February 27, 2022MSI GL65 Leopard Review: Should You Buy It?

With dozens of different laptops brands and kinds, for sure you’ll feel quite overwhelmed with the amount. It can be hard finding the perfect laptop, but it’s not impossible. You must find what features you want in a laptop such as a backlit keyboard, a big display, which CPU and GPU, and many more. But don’t worry! Techzumo is here to introduce you to many different laptops you can choose from to be able to find which laptop is best for you!

Through years of development, MSI has become known to the public to release high-quality laptops and has gained a name for itself. Since then, MSI has made some of the best laptops on the market.

Today, we will introduce to you a great gaming laptop — the MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFK-062. This laptop is one of the best of the MSI GL65 series. The Leopard 10SFK-062 15.6-inch uses the 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H processor with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 graphic coprocessor (GPU) — both of which are powerful and high-end components of the laptop. 

But what steals the show of the MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFK is its keyboard. With RGB backlighting with each key. It sets the mood and adds to its aesthetically looking appearance. This feature may not be show-stopping for everyone, but it does steal the hearts of many gamers.

Complete MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFK-062 Review 

MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFK-062 15.6″

• 15.6″ FHD IPS-Level 144Hz 72%NTSC Thin Bezel close to 100%Srgb NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 8G GDDR6
• Intel Core i7-10750H 2.6-5.0GHz Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201(2 x 2 ax)
• 512GB NVMe SSD 16GB (8G*2) DDR4 2666MHz 2 Sockets Max Memory 64GB
• USB 3.1 Gen2 Type C 1 USB 3.2 Gen1 3 SteelSeries per-Key RGB with Anti-Ghost key+ silver lining 720p HD Webcam
• Win10 Multi-language Giant Speakers 3W x 2 6 cells (51Wh) Li-Ion 230W

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Performance

The MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFK is equipped with the latest 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H processor with 6 cores that can reach a maximum clock speed of 5 GHz. The processor has enough power to operate the laptop to handle demanding applications, games, and tasks. Not only can you use the MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFK for gaming, but you can also use it for video editing, programming, graphic design, and many more. 

This laptop also uses the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 graphic coprocessor which makes your games’ graphics much better. In line with this, the MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFK also has 16 GB of RAM which is split into two slots and 512 GB SSD storage. 

You can upgrade the RAM to 64 GB if you want to. The 512 GB storage is enough for most games, but we think it’s a bit tight when used for more demanding games.

Overall, both the CPU and GPU are great and can handle most tasks and games. They are a powerful duo.

Gaming Performance

The MSI GL65 can play even the most demanding games at their recommended frame rates. The MSI GL65 Leopard can offer superior graphics at higher frame rates, even at Full HD resolution, due to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070’s technology. 

The frame rates dip below 60fps in Ultra HD/4K, which may not be sufficient to get through the most demanding games. However, users of the MSI GL65  can connect to external monitors with a faster and higher refresh rate, display resolution, and response time thanks to the MiniDisplay connector. 

Display

The MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFK-062 has a resolution of 1920×1080p which has enough pixels for a 15.6-inch screen display. The colors of the display can produce a bright, crisp, and clear view at several viewing angles.

The colors on this display are stable and flow fluently. Plus, with the refresh rate of 144Hz and a 3ms response time, you’ll for sure have a great gaming experience with this laptop.

The colors on this display are stable and flow fluently, with a refresh rate of 144Hz and a reaction time of 3ms, there’s little chance you’ll miss anything.

You’ll be able to play your favorite hardcore games with higher resolutions and a high refresh rate on this display without having to worry about your laptop screen lagging.

Design

Looking at the design of the MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFK-062, you’ll notice immediately that it uses a simple design. It has a solid plastic chassis that uses a matte black finish with two parallel lines and the Gaming Series logo in the middle. The Gaming Series logo uses a backlit in red which isn’t new to MSI.

The design isn’t something new or exciting since this type of design can be found with other MSI laptops such as the MSI GS75 Stealth and the MSI GL72M 7RDX. However, it doesn’t change the fact that it is a simple and timeless design that everyone can work with.

With dimensions of 14.08 x, 9.76 x 1.08 inches, it isn’t exactly as portable, plus it weighs about 5.07 pounds. But if you won’t be traveling with the GL65 Leopard 10SFK-062, then it isn’t a problem.

Overall, this laptop uses a simple conventional design that won’t be mistaken as anything else but a gaming laptop. 

Keyboard

The highlight of the MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFKV-062 — is the per-key RGB backlit keyboard. Although the per-key RGB backlit keyboard is not a new feature in MSI laptops, it’s still a fascinating feature that gamers look for in a gaming laptop. 

The Numpad can be seen on the right side, which is fantastic news for number crunchers. Its keys have a rubbery-springy feel which is well-cushioned and has a moderate travel distance.

There are two shortcut keys, positioned beneath the power button on the top right. These can be used to alter the fan speed and control the RGB backlighting of the keyboard.

The MSI GL65 uses the pre-installed MSI Dragon Center instead of the typical windows key that you can find in other laptops. At the top right of the keyboard, there’s a dedicated button that launches the Dragon Center, as well as a power button and another that engages maximum fan speed.

Furthermore, what makes this gaming laptops’ keyboard so much more awesome? It’s because the keyboard was made in collaboration with SteelSeries. Since the keyboard was created in collaboration with SteelSeries, you’ll have additional software assistance to customize your gaming profile.

Touchpad

The GL65’s large touchpad sits on the left side of the screen. It does have two flaws. First is its obnoxiously loud clicks. And second is the lack of a built-in biometric feature (which is a common flaw of many gaming laptops). Other than these, the touchpad is perfect. 

Cooling System

The intensive endeavor to keep this laptop cool includes seven heat pipes and two fans. One portion of the thermal solution is for the processor (CPU), while the other is for the graphic processor (GPU).

These fans can switch from dormant to full-scale operation in a quick moment, depending on the strength of the pressure from the running application or game. The fans can be quite loud at times, but there is a button on the keyboard that you can use to reduce their speed. This will significantly help your laptop to cool down during hardcore games that can cause overheating.

Audio

MSI’s Massive discrete sound quality speakers can be observed on the left and right sides of the laptops’ undercarriage. Their built-in AMP works in tandem with their high-resolution audio system to boost audio quality by 30%.

And whenever you play those hard-hitting games using headphones, the experience is as vivid as it is realistic.

Ports and Connectivity

Another plus for this laptop is its numerous ports and source of connectivity. Two external displays can be connected at the same time using a MiniDisplay port and a 4k compatible HDMI. An RJ-45 network connector is also included. At the edges, there are three USB 3.2 Type-A ports, a USB Type-C port, an SD card reader (XC / HC) slot and a 3.5 mm audio jack.

The new wireless technology, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 are in charge of connectivity, and they work quickly and span a broad range of distances.

Battery Life

Unlike the other MSI laptops, the MSI GL65 Leopard does not have long battery life — with an average of 3-5 hours of usage. There’s really no telling the actual battery life as it fluctuates widely according to your laptop’s performance levels. 

Although take note that the 3-5 hour battery life only applies to regular use such as searching through the web, watching a few videos, or reading. But when used for long gaming sessions, the battery life isn’t ideal.

The MSI Battery Master settings, which you may alter via the Dragon Center, is a function to keep in mind. In order to extend battery life, the MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFKV-062 restricts how much you can charge the battery.