If you’re searching for the best gaming laptop for school, but stay within a reasonable budget, the MSI GF63 Thin 9RCX has a reasonable build for its price. Under the hood is a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050TI 4GB graphics card, accompanied by an Intel Core i5-9300H and 8GB of 2666Mhz DDR4 RAM. If you are looking for some other high quality options, check out our review of the best gaming laptops.
Why We Like It – MSI GF63 Thin 9RCX
Modest, but still strong, the MSI GF63 Thin 9RCX is the ideal baseline to experience many of today’s popular titles—games like Fortnite, League of Legends, and Call of Duty.
- 512GB NVMe SSD
- Expandable RAM, up to 64GB
- Thin and well-rounded equipment
- Battery life could be better
- On the fringe of being outdated
Power & Performance
The obvious question to ask is: what can you play with this laptop? With a GTX 1050 TI 4GB and Intel Core i5, and 8GB of RAM, you’re right in line for playing titles like League of Legends, Fortnite, Call of Duty, and everything in between. However, games like the new Cyberpunk 2077 will need a GTX 1060 6GB and Intel Core i7-4790 and higher, which the Alienware M15 Gaming Laptop has. But you’ll still output frames between 30-60 (settings permit) in full HD.
Related: If you like this laptop, you might be interested in our MSI GF63 Thin review.
Battery, Ports & Expandability
Having 7 hours of battery life is pretty solid, in our humble opinion, but it could be better. More importantly, you get access to modern ports like four USB 3.0, USB-C, Ethernet, and HDMI. There is some wiggle room for expanding your RAM up to 64GB, which is killer!
Related: Also check out our MSI GE75 RTX 2070 review.
Build Quality
It isn’t surprising the MSI GF63 Thin 9RCX has good durability. It doesn’t have a magnesium alloy body, but it’s considerably better than the Lenovo IdeaPad I340 Gaming Laptop. The keys have a nice silver-lining print, though may feel a bit light to the touch.
Value
Is the MSI GF63 Thin 9RCX worth picking up? In this day and age: yes, it’s still worth looking at. However, it’s gaming performance is the baseline for easily accessible titles. Anything higher than, say, Apex Legends, GTA IV, or League of Legends, and you’ll have to consider upgrading to an ASUS ROG Zephyrus S Ultra Slim Gaming Laptop, which has a NVIDIA GTX 2070, budget permitting.
MSI GF63 Thin 9RCX Wrap Up
Picking up the MSI GF63 Thin 9RCX means gaining access to dozens of titles people enjoy today, a large portion of them being popular titles like League of Legends, Apex Legends, and Fortnite. But you still get that portability that’s useful for schooling. It’s a well-rounded choice that has the best of both worlds.
