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

9-16 business days... I can't wait.

 

Once the order is done and payment taken care of... Go distract yourself as much as you can! Otherwise it will be ultra torture hahaha Trust me!

 

This notebook is def something I want to buy.
But, the IPS models is something I need, unfortunately they are loaded with crap I do not need. Like 4 SSDs, 32GB RAM and such.

Any hope there will be other SKUs than the current 2 with IPS?

 

How is the screen on the GT72? Looking at ordering the 216 with GenTech, but I'm reading some really bad reviews about the screen. And I'm coming from IPS displays.

 

Where did you read those reviews?

 

Questions, questions, questions...... geez, I am trying to write something up now....... still have more test to run....... stay tuned to post # 2...... pulling my hair out.......and I've already answered the screen question...... more than once........ LOL!

(Coo-koo, coo-koo, coo-koo!)

 

dude i just tried swapping the 1TB hd for my old samsung 840 SSD.....aaaannnd the port shows is sata 2 (3gb) not sata 3 (6gb). ugh

i suspect the BD slot port is also 3gb, but can someone please confirm this?

if this is indeed the case and there is no sata 6gb port for a 2.5" drive, , my rating sinks to 8/10

 

Hello to all! Just ordered a GT72 Dominator Pro-208 SKU through XoticPC on Amazon.

Most important part: since I ordered through Amazon it'll be here Saturday :thumbsup:

I really really wanted the IPS display and 4980HQ of the 445 SKU on gentech but, ultimately, I just can't wait any longer to get mine since the higher end models won't be available till late october-early november.

Considering that IPS panels are only really necessary for people who want to be sticklers for, or require, the better color accuracy over TN panels and that the 4980HQ probably won't make that much difference most of the time since it's only a small percentage better I don't think (I hope) I'll be missing out on too much

I am a little saddened by the lack of extra peripherals (headset, mouse, and backpack) that I've seen other sites advertise for the 4980HQ models of the gt72 but I figure I can just get those on my own over time with the money I save.

 

MSI GT72 Dominator Pro 2QE-261AU Free Shipping in Australia, For Sale Online in Australia
MSI GT72 Dominator Pro 2QE-260AU Free Shipping in Australia, For Sale Online in Australia

are either of these the IPS version??

else i may have to look elsewhere or buy overseas

 

I think the IPS versions come with the i7 4980

 

Yep, it's only the SKUs with the 4980HQ...coming in at 3300 USD and 3800 USD respectively

 

Yup, it's getting expensive for a gaming notebook.

 

mates rates to Oz? anyway to get an aussie warranty? the 32gb ram version of this is $4800 AUD (one store) whcih is a total rip!

MSI GT72 DominatorPro-445 GTX980M IPS Screen - Pre-Order

$3477.00

Availability:
Pre-order, We do not charge credit card for pre-orders unless it's ready to ship/build 0.00
Shipping:
Free UPS Ground Shipping to Domestic US (Not Available to Alaska and Hawaii) 0.00
Screen:
17.3" 1920x1080 IPS Full HD LED (Matte-type) Anti-Glare 0.00
MSI Exclusive Feature unlocked by nVidia:
1 HDMI + 2 Mini DisplayPort up to 3 External Monitors simultaneously 0.00
Dead Pixel Warranty:
Standard Manufacturer Dead Pixel Warranty 0.00
Graphics Controller:
nVidia GeForce GTX 980M 8GB GDDR5 DX11 + Intel® Iris™ Pro Graphics 5200 0.00
Processor:
4th Gen Intel Haswell Core i7-4980HQ, 2.8~4.0GHz, 22nm, 6MB, 47W 0.00
Thermal Compound:
IC Diamond 24 Carat Thermal Compound on both CPU/GPU 35.00
RAM (Note: Windows 7 Home Premium only support up to 16GB of RAM):
32GB DDR3 1600/PC3 Dual-Channel (8G X 4) 0.00
RAID Configuration for M.2 SATA SSDs:
RAID-0 Striped Enabled for performance, Dual Hard Drives Required 0.00
M.2 SSD Slot 1:
128GB M.2 SSD SATA III 6Gb/s 0.00
M.2 SSD Slot 2:
128GB M.2 SSD SATA III 6Gb/s 0.00
M.2 SSD Slot 3:
128GB M.2 SSD SATA III 6Gb/s 0.00
M.2 SSD Slot 4:
128GB M.2 SSD SATA III 6Gb/s 0.00
Mechanical Hard Drive / 2.5" SSDs:
1000GB 7200rpm 2.5-inch 9.5mm 32MB SATA III 6Gb/s 0.00

1TB 7200rpm 32MB 2.5-inch 9.5mm HDD in Optical Drive Bay 49.00
120 Watt Car Adapter 65.00

 

How is MSI on blot ware. I'm thinking of making the purchase and remember my troubles with Dell.

 

That's the configuration I originally wanted but couldn't wait for! Aww, the jealous Haha Power to ya for working up the patience

 

I am now in a dilemma whether to buy the version $ 2,200 worth paying more for the version of $ 3,300 or buy a sager 4940MX processor and GPU 980m for 2700$

 

Pretty much as bad as it gets. You have to be careful while uninstalling all the junk in case you accidentally remove something important like the trackpad driver and keyboard backlight.

Depends on if you're confident in Sager's cooling or you prefer the extra luxuries that MSi provides like the keyboard, GPU switching, or maxing out your fans at the touch of a button.

 

Don't go for the Sager if you're willing to wait. The GT72 with 4980HQ will run just as well most of the time and comes with that nice IPS display. Also, I'm 90% sure its also gonna come with a super pack promotion (free steelseries headset, mouse + pad, and backpack to carry it all in). If you can wait, I definitely would. I couldn't and now I have nawing feeling that won't go away telling me I should practice patience (shrug...second guessing buys like this is never good but figure it'll go away once I have the machine in front of me).

On the other hand, if you're like me and sacrifice perfection and the extra perks for the straight up awesomeness that is having a great laptop now, then I'd still recommend the msi. Save the money cause the 4940mx aint worth it. I've seen others on here have trouble keeping it cool depending on what laptop they use and it's only 0.5 Ghz faster on normal turbo when both hit max speed anyway....not a big enough difference on the 4710 to be worth nearly $1k to upgrade; especially when you'll never see that difference in gaming most of the time except by a 5-10% increase in FPS (don't quote me cause most of this is second hand knowledge from the more knowledgable on here. I was in a similar dilemma) and even in other things, I still don't see the need to pay 1k for a CPU when the 4910MQ is fine and runs nearly identical speeds for half the price and the 4710HQ runs plenty fast on it's own. The mx can be overclocked, I think, to impressive numbers, but unless you plan to tweak, don't worry about it.

However, if you like the Sager and want to get it with the 4910MQ and 980m. Go for it if you want and like what you read about it. Personally, I prefer the MSI right now as a single GPU laptop....but that sexy Sager np9377-S had me going for an SLI config and the 120Hz screen from Eurocom for a while, but decided that was more computer than I needed.

 

I ordered a 211 on Gentech PC yesterday. Can someone from Gentech help me with a ram downgrade to 8 GB? Thanks!

 

I'm going for the 4710HQ version because it's going to be enough, even as a benchmarking person.

I'll just pop an IPS screen in there later when they are available by themselves.

 

i want the IPS version , this is a popping my cherry laptop experience but in australia its goign to be over $5000 AUD , 4700 USD...

could build a OTT desktop (mini-ITX) for 1/4 the price :/

 

if your main criteria are noise and cooling under heavy load, would you go for the MSI GT72 or the ASUS G751?

Nvidia 980M and Intel 4710 on both

So far the 4GB VRAM on the ASUS G751 is what's killing it, compared to 8GB on the MSI model.

 

Personally I would go with the GT72 noise levels under load are going to be about the same or very close.
I think it's a better overall package, basically there is nothing the G751 can do better than the GT72.

 

No reseller that bothered to answer the question wether a cheaper SKU with IPS will come? Again, I dont need/want four SSDs and 32GB RAM. 16GB RAM and 1/0 SSDs would be perfect for me

 

Thoughts on downgrading to Windows 7? I have 8.1 on my HTPC/media server and I'm not really blown away. I have a Windows 7 license from an old decommissioned computer and a fresh install without the bloat would be sweet (not to mention I've always found that uninstalling stuff still leaves fragments of old crap anyway).

 

Unless you're having a specific issue with it that you want to address by installing Windows 7, not really a need to. Both OS do everything pretty much exactly the same and I personally prefer Win 8 at this point.

 

Posted a video with benchmarks here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMVbnvLkKo0&list=UUJ9O0vRPsMFk5UtIDimr6hQ
These are with the new 344.24 drivers.

Full review coming shortly.

 

true bloatware includes : 3 separate norton apps with 90 day trials, some kind of movie maker/image editor download, winzip.

arguable bloatware includes: Killer Manager apps (cant get rid of this unless you are willing to go without wifi drivers), Windows essentials (one drive, photo gallery, etc), Sound blaster cinema2 (allows soundstage setup), MSI gaming center (allows changing settings which can be changed in other places), Intel RST ( i have a non raid sku so dont need this), Super charger (msi app to allow usb charge during system off or in sleep), msi Boot configure utility ( 1 time utility that runs during 1st boot only to setup windows), powerdvd ( for those that plan to swap for a hdd caddy this is irrelevant).

windows 7 is slightly slower than windows 8 for newer games, and lacks the newest DirectX so i am not sure i could recommend this path, unless you like to play older games. from personal experience cpu threading seems to be better on win 8 resulting in what i perceive as "smoother" experience with less hitches and stutter across games i play. this is really noticeable in bf4 , but i also noticed this in total war rome 2, and titanfall.


whoever keeps posting that the 1 TB HDD is sata 6gb - while you are technically correct, the drive itself is sata 6, the drive sits in a sata 3gb port. this may not matter to all but to people who plan to swap that drive for a 2.5 ssd they already own, this is a huge difference. as far as i have checked there is no way to add a 2.5" ssd on a sata 6 port in this notebook. fast ssds pretty much have to be m.2 or else you wont get the full performance benefit in this laptop.

 

where did Ken from GentechPC post the benchmarks for the MSI GT72 in this thread? i only found those of Striker.

 

If i purchased the MSI GT72 2QD-233UK model ( which i believe comes without any SSD ) can i fit a Plextor M6e Ultra Slim SSD 256GB M.2 ? or can anyone recommend a SSD that would fit ok
Also can the CDRW be removed and replaced with a BDRW if i decided i needed one later on....Of course without voiding warranty

 

Go HERE, and watch Ken's video review. Also, I just added more benchmark results to post #2...... and performance is EXCELLENT!

 

Well based on everyone's comments here, I decided on a gt72-211 over the gs70...I want to join my wife in the family room and not hide in my office when I game. Looking forward to comparing this laptop to my 780ti desktop.

I'll have it tomorrow! Gotta love amazon...

 

is there a sku with 1x 128gb ssd and 16gb ram with either the 4710 or 4980 for the uk?

 

As always sooner or later you'll have a x80M version with a sub 2000£ price, but in general it's in the second wave of releases that you'll see it.

 

Meh, I unboxed it first, LOL!

 

EDIT 10/15: i was wrong when i originally made this post. the plextor won't work in gt72, the plextor needs a PCIE M.2 slot. gt72 only has SATA M.2 Slot AFAIK

that plextor should fit but its expensive....i ordered a crucial m550 from amazon for about half price. will be here monday.
this is exactly what i ordered:
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-512GB...F8&qid=1412973849&sr=8-2&keywords=crucial+m.2

i did have an msi rep confirm you can open the bottom hatch and change out anything you want without voiding the warranty. DISCLAIMER: if you physically break something in there the warranty wont cover that physical damage.

also (obviously) if you put in a piece of hardware , msi wont warranty that piece--- In english: if you put in that plextor ssd, and that plextor ssd dies in a year , you will have to take it out and RMA it to plextor. msi wont replace that plextor for you.

incidentally the 211 model comes with a BD RE out of the box- so you don't need to swap anything to get a basic writer. the exact model in mine is hl-dt-st-bd-re bu20n . i see you are in uk and ordering the 970 model. u should just go for the 980 model dude.

 

Question???

Ima big fan of OCing and seeing the temps of the GTX980m would it be a Idea to slightly oc it?

 

Will I ordered a GT72 DOMINATOR PRO-211 Gonna upgrade the SSD myself but first want to see how well this puppy works! A GTX 980M looks really good on paper and in reviews so I am super anxious Thanks Amazon for Saturday Shipping!

 

overclocks well:


before overclock:
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4710HQ,Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. MS-1781

after overclock:
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4710HQ,Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. MS-1781


there should be ALOT more room to go ( as you can see the max gpu temp was 71C, and its 83F outisde, and i have no AC. so lots of temp headroom!).

 

This should anwswer your question

The laptop itself has excellent cooling, and maxwell so far has been a great overclocker in all of its incarnations.

 

Yeah, I think I'll start by stripping out the Norton and other obvious BS as well as the Windows Essentials and see how it runs as well as limiting the startup services. If it's not where I want it to be, I'll head back to the drawing board.

 

IMHO the biggest "preloaded problem software" is the one you cant get rid of- its killer manager. this thing messed with my wifi and my download speed dropped to a few k. the issue is it wants to control traffic, and even if you uncheck the "control traffic" checkbox within that app, it will revert to the setting being ON. no way to turn off that checkbox afaik. i would install drivers only, but the problem there is you cant get wifi drivers without installing the killer manager. you can get lan driver-only on msi forum, but noone seems to have the new AC wifi driver-only package.

so my solution ended up:

install the killer packages from their site (1 for BT 1 for lan and wifi)
reboot to complete install.
in MS windows Go to services and set the qualcom service to "disabled". Stop the service.. the service name starts with Q so its easy to find. there is only 1
go to task manager , startup tab and disable the killer app that runs at startup.
reboot.

this way you get all the newest drivers without having to deal with their traffic manager aka Killer Manager.
i also posted this same fix to MSI hq forum to help people.

that said if someone has the Killer AC wifi driver-only package, please hook it up. i would prefer not to have the killer manager installed at all if i dont have to.


cheers

 

I'm with you Cloudfire, 32GB of RAM and 4 SSD's are overkill for my needs but I did ask MSIgeno the same exact question and he said for now you can only get a IPS display with the 4890MQ models, but I do hope some resellers offer the IPS display as a option in the future, hopefully sooner than later.
The good news is the screen that the lowered spec models have are pretty good.

 

I got my GT72-211 yesterday, and I am amazed by how well this performs. It's one thing to see benchmarks, and another thing to see it in action.

Adding a 2nd m.2 sata drive was a piece of cake.

I do have one question though. Does anyone else have a dead spot in their space bar? I noticed people reporting this on the GT70 thread, but not here. I'm wondering if I just got a faulty keyboard. If I press the space bar down on the bottom right (anywhere an inch from the right side on the lower part of the bar) it only registers the keystroke if I press it very hard. I can feel the "give" indicating that the key should have been registered. Unfortunately, that I where I usually where my thumb rests on the keyboard. Is this a problem that I am likely to encounter if I order a replacement?

The rest of the keys work perfectly. Right now, it looks like I'm going to need to return this to Newegg for a replacement.

 

I agree with the overall package, though the Asus will have a vastly superior battery life, so it has the GT72 beat and not by a little bit there .

 

Hi everyone, I planning to buy in November MSI GT72 dominator pro -210, I like allot all MSI configuration.

I want to ask to that people who buy more awful gaming notebooks if it make any sense to wait until end of November(Black Friday), or December(Cyber monday) for some good discounts?

Or for this class of notebooks usually no disconts? (maybe at least 5%)

 

Anyway of using that second 2.5 HDD bay yet? I would prefer having that than the 4x M.2, being that I already have a 500GB SSD, I really hope they give us the option soon .

 

Ok, I have a little dilemma: right now I only have enough fund to buy the GT72 2QD-228UK (with 970m, ~£1600), but I really want GT72 2QE-207UK (with 980m, ~£2000). I don't think they (Scan) provide finance to full-time student, which means I'll have to wait until January to be able to afford the 980m model...#sadface.

Is the 980m worth the wait? What's the real world performance difference between 970m and 980m?

I'm also afraid that if I wait that long, 980m models are going to be out of stock like 880m did.

Regards.

 

Ask somebody in your family or smth that owns a business to order it tax free