MSI GE76 Raider (2022) – Holy Smoke It’s Fast

1. Introducing the MSI Raider GE76 (2022)2. MSI Raider GE76 - Technical details3. Testing and Performance - CPU4. Testings and Performance - CPU & Memory5. Testing and Performance - Games6. Battery Testing7. Closing Thoughts8. View All Pages

MSI has overhauled the Raider GE76 with a new CPU, chipset and memory, along with a move from Windows 10 to Windows 11. The result is a laptop that looks externally identical to the 2021 version, however internally it is quite different and, more importantly, it also performs at a new level.

In recent times Intel CPUs have relied on brute force to deliver performance with a power envelope that allows the cores to run as fast as possible until they hit their thermal limits. Intel's 12th Gen Alder Lake technology has allowed them to cut the number of P cores from the eight core i9-11980HK in the 2021 version of Raider to six cores in the Core i9-12900HK in this 2022 model.

That sounds like a huge step back until you realise that Intel added eight E cores which means the thread count has increased from 16 to 20. This brings huge benefits, as we have demonstrated in our benchmark charts, helping both performance and battery life.

While we are happy about the move to Intel 12th Gen we continue to struggle with the problems that Dominic detailed in his review of the 2021 model. This is a large and heavy laptop that is supplied with a high refresh 1080p display, and that is a curious combination of features.

The price is very high, however you don't get that premium feel you expect from the likes of Apple and Razer and instead are left with the impression that you are paying top dollar for mega performance. A substantial part of the price is down to the choice of graphics chips which is a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU and while that sounds impressive it cannot compete with the desktop equivalent as it is held back by power limits.

This laptop was sent to us by Intel, rather than MSI, and it is clear that the CPU is impressive. More to the point 12th Gen is only the beginning of Intel's use of hybrid technology. We fully expect 13th Gen will increase the number of low power E cores and that should help increase both the performance and also the battery life.

You can buy the MSI Raider GE76 from Overclockers UK for £4,400 HERE.

Pros:

• Impressive Intel 12th Gen CPU.
• The 120Hz FHD IPS screen looks superb.
• Excellent I/O including Thunderbolt 4.

Cons:

• RTX 3080 Ti delivers minimal benefit over RTX 3080.
• Smart Auto mode does not appear to be very smart.
• A Quad HD panel would be more useful than Full HD.
• Hugely expensive.

KitGuru says: The latest version of the MSI Raider GE76 is impressive, but problems remain considering the very high price tag.

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