Though you’re probably more familiar with MSI as a manufacturer of high-end gaming notebooks, the company also makes some compelling professional products. The latest of these is the WS60 – a thin and light 15.6-inch machine that packs a Core i7 processor and 2 GB of dedicated graphics and is available with a Full HD or 3K display.
The WS60’s Nvidia Quadro K2100M graphics card is what gives the system its "professional" status. Though the GPU should be able to handle some fairly high-end gaming, it’s actually designed for CAD CAM engineers and designers. Accordingly, the notebook is certified for professional 3D design programs such as SolidWorks.
The laptop is fitted with a high-end Intel Core i7-4710HQ processor clocked at 2.5 GHz, along with a full 16 GB of RAM and a Killer gaming network card. As you might expect from a 15-inch machine, the range of ports is fairly expansive, including three USB 3.0s, HDMI-out, Thunderbolt 2 and an SD card reader. MSI has opted for Windows 7 Professional over Windows 8.1.
There are two configurations of the laptop on offer. The first packs a 2,880 x 1,620 display and a hybrid 256 GB SSD RAID 0 and 1 TB 7,200 RPM HDD setup, while the second lowers the screen resolution to a more standard 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, and offers a 128 GB mSATA and 1 TB 7,200 RPM HDD hybrid setup.
The design of the notebook is influenced by the company’s gaming laptops, and while many professional notebooks tend to be fairly hefty, the WS60 measures in at just 0.78 in (19.8 mm) thick and weighs in at 4.36 lb (2 kg). The system is also fitted with a SteelSeries anti-ghosting keyboard and 30 fps, 1080p webcam.
The 1080p display, base configuration of the WS60 ships for US$2,300, while the 3K resolution model retails for $2,600.
Product page: MSI WS60 Workstation