Gt680 in stock, overclockers uk.

I was just pre-ordering a gt680 with ssd drive from overclockers, uk when it showed it in stock! Should be with me tomorrow, email confirmed. The 680 standard and the 680 blu ray still showing as pre order.

 

MSI GT680-037UK 15.6" WLED TFT Intel HRV I7-2630QM 2.0GHz, 6GB DDR3, 120GB SSD + 500GB HDD, NVIDIA GTX460M 1.5GB GDDR5 Graphics, Win7 Home Premium 64-Bit - Black/Red [GT680-037UK]

That is quie an intersting specs.

 

Tomorrow? WOW, that is really quick!

 

please keep us posted on the progress of this order, and enjoy

 

It's currently on way to me for delivery sometime tomorrow, once i've had a play i'll let you know what i think. If somebody lets me know what free benchmarking software is available and is easy to use i will use it, i'm coming over from apple so i dont know much about the software for the pc.

For info it was between this or the asus g73sw.

 

and another one n the UK with SSD + HDD combo
MicroAnvika

 

For links to benchmarking free software see the first page of this thread
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...alienware-m17x-benchmark-thread-part-4-a.html

 

Thanks, give me a couple of days and i'll do some benchmarking.......i hope

 

Do not forget to enjoy the machine first!!!

 

well, it arrived today.........and it's packed up ready to go back.

I just dont like the keyboard, it feels cheap and the keys on pressing sound like a kids toy, and the trackpad is worse than my wife's 2 year old cheap toshiba laptop, it jumps all over the place, does'nt follow your finger correctly sometimes and does'nt feel smooth to the touch, you have to press on it to get a decent response the screen surround flexes easily making it feel cheap (do you get the feeling i think the body is cheap), which is shame as the screen is fantastic.

The hardware inside is clearly great as the windows score is 7.1 (no time for benchmarking as i put it back in the box after a couple of hours trying to use it.

awful, awfull awful! sorry to you msi lovers, it's horses for courses i suppose and this one for me is only good for glue!

Now i'm off to the Alienware m15x, it may not have the hardware inside as good as the msi but at least it looks the part and the keyboard works and for the money it has a keyboard that you can see in the dark! I never thought that would be a problem but it is.

 

Damn! I've been worried about that keyboard, read reviews about it having flex on the left side and rattling ro sounding hollow when typed on. That and the viewing angles on the screen have kept me from buying so far. The only place that has it has a 15% restocking fee so this really makes me think twice.

 

Im not usually one for complaining but the keyboard is terrible and does flex on the left hand side. Fortunatly in the uk you get 7 days to return goods bought online provided they are in good condition and in original packaging. You get all your money back. and, yes hollow sums it up. It's such a shame as the hardware inside is great just the body is poor. Actually like a woman i once knew...... :laugh:

 

Lol.

Well it looks like my short list keeps getting shorter, the pastic lid did kind of remind me of the flex plastic lids on cheapy notebooks ive seen but I hoped it would be better given the price.

I really cant see going alienware 15 right now though, pricy, last gen cpu and 5850 gpu which is definitely inferior to the 460. Its going to run you $1600us before you think about upgrading memory or drive.

My lappy short list included the msi 660/680, sager 8130/8150/8170, qosmio, or asus g73sw now that they apparently have the dropped keys issue fixed with the latest bios.

The sagers are way too back ordered, getting one before may would be a miracle, they keep taking orders but very few people have seen them yet.

The qosmio is hard to come by, has slow drives, a non LED backlit screen and there are alot of pre-recall models being sold by tigerdirect and amazon so you have to watch. but 460m & 18.4" 1080p screen and a nice keyboard sounds nice.

Ive even thought about going for the latest 17" hp envy or dell XPS 3d models, sacrificing a bit of graphics potential for the nice 120hz lcd screens required for 3d, but there are quite long delays on getting those too.

The bargain tempter right now though is the 30% off hp dv7t. You can get the same specs (except for video) as the msi for under $1000 if you can live with a 6770 gpu and 1600x900 display. Or deck it out with a 160gb SSD boot drive for around $1200. These are so new that noone has a review of one yet though.

 

well, the m15x is here and the keyboard is in a different league to the msi........ however the speakers are awful, the right one has terrible static, not sure if it has a loose connection!

so it may have to go back and if they cant replace it immediatly i may just have to get used to the msi keyboard as i need a laptop sharpish and i can only do so much on my ipad, i bet to get a replacement for the alienware would take weeks!

I'n not havin much luck

 

Its odd that the alienware speaker is screwed up, they should definitely replace that although they are winding down the m15x production so stocks might be low.

Since you still have the MSI and m15x on hand, how are the keyboards in a different league?

Im in a similar boat, I need a machine pretty much now and there aren't alot of options with that level of hardware without waiting quite a while so trying to get a picture of just how bad the msi is and what its good points might be.

 

The UPS man delivered my GT680R yesterday. While I haven't been able to use it a lot, I haven't noticed any flex in the keyboard. Maybe I haven't hit the right keys yet, I don't know, but it seems fine to me.

I will say, though, the speakers, for a laptop, are awesome! The sound is better than any of the other laptops I've had previously (all some variety of Dell).

So far, I REALLY like this laptop. My only complaint is that there is no latch to hold the lid closed, but that's not really a big deal.

 

The older designs in MSI were magnet based, and i tell you, i still have to use some real pressure to open the dam screen.

Glad to see your enjoying it.

 

From what ive read the issues with the keyboard are that there is flex, primarily on the left side near the WASD keys. try pressing down on the keyboard in that area and seeing if it flexes. Also, the keys in that area sound different / hollow when typing on them. If yours isnt like this perhaps it not in the design but in the unit.

How is the screen... are the viewing angles at least good enough that you can see the screen well without washed out edges? ;-)

 

@ toondw

sorry to hear that you do not enjoy the machine
hope you will get the whole refund.

 

well, i still have the MSI. The Alienware has gone back. To be honest the keyboard on the alienware is much better, does'nt feel cheap and is backlit, why no backlit keyboard on the msi?. BUT the internals in the MSI as so much better than the Alienware for some reason the graphics card scores 7.1 on the msi but 6.9 on the alienware.....it's the same card?

The screen is not perfect, the blacks are only visable from directly infront, as soon as you move to the side it looses contrast badly. But the brightness is fine

However, the speakers on the msi are the best i have ever heard on a laptop. you can do without any extra speakers on your desktop!

Overall, i am reasonably happy with it, we will see when i start gaming if things improve.

oh and as for the supposed programmable touch key, it's not. And i see nothing in the manual to allow it to be programmed, it just opens something called cine pro.

 

Its not unexpected that the MSI video rates better, the 460m in the 680 is better than the 5850 in the alienware. The 460 is likely closer to the 5870.

The speakers sound great, definitely a high point. the screens lack of viewing angles are expected, most reviews mention it, although in daily use do you think it would cause an issue? or only an issue if you are showing something to someone?

The internals in the 680 are great... and there aren't alot of other options. lol.

 

The screen is livable, you just need to be infront not off to the side, it's only the blacks that loose contrast from the side. I watched a dvd tonight, the colour is good, sound great. I played a bit of starcraft 2 in full 1080. No problems, again you need to make sure your infront of the screen but i am getting used to it, give me a week and the msi and me will become friends. Oh in the uk you get a free backpack and gaming mouse like the asus, mind you the mouse is plastic and looks cheap but its nice and big, fits my hand great and the buttons are responsive.

 

I agree, the screen does wash out as you move off center. The greater the angle, the more washed out it is, but I'm normally right in front of it so it's no big deal for me. Everything looks fine when looking straight on at it.

I also did notice there is some keyboard flex, if I push on the keys really hard. For the way I normally type, it's fine and doesn't flex at all. I also don't notice any unusual noises from the keys when typing, at least not any difference between this and my old Dell Inspiron.

I have noticed that I have to use the middle of the trackpad. If I get out around the edges, it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. I'll have to see if there's an update for that, maybe that will fix it.

Overall, it's pretty good, and I'm really happy with my choice.

 

What is the processor of MSI GT680? 2nd generation of i7 2630QM 2.0-2.9GHz right?

But I found a shop (here in my country) that sells MSI GT680 with 2nd generation i7 hrv 2630QM 2.66-2.9GHz. Is it true? Or it's probably a custom version?

 

I got mine from Gentech PC, and it's got the i7-2630qm, 2.0-2.9. They do offer the option of upgrading the processor up to the i7-2920xm. Different resellers offer different options for making changes to a lot of things on the computer.

 

Glad its starting to look better to you, I'm still looking and keep coming back to this model. Its been about a week now, how do you like it after a bit of use? Any words of enlightenment?

 

I say wrong decision unless you like gaming on 15 inchers the GT780 is around the corner .

17 Inch power house with MSI new lighting features and metal body with a cool power button but meh i personally think the 17 incher will destroy the 680.

 

ive never used the trackpad ever....just use a wireless mouse, problem solved.
and the screen light the keys up