MSI GF65 Thin 15.6" 10UE-047 2021, Core i7-10750H, 16GB, 512GB SSD, GeForce RTX3060 Max-Q, Black

The MSI GF65 Thin 10UE-047 is a solid 1080p gaming laptop with a strong RTX 3060 Max-Q and a 144Hz display. The CPU is weak for anything beyond gaming, and the port selection is limited. At $1,178, it's a decent buy for pure gamers, but look for a sale if you can.

The RTX 3060 Max-Q is the headline act. It lands at the 76th percentile in our database, which translates to strong 1080p gaming performance. You'll run most AAA titles at high settings without much drama. The i7-10750H is a different story. At the 29th percentile, it's a bit of a bottleneck for CPU-heavy tasks like streaming or video editing. The 16GB of DDR4 is fine for gaming but sits at the 37th percentile, so don't expect to run a dozen Chrome tabs plus a game plus OBS without some hitching. The 512GB NVMe SSD is middle of the pack at the 52nd percentile. Fast enough, but you'll be uninstalling games sooner than you'd like.

Stacked against something like the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 or the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, the GF65 Thin shows its age. The Zephyrus G14 is more compact and has a better CPU, while the Legion Pro 7i is in a completely different performance tier. The HP OMEN Transcend 14 and Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition are more modern and versatile, though they'll cost you more. The GF65 Thin's main advantage is price-to-GPU ratio. If you just want frames per dollar, it's still competitive. If you want a laptop that does more than game, look elsewhere.

At $1,178 USD, this is a decent deal if gaming is your main priority. You're paying for the GPU, and the RTX 3060 Max-Q delivers. But you're also getting a CPU that's below average for this class, and the port situation is annoying. If you can find this on sale or refurbished for under a grand, it becomes a much easier recommendation. At full price, you're paying a bit of a premium for the MSI badge.

The MSI GF65 Thin 10UE-047 is a 2021 gaming laptop that still makes sense if you find it at the right price. You get an Intel Core i7-10750H, an RTX 3060 Max-Q, 16GB of RAM, and a 144Hz 1080p display. That's a solid recipe for 1080p gaming without breaking the bank.

It's not the newest kid on the block, and the port selection is thin. But for the money, the GPU is the star here. Our database puts the RTX 3060 at the 76th percentile for gaming laptops, which means it's well above average for this class. The CPU, on the other hand, sits at the 29th percentile, so this is a GPU-first machine.

Skip this if you need a laptop for content creation, streaming, or anything CPU-intensive. The i7-10750H is a weak spot, and the limited ports will annoy you if you use external monitors or lots of peripherals. Also skip it if you want a thin and light machine, since it sits at the 38th percentile for compactness.

Buy this if you want a budget-friendly 1080p gaming machine and don't care about port variety or CPU-heavy workloads. It's a GPU-first laptop that punches above its weight in games. Skip it if you need a do-everything machine for streaming, editing, or productivity. The i7-10750H will frustrate you.