Introduction

From the MSI website:

Dedicated to customer-driven innovation, MSI leverages its remarkable R&D strengths to craft top-notch, well-acclaimed motherboards, graphics cards, notebook PCs and All-in-One PCs. The Overclocking Series is designed for enthusiasts who pursue extreme performance and go after world records. Aimed at fulfilling the needs and expectations toward professional gaming, the MSI GAMING Series receives gamers' unanimous acclaim. Incorporating Military Class components, the Classic Series has an excellent reputation for quality and durability. All these distinctive products have made MSI a forerunner in the middle-range and high-end market. Also adding to the lineup are cloud servers, tailor-made IPCs, intelligent panoramic camera (Panocam), robotic appliances and human-centric vehicle electronics that further demonstrate MSI's strengths and endeavors in consumer, commercial and IOT(Internet of Things) markets.

MSI is without a doubt an emerging powerhouse in the world of electronics. Created way back in 1986, the company has managed to expand into nearly every sector of the market. Their attention to brand identity and marketing while doing so has paved the way as they have gone from being a top manufacturer to an easily recognizable brand, all backed by their Gaming series of graphics cards, motherboards, laptops, all-in-one systems, and, most recently, fully featured desktops. MSI has been on a roll and apparently won't be slowing down anytime soon.

Today, I will be looking at their MSI GL62 6QF-628 15.6" laptop. This mid-range model features an Intel Skylake Core i5-6300HQ quad-core for number crunching and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M for gaming. What is most surprising, however, is the use of a proper 1920 x 1080p screen, which, with the rest of what is on offer here, has this MSI laptop shaping up to be a good all-around unit. That said, let's not count the chickens before they hatch, or the dragons in MSI's case? At least not until we have taken a closer look.

Packaging and Contents

The box the MSI GL62 series laptop ships in is pretty standard-fare. It offers adequate protection and is covered in a great deal of information and marketing speak. The front comes with a tasteful rendering of the GL62 laptop and MSI's gaming logo; again, all standard fare. However, flip it over and the back lists a laundry list of features - don't get too excited since not all of these are included with the GL62 we have with us today. First and foremost is the PCI-E SSD, which, as you can see, is listed as optional. Should you open your wallet some more for a Gen.3 NVMe SSD, you would be in for quite the performance boost in terms of storage. For today's review, however, we have a unit with a bog-standard 1TB 5400 RPM HDD. Other features, like DDR4, are due to Intel's Skylake processor and HM170 chipset. Depending on the user, these other features might add some value. The Nahimic audio enhancer is an interesting addition, but is all software-based. Hi-Fi sound via Audio Boost is more marketing fluff than actual feature unless a proper high-end circuit is present. That SteelSeries keyboard may prove interesting, but does not appear to be that different from a traditional laptop keyboard. The inclusion of USB 3.0 Type C is nice, but more impressive is the inclusion of Cooler Boost. While I find the name gimmicky, a one-click button to improve cooling performance is definitely appreciated.


Opening the box, I am greeted by the laptop covered in clear plastic and a soft piece of cloth. Underneath it, users will find various user guides and the warranty leaflet, along with the charger and power cable. The bundle is pretty sparse, but that is to be expected given MSI's pricing on this version of the GL62.


With the seal broken and all included items removed, users will find that only what is absolutely necessary has been bundled with the MSI GL62 laptop. While we all like nice bundles, it's sometimes refreshing to just get what you need without a bunch of useless junk. If the laptop's bundled software is as bare bones as what we have here, I myself will be quite happy indeed. After all, it is not like one needs a kitchen sink bundled with a laptop.

• Laptop
• User guides
• Warranty info
• Support contact info
• Battery charger

A Closer Look

Taking a quick look at MSI's laptop, we are greeted by a sleek exterior that is far removed from the loud and in-your-face theme that is usually a part of MSI's Gaming moniker. On the right side are a super multi DVD drive, USB 2.0 port, SD card reader, and the power plug, while the left has a great number of connectivity options for RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet, 1x USB 3.0, 1x HDMI, 1x Mini-DisplayPort, and 1x USB 3.0/3.1 Type C, and the headphone and microphone jacks. There is also a Kensington lock.


The back features two exhaust ports that force hot air out through two cooling fans inside the chassis. Meanwhile, the bottom also features a great deal of venting. Sadly, easy access to components, like the battery, HDD, and RAM, is missing with this design. What is interesting are what look to be vents but are actually stereo speakers on the front. Definitely a different location than I have seen on most laptops, I look forward to figuring out how they sound.


Opening it up, we get a glimpse of the 102 key SteelSeries keyboard and touchpad. Simple and clean, there are a couple stickers and not much else. Taking a closer look at the keyboard, one will notice the three buttons near the top-right corner. One is obviously the power button, here on the far right. The other two are for MSI's "Cooler Boost" and "Dragon Gaming Center" features.