Review Summary
Expert Rating
The MSI Titan GT77 HX is an ultra-premium gaming and production laptop that comes with a jaw-dropping price of Rs 6 lakh. This machine is built for those who demand top-tier performance in both gaming and professional tasks, but the question remains—does it justify such a massive price tag? In this review, we’ll explore whether this laptop is truly worth the investment by diving deep into its design, performance, and more.
This laptop was originally reviewed by Florence George and this article is based on his evaluation
Table of Contents
Design
The design of the MSI Titan GT77 HX immediately reflects its high-end nature. The laptop is large, heavy, and robust, weighing in at a hefty 3.5kg, and combined with its massive 1.5kg 330W power brick, the total weight reaches 5 kg.
This makes it clear that portability is not the focus here. You wouldn’t want to lug this laptop around every day, but for a desktop replacement or a stationary gaming setup, the weight can be overlooked in favour of the power it packs.
The chassis is solid, with a metallic lid that has a slight flex but doesn’t feel fragile. The overall build quality is exceptional, providing a premium feel despite the slight flex in the keyboard area.
The keyboard itself is a standout feature, as MSI has equipped the Titan GT77 HX with a full-size Cherry MX Ultra Low Profile mechanical keyboard. This provides excellent tactile feedback, making both typing and gaming a pleasure.
The RGB lighting on the keyboard, combined with the RGB accents around the laptop, adds a touch of customisation and style to this already flashy device. The lack of rear ports in favour of RGB lighting on the back is a design choice that prioritises aesthetics over utility, which may or may not appeal to everyone.
Display
The display on the MSI Titan GT77 HX is one of its most impressive features. You get a stunning 17.3-inch 4K mini LED display with a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels, making it ideal for gaming, video editing, and other content creation tasks.
As for the screen itself, it is VESA HDR certified and reaches an incredible peak brightness of 1000 nits. This means you’ll have no trouble using the laptop even in brightly lit environments, and HDR content will look stunning with its deep blacks and vibrant colours.
The display also boasts 144Hz refresh rate, perfect for fast-paced gaming, ensuring smooth visuals without any stuttering or tearing. The 100 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage makes it a dream for content creators who require precise colour accuracy for video and photo editing. Whether you’re watching a movie, gaming, or editing a 4K video, the display on this laptop delivers top-notch quality.
However, the 16:9 aspect ratio feels a little outdated compared to the modern 16:10 ratio seen in other high-end laptops, providing a bit more vertical screen space. Nonetheless, it’s still a stellar screen that enhances the laptop’s overall experience.
Keyboard, Trackpad, and I/O
The keyboard on the MSI Titan GT77 HX is one of the highlights of this machine. MSI has incorporated Cherry MX Ultra Low Profile mechanical switches, which offer a satisfying and responsive typing experience. This is a full-sized keyboard complete with a numpad, making it suitable not only for gaming but also for tasks that require extensive typing. The RGB backlighting on the keyboard is fully customisable, adding an extra layer of personalisation to your gaming setup. For a laptop of this calibre, the keyboard does not disappoint.
The trackpad, while functional, doesn’t stand out as much as the keyboard. It is designed to be practical, but most users will likely prefer using an external mouse, especially for gaming.
On the I/O front, MSI has packed this laptop with numerous connectivity options. You get two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, two Thunderbolt 4.0 Type-C ports, HDMI 2.1, a mini DisplayPort, a full-size SD card slot, and a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port.
This extensive connectivity is a huge plus, allowing users to easily connect multiple peripherals, external displays, and storage devices. The absence of rear ports, in favour of RGB lighting on the back, might be a downside for those who prefer rear-facing connections, but the array of side ports should satisfy most users.
Performance
When it comes to performance, the MSI Titan GT77 HX stands tall, living up to its sky-high price tag. The model comes equipped with an Intel Core i9-3980HX processor, which features 24 cores and 32 threads. This flagship CPU provides jaw-dropping performance, handling any task you throw at it, whether it’s high-end gaming, 3D rendering, or video editing.
The combination of this powerful processor and NVIDIA’s flagship RTX 4090 GPU, with a TGP of 175W, means the Titan GT77 HX is a powerhouse capable of handling the most demanding workloads.
With 64GB of DDR5 RAM clocked at 4,000MHz (expandable up to 128GB), multitasking is a breeze. You can open dozens of browser tabs, run multiple applications, and even edit large video files simultaneously without the laptop breaking a sweat. The 4TB RAID 0 storage configuration provides blazing-fast read and write speeds, ensuring quick access to files and smooth performance during storage-intensive tasks.
In gaming, the Titan GT77 HX shines. Running games at 4K resolution with ultra settings and ray tracing enabled is no problem for this machine. In benchmarks and real-world gaming tests, it delivers excellent frame rates even in the most graphically demanding games.
Titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Red Dead Redemption 2 run smoothly at 4K with ray tracing and DLSS set to quality mode, offering immersive and visually stunning experiences. The 144Hz refresh rate ensures that competitive games like Valorant and Apex Legends run buttery smooth, providing a gaming edge with no stutters or screen tearing.
The MSI Center software provides multiple performance modes, including discrete GPU, hybrid, and integrated GPU modes, allowing you to optimise performance based on your usage needs. In extreme performance mode, the fans get quite loud, but this is a trade-off for keeping the internal temperatures under control. Even during long gaming sessions, the CPU remains below 90 degrees Celsius, and the GPU doesn’t exceed 70 degrees Celsius, which is impressive given the hardware inside this beast of a machine.
Features and Audio
MSI has included plenty of high-end features in the Titan GT77 HX. Windows Hello is supported through the fingerprint scanner and IR blaster, making it easy to log in securely. The 720p webcam, however, feels like a letdown on a laptop this expensive. While it includes a physical shutter for privacy, the resolution is subpar, especially when many laptops at lower price points now come with 1080p or even 1440p webcams.
The audio system is solid, featuring four speakers (two front-firing and two top-firing) that produce clear and loud sound. The Nahimic audio software allows users to tweak the audio settings to their liking, making it a decent choice for gaming or watching movies. However, for audiophiles or those seeking a more immersive experience, external speakers or headphones might still be preferable.
Battery and Charging
The battery life on the MSI Titan GT77 HX is unsurprisingly short, given the power-hungry hardware inside. The 99.9Wh battery offers around 4 hours of usage without the discrete GPU enabled. When gaming or performing resource-intensive tasks, the battery drains quickly, making the 330W charger a necessity. The charger itself is heavy, adding to the overall weight of the system.
Fan noise can be quite loud when the laptop is in extreme performance mode. While the fans do an excellent job of keeping the system cool, the noise is noticeable unless you’re using headphones or external speakers. Thankfully, MSI provides different performance modes, allowing users to dial back the performance and noise when needed.
Verdict
The MSI Titan GT77 HX is an absolute powerhouse of a machine, but its Rs 6 lakh price tag is intimidating. It’s designed for serious gamers and professionals who need top-tier performance and are willing to invest in a machine that can handle anything from 4K gaming to high-end content creation. With its outstanding display, powerful internals, and extensive connectivity options, it delivers on almost every front.
Editor’s rating: 8.5 / 10
Pros:
- Sturdy build and gamer aesthetics
- Pristine performance
- Exceptionally good GPU
- Great thermals
Cons:
- 16:9 display ratio feels dated
- Extremely noisy in performance mode
- Subpar battery life
- Poor webcam