A Closer Look

The top of the unit features a couple of red stripes hearkening to the MSI Gaming brand. Same thing with the MSI dragon badge that is prominently displayed as well. Moving to the bottom, you will see a large number of vents for air intake, as well as a few rubber and plastic feet.


The front has a couple of LED indicators front and center that are barely noticeable; you won't find anything else of interest here. On the left side is where we start seeing some connectivity options—HDMI offering 4K@60Hz, miniDP 1.2, Ethernet, USB 3.0 Type A, and USB 3.1 Type C. Headphone and microphone jacks are also located here, as well as the Kensington security slot.


Moving to the rear of the GE63VR Raider, you will notice two fairly large exhaust ports and not much else aside from a continuation of the red and black design theme. Finally, the right side has an SD card reader, two USB 3.0 ports, and the power port.


The keyboard is similar to others offered in MSI's gaming laptop series. It's typical Steelseries with per-key RGB functionality. When it comes to the trackpad, it is slightly off center. An HD 720p web cam has been put into the middle of the display's top bezel. The power button is on the right side. I find its design a bit awkward, but it works fine. Meanwhile, the two other buttons each serve a useful function. One allows for instant max fan RPM for the best possible cooling performance, and the other handles the RGB keyboard changing between various presets.