MSI GT76 Titan DT 9SG Review: A Gaming Laptop Still Valid In 2020
We are really happy that finally we have the chance to test a real Titan. And we can say that this gaming laptop bears its name well since it is the MSI GT76 Titan DT.
When talking about gaming laptops MSI is one of the best brands and it is no wonder that they spoil us with an Intel Core i9-9900K processor, a motherboard with a Z390 chipset, 32 GB of DDR4-2666 MHz memory, an IPS 17,3″ UHD (3840 x 2160) screen and to finish in beauty, a powerful RTX 2080. Enough to have fun!
Underneath the chassis, we have an Intel Core i9-9900K (8 cores and 16 threads at 3.60 GHz base and 5.00 GHz boost), accompanied by 32 GB of DDR4-2666 MHz memory (up to 128 GB possible) and an 8 GB Nvidia RTX 2080 GDDR6 graphics card allowing the display on a 17.3″ IPS panel in Ultra HD definition (3840x 2160 pixels). For the storage part, we have two 512 GB PCIe Gen 3×4 SSDs in NVMe M.2 in Raid 0 and a SATA 2 HDD,5″ 1 TB at 7200 rpm.
MSI GT76 Titan DT 9SG Design Review - Heavyweight champion
You'll find RGB LEDs on the keyboard, a row of lights on the front and even more RGB LEDs above the huge air vents at the back of the unit.
The weight of 4 kg is combined with monster dimensions: the GT76 is 397 mm wide and 42 mm thick, making it one of the heaviest machines we've seen in a while. Classic high-end laptops such as the Alienware m17 are still only 2.6 kg and 21 mm, and a more innovative model such as the Acer Predator Triton 900 weighs 4.5 kg but is only 24 mm thick.
This 4 kg volume is not all you have to lug around. The MSI has two electric bricks that contribute to 1.8 kg of weight. Add a USB mouse and you're looking at about 6 kg of weight to play on the go.
The MSI, however, offers fantastic connectivity. It has four full-size USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports and two C-type connectors, one of which supports Thunderbolt 3. Display outputs are handled by HDMI and mini-DisplayPort, and there are two audio jacks and even a microSD card slot.
Hardware accessibility is also decent. Although the build quality of the GT76 is good, this device is not without flaws. The wrist rest and the display both move a bit too much. The plastic mesh panel on the underside is fragile.
2. MSI GT76 Titan DT 9SG Games Benchmarks - The ultimate Gaming Laptop
Our top gaming laptop is equipped with a Nvidia RTX 2080 graphics card, it was natural for us to push it to the limits and see what happens. To do so, we tested 8 games in 2160p, 1440p and 1080p. The tests were carried out with the graphics at their maximum and we obviously activated the Performance mode in the Dragon Center software in order to take advantage of all the power.
The games we have selected are Far Cry 5, Tom Clancy's The Divisions 2, Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Deliver Us The Moon,, STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order, Grand Theft Auto V, Assassin's Creed Odissey and Red Dead Redemption 2.
We also took advantage of these tests to take temperature, consumption and decibel readings that you can find in the last part of the test.
Far Cry 5
On Far Cry 5, we find a maximum of 64 FPS in 2160p definition, 113 FPS in 1440p and 148 FPS in 1080p, scores that are quite suitable to play without too much difficulty. Moreover, the minimum in 2160p is 50 FPS, in 1440p we go to 68 FPS and 94 FPS in 1080p.
Assassin's Creed Odissey
In 2160p, the game makes our graphic card suffer a little. We get a maximum of 71 FPS and we even drop to 22 FPS minimum, for an average reading of 36 FPS. We used the game's benchmark in order to take the readings.
Battlefield V
As in Assassin's Creed Odissey, the game is a challenge for the graphics card, but remains globally playable even if sometimes the low FPS readings can be annoying for some people. It may be necessary to be less greedy on the graphic qualities in order to recover some precious FPS.
We get a maximum of 64 FPS and 50 FPS with RTX + DLSS in UHD
We get a maximum of 73 FPS without RTX and 63 FPS with RTX and DLSS in 1440p
We get a maximum of 156 FPS without RTX + DLSS and 93 FPS with in 1080p
Call of Duty: Modern warfare
Call of Duty: Modern warfare is less greedy than its direct competitor Battlefield V, but still a big FPS consumer . We do the readings with and without the Ray Tracing, using the FRAPS software over two minutes.
For UHD definition max 68 FPS without RTX and 49 FPS with RTX + DLSS
1440p - we get max 133 FPS without RTX and 92 FPS with RTX and DLSS
1080p - we get max 179 FPS without RTX + DLSS and 171 FPS with
Tom Clancy's The Division 2
Turning now to The Division 2, the integrated benchmark gives us the following results: in 2160p, we obtain 39 FPS maximum, 32 FPS average and 29 FPS minimum. On the 1440p definition, 152 FPS maximum , 91 FPS average and only 30 FPS minimum. In 1080p, we find 61 maximum FPS, 60 average FPS and 59 minimum FPS.
STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order
We switched our laptop to the game STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order. In UHD the game is resource-hungry, but it's still easily playable since we get the following results: 61 FPS maximum, 59 FPS average and 42 FPS minimum. In 1440p, we do a good 117 FPS maximum, 103 FPS average and 87 FPS minimum. On the 1080p definition, we go up to 145 FPS maximum, 124 FPS average and 95 FPS minimum.
Grand Theft Auto V
We couldn't resist the urge to launch a benchmark on the excellent GTA V.
In 2160p we have 138 maximum FPS, 76 average FPS and 51 minimum FPS. On the 1440p definition, the readings give us 183 maximum FPS, 128 average FPS and 70 minimum FPS. Going to 1080p, the results are 220 FPS maximum, 176 FPS average and 116 FPS minimum.
Red Dead Redemption 2
To finish the in-game benchmarks, we test Red Dead Redemption 2 from Rockstar Studios. The in-game benchmark shows us the following results: in 2160p, we are at 83 FPS maximum, 33 FPS average and only 16 FPS minimum.
With a 1440p definition, our readings are 72 FPS maximum, 50 FPS average and 36 FPS minimum. Finally, with a 1080p definition, our readings are 124 FPS maximum, 61 FPS average and 15 FPS minimum. Red Dead Redemption 2 is magnificent! The game is fluid, even in 2160p.
3. MSI GT76 Titan DT 9SG-016EN temperature, consumption and decibel readings
We use the HwMonitor software to take temperature readings. We recorded the temperatures during the game and we allowed a rest period of ten minutes before each new test. For the CPU, we reach a maximum temperature of 98 °C. The lowest value measured is 96 °C on the Red Dead Redemption 2 game. The room temperature was 22 °C.
For GPU temperatures, we have a maximum of 99°C and a minimum of 91°C. The room temperature is the same as for the CPU since the readings are extracted at the same time and with the same software.
For the decibels, we are equipped with a sound level meter device that we have positioned 22 cm from the back of the computer. We get 78.9 dB maximum on Far Cry 5 and 76.3 dB on Red Dead Redemption 2. Our Titan can be really noisy sometimes. You've been warned!
Let's finish with the consumption records. We are using a consumption meter and in game, we get 235 watts maximum on Far Cry 5 and 224 watts maximum on Red Dead Redemption 2. We also got a 41 watts rest reading. Power consumption is relatively high on the Adobe benchmarks with a value of 387 watts maximum on the After Premiere Pro benchmark.
4. Our Review and Opinion on the MSI GT76 Titan DT 9SG
We are particularly impressed by the work done by MSI to offer us a powerful, sober and efficient gaming machine. Our TITAN which has won so many awards combines the best or almost the best hardware available on the market.
The target audience is clearly assumed by the brand (wealthy nomadic gamers). The MSI GT76 Titan DT 9SG will be your faithful ally to move wherever you want to play with your friends. The care taken in the design leaves a very good first impression.
No frills or useless things (some will mention the RGB, but on our side we liked it because it knows how to be discreet. The SteelSeries lighting management software is easy to use, so you can turn it off at will).
The autonomy of 120 minutes under PCMark 10 leaves us a correct impression. Clearly, this is not the kind of PC to use if you are not connected to the main power source. In fact, if you run a game on battery power, the performance is greatly affected.
The Intel i9-9900K CPU does its job well and provides all the power needed to keep the computer running at full capacity. The NVIDIA RTX 2080 graphics card pleasantly surprised us during the game and benchmark sequences we did. We only had very sporadic FPS crashes. The 32GB DDR4 memory kit gave us all the satisfaction we could expect.
Concerning the storage, nothing to say. The Raid 0 of the Samsung 512 GB SSDs does the job perfectly and we even have a 1 TB hard drive for storing data such as games or other files like music, photos, movies, etc..
What can we blame such a machine for? Not much in the end. Cooling, maybe?
However, it is difficult to do much better and when you open the beast you realize that MSI has done its best to optimize the efficiency of the cooling system.
It is clear that our TITAN is more a portable PC than a laptop, but here again it is difficult to do much better considering the components we are offered. Autonomy could be a black spot for some.
It's a winner for MSI, which offers us a complete gaming laptop with no budget limit. Indeed, the MSI GT76 Titan DT 9SG is not cheap at all but we consider that is one of the best laptops available.
Finial Notes
BEWARE: The outrageous size may leave the impression that you have something to compensate for… You know what they say about people that buy XXL size 😋
Huge, powerful, and with a generous amount of features, the MSI GT76 Titan has a lot to offer - but it's heavy, expensive, and not for everyone.
