Our review of the MSI GL66 12UEK-048FR Pulse
Relatively lightweight for a creator-oriented gaming laptop MSI GL66 12UEK-048FR Pulse is powerful with its 16 GB of RAM and its 14-core Alder Lake-H Intel Core i7 processor which accelerates processing like the high-end NVIDIA Ampere GeForce RTX 3060 ray tracing graphics card capable of running recent games . Equipped with a 15-inch 2.5K IPS anti-reflective screen that improves fluidity in games with its 165Hz frequency, this versatile multimedia laptop benefits from enhanced responsiveness with its fast 1TB SSD storage, a retro chiclet keyboard lit RGB (however without a numeric keypad) or a connection with Wi-Fi ax and USB-C (but without Thunderbolt), all under Windows 11.
MSI GL66 12UEK-048FR Pulse Features
| Screen(s) | 15.6” 2.5K QHD IPS LED 165Hz thin edges (2560×1440, anti-glare/matte) |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-12700H Alder Lake-H (14 cœurs, 6P 2.3 GHz, 8E 1.7 GHz)) |
| Installed RAM (max) | 16 Go (2 x 8 Go) DDR4 3200 MHz (64 Go), 2 slots (occupés) |
| Graphic card | NVIDIA Ampere GeForce RTX 3060 6GB dedicated GDDR6 (1525MHz boost, 105W TDP with Dynamic Boost), processor-integrated Intel Iris Xe and NVIDIA Optimus |
| Storage | 1 TB M.2 SSD (NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4) + 1 free M.2 slot (PCIe 4.0 x4) |
| connectors | 2 USB 3.2 (Gen1) + 1 USB 2.0 + 1 USB 3.2 Type-C (Gen1), HDMI (4K@60Hz) |
| Network | Wi-Fi 6 ax (2×2, Intel Wi-Fi AX201), Bluetooth 5.2 + Ethernet Gigabit (Realtek RTL8111HS-CG , 1 Gbps) |
| Backlit Keyboard | Yes, RGB per key |
| Numeric keypad | – |
| Windows Hello | – |
| Audio system | 2 speakers 2x2W |
| Operating system | Windows 11 64 bits |
| Announced autonomy / Battery | 4 hours / Li-Polymer 3 cells 53.5Whr |
| Weight / Dimensions (mm) | 2.25 Kg / 359 x 259 x 23.9 |
The MSI GL66 12UEK-048FR Pulse against the competition
The MSI GL66 12UEK-048FR Pulse currently displays as promotion at SMIDistri and positions itself as one of the only ones in its class to adopt such a high frequency and definition screen, such a recent processor (Alder Lake) and to run under Windows 11.
If this MSI GL66 12UEK-048FR Pulse does not meet all your criteria, you will find on our guide PC portable gamer other configurations to play with a similar budget. For the same budget, choose the model with the most powerful graphics card, it will have the most impact on performance.
Chassis, connectors, screen of the MSI GL66 12UEK-048FR Pulse
Cooled by Cooler Boost 5 technology using 2 fans, 6 heat pipes and air outlets, it sports an original gamer appearance with its Titanium Gray design with gray shell, black interior and angular lines.
This creator-oriented gamer laptop has good connectivity with the exception of the absence of Thunderbolt, consisting of 1 USB-C, Bluetooth 5.2 wireless modules and Wi-Fi 6E ax (newer and more efficient than Wi-Fi ac) to communicate and connect remotely, a practical HDMI video output to easily connect it to a TV or a monitor for example, Ethernet and audio ports but also 3 USB including 2 USB 3.0 (USB 2.0 compatible) guaranteeing transfers up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0 if you connect USB 3.0 peripherals.
The chiclet keyboard can of course be backlit, which is practical for better discerning its keys in the dark. Its design was made with the help of SteelSeries to adapt to the habits of gamers.
The screen will interest gamers with its 165Hz refresh rate which improves fluidity in games compared to the standard 60Hz. As it adopts a 2.5K QHD definition superior to Full HD, the screen lends itself very well to the display of (Very) High Definition content. In addition, its anti-reflective treatment makes it more readable than a shiny panel in a bright environment (eg outdoors). Thanks to its IPS technology, the screen also has significant viewing angles, both horizontal and vertical.
Performance, autonomy of the MSI GL66 12UEK-048FR Pulse
The MSI GL66 12UEK-048FR Pulse targets those who want to acquire a high-performance 15-inch versatile laptop geared towards gaming and creation.
It delivers overall power capable of appealing to demanding users because it incorporates 16 GB of RAM associated with an Intel Alder Lake-H Core i7-12700H hybrid processor offering 14 cores.
These are particularly used in multicore to provide much faster processing than a classic Quad / Hexa / Octo Core and 8 GB DDR4. We strongly feel the difference in areas such as video editing, 3D rendering or photo editing.
Creatives will be all the more interested in this computer as it embeds the GeForce RTX 3060, a dedicated graphics card which accelerates processing under software taking advantage of multicore, such as Adobe Premiere / Photoshop or Sony Vegas.
Whether with the Iris Xe graphics part integrated into the Core i7 Alder Lake-H or the dedicated GeForce RTX 3060 card, it is of course possible to watch photos and videos on this versatile multimedia laptop PC designed for gaming and creating equipped with technology. NVIDIA Optimus.
In practice, Optimus switches automatically and in real time between the Iris Xe and the GeForce RTX 3060, as needed. The Iris Xe is favored as much as possible by Optimus despite its much more modest benefits because it consumes little energy which promotes autonomy compared to the GeForce RTX 3060, more powerful and greedy. With one or the other, you can watch photos and videos but also play light titles.
Players will appreciate being able to run recent games with the GeForce RTX 3060 with some adaptations under graphics-intensive games, because 2.5K requires more calculations from the GPU than Full HD, which implies a number of lower fps.
On the storage side, there is an SSD with a large capacity of 1 TB corresponding to what hard drives offer the vast majority of the time.
As a bonus compared to the latter, let’s remember the advantages of an SSD: greater resistance to shocks, silent operation, lower energy consumption and greater speed.
Concretely, the SSD guarantees much better fluidity and responsiveness on a daily basis than a simple hard drive. Thanks to the SSD, for example, we can get to the cards of online games faster, while the launches of games/software, processing and starts/stops are much faster.
We also appreciate that scalability is required in terms of storage thanks to the M.2 slot available to add a second SSD if necessary.
Finally, on the autonomy side, bet on about 4 hours of battery operation in light use while waiting for more complete tests of this creator-oriented gaming laptop PC which is to be expected to heat up and be heard when it is strongly pushed (e.g. games, treatments).
If needed a ventilated support can be used to limit temperatures (In this case, remember to check the dimensions carefully!).
