MSI GE76 Raider 12UHS assessment: Raise the bling (and performance)

Splendid Prices As of late

We’ve been longtime followers of MSI’s GE76 Raider. They’re solidly constructed machines that bring respectable performance. That acknowledged, in phrases of the outdoor, no longer much has modified on basically the most modern iteration. The insides, however, sport a ways superior hardware: Intel’s 14-core Core i9-12900HK and Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Notebook computer GPU. No longer fully had been we gay with the CPU and GPU performance, however we furthermore indubitably beloved the 1080p webcam and the punchy audio. Learn on to learn more.

Resulting from you’re likely familiar with the GE76 Raider, we’ll skip talking up the outdoor formulation of it right here as antagonistic to to indicate the astronomical RGB LED stripped across its entrance and amble appropriate into what issues: The inner.

GE76 Raider Specs

• CPU: Intel 12th gen Core i9-12900HK
• RAM: 32GB DDR5/4800 in twin-channel mode
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti @ 175 Watt TGP
• Conceal: 17.3-amble, 16:9, UHD 4K decision conceal with 120Hz refresh
• Storage: 1TB PCIe 4.0 Micron 3400 SSD
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E using Killer AX1675i, 2.5GbE Killer E3100G
• Size and weight: 15.6 x 11.2 x 1 amble, 6.4 kilos plus 1.2 kilos for 330 watt vitality brick
• Battery Size: 99.9 Whr
• Ports: Three USB-A, one USB-C, one Thunderbolt 4, miniDisplayPort, HDMI, 2.5GbE Ethernet, analog audio jack, SD Specific card reader.

Keyboard and trackpad

The keyboard on the GE76 Raider hasn’t indubitably modified much for the explanation that customary 10th gen model. It’s no longer our current keyboard, because it’s silent a tad compressed for our elephantine sausage fingers, however it’s serviceable. It continues to formulation a 10-key on the side as successfully with a cell phone keyboard structure, which honest isn’t as worthwhile as a honest calculator structure.

The keyboard formulation per-key RGB backlighting with very gentle transitions, however it continues to truly feel dark compared with opponents such because the Asus ROG Strix G17. The magnificent thing in regards to the GE76’s 10-secret’s the enter button that’s positioned shut to it. Oddly ample, Asus skips this bit on the ROG Strix G17.

We’re furthermore particular the trackpad is the identical because the outdated iterations as successfully, however we found it to be a cramped bit too twitchy out of the field and can remark more palm rejection.

Audio subsystem

Even though some will whinge about sparkling laptops, one serve is in overall better audio, which is decent on the GE76 Raider. With its four speakers, the pc locations out decent quantity that’s enhanced by its Nahmic spatializer. The constructed-in microphones and noise cancellation is furthermore moderately effective too.

Webcam

The GE76 Raider used to be amongst regarded as one of the essential first to transfer from a 720p webcam to a 1080p one. The moderately broad attitude of look makes it a stunning magnificent (in particular blended with its decent speakers and microphones) arrangement to host Zoom calls with bigger than one person in entrance of it.

Build quality and acoustics

When it comes to this particular model’s assemble quality, cramped has modified. The magnificent news is it’s silent a top rate gaming pc with an aluminum lid and keyboard deck. The underside of the pc has plastic hinge caps, however most would exhausting pressed to convey. The physique is furthermore moderately inflexible and if your wrist is sturdy ample to heft a 6.4 pound pc by the corner, you might maybe well close so without the pc feeling esteem it might well bend.

The GE76 Raider is constructed spherical a standing of six heat pipes and most of them are devoted to the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Notebook computer GPU. MSI does consist of, however, a new piece-alternate liquid metal pad on the CPU. When temperatures are below 58 degrees Celsius, the pad is sturdy. When the temperature rises, the pad liquifies. MSI says the contain also can silent toughen no longer fully cooling however longevity over oldschool liquid metal, which will crystalize over time.

Fan noise on the GE76 Raider is analogous to outdated devices. It’ll bustle annoyingly loud—roughly 51dB—when it’s in excessive performance mode. MSI now formulation a Trim Auto mode with “AI” that dynamically tunes the followers and performance to eek as much performance as possible. Indubitably these wanting basically the most performance doubtlessly received’t strategies the fan noise, however we’d resolve environment the pc to its Trim Auto mode. This mode noticed the fan noise at a extraordinarily realistic 45dB differ when running 3DMark Time Gaze.

It is possible you’ll well maybe also mediate the jump from 45dB to 51dB (a huge distinction) would consequence in a astronomical performance distinction, however it’s no longer that shocking. With out a doubt, in 3DMark Time Gaze, it indubitably works out to about 6 to 7 p.c performance low cost in alternate for a extraordinarily sparkling low cost in noise.

Upgrades

Notebook computer upgrades on the GE76 are identical old for a sparkling gaming pc. There are two DDR5 SO-DIMM slots and two M.2 slots for storage. The wireless card is a Killer/Intel Wi-Fi 6e, which will get replaced. Entry is furthermore moderately easy without a have to spend away the motherboard.

Performance

Great gaming laptops are fundamentally sold for his or her tempo, so we’ll originate with Maxon’s Cinebench R20, which is a benchmark per the engine ragged in its knowledgeable Cinema4D application. More cores blueprint better performance and the 14-cores of the 12th gen Core i9 doesn’t disappoint. That shouldn’t surprise anybody as 14 is bigger than 8. The MSI GF76 Katana listed right here’s a 14-core CPU too, however at its stock settings, it doesn’t push the CPU very exhausting. On its performance environment, it indubitably moves into the 2nd fully role right here. It is possible you’ll well maybe also silent spend the ranking for the GE76 Raider as a magnificent indicator that it’ll in overall ranking multi-threaded or multi-core tasks such as 3D rendering, CPU-based mostly fully mostly encoding, and even heavy-responsibility Excel diagnosis barely successfully.

The astronomical majority of functions of us remark, however, don’t indubitably stretch the total CPU cores in a machine. That’s why we bustle Cinebench R20 using a single-core or thread. That must provide you a bigger indicator of how the GE76 Raider performs tasks esteem taking a perceive, listing editing and overall Recount of work remark. This pc is clearly the fastest machine pc right here, which also can silent translate into a snappier indubitably feel over the others in most functions.

Cinebench R20 is a moderately fast running test that doesn’t indubitably stress the cooling machine of a pc, which is a fundamental feature of any performance machine. To push the laptops more difficult, we project them with transcoding a 30GB 1080P file using Handbrake 0.9.9 and the default Android Tablet preset. A shorter bar indicates a given pc is sooner. The winner again is the GE76 Raider, which carried out our conversion in roughly 13 minutes. That’s a rotund enchancment over issue, the Asus ROG Zephyrus S17 with its 8-core Core i9-11900H, which takes nearly yet another five minutes to wrap up the job.

Our closing non-GPU centered test makes remark of UL’s PCMark 10 application performance, which measures a pc’s performance while running varied tasks in birth-provide Recount of work, Photograph Editing, and 3D rendering functions. That is a test that in overall helps us trace that as intriguing because it’s miles to appear some unbelievable multi-core ranking, truly it doubtlessly doesn’t topic that much. It is possible you’ll well maybe also fashion of glance that in the outcomes for barely a few the laptops right here, which, we also can silent admit, likely will most likely be indistinguishable from the others. As a minimum, can you indubitably convey the distinction between pc A and pc B when all you’re doing is typing a letter? We’d silent argue that no you might maybe well’t, however the info furthermore tells us that the GE76 Raider is going to be moderately bit bit snappier than the others.

Let’s be upright: You don’t take care of a pc with this much RGB to total Zoom calls. You’re right here for the gaming performance, so that you just might maybe maybe appear at that, we’ll originate with UL’s 3DMark Time Gaze. It’s a most neatly-liked and respectable synthetic graphics benchmark that’s mostly GPU-centered. The general ranking does remark in the CPU of the pc, however what does the GE76 Raider and its GeForce RTX 3080 Ti salvage you over the others? Practically a 25 p.c better ranking.

Time Gaze is more about oldschool DirectX12 gaming performance, so we ran 3DMark’s Port Royal test to gauge ray tracing performance. The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU, whenever you don’t know, formulation about 20 p.c more ray tracing cores and CUDA cores than the easy GeForce RTX 3080 GPU. With the elevated vitality and warmth limits of the MSI GE76 Raider adding to the equation, we’re seeing a 23 p.c serve over the next fastest pc in our listing.

Actual video games topic too, so our subsequent test is the now the elderly Upward push of the Tomb Raider, which we bustle at 1080p decision in DX11 mode. This older game likely leans on the CPU a cramped bit more difficult than a more contemporary game, however it’s silent largely driven by the GPU. No surprise, the GE76 Raider and its GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Notebook computer GPU without remark outpaces the barely a few laptops including a stack of GeForce RTX 3080 GPU laptops.

Moving on to a game that’s more difficult on the GPU. To work the pc a cramped bit more difficult, we bustle Metro Exodus on its Unsuitable preset at 1080p. The GE76 Raider has a transparent serve towards all barely a few gaming laptops right here, however it appears to be like to bustle stupid even with the Asus ROG Zephyrus S17, which formulation an 11th gen Core i9 and RTX 3080.

Our final test specializes in battery life, which will be principal to a couple of us. However, anybody who expects to bustle a pc with a vitality-sucking 4K conceal configured with a excessive-vitality CPU and GPU is particular to be “using it defective.” All laptops as of late are puny to a most battery size of 100 watt hours because of the aviation laws that forestall giant lithium ion batteries on planes.

With a mounted “gas tank,” the excessive performance parts aren’t going to provide you very magnificent battery life while doing one thing as intense as, issue, gaming. We’ve been asserting roughly an hour or two per the game and pc for years and that hasn’t modified.

The key point is that riding the CPU or GPU exhausting repeatedly blueprint lackluster battery life (yes, you too M1 Max followers). However doing lightweight tasks such as staring at a video also can yield better battery life than you’d depend on.

For that test, we loop a 4K video file with the conceal standing to a barely sparkling 250 to 260 nits with the pc in airplane mode and ear buds plugged in. The premise is to simulate staring at a movie on a plane or an standing of work with the cabin lights on.

With its 99.9 watt hour battery, the GE76 Raider indubitably coughs up a magnificent battery life fervent by its sparkling 17.3-amble 4K panel. High density displays need brighter backlighting to succeed in the identical brightness as a decrease decision conceal.

We noticed on the discipline of 6.5 hours of video bustle time on the GE76 Raider, which is extremely competitive with laptops with decrease-decision displays (albeit smaller batteries, too). On the total, you furthermore mght can silent depend on magnificent battery life doing lighter tasks and a ways worse battery life below heavy hundreds.

Conclusion

This iteration of the GE76 Raider is the fastest one yet! That’s honest lazy reviewer boom hunting to be quoted in firm advert-copy. The upright truth is that this: This pc is the fully we’ve viewed with essential increases over outdated iterations.

And we’re no longer talking five years, either. The first time we noticed the GE76 Raider used to be early 2020 when it used to be outfitted with a 10th gen Intel 8-core Core i7-10870H. Two years later, basically the most modern model formulation a hefty 85 p.c elevated ranking in multi-core performance.

It doesn’t fundamental that edge in single-core performance, however a 58 p.c enchancment in performance is nothing to scoff at. If there’s one knock we now contain on the GE76 Raider, it’s the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, because it doesn’t barely designate as much. On paper, the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti provides 20 p.c more to, successfully, all the pieces from shader cores to ray tracing cores, however it washes out from 4 to 12 p.c in the close. That’s magnificent however no longer the punch some also can need expected.

One thing indubitably worth whining over is the label. With its 4K UHD 120Hz panel, 12th gen Core i9, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Notebook computer GPU, and 32GB of DDR5/4800, the GE76 Raider 12UHS pushes $4,200. That’s a extreme, extreme chunk of alternate.

Within the close, while we mediate the GE76 Raider is due for a makeover, we can’t whinge a few pc that’s now offering a appreciable performance boost over the model sold honest two years in the past.