MSI GE73 Raider RGB 8RF Laptop Review (i7-8750H/GTX1070)

Rating: 8.0.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070? Check. Six-core Intel Core i7 running at more than 4GHz? Check. 16GB RAM? Check. Half terabyte SSD and whole terabyte hard disk? Check. This sounds like the perfect specification for a monster gaming tower. But it isn't. These are the main details of the MSI GE73 Raider RGB 8RF, and it's a laptop, not a tower.

This is a pretty hefty beast for a laptop, however. It's a 17.3in model, and weighs in at 2.89kg. It's also a portly 30mm thick. So this is more of a gaming system you can move easily from location to location, rather than a laptop you can game on whilst on the move. This is possible, but you will need quite strong knees, although this is far from the most massive notebook we've seen. It looks positively svelte next to the MSI WT73VR 7RM mobile workstation, for example.

The processor in question is the Core i7-8750H, which has six cores and runs at a nominal 2.2GHz but a single core can hit 4.1GHz. The 16GB of DDR4 memory runs at 2,400MHz. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics is of course the mobile version, but it's not far behind the desktop version, running at a slightly slower clock but with a few more CUDA cores to compensate.

The MSI GE73 Raider RGB 8RF has one more trick up its sleeve, too, or maybe on its lid and keyboard to be more precise. The clue is in the model name. The lid is attractively illuminated, but the keys can be individually lit with different colours, to help with your finger placement or just to look cool.

With plenty of storage for massive game installs, and a price just north of £2,000 inc VAT, the GE73 Raider RGB 8RF has plenty of potential to be a gaming notebook that could put many desktops to shame, if you have the money. Let's find out if it meets up to the expectation.

System Configuration:

• 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-8750H
• 16GB 2400MHz DDR4 Memory
• 8GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX1070 Graphics
• 17.3in Full HD 120Hz LED backlit TFT
• 512GB Samsung PM871a SATA M.2 SSD
• 1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 7,200rpm HDD
• RGB backlit keyboard
• 419.2 x 287.1 x 30.15mm (WxDxH)
• 2.89kg
• Windows 10 64 bit
• 1 year manufacturer’s warranty

Price for this system (at the time of writing): £2,099.99 (inc. VAT)

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