It wasn’t too long ago when laptops were used for only business work and for its portability and being able to do your work on the go. Gaming laptops were soon introduced and used to have a reputation for being too large and hard to carry around. With their extremely powerful processors and
As time passed and tech evolved, Nvidia introduced their Max-Q designs for its desktop-class GPUs, and manufacturers were able to cram more powerful hardware into thinner designs.
Quick Specs
| MSI GS65 Stealth | ASUS Zephyrus S | |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-8750H 2.2 GHz | Intel Core i7-8750H 2.2 GHz |
| RAM | 2 slots DDR4, (Expandable up to 32GB) | 8GB on board (expandable up to 24GB |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 |
| Display | 15.6-inch 1920×1080, 144Hz, IPS Panel, 7ms | 15.6-inch 1920×1080, 144Hz, IPS panel, 3ms |
| Storage | M.2 PCIe NVMe 512GB SSD | M.2 PCIe NVMe 512GB SSD |
| Keyboard | SteelSeries per-key RGB Backlit chiclet keyboard | Backlit chiclet keyboard Marked WASD keys Support 30/N key 4 zones RGB backlight mode 1.2mm travel distance Aura Sync |
| Ports | 1x Mic-in 1x Headphone-out 1x USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 2 / DisplayPort / Thunderbolt 3 3x USB 3.1 Type-A 1x RJ45 1x HDMI 2.0 1x Mini-DisplayPort | 1 x USB3.1 Gen2 Type-C with
DisplayPort™ 1.2 1x USB3.1 Gen 1 Type-C 1x USB3.1 Gen2 Type-A 2x USB 2.0 Type-A 1x HDMI 2.0 1x 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo jack 1x Kensington lock |
| Webcam | HD type (30fps@720p) | 720p |
| Audio | 2 x 2 watt speakers Dynaudio sound system Nahimic 3 enhanced surround sound | 2 x 2 watt speakers with Smart
AMP technology Array Microphone |
| Cooling | Triple-fan design with 4 heat pipes | Dual 12v fan design with 5 heatpipes |
| Battery | 4-Cell, 82 Whr | 4-cell 50Wh |
| Dimmensions | (WxDxH) 357.7 x 247.7 x 17.9 mm | (WxDxH) 360 x 268 x 14.95~15.75 mm |
| Weight | 1.88 Kg | 2.1 Kg |
Design
Both the MSI GS65 Stealth Thin and ROG Zephyrus S are extremely designed to be portable and thin devices. The MSI GS65 Stealth Thin is 17.9mm thin while the ROG Zephyrus S was designed to be the world’s thinnest gaming laptop at 14.9mm. Despite the ROG Zephyrus being thinner, the MSI GS65 Stealth Thin had a more compact chassis.
Looking at the back where the logo stands, MSI was able to implement a more professional and subtle design whereas ASUS has always been designed for gamers and has that aggressive design featuring their exhaust at the rear. MSI has definitely come up with a more
ASUS ROG GX531GM 
Keyboard
With the battle of RGB and the additional eye-candy it presents, the MSI GS65 has a very traditional Steel Series set, while the ASUS Zephyrus S has followed its predecessors in having that forward layout, which was a sore on the arms to use. Although, we loved the implementation of the Numpad on their trackpad. The RGB lighting of MSI’s SteelSeries keyboard outshines the ASUS Zephyrus S.
We got in touch with ASUS, and they said that the keyboard was brought down for the laptop to have better cooling and avoid throttling. We feel as though this design was not very well thought but should be something we could used to overtime.
Inputs and Outputs
Both the MSI GS65 Stealth Thin and ROG Zephyrus S are probably the thinnest laptops in the market with the most powerful specifications. The question we really have to ask is, how much has been sacrificed to put these two together.
To start, the MSI GS65 Stealth Thin beats the ROG Zephyrus S in two parts – the RJ45 LAN port, as well the separate microphone and headphone ports. These are two important ports we feel are very useful especially if you’re a gamer. There are times when wifi isn’t the best way to go around gaming. The most secure way to get that bandwidth would still be through a LAN cable.
Although, the ROG Zephyrus S does have that USB 3.1 Gen 2 which allows charging your laptop or having an extended display via USB-Type C as an advantage while the GS65 Stealth Thin has more USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A’s overall.
Benchmarks
Clear signs are seen in terms of performance, that the
MSI Stealth Thin GS65 has an edge over the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S (see 3DMark Benchmarks). Although, one advantage that the Zephyrus S has is that it can be set to “Turbo” Performance, showing a clear advantage over the MSI Stealth Thin GS65.
Considering read-and-write speeds, the MSI Stealth Thin GS65 has an advantage over the ASUS ROG
Throttling
We also noticed throttling on both the MSI Stealth Thin GS65 and ASUS ROG Zephyrus S. There are two types of throttling – Power Limit Throttling and Thermal Throttling. While the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S experiences Power Limit Throttling, it might be a good thing. This means that the manufacturers set a power limit on their notebooks. On the other hand, the MSI Stealth Thin GS65 experienced Thermal Throttling which as you would see on the image above, lowers the CPU’s speed due to heat.
There are several ways to resolve thermal throttling like changing thermal paste or under-
Availability
Both laptops are readily available at Complink Stores at SM North Edsa, Megamall, Robinsons Ermita, SM Mall of Asia. Complink is one of the stores with a widely available range of products. Check out their branches and experience the best gaming laptops.
Conclusion
Two of the biggest brands have been always going neck-to-neck in terms of specifications and pricing. In terms of performance, we clearly see the advantage of the MSI Stealth Thin GS65 against the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S without the Turbo Performance. We would also commend MSI for the minimalistic design they have been able to provide such a heavy performance laptop.
The only things that put us off on the MSI Stealth Thin GS65 are the RGB per Key function and the Thermal Throttles. Both of which are easily fixed by switching off the RGB
While ASUS ROG Zephyrus S may have the edge in performance under the Turbo Mode, but the noise levels were also what would be distracting and would probably be controlled better with
