Gaming laptops have always walked a fine line between power and practicality. While traditional desktops offer easier upgrades and better cooling, portable systems often struggle with heat, space, and energy consumption. Yet manufacturers keep taking up the challenge, and the latest generation of hardware has made it more feasible than ever.
Taking advantage of the buzz surrounding CES 2015, MSI has introduced the GT80 Titan SLI, a laptop that pushes the concept of a portable gaming machine to its limits. It comes with two Nvidia GPUs configured in SLI, and something rarely seen on a laptop: a mechanical keyboard.
Specifications
The base model packs an Intel Core i7-4720HQ processor running at 2.6 GHz (3.6 GHz in Turbo mode), 16 GB of DDR3L RAM, two 128 GB solid-state drives in RAID 0, a 1 TB conventional hard drive, and a Blu-ray writer. The 18.4-inch display offers a 1080p resolution.
For graphics, the laptop is equipped with two Nvidia GTX 980M chips in SLI, providing a combined 16 GB of memory. The mechanical keyboard is supplied by SteelSeries and uses Cherry MX Brown switches. An unusual trackpad sits beside it and can double as a numeric keypad with tactile/haptic feedback.
Beyond the base configuration, MSI will also offer a higher-end version that upgrades the processor to a Core i7-4980HQ and increases RAM to 24 GB. One of the most interesting details is MSI's confirmation that the GTX 980M GPUs can be replaced with more advanced models once they're available, although the process requires sending the laptop to one of MSI's partners.
Despite a nine-cell battery, MSI itself seems to acknowledge that you shouldn't expect more than an hour of runtime under full load. And at 4.5 kilograms, the GT80 Titan stretches the meaning of the word 'portable' to its breaking point. Still, MSI knows it has created a monster and has no problem promoting it as such.
The official price is $3,400 for the base SLI-001 model and $3,800 for the SLI-009.
