MSI GX660-053US (Aug 14) - Looks SOOO Good!

For me it was that combo, 15"-5870-1366x768 which had me drooling, the usb 3 and turbo are just nice extras.

I game on all sorts of resolutions Desktop (1650x1050), G73 (1600X900) and (1366x768) was fine to me as i briefly owned a 15" acer 5820TG (5650) and it was great... just needed more juice, bring on the 5870!

 

Any udpate on launch date?
I will be in the US from 4th to 11th, and I was hoping of getting one of those.

 

The lower resolution migth be a e benefit to gaming, depending on your perspective/preferences, but it is definetly not a benefit for non-gaming productivity oriented uses where having more vertcial space is important. 3D modeling, CAD work, photoshop/illustrator work, etc... all have a lot of tool bars, and the 768 vertical pixels is just not enough.

If those uses aren't something you need, then I'm sure resolution will out splendidly. But for me, who needs to use a laptop for a variety of other non-gaming uses, it's essentially a deal breaker.

 

Yeah, this system is flat-out great based on the specs, but the screen resolution was also a deal-stopper for me (well that and I'm quite impatient, so I bought a GX64-260US which should, I hope, arrive today).

My two work laptops at my previous job were Dell Latitudes, a D610 and a D630. I actually liked both overall, but the move from the D610 screen (1400x1050 aspect) to the D630 (1,440x900) was a pain. I did a lot of document writing, used mostly internal web tools, shuffled a lot of files back and forth from ftps to my laptop to our internal servers, etc., and that 16:9 aspect was not conducive to that variety of work, especially if you're doing all of that simultaneously. Thankfully, I had a Dell dock and mainly used an external 20" or so monitor, but the days I worked remotely or at another one of our offices was a bit of a pain in the neck.

 

how is the cooling in gx660 compared to gx640 and e7405?

 

Just received an email PR release from MSI today. Not sure if any of this is new but the following link is roughly a copy of the email.

MSI Global ? Computer, Laptop, Notebook, Desktop, Mainboard, Graphics and more

Looks like two models, GX660 and GX660R with the R version being dual disk RAID0. I guess there is going to be a Core-i7 version but that is just speculation based on that document and the email noting "Latest Core i7".

 

I think I've read somewhere that the gx660 would have better cooling cause of the new chassis.

But we'll have to wait for it to come out and see what the reviews say about the cooling performance of the laptop.


I agree that this resolution isn't really good for internet browsing, photoshop or any other aspect in which you need more vertical space... There are no good or bad laptops, it all depends on what you want it for . To me it's been a great discovery this model, I couldn't find any other laptop with low resolution and a great GPU, and this should translate in an unbeatable performance at native resolution.

 

It has a cooler boost feature which ramps up the fans for extra cooling.
From what resellers told me the heatsink n
and pipes are huge to provide really good cooling.
I'll let you know once I get my GX660

 

I have no idea whats going on anymore.....

MSI Global ? Computer, Laptop, Notebook, Desktop, Mainboard, Graphics and more

MSI Reveals New GX660R Gaming Notebook [MSI Unveils Another Gaming Laptop with the MSI GX660R Notebook] TFTS – Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

First link states that GX660 will come with Raid 0, down at the specs, it even says it has PM55, and not the HM55 which is what it should come in.

Second link states that the GX660 will have higher resolution.

Can anyone make sense of what MSI is trying to do? I would've ordered this one instead of GT660 if the specs are the ones in the first link. Seems like MSI has been releasing misleading info for a while now.

Omg.... I just realized that they are 2 different models, the first one will be 1hdd non-raid with HM55 and the GX660R will have 2 hdd, raid 0, and higher screen resolution. Damit MSI, is going on. Now I am wondering if I can cancel my GT660R order, even though it's been processing for 5 days.

I suggest you cancel your pre-order, and get the GX660R, IKAS V.

 

What you said at the end of your post is correct. There is supposed to be a raid model we just found out about due the end of August or later with a higher res screen. The GX660 due to arrive in a few weeks ships with a single HDD but will support dual HDD. My guess is the HM55 chipset in the specs for the GX660 model may be incorrect and may end-up being the PM55 chipset. If that is the case you can flash with the raid bios and setup raid 0.

 

This matches the information I received in the UK and posted about yesterday. Unless I'm mistaken it looks like the GX660R will also come with a i7-740. If anything at least there are two confirmed sources of information from MSI that point to the PM55. Whether or not that is actually accurate is still to be determined.

 

Do you know how much the GX660R model will cost and when it will be available? I find MSI is screwing over the buyers with this. They are simply releasing something better every 2 weeks.

Agggh, my GT660 just got sent today. NOooooooooo.

 

sounds like... how the entire electronics industry works... hmmmm

 

Lol companies usually release better items to compete with their competitors..... not THEMSELVES.

Imagine what would've happened if the Iphone, was released, a month later, the G3, and then 2 months later the G4.

Tell me, when was the GX620 released? The GX640 was released in May or w/e. Now the GX660 is released in Aug?. Each refresh of the series was about a year apart, except this. If they are doing this, does it mean GX760 is coming soon too?

 

No time to wait in the notebook market, gotta keep moving. 2 months is a long time, tech moves fast. 2 months from now you might start to see sandy bridge, soon after that the 6xxx mobility radeons, intel x25-m g3, etc.

The commonly accepted wisdom for laptops is wait as long as you can to afford to before your purchase for a reason. Find something that suits your needs and you'll be happy with, buy it, and then never look at the forums again. That is the only way to be truly happy.

 

I've gotta say, this laptop Impressed Me, and i am not ewasily impressed;

Pros
1)1080p screen in 15" chasis, Led backlight
2)2 Hdd slots in a 15" chasis (This is AWSOME)
3)Triple RAM slots with core i7 mobile CPUs, in a 15" chasis.
4)Sound system By Dynaudio
5)9Cell Battery

Cons
1)The Ram May Run in single Chanell Mode, why in earth didn't they fit it with 4 DIMM slots, it would Have Been Perfect.

The Setup to do is:
1)Crucial Real SSD C300 256GB + 1TB WD blue
2)12GB RAM
3)Core i7 840qm

I'd take this in place of Any Clevo.
It Looks real tasty.

Does anyone knows about the single memory chanell issue ?

The truth is I'd be willing to live with this single CON. Just look at all the pros.

If MSI would come up with a similar speced 15" laptop, but with 4 DIMMS and 460m, THAT would be PERFECT.

 

Is this Aug 14 in the title verified? Because I was planning to buy a GX 740, but now I might just wait for this one.

 

I think you're wrong on the 1080p, I was led to this particular laptop because of its low resolution, which quite appeals to me.

 

I'm talking about the GX660, not The GX 740 or 640 wich have 1050p screen. or the GTX 285 model with the 1366x768 screen.

MSI Global ? Computer, Laptop, Notebook, Desktop, Mainboard, Graphics and more
HD or FUll HD says MSI

 

There might be some confusion about it all. In the link you provide it doesn't really states the resolution, it says HD/Full HD, which could very well be 1366x768 (720 is considered HD). In every reading I've done on the gx660 it says 1366x768, though I must confess I've started doubting since you said otherwise.

It is true that in some places it says it's 1080p ( MSI reveals GX660 gaming notebook - HiTech Review ) but I believe it is a mistake.

Even on preoders, like from xoticpc, it states 1366x768.

 

GX660 - 1366x768
GX660R - 1920x1080

 

Than i should be looking for the R variant, as i want Full HD screen. To bad i won't have a use for the 2 500gb hdd, as i want a crucial ssd and a tB western digital. Hopefully i can order from someone who can customize.

Any word on the single\dual chanell memory issue ?

 

Can anybody explain why this laptop is expensive than the gx640? 200 dollars more for a lesser resolution screen and slightly better graphics card?

 

Well, the gx660R, has 1080p screen, 2hdd slots, and 3 dimm slots. I say it's worth it.

 

No i meant the gx660 which has a 1366x768 screen is priced 1369$ in rk computers.. The gx660r will be atleast costing 100$ more than this laptop.. It also weighs more.. Where as gx640 has a better resolution and weighs a lot less.. And 5850 can be overclocked to a stock 5870. So can you say that this model is really worth the extra dollars?

 

Yes, to me anyway.

 

It just depends on what your priorities and budget are. For me, it didn't make sense to go with the GX660. For some people, it does.

The other thing, is that it isn't so much that the GX660 is more expensive than the GX640, but rather that the GX640 was an AMAZING price/value. Other brands sporting 5870's like the GX660 (sager, etc...) cost the same or more. The GX640 is just a great price for what you get, and I don't think the GX660 is over priced at all either.

EDIT: Comparing the sager 8690 at RKcomputer with the same specs as the GX660-053US (both with operating system + 2-year warranty) . . . the sager ends up about $100 more, and that's with the 1600x900 screen instead of the Full HD screen upgrade. So the GX660 is certainly in line price wise with the competition.

The real knock out deal is still the MSI E7405-080US 17" . . . $1215 bucks!?

compare:

E7405-080US . . . vs . . . GX660-053U

$1215 . . . vs . . . $1370
7.35 lbs . . . vs . . . 7.7 lbs (OMG, 17" lighter)
17" . . . vs . . . 15.6"
1650 x 1080 res . . . vs . . . 1366 x 768 res (screen quality on GX660 probably better tho)
i5-430m . . . vs . . . i5-450 (meh)
ati 5870 vs . . . vs . . . ati 5870 (same)
3-year warranty . . . vs . . . 2-year warranty
320gb HD . . . vs . . . 500gb HD

 

Well the big selling point on the GX660/GT660 to me is the extra hard drive slot, improved build quality (as far as we can tell), and a lot better cooling.

 

And Dynaudio, and TRIPLE RAM slots. It seems to me you guys don't underline the triple ram slots.

 

The 3 DIMMs is a really nice touch but not THAT big a deal considering most ppl don't need more than 4GB and I laready have 6GB, although I'd certainly enjoy making use of all 3 slots.

The audio looks to be awesome although a lot of ppl prefer to get a good pair of headphones or a headset for gaming. I do like me some fancy speakers though.

 

The speakers are a very WELCOME addition, since most laptops have extremly crappy speakers, so crapy, might as well not have them at all.

The config i aim for is 840qm, 1080p screen, 256gb crucial SSD, 1TB hdd and 12gb ram. All of this in a 15" chasis togther with 5870 and very high performance speakers. I'd even take this config instead of the clevo x7200.

 

Can't wait to see the battery benchmarks on this one, honestly. It's a very powerful laptop indeed, but it's bulky and probably eats kilowatts for breakfast.

 

LOL . . . yes. And at that point the gx640 isn't even really a comparable computer . . . they are basically in a different class of notebook. I can certainly see why the GX660 is a more attractive platform if you are going balls out with the hardware upgrades.

 

That setup will prob cost around $3000... you could buy a GX640 and an amazing desktop, and probably a netbook for fun with that kinda money.

 

Yeah you can.
But a 256 GB SSD adds a big chunk to that.
You can configure one with a 840QM and still very good HDD and keep it below $ 2000.
That's still a huge amount of money but much easier to swallow.

 

That ssd could be 128. The thing is i plan to be on the move so a desktop is outta the question. I really don't know where i could get this laptop in europe with customization ( like exotic pcs for instance) that's what bothers me.

To bad Kobalt computers only deal with clevo chasis. They should expand their lineup

 

That's the unfortunate part i guess, europeans and australians seem to always get the shaft. Canadians get somewhat screwed but we can at least leech off US resellers more easily.

I'd say go 60-128GB SSD since that's prob all you need and then max out the other HDD. Unless you can get the 256 for cheap I wouldn't do it. The cheapest I've seen a crucial c300 256gb go for is 528 on ebay.

 

So do you guys have any info how would the european version look like without customization? Because currently I can't decide between this and the GX740.

 

GX660 product page at MSI website:

MSI Global ? Computer, Laptop, Notebook, Desktop, Mainboard, Graphics and more

 

well I see there are 2 differences between GT and GX

1. GX series don't have express card
2. GX Series don't have line in

but GT series have both of them

I see it on MSI website. Can someone confirm the GX won't have an express card slot?

that's really important for me


thanks

 

I dont see why it wouldn't considering it's the same exact chassis

 

I believe the MSI site is the right, and all the other informations about this machine is speculation.

From the site the GX660 have 2 screen sizes fullHD and HD

the both gx660 and gx660r has a PM55 chipset.

Maybe you can make RAID 0 on the GX660 or maybe it has not a BIOS RAID set up.

Any one talking bad about the sound is nosence. dynaudio is just one of the best speakers manufactures in the world.

No one have this machine yet to make a real review. all talked about this machine is over a crystal ball.

I buy one GX660 with HD screen to get a best FPS ever, maybe I will receive it in the end of august and I will can talk more about this machine and make a review.

sorry for my terrible English.

BR

 

Ppl do already have the GT660 which is an identical chassis with the same speakers though. There have been full reviews of that. The only thing there really is the speculate now is the quality of the screens

 

A good review to listen the sound.

Off course, you will listen in your speaker, but can see the guy talking about.

YouTube - ‪MSI GT660R i7 Gaming laptop Nvidia GTX 285M 1 GIG DDR3‬‎

BR

 

The LED lighting actually looks good.

 

WOW! That sound is amazing for a laptop. Best I've ever seen/heard in my life. The screen also looks x10 better than my crappy GX740 screen That's the price I get for not having patience and waiting until the release of the 1300-1400$ model.

 

Isn't an Ati 5870 (which is essentially a downclocked desktop 5770) a bit of an overkill for a machine that's max supported resolution is 1366 * 768? A 5850 or heck even a 5730 might have been more than enough to run most games with high details on those resolutions. For a gaming laptop, thats a deal breaker for me.

 

The mobile 5870 at 1366x768 will be running new demanding games one year after you already threw away any other fancy full HD gaming laptop. As I already said, not a deal breaker, but a deal maker.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDAfVw3zdjo&feature=youtube_gdata

GT660 gaming in action + screen quality video

The screen looks good .....

 

True. Game demands increase in future and you can still able to play the new
game at high setting with many visuals turned on at native resolution. It is a deal maker.

If you are playing game at home , you can always use external monitor to get 1080p or higher resolution