GT60-2OC-022US Mini Review

My laptop arrived and I've had a little time to get comfortable with it, so here are some of my first impressions.

Build Quality
Overall, the fit and finish is top notch. This has the look and feel of a high end machine, not just one that is trying to pack in as much performance per dollar as possible (although they seem to have pulled that off as well). I am also very glad to see the "gaming" machines turn away from the gaudy looks. Not everyone shopping in this sector is buying the computer primarily for gaming, nor does every gamer want bright lights, flashy trim and over sized intake vents. Thank you MSI! A minor nag though -- the MSI logo on the bottom of the screen is painted on and it looks a little on the cheap side.

Screen
The screen hinge feels very strong and wobble is non-existent. Due to the aluminum case, screen distortion does not occur, even when pressing hard on the back. This is a laptop that should hold up to traveling quite well. However, with the 10lb carry weight (the power brick is huge), I doubt I will travel with this laptop very much. I ordered my laptop with the stock, matte screen and it is excellent. Color reproduction seems better than on my old Sony VAIO VGN-FW. However, I am not wild about the thick bezel. With a chassis this large, the screen could be a full inch larger in the diagonal and still leave room for a 1cm bezel.

Keyboard
The keyboard is simply the best laptop keyboard I have ever used. The key travel is just right and the feedback is excellent. This is also my first computer with a back-lit keyboard and I am finding it very useful -- especially as I go through the learning curve of the key layout. In regards to the layout, I am not having a problem with it, but if I could change something, I would ask for a bigger backspace key. I find that I hit the NumLock instead of backspace sometimes, but that will diminish as I retrain my muscle memory over time.

Speakers
I'm in to home audio and appreciate good sound, so I got excited when I read that this laptop came with great speakers. I was slightly skeptical, but upon listening to some of my go to FLACs and playing a couple of games I can confirm what others have said. They nailed the audio with these laptops. It produces excellent sound all around and the small subwoofer adds just enough thump to make them sound "full range." The sound is balanced at all volume levels, so don't expect it to play extremely loudly.

Internals
There are no small access doors to reach individual components, but rather a single removable piece that gives access to everything. I can guess that resellers like to offer this laptop with custom options since MSI has made it so easy to safely change parts. Getting access to the inside of the machine won't happen quickly though. You must remove 6 screws and then pry the panel off. Going slowly and moving around the panel while prying gently is necessary to insure that you don't damage your clips. I opened mine up three times right away and noticed no evidence of the clips becoming damaged.

Noise/Temperature
I have not started to monitor temperatures while gaming, but I have run a few stress tests and have not had a problem with high temperatures. From reading some of the other threads here, it seems that the models with the GTX 780M tend to run a little hot or require the fan to be cranked up. With the cooling capacity of this computer, the combination of the 4700MQ and the GTX 770M seem to be just about right. When the fan does spin up it is noticeable, but not obnoxious. You just aren't going to get away from some fan noise in a computer that dissipates around 150 watts when working hard.

Accessories
I would have liked to have seen a little more in the way of included accessories, but I understand the need to keep costs down and focus on the machine itself. OS recovery disks and a real printed manual would have bee nice. I do like that the power brick has a removable cord that is the standard PC type. If this portion were ever lost or damaged, replacement will only be a few dollars. The total length of the power cable is also around 12 feet, which is nice if you aren't right next to power.


I'll add some bench mark results soon, but I am still sorting out the drivers and getting things set up. Also, has anyone had any success overclocking with the Intel XTU? Whenever I apply a high multiplier, the settings don't seem to stick. I'm probably missing something simple.

Thank you,
Andrew

 

nice review :thumbsup:

 

Thanks for reading. I'm glad you enjoyed.

Here's my first run of PCMark 7. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4700MQ,Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. MS-16F4 6237 points

I'll run 3d Mark, but I still haven't updated my drivers yet.

 

lol,
Replies: 2
Views: 564
different a lot

nice , how about the NOS ( Hybrid Power ) ? Did you use it ?

 

Glad that you like it.

 

Nice review man

 

I have opened it up a few times and I think I've been letting it run in the background, but I am not sure it is really needed with the 2OC. Maybe if running a benchmark that completely loads the CPU and GPU and some overclocking it would be needed for this laptop.

 

Just wanted to say great review, it's good to know that someone on nbr actually has it and enjoys it! I'm going to get mine soon enough .

 

Certainly in terms of performance per dollar, the 2OC-022US is very tough to beat. That it is also a well built, all around great laptop is the icing on the cake.

 

That's an interesting heat pipe setup MSI had changed to. Not much different from previous gens, but make a re-paste necessary on both the GPU and CPU if you ever upgrade.

 

Yes, the all in one probably saves some space and reduces cost, but it would be easier to work on and maybe more efficient if it had two separate cooling systems. Either way, this laptop cools just fine. The 780M models might be a little closer to the limits, but for the 770M, it seems just about right.