The bezels of the brand-new design are just 4.9 mm thick on three sides for a high 82 percent screen-to-body ratio. MSI is promising the thinnest bezels ever on a 15.6-inch gaming notebook for a final chassis size close to that of a 14-inch notebook. Of course, 8th gen Core i7 options will come standard.

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It's been four years since the original GS60 and two years since the GS63VR. In keeping with the two-year refresh tradition, MSI has taken the curtains off the GS65 to succeed the aging GS63VR just in time for Coffee Lake-H.

The most notable and important change over the GS63VR is the narrower bezel. While Ultrabooks have enjoyed narrow bezels ever since the introduction of the XPS 13 InfinityEdge a few years back, gaming notebooks have been stuck with thick and relatively unattractive bezels. The main culprit, as we've been told, had been the lack of proper panels that allow for both narrower bezels and faster response times on gaming notebooks. Whereas narrow-bezel Ultrabooks like the XPS 13 and XPS 15 can get away with moderate-to-heavy ghosting, gaming notebooks demand much faster response times that panel manufacturers were not able to provide up until now. This is why the original narrow-bezel Gigabyte Aero 15 was not marketed as a primary gaming notebook because of its intense ghosting.

MSI GS63 (Kaby Lake) MSI GS65 CPU Quad-core 2.8 GHz to 3.8 GHz Core i7-7700HQ (Intel HM175) Hexa-core 2.2 GHz to 4.2 GHz Core i7-8750H (Intel HM370) GPU GeForce GTX 1060 or GTX 1070 Max-Q GeForce GTX 1060 or GTX 1070 Max-Q Display 15.6-inch, 1080p, TN, 120 Hz, 5 ms (or 4K UHD at 60 Hz) 15.6-inch, 1080p, IPS, 144 Hz, 7 ms RAM 2x DDR4-2400 SODIMM 2x DDR4-2400 SODIMM Connectivity USB 2.0, 3x USB 3.0, Thunderbolt 3, HDMI 1.4, mDP 1.2, SD reader, Gigabit RJ-45, 3.5 mm microphone and earphone (Hi-Fi ESS Sabre DAC) 3x USB 3.0, Thunderbolt 3, HDMI 1.4, mDP 1.2, SD reader, Gigabit RJ-45, 3.5 mm microphone and earphone (Hi-Fi ESS Sabre DAC) Battery 52.4 Wh (65 Wh on CFL refresh) 82 Wh Dimensions, Weight 17.7 x 380 x 249 mm, 1.9 kg 17.5 x 358 x 248, 1.8 kg

MSI wanted to be the first to take advantage of these new panels and thus the GS65 was born. The upcoming 15.6-inch notebook will carry a lucrative 144 Hz/7 ms IPS panel provided by BOE Display that should satisfy both mainstream and fast-paced games when on-the-go. Previously, laptop gamers had to make do with 120 Hz/5 ms or 120 Hz/3 ms TN panels on thicker bezel designs like the GS63 or Aorus X5. While response times are a bit slower this time around at 7 ms, the immense drop in form factor makes this small trade off well worth it as shown by our comparison table above. The GS65 isn't nearly as wide as its predecessor and it still manages to incorporate a much larger internal battery, per-key RGB lighting, and the same GPU and RAM options.