Introduction

From the MSI website:

Dedicated to customer-driven innovation, MSI leverages its remarkable R&D strengths to craft top-notch, well-acclaimed motherboards, graphics cards, notebook PCs and All-in-One PCs. The Overclocking Series is designed for enthusiasts who pursue extreme performance and go after world records. Aimed at fulfilling the needs and expectations toward professional gaming, the MSI GAMING Series receives gamers' unanimous acclaim. Incorporating Military Class components, the Classic Series has an excellent reputation for quality and durability. All these distinctive products have made MSI a forerunner in the middle-range and high-end market. Also adding to the lineup are cloud servers, tailor-made IPCs, intelligent panoramic camera (Panocam), robotic appliances and human-centric vehicle electronics that further demonstrate MSI's strengths and endeavors in consumer, commercial and IOT (Internet of Things) markets.

MSI has come a long way from a once minor player in the world of electronics to the powerhouse they are now in their own right. Formed all the way back in 1986, the company has since managed to expand into nearly every sector of the market. Fueling that rise was the nearly unrivaled attention to brand identity and marketing during their expansion in recent years. This has paved the way for their rise as a leading manufacturer with worldwide recognition of their brand. Graphics cards, motherboards, laptops, all-in-one systems, fully featured desktops, even CPU coolers and fans: all these products tie into the MSI and MSI Gaming brands, allowing them to give all their products a recognizable presence. You could in fact say MSI has been on a roll and shows no signs of slowing down.

Today, I will be looking at their MSI GS73 Stealth Pro 009 laptop. This 17" model features an Intel Kabylake Core i7-7700HQ quad core for number crunching and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti for gaming. When it comes to the screen, it's a 1080p TN panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. Overall, this laptop from MSI is shaping up to be a fairly good all-rounder in terms of size, weight, and specs, with an interesting twist when it comes to the display. Before passing any kind of judgment, though, let's take a closer look.

Packaging and Contents

The box the MSI GS73 Stealth Pro laptop ships in is pretty standard-fare, but compared to other units I have received, it's much more subdued. It offers decent protection and does what a box should do, which is to keep your grubby mitts off the nice hardware. Okay, so only some of that is right. Snapping back to reality, the black box just has the MSI logo on top and a small label detailing the base system's specs on the bottom.


Upon opening the box, users will find the laptop inside a black cloth bag with a few pieces of PR material detailing some of the laptop's features. User guides, warranty leaflet, charger, and power cable are next to the laptop - in a smaller box or in chambers below.


The bundle is rather bare, but that's to be expected. After all, what more do users really need with a laptop than the unit and the charger?

• Laptop
• User guides
• Warranty info
• Support contact info
• Battery charger

A Closer Look

The MSI GS73 Stealth Pro laptop features a sleek exterior that is made out of aluminum, with the MSI gaming logo adding a small touch of flair. On the left side, users will find the typical lock, Ethernet port, SD card reader, 3x USB 3.0 ports, and headphone and microphone jacks. Moving to the right side, a USB 2.0 port is available, along with a Thunderbolt 3 compliant USB 3.1 type C connector, HDMI 2.0, mini Displayport, and charging port. Overall, the connectivity options are pretty robust. It's nice to see MSI isn't following the less is more approach of the ever-popular Apple products. That said, there is no optical drive, so if that's a problem, users may want to invest in a USB option to fill that need.


The back features multiple exhaust ports that force hot air out through three cooling fans inside the chassis, two fans for the GPU and another for the CPU. Extra venting on the sides is also present. Meanwhile, the bottom features some venting as well. Sadly, easy access to components, like the battery, HDD, and RAM, is missing. If you want access to those components, you will have to remove the entire bottom housing instead. The speakers are at the front and point downward.


Lift the lid and you will be greeted by the Steel Series RGB keyboard and the multi-touch touchpad from ELAN. Simple and clean, there isn't much to see other than a big sticker that lists all the major features and the 1080p webcam. Taking a closer look, only a single power button is to be seen - the cooler boost button featured previously is missing here, which is a shame. Having a one-touch button for maximum cooling was a handy feature. That said, software control for that feature is still present within the bundled software.