Official MSI GE60 & GE70 2012 Owners' Lounge

I don't have any direct comparisons to cite other than notebookcheck. You're right, the 660M really is too new to get the full picture. Perhaps I should clarify my position here: I'm less concerned with raw power than I am with balancing between performance/price/heat/battery life. For me, the 660M would have to run circles around the 650M to justify a 66% increase in TDP. I don't see that happening, but I'm also not in a hurry. I'll wait and see.

 

It doesn't idle in the 70's...that temp is while playing BF3 for about 40mins.... Currently living in South Korea.

If you say its normal Ill believe you! I was hoping this cooling pad would have more of an effect than it does...The underside of the laptop stays very cool but the air it pumps out is really hot. Its also true what you say about the drivers...I'm just crazy for having the latest drivers!

 

OK, now I'm pretty used to the keyboard and I'm really digging it. Keys are very responsive and give a nice "snap" when used. I had a silicone protective cover on before and that really ruined the experience. Now that I have that off and am getting used to the key placements I'm loving it. The silicone cover also trapped some of the heat...

 

I completely understand what yer saying. I'm the say way. How far behind are the MSI drivers?

How much has the temp dropped since you removed the silicone cover?

 

I've looked quickly the whole thread and I didn't notice any discussion about the battery life.
So here is my question for the testers who already have the GE60 (or GE70) : have you some results about the battery life ?
Thanks in advance

 

well i went ahead with the purchase , should have it in a couple days.

here is another video (in korean):
Preview MSI GE60 by Notebookspec.com - YouTube

The only thing that worries me is the CPU temperatures. The fact it gets hotter than 90 degrees celsius is a big worry for me. I really am hoping they were using a turboboost overclock at those temperatures. I definitely will have to remove the factory thermal paste and apply IC diamond to lower temperatures. Maybe even do some undervolting. Does anyone know a safe undervolt for the i7-2600 or i7-3600 cpus?

 

You can't uv.

 

Today is the first time I'm really getting to sit down and play diablo3. My temps were maxing around 91C....this thing is super hot

 

It seems like MSI is advertising some sort of "Cooler Boost" feature. I think it might be a hot key that ramps up the fans? Might be useful during gaming when fan noise isn't so much of a problem.

 

holy crap autobulb i was wondering what that button was. I just pressed it and my fan went nuts, lets see how it does.

 

max of 74C since turning on the uber fan speed

 

81C is the new high after another hourish of playing

 

I'm of the opinion that a gaming laptop should always be used with a cooling pad. For me its the same as using an after-market CPU cooler in a desktop. You may not NEED one but the extra cooling keeps your components cooler than they otherwise would be and the cooler a PC run the longer the components should last...in theory!

 

Well I'm not totally sure as I can't seem to find the vanilla drivers on the NVIDIA site....

Temp dropped a degree or 2...nothing major...

I can't believe I didn't notice that before! If you turn it on the the fan speeds up like crazy and my BF3 temps are now in the region of 75 C! MUCH better! It does make quite a noise though but its not something I notice while in game because of all the shooting going on! Well spotted bulb!

 

Cmon guys I don't even have my machine yet and I know more about its features than you? =b

 

I usually don't pay attention to the fancy buttons, although this one even looks like a fan with a circulatory icon lol.

Yesterday it was around 75 in the house when I was playing d3, this morning it is about 62F and I played for about an hour, the temp maxed around 73C. That is also without a cooling pad....any recommendations for what I should get in that area?

 

why? (10 char)

 

You need BIOS options to under volt which the GE60 likely doesn't have. Alternatively you could do it with software but rmclock was never updated for the Core series CPUs.

 

Hi fellas,

I've been eyeing the MSI GE series for a while now, and I am fairly set on ordering one soon.

When compared side by side, the GE60 and GE70 have the same specs, save the difference in screen size. When I look closely at external pictures of both, I see that the heat exhaust vents are much bigger on the GE70.

I'm curious to whether the GE70 will run cooler than the GE60 when undergoing the same tasks.

 

Hi, I have a couple of questions for anybody who already has their ge60. How is the build quality? How is the keyboard, I read a blog post somewhere saying the ge60's keyboard was cramped. Thanks!

 

I think the build quality is quite nice. I'm in love with the keyboard and I have had a couple others comment on how nice the keyboard is.

The mouse button is what I would consider the biggest downfall. It is one piece of plastic and tilts for left and right clicks. I prefer having a split button.

 

Hi chiznitz
thanks for the info!

 

They just got 2 in at Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007YDHLYE

However they are priced at $1350.00 USD which seems higher than other stores.

Anyone know why?

 

Because its not really amazon selling them

 

If people are looking for stock, Newegg has both models available at the moment.

Newegg.com - MSI G Series GE60 0NC-006US Notebook Intel Core i7 3610QM(2.30GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory 750GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M
and
Newegg.com - MSI G Series GE700NC-003US Notebook Intel Core i7 3610QM(2.30GHz) 17.3" 8GB Memory 750GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M

 

Anyone know if these laptops share the same screens as their GT60 & 70 brethren?

 

It's a shame that Newegg's price is $50 more than Amazon.

Less relevant, but it's also a shame that I have $100 of Amazon gift credit that I can't use at Newegg.

 

MSI finally has the GTX 660M versions on their website.

GE60 0ND-042US
MSI Notebook Official Website
GE70 0ND-033US
MSI Notebook Official Website

The only other difference I can see from the original versions is that the GE60 got 2 more GB of RAM.

 

any idea when or where i can buy the GE60 with the GTX 660M?

 

This. And, any way I can get the GE60 for $1,000?

 

From this GenTech video review, he mentions that the GTX 660M version will be available in June.

MSI GE60 Product Showcase: First Look & Benchmarks - YouTube

 

I got my machine today!

Well it's not the MSI branded version but I'm 99% sure it's an OEM version of the same machine. It has almost exactly the same specs and the physical characteristics are spot on. Same hotkeys, same disable touchpad button, speakers are the same and in the same position, port placements are the same, etc etc. The only obvious difference is that the coloring scheme is a solid silver color on the lid and palmrest. No logo on the lid which is awesome.

I am currently checking specific hardware characteristics to compare to your machines' if you guys don't mind posting your info.

My DVDRW drive is a Mata DVD-RAM UJ8B0. Probably not the best performing drive but I barely use optical drives nowadays. If anyone can provide info on where to get a hard disk caddy for the ODD bay that conforms to the system's appearance please post.

I couldn't find a model for the SD card reader but it seems to be a Realtek. Here is the full Hardware Id string: PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_5209&SUBSYS_10C71462&REV_01

Harddrive is a Seagate Momentus 5400.6 ST9500325AS which is definitely different than the MSI version. Unfortunately my OEM only seemed to offer 5400RPM drives so I just went with the cheapest option.

I'm glad to see my Geforce GT650M has a full 2GB of DDR5 instead of the advertised 1GB on the OEM website.

Wireless is the Centrino Wireless-N 135. I believe that is the same as the MSI version, I remember looking it up. Comes with integrated bluetooth.

Realtek PCIe GBE network card.

Elan touchpad. A little upsetting but I will be using a mouse 95% of the time. The touchpad is textured, feels nice and is really responsive. The single bar button is a bummer and a shame that so many systems go with it but again, I don't care enough for it to ruin my experience.

The display has a hardware ID of MONITOR\LGD0259 and it seems to be a fairly common panel as seen on many Google search results. Do you guys with the MSI laptop have the same one? I am very pleased with it so far. Excellent horizontal angles, nice and bright, no dead pixels and the vertical viewing angles are not as good but that was expected anyway.

That's pretty much all I can think of at the moment. I want to open it up and see if the the cooling system looks the same as the one posted in the other notebook forum as well as if there is a mSATA port.

Is there any way to tell what differentiates a 'Steel series' keyboard from one that is not? My keyboard feels awesome to type on, but it does have some flex if I press down firmly in the middle.

EDIT: Did some more searching around through the system and I'm now 100% sure this is what MSI calls a Whitebook or Whitebrand of the GE60. Needless to say I'm very happy because if I were to have gotten the MSI branded one here in Japan it would have cost me over 1400 dollars after the exchange rate. This one cost me about 1000 and the only spec differences are the HD and memory which I plan to upgrade later anyway.

Curious how large your batteries are. I have a 4400mAh, 49Wh battery. I haven't done any battery testing to see how long it'll last on a charge. I imagine not so long, maybe 4 hours with light usage because of the massive screen.

 

^ steel series keyboard has very "clicky" buttons, that might help distinguish whether you have one or not.

disappointing about the touchpad button. thats a very cheap move by msi.

 

Hey bulb, you must be amped!

OK I can't confirm the ODD as my Korean version came with a pre-installed slot for an HDD in its place (this is where I have my awesome SSD). My card reader is Realtek according to the Device Manager. DM also only shows my monitor as Generic PnP so I'm not sure what's going on there. My SATA HDD is a Hitachi @ 7200 rpm. Batter is also exactly the same as is the wireless.....

I don't see Intel 4000 graphics on any specs page dealing with the GE70 but yet my Device Manager lists it as a working device, with a location, alongside my 650m. The monitor is also listed in the DM to be running through the Intel 4000. FurMark only lists the 650m. Thoughts?

 

Quite a few things to mention regarding your posts. Unless my model is specifically different in this regard (I'm going to have to preface all my posts with this phrase unfortunately) the optical disk SATA port only operates at 1.5Gbps compared to 3.0Gbps of the HDD port. You can check this in the Intel Rapid Storage Technology application. Click on your device and then Advanced and it will show you the speed. This isn't a problem for hard drives but some SSDs might be limited by that in which case switching them around would be the best solution. You might want to do some bandwidth benchmarks and compare them to other users' to see if I am correct.

To get your display's hardware model number go into device manager, click on properties for the Generic PnP monitor, go to the Details tab and select Hardware Ids from the drop down menu. Mine shows: MONITOR\LGD0259
By the way this is a good way to Google information on a device when you don't have a model number on hand.

You have an Intel HD 4000 as well as the 650m. The 4000 is built into the CPU and the 650m is discrete, meaning it has its own dedicated chipset and memory. Because of Nvidia's awesome Optimus technology your computer switches between the two cards seamlessly depending on whether or not the program needs it. This is why on Furmark it only shows the 650m. For nearly every other program it will use the integrated Intel chip. These actions are entirely configurable in the Nvidia control panel.

Speaking of the 650m I am going to try to install its drivers now. My OEM doesn't have drivers online for my model yet, and Nvidia's site still hasn't integrated support for the 650m so I might just try MSI's driver.

 

OK my monitor ID is CMO 1720. Rapid Storage also reads that the SSD is running at 3Gbp/s. I think in this part of the world they assume that it will be used for an SSD

Thanks for the info regarding the Intel graphics! Weird that they wouldn't advertise the feature as most other manufacturers seem to advertise that with their specs. Still, good to know!

I hope the MSI drivers work for you!

 

Glad to hear you're at 3Gbps. Makes me wonder if mine is operating at 1.5Gbps because that is what the ODD supports.

The MSI driver worked for me thankfully. I tried the latest driver from Nvidia's site but it didn't find my card as expected. I'm confident it will be updated soon to support the new Kepler GPUs.

I'm thinking of putting an SSD mSATA card in the free slot. I will do some research on that tomorrow.

 

It saves power running the bus at the lowest of the board or devices rated speed.

 

I was considering getting the GE60-i547W7H. I was wondering if anyone knows what chipset this model has and whether or it it has an MSATA port.

Thanks for any information you can provide.

 

It does have an msata port

 

whats the msata port?

 

You can put a msata ssd in that port. Its a little connector to fit an ssd for boot and what not because the ge60 only has 1 hard drive bay unless you take the cd/dvd drive out. heres an example of an msata ssd. Newegg.com - ADATA XM13 AXM13S2-60GM-C mSATA 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

 

You guys think that whole THX stuff is worth installing the software for? It seems like a set of unnatural sounding "enhancements" and an equalizer. Doesn't seem like my thing as I like to keep the sounds as flat possible and I'd rather not install software if I'm never going to use it. Thoughts?

Same question regarding the S-bar. The power button and fan boost button are hardwired requiring no software. Not sure about the wireless button but I don't hit that button. The only button that I actually use is the one to turn off the display which unfortunately requires the software. Not sure if one hotkey is worth an annoying piece of software running 24/7. My DVD drive has a hardware eject button as well.

Somewhat related, I think that once I installed S-bar my wireless is Off by default upon boot. Is there a way to change this behavior?

 

The THX software SUCKS! You are better off using the Realtek Sound Manager to manage audio settings. If you install THX then it cancels out the RSM.

Can't say much for the sbar...but it gives me no trouble...don't use it either though even though it's installed.

 

Hey guys,

just wanted to join your round. Reading your comments since a few days and now received my GE60 as well.

I got the Ivy i5 dual core version with 8GB of RAM and 500GB HDD. Usually it ships with 4GB in that config, but the retailer doubled the memory and kept the price of 799,- € here in Germany. The Quadcore version ships at 999,-. Quite a good deal I think.

Only using it for a short time, but so far I come along with your experiences. Keyboard and Display are nice but the touchpad sucks. The built quality is not as bad as some people write on the web. It's plastic yea, but for a plastic chassis it feels quite solid.

Played some Diablo 3 already. In general it is running good, even at max settings. Shadows off is pushing FPS really good. But I have these annoying FPS drops when smashing big groups of enemies or just shooting around. Not sure what is causing that. Even when playing on low details and heading towards 100 FPS, I have these drops...

Does anybody else have a similar experience?

 

Hi,

I just got my GE70.Just have a question to ask about the nvidia control panel. It doesnt seem to have all the settings... like can't change my display settings or use the control panel to change my colour, brightness etc. I went to the nvidia website to download the lastest driver go GT650M, also the site does not have the driver. Any one else experience this? how can i solve this? Thanks.

 

^ nVidia hasn't updated it's website with the latest 6xx kepler series just yet, try the MSi website for their drives just for now.

 

Ok, I found something out concerning Diablo 3, which helps to let it perform way better on the GE60.

See this thread on the official battle.net forum:

FPS problems for this game only? - Forums - Diablo III

Since I did that, Diablo 3 is running way more smooth than before. I highly recommend to try it for yourself if you play D3 on your MSI notebook.

 

hi guys,
How quiet would you say that this notebook is?

 

Can someone please review this notebooks battery life. It appears to be the only 15 inch laptop with an awesome matte display and a decent gpu.