Over the recent years, MSI has been focusing on the high level and mid-range gaming marketing with 3 main series:
The finest is the GT series that pursues maximum performance;
the 2nd is the GS series with its slim & light but good performance;
the 3rd is the GE series in the middle ground, lighter than GT but faster than GS.
Recently the GE series just received a makeover, with improvements in aesthetics, design, and quality.
This article will focus on testing and analyzing the latest 15.6” of MSI GE63VR.


Starting from the A-side top cover, the design still iconic MSI with the brushed aluminum surface and a MSI dragon shield logo,
that illuminates when powered on, all quality adding to its looking and feeling.
The GE63VR now comes in both GTX 1060 GPU (7RE) and the top-notch GTX 1070 (7RF), both with the dimension of 383 x 260 x 27.5 mm.
The weight may vary a little depending on the configuration: official spec of the 7RF is 2.39 kg.
The actual measurement says 2395g, which has almost same.


Straight ridges and red line are presented on both sides of the center section to perform a sense of speed.
MSI often adopts the design of a sports car hood on the cover to match their brand image.
Personally, I think it’d look even better if the two red stripes can light up during boot up.


The backpack that came with the GE36VR excels in both quality and protection.
The new dragon shield logo has also been redesigned to remove the “GAMING SERIES” wording for simplicity.
The backpack fits up to 17” notebooks, which some may consider a bit too big but others may think bigger space is as a plus.
The adapter next to the GE63VR 7RF comes at a max 230W to power the high end GTX 1070 version.


The B-side surrounds the 15.6” matte display.
The webcam on the top features 720p 30fps capability, with a small hole for the microphone on its either side.
The high-end TN display features FHD resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 3ms response time, and 94% NTSC color coverage.


C-side overview
It’s paired with a SteelSeries RGB gaming keyboard, featuring per-key RGB lighting.
The feedback may not be like a mechanical keyboard, but is exceptional for membrane keyboards.
I personally also like the dedicated left and right button of the track pad, as this offers better accuracy when pressed down.
The outer is decorated with red line, like the GS63VR, to enhance its visibility and aesthetics.
The slim buttons on the right represents power button, SteelSeries keyboard lighting, and fan speed adjustment.


Right IO
Starting from the left is the SD card reader (XC/HC), USB3.0 X2, ventilation.
I’ve noticed the red lighting from the USB port during the initial boot up, which also adds visibility during installation.


Left IO
Starting from the left is Kensington lock, ventilation, RJ45 Ethernet port, HDMI, mini DisplayPort, USB3.0, Type-C USB3.1.
Gold-plated 3.5mm audio jacks are for Hi-Fi headphone and microphones. The headphone-out supports ESS SABRE HIFI technology.


The rear has also been decorated with the red line to further enhance aesthetics and the speed theme.
Ventilation can also be seen on either side for the latest MSI exclusive Cooler Boost 5 cooling technology.


Under the D-side
The center dragon totem not only adds to the look-and-feel, but also features massive ventilation grills.
The lighting at the bottom suggests power, battery, and hard drive status.
The speaker is in collaboration with the well-known Danish audio company: Dynaudio.
The sound chamber is 5x the size than previous GE design, as shown in the bottom left/right of the picture,
which made us really look forward to the audio quality and volume.