MSI GS66 Stealth gaming laptop review

The MSI GS66 Stealth gaming laptop is a powerful machine with all the amenities gamers need. Its compact yet sturdy design makes it ideal for playing just about anywhere. Even so, it still packs in a hefty 1TB SSD, ample processing power, and an impressive 240Hz 15.6″ screen.

After putting the MSI GS66 10SE-474CA Stealth model through the paces with a few of the latest releases, here are my thoughts on this extremely capable gaming laptop.

The compact but durable MSI GS66 Stealth

On thing I always look for in a great gaming laptop is an ideal balance of form. Naturally I want something that’s sleek, lightweight, and easy to carry around. Why else would you prefer a gaming laptop if you weren’t going to be moving it around now and then? There are plenty of reasons to go with a desktop instead if your machine is never going to move.

At the same time, I need something that has a bit of durability to it. The mobile nature of a laptop increases the risk of accidental mishaps. I want a machine that doesn’t feel like it might snap in two under a minimal amount of pressure.

The MSI GS66 Stealth checks off both of these boxes. It strikes an excellent balance between portability and sturdiness. At just over 4.5 pounds, the laptop itself is quite lightweight—especially when you consider its gaming potential. It also measures in at a sleek 5.58 (W) x 3.8 (H) x 0.28 (D) inches dimensionally.

Yet what I truly appreciate is that despite the size, this laptop still feels strong. In particular the screen isn’t as flimsy and bendable as other thin laptops. MSI opts to add just that little bit of extra thickness, trading the “thinnest model possible” for some much more valuable grit.

Play the latest games at high settings

The MSI GS66 Stealth may be compact, but that doesn’t mean it can’t handle the load. It packs in an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU, as well as an Intel Core i7-10750H processor. Even better, the 10SE-474CA model also includes a full 1TB SSD, with fast loading times and plenty of space for your library.

I tested out a number of recent releases, including Baldur’s Gate III early access, Total War: Three Kingdoms, and even the brand new Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The MSI GS66 performs admirably with all of them. I had no issues running all of these titles at high settings and keeping a steady frame rate with no visible lag or screen-tearing issues (save for Baldur’s Gate, whose occasionally troublesome performance can be attributed to its ongoing development and not a hardware issue).

To benchmark the MSI GS66 Stealth I ran a few tests on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. On high settings the frame rate held steady at close to 50 fps, while bumping it down to medium easily pushed it over 60 fps. Not bad for a compact laptop running a brand new game.

Of course, this laptop also features a very nice 15.6″ screen capable of displaying 240Hz. The question is whether or not you’ll ever actually be able to utilize that full 240Hz refresh rate under most typical circumstances. Still, it’s far better to be able to overcompensate than to be left wanting.

The MSI GS66 Stealth is VR-ready and more

If you’re looking for a gaming laptop that can handle VR, this one will certainly do the job. To test it our I hooked up the Oculus Quest 2 via Oculus link. Next stop: cruising through the stars in the cockpit of my X-Wing fighter in Star Wars: Squadrons. VR is making incredible leaps forward these days, so VR-compatibility is at the top of the list for many PC gamers.

Of course you’ll also find the necessary ports to support any other major gaming peripherals you may wish to incorporate. The MSI GS66 Stealth includes a Thunderbolt 3 port, a USB-C 3.2 port, and three more standard USB 3.2 ports. Naturally there’s also an HDMI-out, headphone jack, and LAN port.

Manage your experience with MSI Dragon Center

MSI Dragon Center is MSI’s all-in-one software for managing your overall gaming experience. From a performance standpoint you can keep an eye on everything here from GPU and CPU temperature, fan usage, battery life, and more. You can then make adjustments to each to tune your system and optimize how you want your laptop to perform.

For example, you can create and store unique scenarios that will either deliver extreme performance, conserve battery power, or perhaps keep the cooling system running as silently as possible. You can also optimize the display for visual quality in relation to the type of media you are currently enjoying, or even program the custom lighting aesthetic of the RGB keyboard. Furthermore, you can easily tweak various setting on-the-fly to improve performance while you are in-game.

That’s just the beginning of what MSI Dragon Center is capable of. It also let users manage other MSI features such as MSI True Color (for the personal calibration of colour precision and settings), as well as MSI Mystic Light. The latter extension allows users to synchronize and customize all of their MSI-compatible LED RGB products and accessories.

Finally, MSI Dragon Center also creates options for streaming, capturing in-game highlights, and much more. In essence, it’s your one-stop hub for just about anything you need to create the perfect gaming ecosystem.

The MSI GS66 Stealth gaming laptop delivers excellent performance and quality design

The MSI GS66 Stealth gaming laptop ticks all the major checkboxes I look for in a portable gaming solution. It consistently delivers a decent, stable frame rate at high settings on recent games, and can even handle the load for VR compatibility. At the same time, it’s a sleek and lightweight machine—but not to the point where it feels like it might lack sufficient structural integrity.

I tested the 10SE-474CA model, and appreciate that is incorporates a full 1TB SSD. Players will enjoy the fast loading times and ample space it provides. Furthermore, MSI Dragon Center is a fantastic amenity that gives owners quick and easy control over performance, settings, aesthetics, and much more. All-in-all it adds up to an awesome gaming experience.