Intel Alder Lake-H Core i9-12900HK Review: MSI's Raider GE76 Goes Hybrid
by Brett Howse on January 25, 2022 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
- Intel
- MSI
- Laptops
- Alder Lake
- GE76 Raider
- 12th Gen Core
- Alder Lake-H
The Test Platform: MSI's Raider GE76
For 2022, MSI has not updated the underlying chassis for the new Alder Lake product, and as such our review of the GE76 Raider from 2021 with Tiger Lake does not fundamentally change in terms of chassis design and cooling. This is still a big, relatively heavy desktop-replacement system. It features an aluminum surface where you will be touching it, and a polycarbonate base.
MSI generally builds a very solid product, and for 2022 they have upgraded the cooling with a new phase-change thermal pad which allows them to wick heat away from the processor and GPU quicker, without some of the negatives of a pure-liquid thermal compound and crystallization that can occur.
The system offers a per-key RGB backlit keyboard from SteelSeries. There is a 1080p webcam as well, and the system now offers an AI-based setting to let the system automatically switch the power levels for the user without having to manually do it, although the manual options are still there. MSI has updated their Silent mode to now leverage the microphones on the system to match the noise floor of the room, which lets them extract more power from the processor, and more fan speed, while still being inaudible.
The Raider GE76 offers lots of connectivity, including a single Thunderbolt 4 port, an additional USB Type-C port, and several USB Type-A ports. There is also a SD card reader which is still convenient when uploading from a camera.
The system offers Wi-Fi 6E support thanks to the Killer AX1675 Wi-Fi adapter, and also includes the Killer E3100G 2.5 Gbps Ethernet adapter.
MSI offers a range of display options, with a 1920x1080 144 Hz panel on their least expensive Raider GE76, a 1920x1080 360 Hz panel which is in the sampled unit, a 2560x1440 240 Hz panel, and a 3840x2160 120 Hz offering.
On our Tiger Lake sample we reviewed late last year, the display accuracy was not up to par with typical MSI offerings. Thankfully that appears to have been a one-off, which we do see from time to time even on devices that are hardware calibrated at the factory. MSI does allow you to use a built-in tool to calibrate the display, but you do need a supported colorimeter.
Thanks to Portrait Displays for the use of their Calman software so we can continue to accurately measure displays for our reviews.
As you can see, the color accuracy of this sample is much improved over the Tiger Lake model from last year that we received.
Brightness and Contrast
Grayscale
Gamut
Saturation
Gretag Macbeth
The MSI Raider GE76 is a fantastic test bed for Intel's Alder Lake system, with a powerful cooling system, and a great build quality.
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Lbibass - Tuesday, January 25, 2022 - link
It seems that there may be something wrong with your benchmarking process. Linus Tech Tips was getting significantly improved battery life over the previous gen GE76 Raider in watching YouTube videos, nearly a 40% improvement.For the Alder Lake Raider in your review to get significantly less battery life than the previous gen shows signs that there is something going on with your specific laptop that I wouldn’t be so quick to blame on background power consumption.
doungmli - Tuesday, January 25, 2022 - link
you have to see the configuration tested, here the autonomy problem is surely linked to the 17" 360hz screen. I don't even understand their comparison with the asus g513 which has a 15" screen ans only 144hzBrett Howse - Tuesday, January 25, 2022 - link
Our results were very close to what Intel had sent us as to what they were getting so I think they are fine.TheinsanegamerN - Friday, January 28, 2022 - link
But they are not in the same ball park with what other reviewers are getting. It suggests either there was a difference in the manner the laptop was tested or there was something off about this specific model you got.deil - Thursday, February 10, 2022 - link
or that drivers still suck, it did not go to E-cores as planned, hence the difference.Silma - Tuesday, January 25, 2022 - link
The laws of physics are the laws of physics.On battery life and performance per watt, Intel won't catch up with AMD until it goes 7 nm, and then again, it won't catch up with Apple until it goes 5 nm, assuming the change is immediate.
In reality Intel will probably needs to go 4 or 3 nm to catch up.
drothgery - Tuesday, January 25, 2022 - link
Intel 7 and TSMC N7 are similar-density processes (though the latter is more power efficient). That until was calling Intel 7 "10nm Enhanced Superfin" until recently and people who should know better always called TSMC N7 "7nm" doesn't actually make them that different. Neither process actually has any 7nm features, or even any 10nm features; the last time marketing names for semiconductor processes actually reflected any feature size on real chips they were still using microns, not nanometers.Otritus - Friday, January 28, 2022 - link
Planar transistors had size match the smallest dimension of the transistor. So 28nm was in fact 28nm. The move to FinFET dramatically decreased the smallest dimension (14/16 nm would be called 8nm if they didn’t change how transistors were named). Since there is not standardized naming for FinFET and GAAFET transistors you have the arbitrary naming that all companies now use creating confusion around how performant and dense a process is.Duwelon - Tuesday, January 25, 2022 - link
Wonder why they don't offer a 144hz VA panel.Calin - Wednesday, January 26, 2022 - link
That is a $3000 laptop, they can't use "second-best" technologies in it.(and by the way, I have a "second-best" MVA 32 inch display, and the contrast is absolutely incredible. Colors are good, viewing angles are good, but that contrast <3