MSI GX640-098US Review

@g4m3r1337:

Could you test out PCSX2 emulator on your GX640, and report back how it runs with the i5-430m?

Thanks!

 

Sorry, but I just don't play games for the ps2 or the wii. If I liked those graphics, I wouldn't have got this laptop with one of the best GPUs lol!
Some laptops have slower GPUs and faster CPUs. I think and for what I like, choose one with the better GPU. MSI GX640

If you want, upgrade the CPU to the i7!

If there's an emulator for the xbox360 that can play Halo Reach, then I'll test that one out. That will be worth my time and can help people while doing so!

From the edit:
BF: Bad company 2 works great on high settings, not maxed out 100%!
MSI GX640 High Settings on Battlefield: Bad Company 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSED4-WC-3Y

 

That's overly simplistic. Personally, even though I bought a GX640 and I like to get the graphics settings as high as I can, it's still the gameplay I care about most, and there are some bloody good games on the PS2 that I would definitely look into playing. I probably will do so once I buy a PC controller.

 

I knew not everyone would agree with me on that. I care for them both equally, so if one of the 2 is missing, I simply won't like it for very long.

 

GX640 is a performance laptop indeed. Powerful and light-weight. I have one question that probably got answered many times but i still want to get verification on the starcraft 2 gaming performance. My concern is, under ultra setting with all effects set to max and resolution to 1080p, what is the average fps we can get with a 4vs4 game which everyone maxed out units production ?

 

Doesn't that come down to the CPU?

 

First off i just wanted to thank everyone whose posted about the gx640 on this thread. I've read the whole thing, and it let me know that the gx640 is just what im looking for. Its the first gaming laptop I've ever bought, and im looking forward to recieving it. I bought it from RKComputers, and theyve been fantastic up to this point.

I upgraded the cpu to an I5 540m and the thermal paste to an IC Diamond.

I just wanted to know if theres anything that i should do right off the bat after i get this thing as far as benchmarks and drivers and all of that stuff goes? I know a lot of people have had different issues and stuff with temps and black screens and stuff, and if i experience all/ any of this id like to be able to fix it. Im more or less a novice about all of this sort of stuff, however i'd like to learn and i want the laptop to be performing at its peak

Unfortunately i leave for a week long trip on sunday morning, and the laptop is schedualed to arrive on monday D: Ill definately post here within a few hours of getting it with my impressions and all that good stuff, so expect to hear from me again in a week or so And again, thanks to everyone! ^.^

 

Oh and also, I asked RK if they ran tests and whatnot on it before they shipped it, and this is what i was told:

"Yes, on all upgrades we check for proper operation and performance. This is the reason we had asked you to choose a windows logo user name.
After the upgrades were installed:

1. Bios has been updated to current version
2. EC/Firmware has been updated to current version
3. VGA VBios has been updated to current version
4. ATI Catalyst & Driver updated to V10.5
5. Windows updated and current as of day prior to shipment
6. Windows experience index rerun after upgrades
7. 3DMark vantage run through multiple tests to confirm performance and operation.

All above has been installed/updated and proper operation of notebook has been confirmed."

 

This is also my first gaming laptop! I've been looking at laptops for about 5 months, tell I found this one.
I bought an extra 9-cell battery from RK that works great.

Question:
Could you send them an email to ask how and where(web links) they get there latest drivers, so we can always have them up to date?

 

Just go to the ATI site, you'll find it.

 

Why don't you just do some research on your own?

Google it.

 

dookie11, I just tested Shadow of the Colossus and Final Fantasy XII on PCSX2 0.9.7 on my GX640-098US and they both ran very smoothly, with framerates oscillating between 40 and 120 fps without OC.

It's all good, you can order it for yourself. Don't worry, you won't be disappointed.

 

This brings back memories, what an amazing game. Anyways I'm going to try this out as well.

 

yes, CPU plays a major role in performance as well and I wonder if I need to upgrade the CPU to get the max performance .

 

A remastered version is supposedly coming out in Q4 2010/Q1 2011 as double feature with Ico on the PS3, kinda like they did with God of War Collection.

So yeah, if you have a PS3, you could be playing Ico and SotC in glorious 1080p very soon. Also, The Last Guardian is going to kick ash.

</offtopic>

 

I just found out that drivers play a big role!!
I got the newst drivers for the GPU and then CPU.

Look at the difference now from the old videos I made!

MSI GX640 high(gamer) Ssttings Crysis Warhead new
YouTube - MSI GX640 high(gamer) Ssttings Crysis Warhead new

MSI GX640 maxed out Battlefield: Bad Company 2 new
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtS-ku6c_f8
Sorry, youtube lowered the quality, not me, but you can see that it plays maxed out on resolution, graphics, easily with no frames being dropped now!

New game being played:
MSI GX640 maxed out Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
YouTube - MSI GX640 maxed out Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

 

The CPU has drivers? LOL.

 

I think this is a driver for the CPU:
"MSI GX640 Notebook Intel Chipset Driver"

 

lol the chipset is not the CPU. Its basically what the CPU plugs into.

 

lol! I thought that basically was the CPU, becasuse I think it helps speed it up.

 

Oh by all means it'll help. Usually updating to latest drivers is the first thing anyone should do. Mines scheduled to get here on tuesday. So here's hoping it works well out of the box. Got a lan im going to over the weekend lol.

 

What??????

 

Technically, the term chipset refers to the northbridge and the southbridge as a whole. In a classic configuration, the northbridge handles communications between the RAM and the CPU, which is what g4m3r was getting at. However, because of the architecture of the newer intel processors such as the Core i5, the northbridge is integrated into the CPU.

This leaves us with the southbridge as the only chipset, which the aforementioned drivers are for. The SB handles communications with peripherals (internal hard drive, external ports, network, audio, etc).

Most of us know this stuff, but it's still valid info. G4m3r wasn't completely wrong. However, applying newer drivers will merely correct certain bugs, it won't make the computer "go faster".

 

What CPU do you have?

 

I thought the i7 only has the int mem controler, I could just goggle it, but that wouldn't serve any purpose.

-Lower mem lat on 1066
-Int mem on 1333 cpu's......

I could be wrong, cause I'm to busy havin fun wit my i7 int mem control with low lat 1066.....

 

Thanks, sounds like you know the GX640 better than me lol!

There was a big improvement in all my games after I updated the drivers. With out the bugs, it runs faster now!
Look at this! The CPU and GPU couldn't do this before(screen capture a graphics heavy game and almost no frames dropped)!

MSI GX640 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 HD 1080p
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rATebaHOMDQ

2 more coming later!

 

It's all stock.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrandale_(microprocessor)

"While Penryn typically used both a north bridge and a south bridge, Arrandale already contains the major north bridge components, which are the memory controller, PCI Express for external graphics, integrated graphics and the DMI connector, making it possible to build more compact systems without a separate northbridge or discrete graphics as Lynnfield."

As I stated previously, the drivers you installed are for the chipset that controls the USB/eSATA/FireWire ports, HDD, ODD, etc. It has nothing to do with the GPU. My money's on one of two things: your PCI-E card was running at 1x by mistake and now it's back to 16x or it's purely placebo effect.

 

Sorry, I meant I downloaded 2 drivers lol!
One was for the chipset and the other was for the graphics card.

Edit:
MSI GX640 2nd Battlefield: Bad Company 2 HD 1080p
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UqiF2ZxP7g

 

Bingo. An up-to-date GPU driver can make all the difference.

 

The situation is that the i7's memory controller is on the same die as the CPU, while Arrandale has the memory controller and IGP on a separate die. This means that Arrandale's memory latency is a little higher, though the difference barely matters most of the time.

As for DDR3-1066 vs DDR3-1333, you have to realise that the CAS latency figure is measured in clock cycles, and faster memory has shorter clock cycles. For example, CAS 8 DDR3-1066 has the same latency of 15ns as CAS 10 DDR3-1333.

 

Does anyone know how hot the GPU can get before it gets unsafe?

I played BF:BC 2 maxed out the whole time for 3-4hrs on gaming mode and right when I quit, the GPU was at 81c! After 20mins of not playing the GPU quickly went down to 60c.

How can you check the CPUs temp and how hot can that get? What software should I download?

 

You're fine. Mine peaks at around 93C with no problems.

 

GPU on load at 81 is quite nice. Start freaking if it ever gets over the 100+ mark lol.

 

Furmark peaks at 97C.

 

Download and start HWMonitor and leave it working while playing. After that see what was the max temp registered.

Also, I had 94 degrees while playing on a very hot day (around 33 outside) last weekend. Still at that temperature the fan hit the insane revs and cooled the GPU.

 

nice videos. GX640 is capable to handle any games that are in the market now. Hope it can handle Starcraft 2 large battle at max setting as well as other games. Thank you for your share.

 

Thanks for the help! HWMonitor is just what I was looking for!

Does anyone know what to do, to keep the battery from wearing down. My battery(from RK) is at 2% wear and I only had it less than a week!
I'll lose it in about 1 year!

...or it was shipped that way?

Edit:
This is the last video im posting on BC2 lol! Can't wait tell Starcraft 2 is out, then I'll make a video on that to!
MSI GX640 3rd Battlefield: Bad Company 2 1080p
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm3vJh2-iZw

 

It doesn't work like that. The battery monitor isn't necessarily calibrated correctly, and it's not a linear drop. The error margin is probably larger than the 2% it's reporting.

 

Pardon me for not looking every page thoroughly.
To min2009: What is your ambient temperature for those heat reading?

 

If you want to keep your battery fresh as long as possible, keep 'er working. Discharge at least once per week, then recharge etc. If you keep it at 100% all the time it will wear down quite fast.

I had an LG S1 and it had wonderful setting for battery (both in bios and in factory software Batterymiser): it allowed "battery safety mode", that kept it at 50%.
After more than 3 years it degenerated from 2,5 hours to 2 hours of battery life.

Currently I keep my battery at ~25% and in the drawer - I don't need it while notebook is constantly connected. It's only good as a ups when grid power drops , and this didn't happen for almost a year in my apartment

 

Usually about 21C.

 

Just what I was looking for agian, thanks. +1 rep for you!

 

Anyone tried to overclock this yet? I'm having trouble with setfsb.

 

Why overclock? I think it has more than enough power..
In any case, I don't overclocking is a good idea. It's a thin and light notebook with so much power. Overclocking might fry stuff.

 

Thin and light? Thing's a humongous beast.

 

It isn't technically in the "Thin and Light" category, but it is a lot thinner and lighter than virtually all other gaming laptops.

 

Well, for a gaming laptop, it is definitely thin and light. Its similarly sized competitors like the G51 and the NP8690 are all about 1.5lb heavier, if not more. My point was, if you want to overclock, it's better to look at the heavier ones which often provide better cooling. The GX640 is pretty much stretched to its limits already.

 

Supposedly that 5.9lb figure is incorrect when you include the 9 cell battery. Granted, I haven't weighed it, but it's probably slightly above average in weight compared to mainstream 15" model, albeit very light for a high-end gaming laptop.

 

Well, I want to run PS2 emulator at full speed. I have a cooling pad. I'm thinking it might be possible to strech the CPU to 3.0 GHz?

 

This is probably one the lightest, if not THE lightest gaming notebook I've had over the past 6 years.