--->The Official MSI GT780/GT783 Owner's Lounge<---

----------------------------------------------

***Note: Much of this thread is consumed with repeat questions. Prior to posting inquiry, PLEASE take the time to read the following, SEARCH THE THREAD HERE, or Google! Thank you!

----------------------------------------------

The Real Gaming Notebook







What do gamers desire most? MSI knows best! In GT780/GT783, MSI not only conducted research with the world-class team Fnatic,
but also collaborated with SteelSeries, a leading manufacturer of professional gaming peripherals, to develop a “gamer’s keyboard”
never before seen in gaming notebooks. GT780/GT783 provides you the best gaming experience.


*** The MSI GT780DXR with nVidia GeForce GTX-570M GPU! ***





*** Prices shown are reseller list prices ***

GT780DX-406US - $1,399.00 ($50 Mail-in Rebate)

Product Number: 9S7-176112-406

17.3" 1920X1080 Full HD LED Anti-Glare
2nd Generation Intel Core i7-2670QM Quad Core
nVidia GeForce GTX 570M 1.5GB GDDR5 VRAM
12GB DDR3 1333MHz PC10600
750GB 7200rpm SATA II 16MB
8X DVDRW Super Multi combo drive
Built-in 802.11 Wireless N, USB 3.0
Built-in Bluetooth
Software-changeable LED color Backlit Keyboard
720P HD webcam
Dynaudio Premium Sound System
8.6 lbs (9 cell) 16.85 (L) x 11.34” (W) x 2.17 (H)


*** The MSI GT783 with nVidia GeForce GTX-580M GPU! ***





GT783-658US - $1,889.00 ($200 Mail-in Rebate)

Product Number: 9S7-176112-658

17.3" 1920X1080 Full HD LED Antie-Glare
2nd Generation Intel Core i7-2670QM Quad Core
nVidia GeForce GTX-580M 2GB GDDR5 VRAM
12GB DDR3 1333MHz PC10600
1.5TB 7200rpm (750GB x2) SATA II
6X Blu-Ray Writer/8X DVDRW combo drive
Built-in 802.11 Wireless N, USB 3.0
Built-in Bluetooth
Software-changeable LED color Backlit Keyboard
720P HD webcam
Dynaudio Premium Sound System
8.6 lbs (9 cell) 16.85 (L) x 11.34” (W) x 2.17 (H)





MSI News & Helpful Links

GT780 (Global site)

GT783 (Global site)

MSI Gaming

MSI G-Zone (wallpaper, screensaver, videos, and more)

MSI Notebook Forum

MSI Customer Service | Global

MSI Notebook Warranty Information

March 30, 2011: MSI Resumes Shipments of Sandy Bridge Gaming Notebooks and Extends Warranty

September 7, 2011: MSI Fortifies Arsenal of G Series Gaming Laptops Featuring NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570M

December 21, 2011: The ultimate weapon in Battle MSI latest GT780DX gaming laptop

January 3, 2012: MSI GT780DXR RECEIVES CES 2012 INNOVATIONS AWARD HONORS

January 4, 2012: MSI Announces the New GT783 Gaming Notebook Featuring the Highly Anticipated NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 580M Graphics Card

January 4, 2012: Locked and Loaded, Sir! MSI GT783 Gaming NB

January 19, 2012: How to Optimize Your MSI GT783, GT685 Game Settings GTX580M offers smooth experience, max resolution on Battlefield 3

MSI Notebook Product Registration | Global

Don't overlook MSI's warranty requirements folks! Registering the notebook is simple enough, but requires an extra step beyond 'online' registration. After doing this online, you will receive an email that states:

I point this out because according to MSI's website, they must receive this within 30-days from the ' date of purchase'..... so don't delay! Also, after completing this process, I recommend later logging back onto the registration site, to follow-up on your warranty 'status'.

MSI AfterBurner





'Where To Buy' MSI GT780/GT783 Notebooks

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





Official MSI GT780/GT783 Downloads

GT780 | GT783

Bios | Bios

Drivers | Drivers

Firmware | Firmware

Utilities | Utilities

Manual | Manual


Other Downloads

Windows 7 w/SP1 (Older WIN 7 links can also be found HERE!)

Corel WinDVD for Blu-Ray

NVIDIA Drivers

MSI AfterBurner

CPU-Z

GPU-Z

3DMark Vantage & 3DMark11

Svet's VBIOS Tuner For NVIDIA 6xx Series New version (1.30u) NOW supporting the GTX-670/675M too, and GTX-680M soon to follow!

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

Piriform 'CCleaner' (Before cleaning with this tool, take note what you are specifically removing. Some users have reported it will remove your 'S-Bar' software.)

Bass Test and THX Demos

GTX-570M vBIOS (1210.bin)

GTX-580 vBIOS (GF114.bin)





GT780/GT783 'Stock' Hardware Info.

Chipset: Mobile Intel® HM67 Express Chipset

Wireless/Bluetooth card: Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 130

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

HHD's: Seagate Momentus | Western Digital Scorpio Black

SSD: Transcend 128GB, TS128GSSD25S-M

Optical Drive: TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-L633F | Firmware Download

Memory Modules: Elixir - Nanya Technology | M2S4G64CB8HB5N-CG

Webcam: Acer Labs Incorporated (ALi), BisonCam NB Pro

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

USB 3.0 Host Controller: Renesas Electronics

Thermal Paste: MX-2


Parts & Accessories - All Things GT-780, GT-783, and MS-1761

GT-780

GT-783

MS-1761





Videos

MSI GT780/783 Disassembly

Battlefield 3 on MSI GT783 nVidia GTX580M, High and Ultra mode

MSI GT780DX Video Tour

GT780/GX780 Promotion video

MSI GT780R 17" Gaming Laptop, First Look & Review

MSImobile's MSI GT780R: Unboxing Video

SteelSeries Gaming Keyboard on MSI G-Series Notebook

Shootout between MSI GT780R & ASUS G74SX-A1

MSI GT780R 17" Gaming Laptop Keyboard and Dynaudio Speakers Test Ken Lee brutalizing the SteelSeries keyboard, demonstrating the force necessary to produce flex.
As such, an amused ViciousXUSMC has dubbed Ken, as KENshiro! Under normal use, flexing should never be an issue with this tough keyboard.

Kenshiro MSI GT780R Typing Test A hilarious 'spoof' to the video above - A ViciousXUSMC Production!

How the MSI GT780DXR makes me feel! Go 'Full Screen', crank up the volume...... and DANCE WITH ME!





How To's

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

Fan noise (swoosh) too noisy for you at idle? Try this!

Using a wireless mouse, and you want to disable the touchpad? Read this post!

Poor Mic Quality? Try This!

Webcam not working, and not listed in the 'Device Manager'? Read This!

ICM profile to improve the image quality of the matte display for GT780/GT783 notebooks (Chi Mei N173HGE-L11/21)

Pesky Pixel Problems? Try this!

GT780R Keyboard Removal

More on Keyboard Removal/Replacement

Hiding the 'S-Bar' dock from Desktop

Don't like the S-Bar's big blue star on your desktop? New S-Bar Version: 21.011.11023 released! (Thanks to Ken of GenTech for this..... show him some love folks!)

Sentelic Touchpad registry patch (beta)

P1 button TDE does not function correctly? Try this!


Benchmark & Stress Testing Results

My first 'out-of-the-box' benchmark runs of the GT783, GTX-580M

FurMark test of the GT-783

First benchmarking results of the GT780DXR with the GTX 570M

My first benchmark runs of the GTX 570M

For comparison, the first benchmarking results of the GTX 560M

FurMark for 20 minutes, without Turbo Fan

FurMark & Prime, running together for 36 minutes

FurMark & Prime running together, no Turbo Fan, and only a 120W A/C adapter, for 3 hours and 34 minutes

Brutal testing continued for 10 hours and 42 minutes!





Other GT780/GT783 Thoughts..... please PM if you have other suggestions.

Suggested Backpacks & Cases for the GT780:

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 |

Cool Tools, Options, & Helpful Additions:

1.) The Patriot 128GB Supersonic Magnum USB 3.0 Flash Drive | At NewEgg | At Amazon | FOLKS! This thing is FAST!

2.) The Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX | At NewEgg | At Amazon | This wireless mouse is fast, full featured, and works great on ANY surface (even glass). Also, the micro USB receiver can remain plugged-in to the laptop, 24/7.

3.) The AU Optronics B173HW01 V.4, 17.3 90% Color Gamut 1080p glossy screen | Product Specifications | YES, it's glossy, but a PRETTY, PRETTY, PRETTY screen. With bright & clear, dazzling eye-popping color, this screen makes the stock matte screen look 'washed-out' & 'gray-scale' by comparison.


11 Reasons why I opted the MSI GT780DXR, over the Asus G74SX

1. An eSATA port, STANDARD!
2. An extra USB 3.0 port, STANDARD!
3. Brushed aluminum chassis, STANDARD!
4. More onboard DDR3 memory (16 GB), STANDARD!
5. HD 720P webcam that performs at 30 FPS, STANDARD!
6. HD 1080P LED back-lit MATTE anti-glare screen, STANDARD!
7. Bios RAID configurable (many notebooks entirely lack RAID support), STANDARD!
8. The Dynaudio speaker system (BEST in the laptop industry and actually sounds GOOD!), STANDARD!
9. A 'Steelseries' true tactile-feel gamer’s keyboard, with software control color back-lighting, STANDARD!
10. It's LESS EXPENSIVE!
11. The NEW GT780DXR with NVIDIA GTX 570M!

Almost too good to be true…… and at an unbeatable price! The only downside I see in the standard GT780R, is no Blu-Ray reader, but this can be added for only $54. Also, no backpack or mouse, but still no deal-breaker here. The GTX560M of the GT780R will only have 1.5 GDDR5, vise the G74SX with 3 GB GDDR5, but I can find no supporting data that argues this will make any performance difference, whatsoever. It appears the two notebooks are equally spec'ed, however the GT780R is fuller featured, at a nicer price. With regard to cooling & noise, it would also appear that MSI has also done a very respectable job here too.

Of course with the recent release of the GT780DXR, it's excellent pricing, and featured GTX 570M..... the Asus G74SX is now somewhat 'out classed'.

ENJOY!

-=$tr|k3r=-

 

Will I be able to see benches and vid caps of games with fps soon on this thread?

I'm dying to know if the larger chassis will help perform better than the gt683r which I'm debating on.

Striker, I've been following the convo from the other thread. Did you actually receive your unit already?

Oh, and thank you for creating this thread.

 

I think you will see 'all of the above', and more, as soon as owners get their grubby lil' paws on these. No, I have not received mine yet, but I expect it soon.

Can't wait!

 

I can not wait to put my hands on this monster. Anyone in this site got this laptop yet from GenTechPc??? It is the only place with the MSI GT780R-012US in stock right now. I called them up and they said they have this model in stock...

 

That's where I purchased mine, it's ready, and will be here soon!

 

I have my model coming from PC Canada. Canadian orders seem slightly different from the US model number that the vendors here have, from what I see it has the BD player, and the 16 gig ram. GT780R-014US

For some reason the prices on this have been going up from when they were first listed for pre order.

I got in on it a few weeks ago for 1651.00 and has gone up to 1689.00 @ PC Canada. They originally had a stock date of June 01 2011, but that did not happen. There is now no date listed, but in an email I got for order confirmation it mentioned June 15, 2011. Not sure why so late when I think most retailers have them in stock now.

PC CANADA - MSI GT780R CORE I7-2630QM,W7HP 16GB,1TB,BD-COMBO,17HD,BT 802.11N,NVIDIA GTX560M 1.5G, [GT780R-014US] - The Original and Highly Rated All-Canadian WebStore

NCIX also had is available for pre order for 1699.00 and have since raised the price to 1778.00, but they list them instock and shipping with 4-8 days as of 2 days ago, june 7, 2011.

NCIX.com - Buy MSI GT780R-014US Intel Core i7 2630QM 16GB 2X500GB Blu-Ray 17.3IN NVIDIA GTX560M 1.5GB W7HP Notebook - MSI/MicroStar - 9S7-176112-014 - in Canada

I also have a corsair force 3 120 gig ssd coming to make this bad boy even faster!

Can not get here fast enough, COMMON SHIP IT ALREADY! tx

 

it's a shame there's no GTX 485 in it, performance is a bit weak.

 

Just ordered mine with i7-2720QM. The only thing I was not crazy about it it was the GTX 560M. They should have given us a better selection on the video cards, like the GTX 485m or the HD6970. Anyway everything else is fine. I would not have mind to spend a little extra on a good video card, even if I would pass my budget. The 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear screen. Just what I was looking for, I am just tired of the glossy screen reflecting everything, the matte screen will go easier on the eyes and the Dynaudio tip the scale in favor of this lappy.

 

As always, MSI makes it insanely easy to change/upgrade the inside of the GT780R.

Vantage GPU scores of 8000 puts it on par with a 5870 which is no slouch of a GPU at all.

Ken's reviews are always so indepth. I really enjoy watching them.

 

Too bad Ken doesn't do the actual talking anymore. It was like listening to God speak.

Like Gatta said, I'm looking for a clear upgrade over my 5870m, not a sidegrade. If they havea refresh with a beefier GPU (or if someone can confirm a DIY for, say, a 6970m) I'll be over this machine.

 

soooo, anyone know how to access the wireless card on this? can't seem to find it and I want to ditch the n130 for my intel 6300

 

I think the GenTech review mentioned it's under the control bar (where the power button and hotkeys are located). Pry it up gently and you should see it.

It's the same way on my GX660R.

 

Yes, it is under the top touch control board, above the keyboard. The wireless card is an Intel wireless/bluetooth combo card, so in replacing it with the Intel 6300 (wireless only - nfo HERE!), you will lose bluetooth functionality.

 

yeah, figured it out. you can use an ID or a credit card to safely pop up that control panel. just swapped mine out right now, about to run some tests. I literally never used bluetooth on any of my devices on my previous laptop, so I doubt I'll miss it compared to the upgrade of an intel 130 to a 6300

 

Yeah, same here! That's why I opted for the Bigfoot wireless. I have this in another notebook (tried it out at Ken's recommendation), and I was very pleasantly surprised..... with connectivity, speed, and range!

ENJOY that GT780R! I am jealous, mine hasn't arrived yet..... but it's shipped, and will be here soon!

 

Thank you, it's really quite lovely. OH and btw, for those worried about the keyboard flex, it is entirely non existent under normal use and I must say this is without a doubt the best keyboard I've ever typed on. Even feels nicer than my Logitech G15 I used to use with my asus G71. Also, I can press about 9 keys at once and they all respond, which is GREAT. I remember a few of my desired keystroke combinations didn't function properly on my old Asus. MSI<3

 

AWESOME to hear on the keyboard...... I suspected as much! Thanks! BTW, read the warranty note in the lead post of this thread, and don't forget to register with MSI.

 

I was just checking the Bigfoot wireless out, you recommend it then? worth the extra cash?

 

Worth every penny on my other notebook, and Ken still stands on the recommendation, so I've done it again with my new GT780R.

Again, I found great connectivity, speed, and range!

 

I should be expecting my GT780 in about a week. This is my first real desktop replacement. I had a laptop previously but it was refurbished and used only for college. I currently am on a gaming computer but it's getting old and it was purchased when I was about 17 with much less concern to computer health.

That brings me to my question - when my computer first arrives, what should I do? I'm planning on charging it to full right away then using it until the battery is dead just to make sure the battery gets a healthy 'birth'. After that I plan on just removing any bloatware that might be on it. I'm having GenTech burn my recovery DVD's so that's not a problem. Right off the bat, should I be downloading any drivers or the like or is there anything else people suggest to do when the laptop first arrives?

 

Whatever you do don't uninstall MSI S-Bar software, it's for the function keys.

1: I would download the nVidia 275.33 driver and run setup which doesn't recognize GTX560M card:

NVIDIA DRIVERS 275.33 WHQL

2: Download the mod inf from laptopvideo2go

v275.33 Windows 7/Vista 64bit | NVIDIA Mobile OEM - LaptopVideo2Go Forums

3: copy paste to C:\NVIDIA\DisplayDriver\275.33\Vista 64bit\International\Display.Driver folder and run setup.exe

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stock driver 268.12 with 2920XM CPU:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/att...ideo-gtx-560m-hands-kind-3dmark11-2920-oc.jpg

275.33 driver with 2920XMCPU:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/att...-video-gtx-560m-hands-kind-3d11-275-33-oc.jpg

 

For me, it's not just the GPU, but the keyboard, sound system, FHD 17.3" matte screen, better look/build and Sandy bridge architecture.

With that being said, with such easy access to the internals, it will be interesting to see if a 6970M or similar GPU will play nice with it.

 

I fired off my order last night and got a confirmation call. I'll hopefully be seeing it next Thursday!

[Stock + IC Diamond, 4xBluRay and no RAID] I will self-install a Momentus XT Hybrid 500GB since I would like to use the stock 500GB in either another lappy or as an external for backup.

Homer

 

The 150W PSU is not sufficient.. Need at least 180W, seeing the other 6970M laptops...

However, a GTX 570M or 580M may fit...

 

Wow, so doing that driver install does really give a nice little boost in performance, huh? This isn't an official driver for the 560m though, right?

 

It's the official driver from nVidia but not for MSI. therefore, mod inf is needed.

The performance boost only noticeable on overclock.

 

Despite the current driver issue with the 560m, I'm so glad msi (and asus) decided not to fool around with Optimus on their 560m.

I was touring around nvidia's forum and it appears gamers are getting huge headaches from intel HD graphics kicking in when gaming, lol.

Even "power management" had tendency to downclock randomly when gaming. Sadly, my fix for that is hooking up 2 external monitors on my current laptop.

Anyway, I would never want to see 560m shut down for intel HD while playing something like Crysis 2...

[Edit: erm... looks like my funding just cleared... how soon would you ship (stock model) if ordered today...?]

 

Awesome

Could you explain why the keyboard is great btw? And most important of all, could you tell me how the fan acts when you just surf the internet or watch a movie etc. Light stuff. Does it shut down for a long period of time? Does it ramp up every 1 minute etc. Is it loud? Some resellers have responded to this question before from me, but I rather have an owner who are not looking to sell the laptop tell it
(no offence resellers)

 

Also let us know your first impressions of it's use and gaming performance

 

I'd like to hear/see a bit more about viewing angles, if possible.

The video wasn't the best in this regard, and from what I did see, the screen looked quite a bit inferior compared to some videos I watched of the Clevo P150HM and P151HM

Any thoughts on this yet?

 

Hey Guys,

I have updated this thread's lead post, revised important warranty info (please read..... HERE!), and added our forum friendly resellers.

Enjoy!

 

My monster is on the way...So happy, this was the best email today...Too bad it was not shipped on a Monday, my fault, because I was procrastinating...lmao Must thank GenTech for such a fast service...Wish I had a GPS on the UPS truck...Hope the driver does not take so many brakes and drive carefully, my baby is on the truck...lol The wait will drive me crazy...

 

CONGRATZ gatta...... and WELCOME, fellow OWNER! Did Ken install any custom goodies for ya, or is it stock? Yeah, UPS tracking now says mine won't arrive till next Wednesday..... Bummer!

Oh, and BTW, where is your sig SOLDIER!

 

Was looking forward to hearing some impressions on the machine and figured you opted for Overnight shipping ..

Either way Congrats and ill be watching this thread to see how everything turns out.

Sounds like a solid machine and a good choice over the Asus .

 

Naw at the time, with the extras I added, I couldn't see spending another $100+ on shipping...... but now I am Bummed! That's how it goes, I guess!

(kicking self in @$$)

 

^ What size SSD did you get?

 

Just an ittle bitty 120 GB.......

 

Five Q's from a newbee getting ready to order...

I notice many are opting for the 2720QM. Why do people believe that this is worth about $350 more compared to the standard CPU? Is the performance upgrade that great assuming most the other components are kept stock?

Do I need to get the Dead Pixel Guarantee? (If the machine arrives with a dead pixel or two, won't the reseller exchange it at no charge without this guarantee?)

I burn blurays. Do you guys think I should get the internal burner for $175, or should I get an external BR burner from newegg for about 130? Anyone have any idea who makes the BR burner for the machine?

What's the "deal" with Solid State? And should I follow the previous member who is going to get the Seagate Momentus XT ST95005620AS and install myself? Is that difficult to do?

I notice many are getting the Diamond Thermal. What does that do? IS it important?

Thanks in advance,
Bill

 

Ooh ooh, I can answer 2 of your questions (Question 5) about Diamond Thermal. It's the best thermal paste in the market that I know of. You paste it between the CPU/GPU to the copper rods/plates that transfer heat to the fans and out of your laptop. High quality pastes do a better job of sucking up heat and transfering them, lower quality pastes burn out early (literally dry and cake on the cpu/gpu and become useless. It's important if you're the type that really work your graphics card (game a lot or do ton of video processing, then it's helpful to have good paste) I personally prefer stock paste then just buy myself a $5-10 from Radioshack (yeah, they still exist) and do it myself once every 1-2 year(s.)

Question 4: this particular model is one of the easiest laptops to do self upgrades on. The only thing is you have to do extra is to disable raid in bios (correct me if i'm wrong) and reinstall the recovery sector or something like that since the 2 drives are raid 0 by default; OR make it easier by requesting raid 0 disabled when ordering and just swap drives. Do it with your eyes closed for fun. I'm not a big fan of SSD. It's just a super fast (higher read/write speed by significant amount) hard drive with a higher chance of failing by a smaller percentage compared to a mechanical drive. You should read this thing from Anandtech.com where he gets all technical about it how ssd's work. Don't get it unless you're all about speed. You can always get one later. For me, 7200rpm is fast enough and raid 0 makes that faster even.

Yeay, there's my fifth post. now i can get my sig and soon gt780r

 

Hey Striker, maybe you could add a little blurb or a link to the temporary fix for the 560m nvidia driver issue on the title post for those that are receiving the units soon.
Oh god i can't wait!!! Someone post their pics and or unboxing on youtube or something sooooon!!!

 

This is my first post, woo! xDD Anyways, I've never ordered a laptop or computer of any kind online. I think other than vinyl records and clothes, this is the first thing I've ever ordered online. The only laptop I've ever had was an HP laptop that my dad gave me when he got a new one, and I'd always get so mad be wise it couldn't play any good games, and even watching movies, it lagged. So I have been looking online for weeks now for a good, not super expensive, gaming laptop. I've considered about all the options by now. I had decided on the MSI GT780R on, like, Nay 20th and had preordered it. But I cancelled it to order with GenTech. As soon as money transfers to my PayPal, I'm doing just that. I've been keeping up with another thread about it and the GT683R for a long time now. I'm pretty new to the gaming laptop scene, as stated. I chose the 780R because it was good-looking (unlike many, I prefer it to be pretty), the price difference and higher specs over other models, and I knew it would support my gaming habit well. I did a LOT of research on the laptops I looked at, so I'm not completely noobish.

I know I'm getting it with the OCZ Vertex 3 120Gig MAX IOPS for the primary drive. I was planning on upgrading to the Intel 6230 for the wireless card. Should I choose the Bigfoot instead? Is there anything wrong with the SSD I picked? My biggest question is about my optical drive. I want a blu-ray player, just in case I want to use is. But what's the difference between 4x and 6x? Is it worth the upgrade? Also, if I'm not planning on pushing the machine THAT hard, do I really need the thermal paste? I had never even heard of it until I started looking at gaming laptops.

Reading through the threads and doing the research on the different aspects, I feel like I'm making a good choice. Anyone think differently? Anyone have suggestions? Questions? Comments? Anything? Sorry for all the noobish questions and whatnot. Thanks in advance for anyone who'll help.

 

Hi Bill...... Welcome to the GT780R Owner's Lounge!

No doubt, the MSI GT780R is a solid, full featured contender, STOCK! So, why do some opt for the 2720QM? Well, some of us have a fix for a little extra juice, and the 2720QM offers the best performance gain, for the least amount of money. In short, the extra money spent, translates to a .2 to .5 Ghz increase. Upgrades are very much a personal choice, so you just have to decide what it's worth to you. If you have the need for speed, it may be worth it...... but necessary, No! For most, the 2630QM will be entirely adequate.

Dead Pixel Guarantee? Another matter of choice and assurance. Personally I do not see the need of this, and Yes, reputable resellers will make this good...... so long as a dead or bright pixel is reported and handled in a timely manner.

Burning Blu-Rays? I would suggest you consider leaving this task to a desktop or heavier-duty USB external device, and save wear & tear on your notebook optical. The notebook optical is light and lean, and I would limit it's use to mobile activity. Personally, I opted for a Blu-Ray reader only, for travel enjoyment. You have to ask yourself, 'Am I really going to burn Blu-Rays on the go? You do have a desktop, right?

Solid State? SSD's are yet another personal choice, but will vastly increase system and program boot times, and take a lick'in, and keep on tick'in. Because of no moving parts, most can easily withstand up to 15 G's impact, with no loss of data. SSD's are pricey, and standard mechanical SATA drives are sufficient for most. HDD's and SSD's are very easy to swap out, but it is good to have a little knowledge of drive partitioning, and cloning.

Also, the Seagate Momentus XT is not fully solid state, or fully an SSD.

IC Diamond 24 thermal compound? A choice for many, and another matter of assurance. Is the factory themal compound adequate? Was it applied properly on the assembly line? Some prefer paying extra for this service, putting an extra set of eyes-on, in the knowledge of proper application and quality of the product. IC Diamond is proven and tested as one of the best thermal compounds available...... and not just from marketing speak, but user reports...... time and time again! Is it necessary? Probably not, but I can almost certainly assure you, it will definitely drop your temps, vise the factory TIM application. Also, some of the resellers (GenTech for instance) provide this service for free, with an optional processor swap. (applied to both CPU & GPU) Check with your reseller of choice!

IC Diamond 24 Carat info HERE!

I hope this helps, and good luck in your decisions! Hope to see you as a GT780R Owner soon!

 

Check out this link. It shows benches for almost every single SSD's on the market. AnandTech - Bench - SSD That dude is like a demi-god when it comes to technical aspects of ssd's and other stuff... even though i hate ssd's... he even goes into how many watts the ssd uses while idle. Now, that's meticulous.

 

Yeah, I was assume this issue was simply the Hardware ID of MSI GTX560M card, not getting into nVidia's last driver release. I also assume this issue will be resolve by nVidias next release. If I am correct in this assumption, the problem will be very short lived.

Let's be patient, as this is not uncommon. Not to worry, we will NOT let our fellow Owner's down! There are MANY gurus amongst us!

I can't wait either!

 

Fair enough. It's just that I want a clear CPU and GPU upgrade before I go through the trouble of selling my GX660R. It's a great machine.

 

GEEZ Buck-A-Roo! I think you are in for a real treat, in the GT780R!

I think I responded to some of your concerns, in my previous opinions to 'Bill Smith7', above.

OCZ Vertex 3 120Gig MAX IOPS? An excellent choice as a primary drive, but the previous model 120GB OCZ Vertex 3 is virtually equal, and cheaper. You could save a few pennies here.

The Intel 6230 wireless card will be a good choice, IF you need to retain bluetooth functionality. If bluetooth is unimportant to you, the Bigfoot card is an excellent choice in all regards...... speed, connectivity, and range! I have actually enjoyed this card.

4X or 6X BR player? Need for speed? Satisfy your urge! Otherwise, save some pennies cause the 4X drive will do just fine.

Hope this helps.......



Ps: Questions are never 'noobish'! They are the beginning in the journey of knowledge, a path to becoming informed, and eventually the height's of enlightenment! LIKE ME, LOL! (just kidding!)

 

Hahaha. Thanks guys! The info on the SSDs helped. I'll likely revert back to the non-MAX IOPS Vertex 3, if it's almost the same performance. And I'll probably go with the Bigfoot. I think in all the time I've had Bluetooth available to me (phone, iPod, laptop, etc.), I've used it for something productive... once? Haha. And I'll probably stick with the 4x blu-ray reader. Outside of a PS3 game, I don't think I've ever touched a blu-ray because I think they're a little pointless, but it'll be nice to know I can play them. xDD Savins money is always a good thing, this is true. I'll probably stick with the stock thermal compound, because I shouldn't really need it. Again, saving money. Haha. Definitely happy with the processor. Or, well, I'm happy with the $400 it costs to upgrade it. Lol. Was hoping for a GPU upgrade, but with the games I have ready to instal, the 560 should do great. Music is something I use my computers for a lot, so the speaker setup and subwoofer were a definite advantage. As well as the backlit (and apparently strong) keyboard. I use my computer in the dark a lot. Haha. I have one general laptop question though. My laptop will usually be on a table hooked up to my 26", beastly TV/monitor with an HDMI cable, but with it being a 17" laptop, if I wanna sit/lay on my bed and use it, will it be difficult? The only one I have is a 15", and I can use it on my bed just fine.

 

anyone having trouble with the touchpad? I've had it for a day or two now and never tried using the touchpad until now. I either have a damaged unit or this is potentially the worst touchpad in existence. It either jumps all over the place or wont track at all. Big disappointment too with how nice of a keyboard it's paired with

 

I suppose you could use it in your bed, somehow, but I would recommend a desk or table. This notebook will be somewhat large compared to your 15", and take care not to place the notebook on any surface that will block airflow beneath.

 

Never use them myself, but sorry to hear you are having issues. I would get with the reseller asap!