MSI Raider GE77 HX 12UHS in review: 4K gaming notebook with top performance

The MSI Raider GE77 HX 12UHS is aimed at gamers and creative users. Thus, our configuration is equipped with the latest and most powerful hardware: Core i9-12900HX CPU, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, 64 GB of RAM, and a 4K screen (17. 3-inch).

Our model costs about 5,200 USD. With the MSI Raider GE66 12UHS , we just recently reviewed the 15. 6-inch version.

The competition consists of similarly powerful (and expensive) laptops such as the Alienware x17 R2 P48E , Medion Erazer Beast X30 , and the Razer Blade 17 (Early 2022) . The components of the Raider occupy a metal chassis with matte-black, smooth surfaces. There is a user-facing LED strip that can be switched off on the base unit, which allows for colorful light effects on the case that otherwise lacks colorful accents.

Thus, nothing precludes users from using the device in professional settings. The MSI laptop’s appearance is further enhanced by the fairly thin bezels. The internal battery (screwed-in, not glued) as well as the remainder of the hardware are all accessible after removing the bottom plate.

We did not notice any manufacturing flaws on the 17. 3-inch device. The clearances are even and there are no excees material protrusions.

The base unit is very resistant to twisting from the corners, while the lid can be twisted slightly. Both fall within the normal ranges. The hinges hold the lid firmly in place, but they allow for some teetering.

The lid can be opened up to a maximum angle of around 140 degrees. It can also be opened with one hand. Within our comparison, the MSI laptop and the Alienware x17 R2 are the heaviest devices.

In terms of the dimensions, the GE77 falls into the average range – not as compact as the Blade and the X30 , but significantly more compact than the x17. The GE77 comes with three USB-A ports (1x USB 3. 2 Gen 2, 2x USB 3.

2 Gen 1) and two USB-C ports (1x Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB 3. 2 Gen 2). The latter support DisplayPort via USB-C, but not Power Delivery.

In total, the system has three video outputs (2x DP, 1x HDMI). Furthermore, there is a combined audio jack, a 2. 5-Gb/s Ethernet port, and a cable lock port.

There are ports on three sides of the case. Two video outputs, the Ethernet port and the AC adapter port are on the back of the case. This simplifies cable management by making cables less likely to get in the way.

The SD card reader (reference card: AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) is average at best with transfer rates of 60 MB/s (transferring 250 jpg images, around 5 MB each). In this regard, its Alienware and Razer competitors fare much better. We recorded excellent Wi-Fi transfer rates under optimal conditions (no other Wi-Fi devices in proximity, low distance between the laptop and server) and exhaust the capabilities of the Wi-Fi chips (Killer AX1675i = Intel AX211; 802.

11 ax). There is also an Ethernet chip (Killer E3100G, 2. 5 Gb/s) for wired communications.

The webcam captures images at a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080. The color accuracy is lackluster. The colors deviate from their ideal values.

There is no mechanical webcam cover. The laptop comes with the usual documents (quick start guide, warranty information). Maintenance and upgrades can be performed without any hassle.

After loosening all the screws on the bottom, the bottom plate can be removed fairly easily – an object with a sharp edge may be helpful here. Then, users have access to the SSD (PCIe4, M. 2-2280), the secondary SSD slot (PCIe4, M.

2-2280), the Wi-Fi module, the battery, the RAM (hidden underneath an additional, tightly attached cover), the speakers, and the fans. MSI offers a standard one-year limited warranty. Warranty extensions to two and three years cost 80 USD and 140 USD, respectively.

The flat, slightly roughened keys of the backlit chiclet keyboard offer moderate travel and a distinct actuation point. The keyboard feedback is decent. While typing, the keyboard barely yields.

As per MSI’s usual design, the “Fn” key is not located where one would expect it to be from other laptops. The keyboard backlight has three brightness settings, which can be controlled via two function keys. Overall, MSI delivers with a keyboard that is suitable for day-to-day use.

The smooth surface of the multi-touch enabled ClickPad (approx. 10. 5 x 6.

5 cm or 4. 13 x 2. 56 in) has good gliding properties.

The pad responds well all the way into the corners. It offers short travel and a distinct actuation point. While the brightness (371.

2 nits) of the matte 17. 3-inch display (3840 x 2160 pixels) exceeds the desired minimum (> 300 nits), the contrast is lackluster (733:1) – we expect more from a laptop that costs 5,200 Euros. For reference, we consider values of 1000:1 and higher good.

The 120-Hz panel comes with short response times. We also did not detect any PWM flickering. The preinstalled MSI True Color software allows users to adjust the colors for a certain color space or use case.

We used the preset “Display P3”. However: The color accuracy is fairly poor ex-factory – regardless of the preset selection. All colors appear overblown and milky with measurements that are completely off.

This cannot be what MSI intended. We suspect that the True Color software, the preinstalled color profile, and/or the iGPU or its drivers interfere with each other. Why? As soon as the dGPU mode (= the laptop exclusively uses the GeForce GPU) is enabled, the display looks fantastic and the colors become accurate.

The difference is immediately noticeable. A calibration of the display (Optimus mode) results in significant improvements. The color deviation falls within the desired range (deltaE < 3) and the grayscale appears more even.

The screen is able to display the sRGB (100 %) and DCI-P3 (97 %) color spaces entirely, and almost entirely, respectively, as well as 86 % of the AdobeRGB color space. Note: The linked color profile changes the colors according to our calibration. The IPS panel has good viewing angles and remains readable from any position.

Outdoors, the screen content can be read provided the sun does not shine too brightly. With the Raider GE77 HX 12UHS, MSI has a high-performance 17. 3-inch laptop on offer that checks all the boxes for demanding scenarios.

Users can manually switch between four power profiles via the preinstalled MSI Center software. When enabling – like we did – the universal, AI based “Smart Auto” function, the MSI Center automatically chooses the profile based on the current scenario. This feature also allows users to create a list of applications, which enable the “Extreme performance” profile when launched.

The profile “Extreme profile” offers various tuning options. It is possible to overclock the GPU and the VRAM, for example. Additionally, users have access to the fan controls.

Here, the options are “Auto”, “Cooler Boost” (fans run at maximum speeds), and “Advanced” (adjustable fan curves). Bug, benchmark optimization, or useful feature? Running through our benchmark suite produces somewhat curious results when using the “Silent mode”: Launching certain benchmarks causes the MSI Center to automatically switch to the “Extreme performance” profile. This was the case for the Cinebench benchmarks and the AIDA64 benchmarks.

The Core i7-12900HX processor (Alder Lake) consists of eight performance cores (Hyper-threading, 2. 3 to 5 GHz) and eight efficiency cores (no Hyper-threading, 1. 7 to 3.

6 GHz). In total, there are 24 logical CPU cores. The clock speeds remain high throughout the Cinebench R15 Multi benchmark (P cores: 4.

4 to 4. 5 GHz, E cores: 3. 3 to 3.

4 GHz) and the single-thread test (P cores: 500 MHz to 5 GHz, E cores: 400 MHz to 3. 6 GHz). In battery mode, the single-thread clock rates are similar (P cores: 400 MHz to 4.

8 GHz, E cores: 400 MHz to 3. 6 GHz), whereas the multi-thread clock speeds (P cores: 1. 7 to 2.

6 GHz, E cores: 1. 4 to 2 GHz) are not. We determine whether the CPU turbo is permanently active while on mains by running the Cinebench R15 Multi benchmark in a loop.

Here, we observe consistently high clock speeds. The profile “Extreme performance” results in a more even performance level. The GE77 is currently one of the fastest laptops on the market.

The combination of 24 logical CPU cores and an RTX 3080 Ti GPU with a maximum TGP makes the system fit for any demanding use case – be it video editing, gaming or rendering. The transfer rates of the DDR4-4800 memory are above average. This may stem from the CPU’s cache, which is larger on this particular model compared to other Intel processors.

Additionally, the system achieves good results in the PCMark benchmarks. The standardized Latency Monitor test (web browsing, 4K video playback, Prime95 high load) shows somewhat problematic DPC latencies. The system does not appear to be suitable for editing video and audio in realtime.

Future software updates may improve or exacerbate the situation. MSI equips the Raider with a 2-TB SSD (PCIe4, M. 2-2280) from Samsung with excellent transfer speeds.

There is space for a secondary PCIe4 SSD. The actual performance of an RTX 3000 GPU depends on several factors: The Cooling solution, memory configuration, and the maximum TGP selected by the manufacturer within Nvidia’s specified limits. For the installed GeForce RTX 3080 Ti laptop GPU, MSI sets a maximum TGP of 175 watts.

The GPU has access to fast GDDR6 graphics memory (16384 MB). The benchmark results exceed the average of our previous RTX 3080 Ti measurements. By combining the power profile “Extreme performance” with the direct video output via the GeForce GPU, we measured some of the highest scores we have seen from this GPU.

As our The Witcher 3 test shows, however, the TGP range is not being fully exhausted. Advanced Optimus is not supported. Thus, switching between dGPU and Optimus requires a reboot.

It does not end there, however: The MSI Center software offers overclocking settings for the GPU and the VRAM. Of course, users who choose to overclock, do so at their own risk. The overclocking features can be found under the power profile “Extreme performance” (Select the profile, then click on the cog wheel).

The hardware allows for 4K gaming at high to maximum settings. The frame rates range above the average for an RTX 3080 Ti. Switching to direct video output via the GeForce GPU results in an increase of the values.

Often times, the GE77 then produces some of the highest frame rates we have seen with this GPU. In order to determine whether the frame rates remain consistent over a long period of time, we run the game “The Witcher 3” for 60 minutes at Full HD resolution and maximum quality settings. The character is not moved throughout the test.

We did not notice any frame rate dips. Even during idle and under low loads, the fan control does not work entirely smoothly. For example, the fans stand still at times for a completely silent experience; at other times, they become very noticeable (up to 46 dB(A)).

Under load, the MSI laptop produces very high maximum noise levels of up to 55 dB(A) (Witcher 3 test) or 57 dB(A) (stress test). For quiet operation, using the “Silent mode” is recommended. The system is then quieter, but not entirely silent – at the same time the performance is significantly reduced.

During daily use (office, web) the surface temperatures remain within an acceptable range. Under load (stress test, Witcher 3 test), the laptop heats up significantly, but not excessively. Users will not have to worry about the CPU temperatures, either.

At the beginning of the stress test (running Prime95 and FurMark for at least one hour), both the CPU and GPU run at high speeds. Subsequently, the clock speeds drop to 1. 3 (CPU) and 1100 MHz (GPU).

The stress test represents an extreme scenario. We use this test to determine whether the system remains stable under full load. The laptop comes with two speakers and two woofers, which together produce decent sound – although slightly more bass would not hurt.

For a better sound experience, headphones or external speakers are recommended. The energy consumption during idle matches our expectations for the installed hardware. During the Witcher 3 and stress tests, the power draw rises to an average of 247 watts and 352 watts, respectively – the latter value represents a temporary peak.

While the power consumption remains steady throughout the Witcher 3 test, it fluctuates during the stress test. The included 330-watt AC adapter is sufficiently dimensioned. The 17.

3-inch laptop reaches a runtime of 5:24 h and 6:29 h in our Wi-Fi (periodically accessing websites via a script) and video (short film Big Buck Bunny (H. 264 codec, FHD)) test. Energy saving features of the laptop are disabled for both tests and the display brightness is set to 150 nits.

For the video test, the wireless modules were also disabled. For our configuration of the Raider GE77, MSI demands around 5,200 USD. For the price, buyers receive a very powerful laptop for demanding applications such as video editing, rendering, and 4K gaming.

The MSI Raider GE77 HX 12 UHS is one of the most powerful laptops currently available. The main components consist of a Core i9-12900HX CPU, a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU (175 watts TGP, 16 GB VRAM), and 64 GB of RAM, which makes for a high overall performance level. The GeForce GPU in particular scores some of the highest scores we have seen from this chip.

Both the CPU and the GPU are able to run at continuously high clock speeds. The relatively high heat and noise emissions match our expectations for this device class. With approximately 5.

5 to 6. 5 hours, the battery life is good for a powerful 4K laptop. The Thunderbolt 4 port allows for additional expandability via an external GPU or a docking solution.

The matte 4K display (IPS, 120 Hz) offers sufficient maximum brightness, short response times, and a good color space coverage. It is lacking in terms of contrast, however. Although the color accuracy was off ex-factory, this can be fixed with a calibration.

We suspect a conflict between the MSI True Color software, the preinstalled color profile and/or the iGPU or its drivers. This is unacceptable for a laptop in this price category. The Razer Blade 17 (Early 2022) is a potential alternative to the GE77.

While it offers a lower overall performance level than the MSI system, it is more compact and lighter. In terms of battery life, it cannot compete with the Raider. Various configurations of the MSI Raider GE77 HX 12UHS are available on MSI’s official store (Core i9-12800HX, RTX 3080 Ti, FHD 360 Hz, 1 TB SSD) and online retailers such as Xotic PC (Core i9-12900HX, RTX 3080 Ti, QHD 240 Hz, 1 TB SSD) for about 3,000 USD and 3700 USD, respectively.

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