***The Official MSI GT80S Titan (w/desktop 980 GPU's) Owner's Lounge***

This is where I am seeing the discrepancy on the fangbook order site. You can configure it with two m.2 SATA drives, but only with 1 m.2 PCI drive which I find odd if there are 2 PCI m.2 slots and only 1 SATA m.2 slot.

 

Ok now I see what you're saying. That does seem weird.

 

Those are new listings, they might have an error, just like other vendors had configuration / spec errors early on for their GT80 listings. Give them a chat/email/call and ask.

 

@Killer_Networking

Killer Networking has posted that the latest release (1.1.57.1679) of Killer Suite has bug fix(es) for Skylake on Windows 10 Wifi disconnects

Clevo Laptop Killer WiFi Compatibility Testing & Troubleshooting Thread
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...eshooting-thread.787182/page-13#post-10186860

 

Would the battery drain issues while under heavy usage issue be something to put off shelling out for this machine? It does appear to be the only system available with SLI 980s, and the full mechanical keyboard looks really nice.

I looked at the Clevo system with the single fully unlocked 200w 980, but it looks like performance of that even overclocked would be lower than basically any dual SLI 980m model, and leagues behind SLI 980 (though without any of the complications that come with running SLI).

I guess my question is as someone who would plan on using this thing daily as a work system with gaming on the side, should I be concerned with this? If this only occurs under heavy CPU and GPU load together and typical gaming won't do it outside of almost stress test like situations does it matter?

I certainly hope MSI addresses this at least by way of an update that puts the battery assist closer to the actual 330w output of the power supply, but is this issue only visible under high stress usage or does it occur under most any gaming scenario? The SLI 980 configuration is what really drew me to this system, but if I'd be better off going with a 980m SLI model or something with a single desktop 980 that would obviously open up my options (and lower the price) considerably.

The specs of this thing are amazing and it looks to be everything I'd want in a mobile desktop replacement, so I'd be pretty disappointed if a power issue made this powerhouse into only a "looks good on paper" system due to being unusable for sustained gaming sessions without throttling down.

 

The battery drain only occurs on demanding situations which tends to be when gaming and pushing both the GPUs and CPU. for general use/ office use, you will be fine, and if the battery drains beyond a threshold (I believe it's 10%, meaning below 90%) it will start charging back.

Even if throttled because of lower power, it is bound to still be faster than a 980m SLI system.

 

Thanks. I am inclined to get it anyway and live with it because gaming is secondary to professional use (where I know this issue won't exist), but I was concerned that even light gaming would potentially impact my ability to take a fully charged system on the road with me.

It sounds like I'll be happy with it - thanks for at least helping to clear that up. Hopefully MSI can address this in a future update (if it does indeed start to run on battery below where the 980m version does).

 

Porter has already tested with and without battery as well as charging while gaming, and found out that without battery/low battery, it still performs within 5-7% faster than a 980m SLI system. Additionally he was able to overclock and he actually regained performance closer to the original performance, despite the battery was low and still charging.

I am not sure MSI will "address" this because it is a "feature" they introduced a while ago and I think most, if not all, of their machines have it. I haven't suffered much at all due to it, but it can be annoying to users. It would be great if it was optional so that we could use a higher rated PSU/dual PSU. The best we can do is to keep voicing our opinion but of course we need to contact MSI as well, just doing it here on the forums has a smaller impact compared to contacting MSI with concerns/suggestions.

 

Ello,

I have the "first generation" GT80 that I bought back when it first released. It's spec'd with an i7-4980HQ, GTX 980m, 32 gigs of RAM, 250 SD and a 1TB hard drive. I've been enjoying every second of it when I can, and am able to play 80% of my games fully maxed out with no trouble.

I see now though, that MSI has released an updated version of the GT80. I've especially noticed that it can now be outfitted with desktop 980's in SLI, the newer Skylake i7 as well as a whooping 64 gigs of Ram.

So my first question, how much better performing would a newer GT80 be, in this spec, over my current one? Is it a huge difference or marginally better?

My second question: Could desktop 980's be compatible with my current machine? I sorta doubt this, but the thought had never occurred to me until know.

I'm not necessarily looking to upgrade anytime soon, possibly unless there's that much of a difference in performance. Although as I stated earlier, I can feel the limits with a few of my games. It would also be nice to have a laptop that could play games maxed out on an external 4k monitor at 60 and above FPS, something my current Titan can't quite do smoothly.

 

The CPU doesn't even need to be that active. Mine was only consuming ~25W and it was already draining at a significant rate. It won't drain if the GPUs aren't pulling max power, but then why pay extra for performance you're not using?

I do agree though that MSI is unlikely to do anything, especially if they don't hear from owners and prospective buyers. So speak up everyone!

It'll be around 25% or so better stock vs stock until the battery runs low plugged in, at which point you'll be around 5-10% faster.

 

See Katiecat's response above for figures. For most folks I would say it is not worth the upgrade for the cost difference you will have. I do not think the 980 desktop would work in your machine (just my own guess) and unless you are willing to pay a premium to sell and rebuy a new one for that small gain is simply not worth it. Now if you have plenty of cash to spend and treat it like a hobby like some of us, then go for it!

 

Don't worry about it.
If it's light gaming then it may even bother to use battery to get more performance. Even under heavy gaming the battery isn't constantly being drained.

 

Sorry, not to be rude, but where are you getting that the battery isn't constantly being drained? From all the tests that I've done, as long as both GPUs are pushed to their limits, it continues losing charge until you hit 30%, even for relatively low CPU loads. You're right in that lighter games probably won't drain battery, but those are games that 980Ms could probably handle fine.

The one benefit that this model does offer, though, is that anything which doesn't use GPU 2 much should be able to work fine with the current EC, since it frees up power for the first GPU and CPU.

 

For the amount of money MSI are asking (the most expensive gaming laptop in the world), this is not good enough.

 

No way most expensive, there is a truckload of Clevo clones where you easily can throw $5000 - $10000 into the configurator.

 

If worst comes to worst where you want to circumvent the EC safety lock, you will just have to modify the EC and run a custom firmware. There are people that already perform such services, and you would just have to keep in mind that it would most likely void warranty to do so. And I would heavily recommend going dual PSU in that case. Or make the EC firmware cap at 330 instead of 300. Maybe your PSU will die with time but at least you will get more performance with less battery drain.

I can't imagine how would you guys react to the initial findings of intel CPUs and the whole TDP debacle. Though unlike this situation, we can't do anything about the CPU hardlocked performance.

My take on all of this? If you want to run overclocked? find someone that can modify and make a custom EC firmware for you, and of course, pay for the service. Get dual PSUs and enjoy higher performance, power, etc.

If you only plan to use stock level performance but want consistent performance with minimal tweaking/single PSU? I recommend you a custom vbios to undervolt stock voltage and test how low you can go with stock clocks, or even slightly downclock with lower voltage. This way you will have lower power draw and less, if any, battery drain.

I will help you guys regarding the EC firmware by investigating. I recommend you also post on the MSI official forum and contact them directly.

 

I'd pay $100 today to get a custom firmware with the power limit raised or unlocked. I'm not even a crazy overclocker and normally run stock anyway. I just like to play around occasionally and benchmark for fun, and would like to blast away the limits for those few times.

 

$20 should be enough, don't price the rest of us out of the market

 

lol thats funny......

So first has anyone tried to actually unlock and look in the bios to see if there is a setting that can be changed? How do we know for sure that this limit is purely inside the EC and can't be disabled already inside the hidden bios menus? I agree the EC is probably initialing the limit but the GT80s (at least the one I had) had locked bios menus so it might be a long shot but it could be worth unlocking and taking a look around. Its what I would do first.

 

How about this, I'll pay for 4 additional folks's custom firmware's, or I'll donate in addition to the price.

 

Try Svet on the MSI Support Forum, PM is ok, and he is online right now:
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?action=profile;u=29469

Topic: Svet's Fermi/Kepler VBIOS/EC Tuner - [ver: 3.08c] (Read 496271 times)
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=148273.1309

Reply #1309 on: 09-January-16, 18:45:17 » Version has been updated [3.07b==>3.08c]:

Changes:

* Update 670GTX: Improve compatibility
* Update MSI EC-FW Editor:
- Build secondary separated Skylake's validation system for latest and newest Skylake's ECs.

Svet comments on questions posed in that thread directly in the users posts, for example:

EDIT Svet: HI Viktor,
You have to load your EC firmware for your notebook in the tool [not the vbios]
and then to use the EC firmware editor to customize it.
Check PM for details if needs.

 

I had written some software to bypass power limits PL1, PL2, PL3, PP0 and PP1 on Haswell and Broadwell but no one was interested in testing it. Might have been interesting how it might affect D2Ulima's findings.

 

I asked Svet, but he said he doesn't think he'd be able to do it, and he'd probably know best. That said, I also really shouldn't have to pay extra and void my warranty just to get stock performance.

Isn't undervolting Maxwell a huge pain because you have to edit the voltage tables or something instead of applying a flat offset? Can't remember exactly what I read about it.

Thanks! Super appreciate it.

I will totally take you up on that.

I think that's just for fan speed control.

 

Heads up, don't give up on the GT80S SLI 980 yet!!

[Official] Questions for the MSI Rep! @MSIGeno
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...for-the-msi-rep.761676/page-117#post-10189664

 

Is there any difference between speakers on GT80 and GT72S?

 

Hey guys,

thanks a lot to both of you for those tips regarding the 6920HQ. I know it's kinda late but I was suffering from some serious illness and had to sort out some things.

I finally decided to keep the Notebook but noticed it's speakers were making weird static noises with some buzzing sounds now and then which became louder when connected to the PSU. I contacted the seller and got it replaced just to find out the new one does the same. Less buzzing but bit more static noise... so it's not as annoying as with the previous unit I had.

Thing is I have 3 GT80 Notebooks (from 16gb and 1x GFX card to 32gb and 2 GFX cards) owned by friends and family and all of them have absolutely quiet speakers. This is making me feel a bit uncomfortable because of the high price I paid. That said the Notebook I got now has quiet a golden display. I can downsample 3840x2160 @ 120hz so I'm not sure if I want to have it replaced again. *sigh*

Could any other GT80S owners pleeeease check their speakers for those noises? :/ That would really help me to make a decision.

On a side note: Thanks to Katiecat for bugging MSI in regards to the power draw problem. I will also contact them to make sure they're aware that more people noticed this and to have them take this more serious.

 

No such noise from my GT80 SLI-263 speakers. Dead quiet, and they sound good with Nahimic tuned for the material.

So if you are hearing the speaker noise while on battery as well, contact MSI and RMA the laptop for repair.

 

Hi, I want to buy this notebook, but at our local shops it's marked with GTX980m, not GTX980. 6QF is only with GTX980 desktop level or have modification with 980m too? This model is selling at local shop
GT80S6QF-072US

 

That does look fishy. Honestly I would either look at the box, or better yet turn it on once before you buy it to confirm. Is it priced as a 980m model or like a 980 desktop model? (which are roughly 800-1000 USD higher)

Don't ask too many question, just look at it yourself. Maybe they think it's a 980m model, is priced as such, but is actually a 980 desktop model

 

that is likely things to do with PSU. if you have replaced PSU then somewhere along the line, mobo, battery and speaker itself got problem. my alienware had one of this issue with PSU replaced it was fine, but then again, if you didnt plug it in and it had that then maybe mobo battery? i mean it does draw power from battery goes through mobo to your speaker.

 

And thank you for bugging them too!
About the speakers, I haven't noticed any noises at all, but since it happens with two different notebooks when they're not plugged in... that doesn't leave many possibilities. Have you noticed it while using it in a different location? Try seeing if it happens outside.

 

The GT80 has 4 top speakers - visible under the panel above the keyboard + a subwoofer.

IDK about the GT72, but I assume 2 on top + subwoofer, you can probably check specs / video's for internals.

 

4300$ but at different site the same model(GT80S 6QF 072US) has a different specification. I mean 980m 4gb each/980m 8gb each, so I need full correct info about this model. When I try run specification from first page, I see just empty pdf, like this:

Spoiler: Specification

 

Thanks, Scott! I was wondering if there's any distortion/vibration going on when playing music at a high volume?

I see you're a proud owner of GT80. Just curious, which laptop did you have in the past before gt80?

 

Laptops aren't a good replacement for a stereo system, the speakers aren't large enough to do music justice. But, the GT80 can get loud enough.

Headphones are the best match for a high end gaming laptop. The benefit's of blocking out the fan noise, and environment noise, on top of better fidelity sound far exceed any laptop speaker system.

Focus on the CPU/GPU/screen, and optimize that choice, don't bother trying to select a laptop based on replacing high end speaker sound, there isn't any such laptop.

 

GX660R was the first laptop that I got. I was instantly impressed with how clear, detailed and loud the speakers sounded. I got myself then Zenbook NX500 (needed smth more portable), you can't imagine how disappointed I was.

I do have some headphones (incl Sennheiser HD650), and they are all great. But I find them fatiguing when using for an extended period of time. I'd say great good sounding speakers is a plus. As long as they are decent sounding, I can live with it.

I completely agree that the CPU and more importantly the GPU should be everyone's priority.

I am planning on selling my G660 R to a friend of mine for $100. I bought it for 1,700 GBP back in 2010 and now it costs almost peanuts lol. Same with NX500, but thankfully this one I can sell for slightly less than $3,000.

I was gonna get either Dell XPS 15 or G752VY, but after reading feedbacks, I've decided not to rush it.

 

So I took a look at the vBIOS and it looks like the low power clocks are baked into it, which along with a post I saw in a different thread which said that no-battery throttling got removed after swapping to a different card makes me wonder if the throttling can be entirely addressed with a vBIOS mod. That would also explain why overclocking seems to help alleviate the issue. I'm curious to see what would happen with the battery removed when using a modified vBIOS with no throttle clocks.

 

Same as with the 3 other GT80 I was able to test. Seems it's a GT80S problem and since Katie said theres no noise coming from hers I guess I must have gotten two notebooks from the same batch or something... no quality control at MSI it seems.

I called MSI today. They said a Firmware and BIOS Update might fix it. Told me to get the newest versions and install them. Turns out there seem to be no newer versions available via their website. I'm not sure if I want to RMA it. Gonna call them again tomorrow. If they can't offer me a fast solution they lose a customer. Not sending it in for god knows how long. Paid for it 4 weeks ago but couldn't use it a single day because, as it stands right now, I received e-waste for two times if there is really no simple solution to fix this. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It happens everywhere. No matter if plugged in or not. As soon as Windows loads up you can clearly hear when the speakers turn on and start producing this noise. When switching to Game or Movie mode it tends to become even worse. I recorded the different noises with my mobile and uploaded them. Take a listen (might have to turn up your volume a bit...) if you wish:

http://dopefile.me/j70p3zowyx05
http://dopefile.me/2k4379ey563u
http://dopefile.me/d2waq73ofey9

Fun.

@Katiecat Could you tell me your BIOS and Firmware version please?

 

Guys, answer please on my question. Can you give me original specification for 6QF-072US? From start post I have the empty pdf, different shops write different specification with different video cards(4gb each, 8gb each) but the name of model is the same(072US). I can't physicly look at store because our local shops selling only with internet so you don't know what you really took before purchase.

 

It's 8GB each no matter where you buy it from.

 

And this model all with SLI 980 desktop, right?

 

Yes and GT80S 072 is the only one with desktop SLI 980.

 

Thanks for help)

 

We are getting OT for this thread...

Spoiler

Yeah, if you are happy with running what you have and can wait out the teething pains of new releases it's best.

You only have 15 days to return, so you might was well wait for a short while for all the BIOS, driver, Windows updates so people stop complaining about problems and instead start talking about gaming / apps

The reason I am sensitive about the speakers thing, is that over the years I have heard people reject perfectly awesome laptops for the speakers - ones without problems - and to me they missed out on a great laptop.

Plugging in headphones or external speakers is preferred anyway, so for me - an audiophile - I could never be happy with any laptop speaker system anyway.

But, like you say, you get a good laptop speaker system and you hate to lose it.

I will say that once you get used to a particular sound coming out of your laptop, you won't like anything that sounds different.

At least not immediately - as your mind is trained to respond to differences in sound - and since all laptop sound sucks, the only one your mind likes is the one it has grown accustomed to over time.

That's also why I say don't judge a laptop by it's sound, you will get used to it, if you allow yourself to be happy

The GT80S SLI 980 is still the most powerful GT80 available, and SLI is better than single GPU, so I would rethink your options and include an SLI model in there too

 

Svet may not be able to help with the EC, but he should be able to supply a modded BIOS/vbios - it's at least worth asking.

 

I downloaded and listened to the noise recordings, and it's clearly some kind of interference - do you have a radio / cellular tower near you? How about a heater or refridgerator close by?

You might try moving the laptop to a known good location for non-radio interference, and operate from there to see if the noise is still there. If it is then there is an internal ground / shielding problem - or a noisy component - kinda like coil whine problems.

I can generate that kind of noise in electronics with radio transmitters, so I am familar with the problem. Also, with components failing and causing similar noise.

You may indeed have gotten 2 from a bad batch. So if the interference continues no matter where you locate - therefore it's internal to the GT80S, return it and get one from another seller - in another region / country.

I doubt it's going to be solved with a firmware update, but it's worth a try.

Ask MSI via a support ticket / email to send you the latest EC / BIOS / vbios, asking nicely has worked for me.

 

I agree with hmscott above, definitely interference. I have had GSM phones cause noise on computers and through phone systems. I can usually detect it from the far end, many times I even asked hey do you have a such and such phone and I could even tell it was ringing from the special noise that came through.

I don't use my speakers much, or haven't yet in the short time I've had mine but I have not heard that noise at all. It would have to be loud enough to hear over the fans for me to even notice it though.

 

this is an excellent review for 950 pros in raid 0. people with it should read it up. http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Storag...-Pro-Z170-PCIe-NVMe-RAID-Tested-Why-So-Snappy

 

Moving the laptop doesn't help. The seller even noticed the problem when I sent it back thus the replacement. It must be a software and/or hardware issue.

When zapping through the different presets it still gets worse @movie and @gaming mode. *sigh*

Gonna ask them for the software nicely but will also call again tomorrow and tell them to fix this mess. Fast.

What do you mean by not using your speakers much? Headset mostly?

Thing is I can hear it when browsing or just idling and that's a no-go. There isn't any problem when they are actually used like listening to music. In fact I found the sound quality to be quiet good for a laptop.

 

Did you update Nahimic / Realtek drivers? They just got a new release, Nahimic:1.2.12/Audio:6.0.1.7712 - for Windows 10 / 7, you will need to go to the GT80 support page for Windows 8.1 download:

https://us.msi.com/product/notebook...I-6th-Gen-GTX-980-SLI.html#down-utility&Win10 64

Uninstall Nahimic first, reboot, then uninstall Realtek, then reboot, install back in reverse order with reboot in between / after each - install Realtek, reboot, install Nahimic, reboot - it won't prompt for the last time, but do it anyway.

That might fix the problem, especially since it's happening only on GT80S new release hardware