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MSI PE60 6QE Prestige iBuyPower Edition Notebook Review

Part multimedia, gaming, and business. The PE60 6QE is a small update over last year's PE60 2QE based on the GE62 chassis. Unfortunately, MSI will have to do more to distinguish its Prestige series from the rest of its gaming lineup.

The last time we checked out the PE60 series was June of last year with the uncommon Haswell Core i5-4210U CPU. Now a year later, not much has changed in the visuals department as most of the upgrades on the newer PE60 6QE are more internal than external. The latest model has been updated with Skylake, DDR4, and USB Type-C. Has there been any other sly changes to the latest SKU in the process?

We recommend checking out our previous review page on the PE60 2QE for more pictures and details on chassis quality, input devices, and features as they essentially the same as on the PE60 6QE. The system can also be considered a rebranded GE62 series notebook, so most of the hardware information provided by our GE62/GE72 review pages also apply to the PE60.

MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS (PE60 Series)
Processor
Intel Core i7-6700HQ 4 x 2.6 - 3.5 GHz (Intel Core i7)
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M - 2048 MB VRAM, Core: 1097 MHz, Memory: 5010 MHz, GDDR5, 353.96
Memory
16 GB 
, PC4-17000 DDR4 DDR4 SDRAM G-Skill, Dual-Channel, 15-15-15-36
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel 141 PPI, Name: Chi Mei N156HGE-EAL, ID: CMN15D2, TN LED, glossy: no
Mainboard
Intel HM170 (Skylake PCH-H)
Storage
Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6, 120 GB 
, Secondary: 1 TB HGST HTS721010A9E630
Soundcard
Intel Skylake PCH-H High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
1 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 USB 3.1 Gen2, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: 1x 3.5 mm earphones, 1x 3.5 mm microphone, Card Reader: SD reader, Brightness Sensor
Networking
Atheros AR8161/8165 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (10/100/1000MBit/s), Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.0
Optical drive
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GUB0N
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 27 x 383 x 260 ( = 1.06 x 15.08 x 10.24 in)
Battery
42 Wh Lithium-Polymer
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
Camera
Primary Camera: HD (30fps@720p)
Additional features
Speakers: Quad speakers + subwoofer, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: yes, 12 Months Warranty
Weight
2.415 kg ( = 85.19 oz / 5.32 pounds), Power Supply: 606 g ( = 21.38 oz / 1.34 pounds)
Price
1200 USD
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

The Prestige series was designed to have more "appropriate" looks for a business setting while having interior features commonly found on gaming notebooks. From this perspective, the PE60 achieves that professional design with its silver brushed aluminum surfaces that appear almost matte against the light. Black plastic is still used for the display bezel and bottom base of the unit. Both the lid and base show above average resistance to twisting. The center of the outer lid, however, is more susceptible to downward pressure and attempting to twist the base can result in a bit of creaking. The small hinges could have been more taut as they feel weaker the wider the lid is opened. Quality is overall a step below the XPS 15 and more in line with the Asus N series or even the mainstream HP Pavilion series. We can observe no unintended gaps or defects on our particular test unit.

In terms of size and weight, the PE60 is not significantly different than many of its competitors. Notable exceptions include the latest XPS 15 and Lenovo Y700 at 2 kg and 2.9 kg, respectively, compared to the 2.4 kg MSI notebook.

380 mm / 15 inch 269 mm / 10.6 inch 34 mm / 1.339 inch 2.6 kg5.83 lbs385 mm / 15.2 inch 265 mm / 10.4 inch 29 mm / 1.142 inch 2.4 kg5.25 lbs387 mm / 15.2 inch 277 mm / 10.9 inch 25.95 mm / 1.022 inch 2.9 kg6.4 lbs386 mm / 15.2 inch 264 mm / 10.4 inch 26 mm / 1.024 inch 2.6 kg5.79 lbs383 mm / 15.1 inch 260 mm / 10.2 inch 27 mm / 1.063 inch 2.4 kg5.32 lbs383 mm / 15.1 inch 255 mm / 10 inch 21.3 mm / 0.839 inch 2.1 kg4.54 lbs357 mm / 14.1 inch 235 mm / 9.25 inch 17 mm / 0.669 inch 2 kg4.33 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

Connectivity

Available ports are identical to that of the PSI PE60 2QE except that one USB 3.0 Type-A port has been replaced with a USB Type-C Gen. 2 port. Unlike on the pricier gaming-centric MSI GS/GT series refresh, this USB Type-C port does not support Thunderbolt 3. Strangely, the USB port of the right side holds a tighter grip onto a connected plug compared to the left USB ports.

Front: No connectivity
Front: No connectivity
Right: Optical drive, USB 2.0, 3-in-1 card reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC), AC adapter
Right: Optical drive, USB 2.0, 3-in-1 card reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC), AC adapter
Rear: No connectivity
Rear: No connectivity
Left: Kensington Lock, RJ45 Ethernet, USB 3.0, HDMI, mDP, USB 3.0, USB 3.1 Type-C Gen. 2, 3.5 mm microphone and headphone (gold plated)
Left: Kensington Lock, RJ45 Ethernet, USB 3.0, HDMI, mDP, USB 3.0, USB 3.1 Type-C Gen. 2, 3.5 mm microphone and headphone (gold plated)

Communication

WLAN is provided by an Intel Wireless-AC 3165 module for theoretical transfer rates of up to 433 Mbps. More options exist for faster 2x2 cards including the Killer N1525 and Intel Wireless-AC 7265. In either case, Bluetooth and WiDi come standard and we experienced no dropout issues when connected to our Linksys EA8500 test router.

WWAN and GPS options are unfortunately unavailable.

Accessories

Included extras are a Windows 10 Pro recovery DVD, Drivers and Utilities DVD, Warranty card, and Quick Start guide. There are no proprietary docking stations or special extras for the PE60, though users can now take advantage of newer USB Type-C docking stations.

Maintenance

Serviceability is the same as on the GE62 and previous PE60. It's relatively easy as the entire bottom panel can be removed as one piece, but it's also a bit of a hassle as a total of 18 Philips screws must first be removed. Users get direct access to core components such as the 2x SODIMM slots, M.2 2280 slot, WLAN module, battery, and 2.5-inch SATA III slot. Unlike on the larger MSI GT72 series, the CPU and GPU for the PE60 are soldered onto the motherboard and cannot be upgraded.

Warranty

MSI notebooks purchased new from iBuyPower receive the standard one-year limited warranty. A few manufacturers like Gigabyte offer two-year limited warranty as standard instead.

Input Devices

Keyboard

The keyboard is essentially the same as on the PE60 2QE except that the sides of each key are now translucent too allow for more even illumination when the backlight is on. The keys are surprisingly quiet with little clatter and are very comfortable with great travel and firm feedback. There is very little to complain here except for perhaps the lack of any dedicated multimedia or customizable Macro keys. For a business notebook, however, this shouldn't be a large issue. The Turbo Fan option as found on the gaming G series returns and is largely unneeded for day-to-day or gaming use.

Touchpad

The large touchpad (10.8 x 6.1 cm) is smooth to the touch with an even and reliable glide for cursor movement. The Synaptics V7.5 software recognizes up to three-finger gestures with easy two-finger scrolling and zooming. Meanwhile, the dedicated mouse keys are shallow in travel with a very firm and loud auditory feedback. The force required for an input can make constant double-clicking tiresome, so we find it easier to simply double-tap on the touchpad for quicker actions.

The system provides no TrackPoint that is normally a staple on core business notebooks.

Display

The matte 1080p display is the same Chi Mei N156HGE-EAL TN panel as found on our recently reviewed PX60 6QD and Acer Aspire V3-575G. This is compared to the Samsung LTN156HL01 IPS panel on our older PE60 2QE review unit. Unsurprisingly, the PE60 6QE suffers from the same issues as the PX60 6QD. Colors and grayscale are poor out-of-the-box and contrast levels are disappointing at under 500:1. Display brightness has also dropped dramatically from an average of 282 nits on the PE60 2QE to just 194 nits on the PE60 6QD. There appears to be no other resolution or touchscreen options available other than the base TN panel we have here.

Uneven backlight bleeding is minimal and almost unnoticeable even against a dark background. There is some clouding near the bottom edge, but it is largely insignificant. Users will be more likely to notice the apparent contrast changes from the TN panel than any clouding around the edges or corners.

Evenly lit backlight
Evenly lit backlight
Subpixel array (141 PPI)
Subpixel array (141 PPI)
196.1
cd/m²
190.1
cd/m²
183.7
cd/m²
192.8
cd/m²
200.1
cd/m²
178.1
cd/m²
206.9
cd/m²
202.3
cd/m²
195.4
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Name: Chi Mei N156HGE-EAL, ID: CMN15D2 tested with X-Rite i1Pro Basic 2
Maximum: 206.9 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 193.9 cd/m² Minimum: 10.2 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 86 %
Center on Battery: 200.1 cd/m²
Contrast: 466:1 (Black: 0.429 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 10.63 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 11.51 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
99.8% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
74.6% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
84.2% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
99.8% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
86% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.23
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
15.60, 1920x1080
HP ZBook 15 G3
15.60, 1920x1080
Lenovo Ideapad Y700 15ISK 80NW
15.60, 1920x1080
Asus G501VW-FY081T
15.60, 1920x1080
Dell XPS 15 9550 i7 FHD
15.60, 1920x1080
Display
-15%
-50%
-15%
-13%
Display P3 Coverage
86
66.8
-22%
38.55
-55%
66.8
-22%
68.5
-20%
sRGB Coverage
99.8
95.5
-4%
57.6
-42%
97.3
-3%
97.2
-3%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
84.2
69
-18%
39.86
-53%
68.6
-19%
70.4
-16%
Response Times
-44%
-25%
-45%
-64%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
43.6 ?(22, 21.6)
54 ?(24.4, 29.6)
-24%
40.8 ?(16.4, 24.4)
6%
50 ?(22, 28)
-15%
64 ?(27, 37)
-47%
Response Time Black / White *
27.6 ?(10, 17.6)
35.6 ?(11.6, 24)
-29%
24 ?(4, 20)
13%
39 ?(10, 29)
-41%
50 ?(12, 38)
-81%
PWM Frequency
1000 ?(99)
198 ?(95)
-80%
58.1
-94%
200 ?(90)
-80%
Screen
33%
18%
44%
54%
Brightness middle
200.1
306
53%
258.6
29%
341
70%
371.5
86%
Brightness
194
289
49%
242
25%
312
61%
356
84%
Brightness Distribution
86
85
-1%
88
2%
83
-3%
92
7%
Black Level *
0.429
0.34
21%
0.277
35%
0.32
25%
0.252
41%
Contrast
466
900
93%
934
100%
1066
129%
1474
216%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
10.63
5.1
52%
8.1
24%
4.23
60%
5.55
48%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
18.19
9.9
46%
8.02
56%
10.95
40%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
11.51
7.4
36%
7.23
37%
4.69
59%
7.1
38%
Gamma
2.23 99%
2.37 93%
1.99 111%
2.53 87%
2.1 105%
CCT
14492 45%
7263 89%
6567 99%
7549 86%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
74.6
63
-16%
36.5
-51%
63
-16%
63.4
-15%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
99.8
95
-5%
57.2
-43%
97
-3%
97.9
-2%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
-9% / 9%
-19% / -4%
-5% / 16%
-8% / 25%

* ... smaller is better

The wide gamut of the PE60 shows it uses a high-end panel despite the poor first impressions. Colors cover the sRGB spectrum entirely and almost 75 percent of the wider AdobeRGB standard. Colors are even deeper than on our pricier HP ZBook 15 G3 SKU. Some Clevo barebones like the Schenker XMG U726 aim for wider AdobeRGB coverage, though such notebooks are not common.

vs. Dell XPS 15 9550 FHD
vs. Dell XPS 15 9550 FHD
vs. MSI PE60 2QE
vs. MSI PE60 2QE
vs. AdobeRGB
vs. AdobeRGB
vs. sRGB
vs. sRGB

Measurements with an X-Rite spectrophotometer show that the system is in dire need of calibration. Like the recently reviewed PX60, color temperature is much too cool and gives way to more inaccurate colors at all tested saturation levels. A quick calibration flattens RGB Balance and corrects the color temperature for a significantly improved display. Colors still become increasingly less accurate the higher the saturation level, so additional tuning may likely be needed for more accuracy.

Grayscale before calibration
Grayscale before calibration
Saturation Sweeps before calibration
Saturation Sweeps before calibration
ColorChecker before calibration
ColorChecker before calibration
Grayscale after calibration
Grayscale after calibration
Saturation Sweeps after calibration
Saturation Sweeps after calibration
ColorChecker after calibration
ColorChecker after calibration

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
27.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 10 ms rise
↘ 17.6 ms fall
The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 66 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
43.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 22 ms rise
↘ 21.6 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 69 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 1000 Hz ≤ 99 % brightness setting

The display backlight flickers at 1000 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 99 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.

The frequency of 1000 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18100 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Outdoor usability is below average as expected and the wide angle from the hinges (up to 150 degrees) isn't so useful considering that the notebook uses a TN panel with more limited viewing angles. The backlight is especially disappointing as it is fit almost exclusively for indoor use only. The screen is already too dim when working under shade and even worse if under direct sunlight.

Viewing angles are good side-to-side, but degrade quickly if viewing from below the normal. This is expected from a TN panel and it is no different on the refreshed PE60.

Very difficult to use see outdoors
Very difficult to use see outdoors
Limited TN viewing angles
Limited TN viewing angles

Performance

Turbo Boost up to 3.5 GHz
Turbo Boost up to 3.5 GHz

The current i7-6700HQ and GTX 960M GPU configuration is the only option for the PE60 6QE. Buyers can pre-configure RAM up to 16 GB and choose from a variety of M.2 SSDs and 2.5-inch secondary drives. It's a bit odd that there are no options to configure RAM up to 32 GB as each of the two DDR4 slots can support up to 16 GB.

Optimus comes standard for additional power savings with the integrated HD Graphics 530 GPU.

Processor

The quad-core Core i7-6700HQ is a common CPU of choice for the latest gaming notebooks. Higher-end and costlier gaming notebooks like the MSI GT80 or Eurocom DLX7 can be equipped with overclockable Core i7-6820HK or Core i7-6700K processors, respectively. The latter in particular can outperform the Core i7-6700HQ by 20 to 30 percent depending on the processing workload according to CineBench benchmarks. Otherwise, the i7-6700HQ isn't significantly faster than the previous generation Core i7-4700HQ or Core i7-5700HQ in terms of raw CPU performance.

See our dedicated CPU page on the Core i7-6700HQ for more technical information and comparisons.

CineBench R15
CineBench R15
CineBench R10 32-bit
CineBench R10 32-bit
CineBench R11.5 64-bit
CineBench R11.5 64-bit
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
128 Points
DogHouse Systems Mobius SS
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700K, Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB
166 Points +30%
Lenovo ThinkPad P70
Quadro M3000M, 6820HQ, Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN512HCJH
153 Points +20%
Gigabyte P55 V4
GeForce GTX 970M, 5700HQ, Lite-On LMT-128L9M
144 Points +13%
Asus G750JM-T4014H
GeForce GTX 860M, 4700HQ, HGST Travelstar 5K1500 HTS541515A9E630
132 Points +3%
CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
680 Points
DogHouse Systems Mobius SS
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700K, Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB
865 Points +27%
Lenovo ThinkPad P70
Quadro M3000M, 6820HQ, Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN512HCJH
699 Points +3%
Gigabyte P55 V4
GeForce GTX 970M, 5700HQ, Lite-On LMT-128L9M
721 Points +6%
Asus G750JM-T4014H
GeForce GTX 860M, 4700HQ, HGST Travelstar 5K1500 HTS541515A9E630
642 Points -6%
Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
1.52 Points
DogHouse Systems Mobius SS
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700K, Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB
1.91 Points +26%
Lenovo ThinkPad P70
Quadro M3000M, 6820HQ, Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN512HCJH
1.7 Points +12%
Gigabyte P55 V4
GeForce GTX 970M, 5700HQ, Lite-On LMT-128L9M
1.54 Points +1%
Asus G750JM-T4014H
GeForce GTX 860M, 4700HQ, HGST Travelstar 5K1500 HTS541515A9E630
1.49 Points -2%
CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
7.49 Points
DogHouse Systems Mobius SS
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700K, Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB
9.56 Points +28%
Lenovo ThinkPad P70
Quadro M3000M, 6820HQ, Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN512HCJH
7.63 Points +2%
Gigabyte P55 V4
GeForce GTX 970M, 5700HQ, Lite-On LMT-128L9M
6.89 Points -8%
Asus G750JM-T4014H
GeForce GTX 860M, 4700HQ, HGST Travelstar 5K1500 HTS541515A9E630
7 Points -7%
Cinebench R10
Rendering Single 32Bit (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
5458 Points
DogHouse Systems Mobius SS
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700K, Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB
6487 Points +19%
Lenovo ThinkPad P70
Quadro M3000M, 6820HQ, Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN512HCJH
5429 Points -1%
Gigabyte P55 V4
GeForce GTX 970M, 5700HQ, Lite-On LMT-128L9M
5516 Points +1%
Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
20319 Points
DogHouse Systems Mobius SS
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700K, Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB
26150 Points +29%
Lenovo ThinkPad P70
Quadro M3000M, 6820HQ, Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN512HCJH
20682 Points +2%
Gigabyte P55 V4
GeForce GTX 970M, 5700HQ, Lite-On LMT-128L9M
20801 Points +2%
wPrime 2.10 - 1024m (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
238 s *
DogHouse Systems Mobius SS
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700K, Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB
178.5 s * +25%
Lenovo ThinkPad P70
Quadro M3000M, 6820HQ, Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN512HCJH
230.8 s * +3%
Gigabyte P55 V4
GeForce GTX 970M, 5700HQ, Lite-On LMT-128L9M
205.3 s * +14%
Super Pi Mod 1.5 XS 32M - 32M (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
564 s *
DogHouse Systems Mobius SS
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700K, Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB
498.3 s * +12%
Lenovo ThinkPad P70
Quadro M3000M, 6820HQ, Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN512HCJH
561 s * +1%
Gigabyte P55 V4
GeForce GTX 970M, 5700HQ, Lite-On LMT-128L9M
593 s * -5%

* ... smaller is better

Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
6792
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
20319
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
5458
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
45.85 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
7.49 Points
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
1.52 Points
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
99.6 %
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
51.7 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
680 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
128 Points
Help

System Performance

PCMark benchmarks rank our MSI in the same ballpark as other systems sporting the same CPU and GPU like the Ideapad Y700 and XPS 15 9550. The newer SKU also comes out ahead of the older PE60 2QE by about 15 percent in PCMark 8 Home and Work.

Subjectively, the notebook performs swiftly and without any software or hardware issues specific to the test unit.

PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Creative Accelerated
PCMark 8 Creative Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
3766 Points
MSI PE60-2QEi581
GeForce GTX 960M, 4210H, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
3114 Points -17%
Lenovo Ideapad Y700 15ISK 80NW
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung MZNLN128HCGR-000L2
3845 Points +2%
Dell XPS 15 9550 i7 FHD
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung PM951 NVMe 512 GB
3753 Points 0%
Asus G501VW-FY081T
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP
3495 Points -7%
Work Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
4827 Points
MSI PE60-2QEi581
GeForce GTX 960M, 4210H, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
4169 Points -14%
Lenovo Ideapad Y700 15ISK 80NW
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung MZNLN128HCGR-000L2
5011 Points +4%
Dell XPS 15 9550 i7 FHD
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung PM951 NVMe 512 GB
4696 Points -3%
Asus G501VW-FY081T
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP
4599 Points -5%
Creative Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
4735 Points
Lenovo Ideapad Y700 15ISK 80NW
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung MZNLN128HCGR-000L2
4790 Points +1%
Dell XPS 15 9550 i7 FHD
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung PM951 NVMe 512 GB
4659 Points -2%
Asus G501VW-FY081T
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP
4445 Points -6%
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
3766 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2
4735 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
4827 points
Help

Storage Devices

A total of two storage bays are available through the M.2 2280 slot and 2.5-inch SATA III bay. Our primary Intel SSD 535 drive performs favorably against the Samsung CM871 drive in our Asus G501. Nonetheless, it is limited to SATA III speeds and the system does not support the growing NVMe controller. Pricier systems that support NVMe SSDs trounce the PE60 in terms of storage performance such as the Asus UX501 or Dell XPS 15 9550. Meanwhile, the secondary 1 TB HGST drive shows an excellent average transfer rate of 105.4 MB/s according to HD Tune, which is where we expect a 7200 RPM HDD to perform. The notebook accepts both 7 mm and 9.5 mm drives.

See our growing list of HDDs and SSDs for more benchmarks and comparisons.

MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
MSI PE60-2QEi78H11 SSD/4720HQ
GeForce GTX 960M, 4720HQ, Toshiba HG6 THNSNJ128G8NU
HP ZBook 15 G3
Quadro M2000M, E3-1505M v5, Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
Asus G501VW-FY081T
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP
Dell XPS 15 9550 i7 FHD
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung PM951 NVMe 512 GB
AS SSD
28%
268%
-44%
211%
Copy Game MB/s
307.1
261.9
-15%
1023
233%
141.5
-54%
805
162%
Copy Program MB/s
187.5
154.9
-17%
585
212%
99.9
-47%
325.3
73%
Copy ISO MB/s
280
353.4
26%
1494
434%
163
-42%
1127
303%
Score Total
588
865
47%
2495
324%
269
-54%
2410
310%
Score Write
293
207
-29%
548
87%
63
-78%
675
130%
Score Read
198
434
119%
1302
558%
152
-23%
1180
496%
Access Time Write *
0.196
0.056
71%
0.024
88%
0.225
-15%
0.035
82%
Access Time Read *
0.148
0.191
-29%
0.031
79%
0.207
-40%
0.038
74%
4K-64 Write
180.2
99.9
-45%
257
43%
19.4
-89%
513
185%
4K-64 Read
128.9
362.6
181%
1066
727%
87.6
-32%
990
668%
4K Write
91
59.5
-35%
173.1
90%
30.66
-66%
105.4
16%
4K Read
22.59
19.79
-12%
52.5
132%
13.87
-39%
31.86
41%
Seq Write
215.9
473.6
119%
1181
447%
126.9
-41%
570
164%
Seq Read
460.3
514
12%
1841
300%
504
9%
1579
243%

* ... smaller is better

AS SSD (Primary)
AS SSD (Primary)
CDM (Primary)
CDM (Primary)
CDM (Secondary)
CDM (Secondary)
HD Tune (Secondary)
HD Tune (Secondary)
PCMark 8 Storage
PCMark 8 Storage
 
Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
Sequential Read: 445.3 MB/s
Sequential Write: 173.9 MB/s
512K Read: 212.4 MB/s
512K Write: 133.7 MB/s
4K Read: 17.6 MB/s
4K Write: 83.6 MB/s
4K QD32 Read: 109.1 MB/s
4K QD32 Write: 130.7 MB/s

GPU Performance

The GTX 960M GPU performs similarly to the one in the Asus G501, so the MSI system is not being artificially hindered in terms of graphics power. 3DMark benchmarks place the GPU roughly 20 percent ahead of the GTX 950M while the more powerful and demanding GTX 970M is ahead by 60 to 70 percent.

3DMark 11
3DMark 11
Ice Storm Unlimited
Ice Storm Unlimited
Ice Storm Extreme
Ice Storm Extreme
Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate
Fire Strike
Fire Strike
Fire Strike Extreme
Fire Strike Extreme
3DMark 11
1280x720 Performance (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
5774 Points
Gigabyte P55W v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV128 NVMe
8932 Points +55%
Asus G501VW-FY081T
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP
5533 Points -4%
MSI PE60 2QD
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
4624 Points -20%
Acer TravelMate P278-MG-76L2
GeForce 940M, 6500U, Lite-On CV1-8B256
2490 Points -57%
1280x720 Performance Combined (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
5477 Points
Gigabyte P55W v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV128 NVMe
6759 Points +23%
Asus G501VW-FY081T
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP
5390 Points -2%
MSI PE60 2QD
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
4507 Points -18%
Acer TravelMate P278-MG-76L2
GeForce 940M, 6500U, Lite-On CV1-8B256
1908 Points -65%
1280x720 Performance Physics (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
8502 Points
Gigabyte P55W v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV128 NVMe
6983 Points -18%
Asus G501VW-FY081T
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP
6170 Points -27%
MSI PE60 2QD
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
8375 Points -1%
Acer TravelMate P278-MG-76L2
GeForce 940M, 6500U, Lite-On CV1-8B256
4493 Points -47%
1280x720 Performance GPU (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
5463 Points
Gigabyte P55W v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV128 NVMe
9910 Points +81%
Asus G501VW-FY081T
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP
5440 Points 0%
MSI PE60 2QD
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
4258 Points -22%
Acer TravelMate P278-MG-76L2
GeForce 940M, 6500U, Lite-On CV1-8B256
2376 Points -57%
3DMark
1920x1080 Fire Strike Score (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
4088 Points
Gigabyte P55W v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV128 NVMe
6565 Points +61%
Asus G501VW-FY081T
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP
4028 Points -1%
MSI PE60 2QD
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
3410 Points -17%
Acer TravelMate P278-MG-76L2
GeForce 940M, 6500U, Lite-On CV1-8B256
1466 Points -64%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Combined (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
1679 Points
Gigabyte P55W v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV128 NVMe
2774 Points +65%
Asus G501VW-FY081T
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP
1667 Points -1%
MSI PE60 2QD
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
1447 Points -14%
Acer TravelMate P278-MG-76L2
GeForce 940M, 6500U, Lite-On CV1-8B256
498 Points -70%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
4417 Points
Gigabyte P55W v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV128 NVMe
7450 Points +69%
Asus G501VW-FY081T
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP
4348 Points -2%
MSI PE60 2QD
GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
3591 Points -19%
Acer TravelMate P278-MG-76L2
GeForce 940M, 6500U, Lite-On CV1-8B256
1665 Points -62%
Fire Strike Extreme Physics (sort by value)
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
9809 Points
Acer TravelMate P278-MG-76L2
GeForce 940M, 6500U, Lite-On CV1-8B256
4986 Points -49%
3DMark 11 Performance
5774 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score
85812 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
17782 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
4088 points
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score
2046 points
Help

Gaming Performance

Performance in games is where we expect a standard GTX 960M GPU to be, so there are no throttling issues or limits in place that may give users lower-than-expected results.

See our dedicated GPU page on the GeForce GTX 960M for more benchmarks and comparisons.

BioShock Infinite - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset, DX11 (DDOF)
Aorus X5S v5
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
87 fps +90%
Aorus X3 Plus v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
71.8 fps +57%
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
45.8 fps
MSI PX60 QD-034US
GeForce GTX 950M, 5700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
39.6 fps -14%
Lenovo ThinkPad T460p-20FXS05500
GeForce 940MX, 6700HQ, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN512HCHP
15.5 fps -66%
Metro: Last Light - 1920x1080 Very High (DX11) AF:16x
Aorus X5S v5
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
66.5 fps +110%
Aorus X3 Plus v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
53.6 fps +69%
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
31.7 fps
MSI PX60 QD-034US
GeForce GTX 950M, 5700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
25.8 fps -19%
Lenovo ThinkPad T460p-20FXS05500
GeForce 940MX, 6700HQ, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN512HCHP
12 fps -62%
Thief - 1920x1080 Very High Preset AA:FXAA & High SS AF:8x
Aorus X5S v5
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
62.1 fps +123%
Aorus X3 Plus v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
46.5 fps +67%
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
27.9 fps
MSI PX60 QD-034US
GeForce GTX 950M, 5700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
23 fps -18%
Lenovo ThinkPad T460p-20FXS05500
GeForce 940MX, 6700HQ, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN512HCHP
9.9 fps -65%
Metal Gear Solid V - 1920x1080 Extra High / On
Aorus X5S v5
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
60 fps +53%
Aorus X3 Plus v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
59.1 fps +51%
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
39.1 fps
MSI PX60 QD-034US
GeForce GTX 950M, 5700HQ, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
32.8 fps -16%
Fallout 4 - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T AF:16x
Aorus X5S v5
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
55.3 fps +122%
Aorus X3 Plus v5
GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
42.4 fps +70%
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
24.9 fps
Rise of the Tomb Raider - 1920x1080 Very High Preset AA:FX AF:16x
Aorus X5S v5
GeForce GTX 980M, 6700HQ, Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
47.1 fps +105%
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
23 fps
low med. high ultra
BioShock Infinite (2013) 130 117.4 45.8
Metro: Last Light (2013) 100.3 59.9 31.7
Thief (2014) 65.3 55.3 27.9
Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) 60 32
Metal Gear Solid V (2015) 60 58 39.1
Fallout 4 (2015) 57.5 31.6 24.9
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) 53.7 30.3 23

Stress Test

We stress the notebook with demanding benchmarks to observe for any stability or throttling issues. With only Prime95 active, the CPU maintains a core clock rate of 2.9 GHz or 200 MHz slower than its rated maximum Turbo Boost for all active cores. Core temperatures remain relatively cool (for a notebook) at around 76 C. FurMark stress will put the Nvidia GPU at a steady 1137 MHz and 69 C core temperature. Running both Prime95+FurMark simultaneously will throttle the CPU to 2.5 GHz with temperatures in the mid 70 C range.

Unigine Heaven stress is more representative of gaming loads. The system is able to maintain its maximum CPU Turbo Boost of 3.1 GHz or greater depending on the onscreen load with a steady GPU clock rate of 1202 MHz (compared to its base clock rate of 1097 MHz). Users will not need to worry about throttling issues when gaming or running everyday tasks.

Running on battery power will not limit CPU or GPU performance. a 3DMark 11 test on batteries returns Physics and Graphics scores of 8461 and 5310 points, respectively, compared to 8502 and 5463 points when connected to mains.

Prime95 stress
Prime95 stress
FurMark stress
FurMark stress
Prime95+FurMark stress
Prime95+FurMark stress
Unigine Heaven stress
Unigine Heaven stress

CPU Clock (GHz) GPU Clock (MHz) Average CPU Temperature (C) Average GPU Temperature (C)

Prime95 Stress

2.9 -- ~76 --

FurMark Stress

-- 1137 -- ~69

Prime95 + FurMark Stress

2.5 1137 ~77 ~74

Unigine Heaven Stress

3.1+ 1202 ~61 ~67

Emissions

System Noise

Fan noise (White: Background, Red: System idle, Blue: Unigine Heaven, Green: Prime95+FurMark)
Fan noise (White: Background, Red: System idle, Blue: Unigine Heaven, Green: Prime95+FurMark)

The cooling system consists of twin ~50 mm fans and four heat pipes spread across the CPU, GPU, and VRAM modules. Fan behavior remains unchanged from the PE60 2QE, so the fans are unfortunately always active at about 32.4 dB(A) when the system is idling. Prolonged use at low loads like browsing can bump fan noise to the 35 dB(A) range temporarily. This is compared to most competing 15-inch notebooks that are either silent under very low loads or have less sensitive fans.

Fan noise is not stable when gaming, either. Running Unigine Heaven will have the fans pulsate between 37 dB(A) and 40 dB(A) instead of just a steady speed. Nonetheless, this is slightly quieter than average as most 15-inch gaming notebooks operate at the 40 to 45 dB(A) range when under heavy loads. Running Prime95+FurMark will bump fan noise up to the 45 dB(A) range or even up to 49 dB(A) when the maximum fan speed option is enabled.

MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
MSI PE60-2QEi581
GeForce GTX 960M, 4210H, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
HP ZBook 15 G3
Quadro M2000M, E3-1505M v5, Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
Asus G501VW-FY081T
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP
Dell XPS 15 9550 i7 FHD
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung PM951 NVMe 512 GB
Noise
-2%
1%
0%
8%
off / environment *
29.3
30
-2%
31.2
-6%
Idle Minimum *
32.4
32.8
-1%
30
7%
32.1
1%
29.2
10%
Idle Average *
32.4
32.8
-1%
30
7%
32.1
1%
29.3
10%
Idle Maximum *
35.4
35.4
-0%
30
15%
32.1
9%
29.5
17%
Load Average *
40.5
42.3
-4%
45.3
-12%
43.3
-7%
36.5
10%
Load Maximum *
45.3
47.4
-5%
49.7
-10%
44.3
2%
47.7
-5%

* ... smaller is better

Noise Level

Idle
32.4 / 32.4 / 35.4 dB(A)
DVD
/ 38.9 dB(A)
Load
40.5 / 45.3 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   BK Precision 732A (15 cm distance)   environment noise: 29.3 dB(A)

Temperature

Surface Temperatures when idling are flat with the warmest spots around the touchpad. The bottom quadrant nearest the secondary HDD is also noticeably warmer than the rest of the notebook. These spots aren't uncomfortably warm, but it's a bit unusual for a notebook as most designs tend to keep the front areas cooler by moving motherboard components away from the area.

Maximum load with Prime95+FurMark stress will warm up the notebook significantly around the heat pipes and processor. The touchpad becomes even warmer at just over 40 C to make it uncomfortable (and sweaty) for palms and fingers. This is particularly something we'd like to see improved upon for future hardware revisions. Similarly equipped notebooks like the Asus G501 and XPS 15 experience much smaller temperature changes on their front halves compared to the MSI.

Maximum stress (Top)
Maximum stress (Top)
Maximum stress (Bottom)
Maximum stress (Bottom)
Max. Load
 35.8 °C
96 F
43.2 °C
110 F
35.8 °C
96 F
 
 35 °C
95 F
41.2 °C
106 F
34.4 °C
94 F
 
 31.6 °C
89 F
40.6 °C
105 F
29.6 °C
85 F
 
Maximum: 43.2 °C = 110 F
Average: 36.4 °C = 98 F
41 °C
106 F
46 °C
115 F
49 °C
120 F
29.6 °C
85 F
40.2 °C
104 F
34 °C
93 F
27.8 °C
82 F
28.4 °C
83 F
33.6 °C
92 F
Maximum: 49 °C = 120 F
Average: 36.6 °C = 98 F
Power Supply (max.)  50.8 °C = 123 F | Room Temperature 20 °C = 68 F | Fluke 62 Mini IR Thermometer
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 36.4 °C / 98 F, compared to the average of 31.2 °C / 88 F for the devices in the class Multimedia.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 43.2 °C / 110 F, compared to the average of 36.9 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21.1 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 49 °C / 120 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 25.5 °C / 78 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(-) The palmrests and touchpad can get very hot to the touch with a maximum of 40.6 °C / 105.1 F.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (-11.8 °C / -21.3 F).

Speakers

The four Dynaudio speakers and subwoofer offer very good sound quality considering the size. Maximum volume is loud with no static or significant imbalances. Microphone measurements still show a large fall at frequencies under ~120 Hz, so bass reproduction is not nearly as deep compared to dedicated home theaters and is rather typical of a large gaming notebook. Ideally, the Pink and White curves should be flatter across all tested frequencies. The dedicated gold-plated earphone and microphone jacks work without any issues.

Dual speakers for each front corner
Dual speakers for each front corner
Speaker quality (Red: System idle, Pink: Pink noise, Gray: White noise)
Speaker quality (Red: System idle, Pink: Pink noise, Gray: White noise)

Energy Management

Power Consumption

Compared to last year's model, the PE60 6QE is more energy efficient during low to medium loads. Otherwise, power draw between them are nearly identical when gaming or under stressful processing conditions. The system demands a bit more power than competing models with similar core hardware such as the Asus G501 and Lenovo Y700 15ISK.

The power adapter (15 x 7.5 x 2.5 cm) is rated for 120 W while our measurements under Prime95+FurMark stress show 122 W. MSI is leaving very little headroom in this regard.

MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Intel SSD 535 SSDSCKJW120H6
MSI PE60-2QEi581
GeForce GTX 960M, 4210H, HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
HP ZBook 15 G3
Quadro M2000M, E3-1505M v5, Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
Asus G501VW-FY081T
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP
Lenovo Y700-15 80NV004LPB
GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB
Dell XPS 15 2016 9550
GeForce GTX 960M, 6300HQ, WDC WD10SPCX-75KHST0 + LiteON CS1-SP32-11 M.2 2242 32GB
Power Consumption
-50%
15%
22%
4%
10%
Idle Minimum *
9.7
21.8
-125%
5.7
41%
6.9
29%
4.2
57%
9.9
-2%
Idle Average *
13.1
26.1
-99%
12.2
7%
10.7
18%
10.5
20%
12.6
4%
Idle Maximum *
23.2
26.6
-15%
12.6
46%
13.2
43%
28.5
-23%
16.8
28%
Load Average *
79.1
88.5
-12%
83.1
-5%
82
-4%
113
-43%
70
12%
Load Maximum *
122.9
119.7
3%
138.2
-12%
94
24%
114.2
7%
114
7%

* ... smaller is better

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.52 / 1.04 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 9.7 / 13.1 / 23.2 Watt
Load midlight 79.1 / 122.9 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.

Battery Life

Runtimes from the small non-removable 42 Wh battery are essentially the same as on last year's model despite the CPU differences. Users can expect just under 3 hours of constant WLAN use, which is below average compared to other 15-inch notebooks where 4 to 6 hour runtimes are more common under similar testing conditions.

Maximum runtime (Reader's Test)
Maximum runtime (Reader's Test)
Minimum runtime (Classic Test)
Minimum runtime (Classic Test)
WLAN runtime
WLAN runtime
MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS
42 Wh
MSI PE60-2QEi581
42 Wh
HP ZBook 15 G3
90 Wh
Asus G501VW-FY081T
60 Wh
Lenovo Ideapad Y700 15ISK 80NW
60 Wh
Dell XPS 15 9550 i7 FHD
84 Wh
Battery Runtime
5%
105%
52%
68%
148%
Reader / Idle
339
345
2%
822
142%
610
80%
617
82%
979
189%
WiFi v1.3
178
168
-6%
386
117%
330
85%
353
98%
544
206%
Load
71
85
20%
110
55%
64
-10%
88
24%
106
49%
Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
5h 39min
WiFi Websurfing
2h 58min
Load (maximum brightness)
1h 11min

Pros

+ excellent performance; no throttling under loads
+ almost no uneven backlight bleeding
+ comfortable keyboard and touchpad
+ quad speakers + subwoofer
+ relatively easy serviceability
+ complete sRGB coverage
+ USB 3.1 Type-C Gen. 2

Cons

- poorly calibrated display out-of-the-box
- display lid could be more rigid
- almost no business features
- system fans always active
- no NVMe SSD options
- dim display backlight
- average contrast
- short battery life

Verdict

In review: MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS. Test model provided by iBuyPower.
In review: MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS. Test model provided by iBuyPower.

At its core, the MSI PE60 Prestige is a GE62 with a new coat of paint and a different name targeted at business and multimedia users. This essentially makes the PE60 a gaming notebook in disguise which, for business users, isn't the best news. Other than the wide gamut of the display after a proper calibration, there's very little here that may attract users. The latest XPS 15 runs laps around the MSI with longer battery life, lighter and thinner design, brighter display, faster NVMe SSD, USB Type-C with Thunderbolt 3, and stronger chassis with the same CPU and GPU.

The PE60 Prestige is marketed towards professional use, but MSI will need to try harder to incorporate features that business users can appreciate instead of simply re-skinning an existing gaming series. It's best described as a "professional gaming notebook" where better options exist for dedicated business users or dedicated hardcore gamers in the same price range.

MSI PE60 6QE-056XUS - 12/09/2016 v6(old)
Allen Ngo

Chassis
82 / 98 → 83%
Keyboard
92%
Pointing Device
89%
Connectivity
63 / 81 → 78%
Weight
60 / 20-67 → 86%
Battery
69%
Display
76%
Games Performance
82 / 85 → 97%
Application Performance
87 / 92 → 95%
Temperature
89%
Noise
78 / 95 → 82%
Audio
75%
Camera
31 / 85 → 37%
Average
75%
84%
Multimedia - Weighted Average

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > MSI PE60 6QE Prestige iBuyPower Edition Notebook Review
Allen Ngo, 2016-05-10 (Update: 2020-06- 8)