What Is A Good Gaming Laptop?
A good gaming laptop has these qualities found below:
- Upgradable/Expandable
- Several Connections
- Portability
- Cooling Ability
- Quiet
- High fps
- Smooth Finish
- Sturdy Body/Case
And these are the minimum. Most would want some RGB factor or giant screen. But if you’re more on the gaming aspect rather than aesthetic, then this list is pretty fair for MOST gaming laptops to abide by.
MSI GF63 Specs Review
Upgradable/Expandable: Not so easy, but is possible. The laptop comes with these specs:
Graphic Card: NVIDIA GeForce® GTX1650 Max-Q
Processor: Intel® Core i5-10300H
Memory: 8GB DDR4 2666MHz
Storage: 256GB NVMe SSD
However, the graphics card is not removable or upgradable unless you replace the motherboard. Same with the processor. With this graphic card I was able to obtain a high 120-200 fps on HIGH settings for most of my games. (Apex, Rainbow, Ark, 7DtD)
The ram was able to be replaced. It initially came with 1 8GB Ram stick which I swapped out for 2 16GB TeamGroup Ram Sticks ($73)
The Storage was also able to be replaced. It initially came with a small 256GB SSD Stick which I swapped out for a 500GB TeamGroup Vulcan HDD ($69) and a 500GB Sabrent Rocket SSD ($50)
NOTE: Opening the case was NOT easy! If you open it the wrong way you have a very high chance at snapping the motherboard in half.
Connections: It had WiFi, Ethernet Port, HDMI and 3 USB ports as well as a Type C Port. But it did not have a basic mic hookup. It had a port for a mic and a separate port for the headset WITHOUT a built-in mic.
Portability: It says it’s 4.3 pounds, but it felt heavier than that and it was awkwardly shaped.
Cooling Ability: It ran very hot very fast. Was not able to use it for longer than 30 minutes at a time even if just browsing the internet. It doesn’t matter if you disable or lower the graphics, lower the brightness, turn off the keyboard light, or disconnect from the charging dock.
NOTE: If you don’t have it plugged in to charge, the battery life barely lasts 1 hour before dying at 5%.
Finish/Case: It was a metal plated case and felt very bumpy to run your fingers across. Almost like a small, annoying, vibration. And the case felt very flimsy and was not built for any lasting capacity.
The Problems
First off, it was the only one left at Walmart in-store. I’ve heard good things about MSI and decided to give it a whirl since it was on sale for $700 (same price my HP Pavilion was for)
Got it home and everything ran fine. Upgraded it, to some difficulty, and it was still running perfectly.
I didn’t like the heating issue or battery life, but I figured that’s not too bad for now.
Fast forward 30 days, and I go back to the Walmart and see that exact model on sale, YET AGAIN. This time, it was marked down to $300!! I thought that was weird but figured it was because no one really bought gaming laptops in my area. (Heavy Xbox user area)
Then, 10 days after that, guess what?? Mine broke! I was in the middle of coding a server for a friend and my screen flickered before turning off completely. I had to connect it to my TV via HDMI just to use it. I tried to contact MSI customer service to no avail. They claimed they could fix it once they sent me the shipping label. Never got the label. And they refuse to further help. Despite them claiming to have a 3 year warranty on the product. (Upgrading it DOES NOT VOID THEIR WARRANTY)
I then tried to reach out to the 3 PC Repair Shops in my area and one was out of business. The second one said they would not want to touch that laptop with a 10 foot pole and then hung up. (Weird response, but whatever). And the third one said it’d cost about $600 to fix plus a 3 week wait time for the parts. So more than it’s worth. And he then further stated: “That brand is like the Toyota 4-Runner. Something always breaks on it, and as soon as you fix that one thing, 4 other things break on it. I’ve seen more of those get tossed out than any other brand.”
I tried contacting Walmart but they said since it went on sale again they can’t honor the return for the price I paid. So now I’m stuck with a $700 paperweight! 🤪 Yay.
Should You Buy It?
NOOOOOOOOO!!! Don’t waste your money. My HP Pavilion was better than this HOT garbage.
Star Rating:
⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Conversationalist, and Avid Reader with a Love for Questioning the Norm. Owner and Founder of Break the Bull. Podcaster and Gamer. Lover of All things Creative Looking for Ways to Reach Out. Please Feel Free to Show your Support here.
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