Face Off: MSI GT72S vs. Asus G752 vs. Clevo P870DM

Any notebook worth thousands will better last for a long time. Thankfully, all three gaming machines here have excellent workmanship with none we can consider average or subpar. We can only nitpick on the smaller details for best in category.

The GT72S is the lightest and thickest with brushed aluminum and matte plastic for the lid and base. While the chassis itself is rigid, the hinges are weaker than we would have liked. We are able to hear slight creaking on our test model as well when opening or closing the lid. The display can be opened all the way up to 180 degrees unlike on the more limiting G752 (~120 degrees) and Clevo P870DM.

The G752 is thinnest, but also the longest in terms of depth. The additional girth is dedicated to the rear "jet engine" ventilation grilles that give the ROG series its signature style. There's no doubt that the G752 has the sharper and flashier design. While case quality is as good as the previous generation G751, the G752 has much more potential for gaps and manufacturing defects as its chassis is made up of smaller pieces instead of just a few larger cuts of plastic or aluminum like on the MSI or Clevo. The lid is more susceptible to twisting and depressions and the base itself can creak ever so slightly from applied pressure.

Lastly, the Clevo P870DM is by far the heaviest at just over 5 kg compared to 3.8 kg and 4.1 kg of the MSI and Asus, respectively. It must, after all, accommodate both a desktop CPU and GTX 980 with the option for SLI. The matte ABS plastic base and smooth aluminum lid are comparable in quality to the GT72S, if not slightly lower as the skeleton itself is not as thick.

Judging on case quality alone, the slight edge goes to MSI as we feel it will have fewer issues down the line when upgrading or tinkering with the internals. It's true that the Clevo is more serviceable, so it's still a close toss-up between the MSI and Clevo. Meanwhile, the difficult accessibility and repairability of the G752 automatically put Asus at the bottom.

Winner: MSI GT72S

Ports and hardware features abound on gaming notebooks. To start, each model sports USB Type-C 3.1 Gen. 2 capable of Thunderbolt 3 speeds (40 Gb/s). The GT72S carries the most USB 3.0 ports at six compared to just four on the Asus. The Clevo has the most dedicated video-out ports at three or four if including the versatile USB Type-C port. It is also the only notebook of the three to not have an internal optical drive for better or for worse.

Storage options are most plentiful on the GT72 with its 4x M.2 slots, 2.5-inch SATA bay, and ODD bay. Both the Clevo and Asus have half the M.2 slots, though the former has 2x 2.5-inch SATA bays to compensate. The G752 is also the only one with no RAID 0 support.

Winner: MSI GT72S

The GTX 980 is roughly 40 percent ahead of the GTX 980M in the MSI and 70 percent ahead of the GTX 970M in the Asus according to 3DMark 11 and Fire Strike standard.

The jump from a GTX 980M to the GTX 980 compared to a GTX 970M to the GTX 980M is just slightly larger despite the near doubling of TDP (~100 W vs 165 - 200 W). Whether or not the marginal increase in frame rates is worth the much higher power demands, however, is up to the user.

See our dedicated GPU pages for the GTX 970M, GTX 980M, and GTX 980 for more comparisons and benchmarks.

System Noise & Temperature

Fan noise is always audible on each of the three systems no matter the onscreen load. The GT72S is the quieter notebook at about 30 dB(A) compared to 33 to 34 dB(A) on the Asus and Clevo, respectively, but its fans tend to pulsate more frequently as a result. This behavior can be bothersome if the user is simply browsing or watching videos.

When under similar maximum loads, the three notebooks produce nearly identical fan noise at about 46 dB(A). The story becomes different during gaming loads as the MSI and Asus will each settle in the 35 to 37 dB(A) range while the Clevo can be as loud as 42 dB(A). Thus, headphones are recommended when gaming on the Clevo for a less distracting experience.

A noteworthy advantage on the Clevo is its deeper fan controls. Users have more freedom over fan speed settings for normal loads (video playback, browsing), gaming loads, and maximum speed if desired. The MSI notebook includes a Turbo Fan mode that will immediately bump fan noise up to 50 dB(A) and higher, but with no options in between.

Surface temperatures are lowest on the Asus even after taking into account the cool ambient temperature. Its average surface temperature barely rises at all at just 28 C compared to 39 C and 43 C on the MSI and Clevo, respectively. Hot spots still form, but they are very localized on the Asus and are far away from the palm rests and most of the keyboard. It's fitting that the least powerful notebook of the three provides the quieter fan noise and lower temperatures all-around.

Winner: Asus ROG G752

Battery life is lowest on the Asus due to the lack of Optimus and its smaller battery capacity. The manual graphics switch gives the MSI an edge over Asus and Clevo when activated. Otherwise, battery life is short across the board.

Winner: MSI GT72S

See more quick comparisons in our Face Off series:

• Dell XPS 15 vs. Apple MacBook Pro 15 vs. Asus ZenBook Pro UX501
• Aorus X3 Plus vs. Gigabyte P34W vs. Razer Blade 14
• Dell XPS 13 vs. Apple MacBook Pro 13 vs. Asus ZenBook UX305
• HP EliteBook 820 G2 vs. Lenovo ThinkPad X250 vs. Dell Latitude 12 E7250
• Asus ROG G751 vs. Dell Alienware 17 vs. MSI GT72 Dominator
• Lenovo ThinkPad T450 vs. Acer TravelMate P645 vs. Dell Latitude 14 E5450
• Dell Alienware 15 vs. Clevo P751ZM vs. MSI GE62
• Acer Aspire V17 Nitro vs. Asus N751 vs. HP Envy 17
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 vs. Sony Xperia Z3 Compact vs. Dell Venue 8 7000
• Asus EeeBook X205TA vs. Lenovo S20 vs. Acer Aspire ES1
• Microsoft Surface Pro 3 vs. Asus Transformer Book T300 Chi vs. Toshiba Portege Z20t
• Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550 vs. Acer Aspire E5 vs. HP ProBook 450 G2
• HP Pavilion 15 vs. Lenovo IdeaPad Z50 vs. Toshiba Satellite S50
• Apple MacBook Air 13 2015 vs. Samsung ATIV Book 9 900X3G vs. Asus ZenBook UX303
• Asus ROG G501 vs. Lenovo Y50 vs. Acer Aspire V15 Nitro
• OnePlus 2 vs. Honor 6 Plus vs. Motorola Moto X Play
• Lenovo Yoga 500 vs. Dell Inspiron 15 7000 vs. Toshiba Satellite Radius 15
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