MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield review | Laptop Mag
Our Verdict
The MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield features an unrivaled design and excellent performance, but stumbles a bit on the brandish.
For
- Ridiculously stunning design
- Splendid performance and graphics
- 300Hz panel
- Decent webcam
Against
- Brandish should exist brighter and more colorful
- Unsatisfying typing experience
- Mediocre speakers
- Expensive
Laptop Mag Verdict
The MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield features an unrivaled pattern and fantabulous performance, merely stumbles a bit on the display.
Pros
- +
Ridiculously stunning pattern
- +
Excellent performance and graphics
- +
300Hz console
- +
Decent webcam
Cons
- -
Display should be brighter and more than colorful
- -
Unsatisfying typing feel
- -
Mediocre speakers
- -
Expensive
Dare I say, half of the gaming laptops out there are ugly, a quarter or and then of them are subtle enough to look sleek, and the other quarter actually look skillful. The MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield, all the same, doesn't fall into any of those categories. It sits lone in a 0.1% category called "This is what gaming laptops should look like," because hot damn this car is the most beautiful piece of tech I've ever seen. Unfortunately, while it may be the all-time looking, it's not the all-time gaming laptop.
On top of its stunning design, the MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield offers excellent performance from its Intel Core i9-10980HK CPU and RTX 2070 Super GPU, a polish 15.6-inch, 300Hz panel as well as a decent 1080p webcam. Yet, you'll be plagued with a display and battery life that are both beneath-average, an unsatisfying keyboard and a pair of mediocre speakers which is disappointing for a $two,499 notebook.
If you program on using a controller, non traveling anywhere, and are willing to sacrifice some color and effulgence for a higher refresh charge per unit, so the MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield is definitely worth information technology. Otherwise, cheque out our all-time gaming laptops page to find something more than well-rounded. Although, y'all will not find a better-looking blueprint.
MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield price and configuration options
MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield specs
Price: $2,499
CPU: Intel Cadre i9-10980HK
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 1TB SSD
Display: fifteen.6-inch, 1080p, 300Hz display
Battery: 5:x
Size: 14.ane x 10.five 10 0.9 inches
Weight: 5.3 pounds
The MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield is a unique limited-edition version of the MSI GE66 Raider, so y'all're paying actress non only for the pattern, just likewise the gift box it comes in. The model I reviewed costs $2,499 (on sale at Newegg) and is outfitted with an Intel Core i9-10980HK processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super GPU with 8GB of VRAM, 32GB of DDR4 RAM, a 1TB SSD and a 1080p, 300Hz display. The gift box comes with a mouse, a mousepad, a Dragonshield Spaceship figure and a concept art booklet.
It too comes in a cheaper configuration, outfitted with a Cadre i7-10750H CPU, an RTX 2060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a 1080p, 240Hz brandish all for $one,649. There'southward too supposed to be an RTX 2080 GPU model with a 4K display, simply that's not currently sold anywhere at the moment, as the MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield is a super limited product.
If you're looking for something cheaper, check out our all-time cheap gaming laptops and best VR-ready laptops pages.
MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield design
My fingers coasted along the sandblasted aluminum chassis like an 10-fly, scouring the seams for a flaw in the design, merely there was no Rogue 1 to reveal its secrets to me. Instead, the white dragon stamped on the grey shield lured me in, and the closer I looked, the more than the orange chassis gleamed with etchings that captured the pure essence of science fiction space operas. As my optics defenseless the black and white GE66 logo, I only idea, "Hell yes you are."
I opened the hull and was graced by a rainbow lite bar congenital into the deck, leading to a black and orangish deck marked up with nighttime etchings that brings the laptop to life. The keyboard glowed with RGB lights, signaling information technology was ready to take off, while the touchpad sat but below, fix for input. The bezels effectually the display are relatively thin but exit plenty room for the webcam to sit at the acme.
As a sci-fi and Star Wars nerd, I'm just stunned. The Dragonshield's designer, Colie Wertz, is a concept and VFX creative person who worked on popular franchises, including Star Wars. And considering of that, the Dragonshield isn't but another attempt at a sci-fi look, information technology's the accurate article. Of course, the Dragonshield laptop likewise comes with the Dragonshield send, which is a model of a spaceship with the same design used on the laptop.
At 5.3 pounds and 14.ane 10 10.five 10 0.9 inches, the MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield is a bit of a thick ship for a 15-inch laptop. It falls in betwixt the Alienware m15 R3 (2020) (4.7 pounds, 14.two x x.9 x 0.8 inches), Acer Predator Helios 300 (2020) (v.five pounds, 14.three x ten x 0.8 inches) and Asus ROG Strix Scar G15 (G532) (v.seven pounds, 14.2 x 10.8 x 1 inches). Nonetheless, the MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield is just a chip slimmer in length.
MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield ports
This lovely animate being is packed to the brim with ports.
On the left side, you'll find a security lock slot, i USB Type-A port, i USB Type-C port and a headphone jack, while the right side features two USB Type-A ports and an SD bill of fare slot.
Meanwhile, the behind holds room for the power jack, an HDMI port, an RJ45 Ethernet port, 1 USB Blazon-C port and a Mini DisplayPort.
If you need even more than ports, check out our best USB Type-C hubs and best laptop docking stations pages.
MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield display
The MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield'due south 15.vi-inch display prioritizes refresh rate over resolution, with a 1920 10 1080-pixel panel that refreshes at 300Hz, which is great for people getting into serious eSports games. Merely, while the display is relatively colorful and brilliant, I expected more from a premium gaming laptop.
In The Lilliputian Things trailer, Rami Malek's blueish suit was crisp, while Denzel Washington's red sheriff patch stood out on the Dragonshield's panel, but neither sufficiently popped. In the same scene, the screen was vivid plenty to capture the grapheme'due south surroundings during the night shot, simply it didn't make the characters glow in the same style a brighter panel could. However, it was still sharp, detailing the strands of hair combed over on Malek'south head.
In Assassin's Creed Valhalla, I assassinated my target (as yous do) and I was transported to a dream realm to listen to some dead dude talk my ear off, just the dream space is so dark that even the Dragonshield had trouble detailing everything. However, while sailing across England'due south rivers, I embraced the lush, colorful greenery across the countryside. When I turned the graphics down low, I experienced the shine 300Hz refresh charge per unit every bit I ran across the fields and planted my ax into a random Saxon.
According to our colorimeter, the GE66 Raider Dragonshield covered 75.vii% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which puts it under the 88.6% premium gaming laptop average. The Predator Helios 300 shot under the mark too, with 74.viii%, but the Strix Scar G15 performed slightly better, covering 80%, while the Alienware m15 R3 admittedly dominated, blasting 149.7% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
At 310 nits of brightness, the GE66 Raider Dragonshield is dimmer than the average premium gaming laptop (351 nits). The Predator Helios 300 (276 nits) and Strix Scar G15 (278 nits) scored worse marks, but the Alienware m15 R3 (369 nits) is the leading case of what a premium display is supposed to expect similar.
MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield keyboard and touchpad
Frustration is what the GE66 Raider Dragonshield'southward keyboard elicited from me. Non only are the keys super shallow, but the palm rest is uncomfortable and the keyboard layout is annoying.
Firstly, the light bar is technically a part of the deck, but it protrudes just plenty to scrape against the lesser of my palm. Equally far equally the keyboard layout goes, there's only one Fn key located on the correct side of the keyboard, and the media keys are all located on the directional keys, so I have to click the awkward Fn button then click the abrasive media keys to modify the sound. Ugh.
I hit 74 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing examination, which is below my typical 78-wpm boilerplate. My fingers are bottoming out against the shallow keys, so information technology makes for a rather unsatisfying typing experience.
The keyboard features per-fundamental lighting that is customizable via the SteelSeries Engine 3 app. You tin non only customize each private key just also customize the colors on the Fn keys that glow. There's also a SteelSeries key on the keyboard that lets you easily switch betwixt presets.
The 4.1 x 2.5-inch touchpad is shine and has a decent click, although the surface is depressed into the chassis more than I'd like. However, Windows 10 gestures like two-finger scrolling and three-finger tabbing worked well.
MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield audio
I don't expect perfection, but if you're going to spend thousands of dollars on a laptop, the speakers should at least be decent. These, all the same, are mediocre at all-time. At that place'south barely any bass, and all of the audio sounded hollow, failing to bring life to anything I listened to.
I listened to Icon For Rent'southward "Get Well," and the opening electronic notes sounded dull and a scrap scratchy. When the electrical guitar chimed in, it was noisy. However, the vocals were crisp and loud, although, the percussion sounds muddy. Overall, the sound didn't sound harsh, but just generally unpleasant.
In Assassinator's Creed Valhalla, I was having a chat with a certain abrasive Anglo-Saxon woman, and while her voice was loud, at that place was no depth. It was virtually similar I was listening to her from another room. Even sailing my ship through the river and sounding the horn for a raid sounded shrill and empty. When I hopped on an enemy to dial him to death, I was met with sharp flicks every bit opposed to satisfying thuds.
You can adapt the audio in the Nahimic sound app, and while it'due south constructive at irresolute the tone of the sound, it didn't make it skilful. You tin can suit the surroundings sound, volume stabilizer, voices, bass and treble in each preset. In that location are four presets: Music, Motion picture, Advice and Gaming.
MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield gaming, graphics and VR
Tucked within the MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield'south chassis lies the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super GPU with 8GB of VRAM. That may sound like old news now that the RTX 30 series has been announced, merely this machine is still a animal. I sounded the horn to raid a camp in Assassin'south Creed Valhalla and averaged 65 frames per second on Ultra, 1080p settings as I ran across the h2o and started slapping fools with my ax.
On the Far Cry New Dawn benchmark (Ultra, 1080p), the GE66 Raider Dragonshield scored 95 fps, sailing to a higher place the premium gaming laptop average (84 fps). With their non-Super RTX 2070 GPUs, the Alienware m15 R3 and Predator Helios 300 averaged fourscore and 81 fps, respectively. Meanwhile, the Strix Scar G15'southward RTX 2070 Super GPU made information technology upwards to 90 fps.
The GE66 Raider Dragonshield hit 66 fps on the Borderlands iii benchmark (Badass, 1080p), which is simply one frame over the category average (65 fps). The Alienware m15 R3 (56 fps) and Predator Helios 300 (57 fps) landed beneath 60 fps, while the Strix Scar G15 matched the average exactly.
On the Assassin'south Creed Odyssey criterion (Ultra, 1080p), the GE66 Raider Dragonshield averaged 63 fps, in one case once more chirapsia the premium gaming laptop average (59 fps). The Alienware m15 R3 (53 fps), Predator Helios 300 (56 fps) and Strix Scar G15 (60 fps) couldn't proceed upward.
The GE66 Raider Dragonshield crushed another benchmark, scoring 76 fps on the Shadow of the Tomb Raider test (Highest, 1080p), outclassing the average laptop in its category (71 fps). The Alienware m15 R3 (59 fps) lagged behind, just the Strix Scar G15 managed to surpass MSI, nailing 82 fps.
MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield functioning
Paired with that beefy GPU is an equally bulky CPU, that is, an Intel Core i9-10980HK processor with 32GB of RAM. The MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield had no issue running 40 Google Chrome tabs and five 1080p YouTube videos while Assassin's Creed Valhalla was running in the background.
On the Geekbench 5.two overall performance test, the GE66 Raider Dragonshield scored a mighty viii,571, putting distance between itself and the 7,335 premium gaming laptop boilerplate. The Intel Core i7-10750H CPUs in the Alienware m15 R3 (vi,311) Predator Helios 300 (5,267) came up a niggling short. However, even the Strix Scar G15's Core i9-10980HK CPU couldn't keep upwards, averaging 8,163.
The GE66 Raider Dragonshield transcoded a 4K video to 1080p in just 7 minutes and 1 second on our HandBrake criterion, blowing the 8:23 category average abroad. It also completely crushed the Alienware m15 R3 (viii:38), Predator Helios 300 (x:26) and Strix Scar G15 (7:26).
MSI'south 1TB SSD copied 25GB of data, and showcased a transfer charge per unit of one,087 megabytes per 2d, crushing the 876 MBps premium gaming laptop average. Once again, information technology surpassed the piece of work from the Alienware m15 R3 (768 MBps), Predator Helios 300 (742 MBps) and Strix Scar G15 (969 MBps).
MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield bombardment life
Gaming laptops and battery life accept a finicky relationship, equally the majority of gaming machines don't have much longevity, but in that location are a few outliers that shine among the casuals. Unfortunately, the MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield only misses the mark.
On the Laptop Mag Bombardment Test, the GE66 Raider Dragonshield lasted 5 hours and ten minutes, which is simply short of the five:23 premium gaming laptop average. That'southward groovy. The Raider fifty-fifty beat the Alienware m15 R3 (4:55), Predator Helios 300 (iii:12) and Strix Scar G15 (4:38). But it should be better.
MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield webcam
OK, I'll be honest, the GE66 Raider Dragonshield has a decent webcam, and as far as laptop webcams go, that might as well be high praise. The photos produced by the 1080p shooter are still a bit grainy and have RGB blotches surrounding the epitome, only information technology'due south much sharper than other webcams I've seen.
The color is also decent, not only capturing the red in my sweater, but the very faint white fuzz. I've seen worse contrast residuum, also. The lights around me didn't blow out my face up, although the window behind me was done out entirely. For playing D&D Online with friends over webcam, this volition do just fine, but if yous're looking to go into some serious streaming, check out our all-time webcams page.
MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield heat
The MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield tin become a fiddling spicy under the hood. After running a game for 15 minutes, the underside peaked at 127 degrees Fahrenheit, which it'south hottest temperature overall and is well above our 95-degree condolement threshold. The center of the keyboard and touchpad hit 103 degrees and 75 degrees, respectively.
Even when using the laptop normally, the hottest the underside warmed to 108 degrees after streaming a fifteen-infinitesimal 1080p video. The keyboard comfortably measured 94 degrees, while the touchpad reached 74 degrees.
MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield software and warranty
MSI's well-nigh notable software is the Dragon Center app, which includes some great tools to monitor CPU, GPU, Disk and Retentiveness usage. You can likewise use the app to configure your performance; presets include Farthermost Functioning, Counterbalanced, Silent, Super Bombardment and User (custom settings). The app also contains settings for the display likewise, including presets like sRGB, Gamer, Anti-Blueish, Part and Movie.
MSI besides blimp the auto with apps similar AudioDirector, ColorDirector and Music Maker Jam. In that location'southward Windows 10 bloatware besides, including Hulu, Hidden Urban center and Roblox.
The GE66 Raider Dragonshield comes with a one-year limited warranty. See how MSI performed on our Tech Support Showdown and Best and Worst Brands ranking.
Bottom line
The MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield is one of my favorite gaming laptops thanks to its stunning blueprint and incredible operation, only it'south not the best gaming laptop that you could purchase. It's expensive, and for its price, you lot shouldn't have to deal with a below-boilerplate display, keyboard and speakers. That's just one too many issues to overlook, peculiarly for $2,499.
If you lot're non in it for the badass Star Wars-esque design, get with the Alienware m15 R3 (2020). You'll save a few hundred dollars and go a gorgeous 4K OLED display, strong speakers and a comfortable keyboard.
However, if y'all're all about the MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield's appearance, just be sure you tin live with its flaws.
Source: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/msi-ge66-raider-dragonshield
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