MSI Pulse GL66 Gaming Laptop: 15.6″ 144Hz FHD 1080p Display, Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, 16GB, 512GB SSD, Win10, Black (11UGK-001)

8 reviews for MSI Pulse GL66 Gaming Laptop: 15.6″ 144Hz FHD 1080p Display, Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, 16GB, 512GB SSD, Win10, Black (11UGK-001)

1. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   GravitaS – October 28, 2022

   Overall has a good price/quality balance. The 144hz screen is amazing and the RGB keyboard works well, with a different key texture that could take a while for you to be familiar with. The design is not the thinnest or fanciest but the laptop is not ugly either

   Positive points: Not too heavy for a RTX2070 laptop gaming; good screen with tiny bezels; very comfortable keyboard base with nice touch; overall build quality is fine for this price range, though the difference between the quality of the lid (made of aluminum) and the bottom base (made of plastic) is huge; All recent AAA titles will run smoothly with a high refresh rate at highest configurations.

   Negative points: the sound quality is really, REALLY, bad. The speakers are horrible, it would be better not to have them and pay $100 less. Anyone would be surprised on how bad it is; the USB ports are on a strange position; the fans are very noisy, but maybe it is the price to pay for cooling a RTX (the temperatures are stable and OK during a gameplay), and you probably won’t notice because you will be using a headset anyways.

   Summary: If you are looking for a powerful gaming laptop, are not willing to pay more than CAD 2000 and don’t care about the sound quality, you should definitely buy the MSI GL65 Leopard.

2. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Casey – November 6, 2022

   Surprised that for the amount of money I spent on this, it can’t run GTA 5 on low graphics settings w/o bogging down heavily in several spots. This is my first gaming PC so I won’t rule out that maybe I’m doing something wrong, but I actually thought I was possibly going a little overkill by dropping this much money on a PC and by picking one with specs this high (RTX 2070, etc.) despite only intending to play what I figured are very modest games, such as GTA 5 (a game from 2015), Halo MCC (2014), and VRC Pro (2015).

   Heat issues–
   Always runs 208 F (98 C) when playing games, which is very hot.
   I only play with the laptop sitting on a table with nothing blocking air vents, occasionally propping it up higher on 4 bottlecaps to move the vents even further from the table just in case that helps.
   I tried undervolting it by 0.125V, but didn’t notice a difference. I’ve heard people say that throttling down the processors will cut down the temps, but that’s not an option here because it’s already struggling to run 2 of the 3 games I have for it.
   Saw a YouTube video of someone showing how to disassemble this laptop to remove the heat sink to add fresh thermal paste, but I’ve only had mine for 1 month so I doubt this paste is too old, plus I figure that would void the warranty since one of the screws on the bottom has a “factory seal” sticker covering it (Interesting side note — That’s not a problem for the guy in the video since he’s in Australia, which apparently has laws helping consumers for matters like these, meaning the tamper stickers legally don’t apply down under.).
   While the high temps are somewhat concerning, I can’t say I’m aware of an actual problem they’re causing, so perhaps they’re fine as-is (?).

   Bogging issues–
   I just don’t understand why it bogs down when playing GTA 5 at low graphics settings.
   I close out all other programs when running a game so that can’t be the problem.
   I only play with the computer plugged into the charger, but I’ve noticed that if I accidentally forget to plug it in, it bogs down on Halo (which surprisingly it otherwise runs just fine). I didn’t purchase it for playing games from the battery, so I can’t speak on how bad the battery life is. It probably isn’t good, but I won’t dock any points in that department because, as I understand it, that’s the case with every gaming laptop.
   When I first realized it couldn’t play GTA 5 at higher (not highest) settings, I was immediately bummed out that I was having to go in and back things down. Then after finding out that wasn’t enough, and that I’d have to go down even lower than what the game settings menu makes out to be “normal”, I became flat-out disappointed.
   This echoes the experience of playing VRC Pro, which I doubt most have heard of because it’s a very niche RC car sim game. A quick google image search and you’ll see how rudimentary the graphics are even at their highest settings. This PC runs it fine as long as the shadows are turned off. With shadows on, even at the lowest shadow setting instead of detailed shadows, it absolutely craps out with an unplayable frame rate. This is more than just an aesthetic problem as the shadow helps with driving, providing more orientation since you’re driving from a stationary 3rd person view (like a real RC car).

   Based on these experiences, I couldn’t imagine being one of the more normal PC gamers that play more modern titles with correspondingly more modern graphics.

   ***Update 2/22/2021*** My laptop is now functioning like I believe it should. Here’s the explanation — When I purchased the laptop, I also purchased an extra AC adapter so that I can leave one at my parents’ house when I visit them. Shortly after writing the original review, I noticed that the laptop seemed to bog at my parents’ house yet not at my own, and I suspected the charger as being the problem. Took the charger home so I could compare it side-by-side with the original charger and sure enough, that was the problem.

   When I looked for that 2nd charger, all I searched for (on ebay) was “MSI GL65 charger”, and that used HP charger was the cheapest one that came up. I figured it was good since that’s not a no-name brand, plus the guy had it listed as being an MSI GL65 charger in the listing title. While the charger did plug in, and did charge my battery, it could not support playing without bogging down. The original charger is a 14 amp, whereas that HP one was a 7.5 amp. I could have GTA 5 playing with a long cutscene taking place with heavy bogging, then swap the charger plug to the original one and it’d immediately clear up and play smoothly. The moment I’d swap plugs back to the HP charger, the bogging would return.

   So make sure if you get an extra charger, you get one that is 20 volt and 14 amp. I returned that HP charger and already ordered an Asus brand 20V/14A. I would prefer another of the original brand, but the prices on those are a solid 350% higher than what the Asus is.

3. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Andrew F – November 18, 2022

   I got the 12UGKV-464 version, which is the i7-12700H with the RTX 3070.

   Pros:
   Very fast, runs new games at Ultra with no problem
   Styling, i like it but that’s subjective
   Compact for a laptop with this performance
   Bang for buck, if you grab it on sale, it’s worth the amount of performance you can get for a laptop at this price point compared to its competitors

   Cons:
   Screen color is awful (I’ve spent hours in the app trying to correct it but it is just bad)
   Runs HOT, even with the fan on max, I’ve seen the CPU jump above 90c many times.
   Storage, it comes with a 512gb drive, which with windows leaves you with not much room. This version only has one extra m2 slot and no 2.5″ slot. Also, adding another drive requires you to open to laptop, breaking the seal and voiding your warranty.
   Battery life, I brought this to a meeting at work once instead of my smaller chromebook. Even on ‘super battery mode’, only running MS Word, the battery didn’t survive the 1.5 hour meeting. It’s technically a laptop but don’t expect to be able to use it not plugged in for any amount of time.

   Overall, I’d give it a 4/5.
   The performance of this thing is great, I’ve tried many new games with it and it’s performed very well.
   The cooling issues are very concerning, as this can seriously shorten the lifespan of the CPU (the GPU doesn’t seem to have the same issues). The heat, lack of expandable storage, nonexistant battery life, and the screen coloration are holding this back from being a 5/5 for me. If you are going to use this primarily at home, somewhere it can be kept well ventilated, connected to an external monitor and occasionally bring it out, I’d suggest it.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Imanol Ernesto – November 20, 2022

   La laptop es muy buena llevo dos meses con ella y todo perfecto, el problema es con Amazon, creo que ya lo arreglaron pero, para aclarar, la pantalla es de 60 hz, el teclado es ingles por lo cual no trae la ñ pero automáticamente se detecta la distribución y la podrás colocar, la tarjeta de video es una GTX 1650.
   La verdad el equipo es muy bueno, tiene muy buenas prestaciones por el precio, tienen que tener en cuenta que este producto de Amazon USA, y te van a cobrar los respectivos impuestos, por lo que recomiendo solo comprarla si esta en oferta, porque hay otras laptops que tienen algunas mejoras por el mismo precio.
   Para lo que la utilizo me ha rendido muy bien, tiene un teclado que me gusto mucho, tiene un botón para poder activar los ventiladores al máximo para poder sacar el calor rápido si así lo requieres, la laptop como en todas trae software preinstalado, como un antivirus, un software de Intel que ya no se utiliza, pero también trae software muy bueno gratis, trae software de ecualizador, editor de video y audio entre otros.
   La verdad recomiendo esta laptop como ya lo mencione si esta en oferta, para mi es 10/10.

5. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Javier Petriz – November 27, 2022

   Me parece una computadora excelente en muchos sentidos, buena calidad de construcción, bonita y con jna excelente calidad precio.

   Lamentablemente me he encontrado con 2 fallas que me preocupan.
   1.- Mala bateria y es que con algunos trucos he logrado sacar maxima 3 a 4 horas. Limitando el brillo, procesador y tarjeta.
   2.-Se calienta demasiado el procesador, enserio eh jugado varios títulos a 1080p a 60fps, 4K a 30 Fps o 1440 a 60fps y si bien el rendimiento es muy bueno. Las temperaturas estan MUY altas incluso en graficos bajos a 60 1080p llegando arriba de los 90°C cosa que me llama la atencion por que la grafica jamas pasa de 70°C. Compre una base y logro mantener temperaturas de 80 – 85 °C pero me da mucho miedo la vida que me pueda dar.

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   S. Sale – December 5, 2022

   Update 9-10-20 – I’ve spent close to a couple months with this laptop now. After I received the replacement (bad fan bearing in CPU fan) I’ve been extremely happy with my purchase. I’d recommend installing the Offline Dragon Center utility as it seems more stable than the Windows Store version. Otherwise, it does everything I wanted. Don’t expect mobile versions of the RTX 3000 series until at least next year, so if you want a good RTX mobile laptop right now rather than 4+ months from now, this laptop is still your best bang for the buck.

   Update 8-06-20 – After a couple weeks with my second GL-65, I’m very pleased with the laptop. If you have a defective laptop, don’t be afraid to send it back to Amazon for replacement if it hasn’t been a month yet.

   Update 7-22-20 – I’ve encountered my first problem; the left fan (CPU) appears to have a bad bearing, and when it spins up in the 4000-5000 RPM range, it will make a clicking noise. It gets worse when the laptop is tilted, making me believe it’s indeed a bad bearing. These things happen and I’m okay with this as long as MSI gives me a decent path to a repair. Currently I opened a case with MSI to see if they’ll just ship me the replacement fan (I repair laptops from time to time) to save the time and money that would be required shipping the laptop back. Failing that, I’ll be requesting a replacement on Amazon.

   Update 7-22-20 : MSI support contacted me and informed me they could send a replacement fan, but I’d have to pay $10 to have it shipped to me. That seems reasonable, but I don’t like that I’d have to pay to repair something I just bought. I’m a little tempted to dock the laptop a star, but I’ll wait to see if the replacement has any issues first. I decided to simply return the laptop to Amazon for a replacement. It only took around 10 minutes and a replacement is on the way.

   Original Review:

   I’ve been laptop hunting for a couple months for a laptop that can (likely) play Cyberpunk 2077 when it comes out later this year. I came down to a handful of requirements:

   1.) GTX 1660 TI, RTX 2060 or RTX 2070. AMD mobile cards are unproven at the moment, but the 5600m came in slightly faster than the GTX 1660 TI, so I wasn’t ruling it out. It’s just rare right now.
   2.) Either an AMD Ryzen 7/9 CPU or 10th gen Intel i7/i9.

   I was very close to buying the ASUS ROG G14, but the RTX 2060 MaxQ runs at 1660 TI levels and is the least powerful RTX card that exist. Ray Tracing is a token feature when it will barely run on it. I also came close to buying the Asus G15, and even closer to the HP Omen 15 since it had a RTX 2070 and appears to be a solid laptop.

   Then I found this laptop. The reviews are great, the thermal system is robust, the monitor is solid and the specs are perfect for this price range. ($1400-$1600)

   Pros:
   1.) One of the best i7-10750H + RTX 2070 laptops on the market. It’s actually designed to handle the thermals of these two components.

   2.) The RTX 2070 is a 115watt mobile spec, meaning it’s not a handicapped MaxQ part that runs closer to a RTX 2060. That means you have a full 8GB frame buffer and better RTX support.

   3.) The i7-10750H, while outclassed by the 3rd gen Ryzen 5/7/9 is an unlocked CPU, and this laptop allows you to fully manipulate it once unlocked in the BIOS. This is probably the best Intel mobile CPU you can currently have for gaming, as the i5 series is a little weak with only 4 cores and no “K” level manipulation.

   4.) The keyboard is quite nice. I immediately disabled the rainbow RGB and turned it all green. I like how it looks with solid colors. The trackpad is fine and I love the dedicated buttons rather than the silly “Mono-slab” popularized by Apple. Dedicated buttons are almost always better for power users. I use a USB wireless mouse anyway, but I appreciate the buttons.

   5.) The build quality, while very plasticy, is good. I was able to remove the bottom panel to install an extra 1TB SSD and was impressed by the excellent heat pipe design and layout.

   4.) Neither RAM module is soldered on, so you can upgrade to 32GB if you really want. Currently 16GB is ideal, which it comes with.

   5.) The MSI software, while clunky, is effective once you get used to it. I appreciate the “Mode switch” keys. Silent mode is impressive, in that it manages to keep the fans reasonable at ~3000 RPM while only losing 10-20% of your FPS at worst.

   6.) Performance in games is excellent. Red Dead Redemption 2 plays excellently at max settings, 1080p. Warhammer Total War 2 also plays great maxed out (maybe step back some of the excessive effects for 60FPS+) and I’m sure the rest of my games will do fine too.

   7.) The monitor/lid is sturdy, has very thin bezels for the top and sides. The bottom bezel is larger, but not bad. The webcam is tiny and actually there, something the Asus G14 is missing. The 144hz refresh rate is impressive and the screen hits 320 nits brightness, pretty close to ideal. There is some moderate backlight bleed, but this shouldn’t be an issue in games.

   Cons:
   1.) Although it’s not terrible, the MSI logo on the front lights up with the monitor’s backlight and can’t be turned off. It looks kind of cheesy and I wish it was just a solid lid with minimal logo.

   2.) The design is moderately gamery, with the bottom being a strange mess of design (but effective vents) and the lid “ribs” being a little cheesy. I think they really strengthen the lid however, so I won’t complain too much. I like HP’s 2020 refresh Omen 15 and Asus G14 designs better.

   3.) Playing with stock balanced mode settings, the fans can get very loud and the i7 CPU will happily run up to 95C and throttle. This is more of an Intel issue, as they have been falling behind in die shrinks compared to AMD, and suffering thermal issues as a result. However, I’ll touch on this later, as it can be fixed.

   4.) It’s a little heavy, but within reason. 5.1 pounds for the laptop and a big ~2.1 pound charger adds a lot of weight to your bag. I definitely notice it even though my previous laptop was 4.8 lbs with a 1 pound charger.

   5.) The glossy finish is a fingerprint magnet. It’ll annoy you if you don’t like smudges.

   6.) Battery life is towards the bottom of most laptops, but you can improve it by disabling CPU boost. I get between 3-5 hours with normal web usage, and only an hour if gaming. You’ve got to tinker with it to pull 5 hours out. (Disable CPU boost, Max Battery mode, dim screen)

   7.) Although this is in the top range of ray tracing capable mobile cards, expect to be a little disappointed as Nvidia jumped the gun and needed another generation to truly make RTX enticing. You pretty much have to use DLSS 2.0 to make it usable, otherwise, expect unplayable framerates or lowered settings. If you are really wanting an excellent ray tracing capable laptop, you’ll have to wait until next year when the next generation of AMD and Nvidia cards become available in mobile form and likely have much better ray tracing performance.

   8.) The speakers, while they can be cranked loud, sound tinny and have no bass and little midrange. I raised bass all the way to the top in the included Nahimic program and it kind of helps, but there’s definitely something wrong with the design here. All the MSI marketing about “giant speakers” makes me disappointed by this second thought implementation. If you want good sound, hook up speakers, a HDMI display with sound or headphones.

   Overall, I’d recommend this laptop to anyone who wants to do some mobile PC gaming. It’s durable and has great specs. The thermals are excellent for a laptop in this class, and it’s an overall excellent value.

   Tips:

   1.) The CPU in any gaming laptop, AMD or Intel, will add unnecessary heat, as usual the GPU is the bottleneck. Try disabling CPU boost mode, and tinker with it. You can use Intel’s XTU or Throttlestop if you’re an advanced user, or even easier, search in Google for, “Disable processor boost mode to prolong your battery life” and try “Disabled” mode or play with settings until you find a happy place between thermals and performance. Some games run fine with disabled turbo, some don’t.

   2.) The BIOS has an unclock mode to enable undervolting, overclocking, etc. Use with caution or not at all if you aren’t very familiar with this. To enable it, press ALT + RIGHT-CTRL + SHIFT together then press F2 while in BIOS. This should enable the advanced mode. Again, be careful here.

   3.) Make sure to update all the drivers, as out of the box they are a mix of late 2019 and early 2020. There are new drivers available for almost every component. You can either get them directly from Windows Update, MSI’s website, or Intel.

7. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Eduardo – December 11, 2022

   Al revisar la frecuencia de la pantalla, sólo es de 60hz para que lo tomen en cuenta, en mi caso realizare la devolucion del producto.

8. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Hariz Maloy – December 25, 2022

   Now let’s face it. It’s an RTX 2070 unit at sub 2k SGD. Powerful i7-10750h, gorgeous 1080p 144hz panel, decent weight, and has pretty good cooling. What else can you ask for?

   Only thing is that the design screams gamer with the MSI badge and the 2 accentuated lines at the back. But if you’re not specifically looking for Stealth Models like the GS66 or something like the Razer Blade Stealth, this does it.

   Only had 1 issue upon arrival with the internal cable for the monitor needing to be repaired. But sent it in to an MSI service centre here in Singapore and got it fixed in 3 days.

   Can’t wait to put this machine to the test. Best purchase in the last 3 years.