Is the Force (MSI) 16F2 worth buying?

I have looked into XoticPC for quite some time now and the reviews seem pretty nice. With a $1250 budget, I ended up looking at the Sager 8130 and the Force 16F2. They pretty much have the same default specs, except the 16F2 comes with a no dead pixel guerentee.

I haven´t really dealt with MSI's laptops so I don´t know much about them. Should I purchase the Force 16F2, or should I look into something else? I really couldn´t find anything with a GTX 560m that was cheaper than the 16F2.

Anyone have any pictures or reviews of the laptop I can look at?

 

Please refer to the thread roughly 8 threads below or 2 threads above your own in the MSI section for opinions on the ms-16f2

Or report your thread and get it moved to the "what notebook should I buy" section...

 

its here

http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/585651-how-force-16f2.html

 

I am looking at buying either the Force 16F2 or Sager NP8130 from XoticPC. Both laptops will have the default specs as well as Windows 7 Home Premium installed. The NP8130 comes out to $1260 ($1310 Shipped) and the 16F2 comes out to $1160 ($1190 shipped). The only difference between them so far is that the sager has a matte screen, 8GB RAM instead of 6GB, and a fingerprint reader.

It is very important that the company has a very good reputation and good warranty and RMA service incase something goes wrong. That is extremely important to me. Also, build quality is very important. I want something which will last 3 years.

I am going to buy one of them tomorrow or the day after. Of course, if there are better options elsewhere, please, feel free to recommend them. Budget is $1300 shipped ($20 over budget is fine), which leaves Newegg out of the question since I would need to pay California sales tax.

1) What is your budget?

$1300

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
a. Netbook; 10” screen or less
b. Ultraportable; 11" - 12” screen
c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
e. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen

Anything from 13-16 Inch is fine

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.

USA, specifically California

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like: Sager, FORCE, ASUS
b. Dislike: HP, Dell


5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?

No

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?

Gaming, Nothing else

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?

Both, but will mainly be used while on vacation since we travel a lot.


8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?

Pretty much only FPS Games, BF3, BC2, etc.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?

I have another laptop for battery life, so I only need at least 2 hours on this one


10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

Online is fine

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.

Windows 7

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer? Keep in mind screen size in conjunction with resolution will play a large role in overall viewing comfort level. Everyone is different. Some like really small text, while others like their text big and easy to read. Click here for Screen resolution information.

1600x900 or 1920x1080

13) Do you want a Glossy/reflective screen or a Matte/non-glossy screen?

Matte is prefered but glossy is fine too

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

Yes

15) When are you buying this laptop?

In 2-3 Days

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?

2-3 years, preferably 3

Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?

I don't need an SSD. 320GB is fine, but 500GB is preferred. Anything above is not needed.

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?

DVD Burner is fine, I don't need blu-ray

 

Overall it is a really good machine for the money. There are a few reviews that users are posting here on NBR. If I can help with anything please don't hesitate to ask.

 

I have some questions for you then. How is the stock screen on the 16F2? How does the build quality of this machine compare to the 8130 or the 8150?

 

The Screen is comparable to the 8130/8150. It is no 95% Gamut but it is very good. The build quality on the machine is also very good on both the Sager's and the 16F2.

Some key separators between the two is the better sound and 2nd Hard Drive bay on the 16F2 compared to the 8130. Graphically the 8150 is much better with the 485M/580M.

 

Thanks for the really quick answers. Another question I had is how would you rate MSI's warranty work vs. Sager's? I want to know if I send my machine back, is it going to take much longer, or need repeated attempts to deal with any issues.

 

Glad to help. Warranty wise they would be very similar. Repair time, warranty work would be nearly the same.

 

@ Justin@XoticPC

can u please confirm me if Force 16F2 has a backlit keyboard?

 

If you're worried about build quality and customer service, definitely go with the Sager NP8130. Don't buy from Sager directly, make sure to buy from a reseller ( Gaming Laptops - XOTIC PC - Gaming Notebooks - Custom Laptops - Custom Notebooks or Laptops, Gaming Laptops & Fastest, Custom Laptops - MALIBAL are the ones I recommend)

 

Sorry, it does not.

 

Hey Justin, could you compare the build quality of the 16F2 with the Asus G series laptops? Thats the one I've seen in store so I atleast have an idea of how the laptop feels like.....I have no idea about quality on this machine or the Sager 8130 for that matter (photos really dont tell one how it feels )

 

I'm looking at buying the Force 16F2 or the Sager NP8130 which both have pretty much the exact same specs except the default CPU on the Force 16F2 is the i5-2410M. It costs $100 to upgrade to the i7.

All I am going to be doing on this laptop is gaming, nothing else. I have a netbook if I need something with good battery life. For purely gaming, would an upgrade be necessary?

I mainly play FPS games like BC2 (and BF3 when it comes out) if that helps.

 

For pure gaming, a Quad is definitely recommended since more and more games are optimized for multi-core use.
Besides, the $100 upgrade is definitely worth it, and SB quads (such as the 2630qm you are looking at) are power efficient.

 

Wow, that's a cheap upgrade to quad-core. Go for it.

 

yeah right now I would go with the gtx 485m and the i7 2630qm for gaming, the gtx 485m since the introduction of the gtx 580m is 200 bucks cheaper, basically at the same price as the 6970m

 

Please don't create multiple threads about the same subject, I have merged several of your threads. Thank you.