iBuyPower Battalion M1771 (MSI GS70) Gaming Notebook Review
by Dustin Sklavos on December 30, 2013 2:45 PM ESTThe iBuyPower Battalion M1771 isn't going to have the absolute best performance, but given its relative form factor, the fast Intel i7 quad core processor and solid GeForce GTX 765M should allow it to at least throw some of its modest weight around.
Before we get into gaming testing, though, it's worth at least seeing how it stacks up in relation to other current generation (and a couple of older generation) gaming machines in most basic disciplines. The Razer Blade 14 can exist as a reality check in games excepting the CPU which is the slightly slower i7-4702HQ; the Blade 14 has basically the same hardware as the Blade Pro, which is in turn almost identical to the M1771 (MSI GS70) internally.
The M1771 has the fastest storage subsystem of the lot but only just barely; despite the two SSDs in RAID 0, its theoretical performance advantage proves to be academic in practice. Meanwhile it bounces a bit over the map in PCMark 8, posting a slightly anemic performance in the Home test. It's not horrible and exists essentially as an oddball outlier.
PCMark 7 is kinder, and the M1771 posts a strong performance bolstered by its CPU and fast SSD storage subsystem.
Meanwhile, performance in the 3DMarks is excellent. The 765M is a strong piece of kit, able to use raw clockspeed to essentially make up most of the difference in CUDA core count between it and the powerful GTX 675MX. The Blade 14 trails it slightly, probably owing to the 200MHz difference in base clocks and reduced turbo bins of the i7-4702HQ. Meanwhile, check out the lead in 3DMark 11 over the former heavyweight GTX 580M.
The 4700HQ is modestly generationally faster than the 3630QM, in line with the difference in IPC as the two have identical clocks and turbo bins. It's also notably faster than the 2720QM, but Ivy proved to be a much bigger boost to mobile performance over Sandy than Haswell is over Ivy. The M1771 is essentially where it needs to be, performance-wise.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
37 Comments
View All Comments
Mil0 - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
As far as I'm aware the GE40 with 1080p screen comes with a decent panel, should be the same as the p34g (which was great according to the preview here). At least, this is what I based my purchase decision on. (the p34g isn't available in the Netherlands yet, also they seem to have a bending issue, not sure if thats fixed yet).Connoisseur - Wednesday, January 1, 2014 - link
The ge40 is about 30% thicker than the blade. If they can make a laptop that's thinner than the blade pro I'd think they could make one closer to the thickness of a blade but with a better screen.Mayuyu - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
Why does this and the Razer Blade cost so much. I look at the Y410p and it offers a i7-4700MQ, 1600*900 display, 8GB RAM, 2GB Nvidia 755m, and a 1TB Hard Drive for $769Where is all that extra money going to?
Meaker10 - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
Screen, chasis, graphics, ssd, heatsink.Mil0 - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
The 765 is a substantially faster chip, thus both more expensive and requiring better cooling. Also Msi seems to charge more for the 17", the ge40 is basically the same but quite a bit cheaper.Sancus - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
I think calling this a competitor to the Razer Blade is a surprisingly inaccurate, questionable statement coming from Anandtech -- How many people looking for a thin, light 14" gaming laptop are going to even CONSIDER 17", 6lb machines, let alone actually purchase one?This machine would be FAR better if it was 14" with a 1600x900 screen(which is also nicely within the performance envelope of the 765M -- 1080p is not). The razer blade is good machine because it is weight and (almost) battery life competitive with a 15" Macbook Pro, with superior gaming performance.
The GS70 is inferior in terms of weight, portability, and battery life. It's not even in the same class as the Razer Blade, let alone competitive, in any key metric for a "thin, light" machine except price...
TheinsanegamerN - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
you know, there is a 14 inch 1600x900 laptop from msi. the GE40. its got the 760m, but they are the same chip, the 760m is just clocked slower.Mil0 - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
If you're considering the ge40, do yourself a favour and get the 1080p screen. Though 900p fits the 760m better, the difference in screen is supposed to be dramatic.Mil0 - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
He's calling it a competitor to the blade *PRO*, which is also 17". Both are thin and for the screensize light. Whether that's thin, light & portable enough is subjective, of course. I've considered it, but it was just outside of my budget.jigglywiggly - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
you have to send it back? don't reviewers normally keep the hardware they are sent?