Official MSI GX640 Owner's Thread

Hi,

Can anyone tell me if this MSI laptop's touch pad suffers from easy wear like some other MSI touchpads? Wondering if I should invest in some kind of protector. I just ordered the black barebones equivalent of this laptop (MSI-1656-ID5). I had a MSI Wind and the touchpad wear was atrocious :/

Also, i should be able to install any i7 PGA 988/989 (Socket G1) processor correct? I ask because the MSI Whitebook "qualified parts" list has 5 processors listed, and 5 HDD models... seemed really sparse and inaccurate to me:

http://www.msiwhitebook.com/product/images/QVL_MS1656.pdf

 

Yes, you should get a touchpad protector. I lot of us have invested in one from this site: SkinStyler, Macbook Trackpad Skin & Wrist Rest Protector

 

Or you could just use a mouse.

 

Its a hit or miss with the i7 Quads. People have had problems with the i7 740QM. Be careful with ES CPUs. Not all of them work.

 

I use a mouse all of the time but I occasionally use the touchpad anyways. Even if I have a mouse plugged in.

 

Okay.. I keep getting different dumps with the blue screens.

0x0000007e
0x0000005c
0x00000021

Please help :/

 

Hey NotEnoughMinerals, how is the i7 820qm? I am thinking about upgrading to a faster cpu, maybe i7 840qm. I have heard that the 820qm wasn't compatible with the gx640, it is running good in your laptop?

And will an ES/QS model work in this laptop? Since they are significantly cheaper i was wondering if they would so i wouldnt have to spend over a hundred more dollars for an oem processor.

 

The 820qm is fun, depends on what you're doing with the laptop for if you'll feel a difference though. It works perfectly with the machine, it's on the supported parts list. I'm using a proper OEM so I don't know about the ES/QS but I don't see why they wouldnt work.

 

920XM QS didn't work properly on my GX740. I don't know about GX640 though.
Some details here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...538-intel-cpu-upgrade-engineering-sample.html

 

That was an interesting thread. I was was mad when that guy's 820qm didn't work in his gx640 lol. Did you ever try to get another 920xm?

 

Do you think if i went with this cpu i would have the same problem as you did?: New Intel Mobile Core? i7-920XM Extreme 8M Turbo 3.2GHz - eBay (item 110626339941 end time Jan-17-11 17:44:01 PST)

 

nvm i think 920xm requires more power than the hm55 chipset can handle. So i might try out this one: New Intel® Core? i7-840QM Processor 1.83GHz/8m/1333 - eBay (item 260712228433 end time Jan-24-11 07:29:33 PST)

 

Where did You get this info from? There are people in this forum, who run 920XM in GX740 without any issues...

 

I got it from the questions and answers spot on that ebay page. A guy has a laptop with an hm55 chipset and asked if it can only support that cpu and the seller said it can only support a cpu with 45w of power not 55w, which is what the 920xm needs.

but maybe that was only for his particular model? idk lol

 

You can use a 920xm with an GX640. Gentech was offering it as an upgrade option.

The only question would be if your cooling can handle it and if the ES/QS plays nice.

 

hmmm. i am really considering purchasing one of these from shirley on ebay. I am hoping the es/qs will play nice tho, but if not he accepts refunds.

 

I purchased my 920XM QS from shirley, it didn't play nice, after exchanging a few e-mails and explaining the problem I got a full refund (first I had to ship the CPU back, of course).

 

the one i'm looking at is an ES model. Are they the same? Is this the same one you got? New Intel® Core? i7-920XM Processor 2.0GHz/8m/1333 - eBay (item 260719862475 end time Jan-19-11 20:10:41 PST)
And was yours just defective or is it just that model in general that isn't compatible?

 

Same SSPEC: Q3B8.

The 920XM QS in my laptop could only use RAM in single channel mode. I had 8GB RAM installed, Win7Pro64 was reporting 8GB total, 4GB usable. I tested it with different modules (4+4, 4+2, 2+4, 2+2), and with 2 different BIOSes, and in every case the second module was not available for Windows. I had also tested it with Ubuntu Linux, with the same results. All problems disappeared when I put back my 720QM OEM.

 

It gets pretty toasty. MSI's cooling system isn't particularly effective compared to say... the one found on Asus' G-series laptops, with the dual exhausts and all. That's a polite way of saying that MSI did a terrible job with their heat dissipation strategy. They did the bare minimum.

My GPU idles at 60°C and peaks at 85°C on intensive games. And that's with a complete repaste and copper shim mod. All in all, the mod didn't make a great deal of difference, I think it would do more good to just remove the thermal pads for the memory modules on the video card and apply some thermal paste on them.

 

Well I just bought an Intel Core i7 840qm from shirley. I talked to him about compatibility before I bought it and he said his technician said it will work, so fingers crossed on this one lol. If it works then I saved over a hundred dollars by getting this ES/QS model. This is the one I bought: New Intel® Core? i7-840QM Processor 1.83GHz/8m/1333 - eBay (item 260712228433 end time Jan-24-11 07:29:33 PST)

 

Good luck with the upgrade .

 

Thanks! I will report back with results.

 

i feel kinda noobish to this program, but 2,8 ghz sounds good so i want to give it a go.

i stil cant figure out why it wont go up tho. anything i havent clicked?

*image fail. try this:

http://img143.imageshack.us/i/derpyf.jpg/

 

New processor comes in today! I hope I'm not disappointed lol

 

I installed it and everything is running great! are there any programs i can use to check and see if it is running properly?

 

I tested it with 3dmark vantage and i got a 12005 cpu score and the one on the ebay page says it got 12003 so it works properly! CPU upgrade is successful

 

Congratulations! Could You post some temps under full load? Maybe also some benchmark results with the old and the new CPU, just for comparison, and for future reference.

 

nice to see the upgrade worked out for you. The 820qm is a great proc

 

Thanks, i will post temps under full load but i may not have enough time to do a comparison of the two cpu's because i am in college and always busy with school work lol.

 

hi all

i got some problem here

my Gx640 said that MR5850 running @ PCI-E 16X and not PCI-E 2.0????





Uploaded with ImageShack.us

any ideal?

 

Hmmmmm never seen that before,
Gpu-z misread or GPU malfunction :S

 

Upgrade options and costs?

 

Get a couple of these 4GB ram sticks ($39 each were $50 each):
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Laptop Memory Model F3-10600CL9S-4GBSQ

And here is a great processor deal that I just got ($420):
New Intel® Core? i7-840QM Processor 1.83GHz/8m/1333 - eBay (item 260712228433 end time Jan-24-11 07:29:33 PST)

And get some of these for cooling and put them on your gpu heatsink (so you can overclock your gpu to higher levels :
Copper Cooler Heatsink DDR DDR2 DDR3 RAM Memory RHS-03 - eBay (item 250525419853 end time Jan-28-11 22:26:30 PST)

Then drill some holes in your bottom removable cover for extra cpu and gpu cooling. Drill under the gpu and cpu part of the heatsink and drill some under the fan. Then get a notepal u2 laptop cooler. After all of this you will be set! lol

 

I used Intel Burn Test 2.5 to test my cpu under load. With my video card overclocked to 825/1070 mhz and my 840qm at stock, my highest temp was 79C when running it in very high mode, and its highest speed was 25.7 GFlops. If i remember correctly my i5 450m had a high speed of around 17 GFlops.

A problem I am having is that when I run Intel Burn Test at Very High and Furmark at 1440x900 resolution (windowed mode) maxed out at 8x AA my computer shuts off after around 3 minutes. The temps can't be the problem because my gpu was at 73C and my cpu was at 81C. Could it be my power supply is not strong enough? The cpu should not cause it to shut off unless it exceeds 100C And the gpu should be able to go past 100C before it automatically shuts off. correct me if i am wrong.

I can run games maxed out fine with these conditions, but when the cpu and the gpu are under full load at the same time then it shuts off. And when it turns back on my AC adapter will not be recognized by my laptop until i unplug it from the wall and plug it back in.

 

I would stop stress testing CPU and GPU simultaneously. Your power brick could burn out and then you'll be without one for a few days until you get it replaced.

Nothing will simultaneous stress the CPU and GPU at their maximum capabilities so don't bother testing something like that.

 

Based on my experience, I'd say that the described issue is 99% related to the PSU. I have bricked one 120W MSI stock PSU by stressing the CPU and the GPU, and charging the battery at the same time, and it happened with my previous MSI laptop [MS-1722/GX720 with OCed QX9300(2.8GHz) and OCed nVidia 9600M GT (600/1500/950)]. Luckily, I had bought the Targus 180W PSU a week before it happened, so I wasn't left without any PSU at all.
After some analysis of reviews of MSI gaming laptops (and especially their power consumption) on notebookcheck.net, I came into conclusion that stock MSI 120W PSUs are being stressed to their limits with stock laptop components (like i5 and non-OCed 5850M/5870M).

I would suggest getting a more powerful PSU, especially that MSI started shipping their gaming laptops with stock 150W PSUs recently (have a look at their Web page, most, if not all GX/GT series laptops are being supplied with the mentioned 150W PSUs, not 120W).

It all depends on what You do with the laptop. Mine usually stays on 24/7 and runs BOINC when idle, which loads 8 threads and the GPU at 100%. But that's just me ;-).

 

Cool thanks for the information! I kinda thought it was the psu lol

 

johnathan300 +rep for You for Your drive to upgrade, mod and OC Your laptop, and for sharing Your experiences with us, despite the fact that You're busy with college and stuff.


BTW. Targus 180W PSUs can still be found cheap on ebay, just type in APA05. I hope this helps...

PS.
And before You ask, it's the yellow tip .

 

Hey guys. I have a MSI GX640-260US on order and wondered about processor upgrading. I currently have a Core i5 450M being installed. Budgetary constraints prevented a higher CPU. Anyway, I noticed there was an option for the Core i7 processor. Can the i7 processor fit on the same board as the i5 or is there a different board to put in?

 

All the mobile i7 cpus will fit as long as they are not sandy bridge based.

 

My heart is so broken right now. UPS tried to deliver me my GX640 about an hour ago while I was at school, damn them mother intercoursers are fast I only ordered it yesterday and that was standard service. Now I have to wait till Monday, luckily no school then.. just 3 days

edit: oh wow i can actually pick it up myself today at 7 PM, awesome company. too bad that time isnt okay for me : (

 

It's nice to see how this notebook still keeps a punch in games and good value for money even it's been around for almost a year. Sure, some workarounds have to be made, but overall I think it's a decent notebook.

 

I was amazed when I realised that my GX640 was already 10 months old. Still a plenty strong machine to run anything I want.

 

Hey thanks man its fun for me lol. My major is actually computer engineering so im interested in things like this.
And i looked at the targus 180w psu's on ebay, but the cheapest one that came with everything was around $60. The rest were incomplete items that were like $20.

 

Hello,

I got a problem. Every time I start the computer with the msi gaming mouse connected the boot time increase with approximately 20 sec. I have changed the boot order to only my ssd harddrive and everything else disable. I have tried enable and disable usb legacy support. But no help.

Without msi gaming mouse connected: 29 sec.
With msi gaming connected: 49 sec.

Anyone else have the same problem? Or do anyone know a solution? I restart the computer very often because I multiboot different OS and its annoying to have to wait extra time to choose which OS I want to boot.

 

That's weird. If you are talking about the red and black mouse with the weights, then I have the same one. I'm gonna try it later on mine.

 

Is the DVD ROM supposed to sound like a chainsaw at times?

And why did my screen just shrink into a tiny square?

thanks!

 

mine isn't that noticeably loud. check to see if your resolution is set to 1680x1050. it could be set lower and your gpu is scaling it 1:1 instead of stretching it to fit your screen.

 

it spins extremely fast and loud, i was at school and i had to take the dvd out immediatley (drivers dvd) because everyone in a 10 mile radius could hear it.

I'm gonna try to record the noise later