The NEW MS-1761 & MS-16F2 with GTX-580M - Barebones of MSI's GT-783 & GT-685

For those interested in the barebones units of MSI's GT-783 & GT-685, with nVidia's new GTX-580M, Ken has them available..... IN-Stock!

MSI MS-16F2 with GTX570M or GTX580M (GT683DXR Barebone) Starting at $965.00

MSI MS-1761 with GTX570M or GTX580M (GT780DXR Barebone) Starting at $1,015.00

Git em' while they're HOT!

Enjoy!

 

new house for the elites in MSI box eh? )

 

Are the barebones models worth it?

Maybe if you buy a stock notebook and do all the customizing yourself including adding your own OS.

After you customize a MSI Whitebook model with all the options to closely equal a MSI branded model how much are you saving and what are you giving up for the cost difference.

Case
Warranty
OS
Stock parts and options
Backlit Keyboard
Aesthetics
Quality Control

I've compared a stock GT783-658 to a customized MS-1761 on XOTIC PC only.

The undiscounted MS-1761 totaled 2,051 compared to $2,299 for the stock GT783-658

Still I think the GT783-658 has a better warranty from MSI with registration as opposed to 3 years from the dealer.

The MS-1761 has an all plastic case and no backlit keyboard.

Do Whitebooks have the same level of quality control at the factory as the branded models?

 

Depends on what kind of a deal you can get on the parts really and how good you are at sourcing them.

I would dread to think what a system kitted out like mine would cost.

EDIT: NVM, about $2000-2100

 

How's the heat in these things?

 

Just customized a GT780DX-406US with the same exact set up my 1761 is that I ordered from Gentech and it came to $1703 where as my 1761 barebones system only cost me $1408. I had Gentec install the back lit Steelseries keyboard in mine as well so really the only thing I am missing out on is a longer warranty and the chassis of the GT780 with all of the LED lights. I did not have any of my own parts nor did I have a operating system so everything that is on my 1761 (besides my Samsung 830) was paid for through Gentec. In the end, I just didn't think the longer warranty and GT chassis was worth $300. Some may like having the piece of mind with the longer warranty and others my prefer form over function. I'm not knocking anyone for that but it is cheaper going barebones.

 

Mine just arrived. And its very very fast. The GTX-580 certainly is a card to be reckoned with, with plenty of OC'ing potential.

I'm planning on writing a first impressions and a bit of a review over the next few days, just need to get some work out of the way first.

Lets just say I'm extremely satisfied with my purchase so far.

 

Awesome, did you order it from gentech? If so how long did it take roughly? I'm looking to buy one just want to have an idea of how long the wait will be.

 

Mine took about one week from order to in my hands. I did pay for 3 day shipping though.

 

Mine was just over a week from US to Aus. Purchased from GenTech. I also paid for the 3 day shipping.

 

If Ken comes around this thread, can you please confirm that both MSI16F2 and MSI1761 has also the MXM power mods (soldered wire) to allow full power to the beast 580m ?

I assume the answer is yes but I just want to make sure.

Thanks !

 

I haven't opened mine yet, but Ken assured me this was the case

 

kk thanks for the prompt reply and enjoy your beast

 

I just ordered mine a few days ago from Ken at Gentech.

I was wondering 2 things:
1. If you get the steelseries keyboard added on - does it have the switch that disables the touch pad (or is that just in the GT78x chassis)
2. How much of the chassis is aluminium and how much is plastic. It kind of looks like brushed metal (the barebone) but vertically brushed rather than horizontally on the GT78x versions. Is this just cosmetic on plastic or is it aluminium?
Regards
Jnana

 

Hi there, There is no hardware switch for disabling the touchpad, it's done by the S-bar software. I too expected that it would be there!

The shell is a brushed aluminium 'look' highly durable plastic. I say highly durable simply because that's the impression it gives me. It feels very solid and there's no creaks or anything like that.

On that note the whole unit is a lot lighter that I expected which is great too

 

Double Post

 

Thanks pau1ow! she's certainly a beauty (and a beast, LOL!). First mod will be a few of those holes underneath I think. Had the GPU up to 96C during a Furmark burn in with no OC. During that Furmark, it was pulling up to 193W from the wall!

 

good information, keep us posted !!!

 

My stock Vantage score is ~15000, (with GPU score 13788). Pau1ow, what's your GPU score in your Vantage runs?

 

Yes, you can turn off the touch pad on the Barebones unit by pressing the function key and the F3 key.

 

Can someone direct to some real life pictures of the MS-16F2 or the 1761? The stock photos it's tough to really judge the true look of it.

Oh, and do Notebookreview forums get a discount at GenTech?

 

Here is mine:

 

Appreciate that. What are your specs? Happy w/ the machine and looks of the machine overall?

 

THX for the Photos.

They help alot to understand some of the differences betwwen the Whitebooks and Branded models.

Looking at your photos the 1st thing that I notice is the different Control Bar that's missing the P1 button and there's no sound by Dynaudio printed on it.

Next,I don't see the button to disable the touchpad.

The case difference is easily noticed.

The touchpad is also different.

I see only one ugly sticker;the Graphics By NVIDIA one.I have 5 stickers on my Gt780DX.

 

The P1 button is there. It is all the way to the right which is being hidden by glare. There isn't a dedicated button to turn off the touch pad but you can use (Function + F3) to disable and enable it. I keep it disabled because I never use it anyway. Yea, there is no (Dynaudio) printed on it but it still uses the same Dynaudio speakers. The only branding on the laptop is that Nvidia sticker.

 

I didnt even get the Nvidia sticker. Mine is sleep

Overclocked the 580m to 682/1364/1650 using Afterburner (interestingly Nvidia Inspector Core overclock is greyed out, even with having first opened Afterburner) and I dont believe I raised the temp by even 1 degree. Raised my Vantage score to 16116 (GPU 15060). My max temp so far is 95 deg on the GPU, at which point the turbo fan automatically kicks in and blows the extra heat off. More tidbits to follow...

 

Display = Glossy 1080p
CPU = i7 2670
GPU = GTX 570m
RAM = 16gb DDR3 1600
HDD (Primary) = Samsung 830 SSD 128gb
HDD (Secondary) = 750gb 7200RPM
Optical Drive = 4X BluRay
Wireless Card = Bigfoot Wireless N1103 (3 Antenna)
Operating System = Windows 7 Home Premium


Since I upgraded the CPU, I got free IC Diamond Thermal Paste applied to the CPU and GPU. I also upgraded to the Steelseries backlit keyboard that comes on the MSI brand models.

I ordered from Gentec and Ken definitely hooked me up. He is the man. I was a little concerned about getting the Steelseries keyboard after all the issues I've seen people reporting so he personally went over every key and made sure they were all in working order. Ken also personally ran Furmark to make sure everything was running at temps within normal limits.

I love this beast. The backlit keyboard looks pretty damn cool with everything else being black. It is just enough flare. It runs so damn cool too. I overclocked my 570m with a core of 720 and after 2 hours of Battle Field 3, my 570m never goes over 70 Celsius.

 

Very nice. If you don't mind me asking, does Ken give deals to NotebookReview forum members? I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to get a MSI branded GT783.

If you want to PM what you gave, or the ballpark, that would be great. Do you wish you would have opted for the MSI branded?

 

I'll PM you. Nope, not at all. I looked at the MSI branded notebooks in the beginning which is how I found out about the barebone systems. I wouldn't have minded the branded GT780 but in my opinion, the cool looking chassis and the longer warranty did not warrant the extra $300 I would have spent.

 

It's always great to have options.

More is always better.

I bought my GT780DX about 2 months ago.At ordering time the models with the GTX580M were not on the radar.

Had they been available I surely would have customized a MS-1761 with a GTX580M and compared to my ideally configured GT783-658.

I like the GT783-658 with only 1 750GB hard drive and a DVD instead of the BD burner.The only thing I would consider upgrading would be the wireless card or put in the Bigfoot 1103 with a 3rd antenna myself.

I'd then add a 240~ 256 GB SATA III SSD of my choice as my primary boot drive.

Customizing an MS-1761 to equal the GT783-658 as close as possible including warranty does not have a big enough difference for me to choose it.

 

Thanks for the replies Salada2k and jrwingate6 - glad to have this cleared up. I wasn't able to figure it out from youtube videos and product pics alone. Everyone seems very happy with their barebones - looking forward to it myself. Fn-F3 seems fine for turning off the track/touchpad.
Cheers all

 

Yea, if your a person who likes having the piece of mind with a warranty then going the branded route is definitely the better option. I've never been one to spend money on warranties so it never came into play with my purchase. When it comes to anything computer related, there is nothing I can't fix as long as I have the working part. Over the course of the next two years, I would need to spend $300 on spare parts in order to bring me up to the cost of the branded version. Hopefully, this laptop is like every other one I've ever had and nothing goes wrong with it in the two year period I own them.

After adding the extended warranty, you only save about $100 going barebones. If you just keep the stock 1 year warranty then it pushes your savings to about $300.

 

Here is the spec i ordered - since this thread seems to be helping people decide:

i7 2670m 2.2/3.1 ghz
IC Diamond thermal paste - since its free with cpu upgrade, may as well.
gforce GTX 570m 1.5gbDDR5
16gb 1333 RAM
750 gb HD + 240gb OCZ SSD (the 6gb/s sata type)
Bigfoot wifi-N 1103
Basic 8x DVDRW
Steelseries backlit keyboard

I think you would be mad to avoid the novelty and the fact that steelseries have a great reputation for nice keyboards + the kinzu is a good value add-on gaming grade mouse (a simple but effective one).
Even if you don't game, its just nice to have a good keyboard especially if you can touch type. It will be interesting to see how long-lived the keyboard is.
Even if you don't have a good wifi access point having wireless N and extra antenna is going to mean you get better range, and thats always awesome. I am pretty sure that means i forgo the BT - but you can always get a BT-usb receiver super cheap. I hate Bluetooth mostly - i use Logitech unifying if i want wireless mouse/keyboard.

I didn't go for the 580m gpu because i am pretty sure i can upgrade in future quite easily if its really necessary to get "the best GPU" possible. I think the 570 is more than adequate for starcraft.

If you want a really high frame rate (more than 60fps) you really need to get a laptop with a 120hz 3d ready monitor - not for the 3d, but for the refresh rate. You can't see more than 60fps if your monitor doesn't refresh more than 60 times a second now can you . So i wonder if the next gen will have 120hz monitors. I have a 120hz external samsung syncmaster 2233 and it helps a lot. LOL - its 21" but not ful 1080p so my laptop will be higher resolution now. I wonder what the refresh rate of the standard matte screen built in is, its unlikely to be higher than 60hz for HD.

I have had computers since 1979 - i am that old - so this computer just blows my mind. Can't wait to use it. I normally lug around desktop to do my video editing work, and i am sure this thing will kick at adobe premier 5.5

Cheers

 

Congrats man. Your set up will max Starcraft out at 1080. Remember to change the DPI in Windows and in your browser or everything will look small with the high resolution. Yes, that build will kick Adobe Premiers .

Also, I felt the same way you did about the 580m. I just didn't feel the need to spend $400 on it now. Maybe it will come down to $200 in a year or so.

 

Just ordered my MSI MS-16F2 =D can't wait to get it, gigantic upgrade over my Sony VPCEB290x and I'm praying it will last me a couple of years (not so much the hardware keeping up with new titles, but rather just as a stable machine as my past couple of laptops have had a penchant for falling apart one way or the other -_-)

 

So with your "penchant for notebooks falling apart" and Murphy's Law did you opt for a longer warranty or are you rolling the dice?

 

Hey Cardboardbox - yeah, i think if you spec'd your MS-16F2 with a good CPU (i7) you should be good for more than 2 years. Not many games now are pushing the limits of video cards any more - you can even play Crysis on these MSI laptops on high settings! Thats crazy - 3 years ago people were building maxed desktops just to get Crysis to play properly - now with laptops.

What options did you choose for your order?

 

I'm rolling the dice...probably a bad idea, I know but I'm so heavily in debt from Law School as it is (in all honestly the smart thing to do would be just to get a basic netbook I can use for word processing and test taking which is all I really need for school, but I gotta get my recreation somewhere! I don't even own a TV/cable/etc. so it all balances out in the end lol)


(1) MSI MS-16F2 GTX570M or GTX580M (GT683DXR Barebone)
Description Price [+/-] from
base price
Availability
In Stock and ready to ship/build 0.00
Shipping
Free UPS Ground Shipping to Domestic US (Not Available to Alaska and Hawaii) 0.00

Free BF3 Promotion Period: 12/05/2011 to 1/31/2012 0.00
Screen
15.6" 16:9 1920X1080 Full HD LED backlight (Matte-Type) 0.00
HDMI
HDMI 1.4, 60Hz/120Hz output 1080P, 3D Ready 0.00
Dead Pixel Warranty
Standard Manufacturer Dead Pixel Warranty 0.00
Graphics Controller
nVidia GeForce GTX 570M 1.5GB GDDR5, DX11 0.00
Processor
2nd Gen Intel Core i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz,32nm, 6MB, 45W 149.00
Thermal Compound
IC Diamond 24 Carat Thermal Compound on both CPU/GPU (Free with CPU Upgrade) 0.00
RAM (Note: Core i5 CPU only support up to 2 DIMM slot)
8GB DDR3 1333 Dual-Channel (4G X 2) 0.00
Primary Hard Drive
640GB 5400rpm 2.5-inch 9.5mm 8MB SATA II 3Gb/s (Standard) 0.00
Secondary Hard Drive
None 0.00
RAID Configuration
Hard Drives RAID setting is disable 0.00
WiFi
802.11 Wireless a/b/g/n + Bluetooth Combo Card (Standard) 0.00
Optical Drive
8X DVDRW DL Super Multi (Standard) 0.00
Options for HDD in Optical Drive Bay
None: for HDD in Hard Drive Bay not selected 0.00
Keyboard
Standard Chiclet Keyboard with Numeric keypad 0.00
External Storage for backup/data transfer
None 0.00
Networking
None 0.00
Bluetooth
None or Choose Wireless-N + Bluetooth Combo Card 0.00
USB 3.0
Two USB 3.0 Ports 4.8 Gb/s 0.00
eSATA
Built-In External SATA Port 0.00
Webcam
Built-in 720P HD Webcam with microphone 0.00
Audio
Dynaudio Premium Sound Technology 0.00
Headset
None 0.00
Primary Battery
One 9 Cell Primary Battery included 0.00
AC Adapter
One AC Adapter included 0.00
Car Adapter
None 0.00
Mouse
None 0.00
Carring Case
None 0.00
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit Full Version DVD 109.00
Microsoft Office Software
None 0.00
Drivers Disk
Drivers Disk Included 0.00
Warranty
1 Year Parts/Free Domestic Ground Shipping/Lifetime Toll-Free Technical Support 0.00
Packaging
Shipping with Double Box 0.00

$1198.54 after Student Discount, pretty solid I think

 

I'd opt for a different HD, at least 7200RPM instead of the 5400RPM. But otherwise, solid for $1198.54 no doubt.

 

I would also be interested in what kind of discount you received. I'm looking at almost the exact same setup, and now I'm starting price comparisons between the different resellers.

 

Most people here seem to be of the opinion that Gentech is best place to get this. I watched his youtube videos, Ken from Gentech, and he seems really intelligent. He is highly reviewed - but some of the other suppliers seem a lot more dodgy. Ken also seems to offer very good prices, i would say its worth 50 bucks more at least to get good service. Ken always replies to emails.
I think most people chose Gentech on price basis too. Good luck with your buy - i am still waiting for mine to be shipped, just ordered it a few days back.

 

Just gotta give two big thumbs up for Gentech and Ken and would definitely recommend getting your setups from there I just ordered my MSI last night as I mentioned earlier and was starting to worry if maybe I should have paid extra for rush processing if they even have such a thing since my current laptop is being increasing more and more unstable. To that effect, I called them this morning and mentioned my concern and was told that my laptop would likely be shipped out on Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Unlike most vendors who'd happily take another $50 and say they'll "rush" the order and not really save any time at all, Ken didn't pressure me at all and actually told me that it wouldn't really matter as it was getting sent out pretty quick as it was, so definite thumbs up for customer satisfaction rather than greed =)

But it gets even better, sure enough, I check my e-mail a few hours ago and see a notice that my laptop has been shipped already! There's not much more I can say, I'm extremely excited to get my new computer and if anyone is still on the fence about Gentech I'd say it's definitely worth buying from!

 

I'm extremely glad to see that Gentech is getting your guys business. Even though I have no affiliation with them whatsoever, I am always happy to see good customer service pay off. Looks like I'm not the only one to speak highly of Ken. Just like I said in another thread about 3 weeks ago, Ken does not try to up-sell you on anything. He only recommends what he thinks is actually worth it. Hell, if it weren't for Ken, I would have probably spent $400 more on a upgrade that in his mind wasn't worth $400.

Just to let you guys know, if you pay the extra $50 for 3 day sipping, you will probably get it in 2 days. I live in MD and Gentech is in California. I received mine in two days and that is about is far away as you can get from one another.

 

Is the (upgrade) built in steel series keyboard worth typing at? Im looking for something to give my younger brother with the same power as with my setup, and also the backlight kb is a +. He is a fast typist though and also a gamer. Would this suffice?

 

Although some people including myself have had an issue with a key not working, they are in fact a good keyboard, the configurable coloured backlights work quite well, and they are comfortable to type on.

 

I was reading some other threads when people first ordered their gt780 and they said they were now camped outside waiting. Thats how found myself - seriously never been so expectent - now the laptop is finally in the mail to Australia. Watching it tracking ... lol, wonder if i will be doing this for a week.

Ken was good getting me updates when i couldn't hold on any more.

 

Which shipping option did you choose?

 

What's the general temperature that the 580M reaches on this line? I'd be getting the 17" model.

This is the only thing that's concerning to me. Also, what's the general overclock one can get on a 580M?

 

Man I love that avatar. It sends shivers down my spine... LOL. I've had the 580m up to 96 deg C on Furmark close to the 15 minute mark, running at 620mhz. During gaming we're talking low 80's. I cant take the core any higher than that at the moment because the 180w supply cuts out (during a furmark). I've just received a 230w supply in the mail today, and once I fit the correct power pin I will do some more benching at higher clocks and post some results here.

 

Looking forward to seeing your results shaun=)

Anyway, with the new fan EC mod ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/645070-force-fans-go-faster.html) got the fan to kick off at 65° GPU and above all 100% speed so now with 2720 o/c 104.3mhz and 580M -822/1904- temps max out 82° GPU and 81° CPU under BF3...
If you have cooler boost, you might not need the fan mod but still, so convenient.