[Official] Questions for the MSI Rep!

hi lentho999,

im sorry you are having issue with your RMA. What region are you RMA'ing from? I am from the US region, so i can help directly with RMA's in this area, however, if you are in another region, we can try to reach out to them to see what can be done.

Thanks,
Geno

 

Hi Geno,

I'm in Germany and previously sent the laptop to Poland.

 

Geno can only service customers in US/Canada.
Please contact the local office directly for any issues since they are the only one who can take your system back and redo under a 2nd RMA.

 

Hi Geno.. (dang this feels weird posting here) ok ive owned nothing but alienwares.. currently own the new 18.. And i have one question.

In your words why should I come to msi..

 

What exactly are you looking for in a machine? Why do you buy only alienware? There are plenty reasons why you would buy any machine, but it comes down to what you want, what you need and what you can afford.

 

I want the best of the best.. Alienware had it in all areas until recently.. cpu power/gpu power/cooling / i want a well rounded over clockable beast.. 17 inches or bigger and dual gpus..

 

I just got today an email form MSI in which they told me that the gt70 lower case is different from the gx70 because there is a slight difference form the mainboard.. so they won't fit.

 

Then take a look at the GT80 TItan SLI, i dont think you will be dissapointed

 

Does the GT 80 support RAID 5?

In fact, neither the BIOS nor the Windows RST tool allow to create any RAID array other than RAID 0, and some "manual/automatically" synchronized recovery setup - which is to say, there's not even proper RAID 1!

Have I missed anything, or does the GT 80 not support anything other than RAID 0?

I read here that the GT 72 only supports 0, 1, and 5 - has the situation been made even worse with GT 80, which doesn't support 10, 5, and 1?

 

According to Intel's spec page for HM87 chipset, which supports RAID 0/1/5/10, but with a note saying depends by system manufacturer.
Therefore, it is possible that the features you've asked are not available.
To make them available, MSI must unlock those features, or you can check with Svet to see if these options can be opened up or not since he has done it with unlocking of BIOS options in the past.

 

I'd appreciate that very much. Where do I find Svet? Is it possible to get an official answer from MSI for the GT80 series at large?

 

Greetings,

I once had a MSI I liked in a Power Pro model, but the plastic hinges kept falling out every year or so... the lifetime support quickly dropped to one set of hinges only.
Therefore my first question:

1. Is the casing of the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro-064 all aluminum?
2. How are the drives configured, up to 2 Msata drives and one or two hard drives?
3. Does running RAID 0 make the pc more fragile, as a mobile laptop?

That's pretty good for starters, but if anyone knows if China now owns all Taiwanese companies since they took over Taiwan, that would be interesting too: although there are no other alternatives, so... still it would be interesting information to factor in.


TIA!

 

You can find it on MSI forum, see below link.
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=148273.0

1. Hinge part is made of metal secured onto plastic base, but this model's hinge is more durable than the older model you had.
Casing is Magnesium-Lithium material.
2. 2x M.2 drives, since they are SSDs they have better endurance compared to conventional HDDs.
This doesn't mean you should stop backing up any data that you have on your drive.

 

That looks like a video bios thread. Is that the right place to post?

Can any GT 80 user let me know if they see any RAID 5 or RAID 1 options in their BIOS?

Seems silly for the GT 72 to have these options and the GT 80 to lack them.

 

I agree with you, both models are using the same chipset but GT80 is lacking the options.
I will check with MSI on this.

 

Not trying to be rude but is it true that the GT80 has a bga crippled low-TDP CPU in it? and that its sualderd to the board with no room for user upgrades?

 

Yes it is BGA, no it is not low tdp it is a normal tdp notebook processor (the 4710/20hq or the 4980hq) the lowest of which (the 4710/20hq) is about the performance of a desktop i5 3960k stock (which is pretty good for a laptop), but yes it is soldered to the board with no room for user upgrades.

Speaking strictly as a gaming laptop, games have not even come close to capping out even a sandybridge processor, so i think it should be more than enough for gaming to not pose an issue. MSI has done the good favor to us enthusiasts that they made the gpu's mxm user upgradeable, even encouraging users to with their upgrade programs. All in all the gt80 is a behemoth for gaming in all the right ways.

 

GT80 is equipped with 4720HQ, but there's no comparable processor out there that performs at the same level. BGA doesn't mean it's inferior, but it is true there's no upgrade room available for the processor itself.

It would be nice if this option is opened up for upgrades which helps to push more customized builds, but on the other hand, what's the chance of someone getting an upgrade processor for $400-500+ at later time when it's actually becoming obsolete.

 

dONT TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY.. BUT ME AND EVERY ONE I KNOW COMING FROM THE aLIENWARE LINE UP WOULD.. I swap cpu like most people change there underwear.. and i only go extreme cpus..

 

No worries, MSI originally had socket option while ASUS switched to soldered processor. But at least you still have several choices when going with MSI even when they are soldered.
For example, GT80 with 4720HQ, or 4980HQ.

 

You are the minority of the notebook users, which is the sad reality for why intel did their number with BGA processors. the BGA approach wouldn't even be bad if they made better CPUs, as the sole limiting factor is TDP regulation. This is something that can be fully tweaked with MX processors, and partially twekaed with MQs.

But alas, BGA processors is not a topic to be discussed here. You can visit the hardware subforum if you want to talk about them. The only good thing I can tell you, is that GT80 has not displayed the same behavior as other HQ processors: our TDP regulation has constantly kept performance on the 3.5ghz and upwards, which is pretty cool. I was worried as well but nothing so far has crippled me, even after hours of gaming.

 

Any updates on this? Is this something that can be fixed with a new BIOS version?

 

Technically, it's doable since it's just a BIOS option, however the decision is up to the management and this is where it stands today.

 

In other words get the modded bios if you want the features.

 

So where do I get the modded BIOS, then?

Not sure why MSI remains silent on this issue. Have they not licensed the RAID options from Intel or something?

I must say I am quite dissatisfied with my GT80 purchase. It has significant, unjustifiable drawbacks in comparison to its more versatile GT72 cousin:

1) The fan is almost always on. The GT72 fan hardly ever seems to turn on, even when the machine is under load. The GT80 fan is nearly always blasting, even with light use.
2) There are only two sound jacks in the GT80, instead of the four found in the GT72. This makes it very hard to use the majority of analog speaker and line input setups available today.
3) Lack of RAID 1 and RAID 5 setup in a premium system like this is an insult, especially when its lesser cousin GT72 has these options. Impossible to understand. Somebody needs to cough up the Intel license fees.
4) The machine chassis and the power brick are humongous and much heavier than their GT72 counterparts. That's both the power brick and the main unit.
5) The numeric keypad, while a nice gimmick, is very buggy. If your PC powers off in the "wrong" state, good luck trying to get it to toggle states. I could only re-enable it by reinstalling the OS - even driver and utility re-installs made no difference.
6) To make matters worse, games like Flight Simulator X, where you frequently use the Num Lock key in combination with the numeric keypad to perform significant functions, are completely unsupported by the numeric keypad. I'm sure there's other affected games.

You decide whether all of the above drawbacks are justified in exchange for a mechanical keyboard and a second GTX 980M GPU. The one GTX 980M GPU runs all my games just fine, thanks to its 8 GB RAM - outperforming even most desktop 980 GPUs, which ship with 4 GB RAM.

The GT80 is a nice idea, but delivered with very poor and buggy execution.

Clearly the folks over at MSI can pull off a good design job, as evidenced by the GT72. However, the GT80 is half-baked at best, and has either too many bugs (like #3 and #6 above), or someone couldn't be bothered for proper licensing, despite this being a flagship laptop for MSI (again #3 above).

I would return the purchase if I could.

 

This is one of the most exaggerated posts I have seen in some time, but its normal too. ALL your dissatisfaction could have been mitigated by the slightest research about the machine.

1) The fan is not "blasting" and the sound difference between stock to taxing, or even turbo fan, is quite different. Had you asked anyone with a GT80 you would know the fans are always on on low RPM. This is a non issue for the most time, but obviously it will be heard on a quiet environment. If you were looking for a quiet machine though, you could have asked to avoid any unpleasantries.

2) Yes they opted for optical out, which you can use to convert if you want. Again, the simplest of research would have shown you these ports existing.

3) This I can sympathize, though it has no bearing with the "premium" that you are paying, since that goes to all the rest of the machine. It seems it was more of an oversight rather than a deliberate decision though. Hopefully they can add those options though I am not sure how many users are actually requesting this. You should open up communications directly with MSI to request the option and if its viable to add.

4) this is beating a dead horse at this point, but again... even resellers post videos weighting the system. The dimensions and weight are published. The power brick is higher rated so obviously is bigger.

5) The numeric pad was the result of favoring the mainstream gaming and the mechanical keyboard. I would have preferred a full keyboard and the area above the keyboard to be touch sensitive/pad, but I agree that its function as a numeric pad is limited compared to the real thing. It was buggy with the initial driver but that was even addressed and fixed on the day it launched, thanks to users here. Personally I haven't had issues ever since updating on the first week.

6) I would imagine it is a nightmare to require the numlock key itself, as this would disable most numeric keypads, in most laptops. And even worse on the titan due to its touchpad nature.

But all those complaints are very very specific and to the mintority of minorities. In my experience it is quite the contrary, pulling off a great design and concept against the normal stuff you see around.

The best advise if you are so quite unhappy, would be to sell the machine and go for something that suits your needs. Using a computer is not about suffering, and the more info you can gather, the better purchase you can make.

 

I appreciate your effort to defend MSI, but that's no reason to belittle the points I have made in my post.

The point is, I have a GT72 and a GT80, and it was a mistake having purchased the GT80, having used both day-to-day, clear as a bright sunny day.

1) The GT72, running the same apps in the same scenarios, never gets loud, period. The GT80, is loud 90% of the time, period; even if the 980M GPU's have been disabled and the laptop is in Intel GPU mode. How do you justify that in a bigger laptop with more cooling room? You don't. Its simply bad engineering, don't sugar coat it.

2) You don't expect something like this from a superior model after having already purchased the inferior model. I researched the inferior model and simply assumed the superior model would NOT be a downgrade. Mistake!!!

3) Of course it has a bearing on the premium I am paying. Again, when a manufacturer advertises RAID, you do NOT assume they mean ONLY RAID 0, without even so much as RAID 1. "Continuous backup" or whatever nonsense they call it is NOT RAID 1, and where is my RAID 5, or RAID 10 for that matter? My emails to MSI have gone unanswered, so now I am having to justify and re-justify myself at these forums. NOT A HAPPY CAMPER.

4) OK, I concede this point. Maybe this is the only argument of yours that actually makes sense.

5) Don't you just love it when buggy software utterly cripple your hardware? Why are users having to beta-test products that should work out of the box? You don't really pay a premium with the intention of doing free beta testing, do you?

6) I do like the position of the touchpad, as well as the keyboard; but at least put a NumLock somewhere on the mechanical keyboard, for crying out loud! I yet have to see a SINGLE laptop OR tablet WITHOUT a NumLock contrary to what you assert. And yes, I have reviewed a ton of laptops, both here and elsewhere; so I have been through quite a few.

My verdict for this: FAIL.

Customer support is a big fail too so far. At least have the decency to admit you're wrong, and publish a fixed BIOS with working RAID.

 

This is beyond defending MSI itself. You could be complaining about any notebook manufacturer, any notebook model and the main point stands. The particular points you posted, which consisted information readily available, are inexcusable. You are dissatisfied for purchasing something, to which you could have, and should have, known had those conditions.

I agree that more features is better, and I all pro user, so fan control would be ideal. I agree more features like RAID would ideally be available in all their functions. This is beyond the point. This thread is not for this.

Obviously, the machine is not for you as it does not cover your needs. I am not saying the GT80 is perfect and you should shut up. You should very well have considered keeping the GT72 alone.

Now, if you have something else to add or to discuss, you can direct yourself to the appropriate threads. You are clearly just venting here, which is enough at this point and not the point of this thread. This thread is for questions directed for the MSI Rep, and if your question has been posted, then you can carry on and keep an eye on the thread. If you want to further discuss the GT80, we have an owners thread. Same for the GT72.

I also advise asking directly any support needed directly to Geno, via PM, and let enough time so that he can sort it out.

 

I am sure RAID 1 can be easily added to the BIOS via BIOS update. However, Does people really use RAID 1 on their laptops anymore? Not many people I've seen.

Most of our customers configured RAID-0 on GT72/ GT80 or any other laptops that has RAID capabilities.

The power bricks is a 330W adapter and do you know anyone make a smaller 330W adapter for laptops? Also are you expecting a Hummer H2 weights the same as Hummer H3?

More importantly, didn't you already done your research before made the purchase of all these below or it was a surprise to you after you received the GT80 that:

- GT80 is a 18" laptop and weights a lot more that GT72 and power bricks are much bigger.
- It has 2 audio jacks.
- Num lock key IS on the numeric keypad.

This thread is not for arguing and we are talking with MSI regarding the RAID options.

 

Thanks for attending the RAID situation Ken, hopefully Geno can help out to so we can know if MSI can or will add the options.

For now, lets remain on topic, and have more questions directed to MSIGeno.

 

Hi, I’m considering purchasing a GT72 2QE Dominator Pro and have a question concerning the potential impact of the USB configuration on the number of PCI Express 3.0 lanes available to the GPU (which determines device to host memory bandwidth). More specifically, I’ve noticed some models out on the market recently with a USB configuration of {USB 3.1 x 2, USB 3.0 x 4} rather than with {USB 3.0 x 6} which was the only USB interface option previously available, and I’m trying to figure out if this newly available USB configuration impacts PCI Express slot usage and consequently host/device transfers between CPU and GPU. (Please note that throughout this post the term “USB 3.1” is meant to designate the 10Gbps version of USB 3.1, i.e. USB 3.1 Gen 2 in the most recent nomenclature.)

Newly available Dominator Pro models featuring {USB 3.1 x 2, USB 3.0 x 4} include for instance MSI GT72 Dominator Pro G-1238 at agearnotebooks and MSI GT72 2QE-446US at Staples/Canada.

I will be using my Dominator Pro for GPU computing with CUDA, and for this I require a configuration with a GTX 980M, 8.0GB GDDR5, a PCI Express 3.0 x16 motherboard connection, and full graphics card access to all PCIe 3.0 lanes (in other words, not only must the card have a PCI Express 3.0 x16 motherboard connection, but it is essential for the graphics card to make full use of all available lanes and consequently to be operating at PCIe 3.0 x16 speeds as well). Apparently, the current Dominator Pro lineup (such as the 208 or the 445) meets all four of these requirements and I would like to ascertain whether this also holds for the new configurations featuring USB 3.1. In particular, I would like to ascertain whether the new configurations provide the GPU with full access to all 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes (enabling it to operate at x16 mode).

I’m a bit doubtful of this and here’s why. Since the relevant chipset (HM87) does not offer any native USB 3.1 support, current USB 3.1 implementations are forced to make use of USB 3.1 controllers, which require the use of either PCIe 2.0 lanes or PCIe 3.0 lanes. If PCIe 2.0 is used, USB 3.1 implementation requires 2 PCIe 2.0 lanes for each USB 3.1 port, so presumably, {USB 3.1 x 2} as offered by MSI would require four out of a total of eight PCIe 2.0 lanes available on the chipset. However, the required four PCIe 2.0 lanes may not be available, in which case an implementation using PCIe 3.0 lanes seems more likely. Since Intel’s available PCI Express configurations include only {1x16}, {2x8}, or {1x8 2x4}, such an implementation would automatically reduce the PCIe 3.0 lanes available to the GPU from 16 to 8, reducing host/device memory bandwidth by 50%. While highly disadvantageous to GPU computing, the impact of such a configuration on video game performance should be minimal, making this a viable choice for systems targeting a gaming audience.

Depending on factors such as PCI Express lane availability and configuration choices, there is consequently a fair possibility that implementing USB 3.1 requires making use of PCIe 3.0 lanes, thereby preventing the GPU from operating at x16 mode and forcing it to fall back into x8 mode. Although I would otherwise prefer a GT72 2QE Dominator Pro configuration featuring USB 3.1, any such impact on host/device transfers between CPU and GPU would effectively eliminate the new USB 3.1 configurations from my decision set.

So to sum up my question: do the new and upcoming GT72 Dominator Pro configurations offering {USB 3.1 x 2, USB 3.0 x4} such as the ones indicated above provide the GPU with full access to all 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes allowing it to operate at PCIe 3.0 x16, as is presumably the case in current configurations with {USB 3.0 x6} such as the GT72 Dominator Pro-211 or the GT72 Dominator Pro-445? While of limited interest to gamers, host/device transfers are a key bottleneck in GPU computing and choosing a system capable of maximizing the peak theoretical bandwidth between host memory and device memory is consequently of prime importance in this context. Thanks for your time and consideration!

 

HI i have question
There are plans for smaller brother of GT72 let's say GT62?
With GT72 you finally removed nearly all flaws of Gt70 (crappy look, cooling problems, optimus replaced manual switch and in some cases lack of IPS display). Now Gt-72 is the top gaming notebook out there (my opinion)

Smaller sized Gt72 would be brilliant machine (15 inch scaled down Gt72 with also official MXM support).

 

Any chance of high refresh rate laptop coming out this year, as in 120-144hz?

 

Highly unlikely since manufacturers are caring less and less about the enthusiast community. They are offered on some current Clevo models however.

I'd love to be proven wrong though. Perhaps a GT82, MSI?

 

I would love to see a gt82, but i feel it would be too soon to see a refresh of a laptop that only just came out, i think a dragon edition msi gt80 would be much more likely. I remember seeing one of the MSI jonas's videos where he had what appeared to be some gt80 laptop lid panels behind him with dragon claw designs. May or may not be an indication of dragon editions or some sort of special editions coming out who knows.

 

I'd like to say that we in fact care about all of our fans and customers, especially our enthusiasts. That's why MSI hired me to be here

We are actively looking to come out with a laptop with 120-144hz refresh rate. However, the supply for these panels are still very limited, so we cannot produce one on at this time. From our POV, there are alot of logistics and procurement fulfillment that need to be maintained in order for us to manufacture and distribute an entire product. Let's say we were only able to secure a stable supply of 120/144hz panels of about 10,000, that would still not be enough for us to be able to produce it. The entire process is very complex and arduous from concept to final product, so i wont go too detailed into it.

 

So you get payed for this? I thought chatting with us is not a job

If it's hard to find supply for 120/144 panels maybe you try to find 16:10 1920×1200 and 2560×1600 ones? Seriously, me and many others still miss 16:10 panels because they are golden mean for productivity (Office etc) and video. I would love to see GT73 with it. GSYNC/FreeSync 16:10 1920x1200 laptop.

 

Hopefully though, you'll keep us updated if such plans do come to fruition.

He gets paid for PR, but I'm sure he wouldn't be on this forum if he didn't enjoy it.

Does anyone even make 16:10 panels anymore?

 

Thanks for the reply. The fact that you made an sli beast with a mechanical keyboard speaks to that. I feel that 120hz desktop monitors are increasing in popularity and availability. If you made a gt80 variant with this option it might cater to those like me who have become spoiled by the desktop screen's.

Thanks again

 

Hey Geno, could we get any sneak peeks for stuff that's to come from MSi at CES?

 

CES? or Computex? because i have no idea whats going to be at CES 2016.

Computex on the otherhand...

 

Hi Geno. A few questions.
1) Is the GT80 titan-047 (single 980m) out of stock or has it been stopped? Was planning on a purchase.

2) Any specific reasons to be switching to the 980m 4b versions on the newer line of laptops (MSI GT 72 dominator) with the 5th gen CPU's? ****Sorry just noticed there are 2 versions of the same with both the GPU's*****

3) I plan to get the laptop in the US and would then be bringing it to India through a friend. Would I have service options in India? If so could you provide me some details as to where (city, store, site)?

 

Hi MSI Geno

I hope you can help me, because I'm practically foaming at the mouth at the news of this 5th generation update! I've just paid 5700 dollars on a new, maxed out 4th gen GT80 and haven't even taken delivery yet.

If I stop the order now, I already have to pay return shipping and insurance, because it's already been shipped.

My question is, how much of a difference is this new GPU going to make? In the long run its probably going to be more compatible with future GPUs?

Also is it true the GPUs now have less ram?

And will the calibration of the screen and new sound improvements be available to current users?

I need to make a big call here and hope you can shed some light on this darkest of days

Many thanks

 

With new refreshed MSI GS-series models launched at Computex 2015, I do wonder if some of the new features being marketed are just software-based (instead of depending on some new hardware), thus they may be possible to get working with existing notebooks?

In particular these two new features looks like they may be just a software/driver thing:

- MSI True Color Technology (looks like some calibration profiles / postprocessing?)
- Nahimic Virtual Surround Sound (looks like some sound effects similar to those older SoundBlaster ones, not new loudspeakers)

If there are things which don't depend on new hardware, it would be nice if our few months old MSI notebooks could get them as a software update.

 

The single 980m has been discontinued already with other skus to take over that segment.

Not too sure about india as i work in the US. MSI laptops will carry a 1 year Global warranty, so you will be able to have it serviced anywhere around the world. I believe there are servicing stations in India, but you will have to take a look at our Indian Customer support page to check the details on where.

Are you asking about the new CPU? the GPU is still the same ones as previously. The new update is with the Broadwell chipset. If you bought a maxed out GT80 4th Gen, i would say just keep it as it is such a beast machine already. The difference to you in terms of performance will be very slight if you returned it for the 5th gen.

For the GPU, they have the same amount of ram as previous models.

MSI true color is tuned from the factory and i believe the profile is embedded onto the motherboard. This will less likely be available for current owners.

Nahimic might have a higher chance to be available for current users, but im not too sure at this moment.

 

If you look at the website showing MSI true color technology, it says you can choose precalibrated modes. To me it means the notebook is loaded with factory calibrated profiles and it just helps you pick one, instead of using Windows settings. But I think this is all wishful thinking: for example it says you can " set screen to 100% sRGB", the problem is not many LCD screens cover 100% sRGB gamut, as a matter of fact Notebookdisplay.com lists only 1 screen (Dreamcolor) as able to cover 100% of sRGB, rest, including Samsung screen used in current GE 60 Apache pro barely cover 90%. Is MSI going to use totally new screens, capable of displaying 100% sRGB? Or is this just marketing BS? Also, if you look at Notebookdisplay.com a lot of screens are already properly precalibrated at factory.

 

I believe on our webpages, we describe our true color for our laptops to be as as close to 100% sRGB as possible. We inspect and calibrate each individual display at the factory to a specific standard.

The Profiles are an added (and different) feature and is aimed at having different preset modes to change your display settings for specific tasks.

 

Hi Geno
I'm sorry, this was posted by one of your resalers, not MSI, my bad.

 

Sorry, I meant Computex. But hey, anything about CES is a plus, too.

 

Question for MSI Geno:

What is the display panel model number and manufacturer in G-Sync enabled GT72 laptops?

Thanks!