MSI GT725 now with Intel Centrino & ATI Radeon Mobility 4850

I think you missed my point not to mention video game pre-orders are a beast of there own and I would be very hesitant to draw any correlation between the two.

It is however uplifting to see that Amazon is at least updating the information. I mean in essence we went from really no info to a good amount even outside of the a-typical marketing material.

All-in-all, I look at it as a big positive.

 

I'm getting really close to just ordering the GT627-0218US as just as I was reading the story on /. about ATI finally supporting OpenGL 3.0, I stumble across a comment about more ATI driver badness under linux, although apparently the 9.1 driver update was a bright spot their track record is just too poor to risk I think... (I'll be using X11/linux more than Windows, so good linux support is VERY important, and I don't expect to see much of an OSS driver for a while yet as AMD just released the specs... It's also why I've stuck with nVidia products for the last 6-7y, best GPU w/best X11 drivers...)

Anyone with any good news/experiences on ATI drivers and X11? (I always seem to find the posts/stories/comments about bad ATI linux/X11 support just as I'm about to consider buying one of the GPUs all of the time. I'll ask around Ubuntu forums as they should be big enough to get me some responses too...)

 

I had hardware acceleration on my HD 2600 in Ubuntu 8.10. I don't have it now though since I'm test driving the 9.04 alpha and it hasn't been enabled yet(?).

EDIT: on a side note, I'm in contact with a reseller in my city, I should be getting a call sometime tomorrow about the status of the GT725, maybe we'll get some info on when this thing will really be available.

 

There were rumors of it's continental EU release in July. So yeah, I guess that means MUCH LATER. I bet those ba$tard$ will still set a price above €1200 5 months after releasing it in the US.

 

I used an HD2400, x700 and an x1600 ati card in ubuntu 8.04 and 8.10 and had no issues. i hear ATI is suppose to open there source code like nvidia did for linux drivers.

 

Actually they're not opening their driver source(AFAIK), but they HAVE just release the full specs for recent GPUs. It's going to be a while yet before the OSS drivers get decent 3D acceleration. 2D was already there, but has apparently been somewhat improved by the spec release.

(My ATI driver comment was along the lines of one guy commented that the driver prior to 9.1(IIRC) he apparently was getting 2-3FPS and missing textures, but went to 250FPS with 9.1. No idea what app he was using. Also mentioned numerous other graphical glitches w/o specifying detail plus apparently poor opengl support. I suspect that these are the ones I usually read about, missing textures, poor 2d accel, random rendering glitches, etc.)

[EDIT=MUCH later]
Well not worth a new post, worse a double posting, but after reading about ATI support in the Ubuntu forums, I think that I've almost decided to give up on the 725/4850, as I do too much work under linux for this slightly better(maybe) GPU to be worth the major headache that it will be under linux. I had thought of trying a desktop 4850, but the prices at newegg seem to have gone up $40 or so since I looked at some in December unless I want to chance an open box ASUS 4850... (the upshot being to guinea pig the ATI card on my desktop, such that if things go poorly I could simply swap my tried and true nVidia card...)

Anyone have any leads on any cheap ATI cards of a recent generation? Preferably 48XX series. Any experiences with newegg openbox stuff?
[/EDIT]

 

Just ordered this computer from amazon!!! Does anyone know if the backpack still comes with the computer though? because at the bottom of the amazon page it didn't mention the backpack as being something included in the box.

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GT725-074...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1233557885&sr=8-2

 

Both GT725 models include the gaming bag......

 

I emailed amazon specifically about the backpack issue their response as follows:

Thanks for writing to us at Amazon.com. First I apologize for any inconvenience this issue has caused. From the content of your email I understand that you want to know whether this item "MSI GT725-074US 17-Inch Laptop (2.4Ghz Intel Penryn Core 2 Duo P8600, ATI R4850M 512MB DDR, 4GB RAM, 320GB SATA HD, Super Multi Drive, Vista Home)" comes along with a backpack or not. I have contacted our inventory department and hear that this item does not come with a bag. If you still have any queries, I kindly request you to contact the manufacturer so that you will get more details about this item. For your reference, I have provided the manufacturer's contact link below: http://ocss.msi.com.tw/ When contacting the manufacturer, you may want to have the following information handy: the model number, serial number, and part numbers.

 

Fortunately I'm not waiting for it anymore. But today I checked xoticpc and now it says ETA Early-Mid February.

 

Yo cutter why wouldn't a dual boot work for you? I hardly think you'd be gaming under linux, and even if you were the 4850 would be overkill for the games actually available for the OS.

Or am I wrong in thinking that the drivers would apply n Windows in a dual boot the same way as a solo install?

 

Actually most of my native games aren't all that demanding e.g. Devil Whiskey, X2, etc. but I also run quite a few recent games under wine which are more demanding.

Some of the applications that I use, use 3D acceleration, and I tinker around with 3D programming once in a while which is also done under linux + X11.

That said I've always dual, triple, or more booted as I generally prefer to burn CDs and DVDs under windows, and for the balance of the games that won't run under wine or don't run well under wine. I'll probably end up with a partition for Haiku in addition to the supplied Vista, and, likely, Ubuntu as well.

 

Well, I've been reading this thread for almost a month now and I've finally decided to post something!

Last night, my laptop video card just quit on me. The computer now only starts up in safe mode (or with the standard VGA-only driver) and there are blocks and lines all over the display - even in the BIOS screen. I think the 3D part of the card is toast.

Anyway, I wasn't too concerned about the release date of the GT725 since I already had a fairly capable machine (Sony VGN-AR290G), but now that I'm without a gaming machine entirely, the urgency has suddenly increased somewhat. If it doesn't get shipped soon, I'm going to have to start watching TV or reading or something!

I pre-ordered the GT725 from Amazon back at the beginning of January, and like everyone else, I still haven't seen it yet...

 

welcome to the party i order mine 7th jan still no news

 

and i am still waiting to see the hands on temps. if tolerable i am buying. :O)
this lack of new news is making restless. Its gonna be a heck of an upgrade from an ASUS G2P with its paltry X1700!! Everquest 2 will be a whole new ballgame

 

Guys can you add a second hard drive to this laptop?

 

i don;t think so. apparently, this is one of the few things it CANT do haha

 

I'm holding off for some actual forum user reports of BOTH the GT627 and GT725, although it's getting to be MUCH harder now as Amazon just dropped the GT627-218US to $1299 and -216US to $1099... ($100 off just like the ars blurb indicated...)

2nd hdd: No the GT725 only has room for ONE hdd, and as a matter of fact I don't believe that ANY mSI model supports more than ONE hdd. Only Clevos and some ASUS model do AFAIK. OTOH it's also much smaller than these models, being only slightly larger than the GX620/GT627/1651 by specs...

 

This is one of the main reasons why I am waiting for this lappy.

According to MSI's website:

MSI GX620/GT627/1651
358(L) X 260(D) X 27~31(H)mm
2.7KG (W/ Battery)

MSI GT725
395(L) X 278(D) X 26.5~35(H)mm
3.2KG (W/ Battery)

This means that for an extra 37mm(1.4in) in length, 18mm(.7in) depth, and 4mm(.15in) thick, vs the gt627, you get a 17" screen! The Clevo's or Asus' don't even come close to these specs. The GT725 is actually thinner than my aging 15.4" Acer Ferrari 4005wlmi by .3 inches. The only lappy I have found that even compares, size wise, is the Dell Studio XPS 16, which seems to have some heat issues ATM.

 

If you type "gt725 release date february" in google. you'll see a listing for the GT725 from amazon with a release date of february 5th.... but if you click on the link it simply says the unit is a preorder and hasnt been released yet.

 

okay if you cant add another hard drive, can you change the existing one? I'm not sure 320 gigs is going to last more than a few months for me.

 

NEWS FLASH

just spoken to msi SALES Direct on the phone 02088136688 they told me laptop is been shiped and mircoanvika will get them next week sometime.
that a life line hopefully it ll be true

Xed u got any news on ur side??

 

does this also mean Amazon will also receive its stock next week?

 

I dont think so the sale guy said microanvika got exclusive on this first bz i ask them if i can buy direct from them it was a sales line but he said no can do so amazon have to wait a few weeks or month thats for uk not sure about usa

 

great to hear that news!

I havent called them yet to confirm it, will do it tomorrow

I can almost smell that new laptop! haha

 

Well there are some german sites that list the GT725 with availibility calendar week 07, that would mean next week.

see e.g. here:
http://www.passiontec.de/_fenster.php?art_id=600588246&ref_id=Froogle

http://www.aibach.com/_fenster.php?art_id=600588246&ref_id=Froogle

http://www.notebook.de/index.php?section=shop&group=613&productid=18366

The price is around 1300 euro, which is pretty good i think.

I dont think this delivery-date is true, because MSI told me via email that the GT725 wont be availible before june in germany.

 

1st review? http://www.mouthshut.com/review/MSI_GT725-161025-1.html

 

I really hope that review is fake since the processor according to the reviewer is only 2.0 Ghz instead of 2.53 . Also isn't the 3dmark06 comment from the review false??? I thought there were a few laptops that had already passed 10,000 3dmark06.

 

isn't it supposed to be 2.4GHZ?


for all those getting the laptop early, benchmark Crysis for me!

 

Well i m not buying it. how the hell someone in India got the laptop b4 anybody in usa or uk or Europe . and that processor change thing does not add up.

but it’s my opinion

 

all of you getting it, post vids on youtube of playing Crysis on it! I want to see the laptop in action!

 

dont worry i ll be the first to get it (2nd xed )and i will do a review unboxing everything

 

Yes, you can change it. I will be installing my Samsung 64gb SSD.

 

i read that review. Is the processor really gonna be only 2.0ghz vs. 2.53ghz? that will make me not want to buy the MSI. Anyone know if the specs are different for different countries?

 

maybe asia gets the 2.0. The UK version will be 2.53GHz, I am positive about it.

 

after re-reading the review, I kinda think it's the real deal.... my 2cents

 

good thing you'll be doing the unboxing and stuff. i dont have a camera nor the time hahah

 

hey guys i am the guy whose review u read on mouthshut.... its true, the processor is intel centrino P7350 @2 ghz instead of P9500. I havent got into much b ut so far it runs crysis at full settings.

 

and about the 3Dmark2006 i meant its the first laptop rom MSI to cross that

 

Would you mind running some benchmarks (with screen shots if possible)?
- 3DMark06
- Crysis
- other games you have

 

cool! good job on the buy. could you please post some pics too? that would be great! Video would be best!

 

also just got off the phone with MSI. unlike what they told faisal, they told me it would come in MARCH!

 

sure i shall upload some pics... about the benchmark give me a day or 2 time as i am working on a bunch of heavy assignments at the moment

 

pics shall be on the mouthshut site in my pictures gallery by tomo..

 

hmmm... still not sure what to get unless it looks like this is going to take too long to show, but another acquaintance on IRC was telling me last night that he had no problem with his ATI card unler linux, although I didn't have a chance to get the detail from him. i.e. no idea what GPU/drivers he was using, try to catch him later some time though

[EDIT]
Maybe they put in a P7350 to lower the cost in India a bit?
[/EDIT]

 

well i didnt ask for discounts ... i was ready to pay the price they asked... even the dealer here said it would come with a P9500....

 

If you got the high end model you should call the MSI office for your region and find out what it's supposed to have. Maybe they made a mistake...

Here they're supposed to be:
GT725-074US P8600 1680x1050 DVD+/-RW
GT725-075US P9500 1920x1200 BR DVD+/-RW

Dunno what the config is for Europe, but the global site was approx the same IIRC, but there they don't give specific model details, just the range of configs that they will ship.

 

I am interested in this one :-

GT725-075US P9500 1920x1200 BR DVD+/-RW

I would like to see the / Crysis / Fallout3 / Grand Thieft Auto / benchmarks on this setup ...



Regards

A Falling Cat named Spangky

9 Lives Only !!!

 

xed i am giving u a head start laptop has arrived and just had a call for microanvika my taxi is coming about 20 min so i am gonna race u to microanvika good luck

 

faisal do let us know about the processor and congrats on ur buy