MSI GT72 2QD Dominator Quick Review

Pros

*Amazing IPS display with G-SYNC
*Runs incredibly cool and quiet, even under load
*Lots of ports
*Very loud speakers
*MXM GPU, with guaranteed upgrades for at least two generations


Cons

*“Warranty void if tampered” sticker preventing you from opening up the laptop to do upgrades yourself - not really, but sort of, anyway
*Awful keyboard
*Big and bulky (though light for its size)
*It uses the 970M with 3GB of VRAM instead of 6GB
*Poor choice of storage layout limits your options if you want to use 2.5” SSDs
*Removing the battery or gaining access to the first two RAM slots requires a complete tear-down


So I picked up one of the new GT72 models with the 1080p IPS G-SYNC display panel. The exact model is GT72 2QD-1442US-K.

Specs are as follows:

Intel i7-5700HQ
8GB DDR3 RAM
1TB HDD
NVIDIA GTX 970M 3GB
17.3” 1920x1080 IPS panel with G-SYNC
Blu-ray writer
Killer N1525 wifi card


Looks/styling

While it is big and thick, it is a relatively light machine. The lid and palm rest/keyboard area are made of aluminum, while the rest of the laptop is plastic. The aluminum helps give the laptop and “cool to the touch” feeling, which is further amplified by how cool it actually keeps the component and surface temperatures.

Overall the look is ok. I’ve seen better and I’ve seen worse. Screen hinges and the lid are of average sturdiness. Better than most Clevo laptops, worse than an Alienware or ASUS ROG machine.


Display

This laptop uses the same LG IPS panel found on most recent 17.3” laptops (such as the new Clevo models, Alienware 17, Acer V Nitro, ASUS G751), the LG Philips LP173WF4-SPF1. It is a very nice display. Bright and vibrant, good colour accuracy, great viewing angles. Best of all, the anti-glare coating is a big improvement over older matte display panels. It is almost a “semi-gloss” finish, and doesn’t suffer from the graininess and haziness you were used to seeing on older matte panels.

I can’t say that I’ve noticed G-SYNC much, in terms of actual effect on my gaming. Granted I don’t play any fast-paced FPS games, so the reduced input lag/screen tearing you’d expect to see didn’t really make itself noticed. All the same, it’s never a bad thing, and others who play different types of games might notice the technology more than I do.

All that being said, it’s a very good display - definitely a selling feature of this laptop. I personally much refer IPS panels to TN, as even good TN panels have bad viewing angles that really detract from the viewing experience, especially with darker colour palettes, such as that used in video games.

Calibration results using a Sypder4Express
AdobeRGB: 73%
sRGB: 94%
NTSC: 70%


Heat/noise/cooling

I’m EXTREMELY picky about the thermals and noise of my machines. My fingers are very sensitive to heat, and I get uncomfortable typing on anything above 36C or so. The only laptops I will consider keeping are those that keep idle surface temperatures at or below 30C, while I can tolerate slightly higher temperatures during heavy load. This means very few laptops meet my requirements. The AW17 R1 does, as does the ASUS ROG G751 (one of the best machines in terms of cooling and noise).

I’m pleased to say this machine is amazing in terms of its thermal performance. While the CPU/GPU temperatures are in line with other notebooks of its size, it manages to keep surface temperatures just as cool as the ASUS G751. Which is to say idle temperatures are in the low 30s, and the max I recorded under load was 34C.

System noise was barely audible/silent when idle, and still very quiet under load. Great job on the thermals MSI.

The hottest spot on the keyboard when idle is 30C, under load (gaming and benchmarking) 33C. It's remarkable how cool the surface temps are, very well done here MSI.

XTU (max)
Stock: 68
-50 to -80: 66

Unigine Valley
CPU: 61C
GPU: 66C

XTU + VALLEY
CPU: 73C
GPU: 63C

3DMARK11
CPU: 68C
GPU: 69C

3DMARK
CPU: 69C
GPU: 70C


Keyboard

We’ve now come to my single biggest gripe with this machine - its abortion of a keyboard. Professional reviews have given this keyboard praise, but as someone used to typing on very good keyboards from Alienware, Dell Latitude and Lenovo machines, I hate it. It’s the standard chiclet-type keyboard, but it looks like it was taken straight from a small 15” or 14” laptop. In fact I do believe this is the exact same keyboard they use on their 15” machines, and they just dumped it in a 17” frame. The keys are small and hard to press. The numpad is particularly bad - very reduced in size and so close together it’s hard to use normally. They also moved the Windows key to the right of the keyboard.

Oh, and there’s some flex too - lightly pushing down on a key on the left side depresses most of the neighbouring keys as well. I really don’t understand why it’s so small and squished. The keyboard on my Dell Latitude E6520 is much better, bigger and easier to use. I don’t know why MSI didn’t make use of the large dimensions of the 17.3” chassis to implement a full-sized keyboard rather than this midget-sized affair. There’s so much wasted space on either side. Oh right, you wanted to put some silly hot keys on the left of the keyboard, even though they easily could’ve been move to the top.

Overall, if you’ve ever used a business-class laptop, or an ASUS, or an Alienware, you’ll loathe this thing. It’s annoying to use, and given the massive size of this machine, there’s no excuse for the wasted space.


Performance

Nothing too fancy here. Performance is right where you’d expect given the specs. Again, it bears mention how cool and quiet it is, while performing at the same level as much hotter and noisier machines.

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/7907108
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/10098020


Sound

This is the first time I’ve ever been impressed by laptop speakers. When running the Unigine Valley benchmark (first thing I did) I was quite surprised the the sound coming out of this thing. Lound and rich (as far as laptop speakers go). Obviously not on par with a quality set of headphones or desktop speakers, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better-sounding laptop. It’s the first time I was ok with just using built-in speakers, and didn’t immediately reach for my headphones. Finally.


Warranty/upgrades

This deserves its own section. While most gaming notebooks are now coming standard with BGA components (meaning the CPU and GPU are soldered directly to the motherboard) the GT72 comes with a BGA CPU and a MXM GPU slot, currently holding a GTX 970M. Clevo is one of the only other manufacturers readily offering laptops with non-BGA components.

Intel is no longer making non-socketed mobile CPUs, so there’s little MSI could do in this regard (barring doing what Clevo did and putting a full-blown desktop CPU in a laptop). They did the best they could by offering MXM GPU compatibility, and they’ve guaranteed support for the next two generations of GPUs. This is good.

The bad? The stupid “warranty void if tampered” sticker over one of the bottom panel’s screws. Apparently, you can still remove it, add your own SSD/RAM, and so long as you don’t cause any damage doing so, MSI will still honour the warranty. But I’m thinking it also gives them a clear (legitimate) excuse to not honour the warranty should they so desire. So I’m not sold on this laptop being as user-friendly in terms of upgrades as an Alienware, Clevo or even ASUS.

In addition, they categorically state that the future MXM GPUs will be available either through them or an authorized dealer, meaning you’re not supposed to install future GPU upgrades yourself. This somewhat defeats the purpose.


Storage

This section merits some attention. MSI really screwed up in this one area, by repeating the silly mistake ASUS made of having one SATA II and one SATA III port. This means that unless you buy M.2 drives, you are limited to one 2.5” SSD using a SATA III connection. The HDD is connected to a SATA II port. Like the new ASUS G751, you can either have M.2 drives OR a 2.5” SSD - not both, since the M.2 adapter prevents using a 2.5” SSD in the main SATA III bay. If you want to use a 2.5” SSD in the secondary bay, it will be limited to SATA II speeds.

I’m really not sure what MSI was thinking. This layout is clumsy. Why wouldn’t you have the M.2 drives using separate ports? Why stuff an adapter in there to connect the M.2 SSDs to a SATA III port? Why make me choose between M.2 drives and one 2.5” SSD? Why have the secondary 2.5” bay use only SATA II?

News flash MSI - this is 2015, and 2.5” SSDs are getting really cheap. More and more people are using two big SSDs, and ditching HDDs altogether (so we want two 2.5” bays with SATA III speeds). In addition, M.2 drives are still expensive, and if we’re going to use those, we want to plug them into a PCIE connection, not some clumsy SATA III-to-PCIE adapter.

See, my Clevo P750ZM has two 2.5” SATA III bays in addition to two M.2 PCIE ports. This in a 15” notebook that houses a MXM GPU slot and a DESKTOP CPU (in my case a Xeon). Clevo can do it MSI - I’m sure you can too.


Conclusion

Overall, this is one of the better laptops available, especially at this price range (I got it for $1600 CAD + tax, so around $1250 USD + tax). This makes it competitive with Clevo laptops at this price range, while offering better build quality, better thermals/noise, a G-SYNC IPS panel and an MXM GPU (Clevo laptops with MXM GPUs tend to be more expensive). It is similar to the new ASUS G751 line, though not quite as sexy, and offers a MXM GPU as well as being a bit cheaper it seems.

The IPS display panel, speakers and thermals/noise are definitely stellar. On the other hand, the bad bad bad bad keyboard and unclear warranty situation detract, as does the fact they went for the 3GB version of the 970M. Almost all other laptops that have a MXM GPU use the 6GB 970M. The storage solution also stinks.

Oh, let’s not forget that the first two RAM slots are located under the keyboard...and that requires a complete tear-down if you want to access them.

What it boils down to is really the keyboard and storage. While the uncertain nature of the upgrades is cause for concern, I’m not too worried about it, as this machine costs as much as a fully-BGA Clevo laptop or Alienware machine. From that point of view, if the upgrades turn out to be real and easy/cheap, it’s just a massive bonus. But the keyboard is a black-or-white thing: you’ll either be ok with it, or hate it. You’ll have to try it to see. The storage system is also a potential deal-breaker. Are you ok with having to buy M.2 drives to get SATA III speeds? Are you ok with the second 2.5” bay using only SATA II?

If you can live with the poor keyboard and storage solution/layout, this is a gaming notebook you’ll probably love, especially at the price. Nice display, cool, quiet and powerful.

 

Pretty nice quick review there. What made you go for the 970m as opposed to the 980m?

The only thing I couldn't really empathize is the comment regarding storage, at least on the same level. Mainly because as you said, it is 2015, and 2.5 inch drives, specially SSDs are not really the norm anymore. I think the move was probably caused by ultrabooks and small form factors. I was actually annoyed to first see 2.5 slowly replaced by msata, only to be immediately killed off by M.2 hahaha.

Other than that, it seems that GT72 is a great gaming alternative.

 

Cost, and the fact this machine was very well-priced. The 980M variants go up drastically in price, especially since they typically come with more RAM, SSDs, etc.

I'll disagree there. Almost all machines are still sold with more (or equal) numbers of 2.5" SATA ports vs M.2 ports, and there is still vastly more options in terms of 2.5" SATA SSDs than M.2 drives. M.2 might be the way of the future, but most people are using 2.5" SSDs (at least in gaming notebooks, for ultrabooks its a different story).

Not to mention that M.2 drives typically benefit those who move large files, while the good 2.5" SSDs have better speeds for smaller file reads. In other words, for the majority of users, 2.5" SSDs are not only cheaper, they'll perform better too.

But mostly it's just the clumsy storage implementation on the GT72 that irks me, much the same as in the ASUS G751. Most well-designed notebooks (think Clevo) have several 2.5" SATA ports and M.2 ports, all at SATAIII speeds or above. They don't make you go out and buy more expensive M.2 drives when you have perfectly good 2.5" SSDs sitting on your desk, and they don't use custom adapters either.

 

Yeah I think the 970m Gsync version of the GT72 offers a great bang for buck. It's the one I recommend for friends currently looking for a cheap high performing laptop.

 

I have the exact same unit and I just couldn't justify the added expense to a 980m for 1080p gaming.

I like the review but sort of like the keyboard and 2.5 and m.2 layout.. Although a port for that 2.5 bay would have been nice.

I thought the 1442 was really good value.

 

It is excellent value. As with all reviews, everyone will have different opinions, some may like the keyboard and some don't, it's alright

I do believe it has the same keyboard as GT60 so I understand the size comparison, but yeah for me the keyboard is good. More space used to accommodate or distribute wouldn't hurt though.

 

Thanks for the review!

I wonder, where did you learn that they guarantee GPU upgrades for at least two generations?

Reading that for the first time.

 

He meant by keeping the GPU socket - MXM interface which would allow upgrades until everything become soldered directly on the PCB.

 

I do understand what MXM is and that it theoretically gives you the opportunity to upgrade a GPU.

However this possibility is never guruanteed. It could be that i.e. the next Nvidia GPU generation isn't supported by the GT72, either due to hardware reasons (mxm module changes) or due to Software reasons (GPU/Mainboard bios incompability or lack of availability).

Due to that I was especially interested to learn why he mentioned "guaranteed"

 

Yup, makes sense. Don't endorse that for MSI when it isn't ensured even by the manufacturer itself. However, the MXM socket has been used by MSI all these years so there has been enough confident built-up.

 

Congrats on your new PC! Great review!

I think MSI was going for the raid of 4 drives which then limits the amount of lanes available and the reason why they went with 4 m.2's instead of having support built in for the second 2.5" bay that sits empty. (i know i wish you could use it also, as it's clearly in there! LOL)

 

@OP
Wrt upgrades, I contacted a reseller selling this exact laptop. They told me it is very likely they will sell pascal mobile GPUs. (Not confirmed tho)

Pricepoint is probably arround 1000$ including installment 700-800$ for the next lower GPU (imaginary 1070 GPU).

So it's most likely real, just not cheap