Greatest value? GT73VR 1080 vs GT83VR 1070 SLI

I haven't owned a windows laptop in over a decade and I am looking to comeback with a vengeance. I'm looking at either at GT73 with a 1080 or a GT83 with 1070 SLI.

Assuming I could either of these laptops at around 2K, which one presents the greatest value?

Unfortunately because of my work, either of them will most likely stay unused for days to weeks at a time. But when I want to game, I want the best (within budget) ready to go. They will live on a desk with very rarely me taking them on a trip. Maybe twice in their lifetime. And because I hate the idea of e-waste, I am considering the life cycle after I get my next laptop. I am thinking the GT83 will have a longer lifespan because of the extra graphics card, so I am leaning that way.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Thank you to anyone who gives me any input.

 

What model GT80 and GT73 are you talking about here? Because there are kaby lake and skylake versions.
Because it matters when you're discussing "longevity" (despite this being crappy with BGAbooks), because in that case you also want an overclockable CPU. You also don't want to carry around two power bricks either.

If the GT73 is a 7820HK, then take this no questions asked, and conversation over. The single card will be better overall because many games won't work with SLI properly. Theoretically, if SLI gets problematic, you could TDP mod one of 1070's, disable the second one, and have a 150W 1070, without dealing with the 230W horrible power limit issue I have to deal with on the single "7RE" 1070 system I have, and have a 1070 +7820HK system with 460W available to you, but I'm getting way off track now.

Get the 1080 if it's a 7RF (kaby lake).

 

I'm a fan of SLI, especially the MSI GT80 SLI-263 and the previous model GT80's, in their time for what they were they perfect. A great mix of power without excess.

The GT83 SLI 1070 / 1080 have a boat anchor problem, namely the dual PSU's + power combiner box that really makes them unwieldy as laptops, a pain to move around plugged in and to move to another location - too many wires and weight.

There is an "expensive" solution, a beautiful but very expensive $500 780w PSU from Eurocomm that replaces the 2 PSU's and combiner box - and all those wires - with an elegant solution:
http://www.eurocom.com/configure(2,404,0)ec

If you do get a GT83 or GT73 SLI I highly recommend getting 1 or 2 (for work) 780w PSU's.

If you are going to go SLI always go for the top GPU in the class, in this case the 1080 SLI. That way if the game or app doesn't support SLI or multigpu then you at least still have a single best GPU.

The GT73VR 1080 is a great laptop, and I would recommend that over the 1070 SLI of either model. Go for the 1080 SLI if you can, that's an awesome laptop as long as you get that single PSU to replace the MSI PSU's/box.

The GT75 that is just now coming out has a number of improvements, but we dont' have any reviews yet so it's unknown whether it's better or not, or if it has any idiosyncratic issues unique to the new parts.

If you like hardware tinkering, and high performance desktop CPU's in a laptop, definitely check out the MSI 16L13 with a 7700K now or wait for the 6 core / 12 thread 8700K model - probably worth the wait. The Clevo PM870 class hardware is even more hardware "tinkery" with a commitment that may deter many, make sure you get a unit from a Prema Partner so you get the custom BIOS that unlocks all performance.

And, what I'd do since you have intermittent access to game right now, is to wait on all of that and get something else cheaper / used to game with before investing a bunch of $'s in a high end laptop. Since you've been away for a while, get your legs back - read and catchup before spending a bunch of cash.

Maybe get a nice used GT80 980m SLI or a GT72 980m to experience that before getting the monster GT83 1080 SLI, or get a used PM870 1080 single / SLI 1080, or even a used MSI 16L13, and save a bunch of cash over a new one - save that experience for the new Coffee Lake models.

You won't get much of an upgrade buying the latest Pascal laptops, get the first generation and save a bunch of $.

And stay with the used laptop until Volta comes out next year

Lots of potential options, check out the Owners threads and For sale forum to see what's what before spending a bunch of $, always a good idea, otherwise you'll do that anyway and keep swapping laptops as you learn more, until you arrive at the destinations we are suggesting

 

Notebookcheck has a GT75VR review:
- worse quality cooling (no paint on heatpipes to prevent oxidation and higher temps)
- slower card reader
- the 3 ms screen turned out to be the same 5ms screen used in the GT73VR
- heavier chassis due to the mechanical keyboard
- much higher price than the GT73VR

Honestly, unless someone really want a mechanical keyboard and don't mind throwing out an extra $300 for it, I say the GT73VR is a much better choice.

 

Thank you

For sure, the is GT83 is GT83VR 6RE (1070SLI) with the 6820HK and the GT73 maybe a GT73VR 693. I say that because I cannot find that specification associated with that number on MSI's website. But according to micro center it has a 7700 and 120hz screen along with the GTX1080.

 

Ah THANK YOU for posting this.

AVOID the 7700HQ (it's a 7700HQ, not a 7700) at ALL costs. The GT73VR 693 comes with a LOCKED processor, which means 3.4 ghz on all cores maximum, and that will starve the GTX 1080 of CPU power too much.
In that case, get the GT83VR SLI with the 6820HK CPU.

Question, why don't you just get the full GT73VR with the 7820HK unlocked CPU and avoid all of this? There's no reason to have to make silly decisions like "which BGAbook castrated system is the best value?" It's ridiculous. If you're going to buy a crippled BGA system instead of a socketed system, at least buy something powerful and not cut down. At this point in time, I would only recommend a socketed clevo system like a P870DM2, but if you have absolutely NO choice, get the 6820HK + SLI.

But why not buy the GT73VR with a GTX 1080 and 7820HK unlocked processor? Please don't say "because you can't afford it"... If it's because "you can't find it for sale anywhere", then get the GT75VR.

 

I would have to agree on the 7700hq not point on getting that system .. in having the same debate with my self but in the gt73vr 7820hk and the gt83 with dual 1080s


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Thank you for sharing such a complete analysis. I feel like I am a fan of SLI in theory and that is why I am leaning that way. The boat anchor doesn't seem like too much of an issue for me because it will live on my desk. Though I do appreciate learning about the adapter that combines two into one.

The reason I am aiming for the 1070 SLI instead of the 1080 both has to do with cost (1080 isn't on sale) but also because I keep reading about heat issues. My guess is that the 1070's wouldn't cause as much heat and with a chassis capable of cooling 1080s, I should be able to steer clear of any damaging heat.

I've been reading about the improvements, and they don't really seem to help in ways I care for. I can get over not having RGB in my keyboard, I actually prefer Cherry MX with an indention than just smoothness. The "computery" aspects seem to be the same. Same level of SSD's, graphics cards, processors, screen, etc. So if I can get the same aspects at a much reduced cost with the only trade offs being a processor that is 10% slower in synthetics, I feel I can live with that.

Since I need it before my trip in 2 weeks, I am unable to wait. Thank you for pointing me towards the classifieds! I didn't know where they were and didn't have the wherewithal to find them before. I couldn't post in the price check forums according to the rules. The prices there seem much worse for what I am getting new.

One good thing about buying last generation seems to be that the kinks of the games I would play and the drivers will have all been worked out. Thank you again for your analysis, I really appreciated the directions you offered.

 

Wow, that is good to know. Honestly, this is kind of an impulse purchase. I saw a sale and the closest versions were all greater than 50% in price. Where I am they sell laptops with 1 1070 between a little less than $2,000 to $2,500. The GT83 has 2 1070's and is less than some of the laptops with one. If you could point me to a reputable site that sells the newest model in that price range, I would happily buy. I am in the US.

I have a little disposable income, but not so much to spend on a laptop that will sit unused more than used its useful lifetime. I really wouldn't want to go over 2K for this. I am the type to push my hardware, but out of curiosity rather than need. If I can get 2 years of service out of this, I will consider that a win. I would also buy a monitor for it. Most of the benchmarks seem to value the 1070 SLI over the single 1080. I figure as more time passes, more SLI optimizations may take place which would then extend the life of the 1070 SLI over the single 1080. Please forgive me if this is grossly inaccurate. Thank you for your response. I really do appreciate hearing from so many prominent forums members. I have seen your messages before while lurking here.

 

Have you seen the deal on Newegg with sli 1080 after rebate it's only 1899


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Once I receive my EVOC 16L-G-1080, I will be selling my MSI GT73VR 6RF, which has the unlocked i7 6820HK CPU and GTX 1080. It has about a year left of warranty on it as well. I'd sell it to you for MUCH less than what you'd pay for a new one. Once you have 5 messages, you can send me a PM (called "start a conversation" on this forum) if you're interested.

You talking about this? It's a 1070 SLI, not the 1080.

 

This was my thinking. The new ones don't seem to have any real tangible "computery" advantages. Meanwhile the last "generation" gets marked down 50% while scoring the same in benchmarks (because it is basically the same hardware!). Unless there is a difference between the 1070s or 1080s released this year than earlier this year, I feel the most economical though not nerd credible move to make is to purchase the older hardware and save the extra 1,500 for when MSI makes an actual upgrade to their hardware (new graphics card or a processor that has a difference in the day to day and not just benchmarks).

 

No I haven't seen the 1080 on sale there. I did see the 1070 SLI on sale though.

Got a link?

Saturnotaku, exactly. That to me is a very competitive price based on what I have seen.

 

Sorry I was supposed to type 1070

The 1080 version sold out it was 2850 I have one in the way


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Do you have a link for the GT83 with dual 1080s? I would love to find one at that price. Especially with the other rebates they have going now.

 

It's sold out.

 

HIDevolution.
But if you're going to go that route, and you do have the income, I say forgo soldered BGA systems and treat yourself and buy a Clevo P870DM2 from them (3 if you want SLI) and get a socketed processor with the power of Premamod and then don't have to deal with throttling ever again. Then you can even choose, if you want (if you're a hardcore overclocker), a Silicon Lottery pre-binned CPU, delidded and LM'd already, and buy that CPU separately and get the system tested and shipped without a CPU, then install the 5 ghz monster from SL. (i don't know if HIDevolution does binning).

That's my suggestion. And this is coming from someone with a GT73VR and 7820HK already, suffering severely from power throttling and cancer firmware restrictions (why did i get a GT73VR? Because at the time I didn't know how bad the issue was with power throttling and soldered hardware).

@Prema @Mr. Fox @Papusan @Donald@HIDevolution

 

To all who care,

I ended up going with the GT83 6RE. At that price, I was able to add 2-1TB Samsung 960s 1 TB Samsung Evo M.2 and have enough left over in the budget for a proper monitor and a terrific amount of games on Steam.

Thank you all for your input, it was greatly appreciated and considered.