***The MSI GT72 Dominator Pro (GTX-880M) Owner's Lounge***

***The MSI GT72 Dominator Pro..... a GTX-880M POWERHOUSE..... and it's awesomely SEXY too!***

Welcome to the MSI GT72 Dominator Pro (GTX-880M) Owner’s Lounge! Available Now..... Order Yours Today, and Prepare to Dominate!



MSI GT72 Dominator Pro Models, Specifications, and Product Links:

Specifications

GT72 Dominator Pro-010 | MSRP: $2,599., Now $2,499.

GT72 Dominator Pro-007 | MSRP: $2,999., Now $2,899.

GT72 Dominator Pro Product Pages:

MSI U.S.

MSI Notebook

MSI Gaming - Dragon Army HQ

MSI Global



Where To Buy Your New MSI GT72 Dominator Pro Notebook:

Friendly, reputable, and highly respected resellers, who freely volunteer their support to forum members:

1.) GenTech PC | Website | MSI 17" notebook site page | Tel#: 1-800-990-7945 | email: [email protected] | Contact: Ken Lee

2.) PowerNotebooks | Website | MSI notebook site page | Tel#: 1-877-711-1777 | email: [email protected] | Contact: Donald Stratton

3.) Xotic PC | Website | MSI notebook site page | Tel#: 1-877-289-9684 | email: [email protected] | Contact: Justin Nolte

4.) RK Computers | Website | MSI notebook site page | Tel#: 1-866-760-4998 | email: [email protected] | Contact: Rob M

Where To Buy MSI Notebooks (U.S. & Canada) | Global




MSI Helpful Links:

MSI Gaming

MSI AfterBurner

MSI Dragon Army Forum

MSI HQ User Support Forum

MSI Customer Service | Global

MSI Notebook Warranty Information

MSI Notebook Product Registration | Global



Official MSI GT72 Dominator Pro Product News

17 July 2014: MSI Unveils GT72 Dominator Pro, the Benchmark Breaking Desktop Replacement

22 July 2014: Evolution of the ultimate GTX's gaming laptop MSI GT72 Dominator/Pro Gaming NB, brand new design and unique features with latest NVIDIA GTX graphics:

29 July 2014: GT72 Dominator Pro Receives Best of Computex 2014



Official MSI GT72 Dominator Pro Downloads:

Bios

Drivers

Firmware

Utilities

Manual

Gaming Mouse Driver



Other Downloads:

NVIDIA GeForce Final Release Drivers

NVIDIA GeForce Beta Release Drivers

NVIDIA Control Panel User's Guide

Latest NVFLASH for Windows & DOS

MEMTEST86 Free Download

MSI AfterBurner

CPU-Z

GPU-Z

NVidia Inspector

HWMonitor

FutureMark's 3DMark & PCMark8

AIDA64 - System auditing, diagnostics, monitoring, and benchmarks too!

Atto Disk Benchmark

HD Tune

Svet's Fermi / Kepler VBIOS/EC Tuner Version (2.86e) and now supports the GTX-880M! PLUS, GT72 EC/FW Editor support has been added!

Treexy Driver Fusion ( .....replaces the ever popular, Phyxion 'Driver Sweeper')

Piriform 'CCleaner'

Magical Jelly Bean (product key finder)




GT72 Dominator Pro Factory 'Stock' Hardware Info ***May vary and subject to change***

CPU: The 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-4710HQ

GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 880M (Kepler GK104M) | Intel® HD Graphics 4600

Chipset: Mobile Intel® HM87 Express Chipset

Wireless: Qualcomm Killer N1525 Wireless-AC | driver download

Ethernet: Qualcomm Killer™ E2200 Game Networking | driver download

Bluetooth: Qualcomm Atheros QCA61x4 Bluetooth 4.0

Screen Panel: Innolux Corporation | Chi Mei, ID: CMN1735 | Model: N173HGE-E11, Matte | Product Specification

HDD: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, HTS721010A9E6300 = 1TB | Travelstar 7K1000, 7200 RPM, SATA III

SSD: Toshiba, THNSNJ128G8NU, 128 GB M.2 | Firmware



Optical Drive: LG Electronics, HL-DT-ST-BD-RE-BU20N

Memory Modules: Kingston, DDR3L 1600MHz, MSI16D3LS1KFG/8G

Webcam: Suyin Corporation, USB 2.0, 1080p

Touchpad: Synaptics | MSI : Which touchpad is in my notebook & drivers?

Keyboard: SteelSeries

Speakers: Dynaudio | Dynaudio and MSI

Card Reader: Realtek RT55249

USB 3.0 Host Controller: Intel (HM87 Express Chipset) | USB 3.0 Specification

Thermal Paste: MX-2

AC Power Adapter: Delta Electronics Inc., Model: ADP-230EB T, Output: 19.5V DC, 230W Input: 100~240V AC, 50/60Hz universal





Videos:





MSI GT72 Dominator Pro, system boot time, temps and noise levels, with and without Cooler Booster - GenTech PC

MSI GT72 Dominator Pro - 007 - Reviewed by Xotic PC

GT72 Disassembly




How To's:

Are 'start-up' screens too fast to enter bios? This is how to enter the Legacy / UEFI BIOS.

Unsatisfied with audio sound quality? Try THIS!

Windows 8 Tutorials, Quick Reference Index

Guide on how to install the NVIDIA Display Driver under Windows 7/Windows Vista

NVIDIA Driver Rollback/Removal Instructions

Clean install of Nvidia drivers, NVIDIA Forums> Graphics Technology> GeForce GTX & ION Drivers

MSI GT72 Disassembly





User Benchmark Test Results:




Other GT72 Thoughts: (please PM if you have other suggestions.)

Suggested Backpacks or Cases:

1.) The Everki Beacon Backpack..... a perfect fit! | At NewEgg | NewEgg Product Tour | At Amazon |

2.) The Targus 17” XL Backpack | At NewEgg | At Amazon |

3.) The Everki Lunar Laptop Bag | Everki Lunar Video | At NewEgg | At Amazon |

4.) The Wenger 17" SwissGear Ibex Backpack | At NewEgg | At Amazon |

Other Cool Tools or Helpful Additions:

1.) The Steelseries Sensei Wireless Laser Mouse | At Newegg | At Amazon

2.) The Steelseries H Wireless Gaming Headset | At Newegg | At Amazon



Considerably improved over the GT70, purchased from Ken at GenTech PC, I am one of the first official GT72 owners on the planet.

So, what improvements does the GT72 bring to the table?

1. Improved chassis design.
2. Larger touchpad, smooth and seamless with the palm rest.
3. A large, cool to the touch, glass-like polymer palm rest.
4. More USB 3.0 ports.
5. A 230W PA.
6. A 1080p webcam
7. Revised Steelseries keyboard, flex-free, with brighter back-lighting.
8. Dual fan cooling solution, with improved chassis vent design, a better fan control profile, ergo.....
9. Better overall temps, with quieter operation.
10. Re-designed chassis, and finally a new model designation.
11. Gone is the problematic capacitance touch bar, replaced with positive touch switches.
12. Gone is finicky Optimus switching, replaced with a simple dedicated GPU switch.
13. mSATA SuperRAID 2, is replaced with M.2 SuperRAID 3, increasing speed, and the capacity of the RAID set. ( M.2 should improve significantly with the Intel 9-Series chipset)
14. Killer Doubleshot Pro, wherein Ethernet and Wireless can be used independently, or simultaneously for improved bandwidth.
15. And finally, due to the overall re-design, a more intuitive gaming experience.

Who amongst you dares to Dominate with the next great 'Weapon Of Mass Destruction'? Join me! Gear Up! Git ur' battle-kit squared away, and I'll see ya on the battlefield!

ENJOY!

 

Initial GT72 Dominator Pro thoughts......

Well, here it is..... the MSI GT72-2PE Dominator Pro-007US, and the photos below do not do it justice. It's Bold, it's Bad, it's Fast, it's Powerful, and honestly, there is not much, not to like about this notebook. If there is one thing I feel could have been better, it would be the display. The Chi Mei CMN1735 has good brightness, color, and contrast, but lacks decent viewing angles.

Anyhow, I have already spent a lot of time with tweaking, photos, benchmarks, etc., so I am going to cut-to-the-chase, and try to make this as short as possible.

As to performance, the benchmarks below attest to the GT72's awesomeness, so what about noise, and the redesigned dual-fan cooling solution? Simply put, it is quieter than the GT70, has a better fan profile, and temps are well managed. Given the hardware, of course you will hear the fans spin up when the system is stressed, but it is not at all disturbing..... and when doing common task, the fans are only noticed if you get close and cozy with the system. Ambient room temperature was 78F, and the system's idle temps were CPU@38C, and GPU@36C. Without the use of Cooler Booster ('stock' fan profile only), during benchmarks the CPU reached 78C, and the GPU averaged 80C, peaking to 82C during the 3DMark Sky Diver benchmark. The palm rest remains cool to the touch, it's polymer is smooth as glass, and it's surface is seamless across the touchpad. Only a mild warmth rises from the keyboard.

The Steelseries keyboard is indeed flex-free, keys are very positive and responsive, and the back-lighting is brighter..... which I attribute to the keyboard's re-design. Looks awesome!

So what about SuperRAID 3, is it fast? Oh YEAH! Performance exceeds SuperRAID 2, as expected, and system boots to desktop in as little as 6 to 7 seconds. HD Tune Pro reports an average read time for the Toshiba M.2 SSD's, as 1535MB/s..... while the previous SuperRAID 2 Sandisk X100 mSATA SSD's was an average of 1411MB/s. On the other hand, SuperRAID 3 really shines in the Crystal Disk Mark scores. To best evaluate the 'Real-World' performance of SuperRAID 3, I used the PCMark 8 Storage Test. For those unfamiliar with this benchmark, the performance score of 5014 is very respectible. The duration of this grueling benchmark is generally 1 to 3 hours, and the GT72 sped through in just 1 hour and 8 minutes. All in all, I applaud MSI's use of the new M.2 SSD's, but I think performance will most improve with future 9-Series Intel chipsets.

With all the attributes I've mentioned above, it is when gaming, that you understand the mastery of it's intuitive design. The re-designed flex-free keyboard, the large smooth & heat-free palm rest, the spatial Dynaudio speakers, and vivid display, all lend to an immersive gaming experience. So much so, I found myself playing my test game, far longer than originally intended.

To run the GT72 through it's paces, I chose the recently released, AMD optimized title, Sniper Elite III, by Rebellion. With settings max'ed to 'Ultra', the GTX-880M smoothly sliced through the frames like a hot knife to butter, with frame-rates from 40 to 82Fps, averaging at 60Fps. Game play was extremely smooth and fluid, and never a hic-cup or artifact.

To represent the 'Out-of-the-Box' experience, I played with the stock fan profile, and Cooler Booster was never used. Like with my benchmark testing, the fan noise was not disturbing, and game audio though the Dynaudio speakers easily comes to the forefront. Fan noise was never a distraction. Temps of the GPU peaked to 82C, and the CPU peaked at 68C. Again, with hardware like this, and without the use of Cooler Booster, these temps are outstanding.... and the new dual fan design is a success!

Initially I intended my game session to be an hour..... in no time it became 3+ hours, and playing on this notebook is simply FUN!

The look and feel is very stylish, and smooth finish is actually somewhat fingerprint resistant. Overall, with these great looks, it's fully loaded system specs, and stellar performance scores, the MSI GT72 Dominator Pro not only entitles bragging rights..... it DEMANDS them!

Enjoy!

 

MSI GT72 Dominator Pro with GTX-980M benchmarks have been moved HERE!

 

Will definitely be keeping a close eye on this thread especially when we get. Maxwell/Braodwell combo.

 

I'll either 'watch from the shadows' as usual, going to get busy soon, sigh. But I'm so excited for this though I'm not planning to purchase this now. Striker, do a great review, rooting for ya!!

 

Won't lie, that's a sexy looking machine. Wonder what threw them the dual-fan route though.

 

So I literally ordered the GT70 888 yesterday. It's waiting at the UPS store to be picked up after work today. Any idea when this machine will be shipping? I might send the GT70 888 back today if it's soon.

 

Any idea when they start shipping?

 

I can tell you I will have mine...... SOON! VERY SOON!

 

Waiting for "the -=$tR|k3r=-" review I'm sure it will be great as always mate

 

Will be good to start seeing user reviews quickly

 

Gorgeous machine.

 

I was about to buy the Asus ROG G750JZ - main reason why I prefer it over the MSI machines is noise and heat.

So, the most important question: How loud and hot does the GT72 get? If it is as good as Asus, I would probably go for the GT72. Please let us know as soon as possible! Thanks!

 

I think that will be an important part of any review worth reading

 

Ready to read your review

 

So at Quakecon they actually did a full public unveil of the GT72. The MSI rep said they were available for order starting today and that Newegg would be the first to get them. According to Newegg's website they are up for pre-order with a July 29 shipping date.

Video on QuakeCon 2014 on Livestream

Newegg.com - MSI GT72

 

Seems a little like the AW design, which I like a lot more than their previous design.

I hope you can turn the light on the top of the edge of the screen off though, I would find that distracting (or is that just red paint?). It seems like it might be thinner and lighter than my AW 17 (xotic says 1.88" @ >9 lbs but I don't trust retailer dimensions, will wait for detailed review), and the video he says its a solid aluminum chassy; is he saying it is a unibody? or just aluminum frame in interior?. If this thing comes in an IPS display I may just have to buy one.

 

Nice! I like that they also bumped-up the res on the webcam, from 720p to FHD 1080p.

 

Now people can spy on us in full HD

 

This thing is really good looking. I'll be waiting for the next generation of GPUs though.

 

I just ordered mine on Newegg. If it is louder than the Asus G750 series it will get cancelled / go back though. But I really hope it works as advertised. Love the keyboard and the new Wifi unit.

 

To the future owners, please keep us informed about his temps and noise

I'm interested in this new GT series, looks stunning, but I don't know if it's worth compared to my GT70... I think it's better to wait for Maxwell cards (880M/MX)

 

I cross referenced this thread with the msi GT70 owners thread and saw that the screen panels MATCHED

"Screen Panel: Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) | ID: CMO1720 | Model: N173HGE-L11, Matte, Product Specifications"

I was wondering if this is a mistake or the 2 laptops use the same panel

 

I don't think 17.3 inch ips panels are ready yet.

 

LOL! This why the very first thing I wrote in the lead (#1) post was:

The truth is, we simply don't know the panel yet...... but we will shortly, because I plan to be one of the first cuddling-up with the GT72. As soon as it arrives, I will update, disclosing all of the 'stock' hardware. Once I am finished caressing, fondling, smelling, stroking and playing with it, I will then post unboxing photos and benchmarks.

Reports of IPS panels first came from Computex and NotebookCheck, but later articles, videos, and spec sheets indicated simply a matte FHD 1080p screen. It may well turn out to be, the same screen of the GT70.

Anyhow, we will know soon enough......

 

Ther screen on the G70 is pretty good, I would love to see an IPS panel but if we're stuck with the same screen I'm ok with that.

 

Yep, we all like to see new things, but I don't have a problem with the GT70 screen either.

 

Super excited for the GT72! I will keep a close eye on this thread... I want one!

 

Nobody worried about the solder parts like GPu and cpu?

 

The GPU is not embedded, only the CPU...... and I am not worried about that, because next I'll have my next-gen 9-Series, Maxwell. MSI GT72, X-treme Edition

 

I never upgrade the CPU or GPU, so I'm not concerned. Makes more sense to me, to buy a whole new laptop every 2 years.

 

Yep, heck, I've only had my GT70-2OD a little more than a year, LOL!

 

My GT60 is in mint perfect condition and has served me well for over a year, so I am extremely satisfied

While I love the new look of the GT72, I also see little sense in buying this new GT72 as is for essentially the same hardware I already own. Luckily my wife needs a computer... let's see how it all pans out hehe...

 

Keep your 780M, trust me XD. It's less hassle

 

My 780m is not going anywhere

 

It's a great option for those coming from older machines. It's always hard to justify upgrading quickly.

 

So, the wife needs a computer, does she..... really? Funny how that works, isn't it?

My wife says, "If you are getting another damn laptop, I'm taking the pretty red one"! (my Dragon Edition)

My thoughts, EXACTLY!

 

Fair trade in my opinion

 

What trade? Hmmmm, I guess the satire of married life (the fine art of negotiating with the lil' woman) escapes some folks.

 

LOL!! Good one!! :thumbsup:

 

Ahhhhhh, I see someone can relate...... but tell me this, if you liked the post, how come you didn't 'LIKE' the post? LOL!

 

Hahaha I am lucky both me and my wife are gamers, so it's easier to buy these things as long as I manage to justify the cost

 

I Really want that laptop, but it seems its nothing but a dreams, that kind a price its impossible to get.

 

Stay tuned! It's early, and presently only two SKU's have been unveiled. I imagine that MSI will offer other configurations, and perhaps future barebones units.

 

I'm sure we will. See a 860m or a refreshing 865m Maxwell. Too

 

This is a high end model so i doubt we will see lower cards just yet.

 

They got to start somewhere I guess.
Current GT72 with 880M is mostly for those who doesnt own a GT notebook.
The rest will just have to wait til Maxwell is here.

 

Cooling presentation by Polish shop
http://www.nhl.pl/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=10094

 

Double. Delete.

 

Thank you! Looks loud... (and I hope it doesn't sound loud...)