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Performance of the MSI GT62VR Dominator Pro shines brightest when it's plugged into a weighty power supply. It's not exactly optimized for portability, but then again, there aren't many options right now for GTX 10-series laptops featuring extensive battery lives, if any at all.
Plan on using the Dominator Pro as a desktop if you do buy one. There's no external GPU support for upgrading down the line and what little we could do to save on battery (50% brightness, keyboard lighting off) isn't enough to save the notebook's internal power from caving in on itself a year or two down the road. In spite of all the problems, though, it's admittedly a painless route to VR.
We liked
The MSI GT62VR Dominator Pro is a gaming laptop with more than enough juice to power a desktop triple its size. It's VR Ready for your Oculus Rift or HTC Vive headset while simultaneously beefy enough to deliver 1440p graphics to an external display.
If you don't plan on gaming at the resolution, there's dual-4K monitor support as well by means of a USB Type-C adapter or daisy-chaining. This is made possible by the vast array of ports integrated on the machine, which we liked, even if they wasn't easy to get to. The GT62VR Dominator Pro won't stably run GTA V in 4K with all the settings turned up, but it could be used to offload some massive art projects to a pair of Ultra HD displays.
We disliked
The MSI GT62VR Dominator Pro is a desktop that wants to be a laptop. Setting it on your lap might burn a hole through your pants, and removing the wall charger makes it basically unusable for gaming. The 6.48-pound weight, excluding the power brick, only justifies our position.
With the exception of perhaps storage space, most of the specs for the configuration we received were overkill. A GTX 1070 paired with a 1080p screen feels frivolous, and no one in their right mind needs 64GB of RAM. And even with the base model Dominator Pro, you'd be better off picking up a more affordable and better equipped Asus ROG Strix GL502.
The trackpad on MSI's latest feels like an afterthought. It's decent for gaming if you don't want to disburse funds on an even better mouse, but it's shoddy for everything else including simple web browsing. The lack of GPU upgradeability down the line, too, makes us question the value of the GT62VR Dominator Pro.
Final verdict
At its core, the GT62VR Dominator Pro is a VR-designated rig that's somewhat easier to carry around than a Mini-ITX computer. Presenting itself as a high-performance gaming laptop, it's ultimately too powerful for its own good.
As long as you don't plan on taking it anywhere that a three-prong power outlet is out of reach, the MSI GT62VR Dominator Pro is more than enough for 1080p 60 fps gaming, as well as a stellar entry to the VR space. If you need a laptop for more than just gaming, though, you're bound to be disappointed by a short-lived battery and few redeeming qualities outside of just graphical capabilities.
With the GT62VR Dominator Pro, MSI appears to have crafted a Pascal notebook with the sole intent of being first rather than the best. Unfortunately, the result deserves little more than a slap in the face and a "you'll get it next time."
