MSI GT73VR 6RE TITAN SLI Review

👤by David Mitchelson Comments 📅21-09-16
Conclusion

The new wave of Pascal-based notebooks have, so far, proven to be brilliant in terms of outright performance benefits but how do things fare once another GPU is added into the equation?

NVIDIA SLI configurations are quite familiar with desktop users but SLI within a gaming notebook isn’t commonplace. MSI’s GT series has allowed such a feat to make its way into the hands of avid gamers who strive for high-performance and today’s GT73VR 6RE Titan SLI is no exception.

While the naming system (which adopts Titan) can be easily confused with NVIDIA’s flagship dual-GPU offering, we cannot escape the gargantuan design to which GT73VR arrives with. This notebook is certainly titanic in its dimensions and weight, bearing this and the price-tag in mind, we’re led to believe that this notebook would be suitable for users who lack reasonable office space, a desktop PC or occasionally attend local LAN parties. The twin charging units are necessary to sustain the NVIDAI SLI configuration inside and though they may be a cumbersome addition, if you aren’t moving from place to place frequently then there shouldn’t be a problem.

Delving inside GT73VR uncovers a vast selection of delightful hardware including Intel’s Core i7-6820HK, 32GB DDR4, GTX 1070 in SLI and two 256GB Samsung SM951s in RAID0. If high-performance is the objective, then this notebook is right on the money. Observing GT73VR in a variety of different environments reveals a capable machine. NVIDIA’s GTX 1070 in SLI generates impressive framerate numbers in the gaming arena but only in certain games – NVIDIA has a list of SLI enabled games. In the titles which are supported, the results are significant but this is really where the crux of the SLI debate hits the mobile sector because there is obviously an additional cost for such a specification and if only one GPU is being utilised in most instances then it may be more cost-effective to opt for the non-SLI version of GT73. SLI has its benefits but it also has the downsides of generating more heat, adding in an extra charging unit and being unsupported by quite a few gaming titles.


Turning to the other elements of GT73VR, we have a lovely, crisp IPS display which is both G-SYNC ready and offers 4K resolution natively. Around Windows 10 (which the notebook comes bundled with) this resolution is manageable but gaming at 3840x2160 has a substantial impact on framerate performance, however if the resolution is altered to 1920x1200 there are significant improvements to the performance which isn’t detrimental to image quality – we therefore pose the question, is 4K really necessary on this unit? Possibly not.

Aside from the display, we also have a well-designed LED backlit keyboard from SteelSeries which is fully customisable. There are also some nifty buttons on the far-right which give on-the-fly access to such functions as 100% fan speed. Throughout MSI has also equipped GT73VR with plenty of USB 3.0/3.1 and supply a HDMI 2.0 port for video out – up to 4K @ 60Hz.

Those who are sensitive to noise should be aware that GT73VR isn’t quiet by any means. Such a burly notebook bears aggressive cooling and once the system is heavily loaded the speed of the cooling fans ramps up considerably. Though, if you are planning to use a headset, this wouldn’t present a problem.

The cost of GT73VR places it as one of the more expensive gaming notebooks out there – costing a staggering £3000 / $3000. As we mentioned earlier, this notebook is likely to suit those without a desktop PC but in the mobile form it’ll hit your pocket much harder.

MSI’s mighty GT73VR 6RE TITAN SLI packs a punch. This notebook is laden with high-performance components and is a top performer in whatever area you place it in.

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Pros
+ Appealing to the eye
+ Good build quality
+ GTX 1070 SLI
+ LED backlit keyboard
+ Excellent audio
+ Comes with 32GB DDR4
+ Arrives with HDMI 2.0 port
+ Dual NVMe M.2 SSD in RAID 0
+ No USB 2.0 – All USB 3.0/3.1
+ Card slot reader
+ XSplit subscription included

Cons
- Noisy
- Heavy
- System upgrades cannot be performed without voiding warranty
- Cumbersome with twin chargers
- Only certain games benefit from SLI

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