Gonna buy GX640 from Xotic soon.

Thanks guys for your patience and helpful responses to my otherwise idiotic questions.

I will be purchasing the GX from xotic soon, and was wondering if its better to order by phone or online?

Secondly, does it make a difference who I speak to on the phone if I make the order over the phone?

And lastly, how does one verify that they actually put the upgraded (IC Diamond) thermal paste on, besides physically prying it open to check (which I'm not going to do)?

Thanks guys

 

you cant verify because you would have to take it apart and that ruins the mount.

i wouldnt pay 40dollars for others to put on thermal compound. i wouldnt even want it if it came free.

 

Don't bother with upgrade thermals, its not really worth it if at all. default paste gets no Press but its really good, google deep to find out. It comes down to making you feel better.

I run my 2.8E6300 @ 4Ghz with stock paste from a 3rd party cooler, spending an extra $40 for fancy paste would have been a huge waste of time.

FAQ from a barebones site:
Q: Is Arctic Silver 5 better than the manufacturer included CPU thermal compound?

A: Not really! According to a test that conducted by a Russian OC team, the GFC-M1 thermal grease used in the Clevo D900 series notebook computer is better than Arctic Silver 5. You can check the report at The Battle of the Thermal Compunds - Computer Forums . We recommend our customer to use the manufacturer's own thermal compound, because it was tested by the manufacturer thoroughly and there is no obvious advantage to use the Arctic Silver 5.

 

Dont get others to upgrade, just do it yourself

Use MX-3 and ICD-7

But if they did it for free, then take it, odds are they could possibly do it better then a quick job off a manufacturing line.

 

$40 for thermal compound ain't worth it ! MSI Notebooks comes with good thermal as default , use the 40 to get yourself a cooler.

 

Yep, it seems if you research, the stock thermal compounds used in gaming laptops are actually quite good. And logically thinking about it, makes sense. Can't use crappy thermal compounds and expect customers to be happy.

 

i thought about it too, but then i decided not to go with the thermal paste but a cooler...

 

Well, I do plan on buying a cooler. I really like the Cryo LX, but its a bit pricey. Newegg has it for like 60bucks + ship + tax too, which'll come out to like 80bucks. Jeez. Unless anyone knows where it may be cheaper?

Should I skip the thermal upgrade through Xotic then? Should I do it myself, or is the temp difference neglectable, considering I'm just playing SC2 at max, at most.

 

Do you HAVE to get the Cryo LX? Cause it's not going to be cheaper elsewhere. I've already looked and it's even more expensive elsewhere...

Why don't you spend some time reading up on coolers? You'll find the Cryo LX improvement is like 1-2C less only... and in some tests none at all...

I bought the ThermalTake Massive23 ST for $20. It seems UPS has lost it though, an employee gone rogue or something. After I reported it, sounds like he's going to get the can, supervisor and all. Sucker.

 

I like the price of the thermaltake too. Ideally, any fan that will target either the bottom vents/slits will satisfy me. I've seen alot of sh*tty ones at bestbuy/frys/walmart that have only a small fan in the center, or 2 in the center, which dont seem to target anything beneficial.

Say... where'd you find it for 20bucks?

EDIT: Also, should I upgrade the wireless card to the Intel one: "Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module" for $45 ?

 

ya dont get the thermal upgrade, dont do it yourself either. its not very necessary and it isnt super easy to do. took me 30mins take the whole laptop apart so many screwsss.

 

How about purchasing the upgraded wireless card?

 

dont really know, ive only used wireless for 3 hours and it was fine.

 

I'm planning to buy the GX640 from Newegg.com. Will I still get the 3 year warranty?

 

• Manufacturer Limited Warranty period (parts): 1 year
• Manufacturer Limited Warranty period (labor): 1 year

That's according to Newegg...
But MSI's warranty is 3 years (?)

Someone could clarify that up for me a bit too..

 

I read on some thread on NBR that if you buy it from newegg, you can register your GX through MSI, and therefore get the 3 year warranty from them. You're going to have to verify by calling MSI though.

 

a couple of weeks ago, i sent an email to msi customer service and was told to refer to the msi website for warranty information--not exactly a clarification.

after receiving an msi laptop from newegg last week, i registered it online at msi. the warranty period reflected was 3 years from the purchase date, but the site told that i had to complete the warranty registration before it went into effect. to complete registration, i printed out a form and mailed it and the invoice.

 

Well, if you do it yourself, you risk damaging your own notebook if you are not sure of how to do it. Personally, I feel that 40 dollars to save yourself the hassle is quite worth it, the ICD 7 is very useful as well, for my laptop, the GPU temp dropped by around 8C after ICD 7 application.

 

I had Xotic put ICD on mine and the temps are the same as everyone elses. Wouldn't recommend, save 30 bucks.

 

Yeah, I've been thinking about it too. Just gonna save the 35 bucks towards getting a cooling pad. Stuck between the Thermaltake and the Cryo LX though, cuz I want maximum cooling for the bottom, and want to ensure that all vents get proper "fanning".

 

Answerring your question about wireless cards: I had no problem with stock card. Yet it has only 2 antennas. There are 3 antennas in the case (atm one is not used), so if you upgrade a wireless card to the one having 3 antenna connectors there may be a possibility that you have better reception.
As I said, I had no difficulties with stock intel card.

 

How hard exactly, and how pricey is it to upgrade the net card on my own later on?

 

I don't know about price, but changing the card is really easy: similar to changing RAM. Just pop open bottom cover, remove old card, put in new one, attach antennas and you're good to go.

 

You serious? Cool, thank you!

Also, Ive been shopping around newegg and frys for notebook coolers. There's a few I like: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Notebook Cooling Model NotePal U2 (R9-NBC-8PBK-GP)
FRYS.com|Thermaltake
FRYS.com|Cooler Master

Any recommendations as to which will cool the best by providing air to the correct vent locations?

 

There's some on sale in NBR's marketplace for about $35 or something , brand new. (intel 6300)

The only "risk" I could see if you want to repaste your machine is accidentally dropping the damn screw driver on the mobo .. MX-3 & ICD7 are very safe to use as they are non-electrically conductive and doesn't bleed.

The best cooler as of now is the Cryo LX but the thermaltake looks decent , especially for the price. Whichever you getting will be fine but avoid paying 40 for someone to do the thermal job when there's no guarantee they will do it or apply it professionally.

 

That sounds good. Is ICD7 or MX-3 purchasable at frys like Arctic Silver 5 is? And what's the deal with the # behind the brand name lol.