MSI GS66 Stealth with RTX 3080 | Review
Inside a chassis with clean and minimal lines, MSI has inserted the latest generation hardware: Intel Core i9-11900H processor, 8 core / 16 thread based on Tiger Lake architecture and capable up to 4.8GHz in boost, 95W RTX 3080 16GB GDDR6, 1TB M.2 Micron 3400 SSD with PCIe 4.0 interface, 32GB of 3200MHz RAM in SO-DIMM format, Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity and Quad HD screen 15.6 "capable of reaching a frequency of 240Hz.
This specific configuration is identified by the initials 11UH-065IT and is available at a price of approximately € 3700, but there are also other lower-end models, with Intel Core i7-11800H CPU and Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics card; to consult all the available options and buy the one that suits you best, we refer you to the official page of the MSI site, where you will find directly the links to the different shops that have the product available.
Design
We immediately liked the design of the MSI GS66 Stealth a lot: total black look, clean and essential lines, squared corners, matte finish that has the company logo as the only shiny element, placed on the lid.Lifting the cover we find the same lines of the exterior of the chassis. At the top there is a large ventilation grid, positioned just below the screen. At the center of the laptop we find the keyboard, with fairly large keys due to the absence of the numeric keypad, while in the lower part there is a decidedly large touchpad and, on the sides, two small slits from which the audio reproduced by the speakers comes out. >
The MSI GS66 Stealth measures 358 x 248 x 19.8 mm and weighs 2.1kg: it is one of the lightest notebooks in its category, competing products usually stand at around 2.3kg. Dimensions and weight are then the same for all configurations of GS66 Stealth.
As for the port equipment, we find on the right a 3.5mm jack, a USB 3.2 Gen2 type C with output support DisplayPort, two USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A and one Gigabit LAN connector. On the left side there is an additional USB 3.2 Gen2 type A, an HDMI 2.0 output, a USB type C Thundertbolt 4 with charging support and the power connector, to which the 230W power supply can be connected.
Display and audio
The MSI GS66 Stealth is equipped with an IPS-Level panel with Quad HD resolution and a refresh rate of 240Hz, a combination that allows you to make the most of the RTX 3080 both with triple A games than with eSports titles reaching high framerates. The colors are reproduced well and faithfully and precisely, also thanks to the MSI True Color software you can select the profile that best suits your needs. The peak brightness, on the other hand, is not particularly high and is around 300 nits.The audio is reproduced by Dynaudio Duo speakers that offer good performance, considering the size. The volume is high and the quality is more than enough if you want to play or stream content without having to wear headphones.
Colorimeter test
We ran on the MSI GS66 Stealth some tests with the colorimeter, using Calman's “Computer monitor Check” workflow, software developed by Portrait Displays. The workflow was done by setting the brightness to around 220 nits.
Calman's test highlights all the good qualities of the IPS-Level panel used by MSI. The gamma curve is not the best, but everything else stands out in a positive way: the coverage of the sRGB space is 99.8% and that of the DCI-P3 space touches 97.9%, while the deltaE is very small and stands at 1.79, below the canonical "2" usually used as a reference.
sRGB Coverage DCI-P3 Coverage
Performance
We ran benchmarks over a few days to evaluate the performance of the 'matched Core i9-11900H - RTX 3080. The tests were performed in both Quad HD and Full HD, selecting the Ultra preset in all games tested. Overall, the MSI GS66 Stealth offers good performance in the game: in Quad HD the "worst" game is Watch Dogs Legion which stops at an average 50 FPS, still being playable without too many problems, while at Full HD resolution all the titles tested they run well above 60 FPS. With the eSports titles, represented here by Apex Legends, it is possible to take advantage of the 240Hz refresh rate well, especially considering that they are games in which you tend to keep the graphics quality to a minimum: by setting it in this way, the Respawn title reaches 215 FPS. medium.Keyboard and touchpad
As anticipated, the keyboard has no numeric keypad and offers large and well-spaced keys. It is created in collaboration with SteelSeries and well-made, once you get used to the different stroke and actuation force required to press the keys, you can use it without particular difficulties both in games and in writing texts. The tactile feedback is silent, but a little too "soft" for our tastes.Of course, there is also RGB LED lighting, which can be customized using the SteelSeries Engine integrated into the pre-installed SteelSeries GG software. The program allows you to select a preset color screen or create a custom one, and you can also synchronize the lighting with some games through the GameSense feature. It is also possible to record Macros and more than one can be assigned to each key.
The touchpad is 14cm wide and is one of the largest ever seen on a laptop in this category. It is very comfortable to use, both for classic navigation and for the use of Windows 10 and 11 gestures, also despite the size, it never happens to accidentally move the mouse arrow when you touch the touchpad with the palm of your hand, while typing on the keyboard.
Autonomy
The MSI GS66 Stealth integrates a 99.9Whr battery, the maximum allowed in a laptop to be kept in an aircraft cabin . Autonomy is good and above the category average: in the PCMark 10 Modern Office test it stops just under 6 hours, obtaining one of the best results among laptops in this category.Conclusions
The MSI GS66 Stealth is a product that definitely has a lot to offer to all those looking for a powerful laptop, but one that is capable of going unnoticed and not catching the eye for its aggressive and flashy lines. The sleek design makes it suitable for any environment, the Core i9 and RTX 3080 offer all the power you need to play games, create content and use multiple software at the same time.Quad HD resolution is great on a 15 screen , 6 ”and the refresh rate of 240Hz allows you to play extremely smoothly any game, including competitive titles. The color rendering is also excellent, too bad only for the maximum brightness, slightly reduced and which makes it difficult to use the PC in too bright environments or in direct sunlight.
Overall, the MSI GS66 Stealth it really is a great product, which will surely give you satisfaction if you are looking for a laptop powerful enough to handle any workload. The price of 3700 € certainly is not for everyone, but it is not different from that of competing products with similar characteristics.
