The MSI GF75 has a 'Silent mode'. The problem? It's not actually silent

Merriam-Webster defines 'silent' as "free from sound or noise". When a laptop has a feature called 'Silent mode', you would expect it to be completely silent when running undemanding tasks like word processing or video playback.

Unfortunately, MSI hasn't gotten the memo.

The 17.3-inch MSI GF75 has audible fan noise no matter the power setting. When set to 'Silent mode' with the pre-installed Dragon Center software, for example, we're still able to record a fan noise of 33 dB(A) against a truly silent background of 28.4 dB(A). We even set Windows to Power Saver and enabled the integrated GPU on a cold bootup, but fan noise persists. It's not very noticeable in a typical office environment, but you will certainly notice it if you're in a conference room, library, classroom, or quiet bedroom.

The Razer Blade 15 and 17 series has its own "Silent mode" option as well, but its fans will actually stop spinning completely — a behavior that is worthy of the word "silent". MSI should either match this behavior or rename its "Silent mode" to "Quiet mode" instead to be more accurate.

To be fair, the Asus Zephyrus G14 also has a power setting called "Silent mode" that suffers from the same problem as on the MSI. We understand that it's not easy making a gaming laptop run silently, but there shouldn't be a setting explicitly called "Silent mode" if so.