MSI is a name to reckon with when it comes to gaming laptops. Over the years, the brand has strengthened its portfolio with a wide range of devices, including the Titan series. Aimed at those who don’t want to compromise, the Titan series is known for offering top-of-the-line specs and features. With the MSI Titan GT77, the company wants to take gaming laptops into a different segment. This monolith of a laptop isn’t exactly like a regular system that can easily be carried around. Such devices are called desktop replacements. These devices offer performance like a full desktop setup while offering some portability. The MSI Titan GT77 is one of the most expensive laptops currently available on the market. The laptop maker has already refreshed the Titan range with new models that feature the latest 13th Gen Intel Core i9 CPU and Nvidia RTX 4080 series GPU. The model we’re currently reviewing was launched in 2022 by the Taiwan-based company. It is powered by a 12th Gen Intel Core i9 processor coupled with a 16GB Nvidia RTX 3080 graphics unit. The company didn’t say if the latest models will be available in the country. The 2022 model is listed on Flipkart’s e-commerce site for Rs 4,99,999. The company claims it’s a gaming monster, and we’ve been using this model for the past few weeks. Here’s what we think of MSI’s claims:
design
MSI Titan GT77 has an all-black design and a metallic lid with an extended back. The display lid is quite robust and can be opened easily. The lid’s hinge can bend almost up to 135 degrees, which allows for easy viewing. The extended portion behind the screen is covered in RGB lighting and the substantial bottom panel that supports all of the laptop’s internal hardware and keyboard is made of polycarbonate. The MSI logo (which also supports RGB lighting) is on the lid and the company’s branding is on the bottom of the display, which is also the thickest part of the frame. The remaining three bezels are narrower and the same size. The top bezel houses a webcam that delivers video recording at 30 fps at 720p. The front camera is also equipped with IR for Windows Hello support, which also worked well
The CherryMX SteelSeries mechanical keyboard seems to offer standard performance for both typing and gaming. The entire keyboard supports RGB lighting, which can be customized according to user preference. The user can also personalize the lighting of the rear ventilation slots and the lid logo as desired. Typing noise on the keyboard was very deep, but the keys felt smooth and offered fair key travel. The power button on the laptop is also very sensitive and is housed in a full-size keyboard that also includes a separate number pad.
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The positioning of the power button can be an issue for gamers who don’t prefer controllers. The trackpad covers a wide area and is quite responsive in most places. The dual audio setup is on either side of the keyboard. Meanwhile, the fingerprint sensor is located to the right of the trackpad, which also worked efficiently and offered quick access. As mentioned above, this laptop is not easy to carry as it weighs more than 3kg.
There are ventilation slots on both sides of the laptop body. Apart from that, the left side of the case features a DC charging port, two Type-A USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, an SD card reader, an audio jack, and a battery indicator. Meanwhile, on the right side, the laptop has another USB Type-A port, two Thunderbolt ports, a display port, an HDMI port, and an Rj45 port for LAN connectivity.
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The 17.3-inch IPS panel is very smooth and produces punchy colors that make gaming sessions even smoother. MSI Titan GT77 offers 120 fps at 4K and runs graphics-intensive games with ease. We tested some graphics-intensive action RPGs like Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, CyberPunk 2077, Spider-Man Remastered, some shooters like Valorant and Apex Legends, and some racing games like Need For Speed Unbound and Forza Horizon. All ran effortlessly.
It can offer refresh rates of up to 360Hz when the resolution is dropped to Full HD (1080p) resolution, which can be a plus for esports. The 8-bit panel offers a standard dynamic range for the display. The sharpness on the default setting seemed a little off, but it can be soothing on the eyes, even when the brightness is maxed out at 350 nits. This display did not have touch functionality as there is no stylus or touch input available for this display. MSI also has dedicated software called True Color that fine-tunes the display.
Performance
If there’s the most appealing aspect of this laptop, it’s the performance it delivers. The MSI Titan GT77 not only exaggerates in a good sense in graphics-intensive situations like gaming, but is also capable of handling professional work like editing. Gaming sessions on these laptops were free from lag or stuttering of any kind. In addition, the laptop felt very fast and responsive. The combination of the most powerful GPU and CPU of 2022 and MSI’s Overboost technology makes every game run like a hot knife in butter. This laptop already comes with 64GB of RAM and more slots where users can add more RAM up to 128GB. On the storage front, it comes with 4TB of SSD storage.
Intel’s 12th generation (Alder Lake) processors contain both efficient and powerful cores. The US-based chipmaker claims that efficient cores can deliver 40% better single-threaded performance. Meanwhile, the performance cores promise an increase of around 19% compared to those available on the 11th Gen CPUs. The hybrid architecture used in the 12th Gen Intel i9 processor takes gaming to another level. None of the AAA titles we tried on the laptop experienced any frame dropouts or lag, even when the graphics and graphics of those games were maxed out.
MSI also paid special attention to heat management. This laptop is equipped with seven heat pipes and four fans that help the laptop manage thermals efficiently. Fan noise can get very loud under heavy loads, which is what the power-hungry CPU and GPU demand. However, the notebook remains comparatively quiet when idling.
This laptop runs Windows 11 out of the box, which was also very smooth and didn’t introduce much bloatware. Apart from that, users can also modify and manage various aspects of the laptop through the MSI Center app. The laptop arrived with Nahimic audio tuning and the dual speaker setup produced decent clarity and bass. Both the login options for Windows Hello biometric security – fingerprint scanner and IR-enabled webcam – worked flawlessly.
battery
The laptop comes with a huge 330W adapter that increases the weight of the whole system to 4.9 kg. This adapter is used to charge the 99.9 Wh Mammoth battery. Like any other gaming laptop, this one does not offer good battery life. Also, given the performance-hungry CPU and GPU, don’t expect much battery life. During gaming sessions, the battery could not last more than two hours, but with light and regular use, the laptop was able to achieve a battery life of over 4 hours. The Titan GT77 also has some features that take care of battery efficiency.
Verdict
MSI Titan GT77 is one of the most expensive gaming laptops available in India today. The model we use is the top of the range and users can save money by opting for models that come with less RAM and storage. However, the performance this laptop offers is very difficult to beat. If your focus is solely on gaming or other performance-oriented work and price isn’t an issue, this is currently the best available option the company has to offer.
Advantages:
liquid indicator
Great job
mechanical keyboard
Efficient cooling
Disadvantages:
