Design
The Dragon Edition captures every look with a strikingly red metal-covered red metal cover. In addition, the iconic submerged dragon is located in the middle of the machine and the silver MSI brand name is considered a different class and to the battle in this battle laptop.
In addition, hidden dragons are also printed inside the machine, next to the red apple touch. The large Dynaudio loudspeaker system is located above the keyboard and the subwoofer is outstanding thanks to the red LED bezel on the side.
On the left of the large keyboard is a system of buttons and lights: power button, GPU graphics processor, fan speed, XSplit Gamecaster feature (record your gaming moments and play live matches directly. On Twitch, Youtube, Ustream) and steelseries engine software.
At 8.4 pounds (3.81 kg) and measures 16.9 x 11.6 x 1.9 inches respectively, the GT72S Dominator Pro weighs as much as the Asus G751JY (8.4 pounds, 16.4 x 12.5 x 0.9 ~ 1.7 inches) but thicker.
Screen
MSI never disappointed its followers about screen technology. Impressive product with a 17.3-inch screen, offering stunning colors and sharp detail when viewed in 1080p quality. Dragon has the ability to display up to 114% of sRGB color. This figure far exceeds the 102% average and “super-combat” Alienware 17 or G751JY.
However, through testing, the device provided only 288 nit brightness, lower than the average 293 nit.
Display
Display
17.3 inches, with a choice between 1080p and 4K. Get the 1080p panel if gaming’s the priority, you’ll actually hit real frame rates on this hardware. 4K looks sharper, no argument, but it’s for content work and watching things, not for chasing high refresh rates in competitive games.
True Color tech makes everything look vibrant, and the viewing angles are wide enough that a couple people can watch over your shoulder without the colors falling apart. Take it outside into direct sun, though, and it struggles like most laptop screens do.
Performance
CPU runs from the i7-6700HQ up to the i7-6820HK quad core, both solid, neither one should really become your bottleneck . Add 32GB of DDR4 and you can honestly run a game , Discord, OBS, and like a dozen browser tabs all at once without the system acting weird or stuttering.
Storage maxes out at 1TB SSD and 2TB HDD. SSD is for the OS and whatever you’re actively playing, HDD is for the rest of the stuff. It’s pretty much the kind of setup you’d build yourself if you were starting from scratch.
Graphics
This is the bit that matters most on a machine like this. GTX 980M or 970M, both of them can handle current AAA titles on high settings, with frame rates that actually stay consistent. The 980M especially gets near desktop style performance, which most laptops just can’t touch. And yeah, G-Sync keeps screen tearing out of the picture.
Connectivity
Six USB 3.0 ports — you’ll fill them fast with a mouse, headset, and storage drive. HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, and Thunderbolt 3 cover multi-monitor setups. Ethernet’s there because wireless just isn’t reliable enough for serious online play. SD reader and audio jacks round it out. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1 both work without issue.
Keyboard and trackpad
SteelSeries made the keyboard and it’s obvious the moment you type on it solid travel, real feedback, customizable RGB, a numpad if you need one. This isn’t a keyboard that’s going to wear out.
Trackpad’s large, tracks well, has physical buttons. Nobody’s actually gaming on it though it’s a backup for when the mouse isn’t within reach.
Audio
Dynaudio speakers with a built-in subwoofer, and it actually shows — loud, balanced, none of the thin tinniness most laptops have. The mic’s fine for voice chat, and Nahimic’s software gives you room to tune the sound further if you care to.
Battery
Don’t expect much here. 4-5 hours doing normal stuff, 1-2 hours once you’re actually gaming, depending on what’s running and how you’ve got things configured. That’s the price of packing this much GPU into a laptop. The Eco/Comfort/Sport profiles in Dragon Center help a little, and at least the charger bulky as it is brings you back to full fast.
Thermals
Cooler Boost 3 does its job dual fans, multiple heat pipes, and the palm rest stays comfortable even hours into a session. The bottom and exhaust area heat up, which is just what happens with hardware this powerful. Fans are quiet at idle and get loud once you’re actually gaming, which is a fair trade for not throttling.
Nvidia’s G-Sync technology
The GT72 Dominator Pro Dragon is the latest laptop equipped with G-Sync technology – integrated in-screen motherboard to make the image smooth motion. This technology works in full screen mode and windows mode, which is quite attractive to gamers.
Gaming and graphics
This is also one of the first gaming notebooks on the market to own the GTX 980 chip, a common unit in the gaming desktop. This chip, when combined with a GPU graphics processor, will give the machine a more powerful graphics performance and smoother performance. In addition, Dominator Pro Dragon is one of the few devices that support connectivity with virtual reality headsets such as Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
MSI GT72S Dominator Pro G Dragon-070 17.3″ GAMING LAPTOP GTX 980 i7-6820HK 32GB 256GB SSD+1TB G-SYNC VR READY: Buy it now
MSI GT72VR DOMINATOR PRO DRAGON-638 Select Edition (i7-7700HQ, 32GB RAM, 480GB NVMe SSD + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GTX 1070 8GB, 17.3″ Full HD, 120Hz, Windows 10) VR Ready Gaming Notebook: Buy it now
MSI GT72VR DOMINATOR PRO DRAGON-638 Select Edition (i7-7700HQ, 16GB RAM, 240GB NVMe SSD + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GTX 1070 8GB, 17.3″ Full HD, 120Hz, Windows 10) VR Ready Gaming Notebook: Buy it now
MSI GT72VR DOMINATOR PRO DRAGON-639 (i7-7700HQ, 32GB RAM, 256GB SATA SSD + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GTX 1070 8GB, 17.3″ Full HD, 120Hz, Windows 10) VR Ready Gaming Notebook: Buy it now
MSI GT72VR DOMINATOR PRO DRAGON-638 Select Edition (i7-7700HQ, 16GB RAM, 480GB NVMe SSD + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GTX 1070 8GB, 17.3″ Full HD, 120Hz, Windows 10) VR Ready Gaming Notebook: Buy it now
MSI GT72VR DOMINATOR PRO DRAGON-638 Select Edition (i7-7700HQ, 32GB RAM, 1TB SATA SSD + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GTX 1070 8GB, 17.3″ Full HD, 120Hz, Windows 10) VR Ready Gaming Notebook: Buy it now
Efficiency
2.7GHz out of the i7-6820HK, 32GB of RAM backing it up, and none of that gets taxed easily. Witcher 3 running with ten Chrome tabs open in the background isn’t a problem — it just runs. Geekbench 3 scored it at 13,896, ahead of the 11,329 desktop average, which is a strange thing to say about a laptop but here we are.
Software
MSI didn’t just cram in bloatware. Dragon Center is the hub for performance profiles and monitoring. Nahimic tunes the audio if you want surround sound or bass boost. SteelSeries Engine handles the RGB and macros. XSplit Gamecaster is there for streaming — one less thing to install yourself if that’s your thing.
Windows 10 comes standard, game compatibility is a non-issue, and Game Mode does what it says on the tin.
Upgrades
Here’s the part I actually like. A few screws on the bottom, and you’re into RAM, storage, even the GPU. That’s rare now — most laptops seal you out entirely. RAM goes up to 64GB, and there’s room for multiple M.2 SSDs plus a 2.5-inch HDD if you want both speed and bulk storage.
Bottom line
Big, loud (in every sense), powerful. The dragon theme is going to be a love-it-or-hate-it thing, but the hardware underneath earns it — strong CPU and GPU, real upgrade room, a build that isn’t going to fall apart on you. It’s not new anymore, it’s not thin, and the battery won’t get you through a flight. But it was never trying to be any of that. It’s a desktop wearing a laptop costume, heat and weight included, and if you know what you’re signing up for, it holds up fine.
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Tech Reviewer & Product Analyst
Định Bia has spent over 10 years testing consumer electronics with a focus on smart technology. He work as a product advisor at Biareview where he helped customers find the right devices for their needs. He personally tests every product featured on this site using a consistent evaluation framework covering quality, durability, and value. All reviews are based on experience, not influenced by the manufacturer.