Official MSI GE60 2013 Owners Lounge

I see, my bad Grim Tuesday ^^

I don't get why Clevo didn't add a backlit keyboard, it would have made the W350ST/W370ST a no brainer over the Msi, the only advantage the Msi would have is better sound and an extra msata slot, I personally would take that 2nd HDD bay in the Clevo over a 2nd msata slot any day .

 

Personally I think the clevo looks bulky and ugly, I'm happy with my GE60 after the few tweaks I've made, and once my carbon fiber vinyl comes in the mail I can wrap the lid and be free of the glossyness.

 

Or rather I WAS happy. Once AGAIN I have gotten this bluescreen error video_dxgkrnl_fatal_error My laptop is now unuseable unless I reinstall AGAIN, I cant even seem to get into safe mode. I really dont know what to do, I cant keep reinstalling

 

Time to call in RMA and replace your laptop. Looks like a GPU issue which is soldiered on the motherboard. Surely, you are within 15/30 days return/replace policy?

Although I said it may be a GPU issues, it could be anything really. It could be RAM or even HDD itself. Try a different HDD/SSD and then try different RAMs to narrow down possibilities.

If you don't wanna or cannot do that, just send it back and return it for refund or replacement.

 

I opened it up when I installed my ssds and all that jazz, thus breaking that stupid warranty sticker, so arent I out of luck?

 

Nope, you should not be out of luck. No custom laptops void warranty just because end users replace HDDs. Just put the original HDD back in and you should be good to go.

Where did you buy it from? That's an important question. If you bought it off a reseller, they should be able to fix it for you rather quickly.

 

I got it off NCIX. Why would it have that sticker if it didnt void the warranty?

 

Generally to scare off noobs. If you call them, they will say you did not void your warranty as long as you replaced only HDD. And to further fuel that, HDD is considered consumable components. And for a barebone like the one you bought off NCIX, it is expected that the purchaser will replace its HDDs.

And to be frank, HDDs are what almost all manufacturers skim on to lower prices.

 

I emailed MSI and they said that breaking the sticker didn't void anything. It's just a weird idiosyncrasy that they have it. I'd email them yourself and check but I doubt they'd give you a different answer.


The fan noise on here is kind of annoying me though I'm sure I'll get over it. Has anyone found a way to fix it? And when I say fix it, I mean control fan speeds, because Speedfan sure can't.

 

Hi!

I am going to buy a new notebook in the near future and the new MSI GE60 caught my attention.
However, after reading the thread I am not sure about it, so I have some questions for the owners:

Does anybody have the model with the GT 750M in it? How is that one doing in regards to heat?
Is the aluminium surface actually good as a heat sink, or is it just a heatpipe to your palm?
Are the temperatures realy bad when gaming? What if you would have lower seetings in the game? Could a cooling pad help decrease the temperature?

 

I don't have one, but if the usual software doesn't work you'll probably have to mod the BIOS or wait for someone to mod it and change the fan threshold values.

 

Does anyone know how to adjust the contrast and color settings for this laptop? Thanks.

 

The palm rest does get warm, and the laptop goes get very hot when you game. You can repaste and undervolt/underclock the cpu to reduce temps a bit but its still going to be very warm. I'm going to go and buy a cooling pad today and see how that helps. Also I've had some strange error a couple times that makes the computer just loop bluescreens, forcing me to reinstall. All I found about the error is one person with a clevo laptop who had the same thing and said it was a bad raid driver, so I've tried an older driver in hopes that I dont get the bluescreen now. This laptop does have its share of issues, but if they can be overcome I can see it being a pretty decent machine. While doing light tasks (browsing, word processing, watching videos) the laptop is very quiet and doesnt heat up at all.

So provided I dont get any more bluescreens (if I do I am going to look into returning this laptop because I cant deal with whatever messed up driver/hardware combo is causing this) I will be back with my results from getting a cooling pad. I'm probably going to get this one unless someone can recommend something better in the same super cheap price range. Canada Computers | Notebooks, Netbooks & Tablets | Cooler Master NotePal U2, Notebook Cooler (Black) - Up to 17", Aluminum Mesh, 2 Removable Fans (R9-NBC-8PBK-GP)

 

Is there no 2013 GE70 owners lounge? I've been looking for input on battery life and differences between the two but can't find anything anywhere. Any help would be appreciated.

 

To be honest, if I had any intention to get GE70, I'd get GT60. It's probably why there is very little interest in it.

 

Here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/723150-where-msi-ge70-2013-owners-lounge.html

 

Ok so now I have another issue, this wasnt happening before but now its started. Whenever my GPU is under load my CPU seems to throttle to 800mhz or 1.5ghz, temps arent extreme so I dont know why this is happening. And I assume noone will be able to help me and my constant stream of frustrating problems that make no sense.

Im going to try and return this thing, even though I broke the warranty sticker. Oh well..

 

So someone on this thread managed to get an estimated battery life of 5.5 hours after running the MSI Battery Calibration Utility.
Has anyone tested and confirmed this yet?

 

Does anyone know if you can use another battery or some sort of external battery?

Would this work?
Amazon.com: Anker® Astro Pro2 20000mAh External Battery Charger High Capacity Power Bank for Tablets, Netbooks, Notebooks, Laptops, Smart Phones - Compatible with HP, Dell, Acer, Asus, Toshiba Notebooks, Google Nexus Tablets, iPads, iPhones, Samsung

 

Thanks for the reply! I am still not sure if I should get this, or the last years model. The heat is my main concern, the battery life is my least concern.
The current price difference between the 2012 and 2013 model for me is about 130 € (around 170 $) and I am not sure if the backlit keyboard, new touchpad, aluminium surface (for better or worse), and Hashwell/765M updgrade are worth the price.

(On a side note: I can't find a shop anywhere near me that sells the Clevo W350ST, otherwise I would most probably get that one instead.)

 

so are there really no third party 9 or 12 cell batteries out there for this laptop? i dont understand why they would just put out a 6 cell battery when a 12 cell can nearly double your battery life and make the laptop much more usable for non gaming usage.

 

MSI BTY-S14 batteries - Replacement MSI BTY-S14 Laptop Battery I 6600 mAh battery would give you 4.5ish hours of non gaming useage (bit less for video playback), I just havent seen anyone who has actually bought it, so hopefully someone will be brave and go for one so everyone can see how it is. IF I keep this laptop (I might be returning it, though throttlestop has helped one of the major issues I had) I would love to be able to get that battery,

And then you could even keep the stock battery charged up in your bag with you giving you even more time away from the socket if needed.

 

It looks like it sticks out the bottom which would tip your whole computer towards the front which I think would be kind of annoying, especially for on lap usage.

 

yes 9 and 12 cell batteries normally stick out the bottoms of laptops, however they are nice on desks, there r like a million products out there that are a laptop stand that will tilt is slightly for you, because many people like that, also since battery packs are normally centered, the pack sort of fits between ur legs wen used on lap, thats what its like with the laptop im currently using on my lap which has a 9 cell battery.

But more importantly if anyone has tried the 9 cell battery discussed above or knows of any other 9 or 12 cell batteries that will work, please post here.

 

In regards to the anker astro pro 2 external battery someone asked about, I emailed anker and they told me it would not be compatible with the GE60. Though I suspect that is just because it can only handle at a maximum 65 watts, so I'm willing to bet it would work under light load if you had the right connector, but obviously you would be taking a chance there since they said it wouldnt work. Hopefully someone is brave enough to order the 6600 mAh battery to see if it actually does fit and how it performs.

 

I bought an LCD upgrade for the GE60. Anyone have any pro tips on how to get it open?

 

Hey guys

Thinking of buying this laptop since its one of the few haswell laptops available here.

The battery life of 3 hours seems disappointing but I could live with it/ buy a new one I guess.

I'm slightly more interested in the temps. Reading the thread it seems that the temps reach the 90s while gaming. Could someone give me a bit more info about which games make it this hot, and how much throttling there is?

I don't mind it running at 90 when gaming as long as thats not too close to the threshold (110c on my last laptop) and I can prevent it from throttling (think I read earlier that the cpu was throttled? Could this be reduced by undervolting, using ThrottleStop?)

Thanks

 

If i choose to purchase this computer in Canada, would newegg.ca be the place? It seems that nowhere in Canada do they customize any MSI, and newegg seems to have the stock laptop for approx 1200$. Should i be leery of this?

 

In Canada, you have three prime choices.

1. Newegg.ca
2. NCIX.ca
3. Canadacomputers.com <- These guys are better to deal with locally. They have numerous stores across Ontario especially in Toronto and London area.

 

Yes I actually saw that they had a few in stock at a store very close to where I live. However when i checked their reputation online I saw that the reviews of the store were all quite terrible. I guess if I choose to purchase this laptop I'll go with newegg.ca.
thanks for input

 

So I got home and weighed the computer:


For those following along, it should weigh 5 lb 4.48 oz (5.28 lbs). This weighs 10 oz more than that so they are blatantly lying about the weight. I think anyone could get a refund on the grounds of it being more than 1/2 a pound more than it should be.

As for scale calibration, I weighed a 5 lb bag of flour and it came out to 5 lb 1/2 oz which makes sense because it's 5 lbs of flour and a paper bag that could weigh around 1/2 an oz.


I'm getting the run around from Newegg about the weight, being told to contact MSI. I'm asking them how to elevate the issue, but I'll do an executive email corporate bomb if I have to. They are quickly losing my business in the future.

@Bishibot, I highly recommend against buying from Newegg as their computer return policy is nonexistent.

Edit: Contacted MSI, spoke with a really nice support guy. That said, he can't do anything about it, punted me back to Newegg.

 

I've personally purchased a gateway laptop from them a long time ago. The second one listed in my signature. The laptop hasn't run into any issues and I still use it as bittorrent client machine now. So, I've had no chance of actually dealing with them about warranty issues and such. The laptop just won't break. lol It's been on 24 hours a day for at least 5 years now.

But I've been using them often for minor purchases over the years and they gave me no problems when it comes to returning and exchanging goods.

NCIX doesn't even question when you return laptops as long as you choose their expressRMA during checkout.

I don't know about Newegg laptop purchases since I haven't bought a laptop from them before.

 

So I'm currently looking at NCIX.com - Canada's Premier Computer Store - Online PC Discount Store, Buy Computer Accessories and they really don't seem to write the system specs anywhere, if I were to purchase this should i just expect the stock specs from places such as xoticpc? Kind of sketchy that they don't present all the information

Edit: Grimm so I assume you've been seeing decent battery times of around 3hrs now, have you found anything that would allow for a larger battery life. Also, do you seem to be having the same heating issues/discomforts?

 

NCIX has always been relied on individual users for spec info. Eventually, someone with edit permission will fill the spec box.

Now, all you need to do is google the part #.

You shouldn't compare XoticPC with NCIX. Those two are entirely different companies. XoticPC is a reseller. NCIX is a (Canadian) retailer. Before Newegg came along, NCIX was the only reliable resource of latest computer tech hardware. NCIX has a really long history.

If I had a choice between buying from a US reseller or a Canadian retailer, I'd always go for Canadian one simply due to tax issues. If you get to return your laptop for refund, doing so with NCIX is a breeze. Simply return it and you will get your money back. Now, if you bought from XoticPC, they would still refund you, but you might have an issue getting your tax back.

 

I actually had a spontaneous shut down today, not sure what caused it. I have two thoughts: One being catastrophic thermal failure caused by it being set up on my desk and big monitor with the lid closed. I pulled out my infrared thermometer and measured 120 F above the trackpad and 110 on the palmrest right after it restarted. The shutdown may also have had to do with the undervolting I was doing as well but I'm not sure. I returned everything to stock and I'll try playing again later and log temps for both CPU and GPU. I was playing Orcs Must Die 2. Honestly when I game, I play with an external keyboard so the issue with the palmrest heating up is not a problem for me though I see how it could be for some.

And yeah, I have been seeing the 3 hour battery life as well, but it's really more like 2 hours 40 minutes.

 

Closing the lid was probably the cause of melt down. It could damage your screen if you do that for too long also. Actually, your screen may melt down right around the top of the trackpad if you do that for too long.

The whole laptop acts as a heatsink. I think it's overall a bad design.

 

If it just shut down with no bluescreen I bet its your undervolting, that happened to me while I was trying to find the right undervolt. Although the tuning utility doesnt always like to apply my undervolt when I restart the system, so I have given up on that venture, too much hassle.

 

Same, I've given up on that, working on the return-for-refund-due-to-mislisted-weight angle now, which I am actually really mad about. I chose the GE60 because it was the lightest 765M laptop and it isn't.

 

Welcome to the club, lolz.

 

Has anyone else besides blue tried repasting the CPU? From what he said, the high temp is partially an issue with the CPUs not being well pasted with TIM. I'm planning on ordering a tube of IC Diamond with this laptop soon. I will also try undervolting/underclocking on bouth the CPU and GPU.

 

Repasting or not, there is an issue with the overall design. No re-pasting will fix that. The whole laptop acts as a big heatsink.

 

The GE70, which has the exact same internal layout, has no cooling problems. Did you have problems with GPU & CPU temps or just one or the other?

I can't imagine any laptop that doesn't take at least the keyboard into cooling design considerations.

 

GE 70 is 17 inch. Even if it has the same internal design, overall design for GE60 is smaller. I assume at 17 inch the heat becomes much more manageable.

My GE60 did not shut down due to high temp. It never did when I did stress testing over a night. But my hands couldn't take the heat. From the left vent to the top of the trackpad area, including left palm area were going over 50c. A spot above trackpad was much worse where CPU was directly under. I was fairly sure that I could cook an egg on that spot.

Basically, thermal design for GE60 is not strong enough to dissipate all the heat and therefore loose heat is affecting the aluminum upper chassis. I can only assume, since I do not have GE70, that GE70's ability for heat dissipation is just enough so that it does not affect other area of the laptop as bad as GE60.

Overall, GE60 needs a 2nd fan.

 

That's ok with me. I use my laptop as a DTR (attach a external keyboard/mouse, larger display), and don't plan on gaming/stress testing while I'm out and about with it at school.

Thanks for the responses!

 

As long as you don't close your lid, it should be fine. You don't want your screen to melt down.

 

I tried playing the same game (OMD2) with the lid open. No shut downs were recorded however, I logged temps. CPU temp went up to 98 at which point it logged throttling. GPU stayed 'reasonable', in the high 80s. It looks like there is a throttle point for it at 90c because it plateued at that and never went above it. Maybe I'm old fashioned but when I was last building desktops, 100 C for a processor is completely unacceptable and means something like your fan isn't spinning.

As for surface temps, my infrared thermometer measured:

116 F at the table where exhaust exhausted, 148 F temp of air coming out of exhaust, 106 F at top of trackpad, 122 F directly above trackpad in the spot alucasa mentioned, and 113 F from the W key to the U key on the keyboard.

 

That while you were benching, right?

 

Nope, he said it in the first sentence. He was playing a game.

 

Out of interest, why did you decide to buy this MSI over the MSI GT60 2OC-022US? Mainly because of the size? It seems much the better laptop for only an extra $200.

 

Yeah, I agree with your signature. It is completely unacceptable for a processor to reach 100 C under intended use. I mean, if it were P95+Furmark or something then I would understand it and write it off as beyond what the design is intended for in normal usage. But this was a game, and not even a graphically intensive one at that. The fact that Realtemp read "log" which means that PROCHOT was triggered is very bad news.

In case anyone is curious, I dug around in the documentation provided by Intel for Haswell processors. On desktop processors, TjMax is 108 C, 112 is emergency throttling, 120 is catastrophic thermal failure. On the mobile series, they do not have a listed Tjmax. I would paste the documentation here but for some reason Intel has copy protected (literally) the pdf. If anyone cares, you can find the stuff about mobile here, it's pretty interesting. Search for PROCHOT to get to the relevant section.

Mobile 4th Gen Intel® Core™ Processor Family: Datasheet, Vol 1

Edit: I chose the GE60 because of weight and size and the weight wasn't even correct.