MSI - GF65 15.6" 144hz Gaming Laptop - Intel Core i5 - NVIDIA GeForce RTX3060 - 512GB SSD - 8GB Memory - Black

- Price: Black Friday Sale $849.99 (The cheapest among RTX 3060 models) - Etc.: X-box Gaming Pass 1 month included - Review after 2 weeks of usage Good - Reasonable price for RTX 3060; Practically, runs most games - Fair Backlights/Keyboard - Fair processor - Weight Bad - Battery goes out really quick - Tenkeyless - Brightness (250 nits) - Loud fan noise (when gaming) Total: 4.5/5

Rtx 3060 keeps fps high, my fps were higher on external screen. Quiet compared to higher end laptops under heavy load. Relatively easy to upgrade ram and ssd. Add 150 bucks to make it 16gb ram, +512gb ssd Has all kinds of ports Gets warm on the top of keyboard under load. The bottleneck is core i5, which is noticeable when running apps on CPU. The plastic attracts fingerprints. The screen max brightness is kinda low. I had to return this after two weeks because I went with msi delta 15 best buy black Friday deal, which was 400$ more just because it had and Ryzen 7 5800h which was more suitable for my needs.

Let’s start by saying it’s the only computer brand with a 3060 under $1200, but on sale it’s a real bargain. The memory is so-so and for the price I get it (8gb), Storage is not bad for starters, I like the feel of the big keyboard due the the fact that there is no num pad…meh. The screen has a good refresh rate, but the color accuracy is off a decent amount. The mouse pad is ok, but I use a gaming mouse so it doesn’t affect me. The fans can get loud, but they keep the GPU running cool. Overall great laptop for the price.

Seriously, get it on sale while you can, I've been nothing but impressed since getting mine. In my own benchmarks I would rate the CPU as the same performance level of a desktop Ryzen 5 2600, or a desktop I7-7700K(except with 2 extra cores, and 4 extra threads). The GPU in my own testing is very close to the performance level of a Desktop RTX 2060..... don't let the 75W rating fool you, this thing is still a little beast. You will of course want to add another 8GB stick of RAM and a bit more storage down the line, but even with that, the price for what you get is still amazing. There are a couple tweeks you might want to consider, the first and most important would be a CPU undervolt of around -100 millivolts, this can be done in BIOS when you enable the "expert mode" in BIOS settings by holding (right control+right shift+left alt+F2)..... the undervolt will improve CPU performance and cooling. Next thing you might want to consider is creating a custom fan curve in Dragon Center, the stock fan curve isn't horrible, but if you don't mind trading a little silence, you can definitely get some better cooling with your own curve. One other thing. If you don't want this thing forcibly updating you to Windows 11(it will try believe me), make sure to disable the TPM module in the BIOS security tab. Other than that, game on! this thing is surprisingly capable!

After months of investigation, I chose this laptop over some of its competitors due to the better GPU and lighter weight. The RTX3060 GPU, while throttled somewhat vs desktop versions, is still powerful enough to run most games. Additionally, the laptop has an integrated Intel Graphics chipset, which is used for most everyday tasks like web browsing and video playback. This enables the battery to last longer and generates less heat, allowing the fans to run quieter. The core i5, is competitive verses the i7, while being almost $200 cheaper. I highly recommend upgrading the RAM to at least 16 GB. The first thing I did was replace the 8 GB RAM with 32 GB and enable XMP in the BIOS. This let the RAM run at 2933 MHz, instead of the 2133 MHz that it was running out of the box.

PROS: 1. It has 2 ram dimms (I upgrade to 32gb ram) 2. It has 2 nvme dimms (I added +1TB nvme) 3. Its warm with a cooler base and it's hot without it (at full blast playing the witcher III like 3 hours) 4. It is fast even without upgrades 5. Noise is not high with a cooler base and it is high without CONS: 1. RTX3060 is the 60watt version, max 75watt (the lowest) 2. Plastic feel, not cheap but plastic at the end 3. You have to get into the BIOS to improve rams speed clocks 4. Have only 2 usb ports + 2 usb-c OVERALL: Well you will not find a cheaper laptop with this hardware, I buyed this baby for 940usd (tax included, 829usd listed) and let me tell you that for that price, it was a steal, this beauty runs gooood with the RTX3060 and i5. I upgraded ram to 32gb and added 1TB stick to improve significally this laptop, after the upgrades I feel laptop speed increased like 30% in games. Consider to do this for GREAT IMPROVE, even another 8gb stick would be great, since it take advantage of the dual channel stuff. I always buyed 17.3in laptop, but the price range of laptops with that screen size with very similar hardware goes from $1400-$1600 so it is almost DOUBLE!.... I am considering buying a gaming monitor and a stand base to put the laptop (using it like a CPU?, lol) with the money I saved but not sure since I will feel that it lost all the sense of buying a laptop, but when I think I have an extra $500 bucks in my pocket just for the screen, so it's ok.

Fast, requires some tweaking to reach acceptable thermal levels. (I prefer to keep my machines under 80* C under load) Buyers - be aware that this laptop has no displayport out via USB-C. The USB-C ports are literally only for data. No charging, or display outputs. The HDMI port is limited to 4k 30hz. As long as you're ok with these limitations, this is a great machine! I just wish there was more clarity about the display outputs. (You can literally only connect one external monitor unless you get a displaylink usb to hdmi adapter)

This laptop is very good for AAA games and it will play more demanding games at lower resolutions out of the box with 8gb of ram.I bought and installed 32 GB of ram plus a 1 TB hard drive for additional storage and the benchmarks more than doubled.I play Microsoft Flight Simulator with high settings and I can get approximately 50-60 fps and more depending on the background scenery and the screen is bright and clear.I am happy with my purchase but serious gamers should look to get at least 16 GB and 1 TB storage since the 512 GB SSD fills up quickly.