Official MSI GX640 Owner's Thread

I agree. After the shims mod my gpu still reached 87C when playing bc2, whereas before the mod it went up to 90. How did everyone get their temps so damn low? Some temps just seem too impossible with one fan.

 

I get my good temps from changing all the stock paste to MX-3 and mainly replacing the thermal pads(on the GDDR5 RAM) for MX-3!

I use laptop cooler(fans are very weak(usb powered)) and the bottom plate is off.

I would have to play bfbc2 maxed(all the settings) at least 3.5-4hrs to get 87c. (Overclocked @ 815/1075)

Same video as in the page before:
YouTube - BF:BC2 MAXED-OUT all the settings - MSI GX640

-Fraps show the fps in the top left
-Settings are in the first 10secs of the video
-Temps are at the end, after 3hrs of play


Edit: I took my copper shim out, so there's no shim. (got better temps with the better connection to the GDDR5 RAM)

 

Hey I just received my MSi GX640-260US and I wiped everything and install my own windows 7 ultimate and installed all the new drivers.

I'm seeing CPU at 52C and GPU at 59C at idle
While playing wow with all settings cranked for about an hour i'm getting
CPU at 63C and GPU at 78C

Other than that concern, this laptop rocks.

 

Try BF:BC2 for a couple hrs maxed out!
Then you might want to oc and then have fun modding.

When I just got my laptop(no oc, no mods). My gpu idled about the same as yours. Dont know about the cpu.(didn't check)

 

Copper mod on the GPU heatsink ( http://img197.imageshack.us/i/img0808z.jpg/) + bottom cover mod + good laptop cooler.

My GX740 with 5870 OCed to 800/[email protected] maxed at 70*C in Furmark extreme burning mode with ambient temperature of 23*C. I use CoolerMaster Notepal W2 (3-fan) laptop cooler.

Screenshot here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/457412-msi-gx740-5870-1gb-ddr5-114.html
post #1139

 

Nice
That looks like the perfect heatsink man!
Where did you find that heatsink!!!

Can you please post a link to buy that?

Edit: How long was your furmark on? I never used one, because I heard BF:BC2(on maxed settings) was same or some said better?

 

I bought these copper RAM heatsinks in a random computer shop somewhere in Poland .

Have a look at the picture I linked. The time is actually on the screenshot. It was a bit over 10mins.

Furmark in extreme burning mode will stress a graphics card a lot more than any game out there.

 

I ordered this, but I could use it for my xbox360:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41jojFr7SGL._SS400_.jpg
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae8/g4m3r1337/notbookreview/Random/dsc01232oy.jpg?t=1285348151
(There very close)

Do you have some names and keywords that would help me find them on google?


Edit: Im not sure about that furmark...how is that possible? BF:BC2 uses almost the whole thing.(99.98%)
Why is furmark better if temps are for games? Do you get like 78c in a long game of BFBC2?

 

These copper RAM heatsinks I bought were manufactured by OCZ, however about a year ago OCZ stopper manufacturing any heatsinks. Maybe that will help.

Furmark is a piece of software made to stress a graphics card at 100%. In games, including BF: BC2, the load on the GPU varies, sometimes reaching the mentioned 99,98%, sometimes being lower. In Furmark, the load is always at 100%. That's why usually the maximum temperatures reached by GPUs in the worst conditions are measured using Furmark.

 

Hey man where do you get those heatsinks? Could you give me a link or keyword on ebay or something? Thanks man

 

Here:
Amazon.com: Scythe SCVCH-1000 - Video card heatsink: Computer & Accessories

The picture of this heatsink on the GX640 is not mine. I'm still waiting to get mine in the mail!

I cant find the other one, so this will be fine. The small difference is not worth the trouble.

Edit:
About the furmark:
In my video at 4:15mins, it usually stays in the 99%:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpoifNn0rCs
It reached 99.998% not 99.98% lol!
.002% or .01% is nothing.
How long was yours on? That's where the money's at!

 

Will I void the warranty if I change the thermal paste? What about if I install the copper shims?

Is there still no way to control the fan?


I got the GPU to 89 Celsius today, there is no way that is safe is there?

I have the latest vbios and i've set a 100-100 setting for when i'm not gaming. However, 90 Celsius GPU and 70-80 Celsius for the CPU can't be safe

 

89 is fine, the automatic shut down occurs at 110 (we're talking about the second sensor/mem I/O hear which is always the hottest reading. Just stay under 100 and you'll be just fine.

 

ur really panicking mate. If its under its normal specs it wont die on you, dont stress too much about it, people really exagerate the thermal management of this laptop

 

Just got my GX640 a couple of days ago and I like but the location of the fn and ctrl keys are driving me nuts.

Does anyone know a way to swap the Fn and Ctrl keys?

 

I remember wanting to change it at first, but then I got used to it.
Now I think it's better that way, not having to bend my finger further back and to the left.
(I have short fingers, so you can feel the difference more I think lol)

It's really quite comfortable!

 

Have had my GX640 for a few days now and I REALLY like this baby. FFXIV runs amazingly well... 8)

No mods no OC just powerplay off.

 

I tried getting used to the placement. It only resulted in my fat fingers hitting the WINDOWS key all of the time... My solution was to remove the WINDOWS key. Comes off easily.

 

Login

Here is a link to MSI users forum, modified BIOS section. You can register, make a new thread and ask SVET, one of the moderators, to modify the BIOS for You to swap Fn and Ctrl keys, or whatever...

PS.

I think a thread like that is already there.

 

Thanks, the main problem for me is lots of kb shortcuts that use ctrl+shift qhich is a big pain with the keys swapped.

 

Anybody know if I plan to upgrade the CPU in the future, that I should keep the i5 for perhaps, warranty purposes? My intention is to sell it to make some money back from my purchased cpu(obviously).

 

As far as I know, MSI warranty more of a warranty on the parts themselves rather than the particular setup (like Dell). So if you upgrade the RAM you're just not covered the new RAM. In theory should be the same with CPU.

I'd contact MSI RMA though to get permission in writing to do the upgrade. It'll also help because then if you have a warranty void sticker you can receiver permission to remove it

 

Any ideas what does it mean exactly and if it is worth updating? :

New BIOS 1.0E

 

Hello,
I wanna place my order tomorrow. does this come with switchable graphics?

 

where is the best online store to order from?

 

MSI GX640? No switchable graphs. But you can have more than 3 hours of battery life.

 

Looking at the AMD link, its says
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5850 supports switching. My question is,
1. Did MSI decide not to turn on the switching option?
2. Does a driver upgrade do the trick?

thanks

 

I asked the same question as you before. I returned it because there was no switchable graphics as MSI decided not to implement the feature. Man do I regret that. But since I don't need a notebook atm, I think I'll be fine...

 

If it aint broken don't fix it

 

Hey, fellow GX640 owners!

Recently I've been having these unholy thoughts of fitting my laptop with an i7-920XM processor and I thought I'd turn to the community before making any rash decisions.

Now as far as I know the computer should be compatible with this processor (I'm not quite sure if the BIOS supports it?). However I have a couple of concerns, namely
- will the power supply be able to provide enough juice to run the processor at full power, even overclocked?
- will the cooling solution be capable of handling the increased heat output of the 920XM?

Does anyone have any experience with this laptop and the more powerful quad-cores?

And on a different note: is it true that they have started shipping the GX640 with an LED backlight screen? When I received my laptop the sticker said LED screen but I assumed it was just a typo or something. but if it's not then WOOHOO!

Thanks

 

In your regard about screen, Yes, MSI does ship some of GX640's with LED backlight. Unfortunately (as one user noticed before), the screen is only WXGA resolution (1280x800) instead of 1680x1050.

 

So in my case it was still probably just a typo cause I have the 1680x1050 resolution? Is there any way I can verify this?

 

Well... if you can go up to 1680x1050 then it means you have 1680x1050...

 

LOL
Well, duh... What I meant to ask is how can I verify which type of backlight the screen has?

 

Im sure the GX640 can handle the heat np, if you change the thermal paste.
I would use MX-3!(Its what I use)

 

I was interested in knowing whether switching to the intel 6300 ultimate wireless card has any benefits. I am using the stock wifi card on the msi. Does the performance become snappier with the 6300.

Let me know your opinions especially anyone who has upgraded.

Thanks!

 

The 920XM may be too much as far as heat is concerned. It has a TDP of 55W. Keep in mind that the i5 has a TDP of 35w, so 55 is a big jump considering the small heatsink that doubles as a GPU heatsink as well. I would aim at something like an 840qm (45w) if you're going all out for an i7. In this thread Dspr ordered an 840QM ES for $140 off e-bay of which we're all waiting for results.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hardware-components-aftermarket-upgrades/522538-intel-cpu-upgrade-engineering-sample.html

I myself ordered a 720qm because it seems like the best as far as performance vs. cost. Unfortunately my GX is RMA'd at the moment because of touchpad issues.

EDIT: Dspr's cpu is an 820qm, not an 840qm.

 

good to see/hear from you kosti, this thread has been boring since you left -

 

ha ha, thanks man. It's been a while. I was gonna sell my GX but finally decided that it's not worth it. I ended up getting an Alienware m15x from Dell's outlet at one point which I thought was a good deal but turned into a nightmare. Luckily I got my money back.

I simply could not find better specs for the price. My main thing was the screen resolution. Pretty much everything in the price range uses 1366x768 which I don't like on anything bigger than 12.1". Not to mention everything in the price range also has weaker graphics. So of course now that I decided to keep it I'm doing some upgrades. First, the 720qm which I got brand-new for $190 from laptoprepairparts.com, and next a G-Skill Phoenix Pro 120GB SSD. I have both parts just sitting here, except for one problem, I had to RMA my GX due to issues with the touchpad. It should be back in a couple of weeks, hopefully fixed and ready for a makeover.

 

GX640 for the win?! haha
I to think upgrading(the GX640) is better than selling for another, that might be only a hair better. Saves money!

question:
Whats the G-Skill Phoenix Pro 120GB SSD for and will it fit in the GX640?

 

anybody know where to find rubber feet

 

In your bag??

If you lost it totally, glue a small peace of eraser in the place of rubber foot.

 

Haha yup, that's what I did! End of a lead pencial eraser works best

 

It's a solid state drive. It's one of the faster ones from the reviews I read. It should fit the GX since it's a standard 2.5" width / 9.5mm height laptop hard drive.

 

O, so you replaced the 500GB for the 120GB(faster)?
Is that 120GB you got spin at 7400rpm(I thought that kind of speed could only be found in the newest desktop hard drives)?

I thought you might have had both in the GX640.

 

Solid state drives dont spin, it's flash memory. Lot to explain, mosey over to the hardwre forum, lots of good stuff to read over there

 

Ok so I've owned the GX640-260US for about a month now and I think it is time for me to post things I've noticed about the system.

1. The rubber feet fall off pretty easily. Not that big of a deal though, just annoying til you fix it lol.

2. I like using a mouse and the USB ports locations can be kind of annoying when gaming. Also the hot air blowing right onto your right hand can be annoying sometimes as well.

3. The screen is awesome. I love how bright it is and the 1680x1050 is great.

4. Turning down the brightness will let the battery last for 3.5-4 hours and that is great since I am using this computer in class alot.

5. My biggest issue is the fan control. I had a Inspiron 9300 before this and there was a program that let you control the fans. It was so nice to decide at what temperature the fans would come on, or leave them on full blast while gaming under overclocked settings and still keep your numbers low. There has to be a way to control the fan on this laptop and I am not going to stop trying to figure it out until I get it. I do not feel comfortable overclocking with the temps I am getting on stock clocks.

6. The battery sticking out of the back seems like a big issue but I like it because it protects where the A/C adapter plugs in. On my last laptop the plug in broke because of how much movement the adapter endured while being plugged in. The battery kind of shields your leg from putting pressure on the plug.

7. For the size and performance this thing is very light. Carrying it around at school is no problem at all. It's not a hassle pulling this thing out in class or while sitting outside waiting for class.

You've probably read about most of this in other reviews. Just figured i'd post for potential buyers to know I have not experienced any surprises out of the ordinary.

I read something somewhere about having to register your warranty. Is this true? does anyone have a link for where I am suppose to do that?

 

Thanks, but was the speed worth the size(500 to 120GB)?
The stock HDD is really fast! It turns on in like 5secs after the password.
Would the solid state load everything in 1sec lol?

About the GX640:
I had the GX640 for about 4 months and I give it a 9.5/10
-price
-upgradability
-size
-looks(great colors and not to flamboyant for work)
-Esata/USB combo
-Fast and plays games great on high settings!
-Great temps if you just change the thermal paste (I use MX-3)
-etc...everything else!

-.5 off because I wouldn't mind to have raid.(not to big a deal, so its ok)
(I thought he had the HDD and a 120GB solid state)

To see the performance, look at my videos! (under my post)

lol

 

Hello, this is my first post here. I've tentatively settled on the GX640-260 from Amazon as my new laptop. However, I'd like to ask a couple questions from current owners before I do so.

1. Does this system come with a recovery CD, OS media, or recovery partition?

2. I would really need to be able to upgrade the Win7 to Pro or Ultimate, preferably via the Anytime Upgrade. Has anyone else done this? Was it fairly straightforward? If the laptop uses a recovery partition, I'd rather wipe the thing off and reinstall from scratch, but I'm unsure how the anytime upgrade would work with that.

Thanks for any tips.

 

1. recovery partition yes, recovery cd no bu you can burn them

2. Not quite sure about that, I just did a clean install