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    MSI GS70 Stealth Pro Theard

    Discussion in 'MSI' started by charliex3, Mar 13, 2014.

  1. frysie

    frysie Notebook Evangelist

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  2. LonestarROB

    LonestarROB Notebook Guru

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    I have the 90% gamut glossy screen ( AUO panel ) . HATE it! Maybe hate's a strong word but it's not anywhere close to my 2 year old Vaio's screen. Colors, contrast, saturation etc are all way off, color banding is horrible. Calibration helped very little. I like the gloss but this screen is the only thing i cant stand about this laptop. Got mine from GenTech. I asked about upgrading the screen and was basically told i was SOL. Was also told the new 900m Stealth's have different panel/s and connectors.

    Rob
     
  3. RMXO

    RMXO Notebook Deity

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    Do you mind taking a few pictures of your screen in different angles? I ordered the 72% gamut hoping it would be better than the stock one. Do you think I should change back to stock screen?

    Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
     
  4. thedarkhalf77

    thedarkhalf77 Newbie

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    Hi Guys,
    I was planning on getting the GS70 Stealth Pro 2QE (the newer model with 970m). I will be primarily using this as a workplace machine for development, running virtual machines, etc - so was wondering how high does the fan noise get, is it acceptable for a workplace environment?

    The toss up at the moment is between this, Dell XPS 15 or the Apple MBP - but my heart says get the GS70, my mind says get the Dell where as my friends say get the Apple MBP.
     
  5. lewlewz02

    lewlewz02 Newbie

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    I've had the GS70 2QE for about 2 weeks as a desktop replacement (working in london, no space for desktop)
    I would say unless you strech some serious processing onto the GS70 the fans wont go too crazy. Its relatively quiet and cool at most time.
    Personally i'd say go for the GS70, its really nice looking, comfortable to use (keyboard and trackpad) and very slim for its kind.
    I would love to throw away from lenovo work laptop if i have a choice...
     
  6. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    Man ... that sounds awful. I also have a Sony Vaio and consider it one of the best glossy screens I've ever seen on a laptop. It's not IPS (I don't believe, my model number is VPCCB) but man is it gorgeous...

    I went with the stock screen after demoing a stealth local at MicroCenter ... was actually pretty impressed by it.

    Oh yeah, a qualification on my earlier post ... I actually *did* end up supporting one of the boutique shops that helped me out with discussions early on ... purchased through Amazon but the provider was XoticPC ... makes me feel a bit better as they spent a considerable amount of time on the phone with me.

    Lappy comes in today ... taking the day off from work tomorrow to have a big geek fest transfering and imaging my old system ...

    ;-)
     
  7. RMXO

    RMXO Notebook Deity

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    Hmm, you're making me think I should change from the matte gamut to stock screen and use that money to buy a 500gb ssd. :D

    Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
     
  8. Shark00n

    Shark00n Notebook Deity

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    Hey guys I have a question about audio. I was thinking about getting some surround headphones, seeing as the GS 70 has 3 audio connections what can I get? 5.1? 7.1? Do I lose the mic connection with either of these?
    I'm using a pair of Sennheiser HD558, I love them to death but the 6.3 to 2mm jack adaptor is huge and is forcing the connection on the laptop, so I wanna trade. Does anyone recomend any particular headset model?

    Thanks!
     
  9. Lapatata

    Lapatata Notebook Enthusiast

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    Ok, so i just went to a local store to have a look at the beast, and a new worry hit me. The amount of flex in both the screen part, and the keyboard seem quite extreme, much more than on my current Clevo (which i'm changing out as the graphics output is starting to fail, probably due to flex and transportation.). So what do you owners think? Are you very carefull when transporting the computer, or doesn't this worry you at all?
     
  10. RMXO

    RMXO Notebook Deity

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    http://smile.amazon.com/HyperX-Clou...ie=UTF8&qid=1415035542&sr=8-1&keywords=hyperX

    Got those after I returned the Astro Gaming A40 w/ Amp Pro & Cooler Master Storm 5.1. Can't beat the $70 and sound you get, its loud, nice hard bass but you can hear a little static.
     
  11. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    Well I've had the new Stealth Pro machine running in front of me for a couple hours now and I just have to say, the stock TN panel is really one of the best TN panels I've ever seen on a laptop, even rivaling my old Sony Vaio's glossy screen in regards to saturation, contrast and color "pop" ... out of the box things look just spot on, so much so that I'm not even tempted to calibrate it (though I most likely will as I run custom profiles on all my machines); but out of box screen quality is outstanding.

    I have a 27" PLS screen at home with a 24" 120hz Benq TN next to it, both calibrated and both very excellent and this Stealth Pro stock screen is easily holding it's own against them.

    I had recalled a certain review where the reviewer was praising the Stealth screen and I can see why, now. Really stoked I didn't go with a custom screen option.

    And coming from the 15.6" Gigabyte IPS screen, this Stealth screen is just as good regarding just about everything and the Stealth screen seems to get a good deal more bright than the Gigabytes ... and the 17" seems HUGE in comparison....

    Oh yeah, the anti glare coating on the screen is very unobtrusive ... whites look really nice and white and not sort of "greyish" the way the heavier matte coatings can affect things ... seems to be a very light but very effective sort of matte treatment...

    Anyway, thought I'd mention those initial talking points re: screen quality ... can't find a single thing to criticize and I'm as picky as it gets when it comes to screens.
     
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  12. RMXO

    RMXO Notebook Deity

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    Thanks for the info. Just changed my order with XoticPC to get the stock panel. I might end up cancelling tomorrow if I hear good news from Fishcakes and get the Gigabyte 35X v3 980m instead.

    Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
     
  13. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    I've used a P35G v2 for a solid five months ... it's a great lap top ... and other than the screen and obvious innards, is the same chassis that the Gigabyte 35X v3 is built around ...

    Immediate differences:

    Overall build quality: Tie (with MSI Stealth using more metal throughout which overall gives the Stealth a "classier" feel in general)

    Temps: Gigabyte runs cooler, topping out around 76C in Furmark whereas the Stealth hits 80C in just a few minutes of Furmark; I was expecting this as the Stealth is an even thinner chassis than the Gigabyte. Still, in game temps with the Gigabyte (860m) never broke 80C; I think the Stealth will be running mid to high 80's most of the time but I'm perfectly okay with that.

    Keyboard: Stealth keyboard is 10x better than the Gigabyte keyboard. As a very regular writer and topping 100+ words a minute, this was one of the majorly vexing aspects of the Gigabyte P35 ... the flimsy, shallow key press was really hard for me to get a pace/rhythm with; also, when rarely gaming from the Gigabyte's built in keyboard, that same cramped/flimsy quality really affected "twitchy" FPS gameplay (Hawken for instance, where the left right "slide" key is extremely important) ... whereas the Stealth keyboard feels much more expansive and certainly a good bit more solid.

    ...

    Nothing wrong with the Gigabyte P series at all but in general I already prefer the more expansive (TN) screen and overall build quality of the MSI.

    Now if I could just get used to Win 8.1 ... ugh! ...

    I have a copy of Win 7 that I could install for this Stealth but MSI's website doesn't have any Windows 7 drivers up yet so not sure if I want to hunt and peck through all the driver installs ...
     
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  14. RMXO

    RMXO Notebook Deity

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    I just placed an order for the P35Xv3-CF1 from overclockersuk. Hopefully there is no KB flex like the v2 versions.

    Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

    EDIT: Got my tracking # and hopefully I will get it within 2 -5 days. Cakefish already stated that he hasn't seen any kb flex yet with the GB P35Xv3-CF1 version but will do more testing.
     
  15. Kevin@GenTechPC

    Kevin@GenTechPC Company Representative

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    Most of Win8 drivers will work with Win7 because they contain driver pack for each OS.
    MSI Global - Computer, Laptop, Notebook, Desktop, Motherboard, Graphics and more
     
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  16. ZerockX

    ZerockX Notebook Consultant

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    What your ambient temp please?
     
  17. ZerockX

    ZerockX Notebook Consultant

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  18. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    Thanks for that ...

    Got it working this morning ... took a few hours but everything is working fine now with Windows 7 (no device manager errors at all).

    Had issues with:

    1) getting the windows 7 setup to install on my newly created RAID 0 array; the array was recognized okay but when ever I selected to install to that partition, I got an error message saying Win 7 couldn't install there. I got it to work by putting the RAID0 volume as *the first* boot device in bios (typically, I keep the first as a USB/DVD drive but after reading around a bit, tried moving the RAID volume to the first and the Win7 install then went off without a hitch).

    2) getting both the Bigfoot Killer *LAN* ... and *Wi-fi* drivers to be recognized; the first Killer package I installed only loaded the main LAN ethernet driver an no Wi-fi driver (device manager showed the Wi-fi card as an error/unrecognized device). I then tried another package, this time the main Win 8.1 package from MSI's website and finally got the wifi turned on.

    3) USB 3.0 ... had to specifically download the USB 3.0 driver for Windows 7 from the older Stealth models driver page at MSI as it has a Win 7 driver page; this USB 3.0 driver is not available on the Win 8.1 driver page

    4) all other drivers I just download from the latest MSI Stealth Win 8.1 driver page and everything loaded fine (Realtek audio, Intel chipset, etc.); also, all the Win 8.1 MSI software/utils work fine on Win 7 (Gaming center, Steelseries, engine, etc.)

    ...

    The x3 512gb RAID array built out to just under 1.4tb and it's ridiculously fast. The only hiccup with RAID set up was that weird windows install anomaly ... otherwise, setting up the RAID just involved plugging in the three disks, setting OS to "Legacy" in bios, setting SATA mode to RAID and then configuring the RAID at boot (a prompt will show briefly allowing you to load the RAID config

    ...

    The last and most dreaded upgrade I have to do is swapping the default 12gb of RAM for two 8gb sticks (16gb) I pulled from my old machine...

    Dear MSI ... why oh WHY did you require a user to remove the whole damn motherboard just to upgrade the RAM!!!? I saw via a video everything I was going to have to do to get to the RAM slots and decided to put it off for a weekend or something as there's tons of ribbon cables and otherwise dismantling to do to get to the RAM slots ...

    Oh well ...

    Otherwise, running solid and I dig it.

    :thumbsup:
     
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  19. leocanuck

    leocanuck Newbie

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    All sound comes out of the right speaker, whether in playback or testing and whether left or right speaker is tested. I have installed the latest Realtek audio drivers, played around with Soundblaster Cinema, etc. With headphones, the audio works properly. I haven't tried external speakers yet. Any advice?
     
  20. gritts

    gritts Notebook Guru

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    hi,how do you get bluetooth to work on this ?? i have the MSI GS70 2OD Stealth Edition and just cant get bluetooth working,im running windows 8.1 64 bit and ive downloaded and installed the latest version from msi site but still no go ? anyone point me in the right direction for a proper working driver please
     
  21. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    I thought my sound was "lopsided" too until I turned it up and really got a sense of where the sounds is coming from ...

    The speakers are not actually in the vented row of holes just above the keyboard as one might expect, that particular and longest vent is for air circulation ...

    The speakers are actually in that small vented area just below and in the center of the screen, in an area that almost looks like a hinge for the screen ... so the sound is rather centralized from that location without giving a very large stereo spread ...

    That said, I'm pretty stoked at how loud the speakers get ... no laptop is ever going to have what I would call "great sound" but at least this one gets loud enough that I don't have to use an external speaker when listening to certain verbal content (presentations, webcasts, podcasts, etc.) ...

    Didn't know if you were aware of where the speakers actually were as I first thought they would logically be in that longer vented area just above the keyboard .. .but they are actually in the smaller vented area just below the screen...

    Best
    ...
     
  22. ZerockX

    ZerockX Notebook Consultant

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    Guys please share info about max temp after few hours of heavy gaming, as i live in hot country, ambient temp around 30c. I know in the past it has thermal problem, dont know if the 970m already solve the problem.
     
  23. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    My room ambient temps are generally around 22C to 24C ... using a cooling pad, my Stealth temps with the 970m hover around 85 to 88C ... a good bit hotter than my previous Gigabyte P35G v2 which stayed below 80C most the time. It is certainly a warm running notebook but even breaking 90C shouldn't be a problem regarding longevity...

    With an ambient of 30C, though ... I'm not sure if *any* notebook gaming system would be a good bet. That's just *hot* in general. I think the Stealth would be breaking 95C very quickly....
     
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  24. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    Thought I'd post this video I found showing a pretty good overview of all that's involved in upgrading a GS70 Stealth Pro RAM ...

    Couple things:

    1. It's in Spanish (but shot well enough that you can see all the steps)
    2. It's not a process I look forward too.
    3. It looks like this same process must be followed to re-paste the GS70 coolers as well
    4. It involves complete removal of the motherboard


    ...



    ...

    If it's any consolation ... the above process is WAY easier than doing the same procedure on the GS60 Stealth ... which *REALLY* looks like a supreme PITA

    ...

    For those keen on upgrading their own system and who are not comfortable with such work, you might either avoid the Ghost/Stealth or better yet, have all your upgrades done when purchasing by boutique shops like GenTech or XoticPC ... that latter bit makes a whole lot of sense in regards to machines like this ....

    ...:thumbsup:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 12, 2015
  25. episode96

    episode96 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yep, not the easiest thing to do. Here's another video showing full disassembly:





    Easier access is one of the reasons why I'll be going (if Amazon UK ever gets stock) with the GS70 rather than the GS60. I'll get 16GB preinstalled on it so I won't need to upgrade the RAM but relatively easy access to the SSD slots is important to me.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 12, 2015
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  26. Kevin@GenTechPC

    Kevin@GenTechPC Company Representative

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    If you were installing the OS off USB flash drive, then it gets picked up during every boot time, but not your RAID, this is why you needed to set it as the first boot device.
    If it's a DVD disc, then it should prompt "press any key to boot from CD/DVD ..." for a few seconds before it passes the boot right to the RAID, so this part is okay.
     
  27. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    Man ...

    WAY better video ... that's going to help a whole lot as I am going to do the re paste at the same time ...

    And yeah, def order with 16gig ...

    Mine has 12 but that extra four missing is triggering episodic OCD attacks ...

    ;-)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 12, 2015
  28. SuspectZero

    SuspectZero Newbie

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    Anyone know if the silver edition GS70 2QE-002US might be released with 6GB vram? Or possibly a retailer/etailer that can arrange that? Thanks!
     
  29. siperiea

    siperiea Notebook Consultant

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    Mine arrived today (2QE 970m 3GB 1080p 128gb ssd), with Ubisoft/nvidia game voucher. From Scan (uk). Would recommend! Free headphones as well...
    Was a bit stiff getting the back cover off. Recommend using a card to run round the gap and gently prise apart in stages. Blinking msata screws are tiny - much smaller than the ones for the back cover. Anyone know the official size screwdriver bit that will fit? Have ordered a few off Amazon. Going to RAID0 the os boot drive with 2 x 250gb msata for apps and os, switch out the hdd for 1tb ssd for games, and keep the original 128gb msata as a backup/data drive.

    Before the new drives are installed - out of the box, there's 972gb (recovery partition using some?) free on the hdd, and 69gb free on the msata boot drive. Haven't updated any drivers seeing as im wiping it in a couple of days (come on amazon!).

    Touchpad seems a bit 'dry' to touch and swipe over. CPU seems to be running at around 45c idle. Havent done any benches (probably wont either). Will keep an eye on temps and update when everything set up properly. Havent had chance to properly set up either. Boots and shuts down quick. Fans are a little distracting even on idle, however i suspect theres lots going on under the hood (updates etc). Expect this will settle down next week when hdd swapped etc. Screen looks ok. Better than my old laptop (samsung q45 - dont laugh! And my work one - lenovo t420 or something). Nothing like the ips screen on my note3 or missus' t100, but im happy with the gs70 screen. There's plenty brightness, and little in the way of colour bleed when sat in front of the screen. No one else will be viewing it from side anyway and vertical shift is noticeable (tiny bit in corners but its a big screen...) when looking for it but otherwise ok.

    Anyone got any pointers on laptop cooler pads for use on lap (not desk) i.e. For comfort. Not 100% bothered about fans, but would consider (also earlier query regarding the screwdriver bit size above).

    Hth

    Edit: the recovery partition (600mb) was actually in the ssd (rather than hdd), along with another smaller one (300mb) cant remember what that was tho.
     
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  30. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    Not sure on coolers that could sit in your lap ... I use my G70 full time on a desk whether at home or at work with a desktop cooler ( modded Cryo X60) ... works real good. Seems the Stealth might actually be a decent "in lap" gaming machine as I think the top ventilation holes might actually be more important than the bottom....

    As far as screw driver size?

    Just go to Walmart or your local Ace hardware and get a regular old phillips head "eyeglass" screwdriver kit. It will have everything you'll need when working inside a laptop (at least in so far as phillips heads are concerned); I've opened mine up four or five times now and the eyeglass screwdriver set works perfect.

    Also, I agree on the screen ... a really decent laptop screen and better than most I've seen (for a TN panel, especially). It's a little on the "cool" side, leaning more so towards blues than anything else though it's not obtrusive. I did a calibration on mine which somewhat addresses the coolness and also adds a bit more depth to the already good contrast as I really like good blacks. I'll post the .icc profile in a separate message a bit later tonight or tomorrow if you'd like to try it out...

    Ran the full 3DMark suite today and in a 23C room, temps never went past 82c ... that's completely acceptable as an example of pretty heavy stress performance ... Crysis2, Alien: Isolation both hit about the same max temp but older games like Dragon Age: Origins stay well in to the low 70's ... I'm sure the fan system will need a good dusting every three months or so to maintain that pretty decent performance but for such a slim kit, the cooling (at least with mine) is not a problem. Going to re paste as well once I take the feckin thing apart to upgrade the RAM (ugh) ... ;-)

    Congrats ... super fun laptop so far ...
     
  31. siperiea

    siperiea Notebook Consultant

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    Thanks s1rrah, would appreciate the icc file. Its weird - ive got screwdrivers for glasses, but these screws are extra tiny! Ill see if I can find some from somewhere - i live in the @r5e end of nowhere in scotland so we don't have anything like walmart up here :( will try local supermarket - you never know...
     
  32. ZerockX

    ZerockX Notebook Consultant

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    Even tho i'm quite sad reading your post, thank u. I'm so in love with the GS70 design, but the temp forces me to head for G751. I thought i was born in a perfect place with the beach, girls in bikini and coconuts... until now.
     
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  33. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    Forgot to mention that I do have a single "#00" precision screwdriver that I also used occasionally ... I just figured the eyeglass kit would have something similar ...

    You can get an entire "precision" screwdriver kit (which will include the #00 variant) for about 10 dollars on Amazon ... very worthwhile purchase:

    TEKTON 2977 Phillips, Flat and Star Precision Screwdriver Set, 9-Piece - - Amazon.com

    Best,
    Joel
     
  34. siperiea

    siperiea Notebook Consultant

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    Doh! Just picked up a kit that has #0 and #000, but no #00. The set next to it had #00 and was cheaper. Typical Ffs... :) just burning the recocery discs now, then will pop open and check. Might be another trip out... Should have disc six (!!!) ready in about 2 hours at this rate.

    Appreciate info s1rrah.
     
  35. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    Here's a couple monitor calibration files I've been using that slightly improve the color/contrast of the already really good stock panel that ships with the Stealth Pro.

    Both files are included in a single .zip file that you can download from my Google Drive account.

    Here's a brief explanation of each file:

    GS70_1_s1rrah.icc : is the profile I personally created for use with the Stealth Pro stock screen; it increases the contrast a small bit and also reduces a bit of the default "cool" nature of the panel.

    GS70_2_HighContrast.icm : is a profile a friend of mine created that is even greater in contrast enhancement; I go back and forth between these two calibration profiles depending on what I'm doing.

    ....

    The high contrast one might be a bit dark for some folk but included as it really helps with certain games (like Hawken, which has a color palette that can look sort of "washed" out on certain TN panels).

    The first one is the one I use most of the time...

    Here's the download link:

    DOWNLOAD
    (just load the download page and then click the little downward pointing arrow at the top of the screen)

    ...

    If you don't know how to use custom monitor calibration files, then here's a good place to start reading:

    Change color management settings

    Best,
    Joel
     
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  36. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    #0 should work fine ...

    It also helps to have a small magnet sitting around to magnetize the tips of your screwdrives which will help prevent you from loosing screws down in the guts of the machine (which sucks) ,..
     
  37. siperiea

    siperiea Notebook Consultant

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    Learnings so far for clean install:
    Burn recovery discs. Disc one failed to verify, but seems to be installing fine now...!
    Msata screwdriver bit is #000, although even this was close! Be super careful NOT to overtighten anything and dont strip threads...!
    After disconnecting the battery (remove ribbon cable first - pop the black bar away and ribbon should just lift out, then carefully pull out battery connector) , you need to plug in the ac power when you want to boot again. Thought id rinsed the new laptop when it wouldn't power up when i put it back together!
    Check it powers on before putting ALL the screws in again. My new favourite hobby...
    Use a card to carefully prise the base from the laptop right next to the hinge, the rest should pop off quite easily after that.
    Reboot into bios (hold delete), change to RAID.
    Reboot into bios and intel option should be there. Select required raid setup. Reboot.
    Create partitions on new drives as required.
    Insert recovery disc 1 (or usb or whatever). I windows searched for install, then chose something like install from recovery disc.
    I was then given 2 options: hard drive, or os_install. I chose hard drive. Next screen allowed me to choose where os and where recovery partitions went - magic!
    Just installing now. Reckons another 95 mins.
    New setup : 128gb ssd with backup /recovery partition. Data (docs and my files etc will go here). Was original install_os c drive.
    500gb raid0 (is superraid activated automatically? Employs trim function which you usually lose with raid0) for OS and apps. This is new install_os c drive.
    1tb ssd for steam and games etc.
    Fingers crossed all ok in the next hour and a half!
    Probably got another week or so of installing everything else.

    Edit: Am wondering now if i could have restored from the recovery partition on the ssd, rather than discs. Oh well. Good way to test if they work or not! Probably would have been much quicker...

    Edit2: failed from dvd and hard drive looks like its been wiped. Ffs. Unbelievable...
     
  38. siperiea

    siperiea Notebook Consultant

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    Yeah, bu99er. Won't do anything and drive was wiped at start of process, rather than at end! Oh well. Gonna have to try and get a win 8.1 iso from somewhere... Or buy retail version. So close!
     
  39. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    Suxor.

    I created a 8.1 reset disc on a USB drive just in case I ever need to roll back to Windows 8.1 ... sticking with Windows 7 until hell freezes over, though ...

    BTW: MSI's marketing term "Super RAID" just means that the Stealth Pro allows you to use *3* mSATA (or m.2 for certain models) in a RAID0 array as opposed to just using two drives in RAID0. Since RAID0 arrays are exponentially faster the more drives you use, they therefore called it "super raid" since not many machines allow for more than two mSATA drives in RAID0. Otherwise, the term "super raid" doesn't mean any sort of special technology ... you can use three, four, or even five and six drive arrays on any sort of computer that has the necessary SATA connections and if it's RAID0 (as opposed to RAID1, RAID5, etc.) the array becomes faster and faster as you add drives.

    I went ahead and used three 512gb mSATA for my main RAID0 array and it's true ... it's pretty damn "Super" ... ;-) ...

    Best of luck with the build...

    My process for the array build/os install was this (*note. the step below involving changing OS type in BIOS to "Legacy" is only for a Windows 7 install; Win 8.1 wouldn't need to do this):

    1) install the drives to be used in the RAID0 array
    2) reboot and set OS to "legacy" in bios; set SATA type to "RAID"
    3) reboot and hit <CTRL-I> to enter RAID config when you see the RAID controller info appear while booting
    4) define RAID0 array (I used 128kb stripes) then exit RAID setup
    6) reboot and enter bios; be sure the RAID volume is the first hard drive boot device and then save bios.
    5) insert windows install media (I used an external USB DVD drive and Windows 7 install disc
    6) hit f11 a few times as soon as you see the MSI logo onscreen (this gives you a boot menu where you can choose to boot from the device with your install media); chose to boot from device with install media
    7) Windows setup should then begin
    8) Then OS setup should be as with installing on a normal hard drive

    ...

    Main thing in that list was making sure the newly created RAID volume was set as the very first boot hard drive in bios. That's the only real snag I ran into. In bios, the RAID array should be called something like "Intel Volume 1" or something like that...

    Best and have fun...
    .joel
     
  40. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    Hi ...

    This is for any Stealth (or otherwise MSI) owners who have the Soundblaster Cinema 2 software installed ... especially any of the vendors/builders who might have dealt with the software on MSI machines...

    I really dig the software in so far as headphone use is concerned; I really don't use my laptop with anything else as it's an office machine for the most part and speakers don't fly. But it really enhances the "pseudo" surround on 2.1 headphone use ... at home I have a real 5.1 system set up so I'd never use the software anywhere but on my laptop and with headphones.

    Here's my problem:

    When I first installed my Windows 7 system, after an initial boot, if I clicked on the "Soundblaster" icon in the system tray, the Cinema 2 software interface would pop right up, allowing me to change any settings I might like to change.

    But somewhere along the way, something in the system changed (yet to pin point it) and now, when clicking on the "Soundblaster" logo in the system tray, the Cinema 2 interface appears, but it literally takes about 2 minutes for the entire interface to appear and become functional. It's like it went on "super slow open" mode or something. AFter the click, nothing is visible on the screen for about 30 seconds and then, finally, the Cinema 2 interface shows up, then it takes another 20 seconds or so for me to be able to change anything, and then another 20 seconds for all the options to be active. Very strange...

    Oddly, once that lengthy load process is complete, I can close out of the interface and then, at any time, RE-CLICK the tray icon to open it again, and it just pops right open as fast as you like, without the lengthy wait. It loads fine and fast this way every time until I re start the system and then I have to go through that first time, lengthy open process and then it's okay again until the next re start ...

    I have no idea what might be causing that first interface launch to be so slow but something certainly changed. It's okay, I can use it ... just have to sit through that first load process.

    So have any of you seen this same thing?

    I'd be curious to hear any experience with the software any of you might have had.

    Thanks in advance,
    Joel
     
  41. siperiea

    siperiea Notebook Consultant

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    This is a really weak suggestion, but have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the soundblaster cinema 2 software?
     
  42. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    Yeah .. tried it countless times and with two separate versions of the software ...

    Just accepted it for now as it works fine once that first load is taken care of.

    BTW: I can't say enough for that Cinema 2 software combined with a pair of Bose Triport TP-1 headphones (you can find them for 50 to 100 bucks on ebay any given day):

    TP1_002.jpg

    ...

    Man ... OUTSTANDING gaming set up. The sound stage is ridiculously immersive and the somewhat exaggerated bass and mid range of the triports works so well with games.

    Wicked good ...

    I use a set of Cooler Master Sirus (true) 5.1 headphones at home and with my desktop rig and haven't found anything to match them once configured correctly but as far as emulated surround via 2.1 headphones? ... The Bose TP-1/Cinema 2 combination is just freakishly good ... (Alien Isolation is a hoot with this set up).a
     
  43. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    Here's a couple more temperature related results regarding the new Stealth Pro with the 970m graphics card.

    All of these were done in a 23c/23.3c ambient room temperature and with the 970m version of the Stealth Pro with the stock thermal compound.

    Also, these tests were done at home and with a Notepal U3 cooler (fans aligned just over the left/right bottom vents and also one fan over the middle vents). I guess you could assume a few or more degrees hotter without the cooler but since I never game other than at home or at work, where I have similar coolers at each location, I thought I'd qualify...


    Heaven Benchmark 4.0 (45 minutes)
    _____________

    API: Directx 11
    Quality: Ultra
    Tessallation: Normal
    Anti-aliasing: x2
    Fullscreen: yes
    Resolution: 1920x1080

    GPU MAX temp: 85C
    CPU MAX temp: 72C

    ...

    Valley Benchmark 1.0 (45 minutes)
    _____________

    API: Directx 11
    Quality: Ultra
    Tessallation: Normal
    Anti-aliasing: x2
    Fullscreen: yes
    Resolution: 1920x1080

    GPU MAX temp: 83C
    CPU MAX temp: 71C

    ...

    Furmark (45 mins)
    _____________

    1920x1080
    "GPU Burn-in test"
    Anti-aliasing: 2x MSAA
    Dynamic camera: yes
    Post FX: yes

    GPU MAX temp: 84c
    CPU MAX temp: 76C

    ...

    HAWKEN (45 mins)
    _____________

    1920x1080
    "Everything MAXED @ 1080p"

    GPU MAX temp: 77c
    CPU MAX temp: 56C

    ...

    Borderlands Pre-sequel (45 mins)
    _____________
    "Everything MAXED @ 1080p"

    GPU MAX temp: 72c
    CPU MAX temp: 50C

    ...

    FYI.

    Sooner or later, I'll get the bawlz to break the innards down and re paste but for now, these temps, and with my personal ambient situation ... are just fine.

    :thumbsup:
     
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  44. siperiea

    siperiea Notebook Consultant

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    Another heads up for anyone using the Samsung evo drives (particularly in a raid setup) - make sure you update the drive firmware using the performance fix BEFORE moving to raid as you have to break the array to update the firmware. I checked that my firmware matched the firmware labelled as LATEST, when i should have checked it matched the firmware on the fix. Oh well, on my third windows install now (accidentally clicked the wrong drive to format lol)... Getting lots of practice! Mostly there. For those umming and aahhhing about raid 0 and that "it doesn't make a real life difference", this is totally subjective, (and could be because of the toshiba vs samsung), but I've noticed that when installing stuff on the toshiba, it kind of hangs at 100% complete (totally normal) longer than the 2 samsungs in raid0. Just a feeling, but ive done the os, drivers and other software installs quite a few times in close succession and it was noticeable. Only by say 5-10 seconds, but there nonetheless.
    Will hopefully get the rest setup this afternoon, although knowing my luck I'll probably have to go through it all again ;)
     
  45. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    More Stealth Pro 970m temperatures:

    ...

    45 minutes running Metro 2033 REDUX benchmark (25 loops @ 1080p and highest quality settings):

    (room ambient is 25c)

    GPU: 85c
    CPU: 71c


    ...

    here, here.

    Not at all bad considering 25c ambients...

    Nice job, MSI ..
     
  46. GalaxySII

    GalaxySII Notebook Deity

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    hi yes but i wanna use 2.5 sata bay along with 3 mSATAs .. I have adapter SATA to mSATA so 4x SSDs in RAID 0 ... possible on this laptop ?
     
  47. GalaxySII

    GalaxySII Notebook Deity

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    well i am plannning to buy this msi gs70 but new silver edition .. but I wanna create Quad RAID 0 :) 4x256GB mSATA SSDs so .. will be faster than yours ;)
     
  48. s1rrah

    s1rrah Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes. It will be faster. You should do it.
     
  49. GalaxySII

    GalaxySII Notebook Deity

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    But will it work? Does laptop support 4 in raid 0 ?
     
  50. ZerockX

    ZerockX Notebook Consultant

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    @s1rrah If your room is 25c and you got that temp then it should be ok for me (ambient 30c) right? I means if i play games like Battlefield 4, it will just throttle down little bit and i can still do fine right?
    Btw those benchmark you use is not really cpu demanding, can you play bf4 for about 30m and show the temp?
     
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