GT72/GT72S and GT80/GT80S Owners GPU Upgrade Discussion

It's the TITAN-017, base SKU w/ 1070, $2,199 USD retail.

I'll take a couple days to do a thorough comparison, before I box up the GT72. Let me know if there's anything in particular at which you'd like me to take a look.

My only concern is whether going back to a TN screen will be too much of a shock. Comparing them on Notebook Check, this particular panel literally measures better than my GT72's IPS in all technical categories, so the only worry will be viewing angles.

 

I never owned a GT72, but saw them on stores. I am currently testing my GT73 myself, and it was quite shocking in many ways. This laptop is considerably lighter than I expected... I will take a bit but will make a full review and compare it to my GT80.

The screen indeed is better despite being TN though. Compared to my Gt80 at least. It does not have better viewing angles but it does display better, more accurate colors. my Gt80 only has an 6bpc panel, but this one is at least 8bpc. I tried a couple of calibration images and it all seemed better on the GT73 compared to the 80.

I also did a quick test from the HDMI port and it seems it is an HDMI 2.0, but I had read it was only 1.4. I fully enabled 4:4:4 at 4K 60hz easily so it must be 2.0 port.

Also, I am incredibly impressed with thermals so far. Got the CPU running at 4ghz easily, my max temps being around 70s for the time being. My max GPU temp right now is 80 C, overclocked, running GoW4.

My interest is in how much changed between GT72 and GT73 physically as well as cooling. Right now it just seems like the best or better machine MSI currently offers. This is quite an impressive machine.

 

MSI GT73VR 6RF "Titan" 034UK 17.3-Inch Gaming Notebook (Black) - (Intel i7 6820HK, 32 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD Plus 1 TB HDD, Display GTX 1070 Graphics Card, Windows 10) - £2,294.92
MSI GT73VR 6RE "Titan SLI" 064UK 17.3-Inch Gaming Notebook (Black) - (Intel i7 6820HK, 32 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD Plus 1 TB HDD, 2 x GeForce GTX 1070 Graphics Card, Windows 10) - £2,807.92

The difference being £513 ~US$640

MSI USA claim they are basing the trade on the cost of upgrading the GPU and taking the value of the existing GPU into consideration. Kevin's example above demonstrates that this is not true. They are valuing our notebooks and disregarding the cost of the Pascal GPU's in favour of what is most profitable.

MSI UK didn't even say they were basing the trade on the value of the GPU upgrade, they just plucked figures from their ass.

 

What physical damage your laptop has?

 

So what I see right now regarding this whole situation is the following:
EU countries are getting unreasonably inflated prices for trade-ins, Australia got a ridiculuos 10% discount offer and Russia got a middle finger so far.
And only MSI offices in USA and, recently, Canada really do something and offer reasonable prices. So it seems like MSI really values only NA customers...
No offence, just frustration.

 

Even NA is getting a poor deal. MSI's claims that the 'trade in, upgrade' scam is based on the cost of only upgrading the GPU is a blatant lie. If it were correct then the only reason for variation in prices would be based upon the GPU upgraded to.

What the hell has what any of us paid for our laptop got to do with the upgrade scam?

 

Well, yeah, you're right. But still it's much better and far more acceptable than what customers from other countries got.
And I do feel that we shouldn't be affected by this division of original GT72 into GT72VR and GT73VR and choose any of these with the same price of a wanted GPU.
Because otherwise we're double screwed. First time by inability to upgrade GPUs in our current chassis, second - by being offered a castrated GT72VR as "equivalent" trade-in.
But, you know, if offered I'd still pay 1000$ or 800£ for a trade-in for GT73VR with GTX 1070. However, so far I only got a lame excuse instead of offers in my country.

I don't get this either. So if someone got his laptop on, say, a sale - that means he got a laptop worse than the one bought for retail price?

 

That email is to me (Andrew). I'm still waiting on MSI to make a sensible offer. Natalie appears out of the loop on what MSI UK management are doing.

MSI US stated that

GT72VR does not contain equivalent or similar motherboard or raid array options or MUX ability to the GT72, why is it even in the 'trade in, upgrade' scam?

 

Didn't they say somewhere here that some customers wanted to have an optical drive and would rather take GT72VR... But for me it's kinda hard to believe in.

 

Front right corner of the chassis is cracked.

 

$2199 processed on 11/22, but I've had no follow up on if it shipped.

Great feeling.

 

just on the off chance does anyone know whether I can upgrade my 680m to a 970m and what it involves as I have started to get some lag on more recent game releases now.I have found an msi 970m card going for a good price so as long as I can do the upgrade I don't mind purchasing it.

 

I see my post is quoted here. Good grief.
Okay, I'm going to be honest here. If I owned a GT72/72S from last year and was offered a GT72VR upgrade, I'd go for it anyway, only because the GPU will have a potential upgrade path. Raiding SSDs and thunderbolt were never priorities for me (As I can hardly afford such laptop, let alone multiple SSDs and an eGPU xD). A single SSD with PCIE/NVME performance is enough if I really wanted fast load times. And because the GT73VR is actually at least 600 bucks more expensive, depending on the specs, I'd accept a GT72VR provided the amount I'm adding is within a reasonable range. Like it's been mentioned before, the only positive thing about the GT73 is the superior cooling and the possibility of a 1080 or a 2-way SLI.

 

If you don't own a GT72/S why are you posting here?

You understand why people may wish to use RAID1?

The GT72VR is not comparable with the existing hardware in the GT72.

This is why the GT73VR is the only considerable upgrade path (based on MSI's comments on upgrade for the cost of upgrading the gpu only and upgrade to a machine with similar/same hardware).

 

This is an upgrade discussion thread. Nowhere in here does it say you must own a GT72 to comment an opinion.
No need to be salty about it. One of my comments was tagged in here some time ago. Although I don't own an MSI laptop, I can share quite some experience because many of my friends owned multiple of them and even let me borrow them and do few tests.
And if you look at my previous post again, I said I'd only accept a hardware "downgrade" if the price tag I must add is within reason. If anyone finds those upgrades worth having them available, it would be their wish to go for a GT73VR instead. I only stated my opinion had things were in my favor and I wasn't poor.

 

Yes you can upgrade a GT70, to a 970M or 980M.

You'll want to read this thread.

 

I'm sure the answer to my question is hidden somewhere in the 327 pages of this topic, but what about Sweden? Anyone?

 

It's in the thread Title

GT72/GT72S and GT80/GT80S Owners GPU Upgrade Discussion

 

I can't say I've seen anyone posting from Sweden. You may be the first.

 

Can someone explain the differences between the GT72VR288 and GT72VR015? The only difference I see is that the Pro-288 model has a 120hz screen but yet is about $250 cheaper than the Pro-015 with the 60hz screen. Seems very odd.

You can see the specs for both versions here: https://us.msi.com/Laptop/GT72VR-Dominator-Pro-6th-Gen-GTX-1070.html#hero-specification

 

What's weird is that all 3 have the same $1999 MSRP on that MSI specification page.

 

single drive in one and NVMe and 1tb in the other?

 

Is there a eta on response from MSI UK? I sent my form/email to the UK address on the 22nd and havn't heard anything.

I might just be being a bit impatient

Thanks

 

I had an email from MSI UK on 23rd November saying :

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I hope you won't enforce this too literally. You don't own many MSI laptop models, but you still graciously post your insights in many MSI owner's lounges--and we're all better off because you do, and quite grateful for it!

 

It's interesting that you should post this now, so long after the thread has been started, and long after I think most non-owners have come to terms with the situation, realizing this is really a matter for discussion by owners only.

NBR has lots of "Owners" threads, and traditionally have welcomed potential owners questions.

How else will non-owners learn enough about the make / model to help them decide whether to get it or another brand / model except by interacting with owners to hear about their experiences of the laptop they want to buy.

In the case of this thread, only GT72 / GT80 owners can "buy" into the MSI GPU upgrade / trade-in program.

It's a closed environment that exists only for the current owners of record as of the date MSI offered the trade-in.

You can't join the trade-in discussion by buying a used laptop covered in the program, as the trade-in is not transferable to the 2nd owner.

In this thread keeping this an "owners" thread has been a higher level enforcement situation, the Mods have from time to time enforced it, but only in extreme cases where someone has come in and taunted, criticized or otherwise disrupted the owners discussions over and over.

For anyone not an owner, I can understand the interest what actions MSI takes to satisfy their promise to the GT72 / GT80 owners, but all the answers are in the owners posts already made.

Everyone has ideas and opinions of the situation, but only the owners have the vested interest and point of view that matters.

We have tried to keep discussion open to all owners points of view, as it's a process each person goes through from learning of the situation through to possible accepting or rejecting MSI's offers. It can be emotional.

If a non-owner want's to "Like" posts and give "reputation" points that would be nice, giving support to the position or comments of an owner posting.

In lieu of actually posting your position and taking posting space and focus away from the owners discussions, this activity would be preferred.

If you are absolutely certain the comment you want to post as a non-owner is necessary to the discussion, please think twice after reading all the posts already made, we have covered all the angles already - some many many times.

Thank you for posting

 

Owner's lounges are not only open to owners and potential owners--many times, people who have zero intention of buying a laptop post in an owner's lounge to offer insight and suggestions. It happens quite a lot in the GS43VR owner's lounge and some other lounges I've visited, and usually, it's a welcomed activity. I personally always find it nice to get help from "allies" who aren't owners or prospective owners. It's the kind of perspective sharing that attracted me to these forums in the first place. And while I've kept my posting in this thread to a minimum, I've continuously followed it, and contributed to it on the rare occasion that I felt my input might be helpful or of interest, because I want to be an "ally" and support owners seeking fair trade-in offers from MSI.

Nonetheless, your passionate response to my post tells me that even a minimal amount of outside support might not be wanted here for some reason, so unless another owner posts to say that they disagree with you, I'll simply stop following this thread. I only hope that this exclusionary mentality doesn't start rubbing off on other threads too. Peace.

 

Of course owner threads are not only for owners ! Why would we put restrictions on this and miss valuable inputs from people not owning the GT72/80 ?? It's like saying you cannot give any advice because your job is not adviser or saying you cannot drive car cause you are not a mechanical engineer...
On topic, still no ****ing reply from MSI in Europe, they only care about US and it seems that they can do this due to lack of European/local laws against misleading advertisement, it's a real shame !

PS: I OWN A GT72 2QE so keep going Prototime.

 

015 is $200 more than 288 because it has SSD, but screen is different than 288 (60Hz G-Sync IPS vs 120Hz G-Sync 94% NTSC, TN).

 

Well my GT80 should be received by MSI today. I hope that the turnaround is quick and I can receive my new unit early next week. I went for the GT73VR-003 for $700, mainly because I didn't really like the screen on the GT80 and didn't want the same on the GT83.

I'm interested to see how they handle the trade-in for the next gen of NVIDIA cards. It will probably be a much less attractive offer since my GT73 won't be as old as my GT80 was for this round.

 

Hopefully that $700 investment will preserve your investment over the next year until Volta comes out, and keep you in the running for the GT83VR remake we all hope comes through from MSI - new screen and single power supply at the least.

Thank you for posting your experiences with MSI during the trade-in process, I wish more owners would take the time to let us know the steps and how it works out

 

Want an update?

Still zero communication from MSI, on whether they've sent me a laptop, going on 7 days after the payment was sent.



Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

 

Here in the US we just came out of a 4 day Holiday weekend - which some can take off a whole work week or 9 days with 2 weekends - 2+5+2, what is the date they pulled the $ / cashed the check?

 

Just got a response. Ironically, I guess? Or are they outchea watching the kid's every move?

It shipped out last Wednesday, to arrive this Wednesday.

 

That's great!!

Good timing, or MSI is monitoring this thread, or both

 

I've been watching this thread for about 200 pages now. I suppose I should speak up.

I have been waiting for a response for over a month to my inquiries about potentially trading in my GT72 2QE for the "sidegrade" option they emailed out to us. From what I understand, I would have to pay the $700 for the GT72VR Dom Pro, which will also cost me my internal BluRay drive, another big reason I purchased this laptop.

I love my GT72 and what it has done for me in the past year, but I've already had it in under warranty for a dead MoBo power plug, and ever since I got it back, it has still been inconsistently connecting/disconnecting randomly and often. I dont want to have to be stuck with this becoming an issue again, and pay another $700 on top of what I already spent, just to get another laptop that also isnt exactly what I wanted it to be.

I feel like giving them more money (especially that much more) for a mistake on their end is just enabling a bad habit, and especially since I cant confirm 100% if I can still have the BluRay drive with it. I have plenty of other things going on in life, but I use this for work often, so I have to keep that in mind for potential choices as well. Dont know what to do yet.

 

The trade-in is supposed to be an upgrade to the GPU, so they are all supposed to be "side-grade upgrades", but the GT72 this revision is less than the previous GT72S in many ways, an upgrade in GPU is also a downgrade in other ways.

The GT73VR is a better "upgrade", except it doesn't have an Optical drive slot, so no DVD/BD support. I would recommend this option and get an external BD drive.

MSI doesn't sell their own external Blu-ray drive, but MSI should give one to all the GT72 Blu-ray owners upgrading to a GT72VR, and a DVD to all the GT72 DVD owners, either in a GT72VR or as an external for the GT73VR.

So far no one has pushed this issue with MSI, but it's probably time. Maybe you can do this with MSI? It's a major functionality loss.

BTW, you can upgrade to any GT laptop model, and so if MSI has a model -xxx with everything you want, then you can pay the difference in MSRP between that and the GT model in the trade-in table.

If you have upgraded DDR4 memory and have the storage you want as 3rd party upgraded storage - you can return the original storage / RAM with the laptop and ask MSI to deduct the cost of their RAM/storage - saving you some $.

Everyone needs to negotiate this themselves with MSI, but please come back and let us know what MSI offers and how it works out for you.

 

That's really why I upgraded now, as I'm just about to be out of warranty, and I don't want to be left out in the cold paying for a repair, if there's a mobo issue.

Tbh, up until your post, I hadn't even realized that the GT72VR doesn't have a BR-Drive. It is pretty easy to remove the DVD drive to add your own BRD, so maybe you should go the route of voicing this concern, and ask them to deduct your out of pocket Blu-ray purchase from the cost. Can't hurt to try.

I ended up taking the GT73, due to the 120Hz screen and the unlocked CPU, so going external is my only choice.

 

Still no answer since the 1/11 reply u.u!!, i really want my new laptop before going to xmas vacation (12/12) im agree to pay the full price in advance and everything :/ literally the entire month and not even a word... i understand the fact that they are a small team.. but geezus.. it's a little frustrating x.x!..

Just blowing off steam i guess...

Sivira

 

Anyone in the USA know if you have the option to side/upgrade to the MSI 16L13?

That could be an interesting option.

 

When I asked MSI they said we can only choose from GT models, but I didn't ask specifically about the 16L13...I sent a follow up email to ask

 

You are not alone, I am in the same boat. I have yet to hear from my first email with questions.

 

Part of my qualms with this is that I started out with the exact computer I wanted and purchased, and now to keep that, it costs me more money. Just as many of us have been upset over not being able to upgrade the vid card as was promised (which I am, and was definitely a consideration with purchasing it), I am equally as upset that the options forward both cost me more AND dont supply the BR drive anymore. I know an external drive is an option, but that's also more money, and more to carry around, as I actually do travel with my laptop.

I still havent heard back from MSi when asking about the BluRay drive, and I'm not confident I will any time soon without repeated emails being sent.

I'm not opposed to paying for an upgrade with the laptop, but if I also dont have BR functionality, then how much of an upgrade is it really? Are there ANY GT models that have the BR drive any more? I'm still looking...

 

Hmm... But it shouldn't be impossible for MSI to swap an optical drive in GT72VR with the one you have right now. At least I don't see a reason why wouldn't it work.

 

Honestly, I'm not opposed to doing the swap myself. If theyre the same chassis externally, and they were to give me the "okay" to do so, I would just take mine out, send in my old GT72, and install the old drive in the new laptop. I'd have to open it up anyways to install my extra m.2 SSD.

Has anyone else brought up this issue to MSi and gotten a response, or am I essentially a silent minority of those that are affected?

 

I think they'll let you swap the optical drives, if you ask them ahead of time. MSI has so far been willing to make compromises and concessions, and that would be a really minor one to give a pass.

 

I am going to box mine up and ship it off tomorrow.
So far it has been 4 to 7 days between any email from me and a response from MSI.

If I send it FED EX and it takes over a week before I receive my new one that would kinda make me upset.
But then again I have been kinda upset throughout this whole mess.

 

no answer from MSI france.
so as ever (law suit GTX 970), no proper answer, WE HAVE a program for USA, TO HELL THE REST OF THE WORLD

 

I still have not heard anything from them either.

 

I heard from them on Monday morning and was given an updated options list to choose from, based on my GT72s with 980m. I made a couple of follow-up requests and they answered pretty quickly. It seems that they are dealing with individual cases or small groups so that they can act more quickly on specific issues. So, nothing for several weeks and then personal attention. That's ok with me and my choice has been made. They promptly sent me a cross-ship credit authorization form, which I have now returned. So, based on my case at least, I simply suggest patience for those not yet contacted. I hadn't sent them a bunch of follow-up emails previously, nor complained. I just waited until now. I initially sent in the claim form when they first made it available on the forum and well before the (then deadline) of Oct. 31.