Laptop Test Methodology
Comparison Laptops |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| System Name | MSI GS30 2M-016UK |
|||||
| Form Factor | 13.9in |
17.3in |
13.3in |
15.6in |
17.3in |
15.6in |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-4860HQ @ up to 3.6GHz |
Intel Core i7-4870HQ @ up to 3.7GHz |
Intel Core i7-4870HQ @ up to 3.7GHz |
Intel Core i7-4700HQ @ up to 3.4GHz |
Intel Core i7-4710HQ @ up to 3.5GHz |
Intel Core i7-4710MQ @ up to 3.5GHz |
| CPU Cores / Threads | 4 / 8 |
4 / 8 |
4 / 8 |
4 / 8 |
4 / 8 |
4 / 8 |
| CPU TDP | 47W |
47W |
47W |
47W |
47W |
47W |
| Memory | 16GB DDR3 (2x8GB) |
16GB DDR3 (2x8GB) |
16GB DDR3 (2x8GB) |
8GB DDR3 (1x8GB) |
16GB DDR3 (2x8GB) |
8GB DDR3 (1x8GB) |
| Memory Speed | 1,600MHz at 11-11-11-28-1T |
1,866MHz at 10-10-10-32-1T |
1,600MHz at 11-11-11-28-1T |
1,600MHz at 11-11-11-28-1T |
1,600MHz at 11-11-11-28-1T |
1,600MHz at 9-9-9-27-1T |
| Integrated GPU | Intel Iris Pro 5200 |
- |
Intel Iris Pro 5200 |
Intel HD 4600 |
Intel HD 4600 |
Intel HD 4600 |
| Dedicated GPU(s) | Nvidia GeForce GTX 870M 6GB |
2x Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M 3GB |
- |
Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M 2GB |
Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M 8GB |
Nvidia GeForce GTX 870M 6GB |
| Display | 13.9in QHD+ LCD (3,200x1,800) |
17.3in AUO159D Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080) |
13.3in BOE05E3 Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080) |
15.6in SDC324C Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080) |
17.3in CMN1735 Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080) |
15.6in CMN15B1 Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080) |
| Battery | 73.26Wh Lithium Polymer |
73.26Wh Lithium Polymer |
47.36Wh Lithium Polymer |
52.89Wh Lithium Polymer |
83Wh Lithium Ion |
76.96Wh Lithium Ion |
| Wireless | Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 |
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 |
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 |
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 |
Killer Wireless-AC 1525 |
Intel Centrino Wireless-N 135 |
| Network | Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet |
Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet |
Qualcomm Atheros AR8161 Gigabit Ethernet |
Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet |
Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet |
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet |
| Primary Storage | 2 x 256GB LiteOn LGT-256M6G M.2 SSDs in RAID 0 |
2 x 256GB LiteOn LMT-256L9M M.2 SSDs in RAID 0 |
2 x 256GB Kingston SN8100S3 M.2 SSDs in RAID 0 |
128GB Toshiba THNSNH128G8NT M.2 SSD |
2 x 128GB Toshiba THNSNJ128G8NU M.2 SSDs in RAID 0 |
120GB Kingston HyperX 3K 2.5in SSD |
| Secondary Storage | - |
- |
- |
1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD |
1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD |
1TB Seagate Laptop 2.5in SSHD |
| Optical Drive | - |
- |
- |
- |
LG Blu-ray writer |
- |
| Power Supply | 180W External |
200W External |
65W External |
150W External |
230W External |
180W External |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit |
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit |
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit |
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit |
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit |
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 330mm x 264mm x 22.9mm |
428mm x 305mm x 22.9mm |
320mm x 227mm x 19.8mm |
390mm x 266mm x 19.95mm |
428mm x 305mm x 48mm |
376mm x 256mm x 35-43mm |
| Weight | 1.87kg |
1.3kg |
1.96kg |
3.78kg |
3.20kg |
|
| Standard Warranty | Two years |
Two years |
Two years |
Two years |
Two years |
Three years |
| Approx. System Cost | £1,630 |
£1,929 |
£2,199 |
£1,150 |
£1,999 |
£999 |
CPU Benchmarks |
||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HEXUS PiFast | Our number-crunching PiFast test is used to benchmark the computational power of each system's CPU. | |||||||||||
| Cinebench | Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses as many cores as possible. | |||||||||||
| HandBrake | Free-to-use video encoder that stresses all CPU cores. | |||||||||||
Memory and Storage Benchmarks |
||||||||||||
| AIDA64 | Benchmark that analyses memory bandwidth and latency. | |||||||||||
| CrystalDiskMark | Popular free-to-use storage benchmark, used to gauge sequential performance and aggregated 4K QD32 speeds. | |||||||||||
System and Gaming Benchmarks |
||||||||||||
| PCMark 8 | System-wide examination that uses the Home preset, run with OpenCL acceleration. | |||||||||||
| 3DMark | DX11, run at the Firestrike default test. | |||||||||||
| Aliens vs. Predator | 1,920x1,080 resolution, 2xAA, 4xAF, medium quality. | |||||||||||
| BioShock Infinite | 1,920x1,080 resolution, various quality settings. | |||||||||||
| Total War: Rome II | 1,920x1,080 resolution, various quality settings. | |||||||||||
Miscellaneous Benchmarks |
||||||||||||
| Power Consumption | Noted for system idling, under HandBrake video-transcoding load, and for GPU playing Aliens vs. Predator. | |||||||||||
| Temperature | Noted for CPU idling, under HandBrake video-transcoding load, and for GPU playing Aliens vs. Predator. | |||||||||||