MSI GX740 with 5870 1gb ddr5

Haha great picture quality there dead .

But if you look and think for a minute, they could extend the copper much more around the chasis, they could enhance the way it dissapates heat even more, they've got the space for it, heck, even broaden the pipelines there and you loose even more heat (Hopefully!) lol.

 

This thing looks amazing, I really like the brushed aluminum and the 5870, along with the thinness (1" - 1.4" according to spec sheets? that's awesome).
Only thing thats kinda bothering me is the 1600x1050 screen (why not just make it 1920x1200 like the GT725? Unless there's going to be an even higher end model? Not understanding MSI's logic here..). 4gb of ram should be plenty for most things as I don't really use any ram-intensive applications except for gaming, which hopefully won't need more than that for then next at least 3 years.

In any case this is probably now my most anticipated laptop, maybe they'll offer future options for a better screen later on?

 

Well, MSI release a few different models, personally, i was hoping for an i7-6** core release with overclock abilities.

MSI released the gt725 with a dual and i was praying this would too!

But yeah, MSI are thin and fairly light!

 

Alright.. well, hmm..

They certainly could extend that pipeline though.. Maybe make it a home project? I'm sure I can find some decent copper lying around ma dads basement, he's even got a welder, so some more area shouldn't be too hard to make.. Right?

 

If you really know what you are doing, would be an interesting project for all of us to watch at NBR!

 

Yeah a lot can be done really but I don't think they would do much to it as it's a winning formula already as it is.

They haven't changed much on the 1727 either ... just moved the memory banks and stuff

EDIT : @ Eri , Don't forget to post those pic here

 

Yep eriand, just expand the primary fan intake (drill some holes, get a metal net too)

Then play with some copper plates, put them on the primary heat pipes etc, dont make it too thick and cluttered, remember airflow is essential.

Theres an alienware forum dedicated to the old m17 called project freeze, that will teach you alot.

 

This laptop seriously seems too good to be true especially for the price. I like the simple looks on laptops and this thing is thin along with being light for a 17". Good thing I didn't pull the trigger on w860cu. Too bad we have to wait till march, I want it now!!!!

 

Will this thing throttle ? not point in having all this hardware is it throttles like the ASUS, Envy 15 and the XPS 1645.???

 

currently none of the units throttle, but there has been alot of problems with the whole throttle scenario.

but i dont think the new device will, i suppose only time will tell!

 

Aye, we just don't know how it will fair with the 120w PSU (assuming they stay with it) in addition to BIOS settings all tossed in with a i7 Quad Core and a decently consumptive 5870. 720/820 = 45w / 5870 = 60w. 105w leaves ~15w overhead. The beautiful thing is the MSI has a standard DC Input, so you can use a Targus 180w universal if you so desire.

A good indicator would be a 1727 stressed (furmark + Prime95 8 core max heat) with a 720qm/820qm/920xm and a killawatt readout to get an idea what it's pulling as is with a 28w GPU under heavy load. Big difference between the 28w 250M and the 60w 5870.

 

I knwo you guys might be a little bias but would you reccommend me more towards the new MSI with the 5870 or a Sager with the 285M ?

Sorry if its a little off topic.

 

We ain't bias , I bought 3 notebook in the past yr alone (samsung , dell and msi) Bias won't do such thing ... MSI seems to be the best of the lot in terms of built quality , price , performance , support ...

There is some "downsides" ,or should I say it's more of a user preference.

I would recommend you an MSI without hesitation and also recommended that you switch to the RED side

performance on the 5870 should better I think.

 

(Let's make this topic 700 pages long, shall we?)

Anyways, Do you peeps know of any other laptops that'll have similar speccs to the MSIs? (that is, same as the ASUS G73 etc but with expresscardslot)

Such as Sager or whatevah?

 

Go for it, but try to not have too many troll wars like we have over in the G73 thread.

I have to say, the GX740 is looking VERY nice. If expresscard/usb3 was a deal breaker for me I would be all over this. Since it's not, I have to give the nod to the G73 because of 1080p. That's just personal preference though.

Overall, it looks like you guys are in for a real treat. I'm sure you're following the bench numbers over in the G73 thread which should translate nicely to your new machine!

 

Mobility HD5870 is definitely the better GPU. Even if the performance is the same the 5870 will run cooler, consume less power and if you're up to it overclock higher.

Whether Sager or MSI is the better laptop build though I don't have the personal experience with either to give an opinion.

We got to wait for CeBit to find out if Sager picks up a better card than the GTX 285M...and Alienware is another that may pick up the Mob HD5870 and/or a new Nvidia GPU.

There's a teeny-tiny chance the Envy 17 could have a Mob. HD5870 but more than likely it'll be a GDDR3 HD5830 or 5850.

Other than those brands though the only other that I can think of who would be likely to release a gaming rig would be Acer/Gateway with a new FX model.

 

Acer == good?

Haven't had much experience with 'em.

Ah, so CeBit. Before the lappie is released anyways then ^^

 

Acer are alright, seems thay've had alot of bios bugs with fans/throttling and cooling in the past few though.

 

Do you know for sure, Cata? Or just making educated guesses?

 

Naaa, i've posted to help and try and resolve some of their issues before (This is current gen not new gen rather.)

But who knows, perhaps they've pulled together, they have announced some funky projects, like the 3d notebook for instance.

 

Their Gateway FX gaming machines usually offer very good performance at some of the lowest prices in terms of single card machines. An i7 refresh would definitely be worth looking at when it happens.


One other company I'm not expecting to see anything from but could release a new system might be Flextronics. They had a winning system with their W840DI/OCZ/Whitebook/AW M17 barebones and there would be a lot of interest in a new gaming system from them. I don't know what kind of deal they have with Dellienware and the All Powerful M17x though.

 

Flextronics should try something powerfully compact.

But yeah, The m17 was nice except for it had a zone on the mobo/north bridge heat issue with the quads, and would cause a tiny stutter.

 

tiny stutter? Doesn't sound good <<

And Cata, I meant that they would release a refresh with i7 (Acer, that is)
Not if they'd had previous troubles with their machines (that I believe)

Nighty night!

 

Ahh i see, well they were also planning a 5 series GPU release too weren't they?

The m17 was great overall though, but when people modified the cooling it rocked!

Night Man,

 

True a Flex system would be almost guaranteed to stutter. The W840DI/M17 did and so does the W850DI/M17x.

Then again though I wouldn't opt for the most powerful quad-core anyway...and those are the only ones that have problems.

 

Thinking of it now, i actually wished i had gotten the dual version MSI , i had the oppertunity but i just thought quad at the time,

A res bump would have been fairly nice, but annoyed the advents came with poor consumer ram though lol.

 

I hope this will have 2 fans. I'm so spoiled by my FX...

 

excited for this, wish it would come out faster so we can run benchmarks on it
i love slim, sleek (well, as slim as you can get for a gaming laptop) laptops with large screens, so this should be it for me, if the given dimensions are right.

 

What you mean mew, personally i hope they stay one, that way they show laptop manufacturers how its really done.

 

I've also been tagging along waiting for people to get these in their hands and post results. The asus G73JH are backordered now with delays as well. I'm hoping my patience pays off with a more informed decision on which notebook to buy.. but the sooner the better so I can get in line I suppose.

 

I plan on getting in line tomorrow

I mean, I can always change my order later on. But atm the MSI seems the better choice, really!

 

You'l be reviewing Eriand, i mean it bud .

 

This is most likely based off the 1727 chassis (which is an updated 1722 which spawned the metallic/red trimmed GX720/GT725 chassis), and is a single fan design.

 

Agreed, hopefully some minor revision to the thermals though, although the machines thermal tollerance is very good, the newer tech does have a fair bit more juice running through it.

 

Never a fan of gaming machines w 1 fan but 3 years warranty--- I'll get the 6870 if I burn my gpu.

 

The 1722 was proof that a good design can, even with a single fan, keep a solid GPU quite cool.

 

So the xotic/other places stock pictures are wrong?
Or is it just a brushed aluminum/red trimmed version of the 1727, which I thought was a matte (or metallic I forget) black design?

 

The MSI "Branded" version of the GX740 has the metal brush finish on the LCD cover and palm rest area. The chassis is red trim finish. This is the typical color scheme/finish of the MSI branded gaming series notebooks.

 

Be a fan, MSI designed the machine from the ground up, and at the end, we have a machine that can survive under maximum stress (yes im talking torture tests etc etc.) Without temps going bizarre.

 

Only 1 HD bay

 

Damn it Cata, you make it want it now! NAAAOO!

On a sidenote, I wanted it yesterday anyways.. so <<

How are the mobile i7s when it comes to OCing? just out of curiosity as I don't think I'll be doing it anyways, but knowing is power.. so

/Eri

 

The joy however, Mew MEWOWOOWO!, is the eSATA and the expresscardslot.

Just jam in a USB 3.0 hub in there and you have external HDDs running at interior speeds Or simply use the external SATA and you're good to go

/Eri

 

I know ! that suck ... RAID0 on that thing would have been great

 

Take out your CD Drive and get an external one then, .

 

Been thinking about it (still thinking) will the bluray thingy work without issues as ext. that's what I need to know ... also there's no RAID option in the bios.

 

I guess you could always software emulate the raid.. Not as good though.

 

I'll look into it or just stick with my Ext. HDD

 

They'd probably be amazing overclockers (especially the Arrandales) if there was a method to overclock them. So far there is none outside of the AW M17x which has BIOS settings to OC the i7-920xm.

I wouldn't use RAID....I'd use 1 SSD for OS + apps and 1 HDD for files.

 

Im always skeptical of buying a laptop before its release date, and I wouldnt put you off Eri BUT I would tell you to review your options and make and informed decission. The Duel Core MSI was a beast ! and brilliantly designed the second MSI they released in this line I believe it was a Quad Core? was a very poor effort and didnt fair much if any better than its predicessor. And for that reason im unsure about buying the new model, who knows which bracket it will fal in ?

 

Yeah but I've been put off by the price and small capacity

Well all they did was releasing the same machine only with a quad in .. so i don't really see that as a poor effort , just personal choice .. they always seems to release 2 versions , 1 with dual and the other with quads. they did that with the 725 anyway.