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

I had been thinking about getting an Alienware M15x and started looking to see what else was out there (but cheaper). This looks pretty compelling. My only gripe is the funky lights (which I see can be turned off so no big deal) but no lit keyboard - something I was really looking forward to on the M15x. I'd like to see a few more reviews come in to be sure...

 

Ordered a Force 1727 from Xoticpc but contacted them and changed to the 660r. I hope that was good move.

Here were the two configs:
1x FORCE 1727 (Built on the MSI-1727)
- Current Promotion: Student Promotions! Ask us about our Cash Discounts or FREE Promotional Items & Accessory Bundles for Students - Up to 50% OFF! - Student Verification Required for Promotion
- Display: 17" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- Dead Pixel Policy: Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-720QM, 1.60-2.80GHz, (45nm, 6MB L3 cache) - Special!
- Thermal Compound: - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- Graphics Video Card: ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD5870 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- External Monitor Video Adapter: No Video Adapter
- Ram: ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires 64-Bit to utilize Full 4GB)
- Exterior Finish: Standard Finish
- Optical Drive: - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software-
- Primary Hard Drive: - 500GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache Buffer (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s)
- Additional Hard Drive in Optical Drive Bay: No Additional Hard Drive in ODD Bay (When adding Hard Drive, Optical Drive Is Removed)
- External USB Optical Drive: NO External USB Optical Drive
- External Hard Drive (Back Up): No Back Up Hard Drive
- Back Up Software: No Back Up Software
- Floppy Drive: No Floppy Drive
- Memory Card Reader: Internal 5-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO/ xD-P)
- Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Wireless Network: -Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- Wireless Network Accessories: No Network Accessory
- Camera: Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- TV Tuner: No TV Tuner
- Sound Card: Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Case: No Carrying Case
- Battery: Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell) -
- Spare Battery: Spare Smart Li-ion Battery (6-Cell)
- Car Adapter: No Car Adapter
- Spare AC Adapter: None Standard*
- Port Replicator / Dock / Adapters: No Dock/Hub/Adapter

$1,795.00

1x MSI GX660R-060US - Gaming Laptop
- Current Promotion: Student Promotions! Ask us about our Cash Discounts or FREE Promotional Items & Accessory Bundles for Students - Up to 50% OFF! - Student Verification Required for Promotion
- Display: 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare Type Screen
- Dead Pixel Policy: Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Processor: - Intel® Core™ i7-740QM, 1.73-2.93GHz, (45nm, 6MB L3 cache) - Standard
- Thermal Compound: IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU (Cools better than all Compounds)
- Graphics Video Card: ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD5870 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- External Monitor Video Adapter: No Video Adapter
- Ram: - 6,144MB (6GB) DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2GBx3)
- Exterior Finish: Standard Finish
- Optical Drive: - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software
- Primary Hard Drive: - 80GB Intel G2 X25-M Solid State Drive (SSD Serial-ATA II)
- Second Hard Drive: - 320GB 7200RPM WD or Seagate (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s) - Standard
- Additional Hard Drive in Optical Drive Bay: No Additional Hard Drive in ODD Bay (When adding Hard Drive, Optical Drive Is Removed)
- External USB Optical Drive: NO External USB Optical Drive
- External Hard Drive (Back Up): No Back Up Hard Drive
- Back Up Software: No Back Up Software
- Floppy Drive: No Floppy Drive
- Memory Card Reader: Internal 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
- Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Wireless Network: -Intel® Advanced-N 6200 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- Wireless Network Accessories: No Network Accessory
- Camera: Integrated Digital Video Camera
- TV Tuner: No TV Tuner
- Sound Card: Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Case: No Carrying Case
- Battery: Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
- Car Adapter: No Car Adapter
- Spare AC Adapter: None Standard*
- Port Replicator / Dock / Adapters: No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Fingerprint Reader: No Fingerprint Reader
- Mouse / Keyboard Accessories: No External Keyboard or Mouse
- Notebook Cooler: No Notebook Cooler
- Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Pre-Installed + Drivers & Utilities Disk
- System Recovery Backup Disks: No thanks, do not create backup recovery DVD's
- Microsoft Office Software: No Office Software
- Software Bundle (Not Installed): No Software Bundle
- Warranty: 2 Year MSI US Parts & Labor 1 Year Global Warranty w/ Lifetime Tech Support
- Xotic Gear: No Xotic PC Gear

$1,819.00

 

I don't see why it wouldn't be.
You get better features in a smaller package all with the same performance.
If it was me I would do the same.

 

Yeah it was just too good of a deal to pass up. It comes with a better processor, more ram, higher res screen, and a solid state hard drive with second 320 gig drive. I'm also going to be taking it to school so the reduced size should help.

 

The latest Clevo 8690's (860CU) do have a single USB 3 port.

 

When you will build a new desktop you look for a asus, msi, gibabyte mother board or a clevo mother board ? why ?

BR

 

What are talking about?
Clevo mb? Never heard of them, maybe coz they dont exist

 

Do you know why do not exist ?

Because no one will buy it.

In a laptop the guy look just CPU, amount of memory, HD and GPU.

never look the mother board.

[]'s

 

That's because the motherboard is custom made by the manufacturer. What really counts is the chipset and what it offers in terms of functionality.

 

If it is true, just for example, why a HD 5870 video card 1gb DDR5 from MSI, Hiss , saphire and XFX have diferents benchmarks scores if tested in the same computer ?

Much more than a chipset made one motherboard.

BR

 

Uh, why are we talking about desktop mobos and GPUs?

 

Man i hope xotic gives me an update on my pc tomorrow, i really cant wait till they ship it hehe. If they leave it in 'raid' on mode.. how hard is it to 'Unraid' it?

 

Should be in the BIOS and fairly simple to switch modes.

 

But id have to reformat it right?

 

That is correct.

As I was replied a few pages back:

 

Hmmmmm....... latest tech, good config, and all at a very nice price!

I must say, this one is enticing. I think I'll have to pull the trigger!

 

i was looking at this laptop but the i thought the aesthetics were terrible. In terms of price/performance its probably one of the better ones out on the market. I luckily found a gx640 for just under a grand so i pulled the trigger on that.

 

Pasting time waiting my GX660R.

Just day 5 to 10 of setember is the date for I receive it from store

17 days to wait yet.

BR

 

bahh at least u have an ETA.. i don't know even when my G73's going to ship.. looking at this MSI , Specs wise its awesome for the size but don't like the look of it..

 

It looks like a laptop!What do you want
I'm more interested on what's inside than the exterior, and is it that bad?
I don't think so.

 

It looks almost like my old G50vt. While I still like the G73/G53 design much better, this thing isn't making me cross-eyed.

I can't say I care for the red trim on the speakers, but it's just the the speakers. The entire unit is black except for the lights... which can be shut off.

 

100% agree!
It's no deal breaker that's for sure, when it comes to laptops looks are secondary to me as long as it performs well.
Another huge + is it's easy to get to all the hardware if you want to do any upgrades.
I can't stress enough how important this is.

 

Has anyone launched cpu-z to look at the memory settings. There it shows clearly how the chanells are set up, dual or single. And i'm reffering of course to a model fitted with 3 similar dimms.

 

asus was dual channel with 3 dimms

 

Hey guys I just ordered this laptop yesterday =). Was wondering if anyone knows how to use an ssd and a normal hdd in the same sytem? Because that's what I got. Do I have to move my documents folder and stuff over to the 320gb data drive so that I can store pics and movies on that? I only want to use the ssd for booting and programs like MS office, ESET security, etc..

Thanks

 

It'll be set up like two separate hard drives.

If your Windows boot files are on the SSD, by default My Documents, Pictures, etcetera, will go there by default. You can always move them manually yourself though, or do a symbolic link.

 

If you don't like the red on the speakers you could wait and hope they release the champagne gold soon.

 

This champagne is very pretty !

But I prefer the black with red speakers .

KR

 

Does it have the same color led lights? I couldn't tell from the video.

 

hey do any of you remember the screen model number that was posted.

 

Here you go:

 

I was wanting to know how do you turn the Raid off/on?

 

^It is turned on/off in the bios. Takes less then a few seconds.

 

Before you turn the raid off make sure you enter the raid utility by pressing "CTRL I" when prompted on screen. Disable the raid array and remove both disks from being a "member". Then you can enter the bios and disable the raid.
If you do not remove the disks from the array first when your done with your reinstall windows will not let you format the second disk.

If your going the other way from a "non-raid" model to "raid" make sure you flash with the raid bios first.

 

It's the AUO15ED screen. Same found on the G51 series with 1080p res. Viewing angles suck, color and contrast are ok, resolution is perfect (at least for me) and it is as bright as you can hope it can be.

It looks good when you use it in places with lots of light. On low light conditions, the blacks will look grayish depending on how bright you use it.

It does the job, and I find it adequate.

Man, I better start reserving space for my review.

 

Have you gamed on it yet?

 

Crappy stuff only. Things that might even run on a netbook haha

I don't have much time due to work, and since I recently got it, I haven't even downloaded the big guns yet.

Luckily I made a backup of my steam games on a friend's house so I will get my 100GB of steam goodness quickly.

Tonight I will try a game or two. Probably crysis too since I have that one on disc.

 

So first impressions are good?
How are the lights in person? Can you adjust the brightness or just shut them off for good?

 

If Ry forgets to answer, I'll be happy to once I get mine. It's in the mail.

 

the LED lights are not an issue. You can turn them off for good if you so wish. I like the bottom front ones but I will eventually turn them off.

First impressions are good regarding performance and cooling. The general build feels a bit cheaper on the bottom panel compared to G51J but it is due to the thicker build it uses.

the panel cover looks weird. I don't hate it but don't like it. It's a plus that its all blackish so I avoid unwanted attention.

Glossy finish means smudges and stuff but it can be cleaned.

I just ran 3Dmark06 while copying my backup of 100GB, opening a bunch of programs and using the turbo buttons/functions for the fan and OC. I managed 12500 score with GPU temp of 68C.

Not using turbo I got 76C with batman AA with rather silent fan.


I am loving it

 

No $hit!
That was a quick decision, what model and configuration did you get?
Welcome to the club...lol...mines being sent out Friday.

 

Ah yeah, increase color saturation to 130 on the ati control panel to make the screen look real good

 

Update mines being shipped Thursday

 

Welcome to the club man!

And I just saw a massive increase in gaming power compared to my G51J and it's 260m.

I went from 1600x900, medium all settings, low shadows for 30-50fps to all high 1920x1080 medium shadows at 40-60fps

This radeon sure is capable.

EDIT: Ah yeah, forgot to mention the game haha. Battlefield Bad Company 2

 

Pretty much bone stock, except I'm replacing the wifi for an Intel 6200.

+1 for Ken/Gentech awesomeness. I played email tag with him today and it looks like it was sent out today, too. Now I have to keep bugging him for an extra bottom panel.

As early adopters, I'm hoping I can count on you guys when I write up a optimization/cooling guide. Also, hopefully we'll go 3/3 for non-lemons.

It's gonna be grrrrrrrrrreat.


Edit: Scheduled to be delivered on Friday. Hoo ah.

 

game?
10char

 

Count me in.

What I liked as soon as I started the machine, was that everything.... worked. With my last asus, things tended to sometimes work and sometimes nope.

And the buttons are actually helpfull this time! Turbo settings, fan control, power saving controls, bluetooth wifi, LEDs etc.

and yeah, I am posting a lot because I like it, and because this is about the only time during the week I can post haha.

 

oppsss haha out of excitement I forgot to mention it!

Battlefield Bad Company 2

 

Only thing I'm having a second thoughts about is I got the lower res screen.
I hope it was the right choice since I'm used to 1366x768 from my ASUS.

 

Well, lets look at the brigth side, you will enjoy even higher fps than me! and chances are the 1366x768 screen might be a bit better with viewing angles?

Just played a bit of borderlands now, I can finally manage full hd with all high/enabled with decent fps (I didn't measure them but I'd say it was a solid 30fps, unlike my unplayable fps on my 260m).

Anyways I'll stop posting

Gotta go sleep and save the benches for the review!