Lots of newly announced laptops are taking the option of adding your own RAM off the table by seemingly soldering it to the motherboard. At least its 16GB which is workable in the present day.
Laptops are getting so thin that even 14" ones don't have enough room to put in ram slots. 15"+ are large enough to place two ram slots side by side but not stacked on each other.
I'd rather have a bit more thickness for various reasons including some flexibility with upgrades and replacement of tired batteries. A pity companies are going this direction.
Can't have more than 16GB with DDR3L so slots won't buy you any flexibility or benefit. Can replace battery, WiFI and M.2 SSD on my Lenovo Yoga S730, actually I put in a WiFi 6 module w/o problems.
How reliable are MSI laptops, these look impressive and I want to buy one? Only have tried Lenovo, HP and Dell laptops so far. I'm ok to get one without a graphics card - went be for gaming and don't want driver issues installing Linux.
Bloody beautiful to see TB3 becoming mainstream after so long. The only problem with these models is the "discrete" GeForce GPU, which really isn't much of an upgrade over Intel's HD and IMO a waste. I'd much rather use that thermal budget to install a top-end CPU for work purposes, so that I can then invest in a proper discrete GPU that I put into an external enclosure and connect to the laptop via its TB3 ports when I'm at home and gaming.
Table is messed up, it has the USB 3.1 ports for the 15" model listed as USB 2.0.
I've found, from my own experience with running an Ultrabook (with UHD620) with a TB3 dGPU dock, it's not what it's cracked up to be, especially if you're often on the road. I now have a laptop with a GTX1650, and it's a much more convenient solution all around.
Also... the GTX1650 absolutely stomps the UHD620/630. It's not even close.
You also have to consider that this isn't a gaming laptop so you don't need such a high performing GPU the 1650 Max-Q is definitely capable of editing 4k videos with barely any lag. If you want to use this for gaming then i would look into a different laptop.
And while I'm at it, can I ask why laptop MFG's decided 300hz refresh was important? This is on the extreme bleeding edge of what a gamer will need, and seems more postured for bragging rights than practicality.
Meanwhile, 4k displays are often not even available on the top-of-the-line mobile GPU's (usually only on midrange--which is bizarre). Meanwhile, the only MFG even offering a 120hz 4k display (i.e. the actual future) is Razer, and that's only on their 17" flagship and at an astronomical price.
You could offer me a 15.6", 4k 120hz, 2" thick laptop with a 2080 GPU and I'd still happily plunk down $2,000--even the cosmetics were rough around the edges.
Instead we keep getting thinner, more tepid 4k offerings and silly "advancements" on the high-end rigs that don't really add much. I mean, how many users are actually going to benefit from 300hz vs 144hz? .000001%?
I'm planning to get the 14'' as a person who occasionally edits videos and runs business in the cloud with over 10 browser tabs open typically. The only thing I don't like about this is no SD card reader! Only micro SD? Come on...most DSLR and mirrorless cameras take SD. So now I have to buy some funny adapter which may decrease transfer speed.
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shabby - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link
Where are the ice lake laptops?dullard - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link
Click on one model, click estimated shipping date, it is Sept 5. https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/cty/pdp/spd/xps-13...damonlynch - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link
1.6 mm thickness is indeed an exceptionally thin laptop — perhaps you mean cm? ;-)Ashinjuka - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link
I can't wait to get my hands on a DDR3 system! It's gonna feel so much faster than the old, tired DDR2 we've been stuck on for so long.ajp_anton - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link
I'm starting to suspect that Comet Lake doesn't actually have the new LPDDR4-supporting memory controller that they made such a big deal about.PeachNCream - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link
Lots of newly announced laptops are taking the option of adding your own RAM off the table by seemingly soldering it to the motherboard. At least its 16GB which is workable in the present day.taisingera - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link
Laptops are getting so thin that even 14" ones don't have enough room to put in ram slots. 15"+ are large enough to place two ram slots side by side but not stacked on each other.PeachNCream - Friday, August 23, 2019 - link
I'd rather have a bit more thickness for various reasons including some flexibility with upgrades and replacement of tired batteries. A pity companies are going this direction.abufrejoval - Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - link
Can't have more than 16GB with DDR3L so slots won't buy you any flexibility or benefit. Can replace battery, WiFI and M.2 SSD on my Lenovo Yoga S730, actually I put in a WiFi 6 module w/o problems.Vitor - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link
Im fine with 1080p as long the promises of color calibration are honored.Teckk - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link
How reliable are MSI laptops, these look impressive and I want to buy one? Only have tried Lenovo, HP and Dell laptops so far.I'm ok to get one without a graphics card - went be for gaming and don't want driver issues installing Linux.
Nozuka - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link
Weird, the images look like 16:10 to me. But the resolution is 16:9.The_Assimilator - Friday, August 23, 2019 - link
Bloody beautiful to see TB3 becoming mainstream after so long. The only problem with these models is the "discrete" GeForce GPU, which really isn't much of an upgrade over Intel's HD and IMO a waste. I'd much rather use that thermal budget to install a top-end CPU for work purposes, so that I can then invest in a proper discrete GPU that I put into an external enclosure and connect to the laptop via its TB3 ports when I'm at home and gaming.Table is messed up, it has the USB 3.1 ports for the 15" model listed as USB 2.0.
jeremyshaw - Friday, August 23, 2019 - link
I've found, from my own experience with running an Ultrabook (with UHD620) with a TB3 dGPU dock, it's not what it's cracked up to be, especially if you're often on the road. I now have a laptop with a GTX1650, and it's a much more convenient solution all around.Also... the GTX1650 absolutely stomps the UHD620/630. It's not even close.
vladx - Friday, August 23, 2019 - link
Considering that it's a Max-Q model, I doubt that GTX 1650 is better than a GTX 1060jeremyshaw - Friday, August 23, 2019 - link
Pretty cool; what does that matter?Neither laptop's direct predecessor had a GTX1060.
Even within the MSI Prestige lineup, the PS65 was thicker and heavier (being GS65 derived), compared to this laptop.
vladx - Saturday, August 24, 2019 - link
It matters because for a 2019-2020 laptop, GPU performance is mediocre at best. They should've offered at least a RTX 2070 for the 4K models.philip.ritter - Sunday, September 15, 2019 - link
You also have to consider that this isn't a gaming laptop so you don't need such a high performing GPU the 1650 Max-Q is definitely capable of editing 4k videos with barely any lag. If you want to use this for gaming then i would look into a different laptop.inperfectdarkness - Saturday, September 28, 2019 - link
This. I'm tired of cooling issues, upgrade issues, etc. Give me thick.inperfectdarkness - Saturday, September 28, 2019 - link
And while I'm at it, can I ask why laptop MFG's decided 300hz refresh was important? This is on the extreme bleeding edge of what a gamer will need, and seems more postured for bragging rights than practicality.Meanwhile, 4k displays are often not even available on the top-of-the-line mobile GPU's (usually only on midrange--which is bizarre). Meanwhile, the only MFG even offering a 120hz 4k display (i.e. the actual future) is Razer, and that's only on their 17" flagship and at an astronomical price.
You could offer me a 15.6", 4k 120hz, 2" thick laptop with a 2080 GPU and I'd still happily plunk down $2,000--even the cosmetics were rough around the edges.
Instead we keep getting thinner, more tepid 4k offerings and silly "advancements" on the high-end rigs that don't really add much. I mean, how many users are actually going to benefit from 300hz vs 144hz? .000001%?
dsha06 - Sunday, October 6, 2019 - link
I'm planning to get the 14'' as a person who occasionally edits videos and runs business in the cloud with over 10 browser tabs open typically. The only thing I don't like about this is no SD card reader! Only micro SD? Come on...most DSLR and mirrorless cameras take SD. So now I have to buy some funny adapter which may decrease transfer speed.