MSI GE66 Raider review: a sports car in the world of gaming laptops

During the protest period, we tested quite a few gaming laptops equipped with an 8-core Core i9 processor and GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER graphics (both in Max-Q design and normally). Therefore, we know what to expect from the next new product – MSI GE66 Raider (10SGS-062RU), and we also know that it is worth paying attention to buying a laptop of this class. Let’s take a look at how MSI’s engineers managed to implement the cooling system for some of the hottest laptop components, and also find out what the new gaming laptop from the Taiwanese company can do with buyers.

 

 

⇡#Specifications, equipment and software

At the time of this writing, MSI’s official website lists only three MSI GE66 Raider models. All possible characteristics of the laptop are listed in the table.

 

MSI GE66 Raider
Main View	15.6″, 1920×1080, IPS, 240Hz, 3ms, 72% NTSC
CPU	Intel Core i9-10980HK Intel Core i7-10750H
Video card	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER MAX-Q 8GB GDDR6 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB GDDR6 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB GDDR6 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 8GB GDDR6
RAM	Up to 64GB DDR4-3200
Install Drives	2 × M.2 in PCI Express x4 3.0 / SATA 6Gb/s mode
Optical drive	Network
Interfaces	2 × USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A 1 × USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C (Shared with DisplayPort) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C 1 x 3.5mm mini jack 1 × RJ-45 1 x HDMI 1 × Mini DisplayPort 1 × card reader
Built-in battery	99.9⋅Wh
External power supply	230W
Dimensions	358 × 267 × 23.4 mm
Notebook weight	2.38kg
Operating system	Windows 10 Home
Warranty	2 years
Price	$3,800 test model

 

According to a long tradition, the top version of Ryder has arrived to us, which can be identified in computer online stores by marking 10SGS-062RU. The modification of this laptop includes Core i9-10980HK and GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Max-Q chips, 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB of SSD. Such a “monster” costs an average of $380. For version 10SF-016RU (with Core i7-10750H, GeForce RTX 2070, 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of SSD), they ask for an average of $ 2,300 in retail. Finally, modification 10SFS-029RU (Core i9-10980HK, GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD) cost $ 3,100 at the time of writing.

For wireless connection in all versions of MSI GE66 Raider, the Killer 1650 chip is responsible, which supports IEEE 802.11b / g / n / ac / ax standards with a frequency of 2.4 and 5 prediction and skip prediction up to 2.4 Gb / s. There is also support for the Bluetooth 5.1 standard. The Killer 3100 controller is responsible for the wired connection, the throughput of which reaches 2.5 Gb / s.

The laptop comes with an external power supply with a power of 230 W and a weight (with all wires) of about 700 grams. Nothing is said about the USB Power Delivery function.

⇡#Appearance and input device

MSI GE66 Raider attracts special attention and interest from users of various associations. So I wanted to check the review with a sports car, because the laptop has a squat, aggressive and daring design. Beveled corners are visible in front and on the sides, and figured grilles for the output of heated air are visible at the back.

The laptop seemed very compact to me, although the photos do not fully convey this feeling. Here, of course, it is better to hold and twist the device in your hands. However, the miniaturization of the GE66 Raider is achieved due to the fact that the display is moved closer to the user (the laptop’s hinges are not located on the very edge), and the screen bezels are thin here – on the sides their thickness is only 6 mm. And the keyboard does not have a numeric keypad.
In general, one gets the feeling that we are not dealing with a 15.6-inch model of a gaming laptop, but rather with a 14-inch mobile PC, although we still have a “fifteen” with standard characteristics. Thus, the weight of the MSI GE66 Raider is 2.4 kg, and the body thickness is 23 mm.

The main part of the body is made of metal. I have no complaints about the build quality: the test for bending and punching through various surfaces (keyboards, display covers) has been passed. The lid, by the way, can be easily opened with one hand, and its maximum opening angle is approximately 140 degrees.

The motto of the GE66 Raider is simply: “Fire it up!” In this trivial and understandable slogan, the manufacturer included not only a reference to the high level of performance of the laptops of the series, but also a hint of the presence of the MYSTIC LIGHT backlight – in addition to the keyboard, the entire front edge of the case glows in the laptop. So it turns out that with backlighting, the laptop looks bright and catchy, and without it, it is strict and not too pretentious.

The promo video is attached.

The laptop interfaces are separated on the left, right and rear sides of the case. The least frequently used ports are located at the back, as well as a connector for connecting the power supply. MSI GE66 Raider has two USB 3.2 Gen2 C-type ports, one of which is combined with DisplayPort. And the laptop also has one USB 3.2 Gen2 A-type, a pair of full-size USB 3.2 Gen1 (aka USB 3.0), an Ethernet connector, HDMI and mini-DisplayPort outputs and a card reader.

As I said, the keyboard did not receive a numeric keypad – and this is, so to speak, a trend for 15-inch laptops. As always, the keyboards on MSI notebooks are designed in collaboration with SteelSeries. Since we constantly test MSI products, regular readers of the site are familiar with the layout and functionality. The keyboard of the MSI GE66 Raider is very reminiscent of the HID of the recently tested MSI GF65 Thin 9SEXR.

In general, typing text and playing on the Ryder keyboard is quite convenient. You will only have to get used to the small Fn and Ctrl buttons, as well as to the location of Home, PgUp, PgDn and End in the far right column. Otherwise, the keys suited me perfectly, especially the large Shift, Ctrl (left), Enter and Backspace. Pressing any button is smooth, but with a noticeable impact. The keyboard is pretty quiet.

I also have no special complaints about the touch panel. But in any case, it will be more convenient to play with a mouse.

⇡#Internal design and upgrade options

The bottom of the laptop can be easily removed: we unscrew all the screws and carefully pry the bottom detachable plate with a plastic card. Of course, in the case of our configuration, there is no point in doing this, but modifications with less RAM and SSD, I believe, will need to be “refreshed” over time – and this can be done without any problems.

The cooling system of the GE66 Raider inspires confidence. We see that the cooler includes seven heat pipes of various lengths and shapes. They transfer the heat from the chips to fairly large copper heatsinks – and a pair of fans blow the heated air out the sides and back of the case.

⇡#Test Methodology

 

 

 

The updated testing methodology for gaming laptops puts even more emphasis on PC gaming. Laptop performance was measured using various software.

Games (Full Resolution HD):

• Counter Strike: Global Offensive. DirectX 9. Benchmark map. Maximum quality, MSAA 8x + FXAA.
• World of Tanks enCore. DirectX 11. Benchmark. Ultra mode, TSSAA HQ.
• Dota 2. DirectX 11. Match recording. Maximum quality.
• PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. DirectX 11. Training mode. Ultra Mode
• The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. DirectX 11. Novigrad and surroundings. Maximum quality.
• GTA V. DirectX 11. Built-in benchmark (last scene). Maximum quality, FXAA + 2x MSAA, advanced quality settings on, 16x AF, image resolution scaling off
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition. DirectX 11. Riverwood and surroundings. Maximum quality, TAA. No mods.
• Total War Three Kingdoms. DirectX 11. Built-in benchmark. Max mode, TAA.
• Far Cry New Dawn. DirectX 11. Built-in benchmark. Maximum quality, HD textures – on, TAA.
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. DirectX 11. Built-in benchmark. Highest mode.
• Metro: Exodus. DirectX 12. Built-in benchmark. Ultra Mode
• Battlefield V. DirectX 12. The Last Tiger mission. Ultra Mode, TAA, DXR Off
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider. DirectX 12. Built-in benchmark. Maximum quality, DXR – off, TAA.
• Gears 5. DirectX 12. Built-in benchmark. Ultra Mode
• Red Dead Redemption 2. Vulkan. Built-in benchmark (last scene). Maximum quality (advanced settings – off), TAA.
• DOOM Eternal. Vulcan. Beginning of the game. Ultra Mode
• Horizon Zero Dawn. DirectX 12. Built-in benchmark. Top quality, TAA.

Gaming performance was measured using the well-known MSI Afterburner program. It allows you to get the rendering time of each frame. The use of the 99th percentile instead of the minimum frames per second is due to the desire to clean up the results from random bursts of performance that were provoked by reasons not directly related to the operation of the main components of the platform.

Testing the laptop in games and applications was carried out with the activation of the fastest mode suitable for these tasks.

Applications:

• Corona 1.3. Testing rendering speed using the renderer of the same name. Measures the build speed of the standard BTR scene used to measure performance.
• Blender 2.83. Determining the speed of the final rendering in one of the popular free packages for creating three-dimensional graphics. The duration of building the final model pavillon_barcelona_v1.2 from Blender Benchmark is measured.
• x265 HD Benchmark. Testing the speed of video transcoding to H.265/HEVC format. The tables and graphs show the average integer value obtained after five runs of the test.
• CINEBENCH R20. Measuring the performance of photorealistic 3D rendering in the CINEMA 4D animation package, CPU test. The tables and graphs show the average integer value obtained after five runs of the test.
• Adobe Premiere Pro 2020 – Rendering a project in 4K resolution.
• Topaz Video Enhance AI v1.2.3. Performance testing in an AI-based program to improve video detail. The test uses the original video at 1280×720 resolution, which is scaled up by 150% using the Artemis-HQ model: P, HQ, MC.

Comprehensive benchmarks:

• Futuremark PCMARK10 Professional Edition 2.1.2177. Testing in Essentials scenarios (typical work of an average user: launching applications, surfing the Internet, video conferencing), Productivity (office work with a word processor and spreadsheets), Digital Content Creation (creation of digital content: photo editing, non-linear video editing, rendering and 3D visualization -models).
• 3DMark Professional Edition 2.11.6846. Testing in Time Spy and Fire Strike scenes.
• Unigine Superposition Benchmark. 1080p Extreme testing.

Notebook testing in resource-intensive applications was carried out in the default mode without any adjustment of the parameters of the central processor and cooler.

Display testing is performed using the X-Rite i1Display Pro colorimeter and the DisplayCAL 3 application.

The battery life of the laptop was tested in two modes. The first load option – web surfing – involves alternately opening and closing the tabs of the Computeruniverse.ru and Unsplash.com sites with an interval of 30 seconds. For this test, the current version of the Google Chrome browser at the time of testing is used. In the second mode, video in .mkv format and Full HD resolution is played in the built-in player of Windows OS with the repeat function activated. In all cases, the same display brightness was set to 200 cd / m², and the keyboard backlight (if any) and the sound were turned off.

In games and other applications, the results of the following laptops are considered:

 

Test Participants
Model	Screen	Processor	RAM	Graphics	Drive	Battery
ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 15	15.6”, 3840 × 2160, IPS	Intel Core i9-10980HK, 8/16 cores/threads, 2.4 (5.3) GHz, 45W	32 GB DDR4-3200 Dual Channel	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Max-Q 8GB GDDR6	SSD, 2TB	90 Wh
ASUS ROG STRIX SCAR 17	17.3”, 1920 × 1080, IPS	Intel Core i9-10980HK, 8/16 cores/threads, 2.4 (5.3) GHz, 45W	32 GB DDR4-3200 Dual Channel	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8GB GDDR6	SSD, 2TB	66 Wh
MSI GE66 Raider	15.6”, 1920 × 1080, IPS	Intel Core i9-10980HK, 8/16 cores/threads, 2.4 (5.3) GHz, 45W	32 GB DDR4-3200 Dual Channel	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Max-Q 8GB GDDR6	SSD, 1TB	99.9 Wh

 

⇡#Display and sound

All three versions of the GE66 Raider use the LQ156M1JW03 IPS panel from Sharp. It supports Full HD resolution and 240Hz vertical refresh rate with 3ms response.

The results of testing the laptop display are shown in the table and in the screenshots below. In general, I have no complaints about the Sharp LQ156M1JW03 matrix used in the GE66 Raider. This is a high-quality display with characteristics that allow not only comfortable gaming, but also work. Perhaps, it is worth noting only the low maximum brightness level of the matrix. Working in bright sunny weather in front of a large window in the office can be uncomfortable, even though the screen has an anti-reflective coating.
 

MSI GE66 Raider (matrix Sharp LQ156M1JW03, measured parameters)
Minimum brightness	14 cd/m2
Maximum brightness	260 cd/m2
Color temperature	7083 K
Contrast	1000:1
sRGB gamut	96.7%
Adobe RGB color gamut	67%
Grey scale deviation: average (maximum)	0.4 (1.26)
ColorChecker24 test deviation: mean (maximum)	0.53 (3.42)
Viewing angles	As stated
Glow effect	Present
PWM	Not seen at all brightness levels

 

The sound on the laptop didn’t disappoint either. The bass is clearly audible, and the middle and top do not sag, as is usually the case in inexpensive “plastic” laptops. In general, when playing the same The Witcher, I did not have an acute desire to put on a headset.

⇡#Efficiency of the cooling system

According to the methodology, we test the operation of gaming laptops in various operating modes, if any – in those where the laptop demonstrates the highest level of performance. In the MSI Dragon Center software, you can select the Extreme Performance and Balanced presets, but in both cases, the GE66 Raider test sample showed similar results in terms of both performance and cooling efficiency. So the table shows the indicators of one mode – extreme, since it is the default setting.

 

Summary of laptop operation and setup
Laptop mode	“Extreme performance”
Declared GPU Speed (Boost) and Memory Speed	1230 MHz, 11 Gbps
The Witcher III Real GPU Clock: Min, Max, Average	1515 MHz
	1845 MHz
	1555 MHz
Maximum noise level	43.4 dBA
Average Power: GPU, CPU	89.6W
	48.2W
GPU Temperature: Average, Maximum	68 °C
	69 °C
CPU temperature: average, maximum	87 °C
	99 °C
Performance, points
Test results in 3DMark Time Spy	8700
3DMark Fire Strike test results	19772
Test results in Unigine Superposition (1080p Extreme)	5443

 

If you’re a regular reader of laptop reviews on our website, you’ll know that MSI engineers tweak the BIOS to make the laptop’s CPU perform at its best, within the limits of what the cooling system allows. So in the “Extreme Performance” mode, the average frequency of all eight cores of the Core i9-10980HK was 4.3 GHz, and the chip itself heated up to 99 degrees Celsius at the peak.

The real frequency of the graphics chip during a two-hour session in the game The Witcher 3 varied in the range from 1515 to 1845 MHz, and the average was 1555 MHz. We are dealing with a Max-Q version of the GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, the processor of which heats up to 69 degrees Celsius – this figure can even be called low, because the standard temperature threshold for Turing chips is 83 degrees Celsius.

In games, the laptop is noisy, but the sound of coolers has a low-frequency character, which means that such noise is perceived quite comfortably by ear. In general, the cooling system of the test model does its job well.

I specifically test laptops in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, as it heavily loads not only the graphics core, but also the central processor. However, let’s see how the GE66 Raider cooler performs when performing other resource-intensive tasks that primarily load the CPU. To do this, I use the Adobe Premiere Pro 2020 video editor, which can seriously load even the most powerful 8-core AMD and Intel mobile chips.
The PL1 value for the Core i9-10980HK ranges from 73 to 90 W, which is a very serious indicator for a chip with a TDP of 45 W. As a result, the average frequency of the 8-core was 3.7 GHz, and in fact, we ran into the efficiency threshold of the cooler. The proof of my words are the heating indicators of the hottest core: the maximum temperature was 97 degrees Celsius, and the average was a little less.

An attempt to increase the frequency of the Core i9-10980HK failed. Yes, we are dealing with a chip with an unlocked multiplier, but the cooling system will not allow overclocking. Downvolting in the case of the GE66 Raider turned out to be impossible – in the XTU program, the ability to reduce the CPU voltage was simply blocked.

 

Laptop cooling efficiency in Adobe Premiere Pro 2020
		“Extreme performance”
CPU frequency	Medium	3.7GHz
CPU Temperature	Maximum	97 °C
	Medium	95 °C
Noise level	Maximum	41.7 dBA
CPU Power Consumption	Medium	69W
Test execution time (lower is better)		773 s

 

⇡#Laptop performance

We have already tested laptops with GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER graphics (both regular and Max-Q), and therefore the results presented below will not come as a surprise to readers. Naturally, the test version of the GE66 Raider runs all modern games, as they say, at maximum speed – and I like that the manufacturer did not introduce a 4K resolution matrix into this model.

 

Test results in games, Full HD, FPS
	AVG	1% MIN
Multiplayer Games
World of Tanks enCore	182	129
Dota 2	131	80
Counter Strike: Global Offensive	282	80
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds	178	125
Old but still popular games
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt	109	72
GTA V	85	58
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition	158	115
(Relatively) modern games
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey	63	54
Far Cry New Dawn	97	70
Total War Three Kingdoms	71	60
Red Dead Redemption 2	61	47
Battlefield V	106	69
Metro: Exodus	73	35
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	101	77
Gears 5	92	64
DOOM Eternal	185	143
Horizon Zero Dawn	81	55

 

And no less natural is the fact that Ryder is an excellent mobile workstation, because the laptop has the fastest solutions from Intel and NVIDIA.

Below are the results of testing the laptop in the PCMARK10 comprehensive benchmark.

In a number of tests (archiving, working with graphics and photo and video content, interaction with browsers, as well as office applications), the laptop drive plays an important role. The MSI laptop had a Western Digital WDC PC SN730 SSD installed.

⇡#Laptop offline

The laptop is powered by a 99.9 Wh Li-Ion battery, the maximum battery capacity to take your device on board an aircraft. As you can see, despite this, the MSI GE66 Raider does not break records of autonomy with a display brightness of 200 cd / m², but we still have a very powerful laptop, which in light work scenarios (web surfing, watching a video) works for almost six hours.

 

Battery life, screen brightness 200 cd/m2
Web	5 hours 51 minutes
View video	5 hours 47 minutes

 

⇡#Conclusions

Recently, we have been visiting exclusively high-performance and expensive laptops, and for the umpteenth time I have nothing to reproach the tested model for – the MSI GE66 Raider has no critical flaws. Yes, you may not like something in a laptop, but this is a purely individual “intolerance”. I carefully read the comments on the reviews and see that some do not like the lack of a digital block, others do not like the design, the third is autonomy, the fourth is something else.

In the bottom line, we have a well-built PC, with high performance in games and professional applications. The cooling system successfully copes with the removal of heat from the Core i9 and RTX 2080 SUPER, even if it does it quite noisily. The screen is great, the battery life is above average for a gaming laptop, and the functionality and upgrade options are excellent. And for all this you will have to pay more than 3200 dollars.