I`m upgrading, are you? (GTX 780M review inside)

That doesn't seem too smart. Why not just offer an optional larger power supply instead of stressing the battery which if drain is too much can wear the battery prematurely, or damage it even.

 

I think that's not a bad concept at all - also I suppose MSI does not want to re-think about the power electronics that would probably be rated up to 180W continuously. This was a quicker way to get more DC power under heavy/peak intermittent loads I believe, and that's what we mainly use batteries for

 

Hmmm, so you are only allowed to overclock til the battery runs out? Its a way for MSI to throw in free support for overclocking without creating extra cost for consumers instead of throwing in a 240W PSU that cost extra. Not to mention you don`t have to deal with a bigger PSU than it already is.

180W is more than enough to allow decent overclocking anyways so I guess its a nice bonus for MSI owners.

 

If it's drawing power from the battery and AC then it will have to have electronics rated beyond 180W anyhow, won't it? I'm sure it's not just rated exactly for 180W.

Silly me, I thought the battery was as a built-in UPS and to use your laptop when you couldn't get access to an AC outlet.

Make the power supply optional. If you want to OC, you gotta pony up for the higher Watt PSU. And we don't know that 180W is enough because we haven't seen power draw figures yet nor have we seen any significant overclocks yet.

It'd be like relying on your car battery for extra performance. "Look out vern, Imma gonna get an extra 10mph when that battery kicks in!"

I dunno. It may be a "feature", but I see it as a good way to create a lot more issues: "why is my battery dead after six months?", "what is that burning smell?", "I left my battery plugged in while using my computer, but when I unplugged it to go mobile, I only had 5 minutes battery life"... ad nauseum.

 

Batteries are using for the cranking amps - so it makes sense MSI using it as a backup power, let's say it will activate when load is over 190W, this is not happening constantly, unless you're running Wprime + furmark at the same time with some heavy overclocking on both GPU/CPU...
No one is gaming with the highest overclock you can reach - so this system will be used only when benchmarking at high clocks - and sometimes when gaming - there's nothing wrong with this. Then up to customers to mod a 240W PSU if they really want to push their unit limits further.

Most of the customers won't overvolt their 780M anyway, if you stay at stock voltage, the 180W will handle anything. Also I'm sure MSI has planned a battery cut-off in the case it's being drained too much.

Was your post sarcastic btw ? : /

 

Burning smell would imply that draw from the battery would not be tightly controlled and limited.

 

Only the over 180W portion of the power would be drawn from the battery, which won't be more than 20W anyway, and definitely not continuously for a long period of time, only when the combined GPU+CPU load peaks (which under normal conditions is rare). The battery can easily give 20W without taking damage.

 

So we can tell all these "remove your battery when plugged in" people to pound sand then?

And Meaker can attest that it's easy to exceed 180W with an even slightly overvolted system. I can easily exceed 180W nearly continuously with a stock voltage system in a handful of games like Dirt 3, Battlefield 3, Sleeping Dogs...

Just curious to see how well this is implemented and how it affects actual performance and battery life.

 

I am mostly curious too on how it will work. Depending on demand, the extra power it can give should not really affect battery that much, since you will still be obtaining the bulk of your power from the PSU.

 

Remember you have to exceed 200Wish from the wall to exceed 180W from the supply.

 

That seems similar to the way things currently work.

When I slightly exceeded the power of my PSU, the laptop would alternate between battery power and the adapter's power.

It was when I completely exceeded the power that the adapter would fully give out.

 

Yes but once on battery power most laptops thottle where this would likely give consistent performance up to around 200W most likely or 220W from the wall.

 

Yeah, I remember with my GX660R after upgrading to 920xm and overclocking it, along with overvoltage of my GPU, my 120W PSU would die immediately, my system throttle, and then battery churning out power. I had to get a higher wattage PSU.

This time around, the PSU will be maxed but will continue to work while supplying extra power from the battery.

 

I have a quick question - the only cards I've heard of from this new series are the 760M, 770M, and 780M. While I'd love to get the 780M in my upcoming laptop purchase, is there an upgrade to the current 675M coming out? I have yet to hear anything about a 775M, and if absolutely nessecary, I'd like to save some money by getting the next GPU down from the 780M if needed.

Also, what amount of power would I lose by going for the next one down (770/775M)?

 

The 770M is the upgrade to the 675MX.

 

770m should be stronger than 675m without much problems. 775m is rumored right now to be something like a 680m which should be quite strong of a solution.

780m is indeed faster. If 775m is a 680m then it shouldn't be that big of a difference. 770m is supposed to be quite higher clocked 670mx so that would put it around 40% slower maybe? I am assuming something along the 5k 3dmark11 scores, probably upwards.

 

So... My understanding now is:
675M < 770M < 680M < 775M (Rumored) < 780M?

I'm looking at getting an Asus G750 once they are released, but the main variances in GPU also come with large changes in storage and ram, bumping up the cost, which you can see in the spoiler below.

Spoiler

Left = 765M, Middle = 770M, Right = 780M.

What would you recommend? My budget max is $2500.

 

40% between the 770M and 780M?

 

What you can fix your budget to will be the best All three will work but naturally 780m will have a commanding lead in performance. If you have separated a budget, I say, use it. 780m is definitely faster, and most likely the culprit for the price difference in majority. Extra RAM won't do much but the SSD will at least help have a snappy machine.

You can always keep in mind your budget and look at other manufacturers too.

 

Yeah.. $2500 is my absolute max, but if the 780M is worth it, I'll go with that model. Shame that they don't offer one with a 780M and a bit less RAM to bring the price down a bit, once I add the shipping/handling/tax/waranty it'll be around $2800....

Decisions decisions...

 

Hmmmmm.... 2800 is too high then. Maybe wait a bit for the rumored 775m? 770m is not a bad gpu but It's not on the same level of performance. You can even find prices like my barebones which costed 1650dlrs I think with 3610qm and GTX680m. I added the os, ram, hdd etc etc.

There is bound to have other sort of barebones or manufacturers offer such systems, so it might be worth to check out since you can squeeze more performance out of it

 

Cheap GTX 780M listed. $790
4 available

Alienware M17x M18x New NVIDIA GTX 780M 4GB DDR5 MXM 3 0B | eBay

 

I remember seeing a rather nice looking Clevo that looked similar to the Asus G-series laptops (thick back, slim front) - could someone link me to info/images to those?

All I know is I want quality, but affordability. I was looking at Alienware originally, but their prices are much higher than what I'd like to pay. Asus was my second thought, but the model in my price range doesn't offer the video card I want.

Do you have any other recommendations for upcoming 17" laptops with the new intel haswell and gpu's?

PS: Seems there will be a 775M after all?

 

You can always go with a GT60 with 780m. Fits perfectly under your max budget

 

Well, alienware, Sager/clevo, MSI, Asus are all together into the 780m. You can check several resellers that handle at least MSI/Asus/Clevo and configure them. I think I have seen the model you mention. Maybe the NP9370?

You can't go wrong with MSI either. Alienware is expensive but they do make the highest end machines with sli/cf etc. I prefer single GPU and I have been using for some years now the new MSI machines which I recommend.

 

Does MSI have any new models coming out for 2013? I've heard things about their 'bendy/flimsy' plastic and keyboards, should I be worried about that..?

(I also can't say I very much like the over-done design of MSI laptops...)

 

Well I haven't had issues about bendy/flimsy keyboard, but the only thing that comes to mind with flex is the LCD cover. Other than that they are solidly built machines, and lately they are using aluminum brushed LCD cover which I haven't tested yet.

They do have 2013 models incoming like the rest of manufacturers, with now standard Core i7 4700+780m which seems the popular combination at the moment. I don't think you have anything to worry about as far as build quality goes. I certainly have had zero issues in that department.

 

There's supposed to be an Asus G750 with 780M coming soon for around $2500.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/Asu...-g750-officially-announced-6.html#post9209696

 

Brushed aluminium feels great and also it is quite sturdy. On my ex GT780DX I couldn't flex the screen from behind. Only by applying too much force it could affect the LCD panel but that would mean permanently bending the cover. Just don't put metal objects on top of it like keys or screwdrivers. Once scratched it's a lot more visible than a plastic cover. Build quality was never an issue with mine too (both GX660 and GT780DX).

 

Thank you everyone for the suggestions.

I can't find any information on the new MSI's with the aluminium and Haswell+780M. Could you link me?

This conversation started with me mentioning that one - but after shipping and taxes and warranty, it would come to $2800+, I would need to go for the lower model which wouldn't have the 780M anymore.

If someone could link me to these new MSI's with the Aluminium builds instead of plastic, I'd love to give them a look.

My current PC is an HP ENVY 17 3D, which is all Aluminium + Magnesium (+ Minimal Plastic), so if I could get something of similar quality, I'd like to do that.

 

Well they are sturdy plastic machines but have aluminum in the palm rest and the cover. You can check them at resellers and different sites, like gentechpc for the existing models. The new haswell models will be introduced soon but they are bound to look physically the same as existing ones.

Here is a pic of the GT70 line

so you can get an idea. You can see more pics at resellers pages

The resellers also post here in case you want to contact them through here for more info on the haswell machines.

 

That's remarkably like the 17" Clevos.

 

Straight 680M rebrand. I wonder if it'll have GPU Boost 2.0 added.

 

That's just a guess. They have incorrect other upcoming models like the 765m which is a 192-bit 768 shader 2GB part, but they show it as a 128-bit 960 shader 3GB part.

 

Let's hope the 775M is better than just a straight rebrand..

 

They have the 765M as 768sp/192-bit/3GB.

Where do they get these unreleased specs from, anyway?

 

That is an imminently unfortunate price for a single-gpu machine, especially when you should be able to get a well-provisioned MSI or sager with a 780m for under $2000. Heck, even Alienware will be cheaper.

I remember not four years ago getting a top-of-the line Asus w90vp (with aluminum exterior and faux leather accents) with dual 4870ms for under $2200. What happened Asus?

 

So.. The next model going down on my Asus options I mentioned before would be a G750 with...

• i7 4700
• 16GB 1333Mhz RAM
• 256GB SSD
• 1TB HDD
• GTX 770M
• Price: $~1912

Would that be worth it?

What other companies/upcoming laptops would I be looking at if my dream machine is...

• i7 CPU
• SSD (Boot Drive)
• 750GB or more HDD
• 8 or more GB 1600Mhz RAM
• GTX 780 (Or very close equivilent)
• Build quality is important, metal is best.
• Price: MAX $2600 after shipping/tax/warranty (The lower the better)

???

Sorry for all the questions - any answers here or in PM would be appreciated.

 

Bottom line is announcements are dribbling in, best to just wait until we have real final info from the big players and units are actually for sale. Right now it's just some engineering sample mxm units.

Just know if you buy right out of the gate things will change over the following few months.

 

I posted some unboxing pics and 3D Mark related benchies of the retail version of MSI's GT70 2OD here... i7 4700MQ - Nvidia GTX 780M
http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/718530-official-msi-gt70-2od-owners-lounge-18.html

 

MSI GT60 inbound!

 

About time Haswell is announced so I can order mine too.

Congrats Talon. Let us know when you have tried it for a while

 

We finally have confirmation about how GPU Boost 2.0 works on the MSI 780M

Base clock: 771MHz
Turbo clock: 797MHz
GPU Boost 2.0 clock: 849MHz

http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachments/msi/96634d1369868583-official-msi-gt70-2od-owners-lounge-ids.jpg

 

It's launched? That was fast.

Still no sight of either of them (780M or Haswell) here in UK.

Not that I can upgrade immediately when they are released (though I wish I could). Just graduated, need to find employment before I splurge on new laptop! Suppose it'll give time for drivers to mature

 

Technically, they haven't launched yet haha.

That never stops people from somehow obtaining items before launch

 

Meaker machine status: Specifications finalised. Codename: Kali 5.

MSI barebone shell
CPU classified
16GB DDR3 Samsung 30nm
GTX 780M
512GB OCZ Vector

 

I see, a classified cpu eh? Is it a new barebone from MSI? Same physical appearance as mine?

 

Everything is fine except what I made in Bold. OCZ...

 

Maybe, maybe not, you'll just have to wait and see

I have the vector drive, I have had it for a while now with no issues along with the ram.

 

here is the official newx NVIDIA Announces GeForce GTX 780M, GTX 770M, GTX 765M, GTX 760M Mobility Chips

sad for 770m 765m 760m....