MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE Review (Gold w/ GTX970m)

1. Introduction2. MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE (Packing & Accessories)3. MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE4. MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE (High Res Gallery)5. Testing Methodology & Configuration6. SiSoft Sandra7. Cinebench R11.5 64 bit8. Cinebench R159. 3DMark Vantage10. 3DMark 1111. 3DMark12. SSD & HDD Performance13. USB 3.0 Bandwidth Testing14. Media Testing15. Tomb Raider16. Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor17. Thermal Dynamics18. Acoustics Performance19. Battery Performance20. Closing Thoughts21. View All Pages

If you are looking for a gaming laptop with Nvidia's latest Maxwell architecture then our review today of the new MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE will interest you. This machine features the GTX970m mobile GPU, alongside Raid SSD's, an Intel Core i7 quad core processor, 3K screen, 16GB of DDR3 memory and a rather fancy limited edition gold chassis. All well and good, but is it worth the £1,799 asking price? Kitguru take you on a guided tour.

We feel it is fair to say that MSI have been releasing a very tasty range of high powered laptops in recent months. The MSI GT72 2PE Dominator Pro is probably one of the finest high end machines we have looked at in recent years – and so it should be, the company threw everything but the kitchen sink into the chassis!

The GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE we analyse today ships with a stunning gold finish. MSI told us that this blinged up model is strictly limited edition  – however a more mundane black version will also be available at lower cost. The gold version ships with 2x256GB Solid State Drives in RAID 0, the black version will drop 50% storage capacity, with 2x128GB drives in RAID 0.

MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE Specification:

• OS: Windows 8.1
• CPU: Sharkbay Core i7-4710HQ (2.5GHz – 3.5GHz)
• Display: 15.6″ WQHD+, IPS (2880*1620)
• Memory Supplied: 2 x 8GB
• Memory Type: DDR3L
• Memory Speed: 1600
• Max Memory Support: 16GB
• Graphics Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce GTX970M
• Graphics Memory: GDDR5 3GB
• Storage: 2 x 256GB M.2 SSD + 1TB 7200RPM
• Keyboard Type: SteelSeries FULL back lit keyboard with SteelSeries Engine
• USB3.0 Ports: 3
• HDMI Port(s): 1
• Mini Display port(s): 1
• LAN Port(s): 1
• Microphone Jack(s): 1
• Headphone Jack(s) (SPDIF): 1
• Card Reader: SD
• Audio: -Sound by Dynaudio
• LAN: Killer DoubleShot Pro Gb LAN
• Wireless LAN – Killer DoubleShot Pro 11ac
• Bluetooth: V4.0
• Webcam: FHD Camera 1080p
• Security: Kensington Lock
• Battery: 6-Cell Li-Polymer(4840mAh 52Wh)
• Dimension: 390 x 266 x 19.9mm
• Weight: 1.9kg(w/ battery)
• Warranty : 2 YR's Collect & Return (1 YR Global)

Price: £1,799 inc vat.

Inside the main brown shipping box MSI bundle a branded carry case. A genuinely useful extra to have.

‘Top Player – Top Choice'. After spending £1,799, you bet you are!

Inside, the laptop is stored inside a soft bag. We will take a look at it shortly, first we want to see the extras.

A ton of literature, including a software disc. No games sadly.

Many people won't pay any attention to the power adapter, but we always check out the manufacturer. Good news in this case – MSI are working with DELTA – one of the finest makers of high grade units.


I can't remember reviewing a gold coloured laptop before. The finish of the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K is certainly going to split opinion because this colour scheme tends to appeal more to an Asian audience. Personally, I didn't really like it initially, but warmed to it, the more I used it.

I have to admit, this was a tricky laptop to photograph properly – even in our professional studio environment. The high gloss finish and bright gold colour means that it tends to reflect light and change colour slightly under different lighting conditions.

No connectivity along the rear panel, just a series of cooling vents, helping to improve air flow.

The left side of the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K is home to a microphone and headphone jack, two USB 3.0 ports, the power connector socket and a security port. A vent is positioned close to the rear of the housing.

The right side of the laptop is home to another USB 3.0 port, card reader, HDMI port, Mini DisplayPort, and GB LAN connector.

A top down view from both sides.

MSI ship the laptop with a cover between screen and keyboard. The GS60 Ghost Pro 3K weighs 1.9kg and measures 390 x 266 x 19.9 mm. It is really easy to carry around and ideal for LAN events.

The gold finish is highly reflective – almost like glass when hit with intense studio lights. Under normal ‘real world' conditions the gold isn't quite so blinding. Thankfully.

The panel is high grade, exhibiting excellent viewing angles on both horizontal and vertical planes. Colours are rich, clean – and a perfect partner for high definition multimedia entertainment. The default 3K resolution means that system text can be difficult to read, but Windows 8.1 has excellent scaling options to make this a little easier.

No stickers? Almost – just one at the far right. In case you forget, yes its an Intel processor inside. The super sized trackpad is one of the better ones we have tested, although it is a poor substitute for a quality gaming mouse.

The keyboard rates very highly – one of the few I actually enjoyed using over the period of a couple of days. It is well spaced and offers a little tactile feedback. No match for a desktop mechanical board, but surprisingly good. Backlighting is really appealing under weaker light conditions – evenly lit and attractive.

The only major downside for me, is the single height return key.

Onboard audio comes from the long speaker positioned just below the power button, shown above. Audio is decent for a laptop, but it lacks any kind of bass weight or finesse. A good pair of speakers or headphones is advised to get the most from the multimedia experience.

The lid will open to around 150 degrees, as shown above.

The lid is stable and holds position at all angles, without any indication of wobble.

Above, an image with the rear chassis panel removed. We don't advise you to do this at home as there are ‘warranty invalid' stickers over one of the screws.

MSI incorporate Kingston flash on the board.

All the cables are neatly run in behind a protective anti static shield.

Two cooling fans reside at the rear of the machine – on either side of the chassis. These are connected to two heatsinks, cooling both core i7 processor and Nvidia discrete graphics.

Two small speakers take price of place on opposites sides of the chassis .. one of them is positioned next to the hard drive.

The non removable battery is rated 4640mAh/52.89Wh. This isn't a massive battery considering the use of a hefty Core i7 processor – so it will be interesting to see how it fares later in the review.

Close inspection shows the Wireless Lan card, just below one of the fan positions.On this page we present some high resolution images of the product taken in our professional studio. These will take much longer to open due to the dimensions, especially on slower connections. If you use these pictures on another site or publication, please credit Kitguru.net as the owner/source.







The install is pretty messy, especially for a default configuration. Granted many of them are drivers and software related to the GS60 Ghost Pro 3K, but I do loathe seeing a complete security suite like Norton's installed on a trial basis ‘out of the box'.

Click the image above to go to the Validation page.

An overview of the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE in CPUz. The 16GB of DDR3 memory is running at 1,600mhz with 11-11-11-28 1T timings.

The first time we have looked at a mobile Maxwell GPU. The GTX970M is clocked at 924mhz, and the 3GB of Samsung GDDR5 memory is connected via a 192 bit memory interface. The GTX970M has 24 ROPS, 106 Texture Units and 1,280 Cuda Cores. On paper it is certainly a powerful mobile discrete solution.

Comparison Systems (for specific synthetic test compares):
MSI GT72 2PE Dominator Pro (072UK)
MSI GS60 2PE Ghost Pro 15.6 inch (Intel I7-4700HQ).
MSI GT70 2OC (Intel Core i7 4700MQ).
MSI GS70 2OD Stealth (Intel Core i7 4700HQ).
MSI GE40-20C Dragon Eyes (Intel Core i7 4702MQ).
PCSpecialist Inferno 11.6 inch (Intel Core i7 3630QM).
MSI GX60 (AMD A10 4600M).
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (featuring Core i5 3427U).
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge S430 (featuring Core i5 3210M).
PC Specialist Vortex III HD72 (featuring Core i7 3610QM).
Asus G74SX-91013Z (featuring Core i7 2360QM).
Dell XPS 14z (featuring Core i7 2640M).
AlienWare M18X (featuring Core i7 2960XM Extreme Edition).
MSI CX640 (featuring Core i5 2410M).
Intel Core i7 2600k desktop processor.
Intel Core i5 2500k desktop processor.

Software:
3DMark Vantage
3DMark 11
3DMark
Cinebench R11.5 64 bit
Cinebench R15 64 bit
FRAPS Professional
Unigine Heaven Benchmark
Unigine Valley
SiSoft Sandra
CrystalDiskMark
ATTO Disk Benchmark
Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra 12
Cyberlink MediaEspresso
GRID AutoSport (Direct X 11)
Tomb Raider (Direct X 11)
Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor (Direct X 11)

Technical Monitoring and Test Equipment:
Asus USB BluRay Drive
Thermal Diodes
Raytek Laser Temp Gun 3i LSRC/MT4 Mini Temp
Extech digital sound level meter & SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter
Fuji XT-1 with 18-50mm lens and Sony RX100.

Game descriptions are edited with courtesy from Wikipedia.
SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility. It should provide most of the information (including undocumented) you need to know about your hardware, software and other devices whether hardware or software.

Sandra is a (girl’s) name of Greek origin that means “defender”, “helper of mankind”. We think that’s quite fitting.

It works along the lines of other Windows utilities, however it tries to go beyond them and show you more of what’s really going on. Giving the user the ability to draw comparisons at both a high and low-level. You can get information about the CPU, chipset, video adapter, ports, printers, sound card, memory, network, Windows internals, AGP, PCI, PCI-X, PCIe (PCI Express), database, USB, USB2, 1394/Firewire, etc.

Native ports for all major operating systems are available:

• Windows XP, 2003/R2, Vista, 7, 2008/R2 (x86)
• Windows XP, 2003/R2, Vista, 7, 2008/R2 (x64)
• Windows 2003/R2, 2008/R2* (IA64)
• Windows Mobile 5.x (ARM CE 5.01)
• Windows Mobile 6.x (ARM CE 5.02)

All major technologies are supported and taken advantage of:

• SMP – Multi-Processor
• MC – Multi-Core
• SMT/HT – Hyper-Threading
• MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE 4.1, SSE 4.2, AVX, FMA – Multi-Media instructions
• GPGPU, DirectX, OpenGL – Graphics
• NUMA – Non-Uniform Memory Access
• AMD64/EM64T/x64 – 64-bit extensions to x86
• IA64 – Intel* Itanium 64-bit

The results are pretty much as we would expect from a i7 4710HQ and 1,600mhz DDR3.
CINEBENCH R11.5 64 Bit is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON’s award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation. MAXON software has been used in blockbuster movies such as Spider-Man, Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia and many more. CINEBENCH is the perfect tool to compare CPU and graphics performance across various systems and platforms (Windows and Mac OS X). And best of all: It’s completely free.


The Core i7 4710HQ is powerful processor –  and more than capable of handling a series of rendering tasks on the move.

CINEBENCH 15 is a cross-platform testing suite that measures hardware performance and is the de facto standard benchmarking tool for leading companies and trade journals for conducting real-world hardware performance tests. With the new Release 15, systems with up to 256 threads can be tested. CINEBENCH is available for both Windows and OS X and is used by almost all hardware manufacturers and trade journals for comparing CPUs and graphics cards.


Cinebench R15 shows similar high levels of performance from the i7 4710HQ processor, topping the chart.
Futuremark released 3DMark Vantage, on April 28, 2008. It is a benchmark based upon DirectX 10, and therefore will only run under Windows Vista (Service Pack 1 is stated as a requirement) and Windows 7. This is the first edition where the feature-restricted, free of charge version could not be used any number of times. 1280×1024 resolution was used with performance settings.


Closely matched performance levels between the two Core i7 4710HQ systems in this older Direct X 10 benchmark.
3DMark 11 is designed for testing DirectX 11 hardware running on Windows 7 and Windows Vista the benchmark includes six all new benchmark tests that make extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading.

After running the tests 3DMark gives your system a score with larger numbers indicating better performance. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to test DirectX 11 under game-like loads.

If you want to learn more about this benchmark, or to buy it yourself, head over to this page.


The later Direct X 11 version of 3DMark highlights performance improvements when directly comparing the GTX880m to the GTX970m.
3DMark is an essential tool used by millions of gamers, hundreds of hardware review sites and many of the world’s leading manufacturers to measure PC gaming performance.Futuremark say “Use it to test your PC’s limits and measure the impact of overclocking and tweaking your system. Search our massive results database and see how your PC compares or just admire the graphics and wonder why all PC games don’t look this good.To get more out of your PC, put 3DMark in your PC.”


A noticeable increase in performance, especially when we look at the graphics score between GTX880m and GTX970m. Around 1,500 points in favour of the newer Maxwell solution.
The MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE ships with two 256GB SSD's configured in Raid 0 and a 1TB 7,200 rpm Storage drive.

The mechanical drive performs as well as we would expect – considering the 2.5 inch limitations. The Raid 0 SSD's deliver great results, peaking at 860MB/s in the sequential read test.

We enabled 0x00 – compressible mode on the Raid 0 SSD, to see how it would affect performance. As we can see performance increased to almost 1GB/s sequential read, and around 920 MB/s sequential write. Superb results.

We verified results in the Atto DiskBenchmark. The Raid 0 SSD's peaked at around 1GB/s read/write and the mechanical 1TB storage drive around 130MB/s in both read and write sequential tests.

Real world performance would mirror these synthetic results. The MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE boots very quickly and overall system response is close to immediate under most circumstances.
We recently replaced our long term Patriot Supersonic Magnum 256GB with the faster Corsair Flash Voyager GTX 128GB.

You can read our review of the product over here. This page explains differences in performance with or without a UASP driver. The MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE has Windows 8.1 installed, so we don’t expect issues.

These are some of the highest results we have seen via the USB 3.0 interface. A sequential read score of close to 440 MB/s.

The ATTO Disk Benchmark results show class leading performance – around 460 MB/s in the read test, and 330 MB/s in the write test. The USB 3.0 controller in the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE really delivers the goods.
Grid Autosport (styled as GRID Autosport) is a racing video game by Codemasters and is the sequel to 2008′s Race Driver: Grid and 2013′s Grid 2. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on June 24, 2014.

We test today at 2,880 x 1,620 and 4MSAA – with the ‘High' image quality preset. This is part of the reason of buying a laptop with such a high pixel dense panel – to enjoy games with greater image quality.

Performance is fantastic, even at the native resolution of the 3K panel. The game engine only ever dropped to 59 fps once during our test session.
Tomb Raider received much acclaim from critics, who praised the graphics, the gameplay and Camilla Luddington’s performance as Lara with many critics agreeing that the game is a solid and much needed reboot of the franchise. Much criticism went to the addition of the multiplayer which many felt was unnecessary. Tomb Raider went on to sell one million copies in forty-eight hours of its release, and has sold 3.4 million copies worldwide so far.

We test first at 1080p, with the ULTIMATE image quality profile.

Performance results are excellent, with the system maintaining a frame rate average of 52.

We increase the resolution to 2,880 x 1,620, and drop image quality from ULTIMATE to ULTRA.

Engine performance is still good, holding at an average of 40fps, and dropping to 34fps in the more intensive sections of the environment.
In Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, the player plays as a ranger by the name of Talion who has wraith-like abilities.In this open world video game, players have the freedom to pursue side quests and roam around the world.

We test at 2880×1620 with the Very High image quality preset, shown above.

This is a demanding engine, however the GTX970m is generally up to the task. We achieved an average of 45 frames per second at these settings, although there was one particular section of the environment when the frame rate dropped into what we would class an ‘unplayable' area. However, 98% of the time, the engine ran well at these settings.

We do believe this game would benefit from some further optimisations.
The tests were performed in an air conditioned room, holding temperatures at a constant 23c. This is a comfortable environment for most people reading.

Idle temperatures were measured after 30 minutes from initial boot up with the system inactive.

Load temperatures were measured when playing Tomb Raider – a Direct X 11 game that taxes both CPU and GPU extensively. All fan settings were left on BIOS defaults.

The cooling system copes well under load, holding CPU temperatures at 80c and GPU temperatures at 75c.

The underside has several vents to help with airflow. Hot air is removed from the machine effectively at the rear.

It is important to ensure that the vents underneath are not blocked although MSI have placed some felt material on the chassis underneath, raising the machine a little.
We have built a system inside a Lian Li chassis with no case fans and have used a fanless cooler on our CPU. The motherboard is also passively cooled. This gives us a build with almost completely passive cooling and it means we can measure noise of just the graphics card inside the system when we run looped 3DMark tests.

We measure from a distance of around 1 meter from the closed chassis and 4 foot from the ground to mirror a real world situation. Ambient noise in the room measures close to the limits of our sound meter at 28dBa.

Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on only the video card. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.

KitGuru noise guide

10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refrigerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum

When idle, the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE is almost silent. Under load, noise levels rise to 37.3dBa – clearly audible. Considering the super slim chassis, we do expect a little noise when gaming.
To test today, we are putting the machine through a variety of ‘real world’ situations, mirroring the real world usage of a potential customer.

One as a media movie lover on the move (wearing headphones), a person wanting to watch high definition media on a train journey or bus with screen brightness two notches from maximum.

Second as a businessman, with screen brightness around half way. Wireless was enabled. A mixture of checking, answering emails using Microsoft Office and editing pictures in Adobe Photoshop.

Lastly as a gamer, playing Tomb Raider until the machine turned itself off.

Battery life was a little disappointing. The internal battery is only rated 4640mAh and the machine uses a fast quad core Intel i7 processor, so in reality it would be a tall order to expect 5hours+.
This has been a great year for MSI's mobile division, their recent high end laptop releases have all been stellar. The MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE continues this success story – incorporating Nvidia's GTX970m, the latest mobile Maxwell architecture.

The MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE really is a gaming tour de force. Even at the native 2,880 x 1,620 resolution of the 3K panel, the GTX970m is able to generate smooth frame rates. The only caveat will be games such as Tomb Raider will need the image quality settings dialed down a little, to a notch just below maximum.

On a 15.6 inch screen it is difficult to get the full value from a 3k panel. Without calling upon Windows 8.1 scaling options, desktop text is miniscule, and tricky to read. That said, a couple of scaling tweaks in the operating system can cure many legibility issues. I say many, because not all 3k/4k 15″ usability issues can be resolved via the OS.

The quality of the screen is incidentally, very impressive. Colours are nicely saturated, viewing angles are fantastic, and small text is tack sharp. This panel is a fantastic partner if you hate making compromises on the move.

The adoption of Dual 256GB Solid State Drives in Raid 0 ensures that system responsiveness is never a question. The MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE boots from cold within 10 seconds and the OS feels very snappy all the time. An extra 1TB HDD is a welcome extra for back up duties.

The eye catching gold finish is likely to heavily split opinion. We have noticed that our Western European and American audience are less likely to find gold appealing, yet on the other hand our Asian readers seem to find a gold and champagne schemes very attractive. This is a limited edition version of the laptop reviewed today, and MSI told us that a more modest black version will be available, with half the storage capacity.

Technically, there is little to fault. Build quality is high, as we would expect from MSI. The trackpad is extremely responsive, and feels very like the high grade units found on the Apple MacBook Pro machines. The keyboard is intuitive to use and even offers a little tactile feedback for typists. The single height return key is an issue for me, but perhaps my personal tastes are in the minority.

Onboard audio is decent, although to get the best experience we always recommend a good pair of external speakers, or headphones. Bass response from a 15 inch laptop is always horribly lacking in depth or presence.

Intel's Core i7 4710HQ Quad core processor is plenty powerful for any task we could throw at it, including 3D rendering. There may be an audience who may want a faster processor such as the 4810MQ, but this would cause quite a substantial price bump, and would barely register tangible performance gains in the latest Direct X 11 games.

The only real concern for me would be the slightly disappointing battery life. Under most conditions you would be fortunate to get 2.5 hours before a recharge was needed, and much less if you were playing games.

If you want to get hold of one these, you can pick it up from Overclockers UK, for £1,889.99 inc vat – which seems a little more than the expected £1,799.99 retail price MSI sent us before the review went live.

Discuss on our Facebook page, over HERE.

Pros:

• eye catching.
• good keyboard and trackpad.
• excellent quality screen.
• Quad Core i7 is fast.
• Nvidia GTX970m is powerful and can power many games at 3k.
• Dual SSD's in RAID 0.
• less than 2kg in weight.

Cons:

• Battery life isn't wonderful.
• colour might not appeal to everyone.

Kitguru says: The eye catching limited edition MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K 2QE combines portability with immense gaming frame rates.

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