Decisions decisions. Please help me decide.

Hello fellow forum goers :hi2: . First time poster but I've been lurking the MSI section of the site for a while. Picked up a lot of nice info and opinions from everyone. But I still have a big lingering question. Here's my ordeal. I want a new laptop and I'm pretty much set in stone that it'll be the MSI Stealth/Pro. For the 17" screen and portability. My problem is which one. I'd LOVE the Stealth Pro 212 but wonder if that might be overkill for what I really need. It will basically be a desktop replacement/gaming machine. I'll be honest that the only game I will for sure 100% play on it is Minecraft. That's not to say I won't play other games(RPG type stuff most likely) in the future though. Xbox One and PS4 are my main gaming platforms. Console gaming is better( chiiiiiilll... i'm j/k ) . I'll also be doing stuff like Photoshop etc.. But Also would like a little future proofing.

So basically what I am wanting your opinions on is if the Stealth 037 with GTX 860m will suffice, would the Stealth Pro 212 with GTX 870m be overkill? What are some advantages over each?

Thanks,
Rob

 

The 860m would be plenty for what you're currently doing. It'll definitely handle minecraft with any mods you may be using. I recently picked up the stealth 037 with the 860, and im more than happy with it. I can run skyrim on ultra at 50-60 frames. It should be able to run any games released in the next few years as well, although at lower settings. But if you have the money, the pro is obviously more powerful and worth considering. Be aware of the heating issues the 870m has though, the 860 stays significantly cooler.

 

I recommend the 860M as well.
I have a GS70 with 870M and heat is such as an issue that gaming on this machine is not realistic. The 870M can handle most games maxed out with a playable framerate, but slim chassis are not meant to encase a GPU that runs this hot. I doubt repasting and employing a cooling pad would make much of an improvement.

Plus if all you'll be running are minecraft and some RPGs, the 860M should serve you fine.

 

Thanks very much for the input. Really appreciate it!

So the Stealth 860m can handle Skyrim on ultra just fine? That's great because I don't think I will be needing anything more than that. What about a game like say Battlefield or Watch Dogs? How would it handle those? Not that I will be playing those but just curious

Couple other questions about the 860m. Other than the Nvidia cards, what other differences are there between the Stealth and Stealth Pro? Is the build quality the same? Like the chassis and screen etc.. Just wondering if the non-Pro versions used "lesser" materials or whatever.

Thanks again for the info,
Rob

 

The 860M should have no problem running Skyrim maxed out (though perhaps minus anti-aliasing). Battlefield 4 should be playable on ultra and Watch Dogs should be fine on high. Watch Dogs is more troublesome, for any GPU.
I was able to max out Skyrim and BF4 with no issue with the 770M, which is similar in capability to the 860M.

You can take a look at approximate benchmarks for the 860M here: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M - NotebookCheck.net Tech

All 2014 versions of the GS70 (stealth or stealth pro) are identical in build quality and screen. The only differences are the configurable hardware, e.g. CPU, GPU, SSDs, RAM, etc.
If you find a 2013 version, I think it would be missing Dynaudio speakers, though all else should be identical.

 

Thanks again!

Question about that link you posted. It says, at the link, the 860m "offers 4 GB of GDDR5 memory". However all the websites I have looked at say it's 2GB of GDDR5. Which is correct? And/or would that even make much difference?

Rob

 

Ah yes, the GS70 does have the 2GB model of the 860M.
From my knowledge, you would not need more than 2GB of VRAM unless you plan to run your games at a much higher resolution (e.g. with a large monitor or on multiple monitors, totalling 3K+). If you'll just be using the laptop's monitor at 1080p, 2GB will be perfect.

 

Thanks again. I doubt I'll ever use a bigger/higher res monitor so thats good hear.

Can't think of any other questions about the system at the moment. Question now is where to purchase one from? Looking pretty much at either XoticPC or GenTech PC. Want to get the best deal possible. Either of those have a decent rep to negotiate a deal?

Rob

 

I've bought from both sites and they're both excellent. Don't think negotiation is an option.

 

Yea I figured theres probably not much "haggling" that can be done on a custom built laptop.

Thanks again for all the info/help. Really appreciate it.

Rob

 

Purchase has been made via XoticPC!

MSI GS70 Stealth-037
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Matte Screen (1920x1080)
- Free 30 Day "No Dead Pixel" Guarantee (XPC Service)
- XOTIC PC Professional Monitor Color Calibration (Operating System is required) (XPC Service)
- 4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4700HQ (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache) (SKU – X2Y914)
- IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU (Cools better than all Compounds) (XPC Service)
- NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 860M (2.0GB) GDDR5 PCI-Express DX11 w/ Optimus™ Technology
- 16GB DDR3 1600MHz [SKU-818EP] (Dual Channel Memory (2x8GB SODIMMS))
- MSI Logo [White] - Stock
- mSATA Option: Operating System Installed [Default] w/ mSATA(s) selected below
- 128GB Solid State Drive mSATA - RAID 0
- 128GB Solid State mSATA - RAID 0
- 750GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache (SATA II - 3GB/s) (SKU - HDD004)
- Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Dual Band Wireless-N 1202 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module + Bluetooth 4.0 | Up to 300Mbps (2x2) (SKU - WIFI07)
- Internal 2-in-1 Card Reader (XC/HC)
- Integrated Digital Video Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- MSI Branded Protective Sleeve - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (6-Cell)
- Stock MSI SteelSeries™ Chiclet Backlit Keyboard
- WINDOWS 8.1 - 64-Bit (Pre-Installed)
- Keep factory installed operating system
- Windows 8.1 32GB USB Drive manufacturer factory backup recovery
- 2 Year MSI US/Canada Parts & Labor 1 Year Global Warranty w/ Lifetime Tech Support
+ 1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty (Requires Registration within 30 Days from Ship Date) (SKU - WTY007)
- XOTIC PC Custom Binder & Certificate of Ownership – take pride in your system with a hand-signed personalized XOTIC PC certificate & Benchmarks!

 

Congrats on your new purchase!

 

Good looking build, congrats!