Test Methodology
| Comparison Laptops | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| System Name | MSI GT80 2QE-023UK | |||||
| Form Factor | 13.9in | 17.3in | 15.6in | 17.3in | 18.4in | 17.3in | 
| CPU | Intel Core i7-4710HQ @ up to 3.5GHz | Intel Core i7-4870HQ @ up to 3.7GHz | Intel Core i7-4700HQ @ up to 3.4GHz | Intel Core i7-4710HQ @ up to 3.5GHz | Intel Core i7-4980HQ @ up to 4.0GHz | Intel Core i7-4720HQ @ up to 3.6GHz | 
| CPU Cores / Threads | 4 / 8 | 4 / 8 | 4 / 8 | 4 / 8 | 4 / 8 | 4 / 8 | 
| CPU TDP | 47W | 47W | 47W | 47W | 47W | 47W | 
| Memory | 16GB DDR3 (2x8GB) | 16GB DDR3 (2x8GB) | 8GB DDR3 (1x8GB) | 16GB DDR3 (2x8GB) | 32GB DDR3 (4x8GB) | 16GB DDR3 (2x8GB) | 
| Memory Speed | 1,866MHz at 10-10-10-32-1T | 1,866MHz at 10-10-10-32-1T | 1,600MHz at 11-11-11-28-1T | 1,600MHz at 11-11-11-28-1T | 1,600MHz at 11-11-11-28-2T | 1,600MHz at 9-9-9-27-1T | 
| Integrated GPU | Intel HD 4600 | - | Intel HD 4600 | Intel HD 4600 | Intel Iris Pro 5200 | Intel HD 4600 | 
| Dedicated GPU(s) | Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M 6GB | 2x Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M 3GB | Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M 2GB | Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M 8GB | 2x Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M 8GB | Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M 4GB | 
| Display | 13.9in QHD+ LCD (3,200x1,800) | 17.3in AUO159D Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080) | 15.6in SDC324C Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080) | 17.3in CMN1735 Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080) | 18.4in SDC4C48 Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080) | 17.3in CMO1720 Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080) | 
| Battery Capacity | 73Wh | 73Wh | 53Wh | 83Wh | 75Wh | 60Wh | 
| Wireless | Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 | Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 | Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 | Killer Wireless-AC 1525 | Killer Wireless-AC 1525 | Killer Wireless-AC 1525 | 
| Network | Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet | Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet | Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet | Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet | Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet | Realtek Gigabit Ethernet | 
| Primary Storage | 2 x 256GB LiteOn LMT-256L9M mSATA SSDs in RAID 0 | 2 x 256GB LiteOn LMT-256L9M mSATA SSDs in RAID 0 | 128GB Toshiba THNSNH128G8NT M.2 SSD | 2 x Toshiba THNSNJ128G8NU M.2 SSDs in RAID 0 | 4 x Toshiba THNSNJ256G8NU M.2 SSDs in RAID 0 | 240GB Kingston SM2280S3240G SSDNow M.2 SSD | 
| Secondary Storage | - | - | 1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD | 1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD | 1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD | 1TB WD Blue 2.5in HDD | 
| Optical Drive | - | - | - | LG Blu-ray writer | LG Blu-ray writer | - | 
| Power Supply | 150W External | 200W External | 150W External | 230W External | 330W External | 180W External | 
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit | Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit | Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit | Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit | Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit | Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit | 
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 330mm x 264mm x 22.9mm | 428mm x 305mm x 22.9mm | 390mm x 266mm x 19.95mm | 428mm x 305mm x 48mm | 456mm x 330mm x 49mm | 417mm x 287mm x 29.98mm | 
| Weight | 1.9kg | 3.1kg | 2.0kg | 3.8kg | 4.5kg | 3.3kg | 
| Standard Warranty | Two years | Two years | Two years | Two years | Two years | Three years | 
| Approx. System Cost | £1,799 | £1,999 | £1,120 | £1,999 | £3,500 | £1,349 | 
| CPU Benchmarks | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HEXUS PiFast | Our number-crunching PiFast test is used to benchmark the computational power of each system's CPU. | |||||||||||
| Cinebench | Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses as many cores as possible. | |||||||||||
| HandBrake | Free-to-use video encoder that stresses all CPU cores. | |||||||||||
| Memory and Storage Benchmarks | ||||||||||||
| AIDA64 | Benchmark that analyses memory bandwidth and latency. | |||||||||||
| CrystalDiskMark | Popular free-to-use storage benchmark, used to gauge sequential performance and aggregated 4K QD32 speeds. | |||||||||||
| System and Gaming Benchmarks | ||||||||||||
| PCMark 8 | System-wide examination that uses the Home preset, run with OpenCL acceleration. | |||||||||||
| 3DMark | DX11, run at the Firestrike default test. | |||||||||||
| Aliens vs. Predator | 1,920x1,080 resolution, 2xAA, 4xAF, medium quality. | |||||||||||
| BioShock Infinite | 1,920x1,080 resolution, various quality settings. | |||||||||||
| Total War: Rome II | 1,920x1,080 resolution, various quality settings. | |||||||||||
| Miscellaneous Benchmarks | ||||||||||||
| Power Consumption | Noted for system idling, under HandBrake video-transcoding load, and for GPU playing Aliens vs. Predator. | |||||||||||
| Temperature | Noted for CPU idling, under HandBrake video-transcoding load, and for GPU playing Aliens vs. Predator. | |||||||||||

 
             
             
             
                 
                    
                 
                    
                 
                 
                 
                