MSI GE63 Raider RGB 8RE Laptop Review

Mike Sanders / 6 years ago

Final Thoughts

Pricing

The MSI GE63 Raider retails in the region of £1100-£1200. Yes, that might seem like a lot of money, but for wide and varied performance this laptop is capable of, it really isn’t. Even concerning a PC build, you would struggle to find a performer as strong for less. The GE63 really hits the mark with pricing. Yes, alternative models like the Nvidia 1070 and Nvidia 1080 will be more expensive, but if you’re looking for a reliable system on a reasonable budget, I honestly struggle to think of anything better at the moment.

Overview

From a design standpoint, the MSI GE63 Raider is a very nice laptop. The design choices that have been made speak to an attention to detail not often seen. Things such as the red on black design with red trim to the rear and mouse pad surround speak volumes. It wasn’t necessary, it certainly adds nothing to the actual performance, but it looks nice. It speaks of quality. With good looks and strong performance, dare I say that this laptop has it all.

Performance

The 8th Generation Intel i7-8750H processor and Nvidia 1060 GPU compliment each other well. Concerning which is the better, it’s clearly the processor. The performance it gave in CPU intensive testing was especially impressive. The Nvidia GTX 1060 did exactly what it was expected to do. That might sound like criticism, and I don’t mean it to. However, I perhaps wish that I’d got to see this processor in action with a higher specification GPU.

Design

I really love the design of this laptop. It shows a care for the product and for the consumer in the little details they added to make this a beautiful product to look at. For example, the MSI logo on the laptop cover, it wasn’t necessary, probably cost them a little more to do it, but it looks massively better than a standard black cover. Also, the red trim which they have put on the system is a fantastic touch to make it that little bit special.

Furthermore, the RBG lighting is a contentious subject, some hate it, some love it. Personally, I think the effect that they have put on the top of the laptop is excellent. It’s something a bit different and is undoubtedly eye-catching. RGB effects on the keyboard look good too, but personally, I think I would tire very quickly of it being right under my nose. You can, of course, turn it off and I suspect that if you had this laptop, you would leave the top effects on, but turn them off on the keyboard.

Should I Buy One?

The processor pretty much handled everything we threw it is without barely breaking a sweat. This means that this laptop would be a fantastic performer if you’re looking for CPU intensive work. This could be photo editing, video rendering or anything else you can think of. Although they will cost mfore, if you could stretch to the Nvidia 1070 model, you would see massive improvements in the gaming figures. However, if you are a little on a tighter budget, this laptop is a fantastic all-rounder.

Pros

Excellent and innovative design.
The top RGB lighting effect is very impressive.
CPU performance is one of the best we have seen.
Provides a more than solid gaming performance with impressive figures.
Speaker quality is far better than usually seen in laptops.
The 120HZ screen is unusual in laptops and fantastic to look at.
One of the best ‘all-rounder’ laptops we have seen. It can game, it can work, it can do it all!