Test Methodology
Comparison Laptops | 
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| System Name | MSI GT72S 6QE-046UK  | 
      PC Specialist Optimus VI 13  | 
    |||||
| Form Factor | 13.9in  | 
      15.6in  | 
      17.3in  | 
      15.6in  | 
      17.3in  | 
      17.3in  | 
      13.3in  | 
    
| CPU | Intel Core i7-4710HQ @ up to 3.5GHz  | 
      Intel Core i7-5700HQ @ up to 3.5GHz  | 
      Intel Core i7-4720HQ @ up to 3.6GHz  | 
      Intel Core i7-4720HQ @ up to 3.6GHz  | 
      Intel Core i7-4710HQ @ up to 3.5GHz  | 
      Intel Core i7-6820HK @ up to 3.6GHz  | 
      Intel Core i7-4710MQ @ up to 3.5GHz  | 
    
| CPU Cores / Threads | 4 / 8  | 
      4 / 8  | 
      4 / 8  | 
      4 / 8  | 
      4 / 8  | 
      4 / 8  | 
      4 / 8  | 
    
| CPU TDP | 47W  | 
      47W  | 
      47W  | 
      47W  | 
      47W  | 
      45W  | 
      47W  | 
    
| Memory | 16GB DDR3 (2x8GB)  | 
      16GB DDR3 (2x8GB)  | 
      16GB DDR3 (2x8GB)  | 
      16GB DDR3 (2x8GB)  | 
      16GB DDR3 (2x8GB)  | 
      16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)  | 
      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 11-11-11-28-1T  | 
      2,133MHz at 15-15-15-36-1T  | 
      1,600MHz at 9-9-9-27-1T  | 
    
| Integrated GPU | Intel HD 4600  | 
      -  | 
      Intel HD 4600  | 
      Intel HD 4600  | 
      Intel HD 4600  | 
      Intel HD 530  | 
      Intel HD 4600  | 
    
| Dedicated GPU(s) | Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M 6GB  | 
      2x Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M 4GB in SLI  | 
      Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M 8GB  | 
      Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M 3GB  | 
      Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M 8GB  | 
      Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M 8GB  | 
      Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M 2GB  | 
    
| Display | 13.9in QHD+ LCD (3,200x1,800)  | 
      15.6in MEI96A2 3K IPS (2,880x1,620)  | 
      17.3in LGD0469 Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080)  | 
      15.6in SDC4852 4K UHD LCD (3,840x2,160)  | 
      17.3in CMN1735 Full-HD LCD (1,920x1,080)  | 
      17.3in LGD0469 Full-HD IPS G-Sync (1,920x1,080)  | 
      13.3in SDC424A QHD+ IPS (3,200x1,800)  | 
    
| Battery Capacity | 73Wh  | 
      73Wh  | 
      76Wh  | 
      53Wh  | 
      83Wh  | 
      83Wh  | 
      62Wh  | 
    
| Wireless | Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260  | 
      Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265  | 
      Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260  | 
      Killer Wireless-AC 1525  | 
      Killer Wireless-AC 1525  | 
      Killer Wireless-AC 1535  | 
      Intel Wireless-N 7260  | 
    
| Network | Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet  | 
      Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet  | 
      Realtek Gigabit Ethernet  | 
      Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet  | 
      Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet  | 
      Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet  | 
      Realtek Gigabit Ethernet  | 
    
| Primary Storage | 2 x 256GB LiteOn LMT-256L9M mSATA SSDs in RAID 0  | 
      2 x 256GB LiteOn L8T-256L9G M.2 SSDs in RAID 0  | 
      2 x 128GB LiteOn LMT-128L9M mSATA SSDs in RAID 0  | 
      128GB Toshiba THNSNJ128G8NU M.2 SSD  | 
      2 x Toshiba THNSNJ128G8NU M.2 SSDs in RAID 0  | 
      128GB Toshiba THNSN5128GPU7 NVMe M.2 SSD  | 
      240GB Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA 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 HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD  | 
      1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5in HDD  | 
      1TB HGST Travelstar 5K1000 2.5in HDD  | 
    
| Optical Drive | -  | 
      -  | 
      DVD writer  | 
      -  | 
      LG Blu-ray writer  | 
      Hitachi Blu-ray writer  | 
      -  | 
    
| Power Supply | 150W External  | 
      200W External  | 
      180W External  | 
      150W External  | 
      230W External  | 
      230W External  | 
      120W 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 10 64-bit  | 
      Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit  | 
    
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 330mm x 264mm x 22.9mm  | 
      390mm x 220mm x 22.9mm  | 
      417mm x 287mm x 22.5mm  | 
      390mm x 266mm x 19.9mm   | 
      428mm x 305mm x 48mm  | 
      428mm x 294mm x 48mm  | 
      330mm x 227mm x 32.9mm  | 
    
| Weight | 1.9kg  | 
      2.5kg  | 
      2.8kg  | 
      1.9kg  | 
      3.8kg  | 
      3.8kg  | 
      2.1kg  | 
    
| Standard Warranty | Two years  | 
      Two years  | 
      Two years  | 
      Two years  | 
      Two years  | 
      Two years  | 
      Three years  | 
    
| Date Reviewed | February 2015  | 
      June 2015  | 
      March 2015  | 
      May 2015  | 
      October 2014  | 
      October 2015  | 
      July 2015  | 
    
| Price When Reviewed | £1,799  | 
      £1,999  | 
      £1,750  | 
      £1,500  | 
      £1,999  | 
      £1,999  | 
      £899  | 
    
CPU Benchmarks | 
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 
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| 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 | 
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| 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. | |||||||||||
Miscellaneous Benchmarks | 
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| 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. | |||||||||||
