MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V evaluation: Punching you within the face with energy

Worth When Reviewed

$5,299

Greatest Costs Right now: MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V

$5299

The time period “next-gen” isn’t typically utilized to laptops however this yr it feels acceptable. New PC gaming laptops will deploy three massive upgrades: new processors from Intel and AMD, new RTX 40-series graphics {hardware} from Nvidia, and new PCIe Gen5 stable state drives. The MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V has all three and, collectively, they provide gaming laptops an actual kick within the pants.

For extra choices, try our roundup of the very best gaming laptops.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V: Specs and options

The Titan’s specs might be summed up with ease. It has the very best of every part. 

MSI crams within the newest Intel Core i9 processor, top-tier Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics, 64GB of RAM, and a 2TB PCIe Gen5 stable state drive. The one apparent weak spot is the webcam which, for some motive, stays caught at 720p (however at the very least contains an IR digital camera for biometric login)

• CPU: Intel Core i9-13980HX
• Reminiscence: 64GB DDR5
• Graphics/GPU: Nvidia RTX 4090
• Show: 3,840 x 2,160 144Hz IPS Mini-LED
• Storage: 2TB PCIe Gen5 M.2 stable state drive
• Webcam: 720p with IR
• Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode, 3x USB 3.2 Kind-A, 1x SDXC card reader, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x Mini-DisplayPort, 1x RJ-45 (Ethernet)
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
• Biometrics: None
• Battery capability: 99 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 15.6 x 13 x 0.9 inches
• Weight: 7.3 kilos
• MSRP: $5,299.99

In fact, there’s one different merchandise on this record value contemplating… the value. The Titan’s $5,299.99 MSRP will instantly take it out of rivalry for most individuals. Nonetheless, its sheer audacity holds a sure attraction—and there’s no denying the Titan can stomp any benchmark that dares to face in its method.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V: Design and construct high quality

IDG / Matthew Smith

It’s affordable to anticipate the costly MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V to ship a garish, overwrought design. Quite the opposite, MSI retains it easy. Maybe too easy. At a look, the Titan’s thick, matte black physique may very well be simply mistaken for any high-end gaming laptop computer produced within the final decade. A sequence of RGB lights dotting the rear followers provides some aptitude when utilized in a darkish room, at the very least.

Construct high quality is unremarkable. The decrease chassis feels stable, however the supplies cladding the laptop computer appear the identical as these discovered on these offered for hundreds much less. Selecting up the laptop computer from one aspect creates noticeable flex all through the machine. The identical is true of the show, which warps and wavers when it’s opened. Most gaming laptops have these points—however these hoping the Titan’s price ticket may purchase a touch of luxurious might be disillusioned. The options from Alienware and Razer really feel extra sturdy.

The Titan weighs in at 7.3 kilos. That’s heavy, however not shocking. Most 17-inch laptops land between six and eight kilos. The laptop computer’s weight is clear when stowed in a bag. And also you’ll want an enormous bag. At 15.6 inches large, and 13 inches deep, the Titan received’t slot in most backpacks and messenger baggage with a laptop computer compartment.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V: Keyboard and trackpad

IDG / Matthew Smith

The MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V has a Steelseries-branded mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX switches. It’s a wonderful typing expertise, with lengthy key journey and a crisp, taut bottoming motion that gives tactile suggestions. Keystrokes are audible, however not annoying, so the Titan (most likely) received’t drive everybody close by batty. 

Whether or not this issues in video games is debatable. Personally, I didn’t discover the Titan’s keyboard any extra responsive than most, however I’m not on the “path to professional.” My love of the keyboard—and, to be clear, it’s nice—is rooted in easy day-to-day use. It’s an awesome keyboard for writing or searching the net, but additionally superb for gaming.

The keyboard is backlit with RGB LED lighting that may be personalized per-key. Backlight customization is dealt with via the Steelseries GG app as a substitute of an app from MSI. It is a perk. The Steelseries GG app is reasonably good, with straightforward to know controls and a really big selection of customization choices. The app will also be used to customise keyboard features, which is useful if you wish to make your personal keyboard shortcuts for players or productiveness apps.

Whereas I like the keyboard, it does have one flaw. The numpad is simply too small. It gives solely half-sized keys crammed into the keyboard’s proper aspect. A laptop computer of this dimension may present a full-sized numpad, however MSI as a substitute makes use of the house for user-facing audio system. 

The touchpad is sweet, too. It’s giant, measuring 5 inches large by 3.25 inches deep, and gives a easy, responsive floor. Home windows’ multitouch gestures are straightforward to activate, principally because of the touchpad’s giant floor. Bodily, clicky left and right-mouse buttons can be found and work nicely. The touchpad additionally accepts mouse enter by tapping its floor.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V: Show, audio

IDG / Matthew Smith

The MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V’s has a 4K IPS Mini-LED show with a 144Hz refresh fee. Apple’s MacBook Professional 14 and Professional 16 get the credit score for bringing Mini-LED to laptops in 2021, MSI really launched the primary Mini-LED laptop computer show again in 2020. MSI has expertise with the know-how, and it exhibits.

Brightness is extraordinarily excessive even in SDR content material, reaching a most of 585 nits. That’s the very best brightness I’ve on file for any laptop computer in SDR. The show additionally delivers an exquisite distinction ratio of 19440:1. That’s inferior to OLED (which normally reaches an successfully infinite distinction ratio when examined with my SpyderX colorimeter), however it’s an enormous step up from a typical IPS show. The MSI Sword, for instance, gives a distinction ratio of 1220:1.

Shade gamut can be glorious, overlaying 100% of sRGB and 97 p.c of DCI-P3. OLED laptops will typically carry out higher. The Acer Predator Triton, for instance, covers 100% of each coloration gamuts. The Titan’s efficiency continues to be glorious, although, and delivers a vibrant, punchy picture. 

HDR is supported, and turning it on ups the ante. I measured a most sustained full display brightness of 947 nits. I used to be pleasantly shocked to see the laptop computer has few issues dealing with SDR content material when HDR is turned on in Home windows 11. Colours stay pretty correct and content material nonetheless seems to have the right luminance. HDR does shift the colour temperature noticeably, nevertheless, and seems reasonably heat and reddish.

Whether or not the Titan’s Mini-LED show defeats OLED relies on your priorities. It’s significantly better in HDR content material, resulting from its added brightness. The show additionally has a non-gloss coat which, paired with the show’s excessive brightness, makes the laptop computer straightforward to make use of in rooms the place glare might be a difficulty. OLED shows technically ship higher coloration efficiency, nevertheless, and can nonetheless seem darker and richer when displaying darkish content material, particularly when considered in a darkish room. 

Movement readability is great because of the IPS panel’s low response occasions and 144Hz refresh charges. Take a look at photos of League of Legends and DOTA 2 confirmed character silhouettes and heath bars have been straightforward to see whereas scrolling. Character names have been exhausting to make out, although, which is typical for even the very best 144Hz shows. Quick digital camera pans in 3D video games will present loads of element, with solely small parts obscured. 

Audio is delivered by a pair of 2-watt audio system and a pair of 2-watt woofers. These supply good sound high quality with a transparent mid-range, loads of separation between excessive and lows, and a few oomph to bass. I didn’t discover any rattle, distortion, or different undesirable points when listening to bass-heavy tracks. Most quantity is a bit low, which can disappoint if you need the Titan to double as a increase field, however it’s an fulfilling audio expertise general.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

The MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V, regardless of its excessive worth, makes do with an old-school 720p webcam. It’s not nice. The picture seems softy and grainy and coloration replica isn’t correct, with a notable shift in the direction of inexperienced in my testing. Streamers on the lookout for an all-in-one streaming laptop computer received’t discover it right here. The microphone can be mundane: it sounds clear and gives good quantity, however audio appears tinny and distant. 

Although the first webcam falls brief, MSI does supply an IR digital camera that allows Microsoft Home windows Whats up facial recognition login. It labored nicely in my testing, because it does on each laptop computer that helps this characteristic. It’s an awesome various to logging in with a password or PIN.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V: Connectivity

IDG / Matthew Smith

A wholesome collection of ports line the MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V’s flanks, however the laptop computer doesn’t go above and past.

MSI contains two Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C ports. Each help DisplayPort Alternate Mode, to allow them to be used to output video. One of many two ports additionally gives as much as 100 watts of USB-C energy supply. That’s not sufficient to deal with the laptop computer underneath load, however does present a backup choice in case you neglect the huge 330-watt energy brick (or don’t really feel like packing it). Extra video connectivity is offered by HDMI 2.1 and Mini-DisplayPort.

The laptop computer has three USB-A 3.2 ports, an SDXC card reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack. That is enough however not particular. The Titan’s worth units excessive expectations, so I’d have preferred to see a number of audio jacks and one other USB-A port. 

MSI does improve the RJ-45 port, to its credit score, offering 2.5Gbps Ethernet speeds. Wi-fi connectivity can be top-notch with help for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. Wi-Fi efficiency was glorious in my testing with a Wi-Fi 6 router, hitting most speeds of simply over 900 Mbps even when two rooms away from my router. That is roughly the utmost pace I can entry via my house’s Gigabit Web connection.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V: Efficiency

The MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V has all the most recent {hardware}. The processor is Intel’s Core i9-13980HX with 24 cores (eight efficiency cores and 16 environment friendly cores) and a most turbo frequency of 5.6GHz. That’s joined by Nvidia’s new RTX 4090 cellular graphics. 64GB of DDR5 reminiscence and a 2TB PCIe Gen5 stable state drive spherical out this powerhouse.

So, how does it deal with benchmarks? Let’s get into it.

IDG / Matthew Smith

MSI comes out swinging with a rating of 8890 in PCMark 10, the very best PC World as recorded from a laptop computer. This isn’t surprising. It’s regular for a brand new era of {hardware} to ship improved efficiency. Nonetheless, it’s clear the Titan lives as much as its title, because it delivers robust ends in all of PCMark 10’s subcategories. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

Cinebench R15 delivers an much more spectacular end result, because the Titan races to a rating of 4,971. Nothing else we’ve lately examined comes shut. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

Handbrake is the odd duck right here, delivering a great however not spectacular results of 904. I’m left a bit puzzled by this, however did be aware that Handbrake didn’t seem to totally saturate the processor’s 24 cores. The Core i9-13980HX, although spectacular, does rely closely on core rely to thump its rivals, so any scenario that doesn’t tax all cores will eat into its margins.

Processor benchmarks are solely half the story, in fact, and arguably the lesser half. The MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V additionally delivers Nvidia’s RTX 4090 graphics with 16GB of GDDR6 reminiscence and a most graphics energy of 175 watts.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Anybody curious if the brand new era of RTX 4090 cellular {hardware} would ship an uplift much like its desktop peer (which, for the file, is considerably extra highly effective than the cellular RTX 4090) ought to now have their doubts squashed. The Titan’s rating of 19531 flat slaps, leaving even the RTX 3080 Ti begging for mercy. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a bit much less embarrassing for the RTX 30-series laptops, however nonetheless exhibits an enormous lead for the RTX 4090. It delivers roughly 35 further frames-per-second, on common, at 1080p with element settings at Highest. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

Firing up Metro Exodus offers the Titan one other probability to eat final yr’s cream-of-the-crop for lunch. A median rating of 88 frames-per-second at 1080p and Excessive element is frankly unprecedented. Nvidia’s RTX 4090 cellular redefines high-end laptop computer efficiency on this title. 

To present the Titan a extra worthy problem, I popped into Cyberpunk 2077 and ran the sport at 4K decision with Extremely element settings and ray-tracing on, with ray-traced lighting set to Extremely. DLSS was turned off. The Titan averaged 41 frames-per-second, which is great. These settings are likely to dip even the stoutest laptops underneath 30 FPS. Turning on DLSS 3 roughly doubles this efficiency to 88 frames-per-second.

Actually, I discover it virtually exhausting to consider {that a} laptop computer can obtain this degree of efficiency. Cyberpunk 2077 was thought-about an actual system-thrasher upon its launch in 2020 and, with ray-tracing turned on, it stays among the many most technically demanding video games accessible. But the Titan cruises via it, offering an fulfilling expertise even at 4K and really excessive element settings. That is excellent news for the laptop computer’s potential sooner or later. Ray tracing continues to be a considerably area of interest characteristic, however lastly beginning to go mainstream thanks partially to video games like Cyberpunk 2077.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V: Battery life

The MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V is a power-hungry laptop computer that ships with an enormous 330-watt energy brick that’s troublesome to pack and impractical to bust out at a espresso store. Fortuitously, the Titan additionally has a 99 watt-hour battery that holds up nicely on the highway.

IDG / Matthew Smith

I recorded 5 hours and 56 minutes of endurance from the Titan in our commonplace battery life check, which loops a 4K clip of the brief movie Tears of Metal. That’s a great end result for a big, power-hungry gaming laptop computer.

Be warned. As a result of it’s so highly effective, the Titan can drain the battery far more rapidly. 3D gaming and intense workloads, like encoding video, can drain the battery in two hours or much less. Nonetheless, the Titan can deal with a couple of bit greater than a half-day of labor in case you follow much less demanding purposes. 

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V: Conclusion

First, my sensible recommendation: Don’t purchase the MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V. It’s massive, heavy, loud, and terribly costly. You’ll want an enormous backpack to haul it and it barely matches on some espresso store desks, by no means thoughts an airplane’s seat-back tray. It’s an impractical showpiece for folks with more cash than sense.

However you continue to need it, don’t you? So do I. The Titan efficiently units a brand new definition of high-end laptop computer efficiency that rivals many desktop computer systems and renders last-generation {hardware} irrelevant. That alone could be noteworthy, however MSI goes the additional mile with a class-leading Mini-LED show that delivers eye-searing brightness and excellent distinction. 

No, the Titan isn’t a sensible alternative—however if you need the final word in efficiency, and have the money, don’t hesitate. That is the hard-charging, benchmark-obliterating laptop computer you crave.