MSI GE75 Raider

With the GE75 Raider, MSI attempts to strike the middle ground in the enthusiast 17-inch segment between the heavy GT75 Titan and the exceptionally thin GS75. It has more in common with the Titan in terms of performance, however, since it uses the standard laptop versions of the Nvidia RTX graphics cards instead of the Max-Q Design variants.

MSI GE75 Configurations

Much like other high-end MSI laptops, there are three base configurations of the MSI GE75 Raider: 9SE, 9SF and 9SG. All are slight updates over the preceding 8SE, 8SF and 8SG configs. The main difference is usually that the processor has been upgraded from the ubiquitous Core i7-8750H (up to 4.2 GHz) to the newer Core i7-9750H (up to 4.5 GHz). Some versions also ship with the more powerful Core i7-9880H (up to 4.8 GHz).

The graphics cards, which have a much greater effect on gaming performance, are however still the GeForce RTX 2060 (9SE), RTX 2070 (9SF) or the RTX 2080 (9SG). Since the GE75 Raider is no as thin as the GS75 and similar laptops, MSI has used the more desktop-like versions of the graphics cards without the Max-Q Design designation.

The GE75 has two RAM slots and it normally comes with 16 GB or 32 GB but will hold up to 64 GB in the 9SX versions (versus max. 32 GB in 8SX). As for storage, the laptop has two M.2 slots (PCIe/NVMe compatible) and room for one conventional 2.5″ SATA hard drive or SSD.

Battery and AC adapter capacity vary by configuration. The higher-end RTX 2070 and RTX 2080 models require a 280W adapter, whereas the RTX 2060 version comes with a smaller 180W variant. Additionally, the battery capacity in the RTX 2080 model (9SG) is higher at 65 Wh, compared to 51 Wh in the 9SF and 9SE.

All of the configurations include the same display type: a 17.3″ 1080p, 144Hz IPS-type panel.

GE75 Performance

Because the GE75 Raider can be with either a GeForce RTX 2080 (9SG) or an RTX 2070 (9SF) – and that none of them are Max-Q models – the performance difference when upgrading from the RTX 2060 is larger than with most thin-and-light gaming laptops. The improved performance also comes at the cost of additional heat and a higher power draw.

The above scores are averages of a range of benchmark runs (user-submitted and/or professional) on representative systems. Exact scores will vary between systems and individual runs.

While the laptop versions of the RTX 2070 and RTX 2080 are faster than their Max-Q counterparts, they are not quite on par with desktop cards.

Other Features

MSI has equipped the GE75 Raider with a full-size keyboard that offers individually lit keys (RGB). However, there is no Thunderbolt 3 port available.

Reviews

At the time of writing, most reviews feature the 8SX versions, which are very similar but have somewhat slower 8th-gen Intel CPUs instead of the 9th-gen CPUs found in the 9SX series. This laptop is also featured in our list of top 17-inch laptops for 2019.

Notebookcheck (8SG, RTX 2080)

If you are willing to pay the premium for the RTX 2080, you won’t waste your money thanks to the good performance utilization compared to the less expensive SKUs with the RTX 2070 or RTX 2060.

Tom’s Hardware (8SG, RTX 2080)

The MSI GE75 Raider is a powerhouse gaming rig. Its high-end specs deliver gaming performance that surpasses others in this price category.

Video review, MobileTechReview (8SF, RTX 2070)