MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K Review

MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K: Almost There

After testing and using the MSI GS60 for over a month, there's plenty to like with the overall package. It's attractive and looks far better than the other MSI product lines (in my opinion at least), and it's not nearly as bulky to pack around. Performance is very good, and the build quality is decent as well. The optional 3K display is nice to have as well, and there's enough horsepower that you can even run quite a few games at 3K resolutions, though not at maximum details. There are really only three major concerns, and you'll have to decide if they're big enough problems that you look elsewhere.

First is the battery life, and if you want something that can get through a full day of light use there's simply no hope of the GS60 doing that without plugging in on a regular basis. MSI has had somewhat middling battery life on other gaming laptops, and the 3K display appears to make things worse, dropping useful battery life under the four hour mark. The second problem is with surface temperatures. I could use the GS70 for gaming with it sitting on a desk, but if you put it on your lap the metal chassis conducts a lot of heat right into your legs. In the winter it might actually be a welcome aspect of the system, but during the warmer months the surface temperatures of up to 70C under load are far too high. A cooling pad is another option, though that's yet one more piece of equipment to pack around with your laptop.

The final question is whether or not you're willing to pony up for the GS60 3K edition, so let's discuss how it compares to some of the other options out there. And truth be told, there aren't too many choices right now if you want a high performance gaming notebook with a HiDPI display. MSI has the GS60 3K starting at close to $2000, and the GT60 Dominator 3K is also $2000 (but with no SSD storage in that configuration); the new Razer Blade has a 3K (technically QHD+) panel and sleek design but will set you back $2400 with a 256GB SSD; Lenovo's Y50 even has a 4K display and will only set you back $1300 right now (with a 256GB SSD), making that a tough proposition to beat. It's interesting to note that each of those laptops uses a different panel (and resolution), though other laptops (e.g. Toshiba's Satellite P55T-B5262) can be found likely using one of those three displays, and there are more upcoming HiDPI laptops as well, like Gigabyte's AORUS X3 with a 13.9" QHD+ panel.

Besides HiDPI, the one thing that nearly all of these systems have in common is a relatively high price, with Lenovo's Y50 being something of an exception. Also worth note is that all of these HiDPI laptops appear to have relatively poor battery life as well. It's interesting that the only other 3K/4K Windows laptop we've tested so far is the Dell XPS 15, and while it delivers decent battery life it also packs a 91Wh battery. That's 75% more battery capacity than the MSI GS60, though the result is that the XPS 15 delivers 150% more battery life. Even so, you will likely get better battery life if you opt for a standard 1080p display, and while the HiDPI displays look great you still have to deal with Windows' scaling.

The bottom line is that you have to decide what's most important to you. If you want a HiDPI gaming notebook with good battery life, you'll unfortunately have to give up some gaming performance (i.e. get Dell's XPS 15 with GT 750M graphics) or battery life (all of the above laptops I just mentioned deliver less than five hours of battery life). You'll also need to decide how much you're willing to spend and what role aesthetics play in your decision. The MSI GS60 Ghost 3K is a good looking laptop with some nice features, but it has a few flaws that make it less than perfect. At $2000, the GS60 Ghost 3K is most definitely in the high-end market, but it does offer performance and features commensurate with the price.