MSI 17.3 GT76 Titan DT Gaming Laptop

A real Behemoth. In all the ways.

The sheer performance of this laptop cannot be understated. I am not a gamer, but a digital cinematographer, video editor and colorist, whose needs for unbridled CPU and GPU performance to edit and color correct large, sophisticated video files on the go led me to this machine, after nearly 2 decades of Mac loyalty. The performance is amazing. After figuring out how to navigate Windows again (about 2 days), once inside of Premiere Pro, I foun... Show Mored I could play back RED RAW 6k footage in a 6k timeline, cut right up next to 6k scaled UHD h.265 LOG drone footage (WITH a Lumetri LUT and curves applied), next to scaled Canon UHD MXF footage, all in the same timeline, and it played back in real time with sync sound. On a laptop. WOW. I even added a RED RAW cinema 4k clip that I linked to After Effects (Replace Clip with AE Comp..) to live track and repair a makeup flaw- and it played back in RT in the same Premiere timeline on this laptop, without rendering in either program. Unheard of on any MacBook Pro. Resolve 16 Free also worked beautifully, until I tried to add a second HDMI display, and then it got really buggy and crashed. I think that was on BMD's end, though, not this hardware. This is an amazing machine, as advertised, and the desktop-gaming Core i9 9900K 8-core CPU benchmarks you've read do translate into real image processing power. However I had to part ways with it due to the form factor- When you go to open the thing, it looks like you're opening the hood to a Smart-Car version of a Ferrari, complete with logo aesthetic (and very similar horsepower!). You'll need a new computer bag. I could learn to live with that. And this could be a desktop replacement. But the real deal breaker for me, on top of that, is the power supply. This monster's internal desktop CPU and GPU both require so much power that it doesn't have one power supply cord/ convertor box- it has two. Yes- two big, heavy AC/DC boxes, with two 110V plugs, that meet in a proprietary Y adapter that sticks 8 out of the side of the machine. I could even deal with the two boxes and plugs, coming from a production background- a little Velco here, an IEC Y-splitter there, put it all in the back seat pocket. But because the power port is MSI proprietary, and there seem to be no options anywhere to get even a 90 adapter for the thing, the stiff vinyl included power supply sticks out a minimum of 8, making this already 16 wide (by 14 deep) monstrosity into a bit of a clown car. I travel constantly, and just cannot picture opening this thing up on a plane to do some work, having the dual power converters in the seat, and then the computer power plug itself sticking out left well beyond my tray into the next seat. Alienware's Area 51-m is pretty much spec for spec with this thing, also with 2 power boxes, but at least they put the power port in the back, towards the seat pocket. I am personally a little sad to downgrade, but am going to sell this and instead opt for the very similarly equipped (smaller CPU and less M.2 port number) downgrade, the MSI Raider, which features very similar specs in a slimmer form, WITH ONE POWER SUPPLY, in the form of a 90 cable. MSI, please fix this! Or offer a slim 90 power solution? Not all users are replacing desktops. And buyers, please see one of these in the flesh (and lift it) before you are seduced by their (very impressive) benchmarks!Show Less

Reviewed on B&H Photo Video