Should I pre-order the GX640?

i beg to differ. i love the 16:10 look. i wish all laptops came 16:10

 

Definitely no such thing.

http://translate.google.com/transla...50/4/&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&twu=1
Go to the first page of the review.

 

Meh, It's 530pm now, and I'm debatin whether or not go to church LOL. The earthquake's left me a bit dizzy and lightheaded.

Anyhoo, which is cheaper/better to buy from for Cali purchasers? Xotic or 1toppc/Gentech? The dude from Gentech emailed me back saying theres no marketing funds available for GX to have f/s, so I assume it'll have both tax, the recycling fee, and shipping cost? But how about xotic?

Thanks

 

No such thing as ?

FYI , this is a subwoofer.

 

but it's only on the gx740 as far as i've been seeing.

 

Well depends on ur config. You won't get taxed on out of state stuff (xotic) but the stock price is cheaper at gentech. Check the shipping for both and do some calculations.

 

Yeah , it seems like the sub and the 2 extra speakers are only for the 740.

Same goes with the exhaust .. only 1 sided on the 640 and 2 for the 740.

 

there are some nice "pics" on the msi website...

 

Well, that thing in the picture's not a GX640. On the first page of the review I posted, they took pictures of the front. There's nothing in the front.

 

Yea the pic I posted wasnt a 640 :s It's correct that there is only a right side exhaust and 2 satellites.

 

Hehe my bad. Guess I should've paid more attention to the conversation

 

Shoot, does that mean the GX640 is going to have heat issues since theres only 1 vent (like the G51, G60, etc)?

That makes a whole big diff to me, cuz the G73 is 1332.99total at BB.

Also, Ken Lee from gentech emailed me back. Shipping is ~$15 for GX640, and also includes sales tax. Crap, so that totals : ~$1242.65 jeez. I'm factoring for my local sales tax, and also the $16 recycling fee, if they charge that. Otherwise, subtract 16 from that total.

 

shouldn't have heat issues.

 

Will it be 1 vent or 2 vents?

 

There you go.

 

I'm not sure the number of vents is a good way to judge things by.

 

One vent, one fan, one-piece heatsink, but let's see what the reviews say before we declare anything

 

I can't say I like the sound of that, but I'm still hopeful.

 

The G73 and the GX640 shouldn't be in the same list. A 17" machine is significantly different than a 15.4". Just like a desktop, you can generally get more performance for your money out of a 17" than in a 15.4", the tradeoff is that you're sacrificing weight and portability to a fair degree. I mean, the G73jh weighs what, over 8lbs? The GX640 is just over 6.

 

There's also a huge difference in dimensions, the g73jh is a great machine in terms of performance but I think it'd be a nightmare to if you're constantly on the go

 

The core i5 430m is only about 25 watts. Think about. It has that 45nm graphics chip built in, but will never use it in our case(35w combined rating). Now go ahead and under-volt it by about .125v. Add some ICD7. Sounds pretty chilly to me.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=235824

the 35w i5/i7's should work perfectly fine themselves. Quad core users, I would start to worry about the effect on GPU temps. (shared heatsink).

 

HAHA your sig is funny. I have the same issue. Except I'm debating it in terms of $$$. M11x is also up there in that mix of massive-debatin' .

I only considered the G73 because it's made by Asus, and it has the best specs for its price, and also I can see it in a store. I prolly wont get it though because even a 16" is almost too big for me to handle. I'll be lugging it around grad school in the fall.

 

m11x, gx640, g73? quite the range of vastly different laptops you're considering there... :S

 

Well, my perfect laptop would probably be a <5lb 13 or 14" @ 1600x900 or 1680x1050, with a dual-core Arrandale, HD 5850 and switchable graphics, and would get ~8 hours on integrated, and I want it within a couple of weeks. There's plenty of directions I can go to compromise on that. Depending on which attributes I prioritise, I could come up with loads of choices:
size and resolution - Sony VAIO Z
battery life and waiting time - Alienware m11x
battery life and CPU power - Acer TimelineX series or perhaps the N82Jv
GPU power and resolution - MSI GX640 (Envy 15 comes in here also, with a weaker GPU but less of a compromise in other areas).

 

i also think the same way. other factors will play an equaly, if not more imp role.

 

It's actually very close to 35W. The CPU is able to "trade" thermal budget with the integrated GPU (all internal to the chips logic), so what you end up with is a 430 that will run Turbo better because it has the extra overhead that the GPU would otherwise take up. It won't downclock the CPU because it still has the ability to dissipate that kind of power.

 

Ya, man. The big issue, is which will offer me the best playing experience for SC2. I do want battery life and portability since it's going to be my full-time computer for school and play. I do want good power as I dont want to bore my eyes for the lifetime of the computer. And finally, I want a good computer in terms of pricing also. G73 is really not on my radar anymore because it's huge and a battery guzzler. If the 9-cell on the GX640 can give me more than 1.5hours of power with the LAN switch on and at minimal brightness, both to last me through a lecture, then I'm good on that. Alternatively, if the m11x can not put me to sleep in terms of visuals for SC2, then I'd go for that one. Remember, my request for ultra settings was just a placemarker, to see where all these machines lie on the totem pole.

Which would you pick? Or does another laptop fulfill my requests for battery life + CPU/GPU power at a reasonable (humble) price?

 

Well I'm kind of in the same boat as you seeing as I'll be using it at college. I'd say a laptop that can last a good 2-2 1/2 hours is ideal just so you don't have to be too stingy about turning on the laptop when the lecture isn't going on. I think the GX640 should be able to do that with the 9-cell and run SC2 on ultra settings. It is a Blizzard game after all and from what I've heard from people in the beta it'll run on just about anything and can be put on high-ultra easily as long as you have a computer built within the last 2 years. I'm not a fan of the m11x because playing games on such a small laptop screen kind of ruins it, especially in an RTS. Makes clicking all the small units a little more difficult. If you're willing to live with medium-high settings on SC2 you could try the GE600. It's not a fantastic GPU but it's good enough for SC2 and has switchable graphics.

 

No offense to Mx11 users either but I'd be bloody embarassed to be seen with it at a lecture, looks like a tacky kids toy at the best of times - sturdy build quality and all.

 

with you on that!

haha, imagine your prof giving you that look!

 

yep, thats what I like (or rather don't mind) about the GX640. It's less professional on the keyboard side but a prof standing at the front of the class just see's the back which isn't embarassing

 

^
Agreed! I'm gonna be using it for college too. Sometimes the red does get to me though..

 

wait for the 1656 model to come out with the 5850. all grey and black.

 

Gotta agree with you Mort - took my M11 to one of my lectures - sadly its the first and last time. Had to instantly turn off the lighting after everyone was glued to it, not the actual lecture - and right after, so many damn questions from envious fanbois! >_<

The GX640 does look very promising, going to wait for reviews and see if it fits my bill (does so on paper), although we here in Australia get shafted for prices

 

In your shoes, I'd take the M11X off the list. I'm on the record as wanting one but not as a primary computer. You don't want to play SC2 on an 11" screen dude. The M11X is a fantastic supplement if you have a killer desktop so you can game while on the go. As a primary computer, I'd go nuts playing SC2 on that screen (especially if you plan to b.net seriously).

<--Beta tester on SC2.

 

the 1656 seem to be more expensive though. and when do you think thats going to come out btw?

 

The 1656 appears more expensive right now because it's lowest cpu is an I7 caliber. I you swap out the cost of an I7 to I5 430, it'll be right aorund the same price as this GX640.

 

Nothing against the Red trim but personaly I like the Silver trim around 1656.
I'm guessing a Barebones model of the GX640 should be out about the same time or soon after.

 

I LOVE the brushed aluminum though. Its just the excessive bright red (imo) that can get to me sometimes, just wish it was still there but less prevalent. So it's a love-it, hate-it situation hahaa

 

So whens' the grey and black model (1656 or barebones GX640) come out? At what price and where can I take a look at some pics?

Lemme go take a look at xoticpc hold up lolz

EDIT: K, took a look at it on xotic, and it looks nice physically. However, how does the 250M compare to the 5850? 1gb vs 1gb, gddr3 vs gddr5, etc. Cuz the force 1656 costs almost $150 more and has an i7 but a diff gpu.

Thanks

 

The 250M is in a whole different league; it's a lot more like the HD 5650 in overall performance.

 

Therefore our beloved 5850 will trump it?

 

Yes, by a big margin. However, I'm still worried about the possible PCIe x1 issue I was discussing here.

 

Ya I saw that post. I find myself perusing like every forum that has to do with MSI's now. hahaha. A few weeks ago, I was obsessed about the m11x. So much that I wanted one myself. I think what sold me was the changeable colors for the lighting haha.

I am intent on getting an MSI though, hopefully the GX640 will be it, if someone could tell me the cheapest total price for California.

 

Well it all depends on if you customize and what kind of shipping. We can tell you the resellers but not the exact price.

 

Hello Vlad, Thank you for your email.

We are supposed to get our GX640 shipment sometime later this week. As far as we know there wont be a barebones model of the GX640. The red paint is the only choice that we know about right now.

 

The barebone version of the GX640 is due out the end of April. Same color scheme as the current MS-1656

 

Rob, I know you're probably tired of getting this from me but any chance we get to stick a 820qm in that barebones?

 

When they arrive, sure. The barebone is not due till the end of April.

 

Hoorah! the excitement grows. Only thing that's different is the touch panel and the aethestics right?