MSI GS43VR phantom Pro review: A quick and relatively compact gaming laptop

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the ASUS ROG G752VS, a massive gaming notebook with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 inside. ASUS offer is powerful, but just too big, a practical, portable gaming machine, which is why I put forth MSI hand out. They sent over their GS43VR 6RE phantom Pro, a compact 14-inch gaming laptop, that packs one GeForce GTX 1060 GPU and an Intel Core i7 processor.

MSI GS43VR phantom Pro review: A quick and relatively compact gaming laptop

The discrete graphics chip, which succeeds the aging GTX 970 M. This is not only a minor upgrade: the GTX-1060 should significantly outperform the GTX 970M on paper and narrowly beat the GTX 980M power more cost-effectively, and with less Beefy cooling solution. Packing a very similar data sheet on the desktop GTX 1060, positioned NVIDIA GPU the perfect setting for 1080 p and even 1440 p gaming.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="639"] MSI GS43VR phantom Pro review: A quick and relatively compact gaming laptop[/caption]

Aside from the graphic upgrade GS43VR 6RE phantom Pro is very much like the GS40 6QE phantom I reviewed earlier this year. We are looking for still after a core i7-6700HQ processor with 16 GB DDR4, the 1080 p display seems largely unchanged, and there is still a thunderbolt 3 USB-C-port. Pricing, on the other hand to $100 down: the GS43VR is available for $1.499.

I'm glad that MSI has kept its solid design that you used for the GS40. The brushed aluminum chassis is a breath of fresh air in comparison to most gaming notebooks on the market, which typically use over-the-top "gamer" style and design with flooding unnecessary angle and LEDs. The GS43VR is unobtrusive and could be easily used in public without embarrassing himself.

The GS43VR appeal is the use of aluminium in more places than just the laptop lid. It is around the keyboard and trackpad, as well as with the same black, Brushed finish. Lid and base some contours and angles, but the lack of something crazy is what I appreciate about this design.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of this design are the subtle red highlights around the trackpad, on / off switch, hinges and to see on the cover. The keyboard is backlit with Red LEDs and gives the overall red and black aesthetics. The one design element, a bit much for me thats the big gaming-G series logo on the lid of the laptop, but also, not so bad.

During this 14-inch notebook significantly lighter than most 15.6 -, or 17-inch is-gaming notebooks, the GS43VR is still larger than your typical multiple tier ultra portable. This notebook falls directly into the average size holder for a notebook of this class: 22.8 mm thick at the thickest point and weighing 1.8 kg. Compared to the previous model in the MSI 14-inch line, the GS43VR is thick but something same heavier, probably due to a newly designed cooling system, to accommodate slightly hungry GPU.

As MSI, the same design has largely used as its predecessor, some of the problems with this chassis have remained. The mounts on the display are big, which means that MSI is easily fit into a larger display in the same body with only minor changes could have. The power connector is located on the left side, succeeds, the Ethernet port blocking, if you adjust the cable at a difficult angle.

The rest of the edges of the GS43VR are familiar. Together with the power and Ethernet ports on the left side you will find a single USB 3.0 port, an SD card reader and two 3.5 mm audio jacks. Port on the right side is an HDMI 1.4 port, a further USB 3.0 port and USB-type-C Thunderbolt 3. I want a third full-sized see USB port on this laptop, and it's disappointing that MSI has not the HDMI port on version 2.0, updated so that you cannot use an external monitor 4 K 60 Hz, unless it about Thunderbolt or the mini-DisplayPort 1.2 on the rear hook.

The GS43VR cooling solution consists of some heatpipes and two fans, which shot holes on the bottom and exhaust, rear. The GPU is located on the right side, also comes with a second vent that exhausts air out the right, due to the higher TDP of the GPU compared to the CPU. A number of screws hold in the bottom plate behind access to RAM and memory, but remove the plate will void your warranty.