11/08/2020
The MSI GS66 Stealth presents itself as a device that caters to the demands of today’s generation. Offering desktop-like performance and portability but in a toned-down design. With that in mind, should power-users consider this for their next laptop?
I decided to take the MSI GS66 Stealth out for a spin by using it as my primary computer for working and for gaming. Being a power user myself, I exposed the device to various everyday tasks of mine such as editing, motion graphics work, and, of course, gaming.
Just a quick disclaimer. MSI did send us an engineering unit that may be different from the retail version. We’re not quite sure how different so our experience may or may not be exactly the same when using the retail unit. Nevertheless, if you want to know how it fared in our hands, read on!
Design
Needless to say, the GS66 Stealth’s design is pretty straightforward. Its chassis is decked out in an all-black color with a sandblasted finish that’s very nice to the touch and does well in resisting fingerprints. Its only embellishment is a barely-there, laser-etched dragon emblem upfront that sports a semi-gloss finish. Personally, I normally like designs with a little extra pop of color but I really took a liking to this minimalist blacked-out body.
Apart from its color, the GS66 Stealth maintains simplicity in its other aspects. There are no out-of-the-box design choices here which just makes sense considering its ‘stealth’ concept and maintains a classic look that will never go out of style.
Opening the device reveals a matching black keyboard with per-key RGB by Steelseries. Using the SteelSeries 3 Engine, you can customize the keyboard’s colors in a variety of ways. The program offers different preset styles as well as very flexible manual controls for detailed personalization.
In terms of performance, I found the keys to be a tad bit shallow compared to other laptops I’ve tested and it also felt clunky when typing. But despite that, usage was comfortable even through extended periods of work.
The overall build is undoubtedly sturdy and durable. It is quite heavy at 2.1 kilograms but it’s an acceptable weight considering all the powerful internals it’s packing and when compared to others in its class. It also has a 180-degree hinge if you ever want to share your screen with the person in front of you.
As for ports, you won’t find yourself lacking as the device houses plenty of them. You’re given one USB Type-C port on the right side along with two USB Type-A ports, an Ethernet port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the opposite side, you have another USB Type-A port, Thunderbolt 3 port, HDMI, and the AC jack for power.
Display and Multimedia
Now, onto its display. Again, playing on the concept of stealth, the display looks relatively plain but this 15.6-inch Full HD display is actually capable of a high 240Hz refresh rate. The close to 100% sRGB color space produced rich and vibrant images whether we were working, playing, or watching.
With Genshin Impact, for example, lines were crisp and sharp and colors were very vivid. Green fields were wonderfully saturated while more shadowy areas like cliffs exhibited impressive contrast. Color performance carries over when watching movies or shows or even when just browsing or editing photos. Where we found the screen lacking, however, was in its brightness. It wasn’t as impressive and you end up wanting more than it can offer.
The device also offers an 84% screen-to-body ratio with most of its bezel focused on the bottom. Hiding in the top bezel is a Windows Hello-enabled IR camera that made logging in a breeze. To round out the entertainment experience, the device houses front-firing speakers that are situated on either side of the device.
Audio quality wasn’t exceptional but performance was pleasant overall. It was a bit lacking in bass and volume, though, but the built-in equalizer can help remedy this. And besides, when you’re gaming, you’re most likely wearing headphones anyway.
Performance
Now on to the good stuff. We know it looks cool and has a fast display but what exactly can the GS66 Stealth do? Well, a lot.
Let’s talk specs first. We’ve got a 10th-gen Intel Core i7 processor mated with an NVIDIA GeForce 2080 Super with Max-Q design. Our unit came with 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD for storage. On paper alone, the device looks to be highly capable of handling heavy loads. Additionally, the device is easily upgradeable and has extra slots for both memory and storage.
On the gaming front, we are able to run Genshin Impact at its highest graphics settings with a stable 60 frames per second. Lag was close to inexistent through hours of gameplay.
We also ran Doom Eternal to get a feel of the display’s high refresh rate. True enough, the gameplay was buttery smooth and the 3ms response time was incredible. We were able to achieve upwards of 200 frames per second on average as well.
It should be noted, though, that we were playing with the laptop plugged in and set to Ultimate Performance. We tried to play without being connected to the charger but the performance was quite inconsistent.
Alongside its gamer-ready specs are some software-based features that further enhance the gaming experience. MSI’s Gaming Mode 2.0 is a one-click optimization feature to easily get the best settings for your game. When activated, it optimizes and prioritizes system resources, frees up memory, automatically switches to pre-set keyboard lightning if available, change Nahimic’s audio settings to Game Mode, and lastly, switch to True Color Gamer mode all in one go.
Temperatures rise quite fast but luckily MSI’s Cooler Boost Trinity+ can quickly cool things down. The cooling system uses three fans that work very well at reducing temperatures almost immediately. At the highest fan speed though, it gets really loud but I didn’t mind since it meant better performance. It’s definitely not something you’d want to have when working remotely, though, like in a quiet coffee shop because it’ll most likely grab people’s attention.
There is a shortcut on the keyboard that will let you switch fan speeds on the fly. I usually just turn it on for a couple of minutes when I feel the device getting hot or let it run at full speed when I’m gaming at home. This usually brings down the temperature down to about 60 to 70-degrees Celsius from high temps of 80 to 90-degrees Celsius.
We did find the placement of the vents a little bothersome though. The right vent, specifically, would spew hot air onto my hand when I was using a mouse. Luckily, this isn’t a major problem and can be solved by moving a little further away.
Apart from gaming, we also tested how the laptop would fare with processor and graphics-intensive apps as well. Since we’re in the business of content creation, we tested it on different editing scenarios and we’re happy to report that it was able to show its worth.
Editing 1080p footage in Premiere Pro was no problem for the device even with some effects stacked. Rendering was fast and painless as well. I also tried doing moderately heavy motion graphics work and was pleased with its speedy performance. Large vector graphics would sometimes cause a few seconds of lag but things would speed up once it loaded.
So despite it being branded as a gaming laptop, the specs and performance work just as well for creators. My previous setup would have me switching from my work computer to my gaming laptop when I wanted to play but the GS66 Stealth eliminates that. You can easily transition from working to gaming without having to get up or change machines. In fact, I enjoyed its editing performance so much that I wished I had an extra monitor on-hand so I could work on a bigger screen.
Battery
The GS66 Stealth comes with a whopping 99.9Whr battery. That’s the largest battery available for laptops and is also, interestingly, the maximum capacity allowed on an airplane. MSI says the battery can last up to 9 hours when doing normal office work.
Since the bulk of our work centers around content creation and multimedia, we had a shorter battery life of just 2 hours on moderate power-saving settings while gaming continuously on Ultra Performance gave us just an hour and 15 minutes of juice. It’s definitely a lot shorter than what was promised but we did test battery life using more power-hungry apps and this very acceptable. Charging the laptop to full from zero took about two hours.
Additionally, the GS66 Stealth is also capable of charging via USB-C if you’re ever in a pinch. The only requirement is that the charging adapter is at least 65W. We tried to charge it with a 65W charger we had lying around but we were, unfortunately, unable to make it work. It may be because our unit is an engineering unit or maybe our charger isn’t really 65W. We really can’t say for sure.
Creature Comfort
In our reviews, The Modern Creatures looks for special features in devices that make them worth having — something that gives a product an edge over its peers. And our pick for the MSI GS66 Stealth would have to be its display.
It isn’t just the 240Hz refresh rate that we found impressive but also its color accuracy and 3ms response time. The high refresh rate is definitely a convenience not to mention it’s just plain impressive. Even if you may not get much use out of it outside of first-person shooter games, it’s good to know that high frame rates are always accessible. Pairing that with impressive color and fast response times, you get a flexible display that’s suitable for all kinds of activities.
Final thoughts
The MSI GS66 Stealth is branded as a laptop that helps users easily transition from work to play. In our time with the device, we can confidently say that it’s truly able to do so.
In terms of thin and light gaming laptops, it may be the most unique but it’s still worth considering for a device that’s both semi-portable but powerful. You get an impressive screen with really high refresh rates, top-notch performance, and a large-capacity battery. There may be a couple of shortcomings with its keyboard and audio but overall performance is still more than satisfactory.
Design-wise, you get a subtle and sleek-looking device that exudes class in its simplicity. True to its name, the MSI GS66 Stealth does well in executing its ‘stealth’ concept with its all-black interior and powerful internals hiding underneath. Whether you’re a gamer, content creator, or just a regular power-user, you’ll find something to love with this device.
