Help with my MSI GT60 2OC 2OD

Hello all I just purchased the MSI GT60 2OC 2OD and I love it minus a few things that I cant figure out and I am looking for some help.

1. I only get a 7.2 for my graphics and this is low! I was wondering is there a way to configure so my system works only from the 780m or what can I do to improve this. I tried disabling the intel hd graphics in device
manager but my score lowered to 5.4 so I set it back.

2. I am repasting the cpu and gpu with ic diamond next week and adding 2 more m sata ssds to run super raid 2 with 3 ssds on raid 0. My question with this is the gt 60 has the san disk 128 gb x100, Now can I use a different brand ssd that is also 128 gb and mix the san disk with the other brand and will that work? and if so once I put the 2 other drives in do I just put the recovery disks in and do a clean install to the raid setup if so whats that process like?

all insight is appreciated.

 

1. Windows Experience Index doesn't really tell you anything. A variety of factors may have played into lowering your score - for example the clock speeds not ramping up when it is being assessed. Nor does WEI actually do anything other than maybe determining whether or not Aero is turned on, and with a score of 7.2 it is most definitely in the "on" range.

2. Depending on how the raid controller works, it is theoretically possible to mix and match but that is almost universally frowned upon. Major factors include a performance disparity between the drives, limiting the speed boost to the slowest one, or if there are different quirks to the drive controller, all of which can lead to instability by playing mix and match - assuming it even lets you raid in the first place.

In regards to reinstalling via recovery it depends on two different factors. Does the recovery have RAID drivers? If so it should work fine. If it does not you may be able to load the necessary drivers with the ADVANCED options button during recovery (you'll pretty much be forced to push this anyways because the only other option is Cancel because the recovery will fail to detect any hard drives). The second being how well does the recovery deal with changes in hardware (in this case, will it play nice with the "addition" of the raid controller). Unfortunately I have never tested the latter and cannot give you a solid answer - someone else will have to answer this or you might want to ask your system integrator.

That's assuming you even have recovery disks. Depending on your reseller, you may not have them and must rely on the recovery partition. If that's the case, striping the drives will almost certainly wipe out the partition, leaving you no method on re-installing. You will have to create your own recovery disks before pushing ahead.

However, I can tell you for certain that the W8 native installation disk lacks the drivers to support the RAID controller on the GT60-2OD. They can be gotten off the official MSI website.

Also note that you should first find and recover your W8 key. If you decide to do a fresh re-install (by this I mean not via recovery), the installer will check the product key in the UEFI bios (yes, Windows 8 keys are embedded), and you'll need that piece of information, which can also be gotten by calling your re-seller. However that then puts you in a situation where you need an installation disk. Also, if you install a different version of Windows 8, you'll need to insert a product key override file onto whatever medium you're installing from.

 

What do you reccommend for mini sata ssds, if I pick up 3 new ssds im looking for 120-128 gb highest read and writes I can get. I have my win 8 cd key also and I also made recovery discs and I have a clean install disk so I should be good when i reinstall.

 

What's funny is that 120/128GB SSDs tend to perform worse compared to their larger brethren. Meaning that a model lineup with identical controllers, except with different sized memory chips, the larger capacities are almost always faster. I should also put out that pure read/write throughput doesn't necessarily translate into better performance.

Unfortunately I am not familiar with the vast majority of SSD drives out there and therefore am ill-equipped to answer your question.

 

1: Run 3DMark 11 to see the real score of your GPU.

2: Yes you can mix both but it's gonna be weird because if you do RAID -0 the controller will assume both SSDs are 120GB not 120GB + 128GB, so it will be 120GB+ 120GB after RAID array is created.

 

Yes I underatnd this, my question is if I get 2 other 128gb ssd to go with my san disk 128 gb can I run the san disck 128 gb with another brand for the other 2 128gb ssd and be stable and good.

my other question was if I cant do this I would just have to waste that 128gb san disk ssd and get all 3 new ssds I am asking what is the best mini sata ssd at 120 or 128 gb for this gt60

 

You can raid any volume of the same size, performance will not be very consistent though, i'd get a single 256GB drive and have the 128GB as an extra data drive.

 

You can mix all 3 128GB SSDs with RAID-0 however, no guarantee it will run stable since RAID controller will try to run all 3 SSDs at same speed, so if all 3 does not have same transfer speed you may run into problems.

Mushkin and Plextor PX-M5M are two of the best mSATA SSDs.

 

That's right, when thinking of going RAID, it is best to use 3 of the same type and volume to ensure smoothest performance, and avoid any possible bottlenecks, or problems that might arise.

I want to try 3x plextor but I might go first with a big SSD, probably a 960 from crucial, and then 3x plextors

 

I will be installing my three on raid 0
Mushkin Enhanced Atlas Series MKNSSDAT120GB-DX mSATA 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Item #: N82E16820226320

I also applied IC diamond today to cpu and gpu. I looked at plextors also but these mushkin were faster with better reviews, Ill make a post with benchmarks when I install them wednesday.

I also ordered some 2133mhz ram but I am going to refuse the shipment tomorrow, I am just not sure if I should upgrade the ram or not yet. Any opinions on this id love to hear.

I am going to probably upgrade the cpu to the 4900mq as the xtreme version is overpriced and will not provide me much more of a boost then the 4900.

Al in al with the ic diamond paste on and the three ssds on the way I am extremely hapy, this laptop is amazing and now its better then the dragon edition 2 and more portable, I do not overheat at all and have not experienced any throttle.

I could not be happier that with this msi gt60 2od, and I was close to getting a sager also.

 

Very nice! For RAM keep in mind you need 1.35v RAM. I would also recommend 4800mq and tweaking that instead. It will offer you a better performance/price while matching the 4900mq. Or, going all the way for the xtreme version which can be tweaked much more.

I will check out the Mushkin SSDs now!

 

The 4900MQ has the expanded cache found in the 4930MX - 8MB. Cache handicaps are very hard to overcome through overclocking, meaning that any application which is cache dependent will almost certainly perform worse on a OC'd 4800MQ compared to a stock 4900MQ. On the other hand the 4900MQ can match the speed and performance of a stock 4930HX if you can manage to OC it a paltry 100-200mhz. TDP of the 4930MX is also increased, probably due to having a core voltage increase, which of course would give the much higher OC potential while not having to overvolt. If the speed of the 4930MX was achieved through a higher core voltage, it would indicate that the 4900MQ will probably be a harder chip to OC (on stock voltage) - the added power draw for the additional 2MB of memory can be a drawback (this plays into Ryzeki's assertion that the 4930MX is easier to tweak - not to mention the Intel generally unlocks additional features on their Extreme series). That being said, the likelihood of you actually needing that cache is probably not going to play a large factor since, as I assume, for most people buying these types of machines is to game.

Nonetheless, the 4800MQ is a good balanced choice, and offers much more significant performance boost per dollar when compared to the 4900MQ and 4930MX.

The Atlas comes in DX (Deluxe) and non-DX versions. The non-DX, the original model, was sourced with Toshiba chips. The DX, I believe, uses "equivalent chips" from Micron, after Toshiba had increased their prices. You can interpret my quotes however you wish, but for reference I use a 240GB non-DX Atlas.

 

Actually the 4800MQ and 4900MQ will hit their TDP limits at stock speeds, the 4930MX has its TDP raised because of the applications it will typically be used in compared to the 4700MQ and will let it outperform the 4800 and 4900 by more than the 100mhz would indicate.

When it comes to overclocking the 4800 and 4900 can be set to a 57W TDP as a max where the 4930MX can be set as high as you can handle. Certainly for gaming there is very little differences in performance due to cache, especially if you have fast memory.

 

Hello,

I have problems with this setup. Using MSI Barebones MS-16F4, equal to MSI GT60 2OC. I'm using 3 x Samsung 840 EVO 120GB mSATA in RAID 0. After windows 8.1 install, not long it suddenly restart, then it won't boot again and keeps on restarting, showing black screen and only the mouse cursor is available, with the power button lights blinking from orange/white.

Tried reinstalling the windows all over again, but the same thing happens after 2x installs. Afraid that it will burn the SSD or something.

Have you encountered this problems before? Or can you help me on this matter?
I just recently added the extra 2 SSD. Previously running fine with single SSD.

Would really like some help.

Thank you.

Regards,

Yuri

 

The adapter board for the mSATAs could be faulty. Were you previously running a single mSATA SSD? Or a single 2.5" SATA SSD?

 

Yes try on another drive is possible to try and isolate the issue.

 

Hello,

It's the Graphic card driver after all. Did some googling and found that out. Working great now.

Right now I'm planning to upgrade my Processor and Graphic Card. I'm planning to upgrade to 880M with either 4900MQ or 4930MX.
Do you think it's worth it? Which one do you suggest? And did you have any experience with upgrading?
The seller from eBay says that my current 770M heatsink will fit with the 880M, is it really so?

Thanks for your help.

Regards,

Yuri