Face Off: Gigabyte P57W vs. MSI GE72 6QF vs. Acer Predator 17

The chassis of each notebook is largely made of plastic while the MSI utilizes brushed aluminum surfaces for the palm rests and outer lid. The base portion of each model is very rigid and resistant to twists. As usual, surfaces directly above the optical drive are notably weaker and more easily warped with pressure. No single notebook feels stronger than the other despite the size differences.

As for the display lids, they are much weaker compared to the base portions as expected. The Gigabyte and Acer displays in particular have a tendency to creak when attempting to twist them. While we're not expecting the lids to be perfectly rigid, we're disappointed that the Acer display is not any better than the Gigabyte or MSI despite the larger build.

In terms of sizes, the Gigabyte and MSI are very close and differ mostly in thickness. The Acer is larger in all dimensions especially in width due in part to its larger heat sinks and FrostCore feature. The workmanship and build quality of the three notebooks are not notably better or worse than the others.

Winner: Tie

Available ports differ widely between each model. While all the notebooks sport USB Type-C, only the Predator 17 integrates Thunderbolt 3 support. MSI does not specify whether or not the USB Type-C port on the GE72 6QF is gen. 1 or gen. 2, though it is likely gen. 2 and identical to the Gigabyte P57W.

Other differences include the number and types of video-out ports. The Gigabyte is notable for its legacy VGA port while the Acer includes both full-size HDMI and DisplayPort ports alongside the versatile USB Type-C w/ Thunderbolt 3. The FrostCore feature on the Predator 17 is unfortunately nothing more than a gimmick and adds little to the overall value of the system.

All systems include the same number of internal storage options with the exception of the Predator 17, which includes two NVMe M.2 slots instead of one NVMe M.2 slot as found on the P57W and GE72 6QF. Note that the older GE62 2QD includes three standard M.2 2280 slots with no NVMe support.

There is no objective winner in this category due to the many non-overlapping advantages one notebook may have over the other. Nonetheless, the versatility of the USB Type-C w/ Thunderbolt 3 port on the Acer is better future-proofing than what the Gigabyte and MSI each offer.

Winner: Tie

Similarly, GPU performances are nearly identical between the three notebooks with no imposed throttling according to CineBench, 3DMark 11, and 3DMark Fire Strike.

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

System Noise & Temperature

No one system is completely silent when idling. Nonetheless, the Gigabyte and MSI systems run quieter than the Acer when idling on desktop as the latter notebook has a tendency to pulsate its fans more frequently. Gaming loads will have each system in the mid 40 dB(A) range with few variations between them. We were expecting the Gigabyte to come out louder based on its thinner form factor, but this does not appear to be the case. Instead, the P57W simply runs warmer than the rest with higher surface temperatures reaching over 55 C.

The MSI system runs unusually warm when idling with surface temperatures well over 30 C on average. On the other hand, the Predator is again the cooler machine due in part to its thickness and the fact that the chassis was designed to handle up to the more powerful GTX 980M.

Winner: System Noise -- Gigabyte P57W & MSI GE72 6QF

               Temperature -- Acer Predator 17

Runtimes are shortest on the MSI, which correlates well with its warmer running temperatures and lower capacity battery compared to the Gigabyte and Acer. The Acer impressively comes out ahead in all tested categories and manages to be much more energy efficient when the system is idling or running low loads.

All batteries are non-removable and not made to be easily swapped.

Winner: Acer Predator 17

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