Final thoughts and rating
If it's extreme mobile performance you're after, look past the current surge of Ultrabooks and take a long hard glance at MSI's GT70. Designed primarily for gaming and doubling as an extremely-capable multimedia workstation, this behemoth demands attention by combining a third-generation Intel Core processor with high-end NVIDIA graphics and a RAID SSD storage system.
Needless to say, the hardware configuration delivers outstanding performance; the GT70 feels lightning quick during everyday use, and it quite happily plays the latest games on a bright, full-HD 17.3 display that's thoroughly enjoyable when viewed head on. MSI has paid close attention to each underlying component - everything from the Blu-ray writer to the backlit keyboard and Dynaudio 2.1 sound system is in position to impress - but the overall package is tainted by a mostly-plastic chassis that's behind the times and a couple of niggling issues that aren't befitting a £2,100 system.
The internal fan, for instance, can get obtrusively loud, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M GPU - though admittedly quick - is technically a rebadged 500-series part that isn't quite as cutting-edge as its name suggests.
It seems MSI's eagerness to be first to market with a gaming-grade Ivy Bridge laptop has left the GT70 just a touch rough around the edges. These are early days for Ivy Bridge laptops and you get the feeling a steady stream of successors with true Kepler GPUs will soon follow, but if you must have a mobile powerhouse and you must have it now, you'll be hard pushed to find one that's better equipped and on the market today.
The Good
Excellent all-round performance
High-speed SSD storage
Respectable battery life
Convincing audio
Good keyboard and trackpad
All the trimmings; Blu-ray writer, USB 3.0
The Bad
Very expensive
Gets noisy at times
Chassis looks dated
HEXUS Rating
MSI GT70
HEXUS Awards
MSI GT70
HEXUS Where2Buy
The reviewed MSI GT70 laptop is available to purchase from Scan Computers*.
HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.
*UK-based HEXUS community members are eligible for free delivery and priority customer service through the SCAN.care@HEXUS forum.
