MSI MS-1651 Montevina BTO Notebook Barebone

It depends on what brand you buy it under. If it is a PowerPro it will have the PowerPro label.

 

...and if you purchase a Force it will come with a XOTIC PC logo

 

does the msi come with a fingerprint reader? It says so on the spec sheet, but I don't see it in the pictures! And also, how much difference is there between this 9600m gt w/ddr3 compared to the 9700m gt?

 

No there isnt a fingerprint reader and the 9700gt has almost the same specs but performs slightly better

 

It does not have a fingerprint reader. It is not on our spec sheet...where did you see it?

The difference in the video cards will depend on several things. What model are you referring to that has the 9700M GT? How much GDDR does it have, and is it GDDR2 or GDDR3?

 

Thanks for reducing the price Donald, I am almost definitely going to be choosing the 15:3 now.

 

umm the 9700m gt from the asus g50vm...i think it has 512mb ddr3 on it,

and boy, the powerpro p 15:3 is right on my price range after the paint adjustments!!

 

Donald, can you post a picture of the "new" standard color on the 15:3 (black w/ silver) when you can, and do you have any pictures of the side of the 15:3 and the bottom (to look at port positioning and vents).

Thanks

 

Here are some stock photos...that is all we have at this moment.

 

How durable is this notebook?

 

It is as durable as the best, other than a ruggedized notebook.

 

Is that a slot loading optical drive on the left side? Hard to tell with these shots... And look at the size of that vent on the back right! I could see a cat crawling in there to keep warm on a winter day!

On a side note, wow, have we gotten a load of new notebooks this summer. I was so geeked at the Clevo m860tu that I didn't see some of these other ones coming. The upgrade to the compal--now the jhl90--is very intriguing.

And the ms-1651 was a very quiet release (pre-release) that was way off the radar screen, but looks like a very impressive model. I'd love some more hi-rez detail shots and a review on this one as it clearly looks like very nice value for what you're getting

 

big vent = good cooling, i'm like 99% sure that this is going to be my new laptop

 

while i am still planning on getting the NP8660, this model is starting to look quite appealing to me

paladin: what are the differences in power consumption between the 9800gt and the 9600gt? also, how much will the additional 9-cell battery cost? lastly, how is the build quality of the msi compared to the clevo?

 

The difference in power consumption is going to be fairly significant. The 9800M GT requires a 120Watt AC Adapter where the 9600M GT takes a 90Watt AC Adapter.

The 9 cell battery is available on the Configurator for $120

Build quality is essentially equal...both are solid as a rock.

Now, for some interesting differences.

Differences between PowerPro P 15:3 (MSI 1651) and PowerPro P 12:15 (Compal JHL90)

PowerPro P 15:3 has but PowerPro P 12:15 doesn’t:
eSATA port
10 Key Numeric Keypad
IEEE 1394 Port (Firewire)
GDDR3 instead of GDDR2
Custom Colors and Graphics available[/URL] available
Built in Bluetooth V2.0+EDR Standard
Synaptics TouchPad with a lock-out HotKey
6 cell battery that fits flush – spare 9 cell available
4 Multi-Purpose Audio ports support 7.1 Surround Sound
Memory Card Reader supports xD memory (along with MS and SD)

PowerPro P 12:15 has but PowerPro P 15:3 doesn’t:
Biometric Fingerprint Reader
9 Cell battery – spare 6 cell available

PowerPro P 12:5 is $100 less without Bluetooth, $60 less with Bluetooth

 

How much battery life do you get out of the MSI-1651 with the 6-cell battery, using a 25W CPU? How much with the 9-cell?

 

Battery Life run time is very dependent on your hardware configuration, applications, and OS power settings. To maximize your battery life your screen brightness should be turned down as low as you can make it while still being able to read it comfortably, any unnecessary programs running in the background should be exited, your wireless and Bluetooth cards should be off if you are not using them, and your Power Management setting should be set for maximum battery life.

Given maximum battery life settings you should expect 2-2.5 hours with the 6 cell battery and 3.5-4 hours with the 9 cell battery.

 

paladin: does this mean that the power consumption of the 9800gt is 30w greater than that of the 9600gt, or does the difference in power adaptor wattage account for other things as well?

 

It cannot be said that it is exactly 30W greater, but there is little else different between the two models that would require the higher rated AC Adapter save maybe a stronger fan (which can't take much extra power...minuscule in fact).

What can be said is that 90W is not enough for the 9800M. We don't know exactly how much more it needs, but it is somewhere between 90W and 120W, and is undoubtedly closer to the 120W than 90W.

 

I don't like the fact that the MSI comes with 6-cell I'd rather only have one battery and that would be a 9-cell. I would consider that the shortcoming of the 15:3 (for me). So no chance of changing that primary?

 

Sorry, but there were so many complaining about how the 9 cell battery "stuck out" the back by 3/4" that MSI made the decision to go with the flush 6 cell battery.

Therefore the 6 cell battery can no more be upgraded to the 9 cell than the 9 cell could be downgraded to the 6 cell for those who preferred it.

Bottom line is that the ODM chooses what size battery they will make standard, and it cannot be upgraded or downgraded, you can only buy the spare in the size that you want.

 

Is the larger weight of the 12:15 solely due to the 9-cell battery?

Would the 15:3 be just as heavy with the 9-cell spare in it?

 

Impossible to tell yet...neither production model is actually in the country yet. All we have is engineering samples so we are currently using the manufacturer's stated weights.

What I would predict though is that the PowerPro P 12:15 will end up being closer to 6.7-9 pounds once we get a chance to weigh the production model on our calibrated digital scale. We will update our specifications pages at that time.

 

I love how the 1651 looks and I plan on getting a 15:3 from PNB, but I came across this just now:
http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=newsdesc&news_no=635

I thought the MS-1651 = GX620? Is there something I'm missing here? These two look completely different! This subject was touched on earlier in the thread when someone mentioned how different the 1651 looks from it's original photos (red trim), but no one really clarified this.

Can someone explain?

 

MS-1651 is BTO Model.
GX620 is factory-built directly by MSI, will definitely look a bit better.
But the internal is pretty much the same.

 

I understand now, thanks! Now I can make the informed decision of buying the MS-1651 from PNB. However, I did notice some minor things on the GX620 like the turbo button feature above the keyboard. I suppose this won't be standard on the MS-1651? I can't really distinguish it on the stock pics....

 

The Turbo switch is a feature only on the GX620...sounds like a good feature, I'm just not sure how much of it is real technology and how much of it is marketing.

 

Turbo Button is a real feature that gives you 20% overclocking on your CPU by increasing FSB MHz.

 

oh...so with this "turbo" button be usable in the powernotebook and xoticpc models? And also does powernotebooks ship to Canada

 

BTO MS-1651 does not have that feature.
Only the GX620 (Factory-built) got this feature.

 

PowerNotebooks.com does not ship to Canada, but Xoticpc does.

 

Ok, but explain to me how the FSB can be raised above 1066MHz when that is all the chipset will support.

For reference please see http://www.intel.com/products/notebook/chipsets/pm45/

Even if they could increase the FSB on the chipset by 20% to 1333MHz that would be great, but then the processor is still at 1066MHz, and the processor is locked.

Excuse me for being dubious, but I have been in this business for a lot of years and have seen all kinds of "marketing" puffing, I would just like to see some real world benchmarking showing that this really does provide a statistically significant "boost" in performance.

 

Did they make a mistake on the spec sheet? It says GM45 on this link, but it says PM45 on here. It should be PM45?

Why do all these notebooks have the weird keyboard arrangement where the Fn key is on the extreme left? I'm now trying to decide between the NP8660, P 15:3, and P 12:15...none of them fit the bill perfectly, although that may change once the reviews come out with some performance data.

 

It really doesn't matter whether it is GM or PM because they both support PCI Express* x16 graphics ports for discrete graphics cards, the only real difference is the GM also has the X4500 integrated graphics.

Most laptops have the Fn key on the far left (remember there is no use for an Fn key on a desktop keyboard so it isn't there).

However the Sager models that are built on Clevo barebones (as opposed to the NP209x that are built on a Compal barebones) are uniquely built for gamers so they Fn key is inside of the Ctrl key.

Expect the order of performance to be #1 Sager NP8660, #2 PowerPro P 15:3, and #3 PowerPro P 12:5 assuming equivalent configurations.

 

I know that you can't read Taiwanese Chinese, but here's the link from Mobile01 and I am sure that you can "read" the picture.
http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=241&t=447676

Reference Images - GX600:
Standard - 2000MHz


Turbo - 2400MHz

 

I was thinking that if it was GM then maybe it could swap between integrated and discrete graphics like the m15x. But I suppose this is too much to hope for...

As for choosing between the 3 notebooks, I think it's a matter of battery life and performance. I'll just wait for the reviews, or at least till people receive their notebooks and can share their experiences.

 

Just ordered this notebook, was a toss up between the hp and the msi and the gddr3 won =) I should get it by mid august

 

Yeah, don't underestimate the power of GDDR3 on a GPU. It gives you 20-30% performance increase over GDDR2 RAM with the same GPU.

 

Let me throw another variable in the mix. I'm someone who doesn't care about the extended warranties, so I'm going to compare the Sager 2096 vs the 15:3, and the price difference is $257. My question is... is all of the above actually worth the price difference? I'm already on a very tight budget and I can get the 2096 customized the way I want for $1299, or I can get the MSI with the improved screen for $1339 and still have to buy a better HD, Memory, and an OS later (can toss a version of XP on it temp). I'd really love the e-sata, but I'm not sure if it's worth the money....

Help to convince me one way or the other please =)

 

Do the dice thing.... easier and quicker

 

Fulinder,

Get what you want and don't quibble over $257. Let's say you own this laptop for only 3 years (hope its more). That's about $7 a month more when spread out over the life.

That doesn't mean get the MSI--evaluate those feature you like and if they are worth 7 get it.

For me, the dd3 and I am almost embarrassed to admit it, the 10-key numeric pad are worth the $7 (cannot help it...I'm a spread sheet junkie and I hate those add on pads)

 

The MSI also has IMO much better port placement and just looks nicer. 2096 has better battery life though. Basically like gery said just look at the features and think over if they are worth it to you, there is no perfect laptop.

 

And, even if you don't really want the 3 year warranty...you will still have it. That has to have some value...eh?

 

No notebook is perfect, but the one I want is always $2,500

I would be happy with any three mentioned, but there is at least one thing about all of them that bothers me.

For example, I hate the front audio plugs on the compal and clevo since I hook my laptop up to external speakers I have to snake the wires around in front--annoying.

As noted, the ms-1651 came out of left field on me. I wasn't even thinking of it and was definitely leaning toward the clevo (860tu). The I got to play with my wife's boss's np5793 and I loved it but don't want to lug the 17" around.

I still liked the compal, and now they've upgraded it top make it even more attractive.

Then I just happened to stroll through this forum and saw this baby by accident. There is A LOT to like about it (number pad on a 15"--silly thing to get excited about, but, dang..... )


What a great time to by looking for a notebook. Everything available now is better and even a bigger bang for the buck when you consider the improved performance per dollar than just two months back

Technology is great....everything gets smaller, faster and cheaper.

 

I agree with you on your statements actually, but the problem is life doesn't always work out the way you want it to. I was going to get the new top of the line Sager/Clevo 15.4" laptop and drop $2400 in doing so, but my car completely died on Sunday and I had to spend $2600 repairing it. The result is a much reduced laptop where every single dollar needs to matter to me.

What I'm really looking for are thoughts on if the additional functionality from the MSI will be worth the additional $$$ and I won't end up regret not getting them down the road.

Right now the main thing I like on the MSI (outside of looks) is the eSATA. The firewire and 7.1 channel audio are also tempting because one of the things I would do with the laptop is possibly use it as a media box for my TV as well. I do like my options, but as I said, the top end Sager/Clevo will always be my first choice, but sometimes the finances just can't be justified at the time.

 

if you are into gaming then i would definitely suggest the MSI, look at the 8600gt ddr2 vs the 8600gt gddr3 as a comparison and you can obviously tell that the gddr3 can really make the difference between a game being playable at decent settings or not.

 

Damn, I'm just so bothered by the battery life. If we can pull 2.5 hours MAX on this, what would we expect on the compal jhl90?

 

You are comparing a standard 6 cell battery to a standard 9 cell battery.

Either model will get approximately the same battery life given the same size battery.

Also, keep in mind that over 80% of all laptop users say that they rarely or never use their battery. They want the laptop for portability from place to place, but their battery use if very limited.

Now, if you are going to be in the other 20%, and you need longer battery life, the best solution is to get a spare battery...preferably the 9 cell.

 

Yeah, that's what I thought. Is it possible to buy a battery at a later date, without buying the whole computer? Where would you do that, and what would it cost?


Also, whats the difference in battery life between the 25 watt and 35 watt processor?

 

The 9 cell spare battery is available on the PowerPro P 15:3 Configurator if you want to buy it at the same time you are buying the laptop.

If you want to buy it later you can do so in our Accessory Store in the PowerPro P 15:3 section.

Yes they are standard hard drives, but there is no way you would save any money buy doing what you suggest. This is mainly because you would then be buying 2 hard drives instead of just paying the upgrade price on the one you want, which would undoubtedly be cheaper than the retail price of the same hard drive.

You might save some money on memory that way, but then you would have to deal with warranty and support issues. What happens when it is the memory that you bought that fails? The few dollars you might save wouldn't be worth it...and after considering tax and shipping I am not even sure you would save anything.