MSI GF63 THIN 9SCX-005 Gaming laptop Review
With the increase in market and launch of new games every day, gaming laptops are in demand more than ever. Kids or adults, everyone is trying to break into the world of online gaming. All they need is a device that satisfies their gaming surge without making a hole in the pocket.
MSI GF63 THIN 9SCX-005 Gaming laptop ticks all the right boxes and proves to be a worthy choice by providing good value for money.
MSI GF63 is the most acceptable option for users that want to enjoy gaming but are not of the mindset to spend a fortune on the device.
Thin and sleek, i5 core 9th generation processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card, MSI GF63 is an “almost” complete package for entry to mid-level gamers. Being a laptop under $700, the device suffers from a lack of quality at some points, but you can’t just ignore the good performance.
Pros and Cons
Thin and sleek design
Fast performance
Low battery life
Dull screen
Design
| By the looks, the laptop wins the heart with its fierce design intended for gaming. The bottom is plastic, but the material used in the making of the top is aluminum. The combination of both gives the laptop a premium feel. The use of plastic or aluminum for a laptop has its own perks and drawbacks. Plastic may seem cheap, but it is suitable for heat issues and cuts the cost as much as the company wants to. Alternatively, aluminum has premium and solid looks, along with raising the price that makes the device an unaffordable option for low-end buyers. The device weighs 7.35 pounds with dimensions of 14.13 x 9.99 x 0.85 inches. Although its a thin and eye-catching device, it is heavy and certainly not portable. |  |
MSI has used both plastic and aluminum to give a different feel to the laptop other than saving cost. The matte black color with red lining enhances the gaming look with the blazing red dragon as the MSI logo imprinted on top. The vents for airflow are nicely embedded in the design, adding a classic touch to it.
PORTS
MSI GF63 comes with all sorts of ports to offer you the best connectivity options.
The left side has two ports, power input, and a USB 3.1 Type-A port next to it.
The right side comes with two USB 3.1 ports and a USB Type-C port.
There are separate ports for audio and mic targeting for an ultimate gaming experience. An ethernet port is also present for stable internet connectivity during gaming.
The backside has a lone HDMI port, to connect to an external monitor.
However, the device lacks a Kensington lock. The purpose of the Kensington port is to bind the laptop with the table through a wire. Well, you must never forget your laptop unattended! The lack of this port makes the laptop quite vulnerable.
Speakers and webcam
The two bottom-firing speakers are low in quality. For serious gamers, they are nothing but useless.
The sound makes a substantial difference in the gaming experience. The voice quality for a gaming laptop requires it to be of exceptional quality. Being bottom-firing, the game sound is not only congested but also distorted, ruining the game.
A similar experience goes with the webcam. Graining and low-quality picture is totally unsuitable for videoconferencing and online classes. This makes the MSI GF63 quite useless for the students who want to use it as an everyday device for online classes.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard of the laptop is almost a disappointment.
Why?
Because it is not backlit and the keys feel relatively cheap. If anything suffers most from the low cost, it’s the keyboard. With all that said, it is surprisingly comfortable to type on. The key spacing is fine, and casual gamers would really go fine with it. However, if you are a dedicated player, it is better to switch to a mechanical keyboard.
The touchpad on MSI GF63 is 4.1 x 2.6-inch, large and responsive. The right and left click buttons are embedded at the bottom. Both are snappy and not at all stiff. The touchpad has a smooth feeling and swiftly responds to pinch-to-zoom, and three-finger swipes to change programs.
Overall, it is a pleasant experience to use it.
Display
The MSI GF63 comes with a 15.6 Inches Full HD IPS display with a refresh rate of 60Hz. The bezel is something to look at in MSI GF63. They are thin, only 4.9mm, stuffing a 15.6-inch display into a 14-inch frame.
It is not a touch screen, which doesn’t come as a surprise considering it is a gaming laptop!
The screen is somewhat dull. You are unable to make out the details during the dark scenes as the display seriously lacks color depth. The brightness is only 246 nits (Nits being the unit of brightness and good displays start at 250). Being on the borderline, you’ll miss the gaming at night or dark rooms and would need proper lighting to play. Additionally, if you’re a fan of the horror genre, this laptop is not for you. You may miss out on many details due to the low color contrast.
The screen uses IPS technology which is good for gaming (coming second to TN panel) . IPS screens offer better viewing angles in comparison to both TN and VA panels and good response time, although they have a below-average static contrast ratio.
Storage
SSD
MSI GF63 comes with a relatively low memory of 256 GB Solid State drive. Good news is SSD is upgradable. With the available slots, you can easily add and increase your memory to potentially 8TB.
The addition of solid-state drive is one of the causes of fast speed and quick start-up of about ten seconds. SSD is made of magnetic chips and with no moving parts. As a result, the heating issue is much smaller than an HDD. No doubt the price of an SSD is relatively high, but when compared with its performance, it’s worthy of its price.
RAM
Once you buy MSI GF63, the best advice is to upgrade its RAM up to 64GB as the laptop comes with a small RAM of 8GB DDR4. MSI knew that the RAM is much smaller for intensive gaming. So, the device has two Sockets, and maximum memory of 64GB is easily achievable.
Performance
MSI GF63 comes with the 9th generation i5 9300H processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, a mid-level Graphics Card. It is perhaps the most successful combination in the gaming series.
The laptop gives an amazing performance for lower-end games like Overwatch. You can enjoy this game with consistent 90 fps with a full HD display on high settings.
For the graphics-intensive modern titles like Ghost Recon: Wildlands and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Black Ops 4, you might have to tone down your settings. These games prove to be a challenge for the machine. Considering the price of the laptop, it’s top-notch performance.
Other than gaming, MSI GF 63 proves useful for daily tasks. You can easily use it for everyday tasks like browsing the web, checking emails, etc. However, video streaming may disappoint you with its dull screen.
With intensive gaming, the laptop gets hot pretty quickly. It is a disappointment that MSI GF 63 comes with a single fan. As the temperature rises, the fan makes a loud sound, ruining the game sounds. You would expect a near-perfect cooling system as this machine is a gaming laptop. It’s better to use a cooling pad if you’re thinking of using this laptop as your gaming partner for a longer time.
Battery Life
The battery used in MSI GF63 is a three cell Li-Polymer 150W.
Here comes the claim that it would run for at least a day. Well, in reality, it doesn’t run that long. The battery life of the laptop is just average and gives you only 4 hours of intensive gaming. For light use, it may give you up to seven hours of run time in a single full charge.
It is a good practice to connect the laptop to an electric supply if you intend for a game night!
Wishlist
The laptop doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor, as found in most laptops in the price range.
Also, the lack of an SD card reader and an optical drive may make you think twice before buying it. The lack of both specs doesn’t really make a difference in today’s online world, but both would have added value to the machine.
Why should you buy it
Buy MSI GF63 if you are looking for an entry to a mid-level gaming laptop that can efficiently perform everyday tasks too.
Why you shouldn’t buy it
Don’t buy it if you are a serious gamer intending to play the latest titles in high settings.