Display & Audio Quality
The GX70 uses a matte 1080P LED backlit display which is surprisingly capable given its presence within a budget gaming notebook. Its panel may use TN technology –which isn’t known for high end color reproduction- but when placed into the same platform as AMD’s excellent Catalyst software suite, it becomes a thing of rare beauty.
In it’s out of box settings, there’s nothing spectacular about the GX70’s screen but performance isn’t all that bad either. Colors are well represented, blacks never appear overly saturated, there isn’t any backlight bleeding and contrast remains constant throughout the dynamic range. However, AMD’s software allows for just enough tweaking that in just a few minutes you’ll achieve a rich, vibrant color pallet that puts some higher end units to shame. This is all accomplished while retaining the TN panel’s buttery smooth response times that all but eliminate ghosting.
Regardless of the untapped abilities of this panel, it is still based on a technology that all but guarantees sub-par viewing angles. When that happens, contrast drops off dramatically which is perfect for privacy but unfortunate for anyone who is sitting next to you. Luckily, you’ll be gaming while looking directly at the screen’s “sweet spot” most of the time so this is really a non-issue and once again, MSI’s screen of choice features much better than average performance in this area.
If there is one area in which the GX70 is a cut above, it is in the acoustical realm, with speakers or headphones enabled. Its pair of 2W primary speakers aren’t all that great but when paired up with the 3W bottom-firing subwoofer, the sound they produce is nothing short of spectacular for a notebook. The base is surprisingly rich, high notes are reproduced with a clarity that rivals ASUS’ Bang & Olafsun setup, in-game sound directionality is spot-on and the acoustical separation nears perfection. Be it music, movie watching or gaming, we couldn’t find one area in which this THX-certified speaker setup didn’t excel.
While Sound Blaster’s Cinema THX powers the speakers to another level, it does wonders for headphones as well since MSI has integrated a dedicated amplifier for the 3.5mm jacks’ exclusive use. As a result, our Grado xxx headphones were pushed to another level which has rarely been achieved without a high end discrete audio card. Finding words to describe the experience is nearly impossible. Do yourself a favor: if you have a GX70, buy a pair of good headphones and get ready for an out-of-this-world experience.
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