Official MSI GS70 2013 Owners Lounge

Try updating the BIOS and EC first, because that could be an issue.
Then load setup defaults.

For Windows 7 installation, it is best to load it in legacy mode. UEFI + CSM is fine too and should not cause any problems.
But please make sure to purge the partitions on the hard drive first before installing.

 

nope, not on the GS70 - no F7 or F8 for WIFI or BT.
only FN + F10 for Plane-Mode, that is also an idea

 

Fn+F8 toggles WiFi on my GS70

 

oh, you are lucky. i try it for me but no chance. what ist different between my and yours GS70? have you a symbol on the Key F8. my notebook look so:
http://217.110.237.70/news/msi-gs70_07.jpg
http://www.sweclockers.com/image/red/2013/06/03/MSI+GS70+Stealth-2.jpg?t=original&k=bc0cfdd0

 

That's an old Win7 function with MSI's keyboard, because they did not remove the function even though the keyboard is Win8-version.
Fn + F8 = WiFi
Fn + F9 = BT

 

What do y'all think? The battery light starts blinking orange and won't charge past 85%. The battery calibration worked about two months ago, but this time that and the battery reset didn't do anything. I sent a support request to MSI and didn't get back an explanation, but did get back a RMA. I really don't want to be out a month waiting for them to install a new battery... if that's what it is. Should I request a new battery and install myself? Should I just purchase a new battery if they refuse? Or is there something else to try?

Thanks in advance!
Drew

 

hi. i was wondering if anybody else is experiencing heat on places where is not suppose to be.
on my laptop, the area beside the track pad (where your palms would usually rest while typing) are unusually hot, they've never been this before and, if i could recall, this area isn't suppose to be hot right?
was wondering if anybody could point out what's wrong with my laptop. thanks!

 

I ended up posting in the gs60 thread by accident.

Was wondering what people are getting for temps on this laptop with the 970m version.

Most games are fine like borderlands 2 which isn't demanding and gets around 75 on gpu and 74 on cpu.

Crysis 3 seems to make everything much hotter with 86 on gpu and 85 on cpu.

Undervolt the cpu with intel xtu and temps still seem to be excessive.

Is there a way to bring the temps down on gpu other than underclocking. Seems like the gpu starts to throttle at around 82 83.

First gaming laptop after owning high end desktops.

 

GPU starts throttling when temps get higher than 90°C not 80°C the only way to bring down temp without underclocking is to buy a cooling pad or repaste.

 

As charliex3 pointed out, the chips don't throttle until things get into the 90s C. It's quite common for gaming laptops to hit the 80s region while under heavy load.

The best solutions to aid in the cooling process are a good thermal compound (properly applied; this is reportedly a problem from many OEM factories) and sometimes small mods, such as changing the thermal pads and/or adding copper RAM heat sinks to the cooling system. Some people even make changes to their case, but success with that is hit or miss.

 

I just got the GS70 stealth.

I put it on power, chose language, country and stuff.
Then thats it a black screen with the mouse pointer. This machine is supposed to be already set with windows 8.


Had many laptops before, and never experience this.
Any ideas ?

 

You can press F3 at boot to launch recovery mode, then do recovery, let it reboot, and go through OOBE (Out Of Box Experience) again.

 

Is it possible to upgrade our GPU to the new gtx 970m?

 

The GS series GPU's are integrated onto the motherboard so they are not upgradable.

 

This, unfortunately. Even systems that take the swappable MXM cards are subject to limitation, but with these surface mounted chips, there's no available upgrade.

 

I have a spacebar issue, the key dont register i can resolve it without RMA?
I have no idea how i can remove a spacebar without damage a keyboard???
Excuse me for my poor english

 

It's best to contact local office for warranty service since it's not much hope to resolve this issue due to possible hardware failure.

 

Hello,

I have a small Problem with my XMG C703 it is identical to the MSI GS70.

I work on an external Monitor. If i close the Notebook for a few minutes the touch-pad (ELAN-Tech) registers some Input an the Mouse is clicking an jumping around. If i deactivate the touch-pad before closing the Notebook the Problem is gone. I search for a permanent solution like a Firmeware-FIX or a workaround. I tried different drivers from ELAN-Tech and to lower the sensibility of the touch-pad but no success at all. I already installed the new touch-pad-firmware v03!

greetings

 

The screen might be touching against the touchpad.
Try inserting a paper to cover the touchpad, see if that is the cause?

 

I've had this laptop for almost 6 months now and I love it!!! For those of you concerned about cooling, as I used to be myself. I would recommend a cooling pad such as the 23XL from ThermalTake cheap, well built and quiet. Yes the laptop is still big for the pad but it does fit, the only problem is that the feet of the laptop just barely hang on. Size aside I have noticed an increase in frame rate and slightly cooler temperatures as there is more airflow along the goofy felt cloth that would seem to add insulation to bottom of the laptop.

Without Cooling Pad:
Idle: 79 F
Battlefield 4 Max Graphics: 198 F (had some frame problems when huge amounts of C4 went off creating plumes of smoke and fire)

With Cooling Pad:
Idle: 73 F
Battlefield 4 Max Graphics: 172 F (no problem at all with frame rate in same situation)

So still too hot to touch but I noticed a frame rate increase
I have the Stealth Pro-210 with GTX 870 6Gb

All in all fabulous machine for the cost and portability! I would highly recommend it to all looking for a diverse machine.
Just A Side Note! I am a college student using this thing in class and can get about 4 hours on the battery browsing the web and taking notes on Microsoft Word in class. Huge Bonus!!!!

 

How that is possible? My one is 970m(3GB) version and processor in idle: keeps 120-140F(~50C) and it is pretty all the time warm to the touch(fan never kick in). In support they said it is normal temp. Any ideas guys?

 

Has anyone had any experience with getting a 'light spot' on their screen? On mine, I've got an area about the size of my small fingernail perhaps which is much brighter than the rest - under all conditions. If I sent it off, am I likely to have a fight for a warranty repair? I'd like it sorted, but the hassle of removing my ssds from it may not be worth it if they're likely to fuss over any fix!

Edit - I tried to capture an image of the defect, which didn't work very well, but I took a video instead which shows it a bit better.
http://cloud.extrobe.co.uk/public.php?service=files&t=8b5eef6ddc673f93d336eff06acd1a41

Edit 2 - Looks like a replacement screen isn't as expensive as I thought - tempted to replace it myself - anyone else done this? Check couple of videos, doesn't seem to bad - and done it before on a different laptop.

 

why u replaced it yourself /??? u should have warranty n ?

 

I haven't decided - but when I weigh up the inconvenience of having to remove all my additional hard drives from the laptop, take an image of the main drive, sending it off, being without it for x weeks, reinstating all the drives, and hoping they didn't do a factory reset on it - vs £50 on a new screen - it's tempting. Or, put another way, if there was an option for same-day screen replacement for a premium, I;d certainly go for it. Plus, means I could go Glossy.

 

Apologies, posted on the wrong thread. Please delete this post.

 

What laptop bag are you guys using for your GS70's ? I can't find one that fits well? I don't want it too loose and I don't want it too tight. It is just a few mm too big to fit in the case logic DLC-117 17.3 bag I just tried and have to return as well. Anyone having any luck finding a good bag for this notebook?

 

I still use the supplied zip-up cover

 

I want to turn off the Hard Drive because I don't like to hear it spinning up when I open Recycle Bin etc. I only use SSD.
Ideally I want to toggle it on once a week to backup some files.
Is it safe to Device Manager / Disk Drives / Disable WDC___ or maybe a better way to do it?

 

Best to disconnect it fully since its power is still on even if it's disabled in the device manager, or just switch to SSD completely.

 

I've just replaced the ram to take it upto 16gb. I've had a read through a good chunk of this thread and can't find anything specific, but should I need to do something along the lines of resetting the EC after increasing RAM? Should I have a hibernation partition which needs increasing too, or does windows (8.1) take car of all this?

Unrelated, is there a way to make the keyboard led lighting react to messages / alerts etc? Would be awesome for the keyboard to flash red for an email, blue for a Lync message etc.

Oh, and there looks to be an updated bios to download

 

You do not need to clear EC after upgrading the system memory (RAM).
There are no other changes needed.

The keyboard can only do those if MSI makes a supporting utility with those features, otherwise it cannot be done.

 

Thanks - bummer though - hoped it would explain why I keep getting a BSOD on waking up (seems perfectly stable when running, just waking from sleep / hibernation)

I found some JS code online claiming to tap into it to create events - aimed at linux systems, but should work with windows. Going to have a play to see if I can get anything from it at all. Long shot though.

 

The keyboard is controlled via its own proprietary software, so such API can be understood and utilized but it must come from someone who's really interested to do it. Possibly needs to tap into EC firmware and keyboard firmware.

 

YOu could try 32GB

 

Hey all. Just signed up to help other msi gs70 stealth owners with some info and fixes for known issues/problems with this model. I figured it was time to give a little back, after having such success due to other owners info on various forums. Here goes.

This is for the original GS 70 Stealth 2oD-229US. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152477

Problem: Random restart with No blue screen of death. This restart problem has nothing to do with temperatures.

Solution: There is a known problem with the original EC (Embedded Control) Firmware. Go to MSI and update the EC firmware to the latest release and the problem should be gone. Since I updated I have not had a single random shutdown. Fan speeds will also be adjusted with the firmware update, but it does not really help the noise of the fans.


Problem: Fan rattling randomly at low speeds. Goes away for a second if you tap the laptop.

Solution: Unfortunately this will most likely need to be replaced as it is a bearing issue. It almost always happens on only the CPU side (Right Fan) because it is always running. Replacements can be bought online for relatively low prices. You can also try and use some sewing machine oil in the center of the fan. A single drop should do it. It is not a long term fix though.

Problem: High CPU and GPU temperatures and throttling.

Solution: For starters let me share what my GPU and CPU temperatures where when I recieved the laptop.

CPU under load: 94 C
GPU under load: 78 C

This laptops model GPU vbios (Like a regular bios, and controls throttling among other things) is locked. So there is no way to control fan speed or throttling of the graphics card without flashing the vbios, which in my opinion is not worth the risk as the only way to do it is through a third party program created by svet. Here is a link if your interested https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=148273.0 . His program is donate to use with a minimum donation of 20.00 dollars. So this means that we are locked at a throttling temperature of 78 degrees which can really create some inconsistent performance from time to time as it significantly down clocks the 765m gtx until temperatures drop. Ill get to the solution in a minute.

The CPU has not so much of a bottle neck problem as it does down clocking itself from using intels integrated boost technology to the standard CPU clock rate. So, with boost technology the processor runs at around 3.4 ghz. Without Intel's boost technology the standard clock rate is 2.4 ghz. The CPU will automatically start using the standard clock rate if the CPU gets to 92 C. Now for the solution to both problems.

RE-THERMAL PASTE YOUR CPU AND GPU. I can not emphasize enough how badly MSI applied this thermal paste on both the GPU and CPU. It baffles me. They got more thermal paste on the board than the actual chips themselves. My CPU did not even have any thermal paste on it, it was just around the edges of the chip. So after reapplying new and better thermal paste (I used Antec formula 7), here are my temps.

Link for how to take apart a MSI GS70:

CPU under load: 76 C
GPU under load: 72 C

The results have been awesome. No throttling, fps gains, and most importantly the fact that my laptop is not slowly dieing from heat.

If your not quite able to reach the 76 C under load with just reapplying new and better thermal paste, there is one other thing that you can do. I undervolted my CPU with Intels Extreme Tuning Utility. Its free, and undervolting is completely safe. Worst thing that can happen is your laptop restarts if you undervolt too much. The only setting that I changed was my dynamic voltage offset which I set to -84 mV. I have been gaming stable on this setting for a couple weeks now. I did orginally try -100 mV but every once in a while my computer would restart itself. All chips are a little different though, so feel free to experiment.

A couple of other things that have worked in my favor:

Nvidia drivers. I originally thought that staying with msi drivers would be for the best, since I had problems with trying to go with nvidia drivers on this laptop about a year or so ago. I recently decided to try nvidia drivers again, and it actually paid off. I got a decent fps bump (It varies from game to game, Id say an average of 15 more fps), and have not had any stability issues. The driver that I use is nvidia 347.52

Another good thing to do if your running an operating system other than windows 8, which is what this laptop originally shipped with, is to update your bios. The original bios did not take into account users who wanted to still use Windows 7 or that windows 8 would be upgraded to 8.1. If your not having any problems with your current set up, I would not bother messing with the bios. But if your running into a lot of little annoyances like I was (I run windows 7 64 Ultimate), an update of the bios should help with some of them. It did for me at least.

Something I could still use help with if anyone knows:

The killer network card in this laptop makes it almost impossible to play some games using wireless. I have tried disabling bandwidth throttling, turning off the ability for the computer to shut the card off to save power, going into the registry and hard setting bandwidth limitations, uninstalling the killer network software, and running the card on both a 3 ghz and 5 ghz frequency. Some of these setting changes helped a little, but none made my wireless connection stable enough to enjoy an uninterupted gaming session. If anyone knows of a fix for the killer network card performance please share it. As of right now the only solution I have found is to simply use and ethernet over power adapter, which obviously bypasses wireless.

 

The thing is that these laptops are made on line production and it is really not high quality the quality checks.. if they making thousands laptops the workers assembling units fast and they don't pay much attention when applying thermals etc.. other end user had disconnected fan so his laptop wud burn .. battery not connected ..
MSi is not highest quality so looks like end users needs to do check and do corrections by themselves ..

 

@GalaxySII. I would agree with there being quality assurance issues as far as the assembly of the laptop. The laptop materials themselves are pretty solid though, as well as the laptop design (Save for the annoying fact that the mobo is upside down haha). When I was taking it apart to get to the cpu and gpu it was fairly easy and the parts never seemed cheaply made or flimsy.

I was pretty apprehensive to open it up due to the warranty sticker as well as compact design. Ive built computers and worked on laptops before, but this one is kinda in its own category as far as design. With the help of the video guide I posted and if you take your time and are gentle I would say anyone with a basic understanding of computers should do this though. It is well worth checking to make sure the people at msi didn't screw anything up. It is also worth it just to do some routine dusting as well.

 

Wow after reading cstuder87's comments about his temperature differences I decided to repaste my CPU and GPU with Coolaboratory liquid Ultra.

Here are my results:

Firestrike (first run, original factory paste)

CPU

core 1: 90 c
core 2: 94 c
core 3: 96 c
core 4: 89 c
package: 96 c

GPU

72 c

Score: 2355

Firestrike (first run, Coolaboratory Liquid Ultra repaste)

CPU

core 1: 79 c
core 2: 78 c
core 3: 80 c
core 4: 74 c
package: 80 c

GPU

71 c

Score: 2365

So not much change in the GPU or the score, but wow I still cant believe it but a 10 - 15 c drop in my CPU temps?!?!

People.. go repaste your CPU its really not that hard, even if you have to rescrew in the bottom panel in 3 times because you put screws in the wrong place/forgot to reconnect the battery

I will upload some pics of the crappy factory paste job soon

 

Oh and by the way I have no problem gaming wirelessly on my killer card? I play CS:GO, Dota 2, Titanfall etc. with no problems?

 

hi
would u up pics of whle MB side a and side b ?
nice detail crisp FHD
thnx

 

Hello,

I own a GS70 Stealth (GTX765m Model) and I am considering replacing both SSD's and the HDD with faster ones. I'm planning on replacing the current mSATA SSD's (2x128GB) with 2x250GB Samsung 850 EVO mSATA SSD's and the mechanical drive with a HGST 7K1000 1TB 7200rpm drive. My questions with regards to this process are as follows:

1) Would it be possible to use my current recovery media to image these drives to a factory state?
2) Do I have to re-create a Raid with the new mSATA SSD's? If so, how do I do this?
3) If I am able to do this, will the SSD's/Raid array see the full space it has available or will it do any weird partitioning? i.e. currently, as said above, I have 2x128GB SSD's in the machine and I see the space it has available, but if I put the larger drives in, and use the recovery media, will it do anything strange there to make me not be able to see the full space of the 2x250GB drives?

I would appreciate any feedback with regards to this.

Thanks

 

1.) You can format a hard drive with recovery disks. Formating a hard drive will set the drive back to a factory state.

2.) You will have to recreate a raid for your new ssds. There is an option in your bios for raid. Make sure you select it. hit ctrl + i after bios screen and it should bring you to intel rapid storage technology screen. Follow the prompts.

3.) Raid-0 will split files in half and put half on each drive. This means you will see the whole 500 gb of the two drives as one drive. Raid-1 will back up everything you put on one drive to the other, which means you will only see 250 gb. Raid-0 is used for speed. Raid-1 is used to back up every thing you do on one drive to the other.

Your recovery disks will simply install your OS on your selected partition, and will not affect how much of your hard drive is recognized.

Once you format your two old 128 gb drives there will litterally be nothing left on them, so make sure your ready to make the switch.

The bigger mechanical drive is simply a storage drive.

 

Thanks for that, that clarifies it for me now. Looks like I'll be going ahead with my drive upgrades then.

 

Hey folks. Recently it looks like only the right most leds are lit on my keyboard, no matter what I change in the keyboard manager the others won't light. Tried all of the colors so it seems the driver IC is at fault. Occasionally if I push around the trackpad it will flicker on so I'm thinking a broken trace or cracked component. Anyone else have this happen or have close up pictures of the led driver before I pop the top. I am an electronics tech and work with 0201 parts daily so this is no sweat, just want a preview before I crack open my precious.

Mike

 

You need to tear down the unit to get to the keyboard.

 

Guys I've run into a pretty big problem I think. So I've been using the MSI and had no problems with it until I felt the need to plug it to an external monitor via a mini dp to DVi cable. It worked perfectly for a few days. I watched a ffew seasons of house of cards on it and one day, all of a sudden the external monitor is blank. I try a lot of different things like updating the nvidia grpahics, updating the intel graphics, I uninstalled and reinstalled all the drivers, finally after doing all of this and getting no results, i restored the laptop to its factory settings, thinking that this must be a problem that windows 8.1 caused. Even after getting it back to windows 8, its still the same. in the device manager, under display adapter, right next to the nvidia geforce gtx 765m, there's a hazard sign. So that means it detects the graphics card, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be working. I tried installing a varied bunch of nvidia drivers too, if that means anything . Can anyone point me in the right direction?

 

Sorry to hear that, this looks like a defective GPU since the output comes directly from it.
Unfortunately, you will need to contact MSI to set up a warranty repair request now.
Feel free to let us know if you have any questions.

 

hey kevin. Thanks for replying. Honestly I was hoping that u would see this thread as you've been hepling out everyone in this thread. I thought the GPU would be defective as well but it is getting detected. So it cant be faulty can it? I'm attaching screenshots of info I got from GPU-Z, the device manager and speccy. U could get an idea of what the issue is perhaps http://imgur.com/6EQdxCS

 

Yes, a GPU can be detected by the system but shown to user in various of ways.
1. Shown in Device Manager but has a Code 10 error - device cannot start. (what you are having)
2. Shown in Device Manager as running normally, but freezes randomly during usage, or even reboot.
3. Shown in Device Manager as running normally, but causes screen to show artifacts, colors, gibbish, or even reboot.

Back up your data first, then press F3 during boot to launch MSI recovery mode, or use MSI's factory recovery discs to perform recovery if you had performed a clean install of the OS.

 

yeah that's what i intend to do now. Is there any chance that it could

I had done exactly this the last time. I guess it could be worth trying again. Is there any hope that GPU is not borked? :/