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

striker im buying my laptop 2morrow, worht the money the 445 model with ips 4 ssd and i7 4980 and 3 weeks to delivery or the 211 its just fine?

 

If your not comfortable taking the bottom cover off and installing your own SSD/HDD RAM or whatever and absolutely want a faster CPU and the IPS panel then yes it's worth it if your comfortable spending that much.
Personally I would get the base model and upgrade myself, the extra CPU upgrade is not really needed for gaming ( it'll help with some games but you won't notice a dramatic difference.)
Just remember you are stuck with the CPU you originally order with because you cannot upgrade later, it's soldered to the MOBO .
The TN panel with the base model is very good, just not IPS good.
It basically comes down to what you are willing to spend.

 

does anyone know what the IPS # is for the laptop? and are they hard to replace?

 

what percentage is better 4980 compared to 4710? I want something that helps me to work and play. I have also doubts that both can overclock the 4980?

 

I would say it depends on what kind of games you play. I believe it will help marginally especially with CPU intensive games such as MMO's and RTS games. Considering that the CPU is soldered, it can't hurt to have a more powerful one. It all comes down to your budget.

 

Like IKAS V said, it really boils down to how much you want to spend, and what your preferences are. I would ask this however..... how important will that IPS screen and 4980HQ be to you, when next-gen tech (Intel Gen-5, Intel 9-Series, etc.) arrives, and IPS screens are more commonplace? How will you feel about the money spent now, when you are in the temptation of a new breed of future notebooks? Will you be bi-otch slapp'in yourself, or will it roll off you, like water off a duck's back?

I don't have the IPS screen, or the 4980HQ, and I gotta tell ya, my GT72 is quite nice as is.

 

Striker I am planning to buy a gt72 as well. Is there any chance you can post some gameplay benchmarks if you have time? It's really hard to find good benchmarks for 980m, especially in the gt72 system. Thanks in advance

 

bah get the i7-4710 and hope like hell the ips panel comes an option (how hard is it to swap)... or go all out and get a 444 ;/ (we dont even have teh 444 here yet in aus)...

 

reigzor, by the way I have some comparisons here, you can figure out the difference I think.

Intel Core i7-4980HQ 4-Core 2.8GHz compare Intel Core i7-4710HQ 4-Core 2.5GHz CPU

Intel 4980HQ vs 4710HQ

 

Go to nvidia experience and disable some mouse option then dsr works. Read forums on it.

"Automatically move pointer to the default button" must be disabled. Report back to me.

 

Well try it jesha..... cause it didn't work for me..... already disabled by default..... been there, done that with the NV rep...... clean installation of 344.24 driver and NVE 2.1.3, no help either...... issue escalated to level 2 NV Support.

 

Any owners out there seen a problem where screen goes black after the starting windows... message.

My system is WIndows 7. By the time you here the last windows noise, the screen is black. You can log in and hear the login tone, but still no image. The only (near consistent) way for me to get the display back is to plug in another display that has EDID. Then magically both the notebook display and external display will be working.

This happened to me a few days ago and re-installation of display drivers seemed to have fixed the problem (after experiencing it consistently, I re-installed drivers and rebooted a couple dozen times). But it just happened to me again after coming out of hibernate. Odd thing this time is that the next start up was fine.

 

Yep I've tried it. I think that pointer issue is different to the one we're having since it's not available by default

 

K lemme try Some stuff then cause I didn't try it. Gonna edit the file which takes hold of dsr settings.

 

Windows 7? Did you purchase a GT72, and then installed Windows 7?

 

Should be by the end of October.

I've seen it before it was the Intel HD Graphics Driver causing it, try uninstall and download the Intel HD Graphics driver for Windows 7 see if the problem goes away.

 

Nope. I purposefully did this to myself and specifically purchased it that way. Win7 Ultimate 64 bit.

My other system has 765M and switchable graphics -- alienware.

kind of wish that it would go to the blank screen mode again so I could VNC into it and see what display adapter was appearing in device manager and display settings.

I kind of expected to see an HD 4600 in device manager somewhere and of course my GPU button is always lit and does nothing.

 

Anyone having a problem where some software only says the 980m has 4GB or some different amount of Ram. I KNOW mine is 8GB as Nvidia's software says so. Is it just because the software hasn't updated to see that much graphics memory?

 

..........Yep.

 

I think it's the software that doesn't recognise the extra ram on the GPU, but what do I know, I don't even have the laptop, yet.

Regards

 

Like zipperi said, YEP!

Generally, anytime new CPU's or GPU's are released, auditing and benchmark software is later updated for their support..... no biggie!

 

Exactly like I see it. Can you tell me how you GPU Button works and what you see in device manager when to toggle the GPU Button?

 

Sorry, but I got to ask, do you actually own the GT72, with 980M. I have to ask because you haven't made mention of either, and I don't know why you would order this notebook with WIN 7..... just sounds odd, especially given the MSI downloads site has yet to officially list WIN 7 bios, drivers, or firmware. I would think you would need working WIN 7 versions of all of these.

Also, is your GPU button lit, or not, and can you please post a screenshot of your DM, with the graphics listing expanded? Can you please list your system model and specs?

 

Ok, as related to NVidia's DSR feature for the 9xxM series, NVidia has responded as follows:

So, I guess that solves that little mystery. We will just have to wait for this feature to be added to the driver package.

 

Coming out of a resume, the screen was blank again.

VNC into the system and the nvidia display adapter is all I see in device manager. In screen resolution properties, there is a mobile pc display (normal). But there are no resolutions to set and landscape/portrait is greyed out and unselectable. Dectect and identify did nothing and also choosing display did nothing (windows key + p).

Disabling the nvidia 980m in the device manager brought the display back at lower resolution and I could also set resolution now. Then re-enabling the 980M worked.

The entire time the GPU button was lit and did nothing. I never saw that the HD4600 was active.

 

It sounds to me like you have mucked up the proper system start-ups. Do you have SCM installed? SCM is required for the GPU button to work correctly. Where did you get the proper WIN 7 bios, drivers, utilities, and firmware? Could you please tell us your model and specs?

If the GPU button light is lit, that would indicated the dedicated 980M is in use, and that should be all you see in the DM. You will not see the Intel IGP, unless you press the GPU button, in which case, you should see a pop-up window, instructing you to reboot the system. Once the system reboots, it should be utilizing the Intel IGP only, and this will be the only GPU you will see in the DM.

 

Yes. If you look back at my posts, I did say that I purchased the system. Yes, I am the owner.

It may sound odd, but I am not running games, I am running professional software most of which requires windows 7 for support. Thus I am trying to get this to work first. Other than the issues of blank screen on reboot it is actually performing well. I can deal with not having the HD4600 graphics, but it would be nice and it would be nicer to not worry about having a blank screen on reboot, hibernate or resume. Right now, if it happens I VNC in, disable and re-enable 980M and I am working once again. IMO, a PITA.

I do not believe that BIOS makes any difference on OS. Firmware, maybe.

As I mentioned the GPU light is always on -- always.

I'd like to see your device manager settings is it possible for you to post yours? Since there is no graphics listing in device manager, I will assume that you mean display adapter.

Thank you.

Device manager



The model is a GT72 2QE Dominator Pro, i7-4710HQ, 32GB RAM, 512GB RAID0 SSD, 1TB HDD.

 

Of course I mean the display adapter, and according to your DM, you are switched to the 980M...... ergo the Intel IGP will not show in the DM. GPU switching is manual in this notebook, so do not expect both GPU's to appear in the DM. Essentially, the Optimus feature is void here. Generally, MSI does release various bios, drivers, utilities, and firmware.... for each OS..... not sure if or when WIN 7 support will appear.

Also, read my post above.... and perhaps direct your questions to the MSI Rep, Geno.

 

LOL. I have not mucked up anything. Howoever, you are likely onto something. There is no SCM on this system as far as I can tell.

 

Without SCM, you ARE missing an important start-up..... also, Geno may be able to help regarding WIN 7 support for this notebook.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/761676-official-questions-msi-rep.html

 

I read you post and understand how the device manager and gpu button are supposed to work. That is the whole reason for my posts, LOL. Its actually very similar to my 765M based alienware which had switchable graphics.

When installed properly do you see SCM in start menu and add/remove programs?

 

Well, there are firmware and bios for win7, but it does not look like drivers. I will get with MSI on this. I just thought I would give the forum a shot. Where I am presently located is not all that great for communications.

I do appreciate your responses, thanks a lot.

 

(DANG, you aren't going to let me eat my dinner, are you?)

Yes, you will see SCM in the Control Panel's, "Add/Remove Programs".

 

See HERE!

 

BTW, I don't *expect* you to reply. LOL. But thanks. We'll see if MSI can help me.

 

OK, I will contribute something...

Here is an awesome backpack. Can fit GT72, Surface Pro 3 with keyboard (*barely fits in tablet spot, but can go in cargo area). All accessories, external HDD, full headphones, int'l power, power strip and misc other stuff in a nice discrete form factor.

eBags TLS Professional Slim Laptop Backpack - eBags.com

 

That was meant to be humorous, as I was in the middle of dinner, when you replied back. It was no problem.

Did SCM get your GPU button working again?

Also, I added your backpack suggestion to the lead post...... Thanks!

 

If I may ask, someone who is familiar with setting up basic raids:
If I was to buy three 128gb M.2 ssds to complement the one I currently have; could I create a Raid 0 with the three new ones only (keeping my boot ssd intact), without it impacting my boot ssd or having to change anything?

Thanks in advance

 

Last I heard you can, in fact you can even create RAID 5 with 3 SSDs on their own (how exciting)!

Regards

 

Even if you are doing the RAID on the three new M.2 drives only...
If you create RAID 0 as software mode in Disk Management under Windows, then you do not need to reload the OS.
But if you are going to do it as hardware mode via BIOS, then you will need to reload the OS under RAID mode.

 

So mine was finally delivered at like 4:45 last night as I was making dinner for the wife. Didn't get too much time to play with it as I immediately removed some of the bloat crap and updated the system/drivers where necessary and set up my standard configuration settings that I like. Xotic did a great job with it as far as I could tell as most of the updates were already done (and they left a little sticky on my desktop where they obviously tested the keyboard ). Box was well packed, everything was clean and sealed and exactly as expected.

Before bed I played a little Skyrim. Looked good for a 3-year-old game, but I need to really crank the high-def mods to get it amazing-like and I didn't want to spend time downloading/installing all of those just yet. Played about 45 minutes of the new Borderlands game and found very good framerates. A little screen tearing on occasion there but I think that by playing with the settings I can get that under control (advice would be appreciated here, but I can probably figure it out). I didn't have a chance to hook it up to my monitor in the office so I'll try to do that tonight if I get home at a reasonable time and see how it goes.

The keyboard feels really good, much better than I thought it would. They really got it right there. The button layout is slightly different from my other laptop but I'm sure I can adapt quickly. The trackpad is a little disappointing as it just feels wrong. The surface is very weird and without a physical edge between the rest of the laptop and the trackpad you don't know where you are. No amount of tweaking the sensitivity would get it to feel as good as my 15" MBP work laptop (which, in all fairness, is the gold standard for trackpads). I'm not too worried about that though as I plugged in my gaming mouse for anything I wanted to play. Also I don't know how to stop Windows 8 from displaying the sidebar when I swipe from the far right over (will figure that out soon hopefully).

I didn't find the audio got drowned out over the fan noise, even after 30-40 minutes of Borderlands on max settings. And I had it on reasonably low in our living room because the wife wanted to go to bed early. I hardly noticed the fans. Best audio I've heard on a laptop ever, but I'll still stick with a headset. No hotspots on the keyboard or top to make it uncomfortable as I played. Screen was good, I'm sure the IPS models will be better but I'm not at all disappointed. Colors looked rich and vibrant and not washed out. Going to work on applying the color profiles that were posted here a week or so back tonight (if I get time, again). Didn't have any problems with the networking card but I wasn't playing anything online so we'll find out if I'm experiencing the issues others were.

I didn't do anything scientific like run benchmarks or take heat readings. Totally subjective review here.

So far I'm nothing but pleased. For reference it's a 210 model. If you're on the fence, dooooo iiiiiit.

 

Good to hear you're liking it!

 

Question, how's the hdmi 2.0 compatibility?(I don't own a 4k tv/monitor)

 

Small question about installing a second sata drive to my laptop. I have the basic config with the small 128m solid state and the 1 tb hard disk drive. I do see that there is a bay for a second sata drive, but there is no connector. I was wondering If I could connect a second sata drive, and if so, how do I accomplish this. I have a nice Samsung 512 solid state drive, and would really hate to not be able to use it
If there is a part I need to buy, a link would be awesome.

Thanks again.

 

You'll need to remove the m.2 adapter (the bracket thingy which you install the m.2 SSDs on), and find a cable connector to connect your Samsung SSD (not sure if the port is proprietary), OR alternatively, you can replace the Blu-Ray drive with a ODD caddy.

Both HDD and ODD are using SATA 2, so your Samsung SSD's performance will be limited. M.2 SSDs are not so expensive nowadays, you'll get much better performance with m.2 SSDs plus 2.5" SSD (replace the included 1tb HDD, out it in a hard drive enclosure for system backup or data storage or whatever).

Regards.

 

DelFang is right- if you want that second 2.5 drive today, the caddy is probably your best option. i bought this caddy and it works in the gt72. if you buy another caddy make sure it is 9.5mm height and not 12.5mm which wont fit:
Amazon.com: Universal 9.5mm SATA Hard Drive Caddy for hP lenovo: Computers & Accessories


i am still sorta working on utilizing that unused 2.5 space via different method....this approach would also "fix" the lack of a sata6 2.5" space in the laptop... it requires a few cables tho.....
the problem is the important part is super slow to ship to me in california from shenzhen china (estimate was 2 weeks, since they only allow 1 shipping method which is flat rate)

specifically i am waiting on the below part to arrive sometime next week (hopefully)
SATA HDD to M.2 NGFF Socket adapter converter card [ST5111] - $16.99 : sintech adapter shop

they have an ebay store as well, but both stores only offer 1 crappy shipping option.

anyway

that card/adapter should provide the sata6 port for the extra 2.5" drive to sit in the unused 2.5 space

you can then buy a short sata cable and attach it to the above port something like: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006K2617I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

you then need to power the 2.5", which you can do by splitting power of the other 2.5" port via something like:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002N2EHVQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

finally you will need a sata cable to re-attach the 2.5" drive which you tapped for power, since the plug is now blocked by a power splitter so you will need something like:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005E2XRYK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1


total cost of the above parts is about 40$ including tax and shipping. the Theoretical advantage is that this approach sacrifices only 1 M.2 SSD slot, so you can still have 3 m.2 and 3 2.5 drives at the same time. including the highly sought after 2.5 drive on sata6 port, bootable and all (reuse your old fast ssd)


i already have a few ngff/7pin adapters which functionally work, but do not physically fit the gt72 laptop if you want to put the back cover on. they work to experiment with, while you have a disassembled laptop on your desk:

too short, does not reach screw post on the other side to hold down. pops out as a result. meant for m.2 format of 2260 not our 2280:
Amazon.com: Aleratec M.2 NGFF SATA to 7-Pin SATA Converter Adapter: Computers & Accessories


too thick (ports stick out too much vertically) cables stick way out when plugged in. :
Amazon.com: SATA to M.2 Socket2 B+M 2242 SATA Adapter with SATA Power: Computers & Accessories

when that sintech adapter arrives (sometime in next 2 weeks) i will post whether or not the adapter fits, and if this frankenstein approach works out or not. i am pretty eager to get that extra 2.5 drive in there.

 

In my country is seems that is available the MSI GT72 2QD-288XPL
I see that is do not have ssd on that config,but do someone knows if it has the m.2 adapter inside or is just another 2.5 slot????

 

Hi guys!

First of all, thank you for all the information about this awesome laptop, and sorry for my english.

I´m coming from an alienware m17xR3 with a 6970m so i hope to see an impact change

I was so doubtful between this model and Asus g751, and after phisically touching and measuring both at the Madrid Games Week Event, I was decided to buy the Asus one. ( Mainly for aesthetics and sturdiness, and above all, the ips screen).

But, there happened a couple of things that has changed my mind:

1) The asus models, here in Spain, are not expected to arrive until Christmas or later, and i have my old and loved Alien almost sold, but the deal must be done right now, so i have to buy sooner than that.

2) A Very very (very) expensive model of Gt72 which is now at sale. And the vendor assure me it HAS an ips Screen. It´s a 4980hq model, so it might be true, but i can´t found any information about it.

So guys... Could you help me to verify the point 2?

Here comes the links to the models on that store:

4980hq MSI GT72 2QE-293ES Dominator Pro i7-4980HQ / GTX980 - Portatil G (9S7-178111-293) > pc - informática > portátiles | Alvicius.com

4710hq MSI GT72 2QE-225ES Dominator Pro - Portatil Gaming (9S7-178111-225) > pc - informática > portátiles | Alvicius.com

I almost forget to comment. There are a 10% discount this month to the msi´s products, so i think my best option is buy it, and refound if it´s not true thing.

I thank you all any help.

Regards, Ken.

 

The first two 4980HQ models scheduled for the U.S., were the GT72 2QE-098, and GT72 2QE-243..... and the IPS screen was not offered with these. Then at the last minute, these models were later changed to the GT72 2QE-445, and GT72 2QE-444, and the IPS screen was added to the configuration. As such, I would take care to insure the GT72 2QE-293ES does indeed, have the IPS screen.

When I review listings of the GT72 2QE-293ES, none of them indicate the IPS screen is included with this model.

Good Luck!

 

Got my GT72 laptop a few days ago and I really love it Love how it looks (looks better when you see it for yourself instead of on pictures imo) and also very well built. Love how the touchpad is flush with the case, looks really good. I also overclocked my display. Looks like I can reach 85 Hz with it. If i go to 90 Hz the screen turns black. If I go to 87 Hz it still works, but to be safe I put it a tad lower. GPU is also amazing (980m). And while I haven't checked the temps while gaming, it looks like it stays cool very well and in the meantime also producing very little fan noise. Unless you turn on that Cooler Boost thingy, but luckily that isn't necessary

Just got my retail copy of Civilization: Beyond Earth a day earlier, can't wait to play it when it unlocks

[edit]
Hmm, looks like you get vertical stripes when you overlock. I don't see them when the screen is at 60 Hz, but when I go higher I do. You can see the lines here in the screen section of the review: http://www.notebookcheck.net/MSI-GT72-Notebook-Review.125916.0.html

It says there they are gone with the newest Nvidia drivers, but I do have the newest driver and I still see them when I try to overclock my display. I don't see them when i set my display to 70Hz though, I think I will keep it at that