MSI gx660r-060 is what we've been waiting for

I'm talking about I'd rather go with a boutique brand. It may be Alienware, it may be Sager, it may be a completely different brand.

You probably will see better sound, 2x HDD, USB 3, and probably a better form factor with MSI. I admit that. But boutiques usually have more powerful cooling, better service, unless you go with a reseller as you said, you can open pretty much everything up, better quality GPUs. GPUs on Alienware and Sager have been known to surpass the usual ASUS or MSI GPUs in overclockability. Plus, boutiques do not experience as many problems as ASUS or MSI mainstream gaming laptops. (Though the last gen m15x and current m11x are disasters.) I admit, the GX660R is a very competent laptop, but I'm just saying that a company that spews out 20 model redesigns a year obviously not going to be as well designed as a boutique that may have 5-10 models for 2 or 3 years. I originally was going with an ASUS G73JH, but saw the sheer amount of problems it had, so I stayed away. I checked out MSI, but they just didn't appeal to me.

@ Em. Check your temps during furmark or with a game. I'm guessing it may be a crappy paste job causing overheating, a faulty gpu, or a bent heatsink.
@ Rogue, you should be able to configure it in BIOS.

 

Yup, I agree with you there. Basically in my mind it came down to stability vs features, and I chose features when making my purchase, although price did factor into the equation. Because I payed around 100 less then a similarly configured sager, and probably around 300 less than an alien-ware, I wouldn't mind RMAing the laptop if needed. Plus, the reason I returned my sager np8690 for the MSI gx660r was because of all the features it had. I just couldn't pass up on the 3 hour battery life, and the other features listed in my previous post. Although sager and alienware do usually have cooler, more stable laptops laptops with better quality then MSI, I think with the gx660r, MSI has a winner in its hands....The cooling is similar if not better then the np8690, and the build quality I heard is pretty good. I think the gx660 is an exception to the rule, other than the crappier 5870m, which I'm not even sure is any different than the ones in the sager/alienware models...

 

Well I just ran Furmark for a little over 20 Minutes and temps stabilized after about 5 minutes at 66 degrees. Max was 67 for about a second. So I don't think it is the paste job or the heatsinks. Picture shows results.

 

Yeah. You got a faulty GPU most likely. Driver problems shouldn't really cause this. Try calling up your reseller or MSI and ask them about it because I'm not 100% sure...

Super, try pushing that system to the limit on GPU and CPU and do some benchies. Right now the highest I've seen on an M15x is 21k CPU and 10.5k GPU, not sure about a Sager.
The GPU cooling on the GX660R is a winner, but I'm not so sure of the CPU cooling. Also, I heard there are still some people/reviewers getting spongy keyboards and areas of flex on the lid, which makes it lacking in the build quality department. Sager/Clevos/Alienwares have almost no flex anywhere on their laptops. The most I've seen my M15x flex is one mm on the palmrest. But seriously, I'm not saying the GX660R is a bad laptop, I'm just saying it's not high-class material. Sure it's got the goods internally, but it doesn't got the goods on the outside.

 

At stock, the hard drives are RAIDed so the computer sees the two of them as a single drive. No need to choose boot order.

But, of course, if you do independent disks you can of course choose boot order.

 

Hey forge, i see by your sig the Intel X25 is back on your laptop, what happen with the vertex?

 

I'm not sure. Every once and a while my BIOS wasn't able to detect it and much frustration would ensue. I took it out, clean installed, and plugged the Vertex into a dock. I was able to detect it fine.

So both the the SSD and my computer SATA ports look like they're working just fine... just not with each other.

For my uses, there's effectively no difference between the Intel and the OCZ except for size.

 

I believe his vertex wasn't recognized be windows or the bios for the 2nd/3rd time so he got tired of it and he switched back to the intel, but don't quote me on it.

Edit: lol beat me to the punch Forge =)

 

Forge:

I think I heard you mention having the lower rez screen .. 1366x768

I'm pretty sure you used to have the g51-rx05 also with the same rez screen but 260m gtx

I have the g71 with the 260m, and was wondering...what games cant you play at full settings vs g51

and is the 1500 dollar upgrade worth it??

I can play every game at 1440x900 on high/medium settings and the games look great..

and I cant think of any games that dont run at 25fps and up with high settings..

what games did your 260m struggle with at medium/high settings, and why the big upgrade??

 

Dear Forge,

Am I able to choose the boot order of each of the 2 installed Hard Disks in this laptop ?

 

Yes, this is a standard BIOS feature in pretty much all laptops

 

I know Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands didn't get playable FPS on my G51vx when I hooked it up to my 1080p TV. It does, easily, with the 5870. Crysis would crash and burn with 1080p on a GTX 260m, even overclocked.

In the end, it was only really a $800 upgrade, give or take. I have to sell my old laptop, you know.

 

"when I hooked it up to my 1080p TV"

is the upgrade just so you can play 1080p??

how much differance in graphics would i see on a 17 inch display between 1440x900 and 1920x1080..is it pretty drastic??

 

Not really. I do want the extra screen real estate since I'm going to be manipulating files a lot and the room is going to be great. And because of the higher native resolution the 5870 will allow me to play games fluidly.

As for your resolution, I really don't know. I don't use 17-inches so I have no idea how screens scale to those sizes. I would say you won't notice much difference, though.

 

Hey Forge - When you opened up your GX: Was there a "sticker" on the CPU? Just checking to see if, perhaps in about 8 months when Sandy Bridge is out and tech places are trying to get rid of the i7's a cheap upgrade is possible without voiding warranty (i still might void it, but it would be nice to not do it )

 

No warranty stickers that I could see, and I opened up the CPU, GPU, and wifi areas.

 

Because Intel wants more business, the socket type is going to change. So we can't replace our i7s with SBs. D:

 

Re-read what he posted. He meant that when sandy bridge is out, the current i7 would be cheaper and thus become an easy upgrade.

 

Bingo. i.e. get the 740 right now, but in about 8 months time try to snag a 940XM at cheaper prices

Thanks for the info Forge/Ryzeki! Probably will be joining the club here soon, once I talk to my bank and let them know I moved all the way down the street (nevermind that Amazon, NewEgg and whatnot have shipped to my new address already, now the resellers are requiring the info match. Weirdos)

 

We'll be glad to have you aboard. The more people we have, the more brainstorming we can do. And more guinea pigs. I'm waiting to see if other people are having problems with modified vBIOS 2d clocks on battery.

That reminds me, I have to change my credit card on my PayPal account. I still don't know why Macy's changed from Visa to Amex. None of the smaller shops accept it.

 

arghh tempted to test this machine out with the 940xm es, wonder how much improvement will i get compared to 820qm with the same gpu specs

 

Had something really odd happen to my GX660 last night. I was playing the Civ5 demo, and I clicked "load game." Next thing I know, BSOD. I was able to boot into Windows after a few tries, but no executables would run. Couple more reboots and everything seemed about normal. I tried loading a game, and it failed to load some files on the HD and crashed again (BSOD). Then it wouldn't boot into Windows anymore.

I've tried restoring using the hard drive restore partition and the restore discs. The progress bar gets to 100% and then ... nothing. The time elapsed timer just keeps on running and it never seems to restore anything. So I seem to be at a dead end. Not too impressed so far. I'm going to try to get in touch with Xotic today and see what they recommend.

 

That sounds like a HDD error - I had something similar happen with my ASUS a few years ago, and a quick switch of the HDD and a clean install of (well Vista at the time) solved that problem.

HDDs either run forever, or fail quickly. Sometimes you get stuck with a lemon.

Of course I'm not saying that it *is* HDD at the moment, but those symptoms sound similar to the ones I had a few years ago. Where I booted up Windows a couple of times, everything was fine, and then BSOD and no boot.

 

Yeah, I agree with you! The fact that I can't restore makes me think hardware problem. That plus all the boot errors and BSODs when accessing the hard drive kinda points to the hard drive as the culprit, like you say. Hopefully there'll be a quick turnaround on getting it fixed!

 

Alternatively, you can replace the hard drive yourself and then RMA the bad drive and sell it once you get it back. It's what I do.

 

any of you guys have open the machine and changed the processor and the 3rd ram module?

does anyone have the disassembly guide for msi gx660r?

 

Hey guys.

I'm having a problem with my GX660 (not GX660R).
Sometimes when I'm watching a clip on youtube, I get a black screen, and then I get a notification at the task bar that "the diplay driver stopped working" and "the AMD driver stopped responding and that the problem was fixed". I've had this a couple of times already. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

 

Do a driver update.

 

I'm not sure why people ask questions about other models, not to mention.. other brands, in a thread about the MSI GX660R

 

Because this is the only thread for the GX/GT660(R). They are all almost the same laptop, so it makes sense. What applies to one will most likely apply to the others. The only exception is the GPU between the GT and GX.

 

My bad. Half the time I read something, I misinterpret it. :S

Though, I think getting a 920XM is more economical. They both have the same OC limits and such, but the 940XM just has a higher base speed. IMO, it doesn't justify the extra 150 bucks.
Just my thoughts on getting an extreme processor in the future. ;D

 

I will promptly insert my foot in my mouth then . And I have size 16's, so.. lol.

 

So got my laptop today, and have to say I am thoroughly impressed so far. I love the sleek design, and honestly, the LED lights are great, adds a bit of depth the the case and aren't that bright and attention grabbing. Setup was quick, and I was gaming in under 2 hours. Got amazing frame rates in Global Agenda, much better than my previous laptop. As for the speakers, they are definitely clear and crisp, but missing the oomph of a real sub. But for laptop speakers, they are pretty awesome

Thats the quick 5 minute overview, glad I held in there for this one, loving it!

 

Welcome to the club! I am still currently in love with my machine haha. Yeah, looks are definitely good and I like that despite being glossy, it rarely gets as dirty as my previous asus did.

Too bad that due to work, I can't enjoy it as much as I want it.

 

managed to try on it yesterday before selling it to my customer, i have to say the top cover is freaking gloss, definitely a fingerprints magnet

but im quite suprised that the machine look small, maybe due that i been handling the g73 and the sager 8690, compared to that 2 machine, the gx660r seems like a 14" to me, not to mention the packaging is small too

 

It's about the same footprint as an Asus gaming 15-incher.

 

hey guys just got the laptop and so far it is awesome =D. Was just wondering though, has anyone noticed that the lid seems to rattle a bit when you shake the laptop (not hard lol, just a little up and down motions xD), I don't mind too much, but I was wondering incase I got a loose hinge or something.. Also, one of the corners of the battery is bent, so I might replace that... But otherwise, this thing is awesome!

 

The hinges on mine are a bit mushy as well. If I turn it upside down the screen will open up a tiny bit from the closed position.

 

Alright cool thanks. First impressions are that this thing is great and incredibly zippy with the ssd installed. Screen isn't as bad as I though it would be, and speakers are awesome. For some reason it seems much smaller than my sager np8690 which is a huge plus. MSI burn recovery is coming up with some erroe, but whatever, I'm going to reinstall the OS anyway. I might as well go do that now as I already have the disc

 

Hey guys, I was wondering. Is it possible to purchase the Intel Advanced-N 6200 and upgrade it myself for a better wireless card? If so, would it be worth it? I'd like a stronger wireless card with a better range and I've read it's supposed to be better. I don't want to risk damaging my system, as I've never cracked it open before or worked on a laptop in the past.

 

good morning guys, few more questions. When I try to install the new os, i see 2 partitions on the ssd. One is 20gb and one is 100mb. Can i delete these?

 

The location of the wireless card on the GX660R is complicated - unlike the other RAM slots or with most computers I have seen, it's located under the keyboard (I believe, from what I've read - still waiting on a confirmation of my own GX660R but I looked up the manual ;D)

It's a tricky place to get to, as you have to remove the entire keyboard to get at either one RAM slot, or the wireless card. You can do it, and they give instructions. It's intimidating at first to take your laptop apart and look in there the first time, and see all that metal, and copper, and funny-shaped silicon and motherboard. But just take a deep breath, relax and read the booklet that comes with the computer. Everyone has a first time, and the more you go in there, the more comfortable you feel.


(That's what she said)

 

Yes, I just deleted all partitions.

 

Thanks, works like a charm.

 

The wifi card is actually under the control bar--or whatever it's called--where the power button, hotkeys, and speakers are. You don't have to touch the keyboard at all.

 

Hey guys, I found out how to make the audio sound even better in my opinion. Just go to the realtek HD audio manager, right click it, go to sound manager, and turn on dts true surround and dts boost if they arn't already enabled. Tell me if you guys think the sound improves

 

I didnt like how it sounded when I enabled those.. Just my opinion though

 

Yea, I actually agree. After some more testing, I felt like the sound wasn't as clear and felt kinda distant...

 

Both these partitions are safe to delete. I ended up deleting all the partitions and deleting the raid, opted for 2 500GB partitions one for Windows (for Steam really) and one for Linux (really to play around a bit and screw it up while I learn and figure out which distro I like best).

If you are reinstalling windows the 100MB one will return as it is a required by Windows (or at least Win7, XP if I remember correctly used like 37MB or so, never got into Vista)

Linux is a little different if you decide to install the Raid controller will not let Linux use the hard drives to install for some reason, even with the entire drive being used. I only tried Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx, so I do not know if other distros would work.

 

Found a fix to improve the touch pad a lot.
1)Right click on Synaptics pointing device
2)Click on pointing Device properties
3)Configure the double click speed (I left it)
4)Go to Pointer Options and change that to whatever you prefer
5)Go to Device Setting tab and click settings
6)Put palm Check on 2/8
7)Touch Sensitivity on Lowest Setting
8)Edge motion should be made a lot smaller (a small square in the middle about a little less than 1/3 width and length of the entire box
9) put edge motion on speed 8/9
10) Apply and enjoy!!!

most of the steps are unnecessary, but they help nonetheless. The MOST important step is definitely the sensitivity setting at the lowest.... Also, a lot of it is based on preference, but these are the setting I found the best