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This MSI GX660 impressed us on a number of fronts. In a competitive market, it's great to see a laptop manufacturer go the extra mile, and accompanying the – to be frank, expected – high performance are a range of features and design details that make the GX660 stand out in the crowd.
First and foremost, however, the GX660R succeeds as a very powerful and usable machine with an impressive specification (think Blu-ray drive, 1TB of storage on top of the processing chips) at a £1699 price that's not ridiculous.
The sound quality produced form the Dynaudio-designed speakers is first class, and you won't find anything similar on the market currently.
We liked
The GX660 succeeds fundamentally because it's a very powerful laptop that'll not only run the latest games, but also enable you to edit HD films and carry out your work at the same time.
Whether you like the garish design is a matter of personal opinion, but there's no denying the neat features such as the Cooler Booster technology and TDE – flourishes that actually work.
The Dynaudio speaker system geniunely sounds fantastic, and will prove a selling point for some.
We disliked
There's not a lot about the GX660R to dislike. Having said that, the keyboard is a disappointment and, despite its comfort, we'd expect a more responsive board from a gaming laptop.
The Cooler Booster technology does help in to keep the GX660R cool, but when it kicks in you could be forgiven for thinking you were living under the Heathrow flight path – it's noisy.
Although it's to be expected, portability isn't the GX660R's strongest suit and, although heavier, the Toshiba Qosmio X500 offers more battery life.
Verdict
The MSI GX660R is a great machine at a sensible price. Performance is as agressive as we'd expect for the money, but there is also a wealth of extra features, clever design additions and impressive components that make this a very competitively priced laptop.
Add to that the fantastic Dynaudio speaker system and you're looking at one of the best gaming systems currently around.
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