General Analysis

For a 17" laptop, the GS73 Stealth Pro 009 is quirky and interesting, but not the best option. I feel MSI's own GE72VR is the better overall product; however, that doesn't mean the GS73 isn't worth considering. The design is similar in that it's sleek with a bit of flair via its lit up logo that proves attention grabbing without being gaudy. While MSI's Gaming series products generally tend to be over the top, this laptop is quite tame externally. Open the lid, however, and its RGB keyboard will light up your world or remind you of a rave; either way, it stands out. While I don't care as much for the RGB LED craze, it is the new "it" thing now, so seeing it here is as expected.

When it comes to build quality, I would say the GS73 is a very small step above the GE72VR. The frame does have some flex due in part to the slim design, but it is still very solid because of its aluminum upper shell. The screen bezel has less flex and the hinges are stiff. You won't be opening this unit with a single finger. To be honest, I find that a good thing as it means the hinges are tight and should not turn sloppy over time. In fact, having used the unit for a full month, it is still just as stiff now as when I first started using it. Finally, removing the bottom of the unit to gain initial access to the HDD and battery proved much simpler than with the GE72VR. However, gaining access to all components is a bit more difficult, which results in a wash between the two. Overall, the difference between them is minuscule in terms of quality, but the GS73 has a slight edge in its build design that puts it ahead by a tiny bit.

Now, I will say that for $1599, the unit feels a bit unbalanced. The 120Hz 1080p TN panel is quite good, and view angles are also far above average. However, the Nvidia GTX 1050Ti will almost never allow you to run games at 120Hz unless you turn settings way down or run much older titles. This pairing doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The fact that this unit requires complete disassembly and removal of many ribbon cables to gain access to system memory and the M.2 SSD is a blow against it for those who might wish to upgrade it down the line. That does not mean it can't be done, but it will require you to be far more careful and take a bit more effort to do so. As always, I prefer to see access hatches for easily removable components and quick upgrades to memory or HDD. However, in today's world, it seems I belong to the crowd of dinosaurs who prefer hatches as we live in a time of disposable electronics.


MSI does pre-install apps of which a few are quite useful. One such app is Dragon Center. It offers access to the Killer Network Manager, Nahimic audio enhancer, GeForce Experience, and more, while also offering a system monitor, LED wizard for the keyboard, and overall system tuner with preset monitor color options, fan profiles, etc. Think of it as a control panel for accessing all the apps that control various aspects of the system without needing a bunch of desktop or quick-launch icons. It's a bit gimmicky of course, but is still useful as it also gives a quick way to load up various tools to calibrate the battery, burn recovery media, etc. In general, it's a well-thought-out, easy-to-use piece of software. That said, the unit does come bundled with a trial of Norton Security which will do its utmost to barrage you with pop-ups to activate or pay for its feature. I am definitely not a fan considering the default Windows security offerings do an acceptable job without the annoyance. Thank god it only takes a simple uninstall and it's clear sailing. That one app was literally all I had to remove to have a near bloatware-free system, though that may depend on what you consider bloatware.



When it comes to the GS73 Stealth Pro 009, MSI made sure to try and keep temperatures in check. Software allows for custom fan curves, and in general, the unit performs quite well all things considered. The fan's default profile is good enough, but users do have the option to boost it further. This is of course at the expense of increased noise. That said, pushing the unit to its absolute limit via AIDA64 to stress the CPU, RAM, GPU, cache, etc., had it top out at 45 dBA at a distance of 30 cm. To clarify, all it's really doing is maxing out fan speed, nothing more. Maximum temperatures for the GPU and CPU at max fan speed were 65°C and 90°C respectively, which is perfectly fine, achieved in the AIDA64 stability test with performance from Valley used to verify GPU temperatures in AIDA64. Does the CPU throttle? Yes, it does. The throttling in the AIDA64 stress test was minor as the CPU was able to stay above the minimum designated clock speed by Intel. The system averaged 3.1 GHz and never dropped below 3.0 GHz. That is 200-300 MHz higher than the base frequency of 2.8 GHz. Therefore, I do no consider throttling in such an extreme case to be an issue. Exhaust temperatures hit 55°C while the aluminum frame between the keyboard and screen hit 35°C. During usage, it never proved uncomfortable, but it does get warm. I do feel CPU cooling could still be improved. Overall, thermal performance and noise are acceptable for daily usage, with the system remaining fairly quiet. Under heavy gaming or extreme loads, the unit becomes a tad loud, and while not unbearably so, it certainly isn't what I would consider quiet either.