GX640 or E7405?

Hi,

I'm getting one of these laptops unless something better comes out in the next few days...

1. What is the difference between the E7405 and the GX740.

2. Second, are the build quality, flex, screen quality, heating potential problems, the same on the 2 models?

3. Is the lack of USB3 should be a deal breaker for me or will there be potential solution to use USB3 (after switching a piece or adding some device) on the MSI?

4. Is the difference between the 5870 and the 5850 very noticeable? I plan to mostly play RTS, but I want to be able to play them for a couple of years (3 or 4).

5. Which website is more reliable, NCIX or Newegg.ca? Cause if I buy the E7405, newegg offers a better though I could potentially price match it on NCIX. The GX640 is the same price on the two websites.


Thanks!

 

1. Direct comparison between the two can be found here: MSI Notebook Official Website
In short the E7405 has a larger screen (E7405 has a 17" vs GX640's 15.6"), better graphics card, 4 speakers and a subwoofer. But the GX640 has a newer model with a faster processor and has more hard-drive space.

2. I have an E7405 so the build quality is great, screen is bright, idle temps are ok. But does get hot when playing games so I use a laptop cooler.

3. As for USB3, might be a deal breaker if you really plan to use it. As for an add-on, not much information right now.

4. I suggest buying from Amazon, they have the E7405 available for $1,149.88 and they charge no tax at: Amazon.com: 17" Gaming Notebook: J&R Music and Computer World

The older version of the GX640 is sold out at Amazon but they do have a pre-order page at: Amazon.com: MSI GX640-260 15.4-Inch Gaming Laptop - Black/Red:…

 

Hey what about the dimensions? Is the screen shaped more like a square? Or is it widescreen? And tell me about the 16:10 aspect ratio

 

Yeah, I knew about the size of the screen, but I forgot about the subwoofer.

Now, since I live in Canada, I was considering buying either from newegg or ncix. I'll go take a look at amazon...

Both models, E7405 and GX640 have only one vent, right?

 

Does the E7405 have only 2 USB ports?

 

E7405 should have 3 USB ports and 1 USB/Esata combo port (so 4 USB ports effectively).

About cooling:
-GX640 has one fan, one vent and one heatsink, with 2 heatpipes going to CPU and GPU.
-E7405 has one fan, two vents (on the right side and in the back) and two heatsinks, one for the CPU and one for the GPU.

Cooling similar to GX640 here:



Cooling similar to E7405 here:

 

These both have 16:10 aspect ratio screens and are "widescreen". The old "square" screens are the 4:3 aspect ratio screens.

A lot of newer laptops are using 16:9 ratio screens, since it is proportional to HD resolutions. However, I really think 16:10 is superior to 16:9 for pretty much anything unless you're exclusively watching movies and playing games (and it's even debatable if it's better for games, matter of preference I guess).

The 16:10 ratio gives you more vertical pixel depth, which is better for general productivity use.

 

I am in a similar debate as both of these laptops are the same price. I cant decide which one to pull the trigger on.

 

The E7405 has a larger screen (17" vs GX640's 15.6"), 4 speakers + sub woofer (GX640 has only 2 speakers), better graphics card (Radeon 5870 vs GX 640's 5850), 2 vents (one on the back and one on the right while the GX640 has only 1).

The new GX640 has 180GB more hard-drive space (500GB vs E7405's 320GB), slightly better processor (I5-450 @2.4GHZ vs E7405's I5430's 2.2GHZ), is one pound lighter (6lbs vs E7405's 7lbs).

I had a GX640 but I returned it when I saw the E7405 being available at Amazon.com for $1,099 with free shipping no tax! E7405 has a Larger screen, better sound, better graphics, and better air flow is a no brainer.

 

Is the E7405 build quality good?