MSI GP60/GP70 Owners Lounge

It's one reason I want to ditch the MSI and go back to Asus.
That ... and ASUS looks better. LoL
I'm trying to trade (in Canada) my GP60 for an Asus laptop of similar time - September or October 2013. It comes w/ a 4 year warranty - 1 yr MFG, 3 yr NCIX warranty.

 

GP series is like the entry-level gaming NB, I would definitely recommend the GT series.

 

hello there,

Just got my gp60. really excited about it! I dont really like the looks but It sems to work like a beast aldo I can figure out 1 thing.
The laptop should have a NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M in it. but the only video card I can find is the intel hd4600 onboard card. can I switch between these. or will it automaticly do when im running bigger software? because whatever I do I cant find the gforce card or how to activate it. (when I right click on desktop I can open nvidia control panel. but cant find a solution there either)

Am I just being really dumb or?

Hope to hear form you guys soon!

 

Check the device manager and see if you can find both display adapters in there.

 

This is normal due to the Optimus. The Intel graphics drive low demand things. The switch is suppose to happen seamlessly when you run particular applications, but the 740M should still show up in Device Manager under "Display adapters" whether it's active or not.

 

I want to put another drive in the ODD using a caddy but I'm worried it will be bottle-necked by the connection.
Does anyone know what speed is the ODD supported at?
I'm not putting an SSD in there just a normal HDD so Sata II is perfectly fine.
I've heard stories of other laptop ODDs being connected at USB bandwidth speeds so I hope that is not the case here!
Chime in if you know the answer please and thanks.

 

Can you check it using Intel Rapid Storage Technology application? It should indicate its bandwidth there.
Nevertheless, the chipset can support 4 to 6 SATA III (6Gbps) connectivity so hopefully it is used.

 

Wow thanks! Didn't even realise this app had this kind of information lol
Turns out it is a 1.5GBs connection so SATA I.

 

It's very likely to be bottlenecked in the BIOS, but the connectivity should be at least 3Gbps.
Perhaps the MSI Enabler utility can allow you to unlock this BIOS so you can access its hidden options including SATA speeds.

EDIT:
On a 2nd thought, the speed is showing the current connected speed, so if you change it to a SATA 6 device then you can figure the maximum bandwidth it allows.

 

Ah this makes sense that it would refer to connected speed.
I'll see what I can do, thanks for the info!

 

Wow, thx for the info. I just ordered the i5 - Version a few hours ago with 8gb ram, 750gb hdd for 599 € (820$ ... Germany is expensive). Wanted to replace the optical drive with an SSD. I did not know, that the external displays are handled by the Intel graphics card. I'm just a casual gamer and need it mainly for audio editing/programming and as a PS3 - replacement (too long load times). But as it seems, I cannot use my hd-projector for gaming then ? That would suck ...

Can someone confirm that again for me ? If it is true, that this 740m does not have a hdmi-port, what other similar notebook would you recommend for casual gaming (with the HDMI on the nvidia/amd!)/audio tasks ? Price limit = 750 €

Thanks for your help so far, had I read in here a few hours earlier I would not have made an uneducated buy ...

 

The HDMI is controlled by Optimus so you will still be able to benefit from the Nvidia discrete GPU but indirectly.

 

Okay, thanks for the info ! It already arrived. I think the workmanship is pretty impressive for that price. Compared to a cheap DELL vostro or Sony Vaio the keyboard is deluxe (I'm a oldschool thinkpad user atm).

edit : What I wrote was bs. It looked like a BIOS but it is a UEFI apparently.

 

It's UEFI BIOS all the way now.
It does not need to be graphical to be called UEFI.

 

Yeah, they come up with some new solutions every couple of months (thanks Microsoft ). By the way, your channel rocks. If I would be into gaming like back in the days, I'd probably buy one of the more sophisticated models you presented. Did you ever test a recent Nexoc (14 or 15.6") ? I did not find reviews about them, that is why I bought the more known MSI. The Nexocs are based on Clevo barebones, which are not available in Germany...

Can anybody estimate the effort of exchanging the CPU in the GP60 ? It does not seem to be more difficult than on a desktop computer, but I could be wrong.

Edit :

The 2.5" SSD and HDD-bay arrived. I want to install Windows 7 on the SSD and put it in the optical drive slot. I already installed Linux on a partition of the 750gb HDD. I also reserved 280gb for Windows on the HDD. I'm curious whether the already installed UEFI boot manager on the HDD will cause problems, if I install the Windows 7 on the SSD. Will it automatically notice the other UEFI boot manager on the HDD and adopt the OS-options as well as delete the old boot manager on the HDD ? Thanks for advices.

 

You can experiment first by loading Linux onto the SSD only while the other drive is disconnected.
The reason being that the UEFI mode is primarily geared toward Windows usage therefore Linux may experience compatibility issues.
And if your Linux is incompatible and have issues with UEFI mode then you will need to switch from UEFI to Legacy mode first in the BIOS, and reinstall both Windows and Linux manually.

 

Hmm, I wanted to keep Linux on the HDD (it is already quick enough, boots in about 10 seconds ). It works fine now in UEFI - mode (I am in Linux now). The question is, whether it will still work with Windows 7 on the SSD. But I guess I'll have to experiment, as you say. I will provide info, whether the optical SATA port is 3gb/s. Otherwise one would have to put the HDD in the optical slot instead, which means more work

 

Then you shouldn't have any issues running the dual OSes that way.
Basically, I will still recommend doing a clean install on the SSD since it has lower capacity than the HDD so each MB is precious.

 

I had rather big problems to store Windows 7 on an USB stick with UEFI boot manager.

Just in case somebody else purchased a OS-free GP60 and wants to install Windows 7 via USB on an SSD, a few tipps :

- dont install Linux first with UEFI -> the boot manager will get overwritten by Microsoft as expected...the Linux was clean anyway so nothing is lost, but annoying still
- you have to download an official image, as some images dont work (got the error, that clfs.sys was missing). I used Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit RTM (X15-65741 I believe, the X17... did not work) in the end
- activate UEFI SCM

The SATA - port on the optical drive slot seems not to have a 6 gb/s bandwidth. Attached is my Benchmark for the Samsung Evo 120 GB. It should be twice as fast.



I did not use Windows very often the last 2 years. So I am not aware of the proper configuration procedures.

 

I believe there's a MSI Enabler utility on the forum that allows you to unlock the BIOS.
Then you can change the ODD mode on the ODD channel to like SSD mode. It may or may not work, and BIOS update using a modified BIOS can be risky.
You can also check with Svet at MSI forum and see if he can modify the BIOS for you with much higher chance of success.

 

Woah, it took me quite a bit of time to get the dual boot (UEFI mode) to work. I took the wrong Win7 - Image and so the Installer did not create a EFI System Partition. So the Linux Bootloader : Grub2 could not find the boot record for Windows. I had to reinstall Windows with a more recent image and also the Linux, because its EFI Installer was also f'ed up. Now it works fine. I would not have wasted so much time, if I had a DVD drive still. Creating a lot of USB boot sticks is kind of horrendous.

My SSD runs with just 3gb/s. Thanks for the tipp with the MSI Enabler Kevin. Though I'm worried, that it is hardware related, i.e. my HDD caddy only supports SATA 2 it seems, although it is from 2011 and SATA 3 was already established back then.
The caddy I bought : Salcar® - 2. HDD/SSD Caddy Adapter für SATA Festplatte: Amazon.de: Computer & Zubehör.

By the way, I really like the GP60. It is the best value for that price. Awesome screen and keyboard, and the GPU is sufficient to me, because my projector supports only 720p natively (I am not a resolution fiend ). You can also exchange the CPU if it does not fit your purposes (Intel HM86 supports a lot). I am not used to that upgrading capability for a notebook. Very good buy (contrarily to the HDD caddy ).

 

Excellent job, glad that you can finally enjoy it the way you wanted. :thumbsup:

 

I've got GP70 2OD-233XPL and it seems to be missing the mSATA ports. Below WiFi card there aren't any slots like on this pics: http://forum.notebookreview.com/att...73652-msi-gp60-gp70-owners-lounge-msi-1.2.jpg

Are there hidden somewhere or this variant just doesn't have mSATA ?

 

GP70 doesn't have a mSATA slot. That's just a WiFi slot.
The metal lines come from the base connected to PCB and go all the way up to the slot as connections.

 

That's what I've noticed. Someone should edit the first posts in this thread as they pop up often in the search results and are misleading

 

Wanted a lenovo y510 and or gp60 and other model blabla but it looked bad on image... be luck there where both at canada computer and i can say the msi is clearly the winner in design and keyboard is better ( heavy gamer here with a nice Logitech g510 and i tested some mechanical too.. Seriously the msi gp60 is awesome for it price ok the y510p keyboard light are awesome but the touchpad is crap and there no battery available from lenovo... i tested it too at canada computer about 3 month ago..

Sure Asus design look nicer and is stronger but the maintainability is crap.. i will never buy an asus laptop ( Pc part from asus are good but their laptop duh.. anyways they get destroyed be alienware ok not in price but the higher price is worth it

So the gp60 is nice cheap machine only problem is Graphics memory connection via 64 bit cable that i read on notebookcheck so it bottlenecking the gpu...


Always something bad about a laptop why

 

As I understand it, the GP60 is only for casual gamers, who do not have a fetish for ultra settings But the 64 bit bandwith will only limit the maximum resolution. If you turn up the AA instead of the resolution (which has a similar effect), there should be no major performance issues. Most games for PS3 were implemented in 1280x720 with low AA. Okay that is no real competition but it shows, that games are even playable in that crappy resolution

 

yea that look better that ways i was not sure what the bandwitch affect in game... i think im going to purchase one if i can in the future month because i seriously love the palmrest and keyboard ( alienware are my favorite but the palmrest is still plastic after all the keyboard is good too but...


My desktop is their for heavy gaming

 

hi guys,

recently my laptop stolen so now i need next laptop badly. in my budget i got GP70, by the way i am not gamer i am designer so i need 17inch laptop. in my country i have no much choose for 17.3 inch. here i am never getting many type 17.3inch. mostly gaming laptop for 17.3inch. business class laptop not available. that why i select GP70. bellow is spec



Display 17.3" FHD, Anti-Glare(1920*1080) LED
Chipset Intel® HM86 Chipset
Operating System Windows 8
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-4800MQ Processor
- 2.7GHz, 6MB cache
- Max Turbo Frequency 3.7 GHz
Memory 4GB DDR3 RAM (i will add one more 8gb)
Hard Disk Drive 750GB SATA
Graphic Chipset Nvidia GeForce GT740M DDR3 2GB
Optical Drive DVD Super Multi
Wireless Card Reader SD
Gigabit LAN
AW-NB114H Combo (b/g/n)+BT4.0
Webcam HD type (30fps@720p)
Audio and Speakers Stereo
I/O Ports D-Sub (VGA) 1
HDMI v1.4
USB 2.0 port 2
USB 3.0 port 2
Mic-in/Headphone-out 1 / 1
Battery 6-Cell Li-Ion(4400mAH)
Dimension 418x269.3x39mm
Weight 2.7kg



my question is, i heard all msi laptop model will refresh this month. so gp70 model will refresh also. but for getting here latest msi it will take 2/3 week. something like April 2nd week coming here. but i can not wait that long. so guys do you think if i wait then worth ? or this spec is worth.. this spec CPU is not like other GP70.. it kind upgrade CUP already 4800MQ ... normally it 4700MQ

 

If you're getting a good price on that computer it could be a good choice for you since it has the CPU upgrade. Since you're not a gamer the refresh wont benefit you.

 

thanks for your kind reply.. the price i got US$1000 total 8GB ram, Backpack and HDMI cable (they said it's free)

i am also thinking for ask SSD . then i can install OS there (should i i upgrade at a time windows 8.1) and my adobe software...

so for SSD what is best way to do ? replace HDD to SSD and HDD replace to Dvd drive or else ?

 

i just bought GP70.

now i want to add SSD . i want to keep my hard disk and add another ssd. inside may be have no to space for keep. but i don't mind i need to remove dvd drive and place ssd or hdd there.

but for replace dvd i know need ODD or cabby bay... is MSI have any official bay for replace dvd drive to hdd/ssd

if not then which one i can buy or which way i can add please help me.

 

MSI did not release any official caddy for it, but there are many aftermarket ones which will work fine.
Optical drive uses another type of SATA connector but once you put in a caddy then you will have a compatible SATA connector ready for 2nd HDD/SSD usage.

 

thanks for your kind reply.. ok now question is.. as i want to install OS and other program in SSD .. and HDD as storage. so what is best way to do.. put SSD inside laptop (replace HDD) and put HDD to cuddy (replace to dvd ) ... or both same performance and same speed ? if both same performance and same speed then i think no need put SSD inside. SSD can be in cuddy..

please advice ...

 

All of the SATA channels technically can handle SATA III (6.0Gbps), but in some cases such as BIOS issue, then its speed can be limited.

 

Now that I know the GP60 uses a 64bit 740M, is there any chance of upgrading this to 128bit 740M?

Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty satisfied with my current games, but it could be better and I want to explore my options.

 

Hi guys!

Notebookcheck says, that laptop is a bit noisy... do you agree with that?

 

i am useing GP70 only 2 weeks so... but i am not gamer. so my nvidia always off... so i am feeling it is quite silent .. not hear any noisy.. but for test basis sometime i on turbofan that time little fan noise that not much even..

still happy with gp70.. hope it will give me good service

 

I won't be possible. The 64 bit Version has the GK208 chipset, which is newer than the 128 bit Version GK107. The GK208 has a 980 Mhz core frequency vs. the 810 MHz of the GK107. In the end the performance is very similar and it depends on the game, which one is faster.

I personally do not see a difference on a 50" screen between 720p and 1080p, if AA is activated. So as long as you do not use a huge screen I'd adjust the resolution downwards without quality issues.

For me the GP60 is not noisy at all out of the ordinary. Every graphics card fan will get noisy with high load. If I'm not gaming it is quite quite

 

GP70 is quieted than old Asus I used before while it has Core i7 vs Core i5. But still Clevo W110ER I've used a bit seems unchallenged - on Linux it's soundless most of the time (with i7). Only cold start of PyCharm IDE (JAVA based) turned the fans on to high speeds

 

Hi, this is my first message here and I wanted you say hello to all of you first of all...

Well, I have bought a GP60 and I wanted to share my experience with you and to try to solve some issues that the computer I think has... At first I installed windows 8.1 but had some problems when windows started and finally I installed Windows 8. I swipped the 2 Gb partition with the freeDOS and let the HDD ready to have one partition of 500Gb and 250Gb the other... after the fast installation I had to wait a lot for it to be up to date. I installed the MSI drivers from its page and worked fine all of them except the battery charge application and SCM that were throwing some problems so I uninstalled the battery charger and reinstalled SCM... after that my computer starts in a few seconds, I really do not know how much but are only 10 seconds more or less... the blue led on the front that indicates that the wifi is on is not lit until SCM is running (I do not know why)... did you experienced the same???... some people said that the five buttons next to the on button are not implemented to lit but the on button... is this true??... do you have your system running without any problems or do you have some issues like me???... I do not want to make you be wrong, I am quite happy with my computer and I only wanted to clean some bad issues... I will really appreciate your help... thanks in advance.

PD: The system is always asking me to allow the SCM to run and this is annoying... so did you solved this??? how??

 

I have a MSI GP60 and i downloaded SCM and everything, but i didn't know about the panel(i just downloaded as a driver), and i set the shortcut to a game... how can i change the shortcut to open the scm panel?


cheers

 

Does it have a remove button inside of SCM?

 

Hey guys, I'll be getting my GP70-20D delivered in the next few days and was just wondering if there was anything I needed to know. It doesn't have an OS installed so I picked up a copy of Windows 8. Will I be good to go just sticking in the disk and installing that or are there additional drivers I'll need to download from the MSI site?

Cheers.

 

You will need to install some drivers, the computer hopefully will come with a drivers disc. If not then yes you'll want to download them directly from MSI.

 

Everything ran fine without installing any additional drivers but when I installed the drivers on the disc that came with the laptop thinking I was updating them, an error came up and the laptop had to be restored from a point before I installed any of the drivers on the disc. A quick check of my nvidia driver showed it was up to date. What drivers specifically would I need to install as I don't want to have to restore again. Also the G button up the top isn't doing anything (I don't think) I assume that will right itself with appropriate driver update though.

Sorry if I've missed these questions being answered before and for being a bit of a noob about this. I've never had to install my own OS and drivers on a clean laptop before

 

When you reinstall from the disc you're overwriting the existing drivers with whatever version is on the disc, not updating them. Drivers are sometimes fickle, and installing an outdated driver over an existing, current driver may have been a problem.

When you say "restore," do you mean a factory recovery? Or a restore point?

 

Restore Point. I just assumed the drivers on the disc were updated versions of the ones already on the laptop. My mistake. Everything seems to be working fine now though so I can only assume everything is up to date.

 

Very interesting and factual forum post.

I have just ordered the GP60 2OD-448XUK from scan; due to be delivered tomorrow!

Couple of questions if any of you experts have a spare minute:

1. Can anyone recommend a HDD caddy to replace the dvd drive? I have seen a few, but none are SATAIII (would prefer to put SSD in here and not violate the warrenty).
2. Is there space internally anywhere to host a MSATA SSD HDD? (depending on answer to above!)

Thanks in advance for any assistance you are able to provide.

Regards,
Rich.

 

1. There's one on eBay, and it should work perfectly.
2. Some models have the slot and some don't. You can only confirm this when you get the unit and open it up.