\/\/\/\/\/\- The Official MSI GT60-2OD Owner's Lounge -/\/\/\/\/\/

I noticed that the CPU gets stuck at max clock when the power profile is set to "High Performance." I, too, think that it's unnecessary so I usually go with balanced unless I think I need it for a game.

 

I know what you mean. My CPU temps are not that high, I hit around 80C max so far with wPrime and gaming, but my GPU does scale up to 90C. I hasn't downclocked and runs 100% at 850mhz, but I wonder if I can do anything about it. then again, my ambient temperatures are around 90F haha, so that doesn't help. I already repasted but it seems I have the same temps. I noticed the fan only kicks until 80 degrees and then it kicks up a notch at 90, but not nearly as loud as turbofan.

As juliant mentioned, check for any background software that might have got you stuck. It sometimes happen on the CPU, sometimes on the GPU.

I will definitely try it. I am not even sure it's being used yet despite having the GPU self boost to 850mhz all the time. I will for now keep all scores etc for the review but I think I got a stock GPU score of 7800 or so.

What I find a bit hot are the GPU temps. I am reaching 90 degrees taxing the GPU on Crysis 2 or other games at maxed out settings.

 

It looks like the 780m may run hot. We're all getting max GPU temps of about 90C, and so did this reviewer in his test of the 780m in the GT70: MSI GT70 Dragon Edition Review: The First Haswell And GTX 780M Laptop Is A Hit - Forbes

We'll have to see what temperatures people are getting on the 780m in other brands, when those brands finally catch up and ship (this means you, Alienware).

 

My temps usually max out in the low 80C without the turbofan on ever since I moved my laptop into the basement where the ambient temps are probably a little lower than 20C. I have the IC diamond that came free since I ordered from Gentech.

 

I also have the IC Diamond Paste from Gentech . But, ambient temperatures are about 78 F (25.5 C) as it is summer time in the Southeastern United States . That could be making the difference.

 

Ambient temperatures are 31c 95% of the year where I live... I'm afraid Im gonna fry me a laptop LOL

 

Because you ordered the GTX 770M instead of the 780M, your GPU temperatures may be cooler

 

Just ran BF3 with cooler boost on. CPU maxed at 69 and GPU maxed around 65

 

Also, I have my new GT60 side-by-side with my m14x R2. The screen on the GT60 is definitely brighter -- whites are a lot better. In addition, the screen's matte display is way more versatile than the high gloss, which virtually requires darkness. Lastly, the fan on the m14x is ridiculous. While the GT60's fan is by no means quiet (especially on Turbo, which I don't really use), the pitch is much more bothersome on the m14x. It sounds like a hair-dryer while the GT60 is much quieter and is not nearly as disruptive. Lastly, next to the GT60, the m14x looks svelte.

 

I envy your temps! right now I am at 93.2 F just outside my home, and my ventilation sucks. The air is so hot x_x

I will see what I can do to try manage those temps. Even if it means gaming on turbo.

 

In a way, it kinds of make sense. My 680m ran around 82C tops when gaming, in general, from my barebone. 780m may be slightly undervolted, but it also runs higher clocked, and at a higher core count, most likely a higher TDP too. I suppose reaching 90 without an AC is kind of expected.

 

Mine is coming next week
Can't wait to get my hands on it!!

Also I'm planning on upgrading the X100 mSATA in the coming months. Anyone has heard anything regarding a mSATA version of the Samsung 840 Pro line? It would be great for our little beasts
If Samsung does not come up with something I think I'll opt for a pair of Plextor 128GB M5Ms or Intel 180GB 525s (if their high price tag lowers a bit. For example: 200$ would be perfect for the 240GB model... ). I would go with Intel only for the performance/reliability and that 5000 P/E cycles.

128GB would be barely enough for me
My 256GB 840 Pro died. Had to send it for repair
Intel or Plextor? Difficult answer

 

Is the build quality better on this new GT60 compared to the older ones?

 

The Samsung PM841 I've heard is that.

 

The Samsung PM841 mSATA SSDs are OEM client level SSDs that are supplied in bulk to system builders just like the stock SanDisk X100 that MSI is using.

It will be extremely difficult to find them at retail from retailers like Newegg.

The warranty on them will be from the system builder and not from Samsung as an 840Pro 2.5" SSD would.

When choosing SSDs look at the 4K performance at various Queue depths and how it handles both compressible and incompressible data.

See here for examples of SSD performance at various QD
SanDisk Extreme II 480GB SSD Review - Benchmarks - Anvil Storage Utilities :: TweakTown

 

Yeah I agree I once I went SSD I could never go back to a HDD for anything. Are you going to get another mSATA and out the operating system on that? In heirs you could get a too performing 2.5" and use that, too. The benefits of using raid SSD are subject to frequent debate, too. I chose to use my 256 GB 2.5 SSD for games, then I had a spare MSATA (that is sata 2 not 3) so I plugged in that for movies music and pictures. I left the OS on the factory MSata because it actually performs decently and wasn't worth the hassle to move everything around to my slightly faster 2.5 drive.

 

Try propping it up in the back with something to get more airflow, it's simple but sometimes really helps.
Do you have a laptop cooler?

 

Oh I will definitely work something like that. I am now using Cooler Master U2. But I was wondering if these temps were the norm, or maybe I was doing something wrong Even using turbo boost, the temps drop down severely, but it gets loud.

I think I would go for the Intel myself, mainly for reliability and that I used them at work. Once you go SSD, you don't go back! What are you going to do with your mSata?

Well, I only have had experience with my GX600R and yeah it's much improved. It's way more sturdy everywhere. There is little to no flex.

 

PM841 is based on the 840 Pro but not with the same firmware. Also it uses 3bit cells versus the 2bit cells of the 2.5" counterpart. That's why it suffers a bit in write performance (256GB capacity - 330MB/s sequential write vs 430MB/s on the M5M - both toggle NAND). I'm leaning more and more toward Intel just for their reliability..

I started my trip to the SSD lane with a Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 120GB. Next I sold the Mushkin and got the Sandisk Extreme 240GB (which I still have unused for some time now. put it up for sale in the marketplace). Last I went with the Samsung 840 Pro 256GB (which failed on me after connecting it to a desktop SATA2 motherboard..now in a repair center). Fact is I can get two 128/120 GB drives cheaper versus one larger 256/240 GB drive (locally where I live). I use RAID at work so I've dealt with various situations regarding drive failures and user errors so that's why a RAID array doesn't bother me. I'm also planning on keeping that 1TB hdd for archived movies/fotos/music. I have around 700GB of data

 

Whoo Cooler Boost and a aaptop cooling pad is magical. I'm playing Darksiders right now, CPU was running at 55~, GPU around the same to 60 I would say. I felt the air coming of the vents, it was actually reasonably cool. ^_^

 

So, I got my new fan from Gentech PC in the mail today. It is so quiet and somewhat OK. My original fan is a NSTECH PABD19735BM .65 Amps @ 12V. The new one I got in the Mail is T&T brand, the same as an other user reported. But this one is T&T B9733L12B-028 .36 Amps @ 12V. When I hit the cooler booster button this one doesn't quite spool up that fast. And doesn't manage to keep the temps as low as the other one. But it is pretty quiet when idling.

Seeing as I had a backup fan, I decided to take my old one apart, knowing that I might risk never seeing it functioning again (or at least maybe even MORE noisy). After taking off the brand and specs sticker from my fan I pried off the locking washer (of course it flew across my room and took me a few minutes and different lights to find it). Then I took the fan completely apart. It would seem to be clean looking and not oiled or lubed in any way. But the noise I had seemed to be related to vibrations and the fan looked well centered and not bent in any way. So I guess it was the little spring that's on the bottom of the shaft that gives tension to it. It took some pliers and made it a little taller. Then as a reassembled the fan I put a few drops of motorcycle chain oil with teflon on (the clear stuff with no detergent) on the shaft and then pushed on the fan as tight as I could, locking in all the tension I could get with the locking washer.

After I put everything back together, I fired up the laptop and then, it sounded like dying mouse when the fan started to speed up. Then I set the cooler boost on. (What's the worst that can happen, right?) And then I let it run like that for a few minutes and then turned it off. When it slowed down it was so much quieter than whatever I had ever listened it when idling. My guess is that 1) The spring was not putting too much pressure on the fan and it moved up and down too much, hitting the spring and making the hated pulsating sound. 2) It needed some lubrication. It's still noisy compared to the one on my GX60. It definitely sounds like the spring is the culprit for the sound now. Now it just makes a cricket sound now and then. I think it's the spring slightly rotating and the cricket sounds are made when it does the small shifts in position. I might try opening it all again and somehow gluing it down or something to keep it in place.

I read somewhere that MSI had stopped using NSTECH as their supplier of fans and switched over to T&T. Maybe quality issues like mine were the reason. Right now I still kept the one Ken sent me. Which looked like it had been in a laptop before but reasonably new. My only concern is that it's only .36 Amps and during the cooler boost function is not able to cool as much. For automatic use, it shouldn't matter I think as the laptop will spin it as fast as it needs to keep the temps within the desired range.

Anyway. So some of you may have NSTECH and some of you may have T&T.


Edit: So yeah, been playing around with it a little more. Turns out that indeed, it is the little spring, that probably costs 2 cents that is annoying me and making the laptop so noisy. The noise is caused by the fan as it jumps up and down because the spring is not exerting enough force like in an old car suspension, and then when it is exerting enough force it chirps like a cricket as the spring jumps since it is not safely attached to anything and it moves a little!!

So, I finally figured out what is wrong (I think) The assembly was like this when I dissambled for the first time: Shaft base, plastic washer, spring and then magnet, motor assembly layer, another magnet, washer and then locking washer.

I think what I need is a fourth plastic washer for in between the spring and the magnet. So that the spring never comes in contact with anything static. As I am sure this is what's making the noise. Either that or I will simply try to just to put locking washer on the top and use that washer to completely isolate the spring. I am somehow picturing the person that manufactured this fan simply omitting one washer.

 

The nstech one is 7.5 watts lol. I'm going to have to compare the one from my 16f3 and 16f4 now.

EDIT: I have the T&T fan it seems, its able to do the job.

 

You mean the Sandisk drive? I will try and sell it. Once I recieve my notebook I'll put it aside and reinstall Win8 (along with Start 8) on the 1TB hdd for the moment. Finding some 2.5" adapter for the newer models is hard right now. I think I'm going to sell the 840 Pro and get me those Intels and RAID them. I'm spending a bit more but at least I'll have the peace of mind
And 2x 180GB are just sweet performance wise. Won't miss much the Samsung

I'm curious: if I add those mSATAs as RAID0 and use the third slot on the SuperRAID with a lower capacity mSATA as a cache for the 1TB hdd.. Would a setup like this be possible? IRST might give me the option though, I just hope it's ot BIOS limited..

 

If/when you decide to sell the Sandisk, could you send me a PM? I may be interested in buying it from you.

 

Ok I'll let you know

 

Hi all. I'm glad to hear everyone is enjoying their new laptops so much. I'm about this close to pulling the trigger on the GT60 2OC so I've been reading through this entire thread to see how its going for people. I know the GPUs are different but everything else is pretty much similar right?

Anyway, I just had a few questions about the different customization options through xotic and gentech I was hoping you could help me with. I know some of them may be better off in other threads but I wanted to hear about it from people who already have the laptop.

1. Which monitor did everyone get? I'm hoping the stock one is good enough.

2. Everyone here seems to be strongly in favor of the IC Diamond paste. If I order it through one of these two can I expect them to do a good job applying it (or better than me since i've never done it) and how long will one application last?
2a. Copper cooling from xotic... worth it?

3. Nothing hits the wallet harder than an SSD. I've never had 2 hard drives, so if i get a smaller one now and then add another when the first one starts to fill up are there any issues I will have to be aware of? (e.g. do they have to be the same brand?)
3a. What about the hybrid drive? Is that a no-no?

4. Finally, can anyone recommend a good, meadium-to-heavy-duty sleeve that the gt60 will fit in. I know its pretty thick and not uniformly so and I'm a little worried because most sleeves and cases I'm seeing are oriented towards macbooks and ultrabooks. I just wanna make sure that the thick end fits and theres not too much shaking from the skinny end.
4a. Similarly, what is an effective cooling pad that people are using. I know that some work better than others to a certain degree so I figured I would ask people with the same laptop.

Thanks for your patience guys, I'm just trying to get out of the macbook world and I have no idea what I'm doing.

 

Hi there. I will try to answer few of your questions:

1. If you are not that much skeptical and inclined on doing any kind of photoshop or God knows what 3D apps that requires a better high quality screen, the stock one is perfect. There is nothing to complain about and I could say that is better then most of the systems out there. Vibrant colours and very bright.

2. I strongly recommend having the system pasted with IC Diamond, especially when you have any clue on how to do it.

3. Since you are thinking about upgrading the ssd / hybrid drives, I am sure you are 100% better in getting the GT60 2OD model since you already getting an SSD in the system, extra large storage for everything else including games and the most powerful GPU out there in today's market which is GTX 780M just for few extra $ + those are protected by the manufacturer's warranty.

4. Sleeve... Mmm, I will have to pass this since I have not come across this. I do no think MacBook's sleeve / bag will ever fit this system since is quite thick and bulky for that kind of a size. You are best having this system with you while searching / looking in different computer stores. I have a 15" Samsonite backpack and it fits amazing https://www.samsonite.ca/detail/350.

 

@Ocelotian, it uses a 12V fan not 5V? Wow that is epic for a laptop. No wonder it cools so well! EPIC. Perhaps that is a first for laptops. If noise isn't an issue, why use two 5V fans when you can use a single 12V fan.
Nevermind about the T&T 6010h05f then. It's too bad you can't find a replacement to the original that moves the most air even though your laptop is new. Maybe try http://forum.notebookreview.com/computer-components/713614-fs-msi-new-fans-all-models-4.html ?


EDIT: I wonder if some of the Nvidia 770m MSI models (GT60/GT70-2oc) have that 7.8 watt 12V fan as well?
I might be more into buying that model since then the 180w AC adapter won't be a problem (or as much of a) and if it still has as much fan power as the -2od model, well then there will be no cooling issues no matter what crazy overclocks I try and with an extreme CPU.

 

1. I went with the stock monitor. It's good, like Juliant said

2. the biggest reason why people are in favor of it is because the stock jobs from MSi just absolutely blow :b I got mine from GenTech, and their paste jobs are pretty solid. I would assume that PowerNotebook and Xotic would be just as good
2a, it does help, but people have said it's not that much of an impact. Up to you. I don't have it, and I'm running fine.

3. The default SSD on the GT60 2OD is an average lil SSD. Not the biggest, most reliable, or fastest; but I think it gets the job done.
3a. Never used one, can't help you there

4. Can't help you here, though I do carry my laptop around in my schoolbag. It was designed to hold most 17" in laptops so it fits quite snugly and secure in it. I actually layered the bottom of the bag with some cloth for extra padding out of super precaution xD
4a. The cooling pad is not needed on this laptop imo because it cools itself so well, therefore any cooling pad you have would be a nice addition. For reference, I'm using a cheap logitech pad with one small fan. With turbo fan on, I get 55 deg on CPU and ~60 on GPU when playing Darksiders and 65 CPU/GPU when playing bf3. Without turbo fan (and without my pad... hmm I should probably test each config and post the results later) I get 90+ CPU and 85~ GPU.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other news, I got the trackpad to work when gaming! Turns out there's a sensitivity option that works in conjunction the keyboard... or something. I found something in the GT70 2OD thread; though the guy wasn't terribly clear. Anyway what I did was go into mouse settings, far right tab, clicked settings there. There should be an option for "sensitivity" which actually means "touch sensitivity." I turned this all the way down to "lightest touch" and well as turning "palm check" all the way down. Now the trackpad moves fine when gaming

 

I agree with Juliant. In addition, I just bought this 16" sleeve for the computer: Amazon.com: Logitech Wireless Mouse M185 with 16" Black padded Neopreen Laptop Sleeve: Computers & Accessories

It's like $29 at Wal-Mart and was in stock locally, as opposed to that $60 on amazon. It fits the laptop nicely.

I recently came across an article that said the GT60's power light is supposed to be Orange when on the GTX 780m and white when on the HD 4600. During boot up, it alternatives between the two. Then, once on desktop, it stays on the orange forever more. Anyone have any experience or ideas with this functionality? Is something wrong that I need to address/troubleshoot?

 

Yea mine does that, if it orange then it mean it using the gtx 780m and if it white then it use the hd4600. I didn't change any setting.

 

I set the setting in the nvidia control panel to always default to the intel 4600 (less heat, power consumpt and stress on the 780m) This means that everything will run off the HD 4600, even if you click run a game off nvidia. To work around this, just create a custom profile for the game in the nvidia control panel. There you can choose between 780m and 4600. Not the most convenient, but it ensures that you never waste the 780m

 

I am going to preface this with, my last computer was an Alienware M14r1 and a Lenovo Yoga 13 (w/ IPS screen)...

1, I bought the stock screen also. It is really amazing. Tons better than the Alienware! The Lenovo Yoga 13 with the IPS I thought was the best, till I got this laptop.

2.I posted a video of pasting the IC DIamond on this beast. I started with the stock paste, re-pasted to to MX-4, then to IC DIamond. I did not see any difference in temps between the three. There is a huge difference in temps when you use the Cooler Booster. It is not too hard to repaste. This laptop makes it really simple. As far as how long the application last, change it when you want; when you feel the temps are starting to creep up.

3. I have the stock SSD along with the stock HD. I do experience some lag spikes gaming when the laptop has to go to the HD. I will be changing these out and putting in one 256 or 512 Samsung 840pro. The stock SSD and HD use about 6w while active, the Samsung 840 pro uses .08w while active. I am trying to get this computer to have the power it does, but have the battery life of 6 hours when I need it to!
3a. My Alienware m14x had a Hybryd drive, I would stay away from them. I did not care for the performance at all.

4. I have nothing for these two questions.

The price for this machine is a good value for this kind of laptop. Beofre this machine, I always bought/traded for used machines. This time I wanted top of the line as soon as it hits the shelf!!!

I love it

erikranger

 

Alternation on startup is normal. As for the desktop, check if there is a program(s) that use(s) the 780M

As soon as you quit it, it should switch to the Intel iGPU.

 

I am surprised that actually nobody has mentioned this before. Maybe it should be posted in the first page as the lights on the touchpad change according to which GPU uses your system (I haven't got mine yet, so I cannot confirm this ).

What do you say xMAR99, are you in for it?

 

Will do

BTW, its the light on the power button

 

Check if MSI afterburner is running. Having that open causes my gpu to switch to dgpu even when still at stock clocks.

 

I wish I knew I will receive my system in couple of days. Maybe Ken (or some other member of this forum) can confirm what / which lights change according to the use of iGPU /dGPU.

We are not talking about what is running or which GPU uses what; we found a new 'feature' that was not discussed about. The lights on the touch sensitive area near the power button, change their colour from white to orange (depending to which GPU you use, I find an interested point / feature) according to what Lava6000 noticed / read and confirmed by dttran83.

 

This is a feature that has been there since the introduction of the first GT60. The light is just an indicator of which GPU is running.

iGPU (Integrated)= White light
dGPU(Dedicated) = Orange light

To get optimus functioning correctly, make sure the Preferred GPU in Global Settings is set to Auto-Select:


Here are some pictures:

Spoiler

 

Yes I know guy. I've had the laptop for over 2 weeks. When using intel GPU the power button is white. When using dGPU it's orange. I was directing my answer to other people that asked why theirs was constantly staying orange. If afterburner is running it constantly forces dGPU even when just sitting idle. I was trying to help those people out.

 

Thank you for your help . Yes, I'm not running afterburner or anything, but it's staying orange. I'm going to ensure that optimus is on auto-select, per the advice given above!

 

Also, steam seems to be set to the NVIDIA GPU, had to change that to get it running on the iGPU

 

So.. I have been tinkering with the fan a little more, trying different arrangements, bending and moving the little spring around to see if it stops making noise. It seems a the end of the wire grasps the bottom of the shaft as it spins and starts either chirping or making all the fan bounce. This is what mostly causes my noisy fan issue. Anyway, here are a few pics of the noisy lil sumbich .
And the whole fan, with the sticker.

 

i got my GT60 today ... i ran 3dmark11 and my top GPU temp was 86 and CPU was 80 , should i repaste?

 

If u aren't in a hot room and the temps are in the 60s with Cooler boost on then you r fine. 70s, maybe maybe not.
@Ocelotian, try NS Micro Motor Technology Corp. - Company Details to contact the company about a new fan?

 

with cooler boast on it was 71 for gpu and 65 for cpu also , in my excitement i removed all the screws very quickly of the back panel to install my SSD and HDD and forgot where the long screw went , could someone tell me which hole it is?

 

Temps are definitely high, confirmed. I noticed after 3 hours of Crysis 2 maxed, that the max temp for the GPU was 92 and CPU 91. Clockspeeds for the GPU self adjusted to 797mhz down from 850mhz. This is not good as performance obtained in benchmarks do not translate directly to game performance. Framerate was down about 8%. Noise fan was not too loud compared to turbo fan, so I would prefer turbo fan to kick in. I will test now with turbo fan on while gaming for hours. Ambient temps sitting at 92 F while testing.

The good: Performance tends to be rather constant, the downclocking was the turbo boost going down, but it never went to fully downclock to have a huge noticeable hit in performance.
The bad: Overall temps are too high. The high GPU temp affects the CPU temps.

 

I wish there was a mid-way turbo fan. Somewhere between the speeds of "max" fan and the turbo fan speeds. :v

 

after repasting , my temps are better , with no cooler boast , GPU was 80 and CPU was 77 , with cooler boast it was GPU 76 and cpu was 69

 

The northern most hole gets the long screw!