GT72/GT72S and GT80/GT80S Owners GPU Upgrade Discussion

Answer about trade-in warranty on new laptop.

"Hi Scott,

MSI US warranty covers 2 YEARS for the new laptop, and only the 1st year will cover globally."

 

Hopefully this resolves the warranty transfer-ability and trade-in transfer-ability to a new owner from the original owner, they are unrelated.

"Hi Scott,

You’re asking two different things.

Warranty will cover for the laptop defects, damage, etc. It’s transferable when the Original owner updates the warranty profile in our system.

Trade-in offers only valid for 1st owner, 2nd hand owner do not qualify. Don’t mix up with warranty."

 

So trade in is void for second hand owner.

Thanks for the clarification!

 

Thanks for clearing that up and getting it in writing.

 

So 2nd owners with a transferred warranty are able to claim if something goes wrong with the laptop but not for MSI lying in their advertising.

How very MSI.

 

Yeah, I actually don't understand why a second-hand laptop would magically lose the advertised upgrade-ability. It's not like several people can trade-in one laptop anyway.

 

I got my offer in the email yesterday and I am going to take it.


My Machine is a GT72s with a 980 and 4k screen. These are the specs of my machine:
MSI GT72S Dominator Pro 4K-059 17.3" 4K DISPLAY GAMING LAPTOP NOTEBOOK GTX 980 i7-6820HK 16GB 256GB SSD + 1TB

For $1000 I am getting a GT73VR Titan Pro 4k-200 Like this: https://us.msi.com/Laptop/GT73VR-TITAN-Pro-4K-6th-Gen-GTX-1080.html#hero-specification&sku_no=1737
The comment part of email said this:
Follow up Comment:

Hi Ken,
I apologize for the delay and waiting for our respond. We have to reach out to our customer one by one due to everyone cases is different and unique
It seems like you’re only interested in 4k display. We only have one option for you that matched your GPU upgrade, but this model doesn’t have an optical drive. This model has way more rams and SSD Raid 0.
If you want to get a 120hz screen instead, I can update the chart for you.

IF you have any question, please feel free to let me know.

I emailed them back to make sure of the exact specs on the machine I am getting.

 

Even I would take that deal if offered as an upgrade from my 980M. No interest in 4k but the 120hz screen instead of optical would be a tolerable exchange.

However MSI said GT80 owners with a single GTX980M can upgrade to a 1080 for $1,000 but GT72 with GTX980M have to pay $1,700!

 

Are you talking about the 980M or the 980N? There is a big price difference between the two....

 

@DILLIGAFF, how did they take your payment method? Phone call?

 

Read back a few pages and didn't see much. How many people have gotten offers already? I haven't heard a peep since I got the original email outlining the trade in tier.

 

Only about 3 of us in the US, so far.

DILLIGAF, myself, and Unpilot.

 

4 now? I wrapped it up friday and should recieve it monday. I was speaking with a rep and seems only a small few are handling these claims. Then they need to submit them to corporate for approval. Took the corporate guy a week to approve 4 orders.

 

I don't think there are many owners who are actually trying to take advantage of this offer.
Wonder what the sales figures were on gt72/gt80?

MSI 's approach is very cautious and tailored and this makes me think they are not dealing with massive numbers of people.

Just a theory.

 

i gave them my payment via email , just credit card number, without the 3 digit code.

 

you need to send a follow up email back to them, if you want a sku not included in the initial matrix.
besides that there are a bunch of details since the matrix came out- you can delay upgrade etc etc @hmscott updated the initial post on page 1 with most info afaik

 

I contacted UK MSI on Friday and Natalie was not prepared to give out a date when we would know details of the UK trade in, however when I cheekily asked if it would be before Christmas she said it should be within the next 2 weeks or so, so by the end of November or early December.

Natalie also said that MSI US had used a different calculation to MSI UK but MSI UK are looking at the figures again so it should be more in line with the US trade in values.

I did ask about the situation with regards to the GPU that would be replaced, so either a 970M, 980M or 980 and what would happen to it, I was given the impression that MSI would take our cards as part of the now defunct MXM upgrade program if this was to be the case then I feel as though that they should have called it an MXM upgrade and exchange program not just an upgrade program.

Also when I emailed using the following address I got a pretty quick response:
[email protected]

So the above email address is probably a better one to use.

 

Don't hold your breath, Natalie posts on the MSI UK Notebook page, and they posted this nearly two weeks ago:


You could try asking Natalie how MSI USA managed to roll this out already but MSI UK have not

 

For any Canadians here, msi Canada was very slow to respond and when I pressed on my support ticket, they told me to email that usgttradein email address... No response from there yet. I'll laugh/cry if they send me back to msi Canada.

 

How long did MSI take to get back with you about the trade-in?

 

I was waiting just as long as every one else, since I signed up in September.

 

regardless if its just a few people handling this program. Unless there are 1000's of people trying to upgrade. Most of us should have heard back from them already. It does not take all day to create or answer an email. They have the info . They know what they are going to do for each model. Honestly hope they are not only handling one case at a time.

 

One reply a day lol! Then again not everyone that got a reply back posts on the forums.

 

Only reason I taking the upgrade now, is because the offered trade in value for an OG GT72 will probably fall off of a cliff when Volta drops.

 

I won't be back home till mid-end December but I'll probably lean towards a Node 3 or a mini rig if it doesn't work out.


Quick question.. the GT72 6QD has thunderbolt (has lightning icon) does the GT72VR have thunderbolt as well? Lol

 

With the offers MSI gave me, cross referenced with the new laptop prices, the math clearly states that MSI is valuing my OG GT72 w/ GTX 980M at exactly $1,299, regardless of which offer I take.

MSI GT72VR DOMINATOR-033 is $1,599 - $1,299 = $300 offer
MSI GT72VR DOMINATOR PRO-015 is $1,999 - $1,299 = $700 offer
MSI GT73VR TITAN-017 is $2,199 - $1299 = $900 offer
MSI GT73VR TITAN PRO-003 is $2,799 - $1,299 = $1,500 offer

That's honestly more than I could sell it for, even in mint condition.

 

That's a good way of looking at it, compute the value of our laptop's to see what we are getting

What about the 1070x2 SLI? Too much?

The single 1080 looks like a good deal, but it's a lot more than the single 1070 which is pretty much equal to my 2 x 980m SLI GT80 in performance. The 1080 would be another 25%-35% more than a 1070.

The 1070 SLI is 2x the performance of my GT80 SLI-263 980m SLI, in a smaller frame. But, then you need to carry 2 x 240w PSU's - MSI "glues" the PSU's together at the cable end with a harness - not sure if you can seperate them and run on 1 PSU for travel (disable SLI) - but if I got one I would try a 330w PSU to see if that is enough for running stock settings (or disable SLI) for portable use.

They are all really amazing GPU performance improved models

 

I'm skipping the 1080, just costs too much.

By my calculations, it makes more sense to pay $900 now, save that extra $600, then put it toward whatever the trade in for the GT74 w/ 1170 is going to cost, probably another $900.

Pay $1500 now, or possibly pay $1800 total and have next year's latest laptop too? I choose the latter.

 

It would help if we knew what value our current laptops will have at the "Volta" trade-in time. If it's the same, we could wait without losing value - which is how it should work.

Otherwise we need to figure out how to preserve value moving forward by picking from what is available now to get the best trade-in value later.

I would assume the higher the price paid in addition to trade-in value the more value we would have in the "Volta" trade-in. Plus we get to use a more powerful system now while waiting for Volta.

A single 1070 is like a 980m SLI in performance, so it's probably enough.

If you are getting a 120hz screen, keeping games at or near 120 FPS with the 1080 would be 25%-30% easier, and you'd have just that much more trade-in value - I would assume.

It would be nice to figure out how much of the new laptop MSRP % is preserved for trade-in value for Volta.

I am putting together a few questions for MSI to send Sunday night...

The "latter" would be paying $1800, the "former" would be paying $1500, did you mean the "former" rather than the "latter"?

 

Yeah I'm not willing to gamble on what the value would be when Volta drops, but it seems quite sensible to expect them to factor in depreciation on our Maxwell laptops, seeing as they will be jumping two generations. MSI pretty much "has to" factor in depreciation, because there will be Pascal owners upgrading again, and it technically wouldn't be fair to give Maxwell owners the same trade in offers.

Then there's the fact that my laptop will be out of warranty in March. Say something catastrophically dies. Suddenly I can't even do the trade in anymore, and I may end up paying out of pocket for repairs anyway. Might as well spend that on the upgrade, no?

No I meant latter. I'm saying that I'd rather end up paying a little bit more, and come out of it with another brand new laptop.

 

There's something to getting a new laptop now to maintain warranty coverage; an overriding concern that makes a 1st generation upgrade / trade-in a necessity for many.

I think it actually makes sense for MSI to maintain value of our laptops frozen at current valuation for Volta upgrade - as that's what 2 generations of GPU upgrades would provide - if the Volta GPU's would have worked well in our current laptops their value wouldn't enter into whether they function well or not.

That's going to be one of my questions to MSI, will MSI's current valuation of our laptops be kept for the 2nd generation GPU upgrade / trade-in.

If we do a 1st generation trade-in then I would assume trade-in value would be calculated based on % of MSRP for the new laptop too.

Got it, and I agree.

 

That is something that definitely needs to be answered.

Don't be shocked if they say they don't know. Remember the fine print below the offer chart?

*You may opt out for this this generation upgrade and go with 2nd generation upgrade (TBC). * <-- Emphasis all mine.

TBC = To Be... Confirmed? Considered? Calculated? Converted? Continued?

 

One of MSI's recent answers mentioned being unsure as to what the 2nd generation Nvidia CPU upgrade would be:

"If you decide to opt in for the 1st gen upgrade, you will still be able to upgrade for 2nd gen. Only users that previous purchase GT70(s)/GT80(s) with 9xx series will be qualify.

To be honest, we’re not sure what NVIDIA have up in their sleeves, but as far as we know the 2nd gen gpu that we are honoring will be 11xx series. We do not know if NVIDIA will consider 11xx series as Volta or whatever name they come out with.

We do not know what the next gen GPU price will be, it may be similar, higher, or lower to this generations. Again, it’s up to NVIDIA."

"TBC" => To Be Confirmed, seems the best fit

 

Also, wont they ask for extra $ since the laptops with Volta will probably be equipped with high end Kaby lake i7s?

 

Kaby Lake CPU's will be about the same cost as equivalent Sky Lake CPU's, little or no additional cost.

 

Well that's appropriate because they will offer little or no additional performance ;p

/offtopic

 

MSI has not given me the confidence to roll those dice.

Six core Cannonlake and Volta sounds nice.

 

You're rolling the dice, twice is nice

I'd rather get a CPU with a higher clock rate per core than more cores.

Slow x 6 is just as slow as Slow x 4 when running apps that are single, dual, or at most quad threaded.

 

Anyone know if the CPU is factored in as well or its pretty much you're stuck with the 6700HQ unless you go for GT73VR?

 

GT73VR has models that come with the 6820HK, as do some of the GT83VR models, but the GT72 in the US seems to not have any models with a 6820HK, they all have the 6700HQ.

If you can find a model with a 6820HK, MSI will let you trade-in for it, maybe quote a UK or other country model as an example and ask MSI if you can trade for one of those.

I would skip the GT72 models all together, and get a GT73 model with a 6820HK, 2 more M.2 slots, iGPU/dGPU MUX switch, etc. It's a bit more, but I think worth the extra cost.

You can also trade "down" for an non-GT model... although they don't have the 6820HK, they are cheaper and have the same motherboard chipset HM170 and storage options as the GT72, no need paying extra for the GT72.

 

Have you seen any of the prices to trade down to GS models? I'd consider a trade down to a GS43VR, then build a desktop.

 

Talk with MSI

They said USA owners could trade for any model, use the MSRP to do the calculation yourself, or ask MSI.

MSI USA also said you can't pick a laptop to trade where you would get a "refund" or have a 0 balance payment - it's got to cost something for the trade-in.

 

Crikey, that's almost reasonable.

 

@hmscott - [email protected] is indeed the new email for UK customers, and would be the best place to contact us regarding the MXM issue. Please could you update your original post?

Hi Andrew, there are several people on our Facebook page who post and respond to messages. This is not my post, and none of your FB communications have been handled by me since your complaint was passed to management

Feel free to drop us an email if you have any questions to ask!

 

Hi Natalie,

As you are happy to post here. Please provide a date when the UK program will be active. I've been waiting over a month for this now. Also if you could reply to my most recent email in regards to compensating those that are not going to take part in the inflated cost scheme, as they will lose resale value on the notebooks as they are not upgradable.

Kind regards,

Andrew.

 

All, I received my updated offer below:

Thank you for your interest in our MSI USA Trade-In-Program, only for US customer. There is no deadline for the trade-in applicants.
Program is for: GT80(s) and GT72(s) with GTX 9xx Series GPU
Trading in for: New GTxxVR Series laptop with GTX10xx Series GPU w/ 2 year Warranty

Due to the *NEW* design of the GTX 10xx Pascal series, the current GT80(s) and GT72(s) laptop will not be able to support a GPU upgrade. The GTX 9xx series are facing limitations of the power and thermal design, which will not be able to convert into GTX 10 series. *Note: Desktop VGA and Laptop VGA are NOT the same.*
Your Laptop
Upgraded Equivalent Unit
Estimated Cost
Upgrade

GT72S Tobii
GT72VR Tobii-031 w/GTX 1070 Subtract $500 for GT72VRTobii-031

GT72S w/ 980
GT73VR Titan Pro w/ 1080 $1,000
GT73VR Titan Pro-202


GT80 w/970M SLI
GT83VR Titan Pro w/GTX 1070 SLI Add $400 for GT83VR TITAN SLI-055

GT80 w/980 SLI
GT83VR Titan Pro w/GTX 1080 SLI Add $1900 for GT83VR TITAN SLI-024

*You may opt out for this this generation upgrade and go with 2nd generation upgrade (TBC). *

· We only accept payment with Credit Card. Finance option not available.
· Due to concerns of turnaround time, we will use 1-2 business days for inspection once we receive the trade-in unit. Then new unit will be ship via Ground when payment is cleared.
o We can offer an alternative option for you. We can do a Crossover exchange. We will charge full price on your CC for the new laptop and have it shipped to you. When you received the unit, then you can reuse the same box to ship the trade-in laptop to us. Once we finalize the inspection, then we will process a refund with the differences according to the inspection and Upgrade cost.
*Note: Please remember to includes all of the Laptop Original OEM parts. Such as SSD, Ram, Hard drive, cables, etc. Any missing parts will be subject to a full retail price charge. Any OEM defects will not be subject for charge due to warranty coverage.*
*Domestic shipping ONLY, APO/FPO will be acceptable*
· Customer is responsible to ship the Trade-In unit to our Center. MSI will be responsible to pay for the shipping the new units to the Customer.

Ship to:
ATTN: GT Trade In
Reference #:
901 Canada Court
City of Industry, CA 91748

Follow up Comment:

Hi Peter,

I want to thank you for your patient on waiting for our respond. I apologize for the delay and wait. We have to reach out to our customer one by one due to everyone cases is different and unique, just like your case is unique.

You may keep your upgrade parts as long as when you turn your laptop in with its original or similar OEM parts. We don’t want our customer to be charged at retail prices for any missing parts.

The prices for the upgrade are at a discount rate for the GPU unit. You may downgrade to a lower model to save extra.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to let me know.

 

I'm not sure what to do, need some advice....

I own the GT72S-041 with the full GTX 980, this thing retailed for ~$3000. It has a i7-6920HQ, all bells and whistles.

Do I go for the upgrade for GT73VR with GTX 1080? Do I wait for the next generation?

If I wait, do I risk losing "value" from MSI and say it costs me $1500 for the GT73VR with GTX 1180 Volta, and i7-7XXX?

Lots of unknowns and what if's...

So pros and cons?

Thx all!

 

What drives are you getting and currently have?

 

Hi Andrew, the UK program is already active for you - we are still offering you more than you paid for your laptop, off the value of the models I sent in October. For anything else, please continue to discuss with management via email.

 

Hi Natalie,

Previously you have said "The more affordable options would still see you gain a significant increase in performance, and will also provide a brand new warranty." I am aware of the increase in performance from a Pascal GPU, as these are gaming notebooks would you to explain the benefits in gaming from the upgraded CPU/RAM/SSDs as from my research these provide zero benefits in gaming. In effect MSI appear to want to charge us for new components that offer no benefits. If you could provide demonstrable and verifiable evidence to show otherwise I would appreciate it.

If not why would MSI expect us to pay for anything other than the GPU upgrade (less the value of our existing GPU).

In effect MSI want to charge us for a new chassis that adds nothing to gaming, and charge us for the Pascal GPU, and not take into account the value of our existing GPU.

So Natalie, you may be offering me more than I paid for my notebook, but how much more than the cost of an actual MXM upgrade are you trying to charge your customers?

BTW, the pricing for Pascal MXM GPU's are available online, and as MSI make the Clevo GPU's we have those prices to.