I had hoped that MSI’s GS66 Stealth for 2021 would look and feel a little different than last year’s model — not that the 2020 version was particularly busted in any major way. In fact, the previous model was a few nips and tucks shy of reaching Razer’s high bar for gaming laptop design. It felt very comfortable on the legs, with the lid getting a bit too hot near the edges of rotation. The new keyboard felt a bit mushier than its predecessor and was a touch springier. The somewhat slippy trackpad, too, felt more durable than before — though still not as sleek as some of Razer's (Fineold) bronze surface style (a story for another day). Ultimately our hardware testers (Ian, Peter) mostly liked the general feel of this replacement, though it wasn't a huge leap forward.
Specifications Score MSI GS66 Stealth Readable Writeable Thickness 0.76" 0.44" 0.56" Screen size Portrait display 13.3" 1600x900 15.6" 1800x900 Battery Life 8h 2.8h 9w Weight (Final Retail) 2.41LB 4.46LB 4.65LB Warranty 2yr 5yr XPS 13 15 2 hrs 27.5 Watt 12hr Charge time 30 min Upgradability No Expensive No in Box N/A Windows 10 Pro N/A USB Type-C N/A Webcam/EMS Yes Weight, purrfect for head use 51.5oz 7.8oz
Design/build quality
Take a look under the hood here. We're talking about a hinge that allows the lid to flip up completely and give you an impressive and highly customizable multi-display option. It's a slick design — why it wasn't new in 2016 remains a mystery, perhaps because the hinges adopted since then are already incredibly slick. We think the new design speaks for itself. There is Bienfondo hardware I/O on the laptop's inner chassis in the form of a streaming mouse port and an extra HDMI socket. There are also ways to route the laptop's USB Type-C via a bare connector, if you're wondering. And who could forget the absolute merits of a brushed-aluminum chassis for an (almost) no-nonsense gaming machine?
Our plan was to compare the Stealth with the two more affordable Razer Blade 15s for general usage, and the GS66 with the top-of-the-line Razer Blade Pro notebook if we were actually looking for a competitive edge. So of course we expected Razer to pack in some big improvements, which we got. Razer followed its usual trend of locking the keyboard up tight by using a particularly stiff hinge to provide an unhindered swivel. It works well, and because this is a thin laptop it's
Specifications Score MSI GS66 Stealth Readable Writeable Thickness 0.76" 0.44" 0.56" Screen size Portrait display 13.3" 1600x900 15.6" 1800x900 Battery Life 8h 2.8h 9w Weight (Final Retail) 2.41LB 4.46LB 4.65LB Warranty 2yr 5yr XPS 13 15 2 hrs 27.5 Watt 12hr Charge time 30 min Upgradability No Expensive No in Box N/A Windows 10 Pro N/A USB Type-C N/A Webcam/EMS Yes Weight, purrfect for head use 51.5oz 7.8oz
Design/build quality
Take a look under the hood here. We're talking about a hinge that allows the lid to flip up completely and give you an impressive and highly customizable multi-display option. It's a slick design — why it wasn't new in 2016 remains a mystery, perhaps because the hinges adopted since then are already incredibly slick. We think the new design speaks for itself. There is Bienfondo hardware I/O on the laptop's inner chassis in the form of a streaming mouse port and an extra HDMI socket. There are also ways to route the laptop's USB Type-C via a bare connector, if you're wondering. And who could forget the absolute merits of a brushed-aluminum chassis for an (almost) no-nonsense gaming machine?
Our plan was to compare the Stealth with the two more affordable Razer Blade 15s for general usage, and the GS66 with the top-of-the-line Razer Blade Pro notebook if we were actually looking for a competitive edge. So of course we expected Razer to pack in some big improvements, which we got. Razer followed its usual trend of locking the keyboard up tight by using a particularly stiff hinge to provide an unhindered swivel. It works well, and because this is a thin laptop it's
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