***The Official MSI GT 60 w/GTX-680M Owner?s Lounge***

The latest barebones have the turbo button and a blue backlit keyboard

Sorry miseed this.

There are posts soldered into the board to match the 4 holes of the graphics card around the core, the card rests flat on these and the screws go straight into them.

When I got my system I took out both heatsinks and replaced all the thermal pads with 5W/mk 0.5mm thick phobia pads since I was going to be pusing the machine.

 

Hello everyone,

I just ordered my GT60 from newegg last night, cant wait for it to arrive. It shows to have 12gb of memory, does all 12 gb run in dual channel or how does that work>? I thought it had to have pairs.

What would be a good stick of ram to match the other three thats already in there? I guess i need to wait till it gets here so i can verify the timings on the ram before i go ordering the wrong ram..

I seen one stick of ram and a empty slot next to the GPU and CPU in a video, where are the other two located and how easy would it be to upgrade them if ever necessary?

Thanks in advance.

 

3 sticks of RAM will still be dual-channel and it's called Flex Memory.

For upgrades, any 4GB stock 1600MHz PC3 will work.

The other two sticks is underneath the keyboard.

 

First time to post in this thread even though I have read the entire thing. Only question I have is which setup would give me better performance. Dual 750GB Seagate Momentus XT 7200RPM 32MB, 8GB SSD Hybrid Drive, SATA III 6Gb/s set in raid 0 or 120GB Intel Solid-State Drive 520 Series SATA III 6Gb/s (running OS) with 750GB Seagate Momentus XT 7200RPM 32MB, 8GB SSD Hybrid Drive, SATA III 6Gb/s for storage. Not completely savvy when it comes to high performance rigs.

Also will I buy this thing and next month a better version comes out at the same price?

 

Intel 520 as primary drive where you run OS and programs + Momentus for storing movies, music etc. Muuuuuch faster than the 2 Momentus in Raid0

 

Do you know the timings of the stock ram?

 

Is anyone around having this weird issue where flashing a different vBIOS apart from the stock produces very flcutuating 3D mark 11 scores? With stock vBIOS I am able to scores around 6028. However, once I flash an overclocked vBIOS and changes the core clock and memory speed to around +135 and +178 respectively, the score fluctuates between 4800 and 6100. Again, I am not able to hit 7000 and above as others are getting. Is there any problem with my gpu?

 

1600mhz 11-11-11 I believe.

You need the beta EC from the MSI forums to stop benchmark score flux.

 

I have already done that but it is not helping at all.

 

Do you get clock bouncing? If so then you need to move to a modified Vbios. You can see this in MSI afterburner.

 

So, two sticks are in dual channel and the third stick is in single channel? I think thats how flex mode works..

Im guessing it would increase the performance a tad if all slots would be populated with matching 4gb sticks.

This 3 stick dual channel mode doesnt seem right to me.

Would it make a difference which of these two sticks i would buy? The vengeance ram should automatically change its timings to match the other three sticks?

Corsair Value Select

Corsair Vengeance

Thanks again

 

Hey, so it looks like MSI released a new BIOS version today for the GT 60.

After downloading the appropriate file and executing FLASH.BAT it says that the file may not be compatible with 64bit systems and wont continue. Am I able to flash this BIOS the same way that I flashed the EC Firmware as an alternative? I flash my EC by using a USB drive and the flash utility provided by MSI. Is that method applicable to BIOS updates as well?

 

the flex memory works automatically and you don't need to do anything.

Your RAM is CAS 11 so might just get this one:

Corsair Value Select

If you are getting this one:

Corsair Vengeance

then might just get 4 of them so you have all 4 sticks with same timing.

You have Windows 7 model? you need to make a bootable USB drive to flash the BIOS.

 

Wont the timings relax to match the 11?

Cause i already ordered the vengeance memory.

I also ordered a Samsung 840 series 250gb ssd..

 

Yes it will, but if you are getting the CAS 9 RAM might just replace all of them to take advantage.

 

Oh, I did not know msi were using a back plate to cool the rear memory chips on the 680, just looked. Interesting. I wonder if it could be modified to help cool the back of the gpu...

 

Ok thanks. but i dont think i would see any real world performance gain from 11-11-11-30 to 9-9-9-24 as far as playing games surfing the internet and day to day activities. I honestly dont know where you would see the benifits of this except for my e-peen.. lol

Thanks again.

 

Yup, Windows 7 64bit.
So I can just use the same bootable drive that I used to flash my EC? I made it bootable by using the MSI utility tool. Can I just leave that on the USB drive, remove the EC firmware update files, and replace them with the new BIOS files, then flash at boot?

 

Minimum frame rates is where you will see the biggest impact.

 

Right., but we are talking maybe 1/2 of a frame per second. If anyone has 4 sticks of the stock ram and 4 sticks of lower latency ram, i would love to see some benches ran to see how much of a difference there would be.


Thanks for the replies.. My GT60 wont be here until thursday.. come on thursday. maybe fedex will deliver it early and drop it off tomorrow. not holding my breathe though.

 

Yes you can use the same bootable flash drive to flash the BIOS. Just copy the BIOS files or folder over and run flash.bat, if there is already a flash.bat from the EC just delete it first.

 

I just noticed msi did release a new bios yesterday. The description says "Fix HDMI/DP Hot plug fail after resume from S3". What does that mean ? do i have to install this bios ?

 

Awesome, thanks! I'm gonna try out the new BIOS, and maybe if I'm feeling brave Ill flash it with svl7's unlocked vBIOS later.

 

Does anybody else feel like shi***** their pants whenever they flash their BIOS or is it just me? I get so scared every time I do it!! So far so good, but man, it feels like I'm helplessly hiding beneath my bed during an armed break in of my house or something.

So after flashing the latest BIOS on my system, it looks like nothing has changed in the performance department. I'm still getting similar scores to the original BIOS. I am running the modded EC as well.

No over-clock. score: P6095
MSI AfterBurner 135/178 score: P6126
MSI AfterBurner 135/178 w/ Turbo Score: P6367

My system actually runs a bit cooler when I have afterburner clocked at 135/178 than it does when its set to 0/0.

 

The HDMI/DP port may not recognise a new display plugged in after waking from sleep mode without restarting the system.

 

Is there room in the GT60 0NE if I want to run 2 SSD's in Raid 0 and 1 HDD for storage.

 

Yes, if you remove the DVD drive and add a drive caddy, you can have 3 drives, or you can try to order one with 2 msata in raid. but I am not sure if they have released any like that in the US yet.

 

Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M
Vendor Unknown
# of cards 1
SLI / CrossFire Off
Memory 4,096 MB
Core clock 324 MHz
Memory clock1,800 MHz
Driver name
Driver version9.18.13.1090
Driver statusFM Approved


I just ran 3Dmark11 basic edition. My core clock isn't supposed to be that low? I just upgraded to the new NVidia firmware released a few days ago. I haven't flashed anything or changed any settings whatsoever.


http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/5514350

 

My GT60 is coming with windows 8 x64 installed on a 750gb 7200rpm hdd.

I bought a Samsung 840 series 250gb SSD. Is there a way to clone or copy everything over so I dont have to reinstall everything from scratch>?

The down side of this, would be the laptop will probably come with sata ide mode enabled for the hard drive instead of ahci.. I will probably have to do a complete reinstall on the SSD.. :/

 

P6117 is normal score without overclock.

 

Hey guys i downloaded the hacked vbios but i accidently deleted the old(stock) vbios is there a way to get that back if i want to revert?

 

Cloning a hard drive to an SSD is not the best way to go but if you not know how to do a clean Windows installation then I'll recommend Acronis True Image.

Using other cloning software may result in an out of alignment SSD thus reduced performance,Trim problems or not booting.

To check the alignment of your SSD's partition

run msinfo32 by typing it into the search box

click on: components => storage => disks

Look for your SSD and check the partition starting offset.

It needs to be divisible by 4096 (ie return a whole number when you divide by this) otherwise the alignment is not correct.

There's also a test app(run as admin);
Disk Alignment Test - Download

 

Thanks..

I have reinstalled so many times i cant count. I keep all my important data on other drives so i never have to worry about losing anything. I just want to make the new installation the same as the original. I've found that it is sometimes difficult with getting all the drivers and unique features of said laptop to work like it is suppose to or like it did when it was new..

I edited my original post. this is what i added.

The down side of this, would be the laptop will probably come with sata ide mode enabled for the hard drive instead of ahci.. I will probably have to do a complete reinstall on the SSD

 

Hello,
I recently bought GT60 w/680M.
The GPU does not seem to be detected in 'dxdiag' window. It still says Intel HD
I was wondering If there's something I can do to make it detect 680M

 

Just wondering, but what will you get by disabling the HD4000? doesnt it disable the HD4000 once you start playing a game or start doing something graphic intensive?

 

I'm sure it is shipped with the bios set to AHCI in non raid models.

Most of the time,during the period between when the software is installed on the drive at the factory and the time you receive it,there was driver,utilities and software updates.Maybe even bios and firmware too.So if you clone,you're most likely cloning old onto a new drive.

Between visiting station-divers.com and the MSI GT60 0NE downloads you should be able to collect everything you need and put it on a usb flash drive before you begin a clean install.

You'll need to get a clean Windows 8 ISO and unpack it onto a 4GB or larger USB flash drive to do a Custom clean installation.

This post may help.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/692264-offical-msi-gx60-owners-lounge-62.html#post9021252

You can't have 2 Windows 8 installations using the same key for activation;I've tried it.It will produce an error message.

After W8 is installed on the SSD putting the hard drive back in that is activated with the same key will produce an error message.

I bought the W8 x64 Pro download for $39.With the retail Pro key you can download an ISO directly from Microsoft.

With Windows 8 Pro you can upgrade to Windows 8 Media Center for FREE until January 31st.After that it will be a $10 upgrade.

Windows 8 Core version cannot be upgraded to the Media Center version.

I installed the Classic Shell to get the Start Button back.

 

Very good to hear.

I have win 8 Pro x64 on my gaming desktop and already have a usb thumb drive created. Much faster than using the dvd.

I might buy the pro for 40 dollars. I have the MC upgrade on my desktop as well.
I wonder how bad the performance of the 7200 rpm hdd.. If its not that bad, then i might not even worry about installing the ssd. But i am use to the nice speed of ssd's.

I actually like the interface of windows 8.

Also, thanks for the reply

 

Dont want to disable it, I just want it to show my nvidia card instead of intelhd

 

I'm pretty sure that is the only way you will achieve what youre asking for,

 

That's just a 3Dmark bug, takes clock speeds at idle. Your score is perfect at stock.

 

Here is what the back of the 680M looks like by the way:



There is a ram - pad - back cover - pad - Motherboard sandwich.

 

So I finally took the plunge this morning. I ordered the GT60 0NE from Gentechpc. Granted my wife almost had a heart attack when she saw the final price. Many thanks to Ken for all of his support, his many answers to people on this forum and patience with me when I had questions. That was one of the reasons I went with Gentech. Anyway this is my setup, tell me what yall think and if I may need any upgrades in the near future. Personally I think it is a pretty solid choice of add on's.

MSI GT60-0NE-403US
20GB of RAM
15.6" 16:9 1920x1080 Full HD LED backlight Ultra Bright, 95% NTSC Color Gamut, Anti Glare
30 Day No Dead Pixel Warranty
IC Diamond 24 Carat Thermal Compound on both CPU/GPU
750GB 7200rpm 2.5" 9.5mm 16MB SATA II 3Gb/s
250GB Samsung 840 Series SSD 2.5" 7mm SATA III 6Gb/s
Downgraded to 8X DVDRW DL/24x CDRW Super Multi - (Saved 60 bucks, I stream everything)
Clean Windows Install - (requested that to be placed on Samsung SSD)
They burn the recovery DVD
UPS Next Day Air Early AM

Thats it, total cost came in just under $2500.00. Ken with Gentech assured me it would be shipped tomorrow and I should have it in my hands on Monday. I have not been this excited for a purchase since I was a kid. Know I have to wait out the weekend trying to fix up my old 18.5" Qosmio for my 12 year old son. Once again thanks to Ken and to all of you for posting on this forum and letting some of the lesser computer educated folks try to follow along. :thumbsup:

 

I have a copy of windows 8 x64 pro on a usb drive.. Do the iso files have all versions in them>? Meaning, if I do a clean install and use the product key thats on my gt60 currently, will it install the normal window 8?

 

Correct. it has all aversions in the ISO and it reads digital product key from the MSI BIOS and install Windows 8 instead of Windows 8 Pro.

 

So what are you going to be doing to keep yourself distracted apart from fixing up the old machine?

 

The iso and the usb i created with windows 8 on it already has the cd key parsed into it.

I installed another copy of window 8 i had and used the driver cd, but its missing a bunch of software that msi had installed i guess.. Do i have to go to the msi download page and download the individual programs and utilities i want? thats a hassle. I just want a clone or something.. or just live with this 7,200rpm drive.

I tried using the "windows 7 file recovery" built into windows 8 to create a system image but it doesnt work for me. It keeps saying that the destination is too small.. I have even tried the disc way and it said the same thing.. no clue..

 

Well the day started out pretty good. Woke up early then talked to Ken and he said it would ship today and be here tomorrow. I have not received the item shipped email yet but I trust them. I bought a new SSD for the old Qosmio, that should give the old thing a little punch. Sitting here on pins and needles waiting for the chance to track the laptop through fed ex or ups or who ever they use. Gonna be a long wait installing this SSD anyway!

 

Yes the drivers DVD is missing some of the softwares such as keyboard software but you can download it here:

http://www.msi.com/product/nb/GT60-0NE.html#/?div=Utility&os=Win8 64


"Windows 7 file recovery" in Windows 8 is having some issues backing up image or to DVDs.

 

Is your USB made from the downloaded W8 Pro Upgrade?

I bought the Windows 8 Pro Upgrade and unpacked the ISO downloaded from Microsoft onto a USB flash drive using the Microsoft USB/DVD Tool.

While installing from the USB flash drive I entered a Windows 8 Core x64 version key and received a message that the key was not for that version of Windows 8.

The Windows 8 x64 RTM ISO worked with both an x64 Core key or a Pro Key.

Only a Pro installation is able to be upgraded to the Media Center version.The Media Center key is FREE until the end of January.On February 1st it will be $10.

 

Thanks. I downloaded it earlier from the msi website and then used some msi updater thing that got a few more, but there was some error with Netframework, I will see if it will keep doing it once it boots.

Also, the Turbo button no longer puts the gpu at 771mhz, it stays at 135mhz which is crazy.. Idk why MSI designed it that way. GTX680m and you cant even play a game with out enabling turbo / aka stock speed.