MSI GL72 7RD-028 Laptop (Core i7, Full HD) Review

MSI has stuck to what it knows best - the GL72 looks just like its predecessor. The matte black case is made entirely from plastic and extremely prone to fingerprints. Just like last time, the test device shows some weaknesses. The keyboard unit and display lid give way too easily and the narrow hinges give a good impression: the large display stays firmly in position. However, you need both hands to open the notebook. Like its predecessor, the battery cannot be removed easily.

The plastic case of the new MSI GL72 weighs 3 kg (~6.6 lb) and is about 200 g (~7 oz) heavier than that of its predecessor. But this may not be solely due to the improvements. The previous test unit was equipped with an M.2 SSD instead of a 2.5-inch hard disk. The US version is equipped with both an M.2 SSD and a hard disk while the German test unit had only an HDD available. Overall, the GL72 is still rather light-weight and comfortable for a 17-inch device. Its competition weighs about the same despite some of the devices having stronger components.

The MSI GL72 is designed to have all permanently connected devices on the left side of the notebook. On the right side you can, for example, connect a mouse via a USB 2.0 connection. As the ports lie in the middle on the left side, they are easily accessible. Unfortunately the USB Type-C does not support Thunderbolt. The HDMI port supports 4K resolution, but only at a frequency of up to 30 Hz.

In order to test the speed on the SD card reader, we always use our reference card, the Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II. The AS SSD benchmark and manual copying of JPG files (each about 5 MB) confirm the meagre transfer rates of about 20 MB/s. If you copy files from SD cards regularly, you might want to consider an external card reader or even another product. If you take a look at the comparison devices, you will see that transfer rates of 80 MB/s are quite common.

MSI has chosen the Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3168 to take over wireless network connection with a (gross) speed of up to 422 MBit/s. On top of that, it offers Bluetooth 4.2, with which we measured client transfer rates of 305 MBit/s. As a server, we measured an average of 342 MBit/s. These results are rather poor in comparison to its competitors. The Asus ROG Strix GL753, for example, reaches an average of 666 MBit/s (as client).

No interesting accessories came with the device and we could not find any peripheral equipment on the manufacturer's website either. However, on its website MSI does offer accessories that match the laptop's looks.

The manufacturer offers a two-year warranty (pickup and return) from date of purchase. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Our test device is equipped with an Intel Core i7-7700HQ of the Kaby Lake generation and is classified as a high-end processor. The clock rate is between 2800 MHz and 3800 MHz. The biggest difference compared to its Skylake predecessor Intel Core i7-6700HQ is in the clock rate, which has increased by 200 MHz. There is no change in power consumption: Intel claims a maximum power consumption of 45 watts (TDP). To test its real performance, we did the Cinebench R15 benchmark. The test device achieved 731 points in the Multicore test, which matches our expectation. The clock rate remained at 3400 MHz throughout the test. The competition runs at a similar level. Only the Acer Aspire Nitro BE VN7 cannot keep up due to its weaker Intel-Core-i5-7300HQ processor and reached only 515 points. That is 50 points difference compared to our test unit's predecessor.

We use the Cinebench R15 loop to measure how performance changes over a prolonged period of time. At first, the score fluctuates minimally and finally levels out at its normal level. The result stays the same even after disconnecting from the power supply.

You can compare more CPUS with our CPU Benchmark Tool.

MSI has chosen an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 to take care of the device's graphics. This seems a little unusual as most 17-inch devices that we have tested are equipped with the stronger Ti version. In our case the GPU has a core clock rate of 1354 MHz and a GDDR5 memory of 4 GB. We have analyzed its performance and compared it to the Ti version with the help of the 3DMark benchmark. The device scored 5622 points in the Fire Strike test. That is about 150 points less than the Asus Strix GL753 with the same configuration. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti reaches 7000 points, which is clearly a lot better. Further down, we will take a look at what effects these results have on real-life gaming. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M used in the previous version reached a score of 4340 in the Fire Strike test.

If you like to use your laptop without power supply for short sessions, you will have to accept substantial losses in graphics performance. The result of the 3DMark 11 sinks from 7594 to just 2541 points on battery.

You can compare more GPUS in our benchmarks list.

As mentioned already, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 shows its strength during Full HD gaming. Most current games can be displayed smoothly with high or medium details. As the games "Rise of the Tomb Raider" and "The Witcher 3" show, the Ti version of the graphics unit is clearly stronger and makes gaming even smoother. With high settings it can produce up to 10 FPS more. 

To find out which games can be played with the inserted graphics unit and how well other GPUs do, take a look at our article "Computer Games on Laptop Graphic Cards".

The MSI GL72 makes hardly a sound while idling. We measured a maximum of 31.8 dB(A). Even under load the system noise is comfortably low. The maximum value under load is 43.6 dB(A). It also has a good frequency and is not disturbing. In Turbo mode the rotation speed of the cooling fans can increase. In that case, the noise level rises to up to 50 dB(A). The comparison devices confirm that these are normal values. There were no real exceptions. Only the Nexoc G739 reaches 50 dB(A) even without Turbo mode.

The device hardly heats up during day-to-day use, but can reach temperatures of up to 43 °C (~110 °F) under extreme load. Even cooler: The Asus ROG Strix GL753 does not even reach 40 °C (~104 °F).

We then took a look at core temperatures and clock rates. We put the MSI GL72 under stress with the help of Prime95 and FurMark. But even after an hour, our test unit was still running at 3.4 GHz. The CPU temperatures were a little surprising however. Occasionally, they almost reached 100 °C (~212 °F).

MSI has installed four 2-watt speakers into the device. The speakers are satisfyingly loud and sound good enough for watching occasional TV-series or YouTube videos. The sound profile is OK even though there is no bass. We would recommend using subwoofers. 

Frequency diagram in comparison (checkboxes above can be turned on/off)

The current MSI GL72 uses a lot less power than its predecessor, but 9.6 to 16.5 watts is still quite a lot. Under load consumption increases to up to 130 watts. The provided power supply is large enough with 150 watts. 

A lithium-ion battery is meant to keep the MSI GL72 going, even when it is not connected to an external power supply. The battery seems equivalent to that of its predecessor: six cells and a capacity of about 43 WH. 

The previous MSI GL72 already had difficulty with its battery runtime. Nothing has changed since then. With communication modules turned off and brightness set to minimum, the device only just manages to run for 5.5 hours.

We tested its stamina in a practical scenario: surfing on the web. The test unit had to turn itself off after 3.5 hours. The Nexoc G739 is the winner of this round and lasts almost five hours in this test.

Last but not least, we took a quick look at minimum battery runtime. With the Windows power profile set to maximum performance and at maximum brightness the test unit switches off after less than an hour. Apart from the Nexoc G739, which makes it to just over 2 hours, no other competitor gets over the one-hour mark.