MSI components and peripherals are rather popular in the computing industry. And while MSI also makes gaming gear and hardware, only in recent times has MSI started to push hard in the gaming laptop and desktop arena. The MSI GL63 is one such series which offers some serious spec hardware at interesting prices.
We are checking out the MSI GL63 9SD. This is one of MSI’s newest gaming laptops. There are a few things that make gaming laptops good;
- It should have good cooling
- Hardware to support most games
- Fast Refresh Display
- Great keyboard
- Somehow still lightweight.
MSI managed to check all the above boxes in the GL63 series. and the 9SD is also perfectly placed in that bracket.
The MSi GL63 9SD has a good design, a usual aggressive look for a gaming laptop. Even though the laptop is missing any kind of RGB, it makes up for it by introducing aggressive lines and reflective decals.
Specifications
Our unit was equipped with the 9th Gen Core i7 9750H along with 8GB RAM and 256 m.2 SSD paired with a 1 TB HDD. For graphics the 9SD has GTX 1660 Ti With 6GB of VRAM.
The display also fits the bill with a 120 hz refresh rate and an antiglare coating , excellent viewing angles and good brightness from a full HD 1920x1080p panel.
MSI partnered with Steelseries for the keyboard on the laptop. The Keyboard keys have good travel but still remain easy to game on and comfortable for long sessions of gaming. The 9SD model has RED backlit lets, but you can always get the 9SDK model for a full RGB backlit keyboard.
Gaming
The Combination of the above hardware allowed for impressive gaming results, With PUBG running comfortably at 100- 110 fps and Shadow of the tomb raider delivering a good 60-70 fps. Wolfenstein Youngblood achieves 100fps. All the games were between High – ultra settings, with Motion Blur Off.
The MSI GL63 9SD also has impressive audio inbuilt with large stereo speakers and support for 3D audio using the company’s Nahimic 3 App. The laptop also has a dragon centre which is like a dedicated Game mode to allow for customisation and hardware performance focusing towards specific games.
The MSI GL63 series is presently on sale for upto 30% off and you get additional deals like PUBG loot boxes and mechanical gaming keyboards on certain products.
The ASUS FX705 features a 17.3-inch FHD display, with a 60Hz refresh rate, AMD’s FreeSync and a resolution of 1920 x 1080 px. The laptop runs on the AMD Ryzen 5 3550H, coupled with the Radeon RX 560X GPU. In terms of storage, the FX505 has a 1 TB FireCuda SSHD and up to 512 GB of SSD. The gaming laptop supports up to 32 GB of Dual Channel SDRAM.
The ASUS FX505 is slightly toned down from the FX705. It features a smaller 15.6-inch FHD display, with a 60Hz refresh rate, AMD’s FreeSync (optional) and a resolution of 1920 x 1080 px. The laptop runs on the same AMD Ryzen 5 3550H, paired with the Radeon RX 560X GPU. The FX505 has a 1 TB FireCuda SSHD and up to 512 GB of SSD as per the user’s choice. It also supports up to 32 GB of dual-channel SDRAM. 
Both the laptops have the option of choosing between an illuminated chiclet keyboard or a non-illuminated one. The FX305 and the SX505 have 2W speakers with array microphones to improve sound capturing while streaming. The laptops also have an HD 720p webcam for video calling and streaming. Noteworthy, the FX505 has a 3-cell 48 Wh battery, whereas the FX705 has a 4-cell 64 Wh battery. The gaming laptops meet military-grade MIL-STD-810G standards, which renders them tougher as compared to similarly priced laptops. Also, the FX705 weighs almost 0.4 kg more than the FX505, which weighs at 2.2 kilograms.
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The Alienware Area 51m has a modern design, which is referred to by the company as a “Legend” design. The RGB enabled laptop supports customizable lighting, which means that users can adjust the colour scheme of the keyboard, mousepad, the power button, the logo and the rear air vents separately. Using AlienFX lighting, users can design custom profiles and assign them to hotkeys for convenient switching.
Dell states that Alienware Area 51m uses the company’s proprietary cooling technology called Cryo-Tech v2.0, which sports a dual-intake design, high voltage driving fans and load-balancing heat pipes to optimize component cooling. The laptop also has a honeycomb thermal pattern which helps in increasing airflow, the company claims. Moreover, the laptop is made out of magnesium alloy to increase rigidity.
Users can upgrade their drives while customizing the laptop online to include even more memory options. The company claims that the level of customization present in the Area 51m is unlike any other gaming laptop in the market.
The Area 51m has the following ports
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The GX531 features a 15.6 inch Full HD IPS display, with 144 Hz refresh rate, 3 ms response time and full VR compatibility. It packs an Intel Core i7-8750H hexa-core processor clocked at 2.2 GHz, which can be overclocked to 3.9 GHz. The laptop is kitted with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, which has 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM. Furthermore, the GX531 has 8 GB of onboard DDR4 RAM, with expansion support up to 24 GB. It has two M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 slots and a 512 GB SSD.
The gaming laptop doesn’t sport a mechanical keyboard, however, it has a Backlit Chiclet Keyboard with N key rollover. The Zephyrus S GX531 supports Aura Sync, using which users can synchronize RGB lighting patterns across the supported peripherals. It has two 2W speakers with an Array Microphone. Interestingly, the laptop is bundled with a webcam (for streaming or video calling) that can be attached to any part of the laptop for preferred angle capturing. In terms of ports, it is fitted with 1 x USB3.1 Gen2 Type-C port, 1x USB3.1 Gen 1 Type C port, 1x USB3.1 Gen2 Type A port, 2x USB 2.0 Type A ports, 1x HDMI 2.0b port, 1x 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo jack and 1x Kensington lock. The laptop weighs at 2.1 kilograms
The GX701 gaming laptop sports a 17.3 inch Full HD IPS display, with 144 Hz refresh rate, 3 ms response time and VR compatibility. Under the hood, It packs an Intel Core i7-8750H hexa-core processor clocked at 2.2 GHz, which can be overclocked to 3.9 GHz. For graphics, the laptop is kitted with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, which has 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM. The GX701 has 8 GB of onboard DDR4 SDRAM, with expansion support up to 24 GB. It has four M.2 NVMe PCI-E 3.0 slots and a 1TB SSD. 
The ROG Strix SCAR II laptops are specifically designed for Esports, the company states. It has a 15.6 inch Non-Glare Full HD IPS Panel with 144 Hz Refresh rate and 3 ms response time. It packs an Intel Core i7-8750H hexa-core processor clocked at 2.2 GHz, which can be overclocked to 3.9 GHz. The laptop features the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, which has 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM. The GX701 has 8 GB of onboard (dual channel) DDR4 SDRAM, with expansion support up to 32 GB. It has a M.2 NVMe PCIE 3.0 slot and a 512GB SSD, along with a 1TB FireCuda SSHD (Solid State Hybrid Drive).
In addition to a backlit chiclet keyboard, the SCAR II’s keyboard has 4 extra hotkeys, which can be used to increase/decrease volume, mute the microphone and launching the ROG Armoury Crate (ASUS software to optimize games and save RGB profiles). The laptop has two 3.5W speakers with Smart AMP technology and features a similar webcam attachment to the GX531 and GX701. In terms of ports, it houses 1x USB3.1 Gen2 Type-C port, 2x USB3.1 Gen 1 Type C port, 1x USB3.1 Gen2 Type A port, 1 x mDP 1.2 port, 2x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type A ports, 1x HDMI 2.0b port, 1x RJ-45 Jack, 1x SD card reader, 1x 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo jack and 1x Kensington lock. It weighs at 2.4kg.
