G51JX or MSI GX740?

I have been thinking of buying one of these two systems since I returned the G73JH.

G51JX has following specs:

Includes: Gaming mouse and backpack
DISPLAY: 15.6" FullHD (1920 x 1080) LED backlight
CPU: Intel Core i5 450M 2.4 GHz
RAM: 4 GB DDR3
HDD: 500 GB
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 360M
AUDIO: Creative
OPTICAL DRIVE: Blu-Ray/DVD Combo
NETWORKING: 10/100/1000 Mbps
WLAN: 802.11 b/g/n
FireWire: 1
USB: 4
WEBCAM: 2Mpix
Bluetooth: v2.1 + EDR
BATTERY: 6-cell

And the GX740:

DISPLAY: 17.3" 1680x1050
CPU: Intel Core i5 450M 2.4 GHz
RAM: 4 GB DDR3
HDD: 500 GB
GPU: ATI RADEON 5870 1GB GDDR5
AUDIO: REALTEK HD Audio
OPTICAL DRIVE: CD/DVD Combo
NETWORKING: 10/100/1000 Mbps
WLAN: 802.11 b/g/n
FireWire: 1
USB: 4
WEBCAM: 2Mpix
Bluetooth: v2.1 + EDR
BATTERY: 9-cell

Both cost the same, so that's not a issue. How's the build quality with these laptops? What about display and color vibrancy? Any known issues like overheating or keyboard flex? Which one would you recommend?

 

5870 outperforms the GTS 360M so you will get better performance.
If you want mobility, get the G51, if you want full out power get the GX740.

The G51 likely has a better screen, but it is at a higher resolution so games will not run as smooth at native, and if you go down to 1280x720 it will look blurry/washed out.

 

As bearclaw mentioned, the GX740 screen is awful (worst one I've seen in a long time), BUT, what's under the hood is excellent for gaming and can handle everything on ultra without lag.

Keep in mind, though, the MSI warranty is pretty crappy. You have to pay something in the ball park of 60$ if it breaks down (even if it's something small) in order to ship it insured to their repair facility.

Asus on the other hand, pays both ways.

The turn around rate for fixing laptops with Asus is 3 business days. MSI's is 10 business days.

 

But you do get an extra year of warranty with MSI.

 

How bad can the screen be? Any real comparisons?

The warranty is 2 years for both laptops and our consumer laws dictate that warranty based shipping has to be paid by the manufacturer.

 

I'd compare the screen to a 10 year old dinosaur monitor.

As for the warranty, that's not the way it works with MSI.

You pay 60$+ to ship it to them, they pay for it back to you. My keyboard fell off on week #5 (brand new system) and I had to pay 58$ to ship it to them (insured).

 

I just bought a MSI GTX 740 here in the UK and the screen is great. I don't know to what you guys are comparing it, but seriously, there is nothing wrong with it.

 

Maybe for someone who's been limited to one or two laptops, but for someone like me that has dealt in real life with a large variety of them, it's the worst one out of them all in terms of screens. If we had a large table right now and placed all the gaming laptops in that price range on the table, you'd be able to immediately notice it.

 

The constrast excellent, on colored pages it's "alright" but on white pages, the white is almost a shade of gray.

Brightness is also a factor but again not very noticeable in-game.

Another thing that people forget about the 740 screen is that its response time is terrible.

I was playing a game of Flatout: Ultimate Carnage and I did something to make the car flip really fast. The whole car became blurry.

You can also notice this if you use smoothscroll and scroll up and down a page. There is noticeable blur.

 

the screen is like cancer, the customer support is like aids, the laptop itself was built by Chinese gypsys who don't have any hands and use their feet to put the components together.

if your keyboard doesn't break within 2 days, you hard drive will be faulty, if your hard drive isnt faulty, the screen will flicker.

when you send your laptop off to be repaired by MSI they won't fix it, they'll send it back with the exact same problem, they won't apologise either.

you'd be better of laying some broken glass on the table in front of you and headbutting it repeatedly.

 

We know you've had a bad experience with MSI and we're all sorry to hear that but that doesn't mean everyone's unit is as bad as yours.

 

LMFAO My response wasn't that cynical but the answer is almost spot on.

The only MSI laptop worth getting is the GX660R, that I've seen, but don't expect it to be supported or repaired properly if an issue arises.

 

Wrong.
There are many people who've had the exact same problems as me, 3 of which have Pm'd telling me they're having the exact same issues. and posted in my 'gx740 problems thread'

so far out of people who have recently bought GX740's on this forum at least 80% have had serious issues with them.

 

Nobody goes to a forum to say "My machine is working perfectly!".

 

that's not the point.

GX740's are shoddy laptops. it's a simple as that, I just knew it was too good to be true, I now understand why this is such a cheap option... the only good thing about these is the GPU and the CPU everything else is very bad quality. from the grainy horrific looking screen right down the the cheap feeling keyboard with printed on letters, stickers you can't take off without leaving Satans residue behind, the flimsy DVD tray, stupidly sized shift keys and enter key, Odd ridiculous looking black plastic strip where the power button is. Infuriatingly poor, rude customer service.

it's just awful awful bad sucky rubbish terrible

 

I'm also another person with bad msi GX740 experience I never expected my laptop to be faulty in less than a month of having it and then going through hell trying to get msi to repair it. And now finding out that nothing was done to laffles GX740 as mine has the same problem, has not given me any confidence with msi.

 

I have no idea where you guys got your gx740 but mine from Newegg is working perfectly and I had it for more than 2 months now. I have no idea what you mean by blurring when scrolling up and down fast, because I don't see it.

and Lol @ Laffles. So how many people contacted you for having a bad experience with gx740? Were they every single one who has purchased gx740 recently? Don't try to generalize the unit based on just a few people.

 

It's not only that, it's the AWFUL support. You wouldn't of typed this post if you knew just how bad their support was. My experience for example was listed in this thread. 1h15m wait times, reps chewing food on the phone and ignoring the customer so they can finish their sandwiches. 60$ in UPS fees to ship it there 5 weeks after I bought mine and now it's taking 4-5 weeks to replace the keyboard.

To those who defend MSI units, I dare you to send it in for repairs. You guys might of gotten a solid unit, but just wait until it breaks down.

They have the potential to be an excellent company with laptops such as the GX660R, but they want to be cheap in the support field, which will only hurt them in the long run.

 

Gee, after reading all this in here, I'm kind of having second thoughts buying my E7405 =/ It's working fine so far after about a month, I just hope nothing happens to it in the future.

 

Ehh, you think you got it bad, im with Advent, who are with DSG...when your machine gets taken away, you get it back, incorrectly repaired and cosmetically wrecked...

 

It's just the forum effect. If you go by what everyone says in the forums, you'll regret every purchase.

Go look at the Asus forums. People who enjoy their product isn't going to go on a forum, they only come here if they have problems.

 

Ignore the forum, your machine'l be fine if its working atm, and if it dont ill eat my own head.

 

I don't see how ignoring the forums will make any difference when his laptop breaks down. It's not like the 1h15m wait times will change ...or the 5 weeks to replace keyboards ...or the customer having to pay 60$+ to ship their laptop (while it's under warranty)... Sure people get 'lemons' but some of these posts are how the company handles the 'lemons'