MSI GS43VR Phantom Pro's Owner's Lounge

Answered here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...not-available-400-issue.795757/#post-10335669

 

Go to the Nvidia site and download the latest WHQL version if you want "validated" runs, and the latest non-WHQL/beta to get the most feature and new game support.

Did you set your Nividia 3d Global and/or Program settings options to "High Performance", switch from Adaptive to Prefer Performance, and from Multi-monitor to Single monitor? Settings names are "close" to those

Those three are basic tuning steps for benchmarking.

Did you set your app to force dGPU only?, also in Nvidia Control Panel 3D options, Program settings.

Did you set Norton to Gamer mode, or uninstall it (better), make sure to exit all other apps that might share resources - like browsers with open tabs updating in the background?

You should also consider uninstalling Gaming app from MSI, and do the tuning yourself with XTU (CPU) and Afterbuner (GPU).

 

This is just a hunch, but maybe you are thinking Fire Strike overall score, vs. notebookcheck's Fire Strike graphics score?

 

Thanks ProtoTime. Glad it didn't crash means I just had a faulty graphics card.
Just to double check, also does 3dMark's main window show :

• 1505 MHz (1405 MHz) when In sports Mode

and

• 1405 MHz (1405 MHz) when In comfort Mode

?

 

Thank you, @hmscott! Per the usual, you are incredibly helpful. I just went through the Nvidia Control Panel and made sure that 3DMark and Fire Strike settings are now set to Prefer High Performance, the textures are High Performance, the display is Single, and that they run on the dGPU only. Thankfully I already had uninstalled Norton and limited startup programs and background processes, so I did have at least a couple things on your list finished already

I'm also going to go ahead and download the new WQHL driver. It supposedly helps optimize Deus Ex: MD, so I'll see if it makes any difference in performance.

D'oh! That's exactly what I did. Thank you, I feel a bit better about my Fire Strike scores now, haha.

Actually... mine says 1405 MHz when in Sport mode. Coupled with your earlier statement that you would get higher Fire Strike scores than I did when you used Sport mode... I'm beginning to wonder if Sport mode is actually boosting my GPU or not? Hrm...

 

One thing I left out, when making those Nvidia 3D settings, you need to reboot before they take effect

 

Yep, this happened to me too but then the 1505 would show up randomly after toggling between modes (Also try eco, it should give a much lower score), setting it to Sport and then playing a game maxed out for a while (I would assume running fire strike or time spy a couple of times would make it kick in too)
I think if you don't see the increased clock freq then yea Sports mode isnt doing anything (Hence the very close score to the one in Comfort mode)

 

So I just got a GS 43 VR, and I am having numerous issues with it out of the box. Can someone give me a little guidance so that I know if it is a hardware or driver update issue?

1. From the original factory install, I get a weird freezing and stuttering when using windows 10. Trackpad also freezes for a second, then keeps going. Sometimes gets heavier and worse, other times not as aparent.
2. Tested doom, got a diagonal line through the screen during gameplay, as well as the above stuttering.

3. Windows 10 anniversary edition would not show up on automatic update, so I had to install it myself. Is this normal? Why wouldn't it show up?

4. Newest Nvidia drivers also not available through MSI, is it OK if I download them directly from Nvidia?

 

I've had the same issue with both the GS63 and GS73. It coincides with when optimus switched on. I haven't figured out how to stop it completely but it happens a whole lot less frequent now that Windows and the GPU are up to date.

Yes, always install the latest gpu drivers directly from nvidia. The manufacturers never keep up.

 

@stekorghif, @Prototime, All, I would like to share some interesting findings on my GS43VR after using it for a week:

1. As stated by others, 3dmark doesn't approve the stock graphics driver so you will get the warning after benchmarking. Updating the Nvidia driver will give you a valid score. I have updated mine to version 372.54 and am able to obtain valid 3dmark scores now.

2. The Intel GPU drives the internal display although selected apps/games can be rendered by the GTX 1060 via Optimus (you can choose which GPU renders which app/game in Nvidia Control Panel -> Manage 3D settings -> Program Settings). The GTX 1060 can solely drive the Mini Display and the HDMI port when they are used exclusively for display (internal screen off). You can verify this by hooking up the laptop's Mini Display port or HDMI port to an external monitor, setting the display properties to output only to the external monitor (turning the internal screen off) and then check in Nvidia Control Panel -> Configure Surround, PhysX. You will also notice that a lot more options show up on the left in the Nvidia Control Panel. There are only 3 3D Settings options shown with only the internal screen on (no Display or Video options). Also, the Intel Graphics context menu (the right-click menu) will disappear as if Intel GPU doesn't exist. This is probably part of the Optimus design.

3. Now, this is the interesting part, the MSI Dragon Gaming Center app does the following:

a. If I set the power plan to Sports mode, hook up my external monitor to the Mini Display port and set the display properties to only output it to the external monitor (internal screen off), after rebooting and the Dragon app completely loads up in Windows 10, it shows that the GPU clock is at 1505 MHz (+100 MHz from default) and Memory is at 2102 MHz (+200 MHz from default) inside GPU-Z and Nvidia Inspector. I was able to get a Fire Strike score of 10191 with Graphics score of 12352 and Physics score of 9757 with this setting. See http://www.3dmark.com/fs/10010962.

b. If I set the power plan to Sports mode and power on the laptop normally (only using the internal screen), after the Dragon app completely loads up in Windows 10, it shows that the GPU clock is at 1405 MHz (default) and Memory is at 2002 MHz (default) inside GPU-Z and Nvidia Inspector. I was only able to get a Fire Strike score of 9696 with Graphics score of 11748 and Physics score of 9029. See http://www.3dmark.com/fs/10054623.

c. This process C:\Program Files (x86)\MSI\Dragon Center\MSI_ActiveX_Service.exe is run upon Windows startup and C:\Program Files (x86)\MSI\Dragon Center\MSI_ActiveX_Service.ini gets updated every time (this file's Date Modified field matches my system boot up time every time). The INI file has some interesting settings in regards to the CPU. Not sure if it is related to the overclocking mechanism employed by the Dragon app but it could probably give us some clue in how the overclocking works. If anyone finds out how this overclocking mechanism works, please do share here so we can all benefit from it.

4. The max overclock I can push my GTX 1060 is +170 MHz on GPU clock and +500 MHz on Memory. This gives me a Fire Strike score of 10519 and a Graphics score of 12880. This is achieved by using only my external monitor (internal screen off) with the MSI Dragon overclock boost mentioned above plus -185.5mV undervolt on my CPU (Core + Cache) with Throttlestop. See http://www.3dmark.com/fs/10055292.

5. G-Sync works fine in Fullscreen mode using my external monitor (internal screen off). It DOES NOT work with Windowed or Borderless Windowed mode (shows lower FPS + tearing) due to a potential bug in Nvidia's driver and it's being escalated here: https://forums.geforce.com/default/...rs/gsync-full-and-windowed-borderless-low-fps

Conclusion: The MSI Dragon Gaming Center app somehow applies a bit of overclocking to both the CPU and GPU if you set the power plan to Sports mode previously and an external monitor was connected to the Mini Display port and being used exclusively during Windows startup. I have not verify if this will also work if I connect it to the HDMI port but I believe it will. The reason I think the CPU is also overclocked is because the Physics score increase in 3dmark: 9757 vs. 9029.

@stekorghif, I WAS NOT able to get the CPU + GPU overclock simply by switching power modes (e.g. to Comfort, ECO and then back to Sports mode) in the Dragon Gaming Center app with only the laptop's internal screen on. The overclock only applies if I set the power plan to Sports mode and setting the display properties to only output to external monitor previously (internal screen off) and then powering on the laptop with the external monitor connected to the Mini Display port.

Simply plugging the external monitor within Windows 10 or using duplicate display mode (turning both internal and external screen on) DOES NOT give me the overclock.

 

Owners: how are you finding the build quality? Does the chassis flex bother you when typing? I tend to rest my wrists on the laptop chassis. Would the screen flex be an issue if it were bumped (e.g. on a plane)?

Have any of you also owned or worked with a Razer Blade 14"? If so, how do they compare?

TIA for any advice.

 

That diagonal tearing is a problem happening basically for all notebooks with Optimus, already for years (at least already since Kepler GPUs):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/strange-diagonal-screen-tearings.771358/
https://forums.geforce.com/default/...issues-on-gtx-860m-870m-960m-965m-970m-980m-/

Sadly, apparently it's still there even with new Pascal GPUs and there is no sign of any solution yet (it survived even complete revamp of Windows graphics pipeline from Windows 8 to Windows 10).

 

I was able to actually fix this problem by turning off the vsync in the doom settings. I have not tested in any other game.

 

I forgot to mention - this tearing should happen only for borderless windowed mode, so the simplest fix is simply to use exclusive fullscreen mode.

The problem is when such possibility doesn't exist (few games don't allow exclusive fullscreen mode, the most applications only work in windowed mode, so there it's worse, e.g. web browsers or Photoshop running on dGPU).

Any other fixes are kinda random: it may go away for a specific game / application for a while, then it'll return back after some weeks / months.

 

Close to pulling the trigger but the fan noise worries me.

 

I installed the new nvidia driver and took up hmscott's suggestions, and I now have a valid Fire Strike score of 9776. Basically the same as before, but at least it's a valid score now. Results here: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/14678102

The chassis flex is not really bothersome when typing. Having spent some more time with the internal keyboard, I actually like the experience quite a bit. It's relatively comfortable to rest your wrists on the chassis, and the chassis doesn't bend much under them. The keys are also nicely sized and spaced apart. I do wish the keys were a bit softer during typing.

As far as bumping the screen goes, I don't think it would be too much of a problem, but I do wish the screen were sturdier. I've also discovered that the left hinge on my screen makes an annoying creaking sound when being opened.

I wouldn't necessarily let the fan noise stop you. True the higher pitch is annoying, but usually the fans are off, or they'll turn on and off relatively quickly. If they kick on while watching a video, they are easily drowned out by a reasonable (not too loud or soft) speaker volume. The only time they get really loud is under heavy load, i.e. while gaming, but even then, the speakers on high volume do a fairly decent job of overcoming the noise (headphones still recommended for sure though).

Along with @teddy-zhu, I can confirm that the HDMI port is wired directly to the dGPU (I don't have the ability to confirm the DisplayPort, but teddy-zhu confirmed that as well). When plugged in to an external display, the Dragon Center shows the GPU remaining on, and when Sport mode is activated, the GPU clock is shown (in both 3DMark and GPU-Z) to be 1505 mhz, which is 100 mhz more than when the system is using Optimus on the internal display.

Thank you for all of this helpful info. I can confirm that Sport shift mode works when using an external display only via the HDMI port after a reboot. It's strange that Sport mode's auto-overclocking only seems to work with external displays, as that isn't really how MSI markets it, and it doesn't make much sense that it would work with an external display only. (Even if, for some reason, Sport mode could only boost GPUs with external displays because the ports are wired directly to the fGPU, you'd still think it would at least boost the CPU without an external display). I wonder if there's some way to get it to work properly with an internal display. There's little information about the Dragon Gaming Center or MSI's shift modes I can find online. Here's the official description of the shift modes, which doesn't offer much info, but does confirm that Sport mode should be boost/auto-overclocking the GPU and CPU: https://gaming.msi.com/article/power-saving-in-msi-notebooks.

Edit: Yes, it appears there actually is a roundabout way of getting Sport mode's boosting feature to work on the internal display. This is very interesting. If you plug the laptop into an external display and make it so it uses only the external display and reboot, Sport mode will boost the GPU and CPU - 3DMark and GPU-Z will show the GPU clocked at 1505 mhz instead of 1405, and Fire Strike scores increase dramatically (mine went up from 9776 on internal display to 10,198 on external display). However, after I did this, I then unplugged the external display... and Sport mode is still boosting! 3DMark and GPU-Z both continue to show 1505 mhz. I ran Fire Strike again after unplugging, and the score came in at 10,031 (the score is a bit lower I suspect because I had just run Fire Strike a few minutes earlier, but this still much higher than the 9776 score I got when I ran Fire Strike after booting with no external display).

Not only that, but the internal display now appears to be completely powered by the dGPU - the Dragon Center continues to show the dGPU as on, measuring temps and kicking on its fans when necessary. I even unplugged the laptop and have been running solely on battery for the past 1 hour or so and the dGPU still hasn't turned off (and yet battery life is still at 73%). So is this plug-and-boot-and-unplug a crude method of not only activating Sport mode's auto-overclocking on the internal display, but of disabling Optimus entirely? Thoughts, anyone? @hmscott?

Regardless, I hope we can figure out some way to enable Sport mode's auto-overclocking features on the internal display without the hassle of having to use this approach.

 

Thanks for the responses Prototime. How are you finding the heat? I think that's my last major hangup with the various 14" laptops out there. Throttling doesn't bother me per se so long as I can get a consistent 60fps in stuff like Skyrim and Planetside.

On that topic, does capping your framerate keep the heat more manageable?

Finally, if this thing runs above 80C consistently, what does that cut the life of the laptop to? It has a two-year warranty, so I can't imagine it would be less than two years. I'm speculating, though.

 

I am still trying to solve my issue with occasional freezing when opening some programs. I have all the newest drivers and updates.

Can it really be the Optimus issue and switching between the GPUs?

I hope it is not hardware related. Any other ideas on what I can do to make this better?

 

Hey owners, a quick question - is the body made entirel out of aluminium or does it have a plastic bottom? Im just wondering about the sturdiness.
Also - is the screen true IPS? MSI site says "IPS level"? Sounds like a misleading claim. What are the viewing angles on this?

 

The notebookcheck review states that it is true IPS, and that "viewing angles are excellent as expected". I think MSI is doing itself a disservice by saying IPS-level, because that does come across as if it is a good TN panel or something.

 

They say the same thing for the GS73 and it is in fact TN

 

No sir, they in fact do say that the panel on the GS73 is a TN. It's in the specs they note and in many parts throughout the review e.g. "Note that the 120 Hz/5 ms option must be a TN panel, so users will be sacrificing some benefits from an IPS panel."

 

I don't think optimus is the cause, but it is the trigger from what I can tell. Something keeps making the gpu switch on for a second and I haven't been able to pinpoint it yet. There are some latency testing tools that I have yet to try. They basically monitor latency in real time while you disable programs so you can see which is the cause. I'll probably tackle it this weekend but you might want to try it for yourself.

I've used DPC latency checker in the past

 

That's a review. I'm taking about MSI. They're the ones who invented the phrase "IPS level"

 

Ah, that's what you meant, "they" was ambiguous. Yeah, they do state that, and that only further reinforces my point that they are doing themselves a disservice Call GS73 IPS level if you must MSI, but GS43 is clearly pure and simple IPS

 

Panelook.com states it's an AH-IPS so I don't really know now. Yes, MSI would be doing themselves a big disservice. That said, color reproduction doesn't seem to be really great (I'm a designer).

Also, I've just read in the ncheck review that opening the bottom cover voids the warranty. What the actual ****? I would switch the 1TB HDD for a smaller SSD for sure. But considering that it would automatically void my warranty it makes no sense to spend the money on something I won't be able to modify.

 

Well, AH-IPS is still going to be decent vs. your average TN, but I can totally see how as a designer you might want a really high-end screen. I don't think the GS43 offers that, even the price point alone suggests it would be hard to pull off

As for the sticker, those bother me a lot too. We've been talking on the other main Pascal thread about how it's actually illegal to do that in the US (well, probably not place the stickers, but void the warranty because someone opened it up). If you search for something like warranty void if removed illegal you'll see what they are talking about - apparently there is a law that prohibits manufacturers from doing so.

 

Yeah, but my problem is I would probably be relying on global warranty in some god forsaken place since I travel a lot. I was interested in this one because of its weight.

Also, I'm guessing that like all other MSI's this one too has a plastic bottom cover, right? It's aluminium only on the screen lid and palm rests?

 

MSI doesn't enforce the stickers in the US and Canada. I called them last week and they said I could remove all the stickers with no issues. They recommended I keep the serial number sticker in case of RMA, so I relocated it to the inside of the lid. I'd recommend that anyways because the serial number will wear after a while anyways.

 

Ah, darn it, I'm still torn and I have to make a decision until tomorrow.

There's so much power in this laptop it's ridiculous. And it's only a bit more expensive than ultrabooks with simple built-in graphics. I'm not a big time gamer, really, but the sheer idea of having so much power for so little more over something like a Lenovo Yoga or HP Spectre is still very, very tempting... Gaaah.... I don't know what to do.

Owners: what are your impressions after a few weeks of use? Is it solid? Too loud? Overheats? Love it? Like it? Hate it?

 

OK, just learned about Razer lineup refresh - so screw it, will go with something less powerful for now and later just change it for the Razer probably.

 

Review updates - All right, some updates that I'll add to my review:

1. Screen - The screen could be sturdier. It's thin and somewhat wobbly, and the left hinge creaks when opening/closing the lid. Not a deal breaker, but not ideal either. Also, I have now noticed a little backlight bleed around the edges, mostly in the corners, but it's not too noticeable or bothersome (not to me anyway).
2. Ports - I really wish this laptop had a third USB type A 3.0 port. The one USB-C port is nice, but I'd rather not use it with an adapter for USB-A devices. Still, this is manageable enough with a USB hub.
3. Touchpad - The touchpad experience is not great. It's not terrible either. It's just mediocre. Tapping is a much more pleasant experience that clicking on it - I often click just outside of the left-click range, usually above it so that even though is a solid click, it doesn't register as such. Dedicated buttons would have been nice. It's also a bit loud when clicking. Again, not a deal breaker (especially not for me, as I usually use a mouse), but something to keep in mind. Fortunately, the trackpad isn't too sensitive when tapping either - if you lightly brush against it when typing for example, it won't register that as a tap. I've had some laptops that seem to register even the lightest tap, so I'm glad about this.
4. Keyboard - The typing experience is pretty great. It's comfortable to rest your palms on the chassis while typing, and you don't often brush against the trackpad while doing so. The travel distance between keys is great, and so is the responsiveness of the keys, though I do wish clicking the keys would be quieter (it's not obnoxiously loud either, though). Unsurprisingly for me, I've instinctively looked for a dedicated row of Home/Page Up/Page Down/End keys on the right side of the keyboard while typing, only to disappointingly remember that those are just secondary functions of the arrows now. The lack of dedicated keys for them is definitely my biggest gripe about the typing experience. I'll manage.
5. Performance - I got tired of messing around with this Sport mode "is it auto-overclocking or not?" business. For whatever reason, Sport mode will add +100 MHz to the base core clock and +200 MHz to the base memory clock only when plugged in to an external display after a reboot, or possibly after unplugging it from an external display. So I decided to just use Afterburner to manually raise the base clocks +100 MHz for core and +200 MHz for memory. I then ran Fire Strike and got a score just over 10100, though unfortunately the score was invalid due to a time inconsistency (this happened once before too, not sure what triggers it). I'll run again soon. I also ran Unigine Valley again (no AA), but I accidentally didn't save my results it was somewhere in the 70-FPS range.
6. Temperatures: As I just said, after raising the core clock and memory MHz, I ran Unigine Valley. One thing that stood out to me during this run was the temps. I have a metal mesh laptop stand that I've run Unigine Valley on in the past, but this time, I ran it on a solid wood table. During the test, I saw the temps (in the on-screen display) rise up to 80 C. At first I thought this might have had something to do with how I used Afterburner to raise GPU speeds, but then I simply raised the laptop off of the table and into the air--and bam, the temps dropped back to 75 C pretty quickly. Unsurprising moral of the story: even if you don't have a laptop cooler, elevate your laptop and make sure it can breathe. I do plan on getting a notebook cooler in the near future and seeing how that might even further help.
7. Next steps: I'm going to play more Deus Ex: Mankind Divided tomorrow night and post the results here. Instead of using Afterburner, this time I plan to use Fraps for FPS and HWmonitor for temps. I just installed the latest nvidia driver, which supposedly makes Deus Ex run better, and within a few hours Deus Ex is supposed to get DX12 support, which should also hypothetically improve performance. So between the new nvidia driver, DX12, and my manual overclock to what Sport mode should have been doing, we'll see how performance and temps change! After that, I'm going to try to undervolt the CPU this weekend with Throttlestop and will share the results of that here. And if I have time, I may boot up Arkham Knight for a few hours so I can offer some data on how that runs.

I really enjoy mine so far. It's not too loud, though the high pitch of the fan noise can be irritating at times. It definitely does not overheat, it usually stays in the low-to-mid 70s. Check out my review for some more detailed temp info. I'd be hesitant about the Razer given what I've heard about their heat issues, but maybe they'll make some improvements for the new lineup.

 

If you implemented what I suggested, you wouldn't be using MSI Gaming Center, that would be uninstalled and you would be using XTU and MSI Afterburner manually

The trick you found is a MSI Gaming Center bug, I assume they didn't mean to keep the higher settings for internal Display.

Optimus is still controlling the internal display, even though the GPU / CPU speeds are up higher, the dGPU is being used per Optimus setting it for rendering via the Global or Program settings you chose.

If you get rid of MSI Gaming Center, and use XTU for setting CPU 4x core multi's to 4.0ghz - then trying undervolting -150mV (apparently the range is about -110mV to -200mV by reports I have seen recently), and when that is stable - really stable, not like 5 minutes testing stable, then OC the GPU.

I don't have any starting numbers for Afterburner 1060 OC, but look around and find some, start only OC'ing the Core clock - then when at maximum stable, set to default and OC only the VRAM- then when at maximum stable try to add Max Core Clock stable - if it works great, if not then start by halving VRAM OC and work your way up until MAX core + Max VRAM OC is stable.

That should work just find connected to both internal and external Displays

PS: you need to uninstall Gaming Center first, otherwise it will interfere with XTU / AB randomly, and they will interfere with GC.

 

Great, thanks for the insights! I've decided to wait it out for now. One thing that bothered me about the MSI is the gaming-y looks and the plastic elements - that's part of the reason I'm looking forward to the Razer. And since their response was swift and they decided not to wait to 2017 to update their laptops, it makes it a more attractivep proposition for me in the long term (I travel a lot and sturdiness + slick shape are a clear advantage that I would be happy to pay extra for). Especially since, apparently, they will offer the 1TB SSD version with Full HD panel as well.

So for now I'm going to stick with a Yoga 900 and wait it out until new 10X0 laptops hit the shelves. Surface Book maybe another option too.

 

Hi guys,
I'm new here. I'm looking into several laptops to buy. I also have a similar post at Asus territory.
I'm coming from a Clevo W150HRM (with GT555) from 2011 which is very heavy for me now a days once I'm travelling a lot. Like now, I'm in USA for an internship. Also, my laptop doesn't survive without been pluget in eletricit
I'm a researcher but I really like to play games when I have free time. But at the same time and don't want some mamuth laptop. I need a light one. I'm used to use a 15" laptop and I don't know if a small one will be too much different. I usually use a lot of words, chrome tabs and put is side-by-side in the scrren (i don't have a second screen).
The reviews here are awsome and give me some detailed information. But what wories is me is the thermals. I live in Brazil and there the environment temperature is like 32° celsius degree almost every day. If I going to buy this laptop, I expect that it last at least for 3 or 4 years (don't talking about gaming, I can play games in low resolution). I don't want to change the laptop in 2 years regarding thermal problems.
Do you think that this GS43 would work good in Brazil? Like, no overheating?
What your thoughts on that?

Thanks in advance

 

Gs43 is on the edge thermally speaking, maybe you should play safe and go for a 15'' Sager or EVOC, or any Clevo reseller (HIDEvolution for example), you'll have thermal overhead at a nice price

 

A small tip btw, I had problems that the CPU would heat up pretty quickly just for the smallest task, like Dropbox synking or Search Indexer.

Using the Windows Power settings I changed the max cpu speed of the balanced mode to 95% which disabled turbo boost and maxed out the cores at 2.4 Ghz instead of 3.1 Ghz. For my daily work when I need a nearly silent computer this is good enough.

This small change mostly keeps the fans humming along at 1800RPM in idle mode, and not revving up at all under slight pressure from background processes.

Currently with the changes I did to fan settings in Dragon Centre (idle fan speed at 30%), and capping the CU at 95% max , keeps this computer very silent most of the time.

 

See next post...

 

Because unplugging the 6 cables from the link box, rebooting and waiting 5 minutes seemed to make the Vive work again, I decided to take a very analytical approach to figuring out the least amount of work needed to get rid of the compositor error. I did a lot of reboots, individual cable removals and timing (starting with 5 minutes). What I figured out is that if I unplug the usb cable (either from the PC or from the PC side of the link box), reboot and plug it back in it will work. I'm going to try another usb cable and see if that fixes the issue, but at least now I know a quick way to get it back up and going. Not sure what's going on though. If the new usb cable doesn't work I plan on emailing both HTC and MSI about it to see if it can get resolved.

 

OK, so I can't figure out why my GS43 keeps doing these small freezes when switching programs, or browsing around windows.

Yes, the power light goes from red to orange, back to red, signaling that the intel GPU is switching off with the Nvidia GPU, I get that. Also someone mentioned something about a networking issue causing this.

I have updated everything on the system to the latest - and I cannot fix it.

My alienware has the same updates, but a 960m, and it does not do this freeze.

Is there something with how MSI configures windows 10 with its hardware? Should I bother trying to exchange my GS43 or will every system give me the same issue?

It's really annoying, and not a smooth computer experience.

 

I have this kind of stutter on mine as well when the iGPU and dGPU toggle around. It's worse upon initial Windows 10 startup and gets better later. I notice that if you don't open any graphics/monitoring related apps like GPU-Z, AIDA64, Furmark, 3dmark or games, your dGPU should stay inactive and there is no stutter. You can manage which app uses which GPU in Nvidia Control Panel to minimize the iGPU -> dGPU switching and thus minimize this kind of stutter. This could be an Optimus issue on Windows 10 as discussed extensively here: https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/860554/geforce-mobile-gpus/windows-10-and-optimus/10/

The only time I don't see this stutter is when I use the dGPU exclusively on my external monitor (internal screen off). Makes sense since it bypasses the iGPU completely and thus no more stutter from switching around.

 

Update on temps - I played Deus Ex: MD for 2 hours last night and recorded temp info (I used the same game settings that I had in my review). Note that compared to earlier data, this is after I downloaded the latest nvidia driver and another patch for Deus Ex (I did not enable DX12 for the game, because that feature still in Beta and is actually decreasing performance for nvidia GPUs). It's also after I used Afterburner to add +100 MHz to the base core clock and +200 MHz to the base memory clock (which is what Sport mode does when connected to an external display, but for whatever reason doesn't do when using the internal display). Also, the ambient temperature in the room was about 5-7 degrees C higher than the last time I shared temp info. Finally, there is no FPS limit this time around (V-sync is off).

So, with all that in mind, here's what I got for GPU temps:

• Min: 52 C
• Max: 83 C
• Avg: 79.6 C

Still pretty good considering the higher ambient temp. I also ran Fraps to record the FPS, but for whatever reason, it didn't record. This is the second time I've had this problem with Fraps and Deus Ex, and I don't know what the deal is, because it records fine when I run something like Unigine Valley. I will keep toying around with it.

Thanks. I'm new to OCing and plan to take things slow. As mentioned, I've already used Afterburner to try out adding 100 Mhz to the base core block and 200 MHz to the base memory clock, which replicates what Sport mode does on external displays. No instability so far. I plan to undervolt the CPU soon as well, and appreciate the numbers you've suggested!

How long does the stutter last (i.e., a full second or more)? And is it all the time you aren't on an external display? I will occasionally have some stutter, though what you're describing sounds like it might be worse than mine.

 

That's the problem with Optimus related symptoms, some owners of the same laptop can have none of them - if their app mix supports iGPU switching to dGPU automatically, otherwise the ones affected need to curate their apps configuration to use the right mix of dGPU and iGPU.

If you get too many apps using iGPU it will lag the iGPU, if you move them all to dGPU they may run fine but there is a weird interation between Windows OS graphics and switching to apps on dGPU.

Once you figure out the mix, it's usually ok until you add another new app.

 

The interaction between various tools that use the same CPU / GPU tuning access can randomly interfere, it may work ok under some circumstance, but not under others.

It's good to settle on 1 CPU and 1 GPU tuner, and also 1 monitor tool - I use hwinfo64 to avoid multiple programs accessing the monitoring info. I also use GPU-Z for some monitoring, and CPU-Z for some readings then exit it.

Note that after booting, after XTU and AB have done their job setting settings, you can exit their systray tools, and keep the OC.

That reduces CPU load from their built in monitoring tools.

When tuning I will then leave hwinfo64 running and open so I can watch temps and load, sometimes I also turn on logging to see the second by second changes, rather than just the peak events.

 

And one other thing - @D2 Ultima was right to suspect the ports getting hot on the right-hand side of the laptop by the dGPU. I had a mouse plugged in to the USB-A port on the right side, and after I finished my 2 hour gaming session last night, I pulled the plug out, and it was noticeably hot. Not scalding, but definitely hotter than the ports on the left. So that's definitely something to keep in mind. I haven't tested the mini DisplayPort yet, but since that's on the back of the laptop, that might be the better port to use to plug in an external display than the HDMI port on the right side, at least while gaming. I'm not sure of this yet though. I would like to buy a new television at some point and plug the laptop into it through an active DisplayPort 1.2 to HDMI 2.0 adapter (since the GS43VR's HDMI port annoyingly only supports HDMI 1.4), so I can test it then, but maybe some other folks here can try out the DisplayPort and see how hot it gets while gaming.

 

It is a second or less delay, no more than that. Most other laptops I have tried or test did not show this issue with the same windows 10.

In fact I can barely type this post now, each letter is lagging and freezing on occasion. I have literally nothing else really running, so I do not know what is going on.

 

Yeah, that is way, way worse than anything I've encountered. I experience nothing like that. You might want to consider a fresh install of Windows 10 if you haven't already, but honestly who knows if that'll fix the problem. You might just want to return and exchange it, because it's not normal behavior for this laptop.

 

Backup any data you have on it and do a system reset, see if problem persists or not.

 

Update:

So after trying every driver update, and even doing a windows reset, both from within windows and then from the F3 MSI factory image restore, I tried one more thing.

I did the option to completely do a fresh install of windows 10, not just a reset and not the MSI factory image.

This gave me a clean version of windows, with no MSI software installed.

At least in this stage, before any drivers are updated - the lag/freezing is completely gone.

Now I will run the windows update, and gradually update all drivers, and hopefully the issue is fixed. If it comes back, then a newer driver is causing the conflict.

 

this is happening across many devices, so it's quite possible one of the anniversary updates is the culprit. Thanks for doing this.

Have you tried using a latency tester while you update?