MSI's latest laptops deliver fast gaming on the go with 120Hz panels

MSI is laying claim to being the only one to offer a gaming laptop equipped with a 120Hz panel and 3ms response time. That would be the 15.6-inch GE63VR Raider. Also available is the bigger 17.3-inch GE73VR Raider. It too has a 120Hz panel, but with a slightly higher response time at 5ms.

These new laptops were given a facelift inspired by exotic sports cars, MSI says. They are a bit more angular throughout, with a brushed aluminum appearance (we're betting it's made of plastic).

The GE63VR Raider measures 383mm (W) x 265mm (D) by 27.5mm (H) and weighs 2.39kg, whereas the GE73VR Raider bumps the dimensions up a tad to 419.9mm (W) x 285mm (D) x 28.5mm (H) and 2.8kg. Both are relatively thin and light for a gaming laptop, at just over an inch thick.

Physical dimensions aside, both laptops share the same hardware DNA and configuration options. Both also feature "giant speakers" from Dynaudio that MSI says are three times larger than the last generation, resulting in 50 percent higher volume.

The GE63VR Raider and GE73VR Raider are available with 7th generation Core i7 processor options (Kaby Lake). They can be configured with up to 32GB of DDR4-2400 RAM and anywhere from a GeForce GTX 1050 up to a GeForce GTX 1070 GPU.

Storage options vary by SKU. These laptops can accommodate two M.2 NVMe solid state drives and one 2.5-inch drive (HDD or SSD).

Other notable features include Killer DoubleShot Pro networking (Killer E2500 GbE LAN + Killer 802.11ac Wi-Fi), Blueooth 4.2, HD webcam, 6-cell battery, and Windows 10 Home or Professional 64-bit.

These laptops are available now starting at around $1,800.

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).