MSI GS70 Stealth Pro Theard

How is it compared to GS70?

 

You know, the reason that forums are full of complains is because ppl around the world who unlucky got the bad products are going online looking for solutions.
I just got mine yesterday, and it's perfect.
The screen is great, it's TN, but the best TN you can find.
The sound is great, loud and clear, you can open a bar with it.
The battery life is indeed horrible compared to ordinary laptops, less than 2h watching movie, don't bother think about games.
And the most concerning thing of you guys (of mine too before i bought it), the heat. To be honest, HOT is what you should have expected in such a slim design with powerful hardware. But the cooling system did its job properly, when GPU got 85C, the fans ramp up to its best and the temp won't ever exceed 85. I didn't have the chance to look at the CPU temp, but sure it's hotter than GPU as the fan on its side always sound louder. But even when the fans do its best, it's not loud in any means. I don't understand how folks complain about fan noise, maybe they've never used a laptop before. My old ASUS with crappy NVIDIA G105M (you call this guy grandpa) sounds much louder. But the part under the screen, especially at the Dynaudio logo part get very hot while gaming, hot enough to burn your finger if you put it there in 1m. But it meant to be like that, heat dissipation. Don't worry about the keyboard and palm rest zone, it'll just get a little warm after hours of gaming.
Overall, i'm totally satisfied. My gf too as she loves the keyboard lol. Her favorite colors are green and red and she doesn't let me change to any other color, sucks cuz i love blue

 

Quick question. My Stealth Pro 099 arrives on my doorstep this morning and wanted to know how much of a pain in the it will be to upgrade the SSD. Went with the 099 because saving a few hundred bucks was worth since I can upgrade the SSD myself. Just want to know what I'll be getting into with it. Anothe question, how much trouble will I have if I want to go with a RAID 0 config by throwing another 128 in there? Does the 099 ship with the raid controller on the mobo? Thanks.

 

Lol thanks nice to have a reassurance. This is my goal right now till summer comes. I'm building my first ever desktop as well so alot of new gadgets Lol.

 

It's easy peasy since you got the GS70. I went cheap and got the 097 I believe 128gb version and added 3 msata (2×500 raid 0, 1tb). You go into bios to setup the raid.

I'm also impressed with the audio on the laptop. I had a Sager 9150 and audio was crap, always had to use headphones or headset.

-Sent from my Galaxy Note 4 using Tapatalk

 

So this warranty sticker that appears to be covering a screw port. What's the deal with that? They really void the warranty just to take the back plate off?

 

MSI GS70 2QD released with GTX965M
So it can run bit cooler ?

MSI 17.3 Inch GS70 Intel i7 NVIDIA GTX965M Full HD Gaming Laptop - 9S7-177311-410 - Scan.co.uk

 

If you're just doing an ssd upgrade, email then and they will confirm the only parts they won't cover with the warranty are the ones you install yourself. If it goes defective, just pop the original components back in and do an rma. Defo email then so you have it in writing tho! I installed 3 ssds and got them to confirm the warranty for the rest of the laptop was still fine.

 

That is great to hear..
Thnx

 

Quick question: I set my computer to use the Nvidia GPU as the main graphic chip for all task. It was fine for a while but now my power button is solid white, not orange. I went to my control panel to make sure Nvidia was checked but the most it will do is flash orange for a few seconds and then go back to solid white.

When I run Premiere Pro CS6 or Photoshop CS6 my power button is orange.

Any idea what happen?
All of my drivers are updated.

 

Guys do u know why msi supplies headphones with this laptop ? D

bcause of this go on time 3:08

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83BBQ51njOs

 

I have raid 0 toshiba ssd + samsung ssd with clean install i have 800/400 speed, after month my raid 0drive have only 300/250 speed. ? After removing raid i cant restore speed on my toshiba ssd, i habe only 250 read samsung work fine after clean 350 like before raid. What isgoing on? Can anyone who have raid 0 test speed via hdtune pro, please.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sol...mise-extra-writes-raid0-ssds.html#post9881649

 

Don't tell me that this laptop doesn't support TRIM in RAID 0 !
I had this feeling that this MIGHT happen .. and it DID ! Degrading ?
SO !
This really needs explanation from MSi misters ! FAKE ''Super RAID'' ???

@serraxer check this ; http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/770045-msi-s-super-raid-only-just-fake.html

 

Hello All,

Really interested in this 970M version, just wanted to share my experiences on MSI GS70 (870M version) -

I came from an old gaming MSI laptop that had superb performance, and after four years, decided that it was time for an upgrade. After getting the GS70 870M, I loved everything about it - except the horrible throttling issues (while playing DayZ, WatchDogs, H1Z1, DA).

I can't play any any new game at high settings without throttling. vBios settings never did help, and still hesitant for repasting as I have read a lot of cases where it does not matter, and only delays the inevitable slowdown at 93C. Furmark GPU test is something I always consider for maxing out the temps, and it fails badly, reverting my clock speeds to 200-400.

So coming from someone who feels he wasted 2.5k on the 870M only to put the games back to medium settings,

1. Does the GS70 970M survive tests, specifically Furmark GPU test without any throttling? (I live in a tropical country)
2. Does the GS70 870M have any chance of being a decent non-throttling performer, again with Furmark, without any softmod? (repasting can be an option)
3. If GS70 (970M or 870M) still cannot perform under Furmark, will the GS60 versions do, or is this the negative of owning thin gaming laptops?

TIA NBR!

 

The GPU inside of GS70 has capability to run games at higher settings but it has been limited by GS70's thermal capacity.
GS70 is designed to perform gaming at mid-level while being lightweight. The system's EC firmware limits power draw to protect itself from failures caused by overheating. You are experiencing throttling because the GPU isn't getting more power it craved for once it reaches 93C. It looks like if the line spikes up and down in a line chart.

970M is 81W TDP versus 870M at 100W TDP, this difference helps with performance.

Your goal is to avoid having your GPU hitting 93C.
1. You can repaste the GPU as it can help with a few degrees so you would be able to push a little more.
2. Additionally, you can attempt to undervolt the GPU so you can push more performance while generating lesser heat.

There's no use of running Furmark on these systems unless you are only troubleshooting for GPU issues, otherwise it will only push the GPU to 93C for you to see without other purposes.

 

Check if TRIM is working or not by using trimcheck app

http://files.thecybershadow.net/trimcheck/

 

Hi Kevin, appreciate your reply.

From how I understand it, you are saying that it is lacking power, but based on my observations, it lowers the clock speed down to half (900-450), which is causing the FPS drops - and whenever it drops, there is a millisec-second hiccup that occurs during gameplay, which is very noticeable. On more recent games like DayZ and H1Z!, the throttle down will cause a severe drop in FPS, on the lower 20s. Can you tell me how this is related to lack of power as I might not be getting your point?

The graph from Nvidia Inspector will show up and down spikes, throttling the clock speed every 2 seconds on games like Watchdogs and DayZ.

What I have tried to reach our goal of not hitting 93C:

• Lowering clock speed by 150mhz - just delays the climb to 93C
• Undervolting by 62mv with lower clock speed combo - same result as above.

Will be buying paste today.

Post from Willy below pretty much sums it up for me, minus the -5 or 10 FPS drop, mine is losing 10 to 20. It always reaches 93C, the only factor that seems to change, is time to reach it. Gaming room temp is around 25-26C, laptop docked.

Also, quoting your previous post:

I agree that GS70 may not benefit much from Furmark compared to real world scenarios, as TDP is not respected, so are we saying that GS70 870M has almost little chance of not throttling, or at least, not reach 93C in Furmark? Other models seem to handle it well, and am also curious if the new GS70 970M can tolerate it.

 

What laptop bag are you guys using for your GS70's ? I can't find one that fits well? I don't want it too loose and I don't want it too tight. It is just a few mm too big to fit in the case logic DLC-117 17.3 bag I just tried and have to return as well. Anyone having any luck finding a good bag for this notebook?

 

The new nvidia driver for the 870m came out yesterday but it is unable to be unzipped, seems that they packaged a corrupt file.... Anyone get the file to unzip? We are on such an old driver, I would like to be up to date again.

P.S. Here is what I did to fix the GPU overheating issues.

10oC Drop in temp!

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/msi-gs70-stealth-pro-2pe-024-mod.760098/

 

I expect my Stealth Pro -096 to ship this week. Since I'll be using it for gaming while on trips I want to control the heat levels. Toward this end I'm prepared to modify the lower half of the case as has been suggested else where. But I need some help; primarily where to purchase the lower half of the case for modding purposes, and if possible a part number.

 

I use the Everki Titan Checkpoint. I've used it travelling out of the country and it protected the laptop very well and it had plenty of room for other items including passports and chargers.

 

17 inch Alienware Orion messenger bag is what I'm using.

 

I received my GS70 stealth pro about 2 months ago - came with the gtx970m. Was perfectly ecstatic about it, I loved almost everything about it, the sleek and elegant design, the slimness, the lightness. It gets really warm though, so I had to invest in a cooler, which was worth it. But what I can't get around my head was the battery life. Mine lasted for a mere 1 hour 50 minutes (POWER SAVER, 20% brightness with 5-7% cpu use). I was confused. I looked on every review and they said they were able to get it 3-4 hours on idle, tops. So I decided to change my battery as of yesterday. But was still disappointed, with the new battery I was able to get around 2 hours and 10 minutes, with almost the same settings. I'm so frustrated and confused to what's going on so can someone here who's had the experience help me or give an input? That would be great, thanks guys!

 

I get about 2.5 hours to maybe a bit more on battery; but I found that out just by accident once when forgetting to plug in my AC adapter... otherwise, I always use AC power and I new this would be my daily usage pattern before buying the G70; overall, I think most gaming laptops will be a disappointment for anybody concerned in the least with running on battery power.

Otherwise, you can check to make sure your integrated Intel graphics is being used during normal usage; you can check this by looking at the LED color of your power button: if the power button is glowing *white* then you are using the built in Intel graphics chip ... if your power button is glowing *orange* then you are using the Nvidia GTX970m chip (which I assume will have more of a power draw on the system, whether gaming or not).

I've found that various applications, even when I'm just sitting at the desktop, will cause the 970m to be triggered into constant activity. Steam will quite often cause the Nvidia card to be used. Also, certain monitoring settings with EVGA PrecisionX and/or MSI Afterburner will also cause the Nvidia card to be made dominant.

Best,
Joel

 

Hi Joel,
Thanks for the lightning fast response! Do you know how to manually change it to the integrated graphics card? I need at least 2.5 hours to 3 hours for school, I don't need any more or any less.

 

By default, your computer should always be using the integrated Intel graphics controller when not gaming or other 3D rendering sorts of applications.

Your Nvidia card should only be triggered when playing games; Nvidia's "Optimus" technology is what manages this process and I've found it to work fairly well other than the couple of different cases I mentioned above which will sometimes cause the higher powered Nvidia card to be used when it is not really necessary.

You can double check to make sure that none of your day to day applications are using the Nvidia card by going to the Nvidia Control Panel --> then to Manage 3D settings in "tree" listing on the left --> then on right side you can select individual programs and chose which GPU gets priority ...

Like this:



From that same basic screen, you can select the "global Setting" tab and adjust the globally applied priority. I keep everything on the built in Intel graphics globally and manually ensure all of my games are configured to use the Nvidia card.

Like I mentioned, if you set things up this way, the only time your power button will light up *orange* is when your gaming with the higher powered Nvidia GPU ... otherwise, it will always be white.

I have no idea if that will help your battery life problem but could be worth investigating....

Best...

 

I tried changing the global settings to integrated graphics, went to global settings and changed everything to it but my power button wouldn't turn to white. I honestly have no idea how this happen, any inputs? Thanks.

 

Also, look at all the programs under "Program Settings" ... personally, I keep my Global Settings to "Auto-Select" and then just micro manage each application/game under the "Program Settings" tab. Lots of stuff like Steam and other regular (non-game) applications can be managed under the "program settings" tab. You can also add applications from that same area if it's not already listed.

There must be some program running that is using/triggering the Nvidia card.

Look at your tray icons; is Steam running? If so, shut it down and see if that affects the indicator light...

Also, look for any monitoring programs like PrecisionX or Afterburner, they can trigger the Nvidia card into priority as well.

One other instances of my Optimus power priorities getting messed up couldn't be remedied by anything I did, nothing switched the power button back to white. So I did a complete uninstall of Nvidia drivers and then did a clean install and things functioned correctly again. I also re installed Nvidia Experience at the same time (I only use Experience for it's really excellent Shadowplay video capture as otherwise I think it's pretty useless).

Lastly, just start selectively shutting down any apps running/visible in your tray icon area and watch as you kill each one to see which (if any) are triggering the Nvidia card.

good luck ... you might also do a bunch of googling around terms like "Nvidia Optimus not switching" etc. ...

 

I tried everything that you have advised, and it worked! My power button runs white now when im not gaming! Thank you, youve been a great help!

 

does anyone know why my GS70 power light is alway orange? I cant seem to kick it back to white when not gaming. I have the auto select enabled in the control panel so it should switch back to the hd4600.

 

Thanks guys I ended up going with the everki 18.4 inch advance bag. Fits the MSI sleeve around the GS70 too for extra protection! tons of space for other stuff too! love it so far. Amazon had a great deal on it.

http://www.everki.com/products1/18-4-laptop-bags/advance-laptop-bag-briefcase-fits-up-to-18-4-detail

 

Read up the thread on this page and the next ... we just went through some of the things you can do to troubleshoot that ...

Good luck.

 

You may have some applications that require the use of dGPU even though it doesn't really need the performance.

 

delete that MSI crap bloatware reinstall clean windows 8.1 and use power scheme from windows itself.
you may change things in windows but msi crapware overrides your power ..
just try it and you will see

 

I use all the MSI apps and don't have issues with my power lights staying white when not gaming or turning orange when gaming.

-Sent from my Galaxy Note 4 using Tapatalk

 

I wouldn't think the Optimus functioning would have so much to do with any of the MSI apps as it would with an individuals configurations at the Nvidia Control panel level ...

 

Got mine yesterday, setting it up now. Uninstalled a few things, now synching it with my cloud storage and installing Steam. It is very pretty!

 

Congratulations on your purchase!
If you have any questions, feel free to let us know.

 

I'm pretty happy with the CPU/GPU temps on the GS70 ... during daily operation/gaming, the CPU rarely gets higher than 70C ... and when gaming, no matter the game, the fan profile built in to the G70 bios keeps the 970m at 80C or below ... pretty good temps as far as gaming laptops go ... no worries.

But being the guy who likes to test different scenarios, I thought I'd try running a couple 80mm USB fans on various points along the perforated cooling intakes on the top of the laptop keyboard area; I'm not sure if people know this but I believe the main air intakes for the G70 are right there above the keyboard as opposed to being on the bottom of the laptop as is typically the case.

Anyway, so I got a couple of these USB fans from Amazon for about 15 bucks and thought I'd try placing them at various points over those intake holes just above the keyboard to see how it might affect idle/load temps with the CPU and GPU.

I use an external keyboard and monitor with my G70, when at work, and so even though these 80mm fans hit some of the keys, it's really not a big deal:



http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008LHBCQA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

...

I experimented with different positions and ultimately, I found the placements you can see in the illustration below to yield the best results (and the results were pretty dramatic):

....



...

Now I'll just say again ... I'm really happy with my gaming/general use temps on both the CPU and GPU of this machine ... no worries. I simply did this as a fun test to see if any hacks could yield significant temperature drops and also to post this in case folks not so fortunate as myself (air conditions office, etc.) might want to try it.

The above scenario yielded some pretty damn good results. Oddly, the placement of the fans shown is where I had the quickest and most effective cooling enhancement (I was thinking it would be further towards either edge, but not the case).

CPU/GPU temps before and after:

Without the fans?

CPU (hottest core): 47c idle / 70c load
GPU: 82c (load)

With the fans running over the intake holes?

CPU (hottest core): 34c idle / 60c load
GPU: 74c (load

...

So a pretty big drop in temps. Mind you .. .that's all being done in an office that's generally about 23c at all times . Also, I didn't use the little rubber stand off feet that come with the fans; I found the best results when laying the fans straight flush against the laptop. ...

Like I said .. I really don't need to do that as I'm happy with 80c load temps. I've already sent the fans back to Amazon as I just wanted them for that test.

But if you happen to be temp challenged with your G70 ... then try that above trick.

Works like a magic trick.

;-)

 

s1rrah,

I'm guessing you didn't see pr0cl1v1ty's similar cooling solution and figured you might be interested in his thread. He had some awesome results:
MSI GS70 Stealth Pro 2PE-024 MOD!

I'm not a GS70 0wner yet, but I'm getting close to buying one... just waiting for the right deal to come back around. I plan on getting a 970m model as well.

Just wanted to give a friendly thanks to you, Kevin/GenTech, Hutsady@Xotic, charliex3, ModRQC, and everyone else contributing to the thread. For every forum member, there's probably 5-10 non-member internet go'ers following along, so the info is widely appreciated! I'll be sure to post once I purchase my GS70 or whatever it ends up being.

 

thanks for that link ... no I hadn't seen that.

I'm not using the external fans and just did it for a fun test; the stock cooling is just fine for my work environment. I can see how certain folks in hotter climates might want to bother with external fans, though and that's the main reason I tried it ...

Best,
Joel

 

Hi, any comments on the Red Steath Pro vs the Dell Alienware 15?

 

17 vs 15?

 

As said ... MSI 17.3" is going to be a generally better gaming experience than Dell 15.6" ... thought the Dell has an IPS screen and will have better overall color accuracy and richness/depth...

Alienware 15" is about 2lbs heavier...

Generally for roughly the same money, you'll get solid state OS drives and 16gb of RAM with the MSI ... whereas the Alienware will most likely only have a single mechanical drive and no SSD's and probably half as much ram...

The Alienware will be a bit more "tank like" in build quality and overall more durable than the MSI...

...

Both excellent machines ... main deciding factor would come down to screen size/type, available graphics cards for the money and whether you want solid state OS drive and more memory or not ... also, weight ... 2lbs makes a real difference if lugging it around all the time ...

Best,
Joel

 

I have 15.4'' and it is totally fine .. there won't be much diff. btw 17.3''
1.9'' difference ...

 

Joined the GS70 club! 970M 3gb, some fancy Kingston Hyper X 16gb RAM just for kicks, and I have a 500gb Samsung 850 mSATA drive on the way (yes, the new one, just got stock this week). Will be here next week. Chris H. from ProStar went above and beyond compared to a few other retailers.

 

That depends on each person. I've been able to directly compare between them a good bit, and I prefer the 17.3 especially in the GS70. It's already pretty light anyway, and VS the GS60, I believe it has a higher capacity battery to make up for the higher power draw. I also decided the TN panel of this laptop was the best balance for me. Actually the biggest factor for me was that the 17.3" models tend to include more peripherals, if even 1 more USB, it's worth it to me.

Relatively speaking, it's a pretty big jump from 15.6" to 17.3".

 

I ordered my GS70 Stealth Pro-099 yesterday and will be receiving soon. Really looking forward to this machine after reading all your reviews, thoughts and other information. One thing I am curious to is what program do you use to check the temps. I play Elder Scrolls Online, WOW and other MMO's and will be curious to see what temps I get. I did the IC diamond thermal compound on the CPU and GPU
Thanx

 

HWMonitor is always a good one. Update us on your temps after some benchmarking with the IC Diamond, someone was saying it made no difference on theirs but perhaps yours will do better.