MSI GS70 gaming laptop: SA price revealed

Pinnacle South Africa has announced that the new MSI GS70 Stealth gaming laptop is now available for retailers and distributors to purchase.

The MSI GS70 Stealth will go on sale at a recommended price of R23,499. MSI is offering a 2-year warranty on the laptop.

Pinnacle has exclusive distributing rights for the GS70.

Specification	MSI GS70 Stealth	Alienware M17x R4
Recommended price	R23,449	R25,000
Screen size	17.3-inch	17.3-inch
Screen resolution	1920 x 1080	1920 x 1080
Operating system	Windows 8 Single Language	Windows 8 Professional
Processor	Intel Core i7-4700HQ (2.4GHz)	Intel Core i7-4700HQ (2.4GHz)
Memory system	16GB DDR3-1600 (dual-channel)	16GB DDR3-1600 (dual-channel)
Graphics processor	Nvidia Geforce GTX765M 2GB GDDR5	Nvidia Geforce GTX765M 2GB GDDR5
SSD capacity	128GB mSATA	64GB mSATA
Hard drive capacity	750GB 2.5-inch SATA	750GB 2.5-inch SATA
Keyboard	Steelseries, fully backlit	Alienware, fully backlit
Connectivity	4x USB 3.0, SD/MMC card reader, microphone-in, 3.5mm audio-out, Bluetooth 4.0	4x USB 3.0, SD/MMC card reader, microphone-in, 2x 3.5mm audio-out, Bluetooth 4.0
Video output	2x mini Displayport 1.2, HDMI 1.4	mini Displayport 1.2, HDMI 1.4
Networking	Killer Doubleshot 802.11n dual-band Wi-Fi & Gigabit Ethernet	Broadcom 802.11n dual-band Wi-Fi, Killer NIC Gigabit Ethernet
Battery size	6-cell 60W/h	8-cell 85W/h
Weight	2.65kg	4.15kg
Warranty	2-year Warranty for Gaming	Dell Next Business Day Three-year On-site

The GS70 Stealth is MSI’s attempt at making mobile gaming less of a chore and more of a pleasure, by slimming down the laptop to duck even under the Razer Edge. At just over 2.6kg, its the only laptop of its size with a 17-3-inch screen in the world. It also offers some functionality not found in typical notebooks, including dual-band Ethernet with load balancing thanks to the Killer Doubleshot Wi-Fi card.

Its other claim to fame is being able to run three external monitors in a Nvidia Surround group. The triple-display configuration can run in conjunction with the built-in screen, making the GS70 a serious consideration for anyone looking to do actual work with it. There’s also the option of running an external 4K display at 60Hz by using the two mini Displayport connections to hook up a monitor like the ASUS PQ321.

Compared to its primary competition, the Alienware M17x R4, the GS70 has nearly identical hardware and capabilities. The fact that its cheaper, lighter and more flexible may weigh heavily in MSI’s favour. Dell has the excellent on-site warranty and its Buy-back program to offer, as well as styling unique to the Alienware family.

Personally, I like the GS70 Stealth’s options very much. As a desktop replacement it does very well and the Geforce GTX765M is roughly the equivalent of the desktop Geforce GTX650 Ti, just at lower clock rates. If you don’t mind dropping your games to 720p every now and then to preserve playability, while also keeping the entire system in a chassis light enough to lug around in your backpack to LANs, then this is your best choice.