Just upgraded to MSI GE73VR

Still on my 6 year old Asus g73jh and I can barely play games plus my wireless adapter just went. I purchased the MSI GE73VR with I-7 7700, GTX1070 and 16 GB ram after speaking with Donald. He recommended I buy the $150 cheaper machine with the same specs (slightly worse speakers) from another site that I found, but his customer service put me over the edge. I had an awful customer service experience with the Asus gray screen of death issues when I got this thing and I didn't want to make that mistake again.

It's going to be a long wait these next 3 weeks.

After my Asus issues, is there anything i should watch out for when I get the laptop?

 

Bloatware. MSI's bloatware is beyond absurd.

 

MSI only has Norton Security Installed and XY Game Cast Splitter (whatever the heck that is) and that's about it. Nothing compared to the ASUS Bloatware

@Outtawack311

Feel free to tag me when you get your laptop if you want me to help you tweak it.

Here are the Phoenix Tweaks:

1- Uninstallation of all the Windows Store Garbage Apps like 3D Paint, Print 3D, Alarms & Clock, Feedback Hub, Maps, Groove Music, News, Weather, etc.
2- Removing all Windows 10 Privacy Invasion stuff like Telemetry, sending your keystrokes to Microsoft, automatically installing suggested apps in the background, allowing Microsoft to conduct experiments on your laptop, disabling automatic driver updates through Windows updates, disabling Windows 10 ads, disabling Cortana, Cloud Search etc.
3- Removal of nVIDIA and Intel Telemetry
4- Adjusting a lot of options in PC Settings like disabling Windows Tablet Mode (you have a laptop not a tablet), disabling suggestions appearing in the start menu, disabling automatically connecting to Paid WiFi Hotspots, disabling Game DVR which reduced performance in games, and a lot more.
5- Replacing Cortana with a much better search tool that finds results instantly called Everything which finds any file you want as soon as you start typing even a few letters of its name and it doesn't even rely on the Windows Indexing Service to do this!
6- Restoring the classic Windows Photo Viewer
7- Restoring the Classic Windows 7 Start Menu
8- Removal of the new and useless 3D Objects Folder that appears when you open "Computer"
9- Completely disabling Windows Defender from its roots (including all scheduled tasks and startup files) for those who want to install their own AV. ESET NOD32 Antivirus is highly recommended if you want the utmost security with the least system performance impact.
10- Updating all drivers to the latest versions in case they weren't up to date.
11- Disabling the performance hit that is caused by the Meltdown and Spectre patches recently released by Microsoft (optional, only if you don't mind having this security vulnerability and would rather have your CPU's full performance back)
12- Overprovisioning your SSD anywhere between 10-20% depending on how much space you can spare to ensure optimal and consistent performance at all times.
13- Blocking the Google Chrome Software Reporter Tool (which causes a high system load when it is scanning files)

 

Erm, I only had the RoG thingie pre-installed - not even Norton or McAfee. Meanwhile, we have this

 

well I always do a clean install anyway so 0 bloatware for me. Be smart...be like Phoenix....

PS: I don't even install the Dragon Center anymore as it messes up my BIOS Overclocking Settings. 4.4 GHz on my 7820HK 24/7 now

 

I paid $15 dollars for the clean install from HIDevolution. It's not a big deal when paying this much for a laptop and it saves me the time when I first get it.

 

Bloatware free is the best way to enjoy a system.

 

I just bought a MSI GT73eVR 7RE-838. Unfortunatelly it comes with Win 10. For a long year I use Win 7 Pro and would like to keep it. I came to this forum in my searches. I would very much appreciate:
1. Any help to find proper Win 7 drivers for this model.
2. If 1 is not possible, then perhaps Phoenix can help me with this Win 10 stuff:
- I've already removed some of the apps mentione in "1", but others do not allow me to remove them
- the other steps are unclear to me in terms where I need to go to find them. For example it tooks me almost 5 minutes to find where are "System" and "Administrative tools". Who was that genius that decide to remove them from "Settings" menu (which is placed on well visible places) and made it only available trough right-click over the Win button ? (or at least that was the my way I've found them)

 

1- don't even try Windows 7, I found all the drivers, stole them off an older MSI laptop, they installed fine, until I started installing my apps and games, some would give random errors, some would not even run. Point is, this laptop is not made for Windows 7 and it will never work the way it should so don't bother.

2- I only offer the Phoenix Tweaks to HIDevolution Gaming Team members.

3- If you're not an HIDevolution Gaming Team member, then you wanna check these threads out:

Windows 10 Tweaks and Fixes (Index post #1)
NBR Windows 10 Clean Installation Guide
O&O ShutUp10 - Do not use Windows 10 without it!
AV Comparatives Performance Test October 2017

 

Wow, that is must to see. Nothing in common with my forum experience with Asus - sometimes man have to wait for weeks for a decent answer . Thumbs up, Phoenix.

About your proposal:
I will follow what you suggest to me, seems you have a lot of experience with MSI toys .

Perhaps I also need to go Win X Pro version? I would like to run smootly some bunch of IBM stuff: Lotus Notes, domino Designer, Domino server 9.0.1, DB2 server, Sametime server, Traveler, MS SQL Management studio, along with Adobe Suite + CorelDraw. Most of which, especially servers will run together most of the time. This laptop attracted me with the option for 64GB of RAM. Gaming performance nor overclocking aren't a key goal for me.

One more time: much appreciated. Will try to remove all that crappy components from Win 10. I did used O&O software a long time ago, mainly for defrag optimization, while Windows XP/7 thing all always do by my self. Looks I need to have a look on it one more time.

About AV software: recently I'm using Norton Internet Security, but it tends to block too often. It stops open and only complete removal and clean instalation fix the problem (intil couple of months). I am thinking for Kaspersky, but still not decided. I have no favorites, actually only one: the best performing product on the market currently . All those fan discussion (MS<->Linux, AMD<->NVidia, AMD<->Intel) aöways looks a bit akward for me.

 

A) Why choose Windows Pro over Home?

So you have access to the Group Policy Editor

As you may be well aware, Windows 10 although boasts great support for new hardware and is required to make the most out of your new hardware especially newer CPUs which are not supported on previous OSes like Windows 7 anymore, it has its quirks and privacy invasion like automatically sending your keystrokes, displaying ads, telemetry, and much more.

While there are many utilities out there such as O&O ShutUp10 that help you eliminate most if not all of the nasty stuff, the Home Edition lacks one very important feature which is the Group Policy Editor. Think of it as flying on an airplane, do you want to be the passenger or the pilot in control? That's exactly what the Group Policy Editor enables you to do, be in control of how your OS behaves.

Examples of things you can disable / enable easily with the Group Policy Editor:

1) Turn off file history completely (this is a useless feature which Microsoft is phasing out in its next build but you can still disable it now)

2) Disable / Prevent your computer from joining a Home Group (Home Group is a crippled way of sharing files that rarely works if ever, one is better off manually selecting the folders that he wants to share and giving them appropriate permissions by right clicking on that folder and navigating to the Sharing tab)

3) Disable Windows DVR (Gameplay Recording Mode). If you have that enabled which is the default state, then Steam warns you that it may hamper your game play/performance so its best to turn it off completely using the Group PolicyEditor). You can do this in the Home Edition but it requires a lot of complex registry edits which are time consuming. There are better tools to record game play such as nVIDIA's Shadow Play or better yet, a program by Mirillis called "Action!"

4) Turn off Microsoft Consumer Services

5) Turn off Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program

6) Completely disable Windows Defender and not have it re-enable itself if you are wanting to install your own AntiVirus since Windows Defender bogs down the system's performance by as much as 36% according to the latest AV Comparatives Performance Test: http://chart.av-comparatives.org/chart1.php?chart=chart4&year=2017&month=10&sort=1&zoom=2

7) Disable Windows Driver Updates through Windows Updates

8) Turn off the Windows Explorer Notification about new apps that can handle new extensions. By default, every time you install a new application that can handle an extension, let's say, a new video player or an internet browser, etc. you get an annoying popup telling you that you have installed a new application that can handle these extensions

9) Disable Windows Error Reporting, that never does any good and only eats a lot of space writing the details of background errors. Microsoft has never in its history fixed any of these reported errors so why keep this useless service enabled on your system and creating unnecessary writes to your SSD?

10) Disable unwanted features such as Windows Ink, biometrical features, etc.

11) Disable automatic downloading of map updates (who needs map updates on a laptop? this is not a GPS device /phone)

12) Turn off Work Folders (this is used in corporate environments and not needed for home or power users)

and much more, these are just some of the things you can control with the Group Policy Editor.

B) Don't think about any other AV other than NOD32 Antivirus if you value your computer's security and performance.

Why do I always recommend NOD32?

1) NOD32 is the only Antivirus that does NOT have adverse effects on the system, as in, causing stuff not to work, updates not to happen etc.

2) NOD32 is one of the most secure AVs out there, consistently getting superb reseults from security testing companies like AV Comparatives and AV-TEST

3) NOD32 for years, has been one of the lightest Antivirus solutions with the least impact on the system. Proof is in the test chart done by AV-Comparatives here: http://chart.av-comparatives.org/chart1.php?chart=chart4&year=2017&month=5&sort=1

4) NOD32 is the only AV which has never given me any false positives, you know when an Antivirus flags a file as a virus when really it isn't? That is very annoying if an AV has a lot of AVs, then the user would find himself constantly uploading that file in question to other sources just to verify if it's really a virus or not. Then if one has to do this himself, what's the whole point of this antivirus thing and peace of mind? so that is a very important factor when choosing an AV

5) NOD32 has a built in HTTP scanner so no need for a dedicated firewall, it will intercept and block any bad or malicious site before it gets to your PC

6) NOD32 is the only AV out there with 0 bloatware, no toolbars, no search bars, no system optimizers, NADA, basically a pure AV only with no mickey mouse fluff

7) NOD32 is one of very few antivirus solutions that not only detects viruses, but also PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs). PUPs are the nasty little toolbars, search bars, optimizers, etc. that we see on people's computer that they didn't necessarily want or install but that came bundled with some other so called free-ware or scam-ware and those aren't usually detected by Antivirus or Security solutions because they are not classified as a virus but can cause adverse effects and annoyances on a computer so having them blocked from the installer of the app that contains them is a very powerful tool.

 

Well, I'm start to repeat myself, but one more time: thumbs up.

A) Yes, you are absolutely right about Group Policy Editor. I am well aware how to use it and will do that.
The problem is that I've just received this laptop at Thursday evening, so I had only 2 evenings to have a quick look on it (like 30 min two times). It was planned to play with it during the weekend. I never used any Win version different from Pro/Ultimate, so I event didn't realized that there is no Group Policy Editor, just assume that it is there. And never used Win 10 before.

11) In general this is true, but I travel a lot and I still use Lenovo X1 3Gen, which have WWAN. So in that case Maps are quite good addition. (well, actually always being use the phone navigation , but nice to have).

B) Will go for that NOD32 (after a quick search for it's performanse, just in case ), thanks.

I hope that my software will run smootly on Win 10. For the last 15 years my primary laptops always are something from Lenovo T series + second one from X1 for traveling (especially with the option to install Win7 on it and move away from all the descendants of Win 7 - an optional OS downgrade. Lenovo are great with that option I think).

In the worst case scenario this laptop will go to my son (who will be more than happy I assume) and I will go back to buy something from T series (or W series from Lenovo, but they are not so good price/performance balanced as this MSI. Lenovo P series are also option that I should probably tried instead of this MSI ?!).

Have a nice day.


P.S. I had a look on the HIDevolution site - you have a good product list and products there are very well price/performance balanced. Just for comparision, I bought this one for 2900Euro (2650 + 250 for 2 Years Warranty extension) - in Germany. But considering the problem with one Lenovo Yoga Book that I've ordered from USA and then must to return back with transportation costs of 120 Euro, I will hardly by a laptop from US . The German keyboard annoys me as I need to develop software and need English layout, without all these ö, ü, ä, ß etc)

 

Just to be clear when you say you have a good site. I am don't own HIDevolution or work for them so I don't know what you mean by I have a good site. I'm just a customer who likes their excellent build quality and customer service.

I live in Dubai and because I am concerned about paying shipping if I had to send the laptop back, HIDevolution was one of the reasons I got my laptop from them as they have a global warranty for a small fee that would cover shipping costs both ways should anything go wrong with the laptop.

 

Yes, it's my bad. I meant "they have a good product ...".

 

@Phoenix I have been able to do almost all of this except remove cortana and install everything... installing old start menu..overprovisioning the ssd, and get rid of windows defender from the root (gpedit.msc didn't have an option for windows defender)

Any more tips on how to do them?


Other then that the computer is amazing

 

1) You don't remove Cortana, you disable her via O&O ShutUp10

2) No need to install Everything, download the portable version, extract it somewhere, I put it in D:\Software then right click on the Everything.exe file, properties, compatibility tab, set it to always run as admin.

Now, create a Shortcut file for Everything .exe and drag it to your taskbar

 

Windows Defender seems like it isn't going away either. I installed avast since it's the least intrusive free AVS, but I can't stop Windows Defender monitoring.

 

How to properly install an Antivirus / Security Suite in Windows 10

 

Should I turn off any of the exploit system protections or anything in the windows defender security center?

 

Turn off EVERYTHING as per the guide