Ryzeki's MSI GT60 2OD-026US review! Haswell plus 780m :D

We may not know each other but the review is for you, so thank you for reading And don't worry I will update with good stuff!

Awesome, noted, I will place my order later next week hehe.

What happened? Hope you can get back on your plans soon! The more the merrier!

 

Very nice review, ryzeki! You just have to make it a bit more colorful (pictures, we need pictures) What happens with your plans to try it with the heat bridge detached?

Waits the 3K I guess

 

Oops... My bad! Was very excited and happy about the review..

 

Can't wait for your updates!!

 

A four-thumb up review Ryzeki! I'm still in dilemma though, which would give the bang for my buck: MSI GT60 2OD or ASUS G55VW? Pls allow me to indulge in your professional recommendation. Thanx a zillion

 

Hello people! I updated the review! I added a couple of pictures for the overall look, the keyboard, the innards and also added Lost Planet 2, Resident Evil 5, Metro 2033, Arma 3 and Hitman Absolution to the benchmarks along with their scores. I linked their results because I ran using built in benchmarks. In the case of Arma 3, I had to play for a while to report the fps I was getting

 

Nice update!

woops lol.

As well as metro 2033 was a terror port, it wasn't optimized well for PC. I

 

No, the anandtech article distressed me so much I am going to go alienware and burn all my current MSI hardware in sacrifice to the overclocking gods

As for which system I am getting and when that's.....


NDA

 

Hey ryzeki did you get the GFWL problem figured out yet? Still having trouble?

 

Thanks for reading and for your support! Personally, I would go for the GT60. However, which version of G55 are you thinking off? The one I know of is a 660m equipped machine. In which case I would totally and completely recommend the GT60 over it, mainly for over 100% the performance gains in gaming

Yeah, in the usability section I added the steps too. Turns out, if it installs on your machine but it wasn't with Windows 7 compatibility, it installs wrong, so it never launches the client while gaming, but it does launch the marketplace. Games like Resident Evil 5 and Lost Planet 2 now run, but I haven't been able to make Warhammer 40k SpaceMarine run at all. I doubt it's related to GFWL as an issue.

Curiously though, Lost planet 2 seemed to be way more taxing on my CPU than my GPU. But 32x AA? sick hahaha.

 

Yeah I know it wasn't the best of ports. It's still an interesting game. I loved the atmosphere and ending I wanna get a hold of Last Light! And despite not being a nice port, we can still play at 60fps on high settings

 

That's the game I want to see, Last Light I think they call it the most demanding game right now? I am not so sure I think it is anyways that and Sleeping Dogs are up there. I just hope the 780m can run bf4 at ultra.. :/ at least over 50 fps.

 

I can tell you sleeping dogs maxed out is completely crippling. I haven't yet found out why.Moving to high settings instead of ultra makes things jump back to incredible performance. Battlefield 4 is due out in october/november right? I am not sure if it will handle ultra at 50, but if it doesn't, that means that even high end desktop hardware has problems with it

 

Hi All Haven't posted in a while ....Ryzeki review form the top shelf answered a lot of my questions on the MSI GT60 ...Looking to purchase soon with Top specs from Powernotebooks, Donald normal Helps me there ... getting itchy scratchy to get my grubby paws on a unit... Glad to hear the heating issue is being solved, After all it is a GTX 780M) mine will come with diamond paste for sure ... keep up the info .. ( Toss up was between the Sager NP8250 "Did not like the flames although you are able to disconnect them" or MSI GT60) leaning toward the MSI now.

Thanks V4V:thumbsup:

 

I was looking at the barbones version at powernotebooks too but still can't decide between the barebones version or the factory MSI GT60.
Wish there were pictures of each to tell the cosmetic differences, all I see is the old barbones model with the glossy screen bezel.Love the factory model but the barebones is slightly cheaper....decisions,decisions.
Any try W7 with this laptop yet.

 

Yup 29th, honestly I could still play at high settings.

Also isn't the drivers for 780 coming soon anyways maybe could see a 8-12 fps increase across the board. What increase do you expect?

 

If you can afford it, its amazing what a difference that aluminium finish makes to the machine when you pick it up. Makes it feel a bit special.

 

Nice Review,

I wonder how you overclock your notebook

 

Thank you for reading! I am glad my review was helpful to you Let us know how your unit holds up to your gaming! And yeah make sure to get either pasted by your reseller or you to ensure the best temps. I will make my best to keep updating as fast as possible! Due to work and personaly reasons it's a bit difficult to update every day, but I will do my best Right now I am waiting for a couple of adapters I ordered to have three monitors attached and see how it goes.

The Sager is also a nice option, but in the end I think the MSI is a slightly better deal

Hmmm, would you like me to take more pics of my unit? I love how the screen bezel is no longer glossy, and it's all texturized matte. The whole laptop is matte except near the power button and speakers. The barebone looks nice inside and it's also a great option, but I don't like how the back screen bezel looks as is. If you wanna save up a bit of money, the barebones is always an option. I loved the GT70 barebones. But if you can afford it, I think the factory model looks and is slightly better

I haven't tried W7 but honestly after installing Classic Shell, it feels just like Windows 7, so maybe I won't try it out.

I don't think we will see such an increase, but there will definitely be a jump in performance. It will really depend on the game, because drivers indeed can sometimes massively increase performance in particular games. I believe high settings for Battlefield 4 will be achieved easily, and maybe ultra if you don't mind 30ish fps. Of course this is all speculation, but if BF4 is like 3, maybe you will get away with ultra easily!

Thank you for reading! To overclock I use MSI afterburner. It lets me increase core clocks up to +135mhz and memory clocks up to +1000mhz, but practicaly clocks for memory so far are around 400ish or 450mhz. If you overclock, make sure to monitor temps and everything I use HWmonitor and GPUz to monitor temps (also MSI afterbuner if it doesn't crash games) and personally I would recommend using turbofan if overclocked

I haven't touched the barebones for 15.6inch model but I know what you mean. Comparing my GX660R to the GT60 makes it feel more premium and sturdy than before despite having the same basic layout and case. I wish the 16f3 would use a back screen bezel similar to the GT70 barebone. I loved that finish!

 

any risk of it? i mean any safe button for msiburner(as in, in case of faulty or overheating it will stop the process).
I wonder if it pass 85Celcius when you play after overclock.

My current Asus, even with default setting, every time i play game it will reach 90C>
got the monitor from -> Real Temp - CPU temperature monitoring <- not sure whether is the monitor software issue.

 

The temps I have seen with turbo fan On and overclocked are usually up to 84C. I recommend you also use other software to confirm temps, like HWMonitor or GPU Z temp sensors. Also remember to keep your laptop clean from dust, and use a can of compressed air weekly to montly to keep all air intakes/exhausts and fans

There is no particular Safe Button but with stock vbios, when temps reach 92C it starts to self downclock to reduce temps.

 

Very nice review! Thanks for taking the time to do all that. If you happen to try that fan hack/app they mentioned, please let us know. Sounds like the system runs amazingly with turbo mode. just a shame it's sooo loud ha. Mind posting a sound clip of how loud your fan is running at turbo?

 

Mine start to downclock around 85c. The highest temperature I ever get is 86C and that with an overclock of +135/500. That temperature only reach in crysis 3, with other game it around 82C max.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...-cards/723012-gtx-780m-overclocking-tool.html

This will allow us to surpass the +135 limitation on the core.

 

Thank you for reading I will definitely update once I get more done with the fan. If I do get it modified I will update with results! I will check to see if I can upload the sound of turbo, but rest assured it's like a jet! But the speakers overpower the fan so it's okay. Also headphones work.

How odd that it would downclock at such temp. Mine keeps turbo clocks up to 92C before removing them to favor temps. Nontheless you have very nice temps!

Thanks! I will look into it I want to try 1ghz core

 

Awesome review Ryzeki! I am deciding between the NP8250-S and the GT60 and your review has me leaning more towards the GT60.

One concern I have is the brushed finish on the palm rest. Does it make it uncomfortable to type for extended periods?

I had a last gen GT60 that unfrotunately failed after 2 months and I just went back to my desktop. That GT60 had a warranty void if removed sticker that had to be broken to remove the back panel. Is that true of this gen GT60?

Again thanks for posting this great review!

 

The warranty will not be void if the sticker is removed.

 

Thank you for reading! The palmrest feels quite good actually, smooth and sturdy so it hasn't really bothered me after hours of use or gaming so far. I am sorry to hear about your GT60 failed, what happened??? The warranty void sticker should not remove warranty whatsoever. I broke my seal to repaste and see if it would do anything (GentechPC had already repasted so I didn't improve much ) anyways you can ask MSI directly, several times they have mentioned it won't void warranty whatsoever

You should also contact your reseller!

As for the Sager vs MSI. I was actually considering Sager this time around. However.. the features of the MSI and the looks/feel made me choose them instead. I am preparing my setup for multiple monitors and Matrix Displays allows me that. Sound is amazing on the MSI and I have grown used to the quality If you want me to test something in particular, let me know!

 

So it seems that with Payday The Heist, the CPU might be bottlenecking the game Or maybe the game is hardcapped at 130fps hahaha. Performance seems almost a straight line of constant 130fps.

I like the game, even though it's not really demanding. I wished the developers had added more AA options. Pretty fun game though.

oh, for some reason, I ran the game using my headphones so I forgot I had turbo fan on on stock clocks. Turns out my max temp was 72 for the GPU and 68 for CPU Not bad

 

I read your review everyday bro!
Have you tried the 780M GTX OC tool yet? Just wondering if it works.

 

Thanks for the unweavering support! I actually downloaded it, the problem is I just can't understand the language and everything looks weird in ASCII on the CMD it's a bit weird hahaha.

As soon as I understand it, I will try it!

 

Man this hot weather is wrecking me 98F and next week is going to be over 100F I am going to cook myself!

My laptop is barely able to keep it's temps down with such high ambient temperature. Today I saw the first downclock of my GPU from 770mhz to 680mhz, and the temps of the GPU at that point was 88C. Damm with such a hot weather I just might have to play with turbofan, which still cools down everything nicely.

 

That sucks
We had 35-36 degrees where I live some days ago. And to think that tomorrow morning they predict rain...
I too use turbofan to game as I wear my headphones

 

Man that is high ambient temps! My GX660 was able to withstand 120F+ when I was on adventures. We did have some ACs though and brought the indoor temp down to around 90F. I'd say keep that turbo fan rocking while gaming. If you game with headphones there is just no reason not to.

 

I know that most of you already know this, but make sure to register your laptop within 30 days of purchase for full warranty coverage at MSI website.

If you don't register I don't think your laptop will qualify for the one year accidental damage warranty, and your 2 year standard warranty will be from date of production, and not purchase. I took care of mine with just 3 days of the 30 days after purchase time limit. Got the confirmation email this morning, and it was updated on their warranty website. Now I have 3 years warranty with 1 year accidental. And I didn't have to pay anything extra on top of my laptop. Take that you other manufacturers that charge for that.


Ryzeki maybe you could include something about that on the first page? New MSI owners might not know about this.

 

Yeah these temps suck! You had 35-36 C? Yeah we have crazy temps here too, but the problem is that the current weather prediction is hitting 40 celcius next week almost every day x_x But yeah I don't even mind turbo fan when I game normally, headphones or not haha

Yeah, I actually used my GX660R while I was at work too, and it took it pretty well actually But then again the hardware on my GX660R wasn't this powerful haha

This is actually a really important point!!! I will surely include it at the beginning. Thanks for reminding me!

 

Hi Ryzeki, i wonder what the different between the Barebone MSI, and MSI branded. As i'm going for GT70-780M but my budget is about $1500++, i see the barebone version is about $1.6 from gentech

 

The difference is mainly cosmetic, the included hardware and the warranty offered by MSI. Physically they are the same dimensions, but the barebone has a different screen bezel, the sound input/output is not goldplated (as far as I know) and the base model only includes a basic HDD. Previous versions didn't have the mSata capability, but this time they should, or at least an adapter should be available.

Now the important question will be whether it comes with the thermal bridge or not! Barebones are an excellent choice when you want to get the hardware later or if you have hardware lying around

I recommend it! Even though I like the looks of the branded model a bit more haha

 

today my lap arrived
I run a quick 3dmark11 and I got that(stock):
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz,PowerNotebooks MS-1763
but my Physics score is very low 6732??
I can confirm that it comes with thermal bridge....
its the same as the gt70 2 od.

 

the big thing for me was that the barebones model's warranty wasn't as good as the branded one. i changed from the GT60 780m barebones to the MSI GT60 2OD-026US because for about 329 more, you get blu ray, ssd, better speakers, a better keyboard, an OS and a way better warranty. i've never bought a MSI laptop before so the warranty thing was the real reason why i changed my mind.

 

Very nice! Thanks for the comfirmation of the thermal bridge! Check your temperatures during benchmarks and everything. That physics score indeed is a bit lower than what it should be! Let's find out why! The usual things to check: Laptop in high performance mode, nothing in particular taxing running in the background, temperatures etc

Yeah, that's most likely the biggest advantage of branded, the warranty. How many days before you get yours arcitcreaver?

 

I wonder what is beneath the chassis do you have a picture of it ?

 

I wonder why my score is so high compared to his?! NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4700MQ,Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. MS-16F4 No overclocking, just stock...

 

something is off with his processor, His physics score schould be around 8500-8800

 

My GT70 scores around P7350 stock clocks. A little lower than average with stock clocks, as ive seen a good deal of people scoring around P7500-7600. On the plus side, my previous laptop had a 560m gtx in it, and the performance difference is night and day. a 560m gtx would only score around P2000. For the price i paid for this laptop, I could have spent a couple hundred more for a crossfire 7970 or 8970 system. Overall I've been happy with this laptop ( gettin used to 1080p scrrens) and although nvidia is expensive, this is still the best laptop i've owned to date. Maxwell is over a year away, if the rumors are true that it will be so much faster than kepler, then i'l have no problem selling this to subsidize the cost of a 880m laptop.

 

Yes, the problem is only his Physics score. I wonder what is causing it?

 

Hey Ryzeki

Thank you for this great review.

I'm wondering whether the msi gt60 has got an independant HDMI &amp; DisplayPort (bypasses Optimus Technology), in order to enjoy 3d vision with an external monitor.

 

No idea when I will get the laptop. Phase 2 right now from xotic pc.

 

@Ryzeki : about the fan noise while webpaging, youtube and googling : do you have this low high-pitched sound coming from the fan ? It sounds like the sound of the system of bearing of the marbles.

It only happens when the T° go up to around 50°C and 60°C.

Here is a sample : just play it on soundcloud : I recorded with my iphone. The air blow seems quite high because I was very closed to the chassis holes. The blow is acceptable 1-2m away... but the high pitched sound is very annoying, I can hear it clearly from my desk which is 3-4m away :

https://soundcloud.com/tpm44/gt60-gtx-780m-fan-noise

Should I ask for a replacement ?

 

I figure out what is the problem......
I put on the battery and woallaaaa:
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz,PowerNotebooks MS-1763