***The Official MSI GT72 Dominator Pro (GTX-980M) Owner?s Lounge***

Last night one of the 128GB drives in the RAID0 setup failed on me last night. I've had this laptop for less than 2 months and this happens already? Has anyone on this board experienced a similar fate or did I just get a bad SSD Drive? I have the GT72 Dominator Pro - 210

 

I have seen multiple reports of this in both the GT72 & GT80..... and it seems to be with the Kingston M.2 SSD's, bringing their reliability seriously into question.

Which SSD's did your model come equipped with?

 

I think it was Kingston, but not 100% sure. It would explain things if there are multiple reports of them failing. I'm thinking about getting a refund from my vendor but if I can't I already setup an RMA, and hopefully they put in another brand of SSD.

 

Ok, So I have a GPU temp question. I installed a 980m in my dom pro 880m version laptop and ran some benchmarks and things looked great. Temps were great during Unigine and Firestrike, 62-75C. But, I started gaming and ran HW info in the background and my temps went up to 82C on my GPU. Now I know this is a safe operating temp, but I hear people getting average temps of 72-78C under max load and mine is a bit higher. I was also running Diablo III, which isn't really a graphics intensive game. I wasn't running crysis or anything like that, but it concerns me that my temps shot up to 82C on only diablo. Now, I do admit I was not running fan boost, and I will play again tomorrow and post what I find with fan boost enabled, but I am concerned a little about the temps. Because I will run more graphic intensive games in the near future. I did a little reading and from what I understand, the Nvidia card overclocks till it reaches a certain temp then throttles performance to keep it at that temp and that the performance keeps going up along with the temps if the overclocking threshold is raised. I am not OCing this card either BTW, so I would assume that under the Shift Sport profile, Dragon Gaming Center is not limiting the temps, so that would mean the Nvidia profile is kicking in, hence why I didn't exceed 82C. So ... basically my question is ... Is this a mean normal operating temperature if the fan boost is off. If it is not, I am considering opening it back up and repasting, possibly with some different thermal compound, BUT I don't REALLY want to do that, because it is working fine and the temps are within normal limits. I was just hoping for lower temps overall...
Any inputs would be greatly appreciated...

 

Hi ! 82°C for DIII seems a bit high, but I wouldn't worry too much about this. On Maxwell mobile GPUs, throttling appears when temps are close to 89°C if I recall. That said I'd personally do it anyway. When I bought the laptop, I was getting up to 88°C on the GPU while playing FarCry 4, it was kind of annoying so I repasted with IC diamond. Now the max I get is ~80°C, with a +160 / + 512 o/c, it suits me.

 

I've noticed something minor yet a little annoying about the keyboard recently. The bottom left light beneath the left ctrl key and the "Steelseries" logo stays blue no matter what color I have selected. All of the others change just fine, but not that one. Anyone else experience a similar issue? It's not really a big deal to me, but I'm curious if I am the only one.

 

Yeah, I'm going to let it be for now and see what happens when I game something a little more graphics hungry. I ran unigine for a few cycles and it seemed to hover right at 80c and stay there. I then benched it while it was at 80C and it performed better. Also according to MSI shift set to comfort, keeps the temp at 85 and green at 82, so with it capping off at 82 on sport, I think I'm doing fine. Besides repasting is a pain in the asphalt. I also haven't gamed with fan boost on yet.

Are your you gaming with fan boost on when you reach 80C or the regular fan profile?

 

Each area is a set of LEDs blended together, that's just likely over the blue LED so does not blend as well.

 

Each area is a set of LEDs blended together, that's just likely over the blue LED so does not blend as well.

 

***Update*** So I ran Furmark with my card on the shift profile no fan boost and it topped out at 85C, but stayed steady there. I turned on turbo boost around 75% finished and the temp went down to 84C. So I ran Diablo III again for about an hour with fan boost ON, until season 2 ended ... dang it ... and it maxed out at 77C. So I am happy now. I was hoping the stock fan profile would keep it around 80C or below, but I am ok with it. The GPU is totally within normal limits. 15 min burn in stress test kept temps even at 85C and with fan boost on gaming went down to 77C. What I did notice, is that as the temps rise, the performance gets better and better. When I firestrike cold, I get 8100ish. If I raise the temps up to 80 or higher I score in the 8400's range. This seems to align with what I read about nvidia's new thermal limit/oc combo they have been touting. Sooooo... now I am torn between repasting to get the temps down below 80C when gaming on normal fan settings or just leaving it, because it seems to get better performance at a slightly higher temperature range.

 

Does anyone Know where i can use Fn/Win key swap function from the new ec firm

 

it's inside the BIOS. press delete key when u restart to enter BIOS mode.

 

Thank you. I will look later in my BIOS. Does anyone know why there is a usb 3.1 driver on the driver Download Page

 

There is a new revision of the gt72 with usb 3.1 coming at some point that they showed off at the trade shows.

 

Anyone using a neoprene sleeve for their laptop. I ordered one from Amazon but it won't even fit my old GT60....need some suggestions.

 

everki beacon is the go to carrying device for this beast. I personally don't see the benefit of a neoprene sleeve on this gigantic computer. I currently own a Targus 17" (the same one they have had for 10 years and they still sell it! lol) its fraying really bad on the inside now, so I am looking for a new bag as well, but MAN are they expensive. A good bag runs you 100 bucks!

 

interesting... What't the low down on 3.1? Higher transfer speeds I assume?

 

Yes it's a decent step faster and potentially specked to deliver more power.

 

The Dragon edition comes with the MSI Hermes backpack so I am not that concerned about a backpack. I have always sleeved my laptop because of my constant travel. I work in safety for a oil company. Constantly in and out of country, airplanes and helicopters. I like the added protection.

 

I see, makes sense. I travel the world in my job as well. I have never used a sleeve personally, because the targus bag I have had for 10 years has a thick foam interior and has protected my lappy's for years. BUT it's falling apart... I need a new one.

 

I have one of these, and it fits like a charm

https://www.caselogic.com/en-us/us/products/laptop/sleeves/17-173-laptop-sleeve-_-laps_-_117_-_black

 

Thanks, I just picked it up off of Amazon.

 

Thanks.

Has anyone tried the new 347.88 driver? Has this the Same Performance as 344.75 driver?

 

I am using the most current version as of 2 days ago. I am not on my lap right now to check, but my performance is phenomenal.

 

Mine doesn't have that issue. My Steelseries logo is red right now, and has always shown the same color as the left keyboard zone.

 

Anyone know if the latest nvidia drivers still have blocked oc'ing? I am hesitant to updating if so.

 

Anyone try the new bios? the 10r? I have the 10d that came installed from factory? Any reason to update?

 

Hmm, I'm thinking those lights on mine are stuck then. That's unfortunate, but certainly not annoying enough to do much about. It blends enough with my dark purple setting anyway. Thanks for helping me confirm the issue!

 

Good that it blends in, huh? Anyhow, mine doesn't have that issue either. But I do notice a little light bleed on mine.

Example if I set the colors (only one color) across the entire keyboard to: R:0 G:255 B:255

I get the Left CTRL key, left part (kind of left and middle just under the left line on the space bar) of my space bar, and the Enter key on the numpad all have a greenish tint more so than the rest of the keyboard, almost like the green leds are brighter or something. It's not enough for me to really complain but it's there. Though I do tend to keep everything Red since it matches the rest of the laptop and I've used so many White backlit keyboards that I like the change.

I also wish to state, that a keyboard cover seems to be a smart buy. I bought this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KTVZOAG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And it fits perfectly. I decided to get it when I realized that my "sticky space key" might have been due to something getting lodged in it. I don't know if that's true or not, but figured the price of a cover was better than paying for shipping anytime in the future. So if anyone is looking for one, there is an option. (I'll be writing a brief review on amazon later).

I can't really say anything for how long it'll last, but it does take a little getting used to. I feel the pros outweigh the cons though so yeah.


Another thing, I've downloaded Nvidia's 347.88 driver's but am hesitant to install it. Can anyone chime in on if they removed the overclock block? I guess in time, I'll update myself and chime in but Nvidia may end up releasing a new drive by then. Just wondering, thanks!

By the way, I'm still loving this laptop like the first day I got it!

 

I finally got my Dragon Edition today and I am in awe at how nice it looks. I went ahead and flashed the new bios hoping to fix the only issue with the laptop right now. There seems to be a known issue with the killer suite causing system crashes and despite a very unhelpful person at MSI Tech Support (Thanks Edwin) he told me to find the drivers on the downloads page on MSI support without the full suite. Unfortunately they are not on the MSI page so I don't know what he is talking about. The system isn't crashing anymore but I also cannot maintain a wireless connection. I am hoping it has more to do with our iffy system on the oil rig rather than this sweet new laptop. If anyone knows where to get those drivers from I would appreciate it. BTW the crash id is 0x000001D2.

 

Killer Performance Suite version 1.1.51.1424 released

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/killer-n1525-wireless-ac.762767/page-7#post-9980287

 

I found the most updated Killer Suite on the MSI website and tried that one. It has apparently resolved my only issue....this laptop is a freaking beast. If you are on the fence then jump and get this machine as soon as possible.

 

My laptop battery is being weird. It won't hit 100%, when it is about to hit full charge the screen will dim and go back to normal. It is really annoying and causing lag in my games

 

They are now for sale! http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/fs-2x-toshiba-128gb-m-2-sata-drives-m-b-key.774452/
PM me if you are interested.

 

Just be aware of the warranty implications to selling off the stock parts.

 

The page with the 2 x 128GB SSDs has the graphics card as a 980M
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/fs-2x-toshiba-128gb-m-2-sata-drives-m-b-key.774452/
but this page lists it as an 880M?
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...raphics-card-msi-branded.774052/#post-9974498

 

Fixed, thanks! I'm used to typing 980m... Cuz that's what I own.

 

For me or the buyer? For the buyer there is no warranty. For me, I have to go through Transcend for my new drives.

 

For your machine since now you can't return it stock for a service.

 

Weeelll. kind of, I screwed that pooch when I upgraded to the 980m on my own... I accept full responsibility for crap I screw up, but if the processor craps out on me, well I will send it in and see what they say at least. I'm not expecting them to fix my non-OEM crap. And MSI is pretty loose on upgrades, they generally don't ding you if it's an OEM part issue. I of course won't be sending anything in unless I am for sure for sure what the problem is anyway... I feel you though. There is always a risk to upgrading your laptop...

 

Killer Performance Suite version 1.1.51.1426
Version 1.1.51.1426 Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, Updated On Monday, 13 April 2015

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/killer-n1525-wireless-ac.762767/page-7#post-9982477

 

Thought I'd chime in here and offer some useful information for you guys. Those of you asking able idle-max fan noise, it's a combination of Windows 8's background maintenance and how the fan profiles work on this laptop. There are two things you can do:

1- Update the BIOS on your laptop to the 10R update. dvojinov referenced this update on page 153 and mentions CPU C State and Intel Speedstep in the description. It's only been a few hours, but before this BIOS update, my idle-max fan problem would have come back by now.

2- Disable idle maintenance. Microsoft (obviously) doesn't recommend this, and the values tend to revert following a reboot.

I didn't use this exact article before, but it appears to be along the same lines as what I've seen work.

Don't do either of these things if you aren't completely comfortable with them and are intelligent enough to do enough risk/reward analysis on them.

 

So how do I burn recovery discs, if I replaced the HDD as soon as I had the laptop?

 

This video will help you out!

 

I have spent a few good days on my new GT72 Dragon Edition. This thing is a beast. No bsing. Thank you Ken at Gentech for your speedy delivery. I hooked it up to a 4k home tv, it was stunning. Hooked it up to a Ben Q 144hz monitor and it ran like the beast it is. I was able to O.C. the main screen to 77hz but it began to give issues over that. No other over clocking but none was needed with the stuff I do. WOW, GTA 5, SWTOR, and ESO ran like a freking an unstoppable force. I said it once but it bears repeating, if you are on the fence this thing will is a must have.

 

It's a very compelling machine 75hz is still a nice option to run the screen at especially since the 980m can often push that.

 

Well, I just woke up this morning to find my laptop was in BIOs for some reason. It refuses to boot into windows now. I dug around a little and it seems it is no longer detecting my SSD. Is it seriously dead in less than a month!?

 

What SSD is it?

 

Whatever default one comes in the 211. I'm not sure.

 

This has happened to me on occasion, and I'm using a third party SSD too. I just reboot it again and all is good. I'd try rebooting a couple of times before dismissing it and saying it's bad. I've only had it happen maybe 2x in the 6 months I've owned mine. I think it may be the BIOS. I haven't updated my BIOS as other than that issue the risk to updating is too high for me right now. I can't risk bricking my system at the moment. Also I'll admit, I'm too lazy to go through all 30+ flash drives to see what if any is empty to load the BIOS update onto. Or can you do it from Windows now? Either way, unless there is a major issue that requires a BIOS update I almost never do one anyways.

If it bothers you too much, maybe try a BIOS update and report back after a couple months or before if it happens again. Not one computer have I owned has been perfect. I don't think that's an expectation, as we are ALL humans after all, there can be near perfection, but as we aren't perfect how can anything we create be perfect? Anyhow with that out of the way, this laptop has been 'perfect' for me so far when I take a few tolerances into account. Mind you, if my issue starts happening on a regular basis then I won't be so pleased and probably look into any BIOS updates before sending my laptop in.