MSI GS65

Hello NBR! This is my first post! So I am in the market for a new laptop. This will be my first laptop and I am looking for something with a little horsepower to handle Motion Graphics and some 3D Rendering. I have settled on the GS65 or the P65. What drew me in over the Razer Blader 15 is the availability of the 144hz display with a 1070 MQ plus the MSI machines have a second SDD slot.
My big question is how hard are these machines to upgrade myself (a noob) I want 32gb of RAM and at least 1TB SSD. My local best buy has a GS65 with 16gb and 512SSD for 1929.00. I see HIDEvolution and ExcaliburPC offer the upgrades and the configs hit 2800-3000 depending on the selections. Should I bite the bullet and get all the upgrades at once from HID or EPC? Or buy the cheaper model and do the upgrades myself and save about $300.00? Along with doing the upgrades myself I can push those out a couple of months and save up to pay cash.

Also, how good are HID and EPC if I get a machine that has issues? The last machine I purchased online (newegg) I ended up having to have replaced because it arrived with issues out of the box. I feel like I may be wrong, but if I get it from best buy and it craps out in the first 30 days I can just walk into the store and replace it without having to ship it out and wait a month or two?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I feel like I am over analyzing this whole thing, but want to make sure when I spend over 2K I am getting a quality machine that is going to last me the next 4 or 5 years.

 

Welcome to the forum! You should check the GS65 Owners thread. You'll find all the info you need there.

 

Welcome to the forums, as Atma said, you can go to the owner's thread if you want direct handling of current GS65 models. Keep in mind the refresh with RTX and bigger touchpad is near. I would advise to buy from one of the great resellers that help here in the forum because regardless of cost, you get much supperior support for all your needs with the machine.

Best buys and stores handle specific models but dealing with them often means 0 support and/or direct MSI support which depending on their load might take longer that you want. At least with resellers you have the direct support from then and also MSI's.

You can also ask all resellers here for info you want regarding the model/s you are interested in. If you are like me, and want/use the num pad, you might want to check out the newly announced GS75. It keeps the slim and thin profile with a bigger screen and full keyboard

 

I highly recommend you bite the bullet and get a quality built machine. You see, the machines you buy from the store are made for the mass public. When you buy from an online system builder/boutique shop, you ge the luxury of having your machine tailored to your needs depending on what specifications you want AND extensively tested to ensure it works 100% out of the box.

Secondly, HIDevolution has their proprietary thermal paste application method which prevents leakage of the thermal paste onto the motherboard which in case if your thermal paste was Liquid Metal (which is the best for cooling), it will fry your motherboard if you move the laptop a lot. Their proprietary application method prevents spillage/leakage so you are safe and even if anything happened it's covered by warranty since they did it for you.

speaking of Warranty, read these few threads:
HIDevolution - The Best Company I ever dealt with

HIDevolution's Warranty!

HIDevolution - a benchmark for excellent customer service

MSI GT73VR 7RE TITAN-427 Ordering from HIDevolution Feedback

Donald at HIDEvolution

Custom AW17R5 from Ted @ HIDEvolution

Superb purchasing experience from HIDevolution

HIDEvolution Order Experience.

Upgrading the RAM on the GS65 requires the full dismantling of the laptop so I recommend you get the specs that you want from the get go.

Build yours here:

MSI GS65

MSI P65

When configuring it, choose "Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut
+ Fujipoly Extreme Thermal pads" for the thermal upgrades.

If you email [email protected] before you order, you can get the NBR Forum discount

 

Hi Chris, since the new machines are the corner therefore you can make decision to determine whether you want to go with the latest and greatest or existing generation from clearance sale.
The RTX GPU is better than previous generation of GPU so it's up to you. All of the resellers from NBR forum can definitely answer your answers and meet your needs.