MSI Raider GE76 12UHS Gaming Laptop Specifications
MSI Raider GE76 12UHS Review: Design
The MSI Raider GE76 12UHS is a big bulky laptop that weighs 2.9KG, making it one of the heaviest modern gaming laptops. The laptop is also slightly on the thicker side, and all this is done to incorporate a bigger cooling system for the most powerful laptop CPU and GPU. The MSI Raider GE76 12UHS is a 17-inch laptop, and it will consume more space on your table.
The laptop has an almost perfect I/O, and the ports have been positioned very practically. At the back, the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS has a power input, HDMI port, mini DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 4 port (USB Type-C), and an RJ45 ethernet port. On the right, the device has two USB-A ports and an SD card slot, while the left side of the laptop houses a USB-A port, USB Type-C (with display output), and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
If there is one laptop that takes almost all the modern accessories without requiring a dongle, it is definitely the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS. In terms of both practicality and functionality, the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS scores top grade. However, if you are a frequent traveler, then you might not like this machine.
MSI Raider GE76 12UHS Review: Display
The MSI Raider GE76 12UHS has a 17.3-inch IPS LCD screen with a native resolution of 1920x1080p and with 360Hz refresh rate. Similarly, there is also another variant of the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS with a 4K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. As the 1080p panel is spread across a 17.3-inch canvas, the display does not look sharp, especially if you are coming from a 15-inch gaming laptop.
While I liked that users can choose between a 1080p or a 2160p panel, I would have personally liked a display with 1440p resolution with around 165Hz refresh rate like the one seen on the Asus ROG Zephyrus m16 2022. Other than the ever so slightly lower pixel density, the screen looks fine, especially for indoor use cases.
If I should nitpick, then MSI should have decreased the size of the bezels to make this laptop slightly more compact and travel-friendly. I also find that the display on the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS isn't that bright, and it becomes very evident, especially when used in outdoor or well-lit environments. The display on the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS is definitely tuned for gaming, thanks to a faster 360Hz refresh rate.
MSI Raider GE76 12UHS Review: Keyboard And Trackpad
The MSI Raider GE76 12UHS has a full-sized keyboard with per-key RGB support. The keys do offer good feedback with plenty of key travel. The laptop also has a dedicated num-pad, which should help users with non-gaming tasks.
Coming to the trackpad, the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS has a basic trackpad that works similar to most trackpads on a gaming laptop. Given the size of this machine, we would have really loved to see a slightly larger trackpad. Nonetheless, pair this laptop with either a wired or wireless mouse for the best possible gaming experience.
MSI Raider GE76 12UHS Review: Audio And Camera
The MSI Raider GE76 12UHS has a stereo speaker setup with support for Hi-Res audio. Speakers on the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS are powered by the Duo Wave Woofer and are tuned by Dynaudio. However, in the real world, like most gaming laptops, the speakers aren't loud although they produce a clear sound.
As per the camera is concerned, the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS is definitely one of the best laptops out there, thanks to the 2.1MP 1080p web camera. It just makes streaming (if you are not using an external web camera) and attending online meetings better. To make it even more exciting, the company should have included an infrared sensor to assist Windows Hello face unlock technology.
MSI Raider GE76 12UHS Review: Performance
On paper, the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS is currently the most powerful gaming laptop money can buy right now, at least until the launch of gaming laptops with 12th Gen Intel Core HX processor. We have already tested gaming laptops with the 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900H processor, which offered stellar single-core and multi-core performance.
The MSI Raider GE76 12UHS uses an even more powerful Intel Core i9-12900HK processor with overclocking support. The CPU is then paired with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU with 16GB RAM. The CPU and GPU are paired with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a 2TB PCIe Gen4 SSD. Here are the actual CPU and GPU performance results of the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS in comparison with the competition.
MSI Raider GE76 12UHS Review: CPU Performance
As mentioned before, the 20-thread Intel Core i9-12900HK CPU comprises six high-performance P-cores (with hyperthreading support) and eight power-efficient P-cores. On Geekbench 5, the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS posted 1748 points on the single-core CPU test and 12237 points on the multi-core CPU test.
Similarly, on CPU-Z, the Intel Core i9-12900HK powered MSI Raider GE76 12UHS posted 721.8 points on the single-thread CPU test and 7019.1 points on the multi-thread CPU test. Lastly, on Cinebench R23, the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS posted 1296 points on the single-core CPU rendering test and 13871 points on multi-core CPU rendering tests.
While I expected the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS to outperform devices like the Asus ROG Zephyrus m16 2022, I was shocked to see the CPU performance of the Raider GE76 12UHS was slightly less than that of the Asus ROG Zephyrus m16 2022, in every CPU benchmark test. To make sure, I did run benchmarking apps three times, and I did not notice any difference in the results.
Do note that, we ran these benchmarks on stock clock speeds, as the Intel Core i9-12900HK is an overclockable CPU, one should be able to get slightly more performance from the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS Review: CPU in both single-core and multi-core performance.
MSI Raider GE76 12UHS Review: GPU Performance
On the 3DMark Time Spy test, the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS posted 12,658 points. This time, this is the highest score that we have seen on a gaming laptop. This benchmark also confirms that the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS can offer over 150fps on Battlefield V at 1080p resolution, and can offer over 125fps at 1440p resolution, making this possibly the most powerful gaming laptop of this year.
MSI Raider GE76 12UHS Review: Gaming Performance
We tried a variety of games on MSI Raider GE76 12UHS, and here are the results from the same. On the Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the laptop posted 153fps on the highest graphics settings (without ray-tracing), and 134fps with ray-tracing enabled. Similarly, on GTA: V, the laptop posted an average of 165fps.
On Far Cry 6, the RTX 3080 Ti Laptop powered laptop offered an average FPS of 124. Lastly, on Forza Horizon 5, the laptop offered an average FPS of 89. Overall, in terms of gaming, this is definitely the most powerful gaming laptop that we have tested so far.
MSI Raider GE76 12UHS Review: Verdict
The MSI Raider GE76 12UHS comes with a 99.9WHr battery with a 330W power adapter, which is plenty enough to power the CPU and GPU. When it comes to battery life, the laptop did last for around four hours with regular usage. The laptop also supports the latest wireless connectivity standards like Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, making this an up-to-date gaming laptop.
With our extensive testing, it is clear that the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS is one of the most powerful gaming laptops that money can buy. If you are looking for a big and powerful gaming laptop, then we definitely recommend the MSI Raider GE76 12UHS over the competition.
