The touch-sensitive input surfaces, above the keyboard, allow the user to open certain programs and run functions. PowerDVD 10 can be opened in full screen and the Cooler Boost 2 can be activated. The user can also turn on flight mode as well as switch between the illumination schemes for the keyboard. Furthermore, the display can be turned off via these hotkeys and the Dragon Gaming Center can be opened. HP GB06

The touchpad of the MSI GT70 originates from Synaptics and is quite small for a 17.3 inch notebook: 84 x 42 mm. The touchpad is recessed deep and has a rough surface which allows the user to find it even with their eyes closed. The sliding properties are good and the input is executed well. Due to the small size of the device, the user might accidentally end up blending in the Charms in Windows. The multi-touch gesture support is good and the separate mouse keys are a little spongy, but easy to click.

The touchpad can be turned off via a button above it. If an external mouse is connected, the laptop automatically turns off the touchpad.

The display of the MSI GT70 2PE-890US measures 17.3 inches and has a 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution (Full HD). This translates to a ratio of 16:9 and a pixel density of 127 PPI. The matte panel is named N173HGE-L11 and originates from CHIMEI. The Taiwanese manufacturer has picked the same panel series as their competitors One K73-4N and Schenker XMG P704.

The brightness lies at a similar level and our test model offers a max of 326 cd/m². The illumination is balanced at 83%. We did not notice any major discrepancies in the brightness in different areas of the panel. HP 628419-001

The color accuracy of the display is not so important for most gamers, but according to our tests, the display has some weaknesses with its factory settings. It has a visible blue tinge, which makes the panel look cool. However, this is only noticeable if you compare it to another laptop and it can be alleviated with a calibration. Professional picture editing is not possible at a mere 73% coverage of the sRGB color spectrum.

The outdoors use of the MSI GT70 2PE-890US should be fine. The high brightness, strong contrast and matte surface allow us to view content without issues, even in a bright environment. However, direct sunlight can strain the eyes after a while.

The viewing angles of the TN panel are really good, but do not even come close to those of an IPS screen. Changes in the viewing angle horizontally, results in minimal drops in brightness, which means that watching a film with a group of people should be fine. Vertically, changes in the viewing angle results in the drops in contrast and color inverting typical to TN displays. However, these panels offer a faster reaction time, which is important for gamers.

The performance of a gaming notebook is definitely important. MSI has installed a strong quad-core CPU, from the Intel Haswell generation and a fast Nvidia GeForce GTX 880M for processing high-end graphics effects. The 12 GB DDR3L RAM is unusual, but more than enough for our needs.

The CPU of the MSI GT70 2PE-890US is an Intel Core i7-4800MQ. This quad-core processor has a base clock speed of 2,700 MHz and can process up to 8 threads simultaneously. Turbo Boost 2.0 allows the CPU to boost up to 3.7 GHz (single core). While using two cores, the Boost raises the speed up to a max. of 3.6 GHz and for four cores it speeds up to a max of 3.5 GHz. HP 626869-851

Batería HP 626869-851