We recently reviewed the MSI G63 gaming laptop with 8th gen CPU but how much of an improvement is it over the older seventh-gen model let’s find out how they differ through some benchmarks top you pick which one to get or find out if it’s worth upgrading.
General Info
| MSI GE63 7th Gen | MSI GE63 8th Gen | |
| Series | GE63 | GE63 |
| Brand | MSI | MSI |
| Model | GV62VR 7RF | GE63 RGB 8RF-441 |
| Weight | 2.2 Kg | 2.5 Kg |
| OS | Windows 10 Professional | Windows 10 Home Basic |
| Display | 15.6 Inch | 15.6 Inch |
| Type | Laptop | Laptop |
In terms of the overall design and build there again, extremely similar same sizes and weights. The lids of both black brushed metal, however, the new 8th gen version has RGB light strips on the left and right and these can be controlled through the included SteelSeries software the interiors are basically the same more brushed metal. When both have the same RGB keyboard with individually clip keys and same touchpad underneath.
Display
| MSI GE63 7th Gen | MSI GE63 8th Gen | |
| Display Type | LED | LED |
| Display Size | 15.6 Inches | 15.6 Inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixels | 1920 x 1080 Pixel |
| Dimensions | 383 x 260 x 22 mm | 380 x 260 x 29 mm |
| Display Touchscreen | No | No |
The panels are basically the same except the older seventh-gen model has the MSI dragon logo, while it’s missing on the newer version. Well, both also have the exact same 15.6 inches 1080p 144-hertz display with a 3 ms response time, no differences there either.
Specification
| MSI GE63 7th Gen | MSI GE63 8th Gen | |
| Processor Name | Intel Core i7 (7th Gen) | Intel Core i7 (8th Gen) |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 RAM | 16 GB DDR4 RAM |
| Storage | 1 TB HDD | 1 TB HDD |
In terms of specs, both laptops are essentially the same for the most part except for the difference in CPUs the older seventh-gen model has the intel i7 7700 HQ quad-core CPU. While the new 8th gen model has the i7 8750h, a 6-Core Chip with higher clock speeds. Based on these specs we, of course, expect the newer 8th gen model to come out ahead in benchmarks but by how much and how does the increased performance affect battery life and thermals.
Performance
| MSI GE63 7th Gen | MSI GE63 8th Gen | ||
| Clockspeed | 2.8 Ghz | 2.2 Ghz | |
| Graphic Processor | GeForce | GeForce | |
| Processor | GTX 1060 | GTX 1070 | |
| Graphic Ram | 6 GB | 8 GB | |
| Colors | Black | Black |
Overall both laptops are performing quite well in many games realistically, they’re both great gaming laptops but as we’ve seen the higher clock 8750 h is giving us a nice improvement performing around 13% above the i7th gen.
Multimedia
| MSI GE63 7th Gen | MSI GE63 8th Gen | ||
| Web-cam | Yes | Yes | |
| Speakers | Four Speakers | Dual Speakers | |
| Microphone Jack | Yes | Yes | |
| Wireless Lan | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | |
| Bluetooth | v4.2 | v5.0 | |
| Memory Slots | 1 Slots | 1 Slots |
Battery
| MSI GE63 7th Gen | MSI GE63 8th Gen | |
| Battery Type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Battery Cell | 6 Cell | 6 Cell |
| Power Supply | 41 W AC Adapter W | – |
Both laptops have the same 6-cell 51-watt hour battery. The 8th gen again ran out of battery a little sooner. Then the 7th gen finally down the bottom in blue was just watching Youtube both laptops had a keyboard and led lighting disabled and screens were on 50% brightness.
Which is better!
Now perhaps the most important difference the price, this will change over time so check out the links in the description for up-to-date pricing. At the time of reviewing there the 7th gen with exact specs goes for around 1,800 us dollars, while the newer 8th gen is around 1930 us dollars. So around one 130 dollars more or 7% more money for on average with the games I tested 13% more gaming performance. So based on these prices the 8th gen does seem to be worth picking. If you’ve already got the 7th gen or a similarly spec laptop, there’s no real reason to upgrade to the 8th gen.
