MSI GE62VR Apache Pro Review: A bang for your budget

The MSI GE62VR Apache Pro is another laptop for people looking to buy a good gaming laptop. The first thing you need to know about this laptop is its cost. For an asking price of Rs 1,40,000, it does justify it's price, except for a few minor problems. Also, the price of $1,300 in Amazon America does fair well with its pricing in Nepal as well.

MSI GE62VR Apache Pro Specs

Display: 15.6 inch IPS Processor: i7 6700HQ Quadcore up to Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX 1060 (3GB) RAM: 16GB DDR4 (up to 32GB) SSD: 256GB Hard Drive: 1TB Optical Drive: Yes Battery: 51Whr (load 1h21m/idle 3h30m) Price: Rs 1,45,000 Also Read: Top Gaming Laptops Under NRs. 1,50,000 in Nepal

Build

The build is one of the main disadvantages of this laptop. There is very less screen and body flex, which is nice and the hinge is stiff as well. But the top of the laptop is a smudge magnet and the bottom suffers from a lot of flex and creeks which makes it feel non-premium. The laptop is also quite thick, which helps a lot with thermals although the laptop feels pretty lightweight at 2.4Kgs. We did face a problem with one of the fans on the laptop. It isn't anything serious and the vendor was more than happy to replace it under warranty. It's not really a deal breaker but according to the information we got, this is a very common problem in this particular series.

Display

The laptop has a full HD IPS panel with a maximum 60Hz refresh rate. The viewing angles, color accuracy, and brightness levels are all decent. With a score of 54.4 on Adobe RGB test and 84.4 on SRGB test, they are pretty overwhelming. 

It goes without saying that a gaming laptop isn't a device you want as a dedicated Adobe machine. But if you happen to be someone who wants the best of both worlds, maybe consider this as an option. The display is still better than a lot of other laptops at this price point anyway. Also Read: Dell Inspiron 7567 Review: Best Budget Gaming Laptop?

Performance

Performance is one of the strong points of this laptop. The Core i7-6700HQ is still a well capable chipset reaching speeds of up to 3.5Ghz. It's a Quad-Core processor with 4 cores and 8 threads so not much to complain here. It also has 16GB of single-channel 2133MHz DDR4 RAM, which is ok but a 2400MHz one would have been better. You also have the option to upgrade to 32GB but could hold off on that until you are sure you need it.

Gaming Performance

The GTX 1060 that this laptop feature is surely one of the best in this price category. Although this one holds just 3GB of GDDR5 VRAM, the performance is no joke. This is literally the perfect laptop for 1080p gaming. Triple-A titles will cross the 60fps sweet spot on high settings with ease. The laptop is VR capable as well.

Thermals

The laptop doesn’t run much hot either. But in case if it does there’s a dedicated key to turn the fans to their max capacity giving you the optimum cooling possible whenever required. Although it is pretty noisy and irritating if you keep it on all the time. We recommend a good pair of headphones for extensive gaming marathons.

While playing graphics intensive games, the laptop stayed comfortably warm. The left wrist rest does get hot on some occasion though, but all in all, the laptop stays comfortable to use. It is also quite thick which might have helped a lot with the thermals. 

Storage

Storage wise you get a 256GB SSD and a 1TB hard drive. The SSD scored 500Mbps read and 300mbps write speeds, which is pretty average. The good thing is they are easily swappable, so a faster or larger storage options are easily accessible. The 1TB hard drive is also decently fast at 7200RPM, which is also easily swappable. The OS runs pretty well and you can ddefinitelysee a slight advantage over a 5400RPM drive. Game loading times are immensely quick as compared to the hard disk, but that's a given. Although if you are coming from a hard disk-based system, you will be really happy with the experience.

Keyboard and Trackpad

The keyboard is RGB backlit, with three configure zones, giving you that gaming vibe. There is a wide variety of ways the keyboard's lighting can be customized, but after a while, you might just revert back and stick to one constant color. The keyboard itself is pretty nice, with good key travel and satisfyingly clicky buttons. The touchpad, on the other hand, was quite a disappointment. It is usable but, let's just say it's not that good. Although considering the nature of the laptop, one could care less about it.

Connectivity

The laptop is equipped with killer Wi-Fi onboard, with decent speeds and range, one can rely on it for online gaming. I would personally use the LAN for lower latency but wireless is also an option. The laptop also features some decent external speakers, but there is a little tear in the sound quality at high volumes, and pair them with the extensively loud fans and you will be better off with headphones.

Battery Life

The mediocre 51Whr battery on a system this big is a bummer. With the battery capable of about 2 and a half hours of normal usage and less than an hour of game time. A gaming oriented laptop was hardly going to last longer than this anyway. So, for 1,40,000 you get a sixth gen quad core i7 with 16GB of DDR4 RAM, a well-cooled GTX 1060 graphics, and a decent display. If you are looking for a portable gaming system then this will easily satisfy you. The price you will be shelling out for the laptop is well worth it and the performance this delivers is top notch. [socialpoll id="2481204"]