***The Official MSI GT72 Dominator Pro (GTX-980M) Owner?s Lounge***

you're making me want to go down the road and buy the TN screen atm.... grrr

 

Huh, why is that? It really boils down to what you want..... either screen will suffice, but which do you prefer, and are you willing to spend for the latest tech? The current CMN-1735 screen does game nicely.

 

the screen is the only issue. its either get it now or wait 3 weeks for the ips to come here to australia

 

If the IPS screen is must-have, then wait the 3 weeks.

 

The biggest advantages are in viewing angles (no more setting yourself up for a small sweet spot) and contrast ratios. In dark environments it will be easier to pick out details and will also be better for watching movies. Add to that a little bonus of better power consumption then it would be an obvious upgrade really. Colour accuracy is great and all but actually has little impact on most users.

 

DILLIGAF can you post your screen settings so others can try your screen calibration/color accuracy?
Did you use a program to calibrate ? Or can you set it by eye?
Thanks

 

Hi guys! sorry for the delay, but i was out my house this weekend (Nice weather still).

@Dilligaff, I got the E bios version, and no clue Of TPM in bios neither windows panel control. (By the way, don´t know if your calibration would fit my screen, but I can try)

I have created a custom resolution of 75hz and it work nice and stable, I have played some time with WoW and tomb raider with it, and all went fine. (And a dead pixel spotted , but i can live with it).

Anyways, i haven´t taken any decission about returning this laptop or take it with me. So I don´t want to take to much risk with the healthy of device.

I am so doubtfull, this one likes me more every day, but i was very interested in the G751. My main fear is, what if I return this one and the other results being worse? I assume the quality will be similar, but I´m in a sea of doubts.
The Ips and the major sturdiness will balance the lack of 4Gb Vram? Being the msi in my hands now, and having tested how good it is, I´m ready to wait a couple of months for the other model? and, it will be better? Ah.... decissions, decissions...

 

For screen calibration he used Spyder 4, and a link for an ICC profile he uploaded can be found, HERE.

 

i calibrated via spyder4 elite. my calibrated profile is available via link on page 18 of this thread. my screen was at 100% brightness for calibration.
i also linked to the notebookcheck profile, created by them via colorite.

the profile as calibrated by notebookcheck is available from their reviews for each laptop. they always put the link in the same place next to the brightness distribution grid. you can directly go to their gt72 review and get it there if you dont want to use my link.


the biggest thing is that i may simply be wrong on the specific model of IPS. there is still a chance they will use some super-secret-brand-new model thats maybe 8 bit, and even better viewing angles. not likely, but possible.

assuming it is that specific ips.....

i heart you meaker and you are right on contrast/angles/power- i wrote the same thing on the last page, and quantified the differences in spec.

however i have to comment on your perspective that color acc does not matter to most users. it doesnt matter cause most dont know how this works, or why it matters, the same way as 3-4 years ago noone cared about what IPS was or why it is better than TN. if noone shows you a side-by-side of calibrated and non calibrated on the same screen, you just don't know. the problem is ignorance, not the actual technology/tool/software/result of calibration..

over the last few years various review sites have quantified how much better a certain ips screen is or is not than a certain TN or another IPS, which helps people make an informed buying decision. they also note in alot of cases that after calibration alot of "problems" with both types of display disappear. somewhere along the lines simpletons boiled it down to "no matter what the TN display is in the laptop, it sucks, and the ips version of that laptop is gona be "huge improvement"" . they do this without quantifying that "huge improvement". so now people are drones and chant- ips, ips without really knowing if its better and by how much.

well "huge improvement" is bs in alot of circumstances, including this one - 10-20 degrees more on viewing angles, isn''t gona provide a couch full of people with a noticebly better picture during a movie on a 17" screen and 1.6 watt less power isn't gona give you alot more battery time.

the only 2 specs which i see which are really "huge improvement" are screen lamp life (8 years+) , and contrast which is almost twice as good as the TN at 700:1 versus 400:1. the additional lamp life is irrelevant past the laptop warranty period, since msi wont replace your ips for free after laptop warranty runs out, and the value of that extra contrast is questionable when the colors are only 79% of srgb to begin with with a blue hue. (the hue on the ips is fixed by calibrating, ironically)


my argument today for calibration is the same as the old argument in favor of ips -- calibrating TN or IPS makes it "huge improvement" --- . now i am trying to quantify how much for all the options available in gt72. we need someone with an IPS and a colorimeter to calibrate theirs, and we will have complete picture, so buyers can make a decision thats right for them. so far data indicates calibrated TN is way more accurate than the out-of-the -box IPS.

IMHO with a good color profile, all apps i have tried- web, web video, local vlc/mpc video, AND games look much better (as long as you play windowed or borderless window). part of the problem here is nvidia also, as ATI/AMD allows an even better experience with calibrated displays, which is a shame!
https://forums.geforce.com/default/...t-in-full-screen-games-collaboration-thread-/

imho the hierarchy goes like this from worst to best:

uncalibrated tn (worst)
uncalibrated ips
calibrated tn
calibrated ips (best)


now to quantify the price you are charged:

211 sku (cheapest TN sku) 2299$

445 sku (cheapest ips sku) 3299$

the ssd upgrade and ram upgrade, bought on amazon, cost about 280+150 for 430$ total. so that IPS and processor upgrade ring up to 570$

assuming proc upgrade is valued at 285$ and ips upgrade is valued at 285$, that display better be "huge improvement" for the money, cause you can buy a nice big desktop monitor for 285$. EDIT: just to spice things up a calibrator costs 250$ which can be used to calibrate all yer displays for the rest of your life.

poor mans option seems to be to buy the cheap sku from a reseller and pay them to calibrate the TN , which gets them more accurate colors than just buying the ips version.

of course at the top of the pile is calibrated IPS-- extrapolating from my results---- if you bought the IPS version and calibrated that, you are looking at 100% SRGB or very close to it, which is basically as good as it gets. if you have the money do not hesitate to go this route and calibrate your ips.

thanks for the link striker!

LATE EDIT: if you are trying to make these icc profile load into windows and are having trouble, that nvidia thread mentions a tool called profile keeper (cpkeeper) which may help. i have not used that specific cpkeeper tool, but it seems to function alot like the "profile chooser" tool i use with my spyder.

REALLY LATE EDIT: here are 2 pics showing uncalibrated and calibrated. note the color of the woodgrain the desk in the foreground and how this changes. also note the colors of the backround lights. side by side the blue hue from the uncalibrated tn is definately noticeble.

pics were taken free-hand by me on my gt72 today, no tripod on nexus 5.

uncalibrated:


calibrated:
image exceeds upload size limit on forum, so i had to post it else where:

http://d01.megashares.com/dl/79QcyH9/cal.jpg

 

What dou you think about setting higher Hz profile? I have set one to 75 Hz and by the moment it goes very smooth, no artifacts or weird things. Am i in risk? I don´t want to increase more if the device could be in danger.

 

Just bought my GT72..



MSI GT72 2QE-295PT

i7-4710MQ
32GB (4x8GB) DDR3L 1600 MHz
17.3" Full HD (1920 x 1080), Anti-Glare, eDP
GTX 980M 8GB GDDR5
Super Raid 3, SSD 512GB (M.2 SATA) + HDD 1TB (SATA) 7200rpm

 

congratulations on that powerful beast!

 

What models comes with that bag mouse and headsets?

 

cool where di you get the promo gear from? was it included?

 

I don't know for surein other countries, but here in Portugal MSI is selling two models that comes with the backpack, mouse, headset SteelSeries Siberia V2 and the mousepad.

 

In a store here in Portugal. Yes, all included. It comes in a box like this one:

 

I have the gt 72 with the 880m, I did restart the laptop now the keyboard won't work on Windows so I'm not able to log in, it works in the bios menu.
Any help?

 

my guess is that sku with the backpack is for portugal only, hence the PT on the end of the sku number.


the 75hrz thing--- i would ask the msi rep via the thread in the forum or post to the msi hq forum, or just call msi and ask if running your laptop at 75hz voids your warranty for the monitor of the laptop.
if it does not void warranty its mostly irrelevant if it shortens the lifespan of the monitor- if it blows up under warranty, just rma it.
if warranty gets voided by running at 75hz, i would probably not run it that way. risking your new laptop and its display for 15hz gain does not seem worth it.

for the non working keyboard problem
#1 thing-- check numlock if your password is all numbers
#2 thing - when on the windows login prompt, make sure the cursor is in the password field before you type anything. when drunk last week, i ran into a scenario where nothing you type gets registered because the cursor was not in the password field. as in click into the password field with the mouse, then type from the keyboard.

 

Alright, this is a joke! (Not joking!)

I ask MSI UK about the m.2 adapter in SSD-less SKU, he said GT72 2QD is capable of having 4 m.2 SSDs (I know!), but I need to ask dealers for the adapter question. Ebuyer told me it come without the adapter; Scan says they asked the MSI rep but he/she is busy (taking train from London to Manchester) and I'll have my answer soon (it's been a week); Overclockers UK tells me that I'll have to ask the MSI myself because all the products are sealed and they don't have that information. Ugh!

Anyone have bought the SSD-less SKU (GT72 2QD-233UK specifically) please come out and verify whether or not it come with the adapter?

Regards.

 

I spoke to the MSI UK rep before I ordered mine and he said the adapter was included. I purchased from eBuyer and it will be delivered tomorrow so I will let you know as soon as i get my hands on it.

 

Stevie we will wait for your answer like kids waiting for gifts at cristmas ))

 

Does anyone know if this laptop offer support for 120Hz screen?

 

I have not seen this addressed yet, but maybe someone can shed some light on a slight annoyance that has cropped up. When my laptop idles, the fans kick up considerably, almost to the level of the cooler button level. Does anyone else's laptop do this? (I have the 211 base configuration)

 

How much did you paid for this configuration? I have some friends in Lisboa. Maybe they can buy me if it's cheaper than here.

Also what was the second model of GT72 you told about?

 

Have you monitored CPU temps and activity at the time? Mine does that from time to time because windows starts doing something, and usually lasts just for a bit. Not sure what exactly is going on but as soon as I resume operation, it goes back to normal. But I did detect increased CPU activity and thus, temps.

 

I'll keep a monitor on usage/temps and let you know what I find. Not sure why I didn't think to look at that.

 

The two models that are being sold here in PT are this ones:

PCDiga - Loja Informática

 

Mine has not done this at all.... not to the degree you describe. Fans have only whirled-up slightly when doing background operations, and nothing bothersome. Did you install anything working heavily in the background? To me something does not seem right here, and I agree with ryzeki, monitor your temps for a while. Could be nothing but a background operation..... or worse, perhaps a poor TIM application.

 

Hello, new proud owner of the 211 version here. After coming from an 8 year old Lenovo T60p with dedicated 256MB FirePro GL card to game on, this laptop is amazing, although I do prefer the IBM/Lenovo keyboard.

I did have some questions. I purchased a Crucial M550 512GB M.2 drive and wanted to install my operating system on it, since it is somewhat faster than my current 128GB base SSD. To do this, do I just create the recovery disks using DVDs or a USB (my USB stick isn't being detected, so I may have to do the DVDs) and then recover to the new drive? Is there a tutorial anywhere for this?

 

Also, by the way, I enjoyed reading the many, many pages of info here on this topic, as well as the NVidia 900 series topic. Very informative when making my purchase decision. Many thanks to everyone who participated!

 

The program will take you through creating the discs. Once done, remove the 128GB SSD to keep the data safe and boot from the recovery disks.

 

You can also use software to clone the whole drive. I bet you can find a free version to do that.

Regards

 

Like Clonezilla?

 

I never used it, but I think it can be. I myself use EaseUS ToDo Backup, the free version can clone the drive.

I also remember received a backup software in disc in the package when purchase a Crucial M500 SSD (2.5" 1TB), not sure if that happens every time.

Regards.

 

I'm seriously considering purchasing this new G72 notebook but am a bit put off as the machine that I'm upgrading from already has two 512gb mSATA Crucial drives and I've been dead set on just plugging these in to my new rig when I upgrade...

But as I understand it, the mSATA drives will not be compatible with this new G72 design, true? As it only has slots for four m.2 drives and one mechanical.

I certainly can't afford to purchase two new 512gb m.2 drives so I am pondering just ordering a G72 with a single mechanical drive and then, temporarily, use a mSATA to 2.5" adapter to run one of my 512gb mSATA drives in the 2.5" slot until I can afford a couple m.2 drives for a proper RAID configuration.

Any other scenarios I could consider? Anyone want to trade a couple m.2 512gb drives for my two mSATA 512gb?

 

get a model that doesn't come with the 4x m.2's

 

Reach out and sell them to the Gigabyte P35 owners

Regards

 

Well that's an idea ... I wasn't aware that the new Dominator design/chassis came with anything but the m.2 drive option ...

Thanks, I'll check in to that ...

.joel

 

So, I couldn't find in Romania the model with 970M and 2 SSDs. There's this model: GT72 2QD-288XPL(970M, 16GB,1 TB, no SSD) and I couldn't find anyone to tell me if it has the raid controller or not. I asked on the MSI support 3-4 days ago and I haven't received the response yet. I just need someone who has this laptop and maybe has put a couple of SSDs in to tell me if it has the daughter board for the SSDs included or not.

Apart from this, can anyone pls give me a link with the RAID daughterboard(name,specs,where to buy).
Does this SSD work with this laptop(SSD Plextor 256GB M6G-2280 M.2 SATA3 MLC, PX-256M6G-2280)? From what I understand, the only requirements are : connection(M.2 SATA) and form-factor(22x80)
Cheers

 

I specifically referred the noise from the cooler booster option because that's how loud it gets. I do not think it's an actual thermal problem. When benchmarking, my cpu and gpu temps don't go above 70c. The fans get considerably louder when this weird idle issue happens than when I'm benchmarking. (I still haven't had time to look at this in depth)

On a side note- I have some Prolimatech PK3 that I keep handy and I went ahead and applied it to the GPU. Under a 135/400 GPU OC during fire strike, my GPU temps don't exceed 65c. This is an amazing feat considering my Sager p8268-s with a 880m can reach 80-85c during the same benchmark, while achieving a 40% lower score. (Personal best is 9151 firestrike, btw)

 

That model does not have M.2 slots, because it comes with 2x 2.5" SATA connectors.
You can take a look at the images that I posted at the MSI thread.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/761676-official-questions-msi-rep-23.html#post9816032

 

I saw the pictures, but I thought that the problem was that it was missing the adapter. So even if you buy the adapter separately, you don't have anything to link it to. The only way to have M.2 SSD's in this laptop is to buy a model with at leat one SSD? wow, just WOW

 

If you are able to source the adapter plus the ribbon required, then you will be able to do it.
The main issue is the adapter availability.

 

Kevin in your pictures i dont see the second adapter for the other 2.5 hdd.
The m.2 adapter and the second 2.5" adapter are missing

@StevieV posted that today he will get his gt72 1qd and he will post if it has the adapter or not

 

New driver/software for Killer N1525 Wireless and Killer Lan E2200

New Official Qualcoom Atheros Killer Performance Suite version 1.1.48.1376

New Bluetooth drivers also.

Windows 7: version 4.0.0.419

Windows 8.1: version 3.0.0.419

Driver Downloads | Qualcomm Atheros, Inc.

EDIT:the driver/software suite installed without a hitch and shows up correctly in Device Manager as 11.0.0.419 for the N1525 and 8.1.0.23 for the E2200 but after running the Bluetooth driver 3.0.0.419(W8.1) to update the QAC61x4 it disappears from Device Manager.Driver 3.0.0.419 does show up in Control Panel>Programs and Features as installed.

My mouse and phone are still paired.

You will need to uncheck the power management"turn off to save power"after new driver installation.

 

@d0r1n Still undecided yourself?

@Kevin Sry for all the questions and such, but it's very important for me and we are talking about a 2000 euro investment. You've been very helpful so far and I would like to thank you. Now, back to the questions: as d0r1n has pointed out, the second sata adapter seems to be missing. In case that it's actually there, would a raid 0 be possible with the two sata 2,5"?

 

The second 2.5 bay is not supported, and the SATA ports are distributed as follows:

Port 0 = M.2 SSD, SATA III @ 6Gbs
Port 1 = M.2 SSD, SATA III @ 6Gbs
Port 2 = ODD, SATA II @ 3Gbs
Port 3 = HDD, SATA II @ 3Gbs (NOTE: MSI has installed a SATA III, 6Gbs HDD on this port)
Port 4 = M.2 SSD, SATA III @ 6Gbs
Port 5 = M.2 SSD, SATA III @ 6Gbs

Even if the second bay were supported, would you want to RAID two 2.5 SSD's on SATA II?

 

good to know the ODD will be SATA II, and the HDD they install are SATA III, why would they do that?

 

Because they don't tend to make sata ii models any more.

 

The 2x 2.5" bay did not show the ribbon cable, but it's the same as the other picture's SATA bay, so if you take a closer look then you will understand.
They are both going to be standard SATA connectors with the use of ribbon cable.