MSI's latest beefy laptops are primed for VR gaming

MSI has announced that it's preparing to unleash a whole host of gaming laptops which will all be VR-ready, even the lower-end models. The company has released some initial details about the notebooks, with a full reveal coming at the start of next week.

There will be 11 new models in total, across the top-end GT series, and also the GS, GE and GP ranges, all of which will have the grunt to power the likes of the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift.

As far as the pricier GT models go, MSI highlighted the GT72VR Dominator as having an IPS panel (offering a 4K option) with a 5ms response time along with a 120Hz refresh rate.

The GT series will also offer fancy custom cooling to keep the heat down under pressure, and MSI noted that the Cooler Boost Titan system will be key for the high-end models with 'extreme graphics'.

The company said that this cooling system will be present on the GT83VR laptop, and consists of dual 'whirlwind blade' fans (one of which has 29 ultra-slim blades) and up to 12 heatpipes to dissipate any heat generated, and keep even the Intel Core i7 6820HK CPU which is present on some models cool (that's an unlocked processor which allows for overclocking).

Power and stealth

Moving to the less pricey offerings, MSI says the GE72VR and GE62VR are targeted at 'performance level gamers' and they boast impressive audio solutions, a backlit multicolor keyboard, and a Cooler Boost button that can kick in some immediate cooling for when the gaming going gets tough.

MSI also teased the GS63 Stealth Pro which it claims is the world's lightest gaming laptop at 1.9kg and 17.7mm thin, but without sacrificing gaming performance. The notebook benefits from an aluminum alloy chassis and a SteelSeries gaming keyboard.

No actual spec details have been given out as such, save for the mention of the Core i7 6820HK which will be present on some of the higher-end machines – expect that to be paired with an impressive GPU solution, although it's not yet clear exactly what MSI has plumped for in the graphics department.

• Check out our round-up of the 5 best VR laptops

August 10, 2016 at 07:24PM
Darren Allan