MSI MS-1719 Review

After spending several weeks looking for a new laptop to replace my aging Sager NP5680, I finally settled on a DIY barebones MSI MS-1719 (GX700) with the following specs.

• Operating System - Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
• Processor - Intel Merom T7500 800FSB
• Chipset - Intel PM965 + ICH-8M
• Graphics Module - NVIDIA GeForce 8600M-GT 512MB DDR2
• Memory - Mushkin 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 667 SO-DIMM
• Display – Samsung/Epson Glossy 17" WSXGA+ (1680x1050)
• Card Reader - SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO 4-in-1 Card Reader
• Hard Disk Drive - Hitachi 200GB 7200rpm SATA 16MB cache
• Optical Drive – Sony-NEC Optiarc Super-Multi Drive (supports DVD RAM)
• LAN/Modem - Built-in 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN and Modem Module
• Wireless LAN - Intel Mini PCI-E 4965 (802.11a/b/g/n)
• Bluetooth - Built-in MS-6837 (EDR)
• Built-in CMOS Camera - 1.3 Mega Pixels
• I/O Ports–
o Express Card 54: 1
o Monitor ( VGA ): 15 pin D-Sub x 1
o HDMI : 1
o USB 2.0 : 3
o IEEE 1394 (Firewire 400): 1
o MIC-in : 1
o Headphone out : 1
o RJ11 : 1
o RJ45 : 1
• Audio - Azalia interface, ALC888
• Short-Cut Keys - Power, Internet, Camera, Wireless LAN/Bluetooth, Personal Setting
• Battery Packs - Li-ion 6-cell battery (4400mAh), Li-ion 9-cell battery (7200mAh)
• AC Adapter - 19V DC, 90W/Input: 100~240V AC, 50/60Hz universal
• Dimensions - 15.6"(L) X 11"(D) X 1.04"-1.37"(H)
• Weight - 7.60 lbs ( full system with 6 cell battery )



The Decision Making Process

I decided that whatever laptop I got needed to fit the following requirements.

• 17” widescreen WSXGA+ (1680x1050) as the minimum resolution
• Intel Santa Rosa platform
• Intel Core 2 Duo @2GHz or higher
• 4GB RAM
• Large 7200RPM hard drive
• DVD burner
• Dedicated graphics card that was gaming capable
• Wireless LAN (802.11b/g minimum)
• Bluetooth

The Contenders

Before deciding to go with my MS-1719 build I was considering the following laptop choices. While I really would like to have had any one of them, in the end they just couldn’t stand up to the value of a DIY MS-1719.

• Toshiba X205-S9359 – Online ~$2100-$2500 +S&H
o Pros: Nice looking, great sound system, 2 HDDs, 8700M GT 512MB GDDR3, HD-DVD, finger print reader, good sound, 6 USB ports, TV tuner.
o Cons: 2GB RAM, 5400 RPM HDDs, too thick, weight, price.

• Sager NP5791- Online ~ $2300 +S&H (same configuration as my MS-1719)
o Pros: I like Sager, 8700M GT 512MB GDDR3, good sound, finger print reader.
o Cons: Looks, too thick, weight, price.

• Asus G2S-B1 – Online ~$2099-2600 +S&H
o Pros: I like Asus, looks, WUXGA+, 6 USB, ESATA, backpack and mouse included, great warranty.
o Cons: 2GB RAM, too thick, weight.

Why the MS-1719?

First off, to get the same setup I got, pre-assembled would have cost ~$2060-2200. This makes it really hard to choose the MS-1719 over the Asus G2S-B1. However, since I could get the MS-1719 as a barebones and pick all of the components to make it complete, doing the assembly myself, I could save some significant money. This made the MS-1719 very appealing.

Let’s break down the cost for my DIY build.

• MSI MS-1719 Notebook Barebone Computer (ewiz.com) - $880.65
• Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile Processor T7500 - Retail (ewiz.com) - $242.56
• Hitachi 200GB 7200rpm SATA 16MB (2.5 inch) (ewiz.com) - $216.30
• Intel Turbo Memory Mini-PCI-e 1GB NAND (rkcomputer.net) - $ 39.00
• Intel WiFi Link 4965AGN Mini-PCIe Card (rkcomputer.net) - $ 49.00
• MSI 9 Cell Battery (7200mAh) (rkcomputer.net) - $125.00
• Mushkin 4GB DDR2 667 (2x2GB) – Retail (newegg.com) - $132.99

Total=$1685.50 +S&H

As you can see, the price is really hard to beat for what I got, especially when you factor in getting the spare high capacity battery.

Your build price may vary. I didn’t need a copy of Windows, since I already had a copy of 32-bit Vista Home Premium that I wasn’t using. If you already have a copy of Windows or are going to use Linux, then you ought to be able to make this same build for about the same price or cheaper, depending on your options. If you need to buy Windows, figure an additional ~$130 or so to the cost of your build. Dropping the spare battery alone will keep your costs about the same if you need to buy Windows.

On a side note, for those wondering why I’m running 4GB of RAM with a 32-bit operating system. The answer is easy. The price of the RAM was too good to pass up for name brand modules. I already had the 32-bit Vista that I wasn’t using. I don’t have to upgrade the RAM when I do switch to 64-bit Vista and then figure out what to do with 2 1GB modules. I get 3GB of dual channel RAM now (after Vista eats 1GB for Memory Mapped I/O (MMIO) addressing), which is better than 2GB of dual channel or 3GB of single channel RAM.


The DIY Part

First, I’m sorry there are no pictures of the assembly, but I had no intention of writing a review when I was putting this laptop together, and am only doing it now, because there don’t seem to be any floating around.

I have been building my own computers for about 25 years now, but I had never built a laptop. I have, however, done minor repairs/upgrades (RAM, HDD, optical drives and LCD covers/bezels). I figured I would take my chances on a DIY build, confident that it couldn’t be all that difficult. Well, let me tell you, if you haven’t done anything like this before, don’t have the aptitude or patience for something like this, or don’t have the money to recover from something gone wrong, then I don’t recommend that you undertake this build, UNLESS you opt to not use the Intel Turbo Memory (which also means that you should not even think of doing any possible future MXM video card upgrades on this machine yourself).

Access to every area you need to get to, to install the CPU, RAM, HDD and mini-PCIE wireless is very easy. And installation of these components is equally easy, especially if you’ve ever built your own desktop. The included assembly instructions are more than adequate for these components.

Access to the 2nd mini-PCIE slot and the MXM slot on the other hand, is a real chore. It requires COMPLETE disassembly of the notebook. Not for the faint of heart. The task is made incredibly more difficult when you consider that there are no disassembly instructions to be found on the net. I had to examine the notebook for quite a while and look at several repair manuals for different notebooks from other manufacturers before I was able to figure out how to take this apart to get at the 2nd mini-PCIE slot and also to confirm that this notebook does indeed have what appears to be a standard MXM Type-II card/connector.

Assembly (minus the Intel Turbo Memory) should only take about 15 minutes or so if you’ve ever tinkered with the internals of a desktop before.

First Impressions

Well, now that the hard part was finished, it was time to install Vista with updates, drivers and the software that I’d be using. This all went without a hitch. Vista installed rather quickly thanks to being prepared with a USB flash drive containing all of the latest drivers. While driver CD’s came with all of the components, experience led me to download all of the latest drivers before installing the OS. There’s nothing worse than having to update drivers after an install.

The MS-1719’s build quality is rather good, with good fit and finish, minimal case flex (less than my Sager NP5680). Over all, I’d say its at the high end of average. I really like the sleek and trim form. Plastics are pretty standard for a laptop, with the exceptions being the high gloss piano black palm rest/keyboard surround and back LCD cover, which look great…until you get finger prints all over them, plus I imagine they will scratch easier than the standard dull or textured plastics that I would have preferred. Oh well, a small price to pay, at least they seem as sturdy as the rest of the case.

Screen

The glossy LCD screen is crisp, bright and vivid, with good color saturation and contrast. A very slight amount of backlight bleed can be noticed at the top and bottom on an all black screen. No image smear is seen during video playback or gaming. Viewing angles are nearly 90 degrees off center axis to the left, right and top and about 70 degrees off center axis to the bottom. Slight rippling of the display can be seen if you push rather hard on the back cover with one or two fingers. My system had no dead or stuck pixels.



Keyboard

The keyboard is one of the best laptop keyboards I’ve ever used. There is no flex and the keys have a nice solid feel. This is probably due to the full metal tray backing of the keyboard, which sits flat on top of the perforated aluminum motherboard tray concealed beneath it. My only complaint is the size of the keys on the lower right portion of the keyboard that have been reduced to accommodate the full size numeric keypad. It will definitely take some getting used to.



Touchpad

The touchpad is adequate, though I would have liked it to be a little larger. The touchpad buttons are also just adequate, and require a firm push when you are near the outside of the buttons. Pushing them closer to the inside edges (center of the touchpad) requires minimal effort.

Optical Drive

The DVD R/W is a Sony-NEC Optiarc AD-7530B model that is pretty quiet and had no issues with any of the recorded media I threw in it. It also burned all of the recordable media I had on hand with no problems or coasters. A minor annoyance I had is that the drive tends to open if you push on the portion of the bezel towards the rear of the laptop. Seems that MSI’s design allows the bezel to rub on the eject button of the drive just enough to activate it when you push on the back portion of it.

Sound

The speakers sound better than average laptop speakers. While not as good as the Harmon-Kardon system in the Toshiba X205, the 4 speaker plus sub arrangement on the MS-1719 delivers rich, full sound. Not thunderous, bass thumping sound mind you, but definitely not the usual tinny sound you’d expect from a laptop.

External I/O Ports

External I/O placement is OK. I wish there was at least one more USB port and an external SATA port. I also would have preferred the VGA and HDMI ports to be on the rear. Again, minor gripes. The card reader works. I didn’t benchmark it, so not much else to say about it.

Camera

The built-in webcam worked great with Skype. Well, it did after I figured out that you have to push the camera button to the left of the power button to turn it on. The picture was clear and not washed out or too dark. Motion blur was not too bad. It works well for its intended purpose.

Heat and Noise

The only really warm spot I noticed on the top of the laptop was the right side palm rest, above the hard drive. The area around the exhaust vents on the right rear also can get a bit warm. Sorry I can’t give any more details than that, but I don’t have any temperature measuring equipment. Noise from the single fan in the cooling solution is minimal. The fan, while audible at times, is not loud or obtrusive and remains relatively quiet most of the time.

Now, on to what you really want to know…

Performance

The following benchmarks were run on my everyday system, with all of the software I use installed, all of the background processes and services that would normally be running on any given day, no tweaks, no optimizations, no over clocking, no sterile benchmark only installs, just the plain old everyday real world performance that you could reasonably expect from a system like this that you use for more than just running benchmarks. The only thing I have done is a disk cleanup and defrag. YMMV. All drivers used were the latest available from the manufacturer, with the exception of video drivers, which were the Forceware 169.01 drivers with the modified .inf file from laptopvideo2go.com.

Windows Experience Index

While I don’t place a lot of stock in them, here are the WEI numbers for those interested.



3D Mark ‘06

Test ran with default settings.



3D Mark ‘05

Test ran with default settings.



3D Mark ‘03

Test ran with default settings.



3D Mark ‘01 SE

Test ran with default settings.



Half-Life 2: Lost Coast Video Stress Tests

Tests ran at native screen resolution of 1680x1050.





Counter Strike: Source Video Stress Tests

Tests ran at native screen resolution of 1680x1050.





Call of Juarez Benchmark

All tests Shadow Map 2048x2048, Shadow Quality 1, Super Sampling Off, Multi-Sampling Off

• 1680x1050
o Minimum FPS: 3.7
o Maximum FPS: 11.0
o Average FPS: 6.6
• 1440x900
o Minimum FPS: 4.8
o Maximum FPS: 14.6
o Average FPS: 8.0
• 1280x720
o Minimum FPS: 6.2
o Maximum FPS: 16.8
o Average FPS: 9.0
• 1024x768
o Minimum FPS: 6.9
o Maximum FPS: 18.7
o Average FPS: 10.2

PC Mark '05

Test ran with default settings.



HDTune 2.54



Battery Life

I haven't had a chance to really test battery life yet. Preliminary results with the WLAN on, surfing the 'net using the 6-cell battery yielded about 2 hours 15 min on a mix of Vista's balanced and power saver modes.

Conclusion

Over all I'm really satisfied with this system. I really think that the price/performance I got by going with the DIY option can't be beat.

I don't have any complaints that haven't been addressed already and I couldn't be happier with the performance (especially since I haven't tweaked, tuned or over clocked anything).

I will update the review with better battery performance info and some more game benches when I can.

Comparisons to My NP5680




(I love it, bigger screen, faster all around, better battery life and it weighs less and is considerably thinner)

 

Outstanding review. I did almost the same thing with my ms1719 and my impressions were exactly the same. Great work!

 

You saying the vanilla 1719 has the 4.1 speaker setup? I thought it was only the Extreme Edition that had it.

Hmm, I wonder if the vanilla GX-710 has it too....I want the 4.1 but I'm thinking the flames are just a bit too ostentatious for the office...

 

Yep, it has the 4.1 speakers. Same machine as the GX-700 minus the "Tribal Tattoos" aka flames.

 

nice review. i highly considered this one but wanted more from the gpu that was the only reason i did not buy one. well that and the entire glossy finish. i actually really like this system.

 

The GX710/171A also has 4.1 audio.............

 

Nice review. I was waiting for someone to make one.

 

you know if the video card is a MXM or is it part of the MOBO on the 1719?

 

MXM..........

 

8800 possible in the not so distant future as an upgrade the user can perform?

 

Interesting review. FYI, there is a WUXGA version of this laptop from xoticpc. I assume this LCD is single lamp vs the dual lamps of Asus G2s?

 

i've got a quick question about this notebook, as my friend really wants to buy one for christmas. I noticed that you specified that is has a 8600m GT DDR2 gpu, yet it still manages to get a good 3dmark06 score of ~3500, which is similar to the Inspiron 1720's (also 8600m GT DDR2 i believe). How much of a difference is there between the DDR2 and GDDR3 versions of the gpu?

 

I got the ms-1719 from Ibuypower.com its called the battalion 101 LX-775, also called the GX700 on the MSI site for driver updates. The GX700 is the glossy black one the EX700 is the matte black which would have been a way better option for IBP to sell because of the fingerprints issues.

 

Question about cardreader:

I have used sony ms and another medium (i think it was a sd or so) with an adapter.

I want to know if an adapter is always needed for "shorter" cards?
Will the cad get swallowed or so?

Thnx.

 

No its not to uncomfortable after it heats up.

 

Can you post what type of mxm II. or III. ? Thanks.

 

Pretty sure this model uses a II