How is the FORCE 16F2?

Mine arrives today as well, but I wont get the CPU I odered for a few more days due to a dumb mail strike here in Canada.

I will also review things when I get back from my trip in 2 weeks

 

I know you don't have the CPU yet, but how is the build? Sturdy?

 

Build quality seems decent enough, light laptop (base bones)
battery is a good size

Heat pipe assy and mounting kits are inside the box ready to install.

keyboard seems to be stable not too much flex on it.

touch pad seem to be the worse part, looks kinda cheap, we'll see hiow it does once I powered up the laptop.

The CPU may not get to me before I head out on my trip sso may not get to this again until @ 15th july.

over all seems decent enough

 

The touchpad is Synaptics...You won't be disappointed if you want the best programmable touchpad in the industry

 

Here's the pics I promise so you can convince yourself

MSI 16F2 - a set on Flickr

The bare bone needs a Caps Lock and Num Lock lights so you can know if is turned on / off.

Everything else works fine. I hope the pictures are useful for you guys.
Let me know.

 

nice pics + Rep

 

Thanks for the heaps of pix SAGAMX! What about the overall built quality, especially the keyboard and the scrollpad?

 

Is there really just an empty space where the logo is supposed to be or do they at least give you a sticker to put there or something? Looks kinda strange without anything there.

 

When it is purchased as a barebones there will be no "Brand" logo on it. When you purchase it as a built PowerPro R 11:36 for example, the PowerNotebooks.com brand will be on it in that area.

I think it actually looks pretty nice with nothing there as well...it gives it a nice stealth look.

 

The pics are very nice! thanks SAGAMX!

I was struggling between this and Sager NP8130. I like the matt screen of the later and I know sager's build quality is top notch. Now looks like this one is also a solid build. Given the cheaper price I could upgrade the screen to on par with NP8130 while has an extra HDD, but at the cost of some weight. Still a tough call...

 

The logo area is the same glossy finish as the LCD Cover, MSI used to provide a "blank" in the previous barebone models. All our barebones and configured systems ship with our logo unless requested by the customer not to install one.

 

It feels good and work excellent as supposed

 

Yes its empty and XOTICPC don't give any sticker or something to covered if you want to. Maybe they don't like the free advertisement. JaJaJa

 

it doesn't look that bad either lol

Very happy with the laptop look, feel, and layout.

Just waiting for my CPU to arrive.

 

SAGAMX and TIM4, I want to thank you for all the great info on this laptop. Many will appreciate it. Thank you!

 

Guys do you know how to make the laptop work at full throttle while on battery? I have an MSI gt683.

Starcraft 2 it runs at 11 fps and that is not normal....

My gx660 (with ati 5870) had an option on the catalyst control panel to switch between gaming/balanced profile, which allowed to run games at full fps even while on battery.

 

First I want to thank you all guys for this. It was really helpful and now i want to buy a 16F2, too. However, I am from Europe and I'd prefer buying the laptop somewhere in EU. Does anyone know any european shops similar to xotic?

 

Colosseus, you can buy the MSI 16F2 from Xnotebooks, see:

XNB HELIOS FH15 Gaming / Multimedia / Office notebook stel hem zelf samen

 

Still be cheaper to buy the barebones in from the US and make it yourself.

 

the GT683 drivers are compatible with 16F2 ?

 

Apart from the stuff it's missing then yes.

 

what kind of stuff is missing?

 

Lights, turbo button, fan max button for example.

 

And what about the bios?
from GT683 download page:
"Special Note:
The BIOS files provided here are exclusive only for MSI-branded Notebook PCs and not compatible with any MSI Whitebook/Whitebrand barebones. MSI takes no responsibility for any damage caused by improper use or lack of technical expertise."

So when will download links be available, especially about bios? Just curious, nothing is wrong with my model.

 

You have to get any updated BIOS from your reseller. Do not use the BIOS for the MSI GT683R.

 

I am planning on buying the 16F2 next week. Has anyone had any issues with this model. I was looking at the ASUS G53SW, but after reading all the posts, I have decided not to mess with it. Too many issues. Would like the owners perspective of reliability, heat, issues with nVIDA updates, and gaming experiance. Thanks in advance

 

For what it's worth, we have about 200 of the PowerPro R 11:36 (MS 16F2) in the field and have only had about 4 issues with them, and only one that had to do with the shell itself.

 

Excellent!!! Much better than the reviews I have read on the G53SW. I read an article on TomsHardware about running 16GB RAM and turning off file swap in WIN 7 and they reported significant boost to performance (no HDD access lag) yet every review I have read on notebookreview says 16GB is overkill and not needed. Have you had any experiance with this?

 

We have not tested 16GB with swap file turned off.

 

What's the fan noise level like under load/normal? I'm looking at the 1761 and would like to get a good idea of how noticeable it is

 

Idle is quiet, load is noticable, high load is loud, but with headphones or sound it's manageable.

 

Ordered mine today. XOTIC and PowerNotebooks were both out of stock so ordered thru CyberPower. Sending it to my wife to install my STEAM account and download my games. Don't expect it to arrive here in Afghanistan until end of September. Thanks for all the reviews and pics. It really helped my decision to go with the 16F2.

 

Does anyone know if 1866mhz ram will work with the i7-2630QM processor in this laptop?

 

Yes, we have stress tested DDR3/1866 in the PowerPro R 11:36 (MS 16F2) and other models together with an Intel® i7-2630QM.

It works just fine at 8GB, and even 12GB, but at 16GB it overloads the memory controller in the chipset and becomes unstable.

So far, all of the MSI GT models support it up to 12GB. The only models we have found will not support it no matter what CPU is being used are the ASUS G74SX-A1 and ASUS G53SX-A1 where works, but it clocks back to DDR3/1333 so is useless. These models don't handle DDR3/1600 either, and ASUS HQ will do nothing about it.

 

What about the 2720QM and above?

 

does the MS 16F2 has MSI warranty?

 

It is the same for all i7-2xx0QM processors.

 

The user would only look to their vendor for the warranty, but your vendor will look to MSI to back them up.

 

Can you still access cpu turbo and fan max capability with control/function buttons?

 

No, those buttons are not on the bare bones version

 

If you look at our Shootout video on Youtube between the PowerPro R 11:36 (MS 16F2) and the MSI GT683 you will see that the Turbo Cooling feature is just marketing fluff. The thermostatically controlled fan on the PowerPro R 11:36 (MS 16F2) handles the heat as well or better than having the Turbo Fan on all the time...and, when not needed it is quieter.

As for the Turbo Drive Engine...that too is marketing fluff. Sure it is easy to punch the button, but all that does is bring the GPU up to stock clocks. If you want to over clock, use nVIDIA Inspector where you can really do some good

 

Hi guys,

Got exactly the same model but supplied by Medion (Erazer X6813)

How hard is it to replace the CPU ? (plan to upgrade for a i7-2820qm ES or perhaps 2920xm)
Do guys know any guides or tutorials about that or is it pretty straight forward ?

Thanks!

Medion X6813 - i5-2410m - 2x2go Hyundai@1333 CL9 - GTX460m@830/1640 v285.27 - M4 128go SSD Firmware 09

 

Upgrades on this model are very easy to do. the large bottom cover opens up access to the hard drives, memory (2 DIMMS) and CPU and GPU.

 

The other 2 SODIMM slots are under the keyboard and are also easy to access.

 

Well I was just having a play and looks like the IMC dislikes running 4 sticks at 533Mhz 5-5-5-15 1T.

 

Guys,

Do you manage to monitor your fans ? It seems neither speedfan, hwinfo32 or nvinspector can so dont really know if my fans are doing a good job

 

I use my ears and hand in the output flow along with temp sensors. =)

 

I might do that too then !

 

I just recieved mine today. Installed 2nd HDD and 2 x 4 GIG 1333MHz SODIMMs but could not get the keyboard off to access the other 2 slots. Any help?

 

The easiest way is to take the 2 screws out of the bottom next to the keyboard images, then turn it over and pry the power strip above the keyboard off first. Open your optical drive first so you can get a better grip on the right side of the power strip. It is held in there with plastic clips and you just have to lift gently, but with enough force to pop the first one and then the rest are easy. Be careful not to pull too hard or you might pull the ribbon out, although if you do it is pretty intuitive to put it back and lock it down with the little black bar that swivels up to unlock and down to lock.

Then you will see 5 little clips at the top of the keyboard holding it down. Push those back to release the keyboard...start at one side or the other, not in the middle. As with the power strip the first one is the hardest and then the rest are pretty easy. Again be gentle enough to not disconnect that ribbon there either.

Your memory slots are under the black plastic shields that you just lift up to reveal the slots.