks into this laptop computer, maxing out at 128GB of capability. Moreover, you’ve gotten 3x M.2 slots for storage, considered one of which helps as much as PCIe Gen 5 SSDs, whereas the opposite two help PCIe Gen 4 SSDs. It’s also possible to change the Wi-Fi card ought to you want to. I like how upgradable this laptop computer is, and it will get full factors from me in that division. 

Software program Expertise

The Titan GT77 ships with a bunch of pre-installed software program, most of which is appreciated. The others, not a lot. Let’s discover what you get out of the field on this laptop computer:

Nahimic Companion
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

You get the Nahimic Companion app for tweaking audio settings and switching between presets. The app works effectively and its interface is user-friendly. No factors deducted for that.

Intel Killer Intelligence Heart
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

Subsequent up, we’ve got the Killer Intelligence Heart by Intel, which helps you monitor and optimize your networking efficiency. Throughout the app, you possibly can choose your favourite video games and applications and assign them the next precedence worth, growing their bandwidth. As an illustration, when you play aggressive CS:GO and stream your periods on Discord, you possibly can set them to precedence stage 1 by way of the Prioritization Engine. It can be sure that you endure no hiccups whereas streaming your video games.

MSI True Coloration
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

MSI additionally pre-loads its True Coloration software program on the Titan GT77 HX, which helps you to change between completely different coloration profiles (sRGB, AdobeRGB, P3) and show presets (Gamer, Anti-Blue, Workplace, Multimedia), relying in your desire or workflow.

As an illustration, when you’re a photographer or graphic designer engaged on Adobe Photoshop, you possibly can choose the AdobeRGB preset from the MSI True Coloration software program. It gives you full protection of the AdobeRGB coloration gamut, making certain optimum coloration accuracy. Equally, if you need full protection of the P3 gamut on your workflow, choosing the P3 preset will fare higher.

MSI Heart
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

Now, for the star of the present — The MSI Heart, which supplies you full management over the laptop computer’s efficiency. It encompasses a devoted {Hardware} Monitoring tab that shows the CPU and GPU utilization, clock speeds, and temperatures, together with different metrics just like the fan RPM, Wi-Fi speeds, accessible storage capability, and your present energy plan. You even have quick-action buttons for disk cleanup and reminiscence optimization.

Within the options tab, you get a devoted Gaming Mode, which auto-tunes your system based on every sport to ship one of the best expertise. Subsequent, you possibly can change the efficiency profile of the Titan GT77 by way of the Consumer Situation part.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

The Excessive Efficiency profile does what it says — it unlocks the total potential of the laptop computer by pushing energy limits to the max and setting the followers to spin at full throttle. It will get tremendous loud however allows you to squeeze each little bit of efficiency out of this beast.

The Balanced profile applies the system settings that MSI recommends, and it’s a best-of-both-worlds situation. You get strong efficiency with out the tremendous noisy followers or warmth output.

The Silent profile noticeably ramps down the followers. Whereas it’s nice for whenever you’re working in an workplace setting or at a espresso store (though we don’t see why you’d carry this laptop computer to a espresso store), the Titan begins getting uncomfortably heat even underneath comparatively lighter hundreds like loading up a spreadsheet with just a few Chrome tabs open within the background.

The Tremendous Battery profile stunned me. I wasn’t anticipating a substantial distinction in battery life after I turned this on, however oh boy! This profile delivers. For those who’re dashing to complete a super-important doc with the deadline closing in and no energy outlet in sight, the Tremendous Battery profile would possibly simply be the savior you want. We’ve got defined the way it affected our battery life within the later sections.

Additionally, when you don’t wish to fiddle with the efficiency profiles, follow “Good Auto.” The MSI AI Engine will robotically regulate efficiency based on the duty(s) at hand.

The MSI Titan GT77 HX encompasses a MUX change, which you’ll be able to entry from throughout the Consumer Situation tab. You get a Discrete Graphics Mode, Built-in Graphics Mode, and the MSHybrid Graphics Mode, which can change between the devoted GPU and built-in GPU relying in your workflow. For those who launch a sport, the MSHybrid Graphics Mode will set the RTX 4090 into motion, however for different duties like searching the online, the iGPU will do many of the work.

The pre-loaded software program appears excellent thus far, proper? Alas, now comes the kick within the shin.

Norton 360 for Players
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

Yep. Norton 360. For players!? The pre-loaded (and, dare I say, pointless) anti-virus software program significantly slowed the boot instances and had a unfavorable affect on total system efficiency. With Norton operating within the background, fundamental duties like navigating by way of the system UI and searching the online appeared uneven. Uninstalling it resulted instantly efficiency uplift.

MSI Titan GT77: Bugs

Whereas the software program expertise is strong total, I encountered two slightly annoying bugs with our unit of the MSI Titan GT77 HX throughout my testing. 

  1. The show brightness sliders cease working when Discrete Graphics mode is chosen, making it inconceivable to lower the brightness. Turning on the Discrete Graphics mode robotically set the brightness to 100%, and utilizing the Fn keys or the sliders in Home windows 11‘s Motion Heart to lower the brightness did nothing. 
  2. The Taskbar on my unit was seemingly cussed concerning pinned apps. Any apps I pinned to the Taskbar would disappear the following day, whereas those I unpinned ( you, Xbox) stored coming again like a nasty ex-partner. 

In all equity, the Titan GT77 I’ve is a evaluation unit. Hopefully, these points will not prevail within the retail items. 

Keyboard & Trackpad

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

The Titan GT77 encompasses a low-profile Cherry mechanical keyboard by SteelSeries with per-key RGB backlighting, which you’ll be able to customise by way of the included SteelSeries GG software program. You possibly can select between a number of lighting presets or set it to a single coloration if that’s extra your model.

The laptop computer features a full-sized keyboard. Nonetheless, getting used to its non-standard format will certainly take time. Whereas the first keys are well-spaced, you get a 2U left Ctrl, a shorter proper Shift, tiny arrow keys, and a squished quantity pad. The numpad is a pleasant factor to have, however its small dimension and cramped spacing make it exhausting to make use of successfully. I might have most well-liked it if MSI ditched it in favor of a extra conventional keyboard format. 

For gaming and typing, this keyboard feels implausible! The low-profile Cherry MX keys are tremendous tactile, provide wonderful suggestions, and are a pleasure to sort on, particularly for brief bursts (writing an e mail, taking just a few notes, and many others.). Throughout longer typing periods, the keyboard begins to really feel a little bit uncomfortable resulting from three causes:

  1. The non-standard format places your arms in a considerably awkward place. I typically skilled fatigue in my left hand after typing away on this keyboard for 30-45 minutes or extra. Nonetheless, your mileage could range. 
  2. The keyboard deck will get uncomfortably sizzling, particularly close to the quantity row on the left aspect. 
  3. When you have huge arms, you might also discover the underside fringe of the keyboard deck digging into your palm/wrist.

Additionally, whereas the first keys have mechanical switches, the appropriate Ctrl, Fn, arrow keys, and the quantity pad on this laptop computer use conventional non-mechanical switches. We are able to solely presume it is a cost-saving transfer from MSI, and whereas it received’t hassle most customers a lot, it feels considerably misleading, particularly with the value you might be paying. 

Think about shopping for a model new BMW solely to find the dealership swapped its rear seats with these taken from an outdated station wagon. But when your main use case is gaming, you received’t have any complaints about this keyboard. General, it will get a strong 7.5 out of 10 from us! 

The trackpad is tremendous snug to make use of. Its massive dimension by no means leaves you wanting extra, the sleek floor feels nice to the contact, and monitoring is correct. The palm rejection on the trackpad additionally works effectively, so there aren’t any unintentional mouse actions whenever you’re typing. Nonetheless, tap-to-click is a hit and miss — it really works completely 90% of the time, however when it doesn’t, it will get actually irritating. The trackpad will get an 8 out of 10! 

Audio High quality

The Titan GT77 options 2 x 2W audio system and a couple of x 2W woofers, and it will get LOUD — sufficient to fill a big corridor. The audio system provide wonderful readability and stereo separation, making them completely serviceable (and pleasing) for watching films and listening to pop/ dwell music.

Nonetheless, I seen the sound output was barely muddy when taking part in bass-heavy music tracks at max quantity. However that’s nit-picking. You need to use the pre-loaded Nahimic Companion app to alter presets and fine-tune audio settings to your liking. The distinction between audio presets is instantly noticeable, and switching between them is seamless.

I/O Ports and Connectivity

  • MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car
  • MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

The left aspect of the MSI Titan GT77 homes a reversible energy /charging connector, 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Kind-A ports, 1x full-sized SD card Reader, a 3.5mm combo audio jack, and a charging indicator gentle.

On the appropriate, you’ve gotten an RJ45 ethernet port, 1x HDMI 2.1 port that helps 8K @ 60Hz or 4K @ 120Hz show out, 1x Mini-DisplayPort, 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports (USB Kind-C), considered one of which helps PD charging, and one other USB Kind-A 3.2 Gen 2 port. What extra might you ask for? The port choice right here is strong.

The Intel Wi-Fi 6E proved loads quick throughout my day-to-day utilization of the Titan GT77. Downloading apps and Steam video games was a speedy affair with constant speeds, and I didn’t expertise any drops in sign high quality. The Wi-Fi additionally dealt with lengthy periods of CS:GO and Apex Legends like a champ, with low ping and no disconnections. I usually streamed a number of 4K movies without delay to check the efficiency, and the Wi-Fi was at all times as much as the duty. Stuttering or annoying buffering icons had been nowhere to be seen.

If Wi-Fi isn’t your jam, you should utilize the RJ45 port for some 2.5GbE LAN motion. The laptop computer additionally options Bluetooth 5.3 and connecting to audio gadgets similar to my Pixel Buds A-Collection was fast and handy. Additionally, the audio high quality by way of Bluetooth was wonderful, and I didn’t expertise any lag when listening to music, taking part in video games, or attending a gathering.

Safety & Signal-In

The Titan GT77 options Home windows Howdy Facial Recognition tech that unlocks the laptop computer as quickly because it spots your beautiful face. Nonetheless, it asks you to dismiss the lock display screen to signal again into Home windows, which suggests it’s important to click on your mouse or press any key to get to your desktop. It really works effectively, even in dim/ minimal lighting. 

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

The keyboard deck homes the fingerprint scanner, which is quick and correct. Inserting the finger on the scanner additionally wakes the gadget from sleep and logs you in immediately, which is a pleasant contact (pun meant).

Webcam & Microphone

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

The webcam is considerably bittersweet. Whereas it helps Home windows Howdy Facial Recognition for fast sign-in and has a privateness shutter for added peace of thoughts, the webcam itself is mediocre. It’s a 720p HD webcam. Whereas it’s definitely not a deal-breaker, a Full HD webcam would have been appreciated (particularly contemplating how a lot this laptop computer prices). The microphone, however, is respectable. It’s clear sufficient for video calls, and I’ve no actual complaints.

Battery Life & Charging

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V Review: Desktop-Grade Performance for the Price of a Car

Gaming laptops aren’t identified for his or her spectacular battery life, and the MSI Titan GT77 isn’t any exception. Whereas it homes a large 4-Cell 99.9Whr battery (the most important capability you possibly can legally journey with on an airplane), the battery backup is mediocre, at greatest.

With the Discrete GPU mode chosen and brightness at 70%, the laptop computer lasted for a mere 2-hour session of searching the online and typing a doc. Nonetheless, with the Tremendous Battery mode enabled from throughout the MSI Heart, I acquired barely above 4 hours of use doing the identical duties. And naturally, we didn’t sport on battery energy.

The laptop computer takes about 2 hours to cost from 0% to 100%. Whereas it’s not horrible contemplating the scale of the battery, sooner charging would have been good to see.

MSI Titan GT77: Professionals & Cons

Professionals Cons
Distinctive Uncooked Efficiency Tremendous Costly
Glorious Cooling & Thermals Tremendous Loud
Beautiful 4K 144Hz Mini-LED Show Chunky gaming laptop computer
Stable Cherry MX Mechanical Keyboard Sub-Par Construct High quality for the value
Consumer Upgradability is Prime-Notch
Nice Choice of Ports

MSI Titan GT77: Ought to You Purchase It?

The MSI Titan GT77 is a laptop computer with desktop-grade efficiency. It’s undoubtedly probably the most highly effective gaming laptop computer to ever see the sunshine of day. Whereas it’s not an ideal machine, it checks many of the proper bins and tears by way of any process you throw at it, whether or not it’s 3D rendering, picture enhancing, or gaming. Nonetheless, its hefty price ticket of Rs 6,71,990 makes it out of attain for most individuals. It’s a masterpiece with shiny, bleeding-edge elements to drool over, however solely appropriate for individuals who both want a brilliant highly effective, considerably transportable workstation or these with a number of spare money to burn.

For those who want this a lot horsepower and don’t look after portability, I might suggest constructing a PC as an alternative. Going the PC route means that you can handpick the elements you want as per your necessities and usually provides you a greater improve path. Nonetheless, if you want to purchase a strong laptop computer, I might suggest ready a little bit longer. Much more Thirteenth-Gen Intel laptops with RTX 4090s and RTX 4080s will quickly hit the market globally. As soon as there’s a wider choice to select from, you’ll be in a greater place to decide. Till then, what do you consider the MSI Titan GT77? Tell us within the feedback beneath.

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