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

I had this issue with a couple of Lenovo laptops I have at work. It sure take a while, but I am not sure what caused it.

 

Yes, I flashed the EC... And I can see actually EC ver. In system information tab

 

So I ordered my GS60 4k. It has 1TB HDD+ 256 GB SSD. I suppose I can just replace the 1TB HDD with any Sata SSD?
What form factor does the stock 256 GB SSD have. M.2 I suppose? Is it 6 of 8 cm in length?

 

The M2 SSD has to be 2280 format, whatever that means, it has to be SATA though, unless you have a Skylake with the pci-e SSD, then I guess it would have to be a pci-e SSD ?
Be aware though that accessing the M2 SSD slots (and the RAM), is alot of work, since they are on the other side of the motherboard (on keyboard side), so you have to take out the motherboard and unplug lots of stuff.
Changing the 2.5" drive is easy though, it's easily accessible. And yeah any 2.5" SSD will work.

 

Question for all GS60 Skylake owners: What do you like and what do you hate the most on this laptop? Before buying one for myself (first gaming and first MSI laptop) I would be really happy to hear feedback from people that actually own this computer and had been using it for some time...

I'm looking forward to your replies

 

Just bought one last week so I don't know how qualified I am to be giving out impressions but the one thing I really like about it is how light the thing is. Its even lighter than the laptop I was initially planning to get (dell xps 15). It also looks really good and unlike other monstrous gaming laptops of similar specs, it isn't really something you would be ashamed of to whip out in public (that msi emblem really is the only blemish to an otherwise great looking laptop).

The only downside I can think of is the imo subpar battery life but I guess that's to be expected with such a powerful machine in a thin chassis. I could maybe get a little above 3 hours without gaming but this being my first gaming laptop, I'm not really sure how well that compares with the competition. Could be good or not so I just carry the charger with me whenever I head out with it.

 

I'm trying to do an NVFLASH GPU BIOS update on my new GS60 (4K Skylake). When I issue the command fvbios, I get the error Unable to setup NVFLASH driver (0x0000000020).
The Display LED is orange, so dGPU is active.
What can I do?
Version I have is 84.04.85.00.0F while the updated version is 84.04.85.00.33 so I suppose it should work...

EDIT: I solved this by first disabling the Nvidia driver in the Device Manager!

 

I just order the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro Skylake GTX970. I've never had a gaming laptop before...I have a macbook pro right now...and it isn't the best for gaming at all. I've been meaning to get a pc for a while now just for gaming, but never got around to it. I ended up settling on this laptop because it seemed to have good specs...but the batter life is kinda bad. Though that doesn't bother me much . It's also just really nice to look at. The glowly keyboard is so no necessary...but at the same time IT IS!?

I'm not very good with computer stuff I think...so I'm hoping this thread will be helpful with answering any questions I have. Or just helping me get the best performance out of my new laptop.

I ordered mine from GenTechpc(which I hope was a good choice!?) and I customized it a bit. They had a deal for an updated thermal compound so I went for that. Then I also got the no logo customization which they also had a deal for. Said it should take 5-10 days for them to finish customizing it. Hope so. As long as it's here before christmas I will be happy

 

Loved this laptop the 1 month I owned it. It was so hard for me to let it go. I miss that 4k display, but the body was too wide that it couldn't fit in my bag. Good thing the Phantom came out!

 

You must have a small bag But yes the GS40 is a great option if you need something with a smaller footprint.

 

EDIT: I think I figured out where I did wrong, delete this post please.

 

Inspired by an oc'ed gs40 on the gs40 thread, I tried to do a little overclocking with afterburner. Turns out the gs60 can easily reach the core clock limit (is it a bios limit?) which is +135mhz on core, but I've only tested Firestrike so it could or could not be stable. Highest score I was able to produce was 7094 ( http://www.3dmark.com/fs/6741006) @ +130mhz which is around 500 more than what I normally get. 135mhz for some reason gave out a slightly lower score.

 

Yup, seems pretty similar OC to what @HTWingNut was getting in his GS60 Haswell model review (+125 MHz core, +400 MHz memory):



http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...with-gtx-970m-6gb-review-by-htwingnut.765829/

 

Two questions for all owners:

1)Are those numbers for battery life somewhat accurate ? http://www.kitguru.net/laptops/zardon/msi-gs60-6qe-ghost-pro-4k-laptop-review/20/
I'm most interested in battery life for something similar or same as "businessman" in this article (actual usage in university; so Office programs, PyCharm and Chrome). If battery can really least almost 6 hours that's more than enough. What is *real* battery life for those tasks on GS60?

2)Is there any noticeable difference between 6gb and 3gb version of a 970m? I'm asking because I'm not sure if there is enough "power" in 970m processor to handle between more than 3gb and less than 6gb of data and work with it anyways. I understand that higher resolutions allocate more VRAM. I would like to use 1 or 2 additional screens with GS60 when working with Premiere and some other programs-not gaming. I believe there is no benefit for 6gb vram in games like I mentioned because GPU itself can't "crunch" so much data. If any of you -owners- could connect two or one external display and open something like premiere and check VRAM usage I would be very thankful .
It is (as far as I know) impossible to get 6gb 970m model in Europe--USA only so that would be a little problem that I would be happy to avoid if it's not relevant (to buy 3gb or 6gb).

 

While I have never had time to actually "time" its battery life and do scientific tests, I have no idea how kitguru was able to reach 5 hours with half brightness + wifi running especially with the 4k model, unless the 4k model has a bigger battery. One time I left my gs60 playing a movie at 25% brightness + wifi and power saving, I believe it only managed 2 1/2 hours and that was running off the onboard intel gpu. With nothing running + wifi and power saving, even Windows only gives estimates of around 3 hours. My guess is they reviewed a pre-production unit? Maybe something with a larger battery?

As for your gpu ram question, not sure. I would imagine having 2 monitors hooked wouldn't be a problem even for a 1gb gpu but your Premiere needs would most likely depend on how complex your video is. Again, no experience with that application so I can't really help you with that specific scenario. For gaming though, I haven't had any issues with the 3gb part yet. My desktop has a 3gb 780 and I have never encountered a game yet that would exhibit symptoms of low memory (such as disk trashing).

 

They usually are pretty good with saying when they have a pre-production unit but perhaps they did, 5 hours is more than we have seen.

 

My experience with my usage is that I can bring the laptop to the living room, connect to tv through hdmi, turn off wifi, watch a 90 min movie and it will have about 30-45 min left. Broadwell 1080p.

 

I'm considering buying the gs60 4K skylake Microsoft signature edition from the Microsoft store. They claim no bloatware and improved battery life. I have a few questions I hope you all can help with:

1. Will I be missing any essential software which is needed for the gs60?
2. If yes, can I reinstall the needed software easily?
3. Is signature edition a good idea for this laptop?

Thanks!

 

When we say bloatware, it has two meanings nowadays.
1. Preloaded software bundled with adware.
2. Manufacturer software that aren't needed by users, let's call them junkware instead.

I am assuming that the machine is still the same as the the regular version from MSI and MSI never really loaded any bloatware on their machines except some junkware maybe.

 

It's nice to see my year-old stock GS60 2QE-044 is still holding up to the new Skylake processors! ( http://www.3dmark.com/fs/3090553)

One concern though, I've started to hear a very subtle rattling noise in my CPU (right side) fan, no matter at what RPM the fan is spinning. My GS60 used to be dead quiet on idle, but this rattling noise is slightly noticeable, especially when studying in a quiet library.
It may be unnoticeable in a normal room, but I can hear it if I place my ears near the exhaust on the right side of my GS60.

Does anyone know how difficult it is to replace a CPU fan on the GS60? And maybe where I could buy one too? I'm going to open it up this weekend to dust it out, but I doubt it will fix it.
Happy Holidays everyone!

 

I think previous generations of intel procies clock higher so I wouldn't be surprised if you could get even higher scores

 

CPU generations never change 3d benchmarks much, they stay relevant much longer than GPUs.

 

Anyone else experience something that looks like black crush when running games in fullscreen? When playing The Witcher 3, shadowy areas end up being too dark when in fullscreen. There is also a very slight red tint to the whole screen. The reddish tint looks similar to the Gamer mode found in the MSI True Color tool. Problem is games in fullscreen seem to automatically switch to this display mode.

Running in windowed or borderless windowed fixes the black crush and reddish tint by the way, but also kills performance for some reason in some games. The witcher 3 for example lowers GPU utlization when in windowed mode and drops framerates quite a bit.

 

hi guys, rohit here, just got my msi gs60 with 6th gen processor, Its freaking awesome, just playing witcher 3 in ultra settings, its so damn good.

The only thing is the speakers sound a little tinny. and there is light bleed on the top right corner of the screen. I just hate it when the laptop costs around 1600 bucks and still the light bleed.

 

Mine arrives tomorrow, complete U-turn on my plans and ended up going for the 1080p IPS GS60. After having so many issues with my last laptop I'm just praying that this time I won't have any issues, just fed up of constantly sending faulty or defective items back.

 

How bad would you say the light bleed is?

And how has everybody else's experience been with light bleed; in particular with the current Samsung PLS FHD panel they're using?

 

Its pretty clear when u see in the dark background and with all the lights off. ON the top right corner and the upper middle of the screen. Thats the only problem.

when u watch movies or pictures all the colors look accurate and the contrast ratio is pretty good.

 

Ahh yeah, definitely would be noticeable in darker scenes. But seems to be about what other manufactures are seeing, unfortunately. Thanks!

 

Hi guys, I have a question,

I have light bleed on my new gs 60.Is it common for all the msi gs60 laptops?
should i continue using the laptop or should i send it in for a repair?

 

AFAIK almost every IPS panel has light bleeding, and it may vary within the same panels (the same panel can be better or worse). It's just something that you have to live with, when selecting an IPS monitor. I think it's the same with uneven black in OLED displays.

 

Some degree of light bleed is common. If it seems excessive, contact your reseller about it. They should be able to advise (it may help to show them a picture).

 

Yeah, I have some bleeding going on as well, but not as pronounced as your screenshot (I tried viewing a black background in the dark)

 

Some questions for you 4k owners, also Hello and thanks for your time! =)
I live near a local Frys electronics that has the 4k model in stock however they don't show it as a display model. So i have a few questions to break my concerns before i jump the gun.

1) Iv'e been reading reviews online and people have been saying the display supports 60hz refresh rate on Amazon. (You'll see it mentioned in reviews and in the asked questions section)

2) Have you owners found the laptops cost and overall quality to be worth it despite the backlight bleeding? I've seen some pictures and its shown to have minor bleeding which doesn't seem that bad really.

3) Is the mousepad really that bad? compare it to a macbooks if possible. (I imagine most of you have come across a macbook once.)

4) can the laptop manage 2hours of usage off a charger from common usage? (web,videos,ect...)

Lastly, Is there is a equivalent to the gs60 4k but is a little bigger? to handle better cooling and battery? When i say bigger i mean 1/4th to a half inch thicker.

 

While I do not have the 4k model, I guess I could answer some of your questions.

Yes, the new skylake 4k gs60s should be 60hz now (unlike past models). The touchpad should ve about the same as the 1080p model and its usable for me but not great. The buttons are a bit hard to depress and the surface is not glass like what you would get with say the surface pro4/book and macbooks. Other than that, it's worked pretty well for me and I haven't really had the need to plug a dedicated mouse (maybe I'm just lazy lol).

As for a larger version, you're basically looking for the gs70 stealth pro. Should be the exact same specs with a 17in panel. Not sure about battery life and cooling though (not really expecting much in those departments in any model but the gs60 does stay pretty cool to me)

 

Thanks for the response, I just talked to frys and they actually have the 1080p model on display so i'll try messing with that one.
After some research it seems the gs70 comes with a 6 cell battery unlike the gs60 which is a 4 cell? I wish it came with a 4k display and the same 6GB ram gpu, the multiple usb ports are nice also.

 

Have you received your GS60 from GenTechpc? How did that logo delete turn out? Can you post a picture, please?
One of the main reasons holding me from buying this laptop is the logo. I know Origin evo15 has a flat lid, but it's unreasonably overpriced. I am hoping to find another option to avoid the ugly "I am a nerd" logo.

 

So I replaced the stock 256 GB M2 drive with a new Samsung 950 pro 512 GB one (MVNE). I also replaced the hard disk with a Samsung 850 Pro 2 TB SSD. (and I upgraded the RAM to 32 GB with Samsung sticks)
These are the results.
I think the results speak for themselves ;-)

Stock 256 GB M2 (Toshiba):


Samsung 950 Pro 512GB MVNE:


Samsung 850 Pro SSD 2 TB

 

It's funny when you compare those speeds to the hard drives from not that long ago.

 

Looks good! Even though this is a synthetic test, real world application shows a noticeable difference between SATA and NVME too. I imagine the new drive is treating you pretty well.

 

Just wanted to stop by and say I just picked up the GS60 6QE 4K \o/
I got it from Fry's and i believe i got a great deal too. The manager sold it to me with 10% off if i got a warranty with it. (2 year warranty)

So far this laptop is just amazing! I was shocked at how thin it was. The backlight bleeding on mine isn't really noticeable. (lower left and right corners,might try opening it up to fix it but its very minimal)
I might upload a few pics and such if requested. However I was wondering if there's anything i should look at doing first before i start getting used to the device? (Besides updating all the drivers)

I got a Razer Mamba Chroma along with the laptop also

 

Can you provide the exact pcie SSD model no for this "128GB MSI NVMe M.2 PCI-Express Gen 3x4 SSD", that is in gs60 ghost pro 002 advertised on your pro star website. Am interested to see if it's sm951 or sm950 pro or something else. Might buy this laptop.

 

Am I suppose to use the gpu drivers by msi or can I use latest from nvidia?

 

My stock M2 was a Toshiba THNSNJ256G8NU (256 GB).

 

Yes the exact brand can vary over time, but should be close in performance terms.

 

You can use the latest version from Nvidia.

 

hello everyone!

I just bought my grandmother a gs60 053. I would appreciate any advice you have to offer on how to best set up the laptop -
which drivers should I install (msi, nvidia, etc.)?

Thanks!
Mason

 

the msi webpage only has a slew of download links for "help desk"

 

Here is where you'll find the drivers and software updates: MSI Global (Dont worry it doesnt say 4k but its all the proper stuff)
The US site doesnt have much but the help desk download

I found that most of the stuff is up to date in the 4k 053 model. (Just tried updating everything few days ago) Nothing important is worth trying to update except the NVIDIA drivers. Maybe the bios and firmware but i havent gotten to that yet.

 

Intel driver first, then Nvidia driver.

 

Same in the one I got as well... I got frys to pricematch a 500 gb Samsung 850 evo and put it instead of the 1 tb hdd. I then put the 1tb hdd inside an enclosure to use for backups