***The MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 970M Owner's Lounge***

Yes, that's correct

 

They have at least two models with FHD screen, and one model with 3K screen.

 

Best I can do on short notice since I'm going out of town for a while. This zip contains comparisons between GS60 @ 3k, GS60 @ FHD and a native FHD panel. Both panels are IPS and at the same brightness levels. I used two pictures at 3k resolution and took pictures at three distances from the screen. A couple pictures didn't turn out ok, but if you zoom in on specific objects, you can see that the downscaled 3k screen looks nearly identical to the fhd screen. There is a clear improvement of 3k over fhd, which can be seen in almost all instances. Hope this helps.

https://www.hightail.com/download/UlRURFFWaTF0QTJKUmNUQw

 

Can someone who has the laptop let us know whether you can hear the fans when the laptop is idle? When I'm working, I like to have at little noise as possible, especially at night. My colleague has a P35Wv2 and you can't hear the fans at idle. Thanks.

 

Please refer to the review video below.
Click here.

 

If I am correct then there are no 17" IPS panels yet.

 

I have 3k gs60 - sometimes they turn on (eg. long operation on files such as instalations but in webbrowsing/idle they are rather unhearable/v.quiet (as long as you are on msi green shift and not doing anything demanding).

To be homest i was supprised how nice the fans works - i thought that they will be extramaly loud, but even in demanding gaming they are just fine - noticable but not annoying, no high pitches of sound etc.

 

Received my MSI GS60 3k 970 today. I have to say that the display is quite nice and is staying noticeably cooler than the 870 I had for a few days.

Since this laptop didn't overheat within the first few hours of use, I was able to hop onto a game and check it out.

I have to say that unless I'm missing some needed configuration, I'm quite disappointed. After seeing reviews for games like Crysis and Skyrim I figured WoW wouldn't challenged it at all. However, in a raid setting the laptop could not keep up. Pulling around 5fps it was obviously unplayable. The settings were maxed out, but even lowering everything down it barely managed 10fps. The laptop was in Sport mode, drivers updated, and the red light was on (I understand this means it was using the 970m), so I'm at a lose and will return this unless someone could enlighten me on a configuration I could be missing.

 

Turn off AA and AF...you dont need it since you are playing at 3K ...

 

So, my question to you 3k owners is how annoyingly 'glossy' is that glossy screen?

I currently have a Vaio Z12 ( Review Sony Vaio VPC-Z12 Subnotebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews) with an anti-reflective coating, which is pretty much ideal for me.

I'm a programmer, sometimes working in less than ideal environments and I tend to do occasional graphic design work. Do you guys thing the 3k would suit me or should I wait for the FHD model?

 

Exactly this. The testing I did had those settings off

 

Xentar, seems like you are happy with the 970m in the GS60 and have pretty much sold me on getting one.

Have you (or anyone with a 970m GS60) tried overclocking the gpu? It seems like there would be a little bit of thermal overhead which should allow some pretty decent results as long as the 150W power adaptor is capable. Also in the review you stated the 970m was throttling during crysis 3 because of TDP Limits. How did you determine what is causing the graphics card to throttle? and was this a result of the gpu drawing too much power/power supply insufficent or because of high temperatures?

 

I am a programmer too...And I will rather link second FHD screen to laptop FHD than have just one 3K + FHD That's why I am waiting for GS60, well not only just that second reason is price difference between FHD and 3K

 

That's a good point.. If I'm forced to use scaling on the 3k, then that will impact any secondary FHD displays. Does Win 8.1 support independent scaling for different displays?

 

I think so.

 

If that is the case, can anyone answer my query if there is an option anywhere of a 15" glossy FHD GS60 since I preferred glossy. Else I guess I would have to settle for the matte FHD

 

Keep up to date with your impressions/reviews. I'd just like to know subjectively how loud/hot it gets during gaming. Battery life if possible and how it compares with other laptops you've had? Really super excited about getting one myself but can't decide between Gigabyte P35X or this.

G751 has 17" 1080p IPS panel.

 

I haven't tried overclocking and I probably won't since I'd rather have the good temps. It should be possible though, although I think only a handful of games will benefit from it. Crysis 3 throttled and according to GPU-Z, it was due to power. The GPU load was 99% so I can only assume I was at the limit. The 870M throttled WAY more than this for similar reasons, but I think it was a mix between the power brick and the TDP limit for that card. My reasoning is sometimes the GPU load would only be at 92-95% when it would throttle. I don't think a larger wattage brick would make any difference for the 970M. Maybe if you're overclocking it will matter.

Yeah, I'm still happy with the laptop, for sure. My top 3 gripes are battery life(which I will deal with), backlight bleed and that ugly glowing logo. I swear they are all staring at it. I really hope someone takes the panel apart someday and takes pictures of the insides. I'd really like to know if that badge is riveted on or if it's just glued.

@xoticpc, gentech, hidevolution: I would pay an extra $50+$50 if you figured out a way to reduce the backlight bleed and could change the logo. Usually the bleed can be fixed by removing the pressure spots on the bezel. I don't have the guts to remove my bezel yet.

 

Did you use thr geforce experience? Optimizing thr game settings worked good for me in bf.
Also check google/forums coz i can hardly beloeve that sich fps are a result of lack of power, especially that wow is rather an old title, and i was able to play almost maxed 1080p with e8400 gtx280 and 4gb ram.

 

Does the bleed issue affect all the laptops, or is it luck of the draw?

If I'm picking up the laptop in person from the store, how easy is it to spot the bleed? Can I say look for it by pausing on the black screen during boot, or do I need an OS installed for more controlled testing?

 

vRAM 3GB enough or 6 GB ????
I'm hearing new games will usually be ported from consoles and in the future badly coded games will be the trend. Should we be getting the 6GB version?

 

You'll see it at boot but just google search dead pixel test, select black and hit f11. Best noticed in a dark room. All the units are going to have some bleed, some will just be worse than others. My tolerance is if the entire corner is so yellow that it affects solid colors like red and blue.

 

I would double-check you don't actually run on Intel GPU.

Nvidia Optimus can be a mess, it's not very reliable. I'm not sure how trustworthy is that built-in LED indicator. Your low framerates would seem to be consistent with Intel GPU.

Also make sure you accidentally don't run that new Nvidia DSR supersampling feature, that would be insanity with 3K display

 

if you don't overvolt it the change in temp is minimal, plus I think bios locks it anyways so the highest you can OC is 135mhz. and you are better off downvolting your CPU by 70mV in XTU for better temps

 

Both of these options are turned off and still receive unplayable frame rates.

 

Hmm. So you say that dropping the resolution to 1080p makes it smooth? What are the FPS you are getting on both resyolutions?

Also is the FPS dropping at 3k immediately on starting the game or does it become unplayable after a while?

 

During solo play I can hit about 30fps on 3k. During a raid (20+ people around and a lot of effects) it goes down to 1-5 immediately.

During solo play and on 1080p I sit around 60fps. During a raid it might hit 8fps.

These results are after a few hours of playing and also after just a few minutes.

 

That is what I keep thinking.

I'll have to play around with it or just disable the Intel GPU and go from there.

 

I will go with the GS70 since the GS60 would cost me 300€ more here in Austria and in Germany.
If anyone finds the GS60 sith the 970M for under 1600€ in Germany, Austria or Switzerland please send me a link

 

Like mentioned earlier , think you need to eliminate whether its being rendered on the onboard GPU.

 

60fps on Wow@1080p : I really think that he is running on the Intel GPU. Recent intel GPU are known to be able to run a lot of old games without problem, WoW included. The 970M should get way more FPS than this ...

 

Well, I figured out what it was.

I was using the correct GPU and everything which is what was driving me crazy. For those of you who don't play WoW, you can DL addons for it. One of the addon's was causing the issue. Removed it and frames went to a steady 65fps under heavy load and 85+ under normal play.

What this AddOn was actually doing, I don't know yet, but plan to figure it out!

 

How hot does it get while playing WoW? I'm talking about the chassis itself. I'm considering the GS70 and I play WoW primarily. I'm curious if the laptop will get too hot since I play on my lap with a cooler pad (xpad pad). Thank you.

 

Ive just played BF4 (3k,ultra on everything)for over an hour on high performance+sport mode msi settings.
Temps : gpu 81, cpu 83.

It was beautiful, smooth and without any problems (cant tell you fps though, i was to lazy to look for fps command
Fans went to some rly high rpms but it wasnt annoying, just noticable.

I honesly love my shiny gs60

Ps. For those of you who cares abt such things - it realy catches a lot of fingermarks and dust, just a minor dissadvantage but still...

 

I did not notice any problems with it. It does not tend to reflect anything and its not annoying at all. Although i use it only indors so cant tell how would it behave on a sunny day in park. The screen itself is very bright and colorfull and the 3k on 15.6 blows your brain out while playing games in native rez

I have 4y old desktop with 280gtx e8400, 8gb ram and 24" screen 1080p, due to some overclocking i am able to play d3 on maxed settings.

When i first popped the d3 on 3k gs60 i was kinda speechless - i have been playing this game since premiere and i was not aware how beautifull it looks. 3k in laptop is like totally different dimension when you are used to play on desktop 24' 1080p - i would buy it again, and again, and again

 

Do you know if the 3k screen you've got is the same 3k panel they used on the old Ghost Pro with the 870m?

I was just reading the review over on Anandtech ( AnandTech | MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K Review) and it doesn't sound too great (from a designers perspective and for outdoor use).

Does anyone have any links to detailed screen tests for the FHD panel that we're expecting to see on the GS60?

I've asked the guys over at Komputronik here in Poznań to bring in a display model for me to have a look at.

 

Hi I am considering GS60 2QE Ghost Pro 3K on 970m.

What is the max temperature for both CPU and GPU if you run a sustained 100% CPU Load (via Intel BurninTest) and 100% GPU Load under MSI Kombustor 100% GPU test for 30minutes?

Simon

 

I did a furmark + prime95 test. I put the results on my review a few pages back.

 

The only data I saved on the fhd panel was the gamut. 99% coverage of sRGB, 72% of NTSC and 77% of AdobeRGB. Assuming they still are using the same panel from earlier in the year. It was one of the best matte fhd panels I've ever seen.

 

Any benchmark results for the 3GB vs 6GB cards yet? The 6GB Pro-064 isn't out until 11/11 on newegg but the Pro-044 is out now.

I like the idea of 6GB, but if there is no practical difference I might as well save the extra $100 (12GB vs 16GB RAM isn't really a concern)

 

Yes I got your review on bookmark. Did you do just a single pass or under a stressed sustained environment of 100% CPU and GPU? Just want to ensure I can keep my temp below 84 max.

I am on the brink of getting my GS60 2QE 3K from local Singapore vendor, and also may swap out the 2x128GB SSD

 

Anyone knows the actual ETA of the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro-064 (6 GB VRAM)? XOTIC PC says October 15, but it's still pre-ordering. I've never dealt with them. Newegg says November 11 which I'm guessing sounds a bit more probable. I'm new to the whole ordering thing so bear with me.

 

Owners with the 3K glossy model, how does gaming at 1080p look at non native resolution? I know it would be as sharp as running it at native resolution but is the fuzziness something that can be overlooked?

Also, how does 3k scale with windows fonts and menus?

Still torn between deciding the screens(3k vs FHD) as I preferred glossy but wanted only 1080p(which is matte) as I feel that is more future proof in running most games at max graphics than 3k. Plus the laptop should also run cooler i believe at a lower resolution.

 

Both but they really have independent cooling so it didn't affect the temps much

 

Looks fine to me. I'm in the crowd that can't tell the difference between native fhd and a scaled 3k/4k screen. When the pixels are this small, it's pretty hard to see any difference. I've been trying to play games in 3k but there are even some older titles that are tough to play because the text is so small, for example Dragon age. Switching to 1080p looks perfectly fine.

 

Thanks for pitching in with your feedback. How about windows applications and menus on 8.1?

 

Mostly good. 200 percent scaling really helps. Some legacy stuff is a little weird but still usable. 4k is unfixable and intolerable though, imo.

 

Playing at lower rez than native works supprisingly well, all is sharp, no blur etc - sometimes gefore experience recomends 21xxx1xxx (dont remember exact numbers) and everything looks just fine at it, but i always switch back to 3k native since i do not see any loss in fps

As to windows and desktop apps - without playing with settings its a... complete mess, everything is so small that you cant read anything after choosing 140% in windows and 125% in chrome (you need to turn of dpi scalling) all looks just fine, except few apps eg. orgin looks kinda small (but usable), steam same, battlenet definately to small to read but in the end you only use it to press "play" so its not a biggy..

If i were you i would go 3k - im lovin it, but for some those scalling issues could be too much to handle

 

I'm trying my best to patient wait for the GS06-064. I'm probably going to be ordering through xoticpc so I can avoid California state taxes; however, their customer service reps have not been able to give me a date when they will have the laptops. They do not know if their shipment has been delayed in transit or if MSI has sent anything out. Their 'Oct 15th' date on the GS60-064 page is being used because MSI gave them an availability date of Oct 15-17 when the 900M series came out.

The other retailer I looked at was HIDevolution who has an eBay listing up for 5 laptops. However, upon checking their site; the same model laptop is only available for pre-order. I talked to a customer service rep about this and they said that the eBay listing was a mistake and that they are currently slated to receive their GS60-064's on Oct 22nd.






Here's a question coming from a very impatient person:
Should I wait for the 6GB model over the 3GB model? I'm not very well versed in computers but would 3GB of VRAM make a big difference (most notably, years from now)?

From what I understand, VRAM is what allows your card to render detailed textures. Most current generation games don't need more than 3GB, especially when played on a standard 1080P display. However, playing on higher resolutions, using features like downsampling, or playing games with more detailed textures will, in turn, need higher VRAM. Are my statements correct?

 

I think youre correct, however I'm no expert! I think even if you pick up a 3gb version and the game demands more, it can use RAM which would be slightly slower (require cpu to shunt the data about etc). So it will run, but perhaps not as well as the 6gb. I guess it depends on whether you'll replace the laptop before that becomes common. Just dial down the settings is another option? The fact your considering the 970 in a slim form factor suggests you are open to compromise. Im going through the same dilemma btw - 3gb or wait for 6gb, but im looking at the gs70. Descisions, descisions...!