A few weeks in the past I reviewed the Asus ROG G752VS, a huge gaming laptop with the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 internal. Asus’ offering is strong, but just too large to be a sensible, portable gaming device, which is why I reached out to MSI. They sent over their GS43VR 6RE Phantom Pro, a compact 14-inch gaming pc that packs a GeForce GTX 1060 GPU and an Intel Core i7 processor.

The GTX 1060 is Nvidia’s ultra-modern top mid-range discrete portraits chip that succeeds the growing old GTX 970M. This isn’t only a minor upgrade, although: the GTX 1060 have to notably outperform the GTX 970M on paper, and narrowly beat the GTX 980M at a decrease energy price and with a much less beefy cooling solution. Packing a very similar spec sheet to the computing device GTX 1060, Nvidia is positioning the GPU as the precise part for 1080p and even 1440p gaming.

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Aside from the pictures upgrade, the GS43VR 6RE Phantom Pro could be very much like the GS40 6QE Phantom I reviewed in advance this yr. We’re still looking at a Core i7-6700HQ processor with 16GB of DDR4, the 1080p display seems in large part unchanged, and there’s nevertheless a Thunderbolt 3 USB-C port. Pricing, however, has decreased by $one hundred: the GS43VR is to be had for $1,499.

I’m happy that MSI has stored the strong design they used for the GS40. The brushed aluminium chassis is a breath of clean air in comparison to maximum gaming laptops in the marketplace, which usually use over-the-pinnacle ‘gamer’ fashion and flood the layout with pointless angles and LEDs. The GS43VR is modest and will effortlessly be used in public with out embarrassing yourself.

Part of the GS43VR’s attraction is using aluminium in greater locations than just the computer’s lid. It's seen around the keyboard and trackpad as nicely, with the equal black, brushed finish. The lid and base do characteristic some contours and angles, but the lack of anything loopy is something I greatly respect about this layout.

Perhaps my favored component of this design are the subtle pink highlights seen across the trackpad, power button, hinges, and on the lid. The keyboard is backlit with pink LEDs as nicely, which provides to the overall crimson-and-black aesthetic. The one layout element that could be a bit plenty for me is the massive Gaming G Series emblem at the lid of the laptop, although even that isn’t so bad.

While this 14-inch computer is extensively greater portable than maximum 15.6- or 17-inch gaming laptops, the GS43VR remains several ranges large than your typical ultraportable. This computer falls proper inside the average size bracket for a pc of this magnificence: 22.8mm thick at its thickest point, and 1.8 kg heavy. Relative to the preceding version in MSI’s 14-inch line, the GS43VR is the identical thickness however slightly heavier, probable due to a redesigned cooling gadget to accommodate the marginally hungrier GPU.

As MSI has used in large part the equal layout as their previous model, a number of the issues with that chassis have remained. The bezels around the display are large, which means that MSI should have easily match in a larger show into the equal frame with handiest minor changes. The electricity port, positioned at the left aspect, additionally manages to block the Ethernet port unless you alter the cable at an awkward perspective.

The relaxation of the GS43VR’s edges are familiar. Along with the electricity and Ethernet ports on the left, you’ll find a unmarried USB 3.zero port, an SD card reader, and 3.5mm audio jacks. On the right is a HDMI 1.four port, every other USB three.0 port, and the USB Type-C Thunderbolt three port. I’d like to see a third full-sized USB port in this laptop, and it’s disappointing that MSI hasn’t upgraded the HDMI port to model 2.0, so you can’t use an external 4K 60 Hz display until you hook it up thru Thunderbolt or the mini-DisplayPort 1.2 on the rear.

The GS43VR’s cooling answer comprises of a few heatpipes and fans, which consumption from vents on the bottom and exhaust out the rear. The GPU, positioned on the proper aspect, additionally comes with a 2nd vent that exhausts air out the right, because of the higher TDP of the GPU relative to the CPU. A number of screws hold within the bottom plate, in the back of which is get right of entry to to RAM and garage, however doing away with the plate will void your guarantee.