MSI...where have I been?

Ok, yah obviously Im new here, but after several days of reading this site non-stop...I have come to see the light...or have I?

MSI looks awesome...I mean completely awesome! The specs look great, awesome video card, anwesome HD choices, multiple processor choices, and sounds like the 17" screens are awesome...so what am I missing here?

Do I have to build my MSI 1036 or does it come pre-built? I see some people talking about building the bare-bones system...and think Im ok with computers, but not confident to build a laptop myself.

Im in Minnesota, is there anywhere local to purchase? And if not where is a good place to buy...pre-built if possible? Are these links reputable...and how is customer service...warranty service?

www.avadirect.com
msicomputer.com
rawpowerpc.com

What if any are the downsides to MSI, and not to sound silly, but after looking at the specs, why wouldnt everyone be on the MSI kick, instead of wasting hard earned $$$$ on Top Name brands that offer weak hardware options, and overpriced shotty graphics?

Please, help me out here....thanks for listening to my questions, and glad to finally be a member here.

John

 

MSI is still relatively new to the laptop market, so people still are wary of spending thousands on them without a long track record. The 1036 has been well-received so far.

You can get your MSI-1036 prebuilt from various resellers.
http://www.msicomputer.com/NB/whereToBuy.asp

Warranty service is through your reseller. I'm not aware of any retail stores carrying the MSI models in Minnesota. You can, though, see one of MSI's 12" models at PCClub if you have one nearby.

 

Omg, posting in the MSI forum. Anyways www.rawpowerpc.com is a good place to buy MSI

Hope that helps. =D

 

Since I just got my MS-1036 yesterday, I can tell you a little bit about it.

There are sites in which you can just buy the computer barebones, meaning you'd have to stick in the CPU, RAM, and hard drive by yourself, and then there are other sites where they would have you customize the notebook and then assemble everything for you.

From the links you mentioned, avadirect and rawpowerpc are both sites in which you customize the PC, and they will then assemble everything for you before shipping it. I don't know anything about avadirect, but I got my MS-1039 from rawpowerpc. From my experience with them, I can easily say that they have excellent customer service, both before and after I purchased the laptop. From the looks of it, rawpowerpc is also significantly cheaper than avadirect, although avadirect seems to have more in terms of customization options and extras. Another site you might want to look into is xmeld.com, which I've seen being thrown around in this forum. However, since I haven't purchased anything from them, I can't say what their customer service and etc. is like.

For all of 24 hours in which I have had my laptop, I can say there are barely any downsides from what I can see. The only thing I have trouble with so far is the keyboard, which has a very small right shift key. One other thing is that Windows XP x64 is a real hassle to get working, due to the need for 64bit drivers. If you're concerned about compatibility with programs and games, it'll be better to stick with a 32bit version of Windows. As for why more people don't buy MSI's, I would say they probably just don't know that it exists. For example, I brought my laptop to work today, and pretty much everybody fawned over how pretty the laptop is. When they asked what brand the laptop was, and I replied that it was a MSI, they all just gave me blank stares.

Anyways, I wish you the best in purchasing a laptop. If you have any other questions, just reply back.

 

Just to let you know there are 2 nefarious posters on this site. 1 works for www.xmeld.com and the other works for www.rawpowerpc.com and they are both great and very helpful and informative, either one of these companies is my top choice when I get to ordering my MSI laptop.

 

Doesn't look like this forum has a personal msg system here, but if anyone wants to drop a name or contact...that would be great.

Lets hear the negatives about MSI - if there are any. Also, how does the screen compare to the Sony screens, and...the big and....I see there is a new 15" commin out soon...but what about a new 17" version?

Anything you suggest or options that are a must - I guess what Im saying is help me spend my $1500 to $2000 wisely.

Oh...and I have to get use to a laptop being called "Sexy"...Im use to it with motorcycles, but never thought of a laptop in that way...give me time, Im sure I will be flaunting my techy gear in stylish motorcycle leather at the track...lol

 

Also, is there any coupon or discount code for www.rawpowerpc.com ?

 

the screens on MSI systems have been a great surprise, the dead pixel count has been very low across the board (there are exceptions, of course) and the LCD quality has been excellent. The 'glaretype' screens are not quite as high-gloss as Sony's, but are also less reflective in direct light.

downsides: The 1029 model has a 'clickety' keyboard. The 12" models (1012 and 1013) have a 'spongy' keyboard feel to some.
There were also some issues with the 6855 bluetooth card when it first came out, but those have been resolved.

MSI isn't perfect - you'll get issues here and there, just like any other manufacturer - Asus with sound and battery problems, Sager with heating issues, etc. Doesn't make them bad manufacturers, just normal manufacturing problems.

MSI has been improving with each model release, and they seem to be getting it.

The two 17" models (1035/1036) just came out a month or so ago, so there aren't any 17" models coming immediately.

You can message me or Unleaded about any MSI model. Just click on our user name and you'll find the PM system.

 

Sorry to waste space in this thread for something that's prolly somewhere else (I'm at work and can't look too hard), but what are some of the places that let you buy laptops barebones?

Thanks =)

 

I purchased the MSI-1036 from www.rawpowerpc.com. I have nothing but praise for it so far.

No dead pixels

No problems getting drivers (with help from unleaded).

Great customer support.

Only problem is the right shift key. It isn't standard size, but I'm getting used to it.

I've already stacked it with two OSes, all of my development tools, an oracle database, and a couple of games.

I would love to have a dual core, but I needed 64-bit to do some testing of certain OSes/databases/tools. I'm sure AMD will bring it later, and if I had to choose again, I would get another MSI.

 

Well after reading this forum for many weeks i came for the same conclusion, the MSi looks really superior to the other brands, when it comes to great graphics and 64 bit.

Since then i have been trying to show to other users that the msi is a decent option, altough i didnt buy mine yeat. I am still waiting to the 1039 to come out and maybe i will wait till the MT 44 to be released in june.

As for the 17" new version, if you can wait till june there is suposed to be a release of a dual turionby MSi. You can check their road map in google. Also they are from taiwan and the amdis going to release their new dual turion in taiwanin june (of course for desktops) but i dont doubt that they would have a version of this very soon.

Its just a guess...

 

I've had my MSI (refer to sig) for almost a week now. I got it from rawpowerpc which only confirmed what everyones says about this firm; rawpowerpc is a gem in the world of online procurment. They only use highend parts and manufacturers, build solid machines and test them before shipping. Calling them (at almost anytime, think wee hours of the night) means someone always picking up, often times, Gary, the president of the place. My Special order was handled very well and shippment and delivery went off without a hitch. Shipping was cheap and very very fast. This place gives you honest advice and never tries to sell you the more expensive stuff if you don't need it or don't even know what it is. Goto http://www.resellerratings.com/seller8271.html to see what others have said about it.
Also, keep in mind places like powernotebooks.com sell MSI under their own name, other places do that too.

The actual notebook is great so far. Good build and preformance, screen is wicked awesome! Its a little noisier than my previous centrino, but its till quite as a mouse. My only major complaint is the keyboard, which on my particular NB has both the spongee feel and the left side feels like its hovering over about 3 millimeters of air, so whenever i press A or D or #s 1 through 5, I can feel it pressing the button and then lower the whole keyboard those couple millimeters. Its something I can get used to, although it is taking longer than I thought it would. MSI's driver install from CD is also quick and painless. Get an MSI!

 

just a hint - throw some doublestick tape under the left side of your keyboard (it's an old trick MSI used on their S270 prebuilds).

 

lol... oh, that's not a joke... hmmmm a little too ghetto an idea... but I may have to resort to it soon.

 

nah, not ghetto - it works, it doesn't show, and it's inexpensive. and (kind of) endorsed by MSI.

 

haha, come on, you have to admit, its a little ghetto...

What if your muffler was rattling and you went to the Honda dealership and they told you to duct tape it to the bumper.

I have nothing against it and might do it soon (although I fear opening my NB like death).

Actually it feels more like the extra space is not because the keyboard curves up or anything, more like the platform under the board is too low, so won't taping the keyboard down only force it to bend unnaturally, hence not making it perfectly flat?

 

actually it does a good job and seems to lay flat just right.

and I'm not sure what kind of fix you're looking for on the keyboard - unless they manufacture a new tray for the keyboard, the only solution is something to bridge the space.

 

In the same vein as Iskander, I discovered the MSI brand not long ago, and I have been thoroughly impressed by the apparent blend of price and quality that they offer, even though I myself don't own one. They seem to possess a lot of flexibility, in terms of the different form factors that they sell, which is another plus. I have yet to purchase an MSI notebook, as I am waiting for the arrival of the dual core Turion some time in the late spring/early summer. Unless some other manufacturer puts something really radical out there in the next few months, I see myself picking up an MSI laptop.

 

The double sided tape sounds like it would only hold down the heyboard to whatever is underneath it. The way my keyboard moves, it seems as though a better idea would be to leave something like two or three credit cards under the keyboard (obviously installed so they don't move anywhere) to get ride ofthe space in between the keyboard and whatever is under it (and from the installation pdf from MSI, it seems there is a big piece of the chassis under that region).

 

You might want to try reinstalling your KB. There're a couple of small pieces around the inside of case which woud hold the KB in place(located near the following keys: left tab, left shift, F1, Backspace & right shift). It's kind of hard to notice their existence though. Just try to press the KB a little bit more on its edges while installing it. You'll notice some "clicking" sounds. I've found this out on my 1013 after experiencing lots of flex on its KB

 

I bought a 1036 from Xmeld had it for a week or 2 and had to send it back becuase it would no longer charge for whatever reason.

While i had it thought i thought it was a good laptop but no great. It has great specs but my msi wireless card didnt work and it shut down or froze quite a few times whenever i would play a game for more than 30 minutes. The screen on it is absolutly brillant. I didnt really enjoy the keyboard either but i do like the numpad which no other laptops have, i really hate that the ctrl key is inside the Fn and that not all the fuctions worked right. Also the touch pad was so so but i couldnt get it to turn off with the fuction keys.

THe laptop it self looks really good better than most i have seen. I dont like how there are no usb ports on the back and no volume controls other than the Fn key.

Xmeld itself got me my laptop with in a week (ordered friday got it next friday) but they dont always respond to my emails. My rating of them will depend on the RMA process if they can get it back to me quick and working. SO far thought they have dont a good job and gave me a great price(military discount )

 

If you just want to purchase barebone MSI whitebooks, you might want to check the following websites:

digitalhotbuy.com
pagecomputers.com
ewiz.com(look for Super Talent barebones)

 

duffman!

unfortunately, yours is one of very few we've had problems with on the 1036 model. We'll have a new system waiting when yours arrives and get it back to you as soon as possible. sounds like some power issues on the motherboard.

 

Thanks WhatMovesU =)

 

Thanks alot

Coffeeshark is a good guy i tell ya

 

I don't know, he looks like an obese bunny to me

 

Thats the rabit from Monty Python if he hadnt been killed by the holy hand grenade.

 

Is there any way to get the Fn key to turn off the touchpad? Mine didnt work and i wondered if anyone got theirs going.

 

Install MSI's System Control Manager to get the FN + FX keystroke combos to function properly.