With the MSI GT783-625US ($2,599.99 direct) you get a laptop with game-worthy graphics performance, Core i7 processing power, and some neat features, including a SteelSeries backlit keyboard and a multi-channel audio solution. Although $2,600 isn't exactly affordable, it is still around half of what you can expect to pay for a high-end rig from Alienware, such as the SLI-enabled M18x . Granted, the GT783 can't compete with the Alienware M18x in terms of raw GPU horsepower, but it does make owning a potent gaming notebook a bit more affordable, and it outperformed the similarly-priced (and previous Editors' Choice winner) Alienware M17x  on nearly all of our GPU-intensive benchmark tests. This laptop delivers more than enough graphics chops to handle the latest crop of demanding DX11 games, making it our new Editors' Choice for under-$3,000 gaming laptops. We only wish the cooling fans weren't so loud.-

Design
The GT783 uses a black brushed aluminum case that is quite sturdy and feels cool to the touch. A backlit MSI logo is attached to the center of the lid, which has beveled corners and a tapered front edge. Weighing 8.6-pounds and measuring 2.3-inches at its thickest point the GT783 is bulkier than the 7.5-pound HP Envy 17 ($1,484.99 direct, 4 stars) but not quite as heavy as our previous Editors' Choice, the 9.8-pound Alienware M17X ($2,254 direct, 4.5 stars). Still, you probably won't want to carry this notebook around on a regular basis.

Beneath the durable lid sits a bright 17.3-inch display with a matte coating that minimizes glare without being reflective. It's a full HD (1920 x 1080) screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio, and it sports a 720p webcam in its upper bezel. Image quality is excellent on this panel; colors are strong but not oversaturated, and blacks are inky dark.

The chiclet-style keyboard is made by SteelSeries, a popular manufacturer of gaming peripherals such as mice, keyboards, headphones, and controllers. The keys are very responsive and support up to ten simultaneous keystrokes for things like rapid fire, weapons changing, and quick sideways movements. As an added bonus the keyboard features three separate backlighting zones (left, center, and right) and a 29-color palette that lets you illuminate the keys to reflect your mood or to enhance your game. Choose the wave mode to have the colors change sequentially across the keyboard, the breathing mode for a pulsating effect, or the dual color mode to have the lights fade from one to color into another. The gaming mode illuminates the ASWD keys, which get a lot of use among the gaming crowd. The touchpad is also responsive, as are the dual mouse buttons, but the pad could be a little wider; there's certainly room.

Features

A series of touch-sensitive buttons are situated at the top of the keyboard deck with a large power switch in the middle. On the left is a button labeled P1, which activates the TDE (Turbo Drive Engine) feature (more on that later). It should be noted that the TDE key only works when the system is drawing AC power (not battery power). Next to that is the Cooler Boost key, which increases cooling fan speed for those times when the gaming action is hot and heavy and especially when the turbo drive is engaged. Be forewarned though; the decibel level is close to unbearable when the fans are cranked all the way up. The Cinema Pro button puts the display into a slightly darker movie mode and enhances audio playback, and to its right is a button that enables/disables the lighting effects. On the right side of the power switch are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth buttons, a Boss key that darkens the display and an optical drive eject button.

You get a good selection of I/O ports with the GT783. On the left side of chassis are two USB 3.0 ports, a 7-in-1 card reader, a USB 2.0 port, and four audio jacks (headphone, microphone, and S/PDIF outputs). On the right side are two USB 2.0 ports and a tray loading Blu-ray burner, and on the back are HDMI and VGA outputs, a Gigabit LAN jack, an eSATA port, and the power jack. Storage is fast and plentiful; Windows 7 Home Premium is installed on the speedy 128GB SSD drive and there's a 750GB storage drive that spins at 7,200 rpm. I was disappointed to find a smattering of bloatware installed such as trial versions of Norton Internet Security and Norton Online Backup.

The GT783 produces better than average audio output thanks to a combination of Dynaudio processing, THX surround technology, and a powerful speaker system that features an embedded subwoofer . The THX TruStudio Pro utility has settings for surround sound as well as music, movie and dialog enhancers. The subwoofer is small but adds a fair amount of bass to the mix, and the speakers are loud and crisp.

Performance
The GT783 delivers very good performance for the money. The combination of a 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-2670QM processor, 16GB of memory and NVIDIA's GeForce GTX580M graphics provide more than enough muscle to run the most demanding games and make short work of your productivity and multimedia load. Having a solid state drive doesn't hurt either. Its PCMark 7 score of 4,099 led the pack, beating both the Alienware M18x ($4,529 direct, 4 stars) (3,333) and the Asus G74SX-A2 ($2,000 street, 4 stars) (3,941).