- The Official MSI GT60 & GT70-2OC (770m) Owner's Lounge -

Hey guys, I'm ordering my GT60 very soon, but I'm a bit conflicted on where to buy from.

Where are you guys buying from, or what reseller is most reliable? I was considering xoticpc....

 

I havent tried planetside 2 yet, looks good though. Might try it. Will post results if i do.

-Erythro73

Very quite indeed. You most definitely wont hear the fans running when doing some idle work. Believe me, its quite where I live. The only sound I hear in my room is the tick tock of the clock, which is starting to get annoying. Cars and vehicles dosnt come around here that much. quite neighborhood..... The sound of the AC running is a louder than this notebook running.

 

Thank you, I was (again) confirming that my laptop had a real problem (and I RMA'd it last week... I'm still waiting for a replacement unit from Ncix). I could hear a constant cricket sound coming from the fan, and I couldn't concentrate without putting on some music to cover it because it was too loud (on idle). I can't hear my previous MSi GT627 at all, but I could hear clearly and annoyingly the GT60 2OC.

THank you again (and thank you to R3d). I will wait for NCIX and my replacement unit and hope it won't have the same problem.

 

I ordered from GentechPC after reading positive feedback about them on this forum. Gentech and Xotic seem to have nearly the exact same prices, but Gentech was offering 16GB of ram in a 2x8 configuration as opposed to 4x4. This and the free repaste job, which can be important for these MSI laptops, helped seal the deal. I just ordered on Monday though, so I haven't actually received my laptop yet. So far, I can say that it has been nice to deal with a small shop. When emailing or calling, I have been working with Ken (the owner?). I was told over the phone that the laptop should go out early next week, so I'll hope to see a tracking number by that time. I'll continue to post my impressions.

 

Has anyone tried the gt70 770m with an external monitor and have you been able to get resolution at 2560x1440.

Also is the integrated gpu the hd4600 or hd4000. Notebookchecknet says 4000 but other things I am reading say 4600

Also for plain old surfing and Microsoft office work do you get much heat and noise.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Haven't tried anything above 1920x1080.

The integrated graphics is HD4600. The laptop is quiet and cool for regular use.

 

I believe all of the 4700MQs have the 4600 graphics, which have about 50% more performance than the 4000 series that came with third generation i7s. The 4700MQ and 4800MQ should have similar graphics performance, while the 4900MQ operates about 15% (graphics).

 

I'm pleased with the performance in Planetside 2. FPS can be in the 60's on high, mid 40's on ultra. This game like other mmo's is impossible to benchmark. In a large crowd of people it becomes CPU bound and your FPS will drop into the 30's. Since there can be hundreds of players nearby even high end desktop rigs drop into the 30's.

 

Good to know. Thank You.

Yeah i know there is a lot of dependency on the CPU, especially in crowds. I have played the game a bit, but only because I wanted to get a feel for the engine Sony is using. I am not really a first person shooter gamer, so the niche doesn't appeal to me on all levels. I do like the feel of their game, the openness of the world and the graphics and gameplay seemed great. I am glad to know its very unlikely the GPU is the bottleneck on this game.

I am just itchy to get my new computer and I really appreciate the feedback I can't go get on my own yet.

 

I also made the jump and ordered the GT70 from GenTechPC today, after reading the comments on this forum. The repaste job sealed the deal, as was seeming that was important to do. Looking forward to it shipping soon. Already looking over Steam to see which games I can revisit at much higher settings

 

Hwmonitor won't show the 770m unless its activated. I've been using gpu-z to check temps or right click on the desktop open nividia control panel then open hwmonitor. If the power button led is orange its on.

 

What made you all decide to go for this over the asus g75 series.

 

Not sure about anyone else, but build quality and msi's past ability to upgrade later on peeked my interest. Asus was tempting, but its a pain to work on or at least my g73jh is.

 

I'm not a gamer, not much time to play unfortunately.

I write code for embedded systems, and use programs like Altium Designer to design the circuitry and printed circuit boards. AD can be very demanding when in 3D mode.

I have a couple of issues off the bat that I'd like pointers on.

1: Trying to make recovery DVDs. I can always make disk1, after that I make lots of coasters. Haven't got through the process yet.

2: I'm looking for performance improvements. There ain't no such thing as a fast enough computer. My video card goes to +133 CPU and +600 ram in MSI afterburner, and that's stable on Kombustor. I haven't seen any options on boosting the mother board or other performance enhancers.

Ideas?

 

Price would be one reason. I'm seeing that the G750 series (generation 4) is going for about $10- to $150 more for similar specs. Personally, I did not like the hinge as much on the Asus. It gives it a bigger, blockier look. I have only seen pictures though, so this could be off. Has anyone seen these two side by side? I'm sure Asus/MSI both make most of our short lists....

 

The Recovery DVD's have been posted. I downloaded and burned them with the Windows 8 burning tool, no problems.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/719029-official-msi-gt60-2od-owners-lounge-71.html#post9253548

 

finally ordered my GT60.. can't wait to go pick it up

 

I placed an order for the GT60 2OC-022US from Xotic yesterday (just after 6pm... ). I hope to hear from them today.

I went with the MSI for two reasons:
1) Because I like their styling better. There's just enough flash to make people notice, but not enough to get tacky.
I think the Asus' hinge is, well, not to my linking.
2) Haswell (i7 4700mq) and Kepler (gtx 770) in a 15.6" model.

I could've gone with a Clevo/Sager, but I had a better feeling with MSI .

I'm working on an Asus now. It's almost 5 years old, and has been in my back pack for at least 275 days a year. Still works like it was new (that includes the battery, ~2 hrs on High Performance). So i'd expect Asus' build quality to be quite good still.

Can't you just download an Windows 8 iso, install it, and use your license to activate the install? Or is there something special in the original install?

 

well the price.. i got a good deal on a GT60 2OC..
- style
- backlitkeyboard
- speakers
- this laptop is suppose to be quiet ( we'll see about that)
- the Brand .. i trust more MSI than sager just because i know them more i guess

 

Win 8 does not allow this for OEM licenses. You can no longer download an iso and use a product key for a fresh install like you could with Win 7.

There are MSI recovery discs, built in F3 recovery (works with original hard drive), you can burn a system image, and Win 8 has built in refresh and reset options.

 

Just ordered my GT60 2OC-022US from Gentechpc!!

Impatiently waiting now....I'm really too excited to get this after working off my crappy hp laptop for the last 5 years haha (surprised it even lasted me so long).

 

I'll believe you, but it sounds odd to me. That would mean you could never upgrade or change your hard drive to a different size, because the recovery disc size would mismatch (I.E. going from 1tb HDD to 128gb SSD).

Any more details on how this works?

How I see it then, I paid extra (for the windows license on the machine), but (again) don't really get anything. I'm not even allowed to do my own reinstalls...
Off topic: I wonder why piracy is so high...

Also, I read in a couple of message boards the license key is embedded somewhere in the machine. Apparently, you could install from an OEM disk as long as it is the same version the machine came with.

 

The product key is authenticated at the BIOS-level IIRC.

 

This is the correct answer, you can download a iso and make a cd or bootable flash drive, I used the latter. After installing the wifi driver windows 8 will automatically authenticate in the background or you can do it yourself manually by forcing it to authenticate.

Small update for my unit. After a string of events I've decided to keep my laptop for now. Walmart had a Swiss backpack that I got for 14.50$ and I don't feel like returning that either.

The other update is I have repasted my laptop and removed the thermal pad connecting the bridge that connects the cpu and gpu heatsink and replaced it with IC diamond. My cpu temps are now 81C and gpu temps are @80c with my overclock while playing farcry 3 with dxtroy limiting fps to 40. The = temperatures reflect what I thought the bridge was supposed to be doing in the first place, creating a equal temperature between the two components.

 

Would you recommend this machine for someone who does not play games.

Just looking for a very powerful and fast unit that is reliable with good storage. And graphics card mainly to watch videos through an external monitor.

But key thing is extremely quiet needed while using office, don't mind some fan noise while watching videos.

Or is there a better option out there. Reviews seem to say the ge70 is noisier.

Thanks.

 

Where's my firefall beta key

 

If you are not gaming I would definitely not recommend any gaming laptop.

A Haswell laptop with Intel 4600 graphics will handle video (and even some games) no problem. There's no need to spend $1000-1500 on a gaming laptop if you aren't gaming--especially when there are fantastic ultrabooks in the same price range with greatly improved your battery life and less heat generation.

My 2 cents (worth nothing now that we abolished the penny...)

 

Agree completely. If you need ideas consider a post in the "what notebook should I buy forum". You'll get a lot of helpful advice.

 

I hope someone can help..I have the gt70 20oc with 1tb and 770m..I have not been successful in ocing the 4700mq every time i do with the latest Intel xtu it fails and says something about watchdog software is installed...Also the xtu software is a little confusing for me so maybe a little help with that or a starting point would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hi all. I'm thinking about buying a GT60 2OC for University, it's gonna be used for a bit of coding, a bit of gaming and general computer usage. A friend of mine once bought a 'gaming' laptop and it ran so hot that it could barely last 15 minutes on any game, so I'm really wary of temperatures - I also don't want to have to open up the laptop and do anything to it myself. I would like to know if this laptop is up to playing games for hours on end without erupting into flames. Can anyone shed some light, please?

Also, I've seen the GT60-2OC for sale at both Amazon and a site called LaptopsDirect, they have the same model number but one site claims it to be 16GB RAM and the other claims it to be 8GB RAM. Is one of these shops lying to me?

 

Thanks
Not carrying it around so weight no issue.

Just struggling to find an ultra book with everything else that the gt70 has besides the card.

In regular use when it's using the 4600, does
It stay cool?

I am happy to pay a bit extra for it over the ultra book if it meets all my
Other needs like disk drives and connections.

 

Form what I've seen posted here, the laptop stays quite cool for a laptop as Rorschach says:

There are multiple versions of the GT60 2OC; See the model numbers below with the standard ram sizes:
022US 8GB (United States)
024US 12GB
030UK 16GB (United Kingdom)
013FR 4GB (France)
003US 12GB (Canada)

There is, however, also a GT60- 2O D - 026US which features a Nvidia GTX780m, instead of a GTX770m. That model also comes with 16 GB ram.

I think you're referring to Laptops | Laptop. Buy cheap laptops, ultrabooks, tablet pcs, netbooks and iPads from Laptops Direct, and the 030UK model, which should have 16GB ram. Also, google laptopsdirect before buying ;-)

I think it does, judging on the TDP of the processor and my experiences with the HD Graphics 4000

 

What country are you in and which LaptopsDirect site are you looking at? It's not uncommon for Amazon to have the incorrect specs listed for laptops on the US site.

I believe many of us have been quite pleased with the temps. The highest temp I've hit is 81, I had mine repasted with IC diamond by the reseller I purchased from. People using the 780M cards have reported high temps, but I haven't heard this occuring with the 770m.

 

I've never had a laptop before, but if I saw 80 degrees temps on my PC I'd probably have a heart attack. I presume that's fine for laptops, though?

 

80C is fine and pretty common for gaming laptops under load. Its 95-100+ C that gets dangerous. Most people dont like to hit 90 just to be safe. If you really dont want to even hit 80C though, use turbo fan when gaming

 

Not necessarily. If you use lav filters and mad-vr for videos you need a beefy gpu for deinterlacing, upscaling etc. I do not game and i am looking at a few higher end gaming models for this exact reason. The 4600 will not accomplish this.

 

Not sure if this has been answered yet but if you are having issues with win7 install on your SSD on primary then you need to switch to LEGACY in bios. Win7 is Legacy, Win 8 is the other one.

 

Seems to be some problems with the with Tomb Raider (using 311.48 driver)... Can't run with tessellation on without the screen glitching out (flashing colors all over the screen). Runs fine maxed out but with it off. I looked it up and it seems to be a problem for a lot of people, so nothing wrong with the card itself then, kind of annoying though

 

Also curious. A year or 2 from now I would not mind the 50% boost.

 

New to the forums and got myself one of these. This looks like a very chill place so you have just adopted another mid-expert techie. Mid with laptops. Expert with PC.

I LOVE THIS LAPTOP. I picked up the GT70, Only 750 HDD (installed my Samsung 840 pro 250 can hopefully can raid 0 2 down the road), 16gb. Have been contemplating between the 15 or the 17 since I have my 27 from my pc I donated. Well, the 27" will be transferred to my patio during football season! Might as well go big and enjoy 17 lap gaming. This is defintely the best bang for the buck. Seems to be up-gradable. Now I start modding this beast of a machine. Think water-cooling. Need to find out if there are modded bioses or if I can even OC the chip when I upgrade the chip the the "X" version down the road.

Doing tests and you will probably see a couple of Qs down the road.

 

Anyone here play PES 2013? I'm having trouble running it smoothly. But my old GPU, desktop ATI HD4870, runs it maxed out without hiccup. But the GTX 770M is supposed to be much more capable than my old GPU right? Can anyone here run this on their machine and test it out?

p.s : Which drivers are you guys running? I've 311.48. Tried searching for new drivers on nVidia website, but found only a beta 320.49 driver. Are there no official drivers for the 700M series yet?

 

More updates:

Running Far Cry 3 with max settings (AA off, shdows on high, though) gives me ~30-35fps. Played for two hours and max temp on CPU was 77C, max temp on GPU was 79C, and this is with turbo fan off.
Also, I was able to steam videos on battery power (balanced mode, max brightness) for ~3.5 hours before it got to 10%. Really loving this laptop

I'm running 311.48 as well. It says it's up to date on GeForce Experience so I don't think there's any official ones.

 

I am pretty much one step away from buying the GT60 laptop, could you perhaps tell me how quick the laptop boots, as in from you pushing the button to being on the desktop and ready to roll. I've heard that SSDs boot stupid fast so I'd expect it to be amazing with two of them in RAID!

 

Hey guys i have a quick question about the GT70-2oc. How many 2.5 HDD bays does this laptop support? Cant' seem to find the answer.

I know it has the msata bays, but i already have an SSD and would use the 2.5 it comes with as just storage.

If not i guess i would need at least 1 mSATA drive to make as the primary?

 

Does the GT60 have the ability to switch to integrated graphics if you want to have longer battery life?

 

I don't have my laptop yet, but it is my understanding that if you order the model that comes with the mSATA caddy, you will have space for three mSata drives and one 2.5" drive. If you do not order an mSata (no caddy), you will have space for two regular 2.5" drives. The default configuration for the GT60 2OC-022US does not come with the mSata caddy.

EDIT: To add a little. It sounds like you are in the same boat I am. I have a 2.5" SSD that I plan to use in the laptop and also want to use the 1TB HD for storage. In this case, pick a starting spec that does not come with any mSata ssd and you should be fine. GT60 2OC-022US or GT70 2OC-059US or GT70 2OC-065US.

 

Yes. You may have to set it up, but is pretty easy. Do a search for "Nvidia Optimus" if you want more information.

 

Boots in ~10 seconds with my SSD, so much faster than my 3 year old laptop running win7 with a 5400rpm HDD.

That's the whole point of having it there. With Optimus the computer will automatically switch between the iGPU and dGPU (configurable in nvidia control panel if you want an application to use something different from the automatically selected choice). It's the reason why the battery life is so good when not gaming.

 

Any. One tried win8.1 on gt70

 

These laptops have 2 hard drive bays, the highest priced version has an mSata adapter in one of the hard drive bays.

GT70 2OC-065US and GT70 2OC-059US come with one mechanical hard drive and have one spare hard drive slot.

GT70 2OC-017US (highest 2OC version) comes with a mechanical hard drive and mSATA drives. No spare slots.