Official MSI GX640 Owner's Thread

Yeah.

Glittery it is

 

cool dood!

 

Ok, still have not received the e-mail. I think maybe he had second thoughts about sending the beta to a customer, although he offered to send it, I never asked. I'll keep you posted if anything changes.

 

Anyone have a photo of the GX640 heatsink by any chance?

 

Try here.

 

Do i get the MSI 3 years warranty if I buy through Amazon?

 

Yes, you do. I bought mine from Amazon and after registering my laptop MSI's site has confirmed my warranty as 3 years.

 

Should. I know the one on Newegg states a 1 year warranty but still comes with the 3 i believe.

 

Where would everyone suggest the best place to get it? Xotic? newegg? Amazon? Does Xotic go over the rig before they ship it make sure its functioning? Thats really the only benefit i could see ordering it from them.

 

If you customize it at all, Xotic will check over it. However, your order will take significantly longer that way than it would ordering from a wholesaler like Amazon.

 

I'm going to be using this laptop as my school laptop, so battery life is of some importance. I realize I can only expect 2-3 hours of battery life with the 9-cell, but I was wondering what to be expected from the 6-cell battery? I will likely buy a spare battery so I can go 4+ hours unplugged, and might want to buy an extra 6-cell instead of 9-cell since the 6-cell is a little bit lighter and more compact. However, certainly not worth it if the 6-cell only gets an hour of battery life or something.

Thanks for any info.

 

Why does whenever i see people who are so concerned with "weight" and "size" I imagine them with a tape measure and a scale built into their backpack so they never go out "too heavy". Like it requires military level precision or something just to goto school.

Oh and i doubt you'd get past 1.5 hrs on the 6 cell.

 

Perhaps we should review which laptop has the best aerodynamic properties in a 100m military crawl while strapped to your back. Then afterwords we can see who's nerdy man sweat cools a CPU/GPU more.

 

i cant agree more.
+rep when i can rep some more

 

Yes, you are right...to some extent. When you carry your notebook every day you start to feel the difference. If the notebook is too heavy/bulky your mind just silently tells you "maybe I don't need my laptop today?". And that's it - it's that simple. If the notebook is too heavy you won't want to carry it on daily basis - only on special occasions.

Yes, I agree, few pounds here and there are not that important, but when they sum up with other things to carry - you start to feel the difference.

 

Hello,

I just got the GX640 in the mail (ordered on sunday, got it on tuesday!) and so far, I'm amazed.
The various criticisms made on this board are true (keyboard, noise, not so much heat) but the performance and feel are great.

I read extensively this forum before buying it and I just wanted to thank all of you who gave constructive advice

 

Congratulations on your purchase.

 

Yeah, were happy you see the pro's over the cons meld! perhaps keep us informed on some of the activities and how you feel its running programs and games? Alot of users here like to see performance and temps.

 

So far, I've only updated drivers, installed a couple programs (no games yet) and ran a 3D Mark06 (11391 iirc) at standard clock.

Temps were fine, max temp for CPU is in the 60s and for GPU in the high 70s (don't remember the exact numbers, 77°C I believe). I though it would be higher (might be after a couple of hours gaming though).

It definitely is a laptop that is best used by people:
1) needing such power.
2) not minding some noise/heat (not too bothersome, though, don't run away in panic mode).
3) not minding low battery life (not estimated yet on my part, but I got a 6-cell...).
4) gaming on a desk (I think I'd be uncomfortable using it for long on my lap).
5) looking for the best bang for the buck as you say.

If you're not one of these people, I think there are better options for you.

 

Yeah, I have to agree with the post above.
1) You don't want to buy this notebook for your girlfriend to play farmwille.
2) You are not living in library and trying to secretly play some games while nobody notices.
3) You are not a hardworking bussinessman who wants to prepare spreadsheets while going on taxi to airport and during whole flight (like my boss)
4) You have a table to put this computer and a comfortable office chair to keep you for long long hours of gaming.
5) You don't want to wait for "that next salary" to give them away for a nicer badge (dell or asus).

I have a secret screenshot of 3D Mark Vantage with 7300 ish stock clock GPU score back home, I'll upload it this evening prolly

 

Oh, one more point : my gx640 came with a warranty sticker on the bottom, which means no thermal paste upgrade for me (not that I really intended to), I can't open the case withouth beaking it.

(but I bought it in France, we have a 6 cell battery instead of a 9 cell over here, so maybe you don't have the sticker in the US)

 

That sounds like a EU thing I guess, although I'm curious to inquire with the guy who bought one in the netherlands.

No such sticker in north america for the GX640, although it used to be there in past MSIs

 

Search e-bay for warranty stickers. You may find a match and just use that to replace the original. I think it's ridiculous for MSI to put a warranty sticker on the main cover. What if you need to re-seat your RAM or remove the BIOS battery to clear it. That's just retarded. I don't know any laptop maker that does that. I guess they don't trust you Europeans

 

This notebook does not have a BIOS battery
And yes, I also had warranty sticker but removed it so no traces left visible - It's too fragile ti be kept for longer time - it can even break if you put the notebook on some objects even with minimal corner edges (hence a pile of documents or even your jeans buttons can break it). Anyway, I can act a fool and swear there was no sticker on the bottom if asked by MSI.

 

you sneaky weasel, lol!!!

 

Eh i'd call up their support and just tell the placement of the warranty sticker prevents access to the panel, and will eventually rub off in everyday usage. I bet they'd give you an official pass.

 

what?

Yes it does, I circled it (in blue) here:

 

Oh they hid it under the wifi card. Oh snap, missed that the time I opened bottom panel of my notebook :/

 

I have an i7-620M processor in my GX640. The cpu is rated from 2.67ghz to a turbo speed of 3.36ghz. The cpu is cycling around speeds from 1.197 ghz to 3.059ghz based on cpu load. But, I can't seem to get the max rated speed of 3.36ghz.

Does anyone have any ideas?? I tried disabling C State and speedstep but that just locks the cpu at 2.67ghz.

Thanks for the replies!

 

prime95 should do the trick

 

Okay, here's some things you can try for me:
1) Download RealTemp - it's quite simply the best CPU monitoring program.
2) Disable as many background processes as you can get away with.
3) Try running different numbers of threads in wPrime (1, 2, 3 and 4 threads), and look at your CPU status while you're doing it (You can use RealTemp or the bundled program i7 Turbo for this - i7 Turbo gives more information on each core/thread's status, so it might be more useful). Report the results of the wPrime runs and the status of the cores while you were doing them.

 

Bueller, Bueller ??

 

I'm not sure what you're asking for, but you should try what I suggested above. That way we'll know what's going on.

 

Damnit people stop buying out all the Gx640's on newegg. My refund check is coming sooner and i'll be pissed if i have to pay sales tax at amazon.

 

There seems to be quite a few different places you can buy it, so I think you should be able to find somewhere that works for you. I don't like Newegg's return policy, for one.

Still, good luck buying your machine.

 

I was reviewing their return policy and it seems pretty standard. What part about it are you against?

 

They don't offer refunds on most laptops, the GX640 included.

 

I have to say the same. I bought mine from NE, the first day they had it, I wanted to buy the notebook, and I trusted NE, as I've done a lot of component purchases, for a lot of years, so I placed the order, got charged, and THEN went back and read the "Return policy", which is basically: You have a problem, deal with MSI or, we'll take your money, and it's between you and MSI. I decided right there that this would be my last "big ticket item" bought from NE with this "Policy". Now thank god, I've been torturing this laptop 12-15 hrs a day for 3 weeks, and it hasn't skipped a beat, and I don't think it will, but if it does, I'm not going to be happy dealing with MSI. They want to "fix" everything. I want a Return that goes like this: I send you the bad one, you send me a new good one. simple.
just my 2cents worth.

 

I think you have it backwards. Newegg charges tax, and amazon doesnt. It's most likely sold out on amazon rather than newegg. If you spend like 50bucks more, you can buy it from xotic. Also a heads up: Gentech/1toppc charges tax and if you call, you can ask for free shipping (probably will depend on how far you live from SoCal).

 

It depends on where you live and where they ship from for if you get taxed. That's not a company policy, it's abiding by the law

 

OOOHH, I didnt know that. Always assumed that amazon never taxed. Well, for anyone who' buying in California, Amazon never taxes, and Newegg always taxes 9.75%. Amazon has free shipping most of the time if over $25, and Newegg sometimes has free shipping. Xotic seems the best deal for California buyers though. Gentech is nearby SoCal buyers, but they still charge tax, which will also be 9.75%. Gentech also charges shipping I believe, unless you phone it in.

 

Yeah, legally speaking everyone is supposed to charge you tax, and if you don't get charged sales tax you're technically obligated to pay use tax. Quite a lot of people simply don't, however.

Also, Provantage's prices on the GX640 are competitive, and they seem to have stock. Their return policy is better than Newegg's, too.

 

Since when does newegg charge tax? Ive ordered many things from them and never been charged sales tax, while with amazon because i live in Washington they charge me sales tax.

And as to buying things online you dont have to pay taxes on out of state purchases unless your state has a statue saying you do i believe.


Edit* just went thru newegg's checkout and they do not charge me sales tax.

They only charge for New jersey, Tennessee and California.

 

On an unrelated note, I wish eChecks didn't take so long. I just had to save the extra $40 didn't I?

 

I recommend ProVantage. They are good people (at least in my contact with them). They have great prices but are very leary of internet fraud so I recommend you call them 2 days after you place an order and ask them if they have any processing questions. They will ask you a few questions to verify your order and usually ship that afternoon. If I didn't call, it would have slowed down a bit while we played email tag.

 

Yea was unaware of provantage, Seems good, $20, lower price then anyone else. I contacted Xotic to try and get a price match and they said they couldnt. Which is sad, but as im an unemployed college student Ive really gotta make the most out of my money.

Also i saw someone got a "gaming" mouse with their 640? Is that standard in one of these or just something special that guy got?

 

I think people in Europe get some gear with the GX640, like a backpack and/or mouse. Not in the U.S., though.

 

Yea that's kinda what i was thinking. Sad cause my first gen mx518 finally died the other week. 5+ years that thing lasted me. Was much more reliable then the riggs they were plugged into thats for sure.

 

I still think we got the better end of the stick in north america. They may have the backpack and mouse but we don't have warranty seal stickers