My struggle with the GT73VR 7RF

Hi all!
Probably not many people care, but I still write down my experience, because some might find my experience useful regarding the quality of the GT73VR 7RF Titan Pro.

I owned a Clevo P775DM3-G which had some issues so I have sent it back to the UK for repair but unfortunately the shipping company "lost it" during the holiday season.
Luckily PC Specialist had insurance so after a few months of struggling I was paid out.

After a bad experience like this I wanted to step up and get a machine with similar specs, but with better cooling and a 120 hz display.

My choice was the GT73VR 7RF with 7820HK CPU, GTX 1080 VGA and FullHD 120 hz display.
Many gamers think that that a GTX1080 is an overkill for FullHD so for this VGA at least 3K is recomended, however for me it is the perfect gray middle, because for me FullHD resolution still looks great and framerate wise in my opinion it is more future proof.

During the past 10 years I only owned 1 MSI laptop and that came with 1 stuck pixel out of the box. Also I had to send back my P775DM3-G several times, because it either arrived with 1 dead pixel out of the box OR the replacement panel did not have G-Sync. So yes, with budget laptops I did not buy 1 yet which had 1 or more dead pixels, however as you can see I am not so lucky with expensive gaming rigs and getting a 100% working unit is a real struggle for me.
(This is mostly my fault too, because unfortunately I have a "talent" to spot even the smallest issues which are overlooked by other people)

For seller my choice was Amazon. The reason behind this is that they offered the laptop with better price than others and regarding before and after-sale service they are Top ranked.

02 March 2017
I ordered the beast on 2 March 2017 and it arrived a few days later. When I got home I jumped on the box and tear it open like a child with his/her first Christmas present.

I unboxed it and plugged it in. I installed Windows and installed the latest BIOS and vBIOS. I ran Fire Strike and I was pleased, much better GPU score than my P775DM3-G had and the temp was even better. Considering fan noise, it was on pair or maybe even less loud than the P775DM3-G.

However what came next started a very long line of struggling.

I started to check the screen for default and unfortunately I immediately spotted 2 defect on the screen:
1) "stuck pixel": probably caused by an incorrectly working subpixel diode. 1 pixel was not lighting up correctly, it was red when it should have been white, black when it should have been blue, etc. It was easy to spot and annoying. "Repair methods" (pressure, stuck pixel fixing software, etc) which are found on the interned did not help. This was not a regular stuck pixel, where even slight pressure can "unstuck" it, the diode responsible for the subpixel was faulty, unreparable.

2) Now this issue is interesting, ever since using an LCD screen, never have I encountered an issue like this. With black background a pixel was lighting in green color. First I thought this is another stuck pixel, however looking it from very close distance I was able to see that it did not have the same shape of a pixel, it was actually an irregular line with the size of 0.5 mm. I think it was a small dust particle which got inside the screen at the Chi Mei factory and during certain conditions when light went through it it lighted up as a green "pixel". This also explains it why was it not visible from every view angle like the stuck pixel. I will call it "green spot".

The green spot issue is actually not that easy to spot, the easiest way to spot it is:
- turn off every light source in the room
- set black background
- look the screen from close distance and from different viewing angles

I contacted Amazon and they were very kind. They immediately arranged a replacement and they did not even ask me to return the old one first, they only asked me to return the old one within 30 days.

10 March 2017
The replacement arrives and I start testing immediately. Fire Strike graphics points and temps are once again excellent, however the screen...yes, faulty again. The problems are the same as with the previous one, the only difference is that the 1 defective subpixel diode and the "green spot" were in different location.

I contacted Amazon again and arranged for another replacement.

23 March 2017
The replacement arrives and I start testing immediately. Fire Strike graphics points and temps are once again excellent, however the screen...yes, faulty again. The problems are the same as with the previous one, the only difference is that the 1 defective subpixel diode and the "green spot" were in different location.

I contacted Amazon again and arranged for another replacement.

So I have sent all 3 back and got a refund.

29 March 2017
I got the refund and ordered 1 more, because I was "Hey, maybe I just have bad luck, they can't all be bad!".
New laptop arrived. Fore Strike points and temps again excellent. I checked the screen on the afternoon and I was relived that there was no more defective subpixel.
I installed everything, updated firmware and started to torture test the machine with Rise of the Tomb Raider.
When it became dark my heart stopped for a second when I once again spotted the green spot problem. First I only saw 1 but doing a more extended checking of the screen from close range, different view angles, black background and in a room with no other light source, I detected 2 more green spots, so the screen had a total of 3.

Even with a budged laptop I HATE dead/stuck pixels, so something like that (or similar) is unacceptable for me with a premium priced laptop like this.

So I have this one sent back too for a refund.

All of these orders were from Amazon UK, so I got to the conclusion that the Amazon UK stock might be defective.

19 April 2017
Amazon Germany has gotten a small stock of this laptop. I thought "Hey, they all can be bad, right? +it is from another region" so I ordered 1.
When it arrived, again points, temps excellent, and maybe it was just placebo effect but games seemed a bit smoother than on the ones from the UK.
However, I was literally shocked when I saw the green spot issue again. 3 spots again, 2 were hardly visible, but 1 was even more visible than the ones were on the UK models.

I arranged a replacement with Amazon Germany.

27 April 2017
Replacement arrives. Points, temps, same deal, all excellent and games are buttery smooth.
Screen: you guessed it, green spot AGAIN.

Both went back for refund.

1 UK machine so far was "acceptable" because viewing from normal distance and normal viewing angle the green spot was not visible, only from the side and only from close distance. Now I am sorry that I did not keep that one.

I started searching for a laptop with GTX 1080 and 120 hz panel in my local shops but the offering is very limited. There was an Acer Predator laptop with GTX 1080 but it had the old 60 (75) hz LG Display which for my eyes was very choppy (and this laptop has horrible cooling design) and the other was the ASUS G701VI but that one "only" had the 6820HK cpu and there were no plans to distribute the Kaby Lake variant (Asus even stopped the distribution now for the Skylake variant too) and I did not want to buy a laptop with a previous generation cpu for the same price of the MSI. My only option would have been for a laptop which has "accaptable cooling" was the ASUS G752VS with a 7700HQ CPU and GTX 1070 and 120 Hz panel. but for 800.000 HUF (about $2950...nope, I did not write it wrong) I did not think that the price and specs are well balanced.

16 May 2017
Few weeks have passed when I saw that Amazon UK have received a new shipment of the GT73VR 7RF.
I was hesitant to try my luck again, so before ordering again I contacted Amazon and the rep insured me that the new stock is 100% issue free. So I ordered again.

New laptop arrives, points, temps ok again. It was truly from a newer shipment because it had 1 extra sticker on the chassis+it already had the latest BIOS+vBIOS installed.
However as for the screen...yes you guessed it again, green spot was back. there were 3 (maybe 4, I don't remember) and even though it was not as bad as the German ones, I was still able to see it and once I find it, I can not unsee it.

I tried my luck 1 more time so I arranged a replacement.

1 June 2017
Replacement arrived. I checked it and noticed that it was from the old batch (no extra sticker and older BIOS). I turned it on. I stopped the boot at the MSI logo to check the screen before it boots in to Windows for the first time.
With previous laptops the faults were all concentrated around the center area, so I mainly checked there.
I did not see any faults in the center. 1 slight dark-blue pixel with black background on the left but totally acceptable even for me.
I boot Windows and do another test.
And you know what? That Damm green spot was right in the center where the MSI logo was and that is why I did not spot it at the first check! I have also found 1 more bad subpixel, same as the first 2 had.

As you can see with the last 2 units, same issue but different spot (green spot can not be seen on the picture, only their location):


At this point my desperation broke into despair.
I really wanted this laptop, that is why I tried so much because I did not find any alternative. I don't want previous gen CPU and I did not wan't a 60 Hz panel.
I could have bought a Clevo P870KM1-G with GTX 1080 and 120 Hz panel from MySN, however MySN does not offer pixel warranty so if I get a defective screen I am screwed. In the past I ordered 3 laptops from the US and neither had dead or stuck pixel but after this experience, I am afraid to buy a laptop without proper pixel warranty.
Alienware would be acceptable too but they do not ship to the country where I live.

There is 1 shop who sells this MSI laptop here, however the shop has really bad reputation and in case I get a defective unit there is a chance that I would be running after my money.

After all this I thought about just buying a more expensive unit from a more experienced US seller like HIDEvolution or GentechPC (Gentech even has a nice promo with free goodies and free liquid metal repaste) but once again I am hesitant. The green spot issue was in some cases really hard to find for the first time, so hard that there is a high chance that the tester will not find it. With several units I involved other people too with the testing and most of them did not see the green spot issue until I pointed out the exact location. After that even they saw it.
So there is a chance that my order would pass "pixel testing" but still arrive with a defective screen. I am not saying that the technician is incompetent (I would not say that even to the PC Specialist tech who sent 3 "tested" laptops with 1 dead pixel"), but for the first time if you are not specifically looking for it the way I described, there is a high chance that it will not be spotted. However once you see it, you will always see it.
So my plan to order from the US has been put down because I am afraid that one with this green spot issue would slip through...also I need a seller who handles warranty because MSI warranty in this country is almost non existent (MSI laptops are very unpopular here)

More than 6 months have passed since my struggling started to buy my "dream laptop" and I am through more than 10 units but all had to be sent back due to defect. 8/10 of these units were the MSI laptop and ALL of them had the green spot issue. Maybe it is just the European stock that are defective or maybe US customers are affected too, just the issue for them is so hard to spot that they did not spot it yet.

No matter which one is it, the most important thing is...my struggling continues. Maybe I wait for the GT75VR, hopefully the new 3 ms 120 hz screen will still have FullHD resolution and hopefully it will not be a Chi Mei type (or at least it will not have that GOD DAMM GREEN SPOT ISSUE)

But damm..I really wanted this laptop

ps: I am not mad at Amazon, they only sell things, they do not test the contents of the box. From there end they did more than what was expected from them.

 

You could have gotten it from a reputable reseller as I initially advised you before you bought it who could have easily checked the screen for you and did some quality checks and THEN sent it to you. Problem solved. But to save a few bucks, you were suffering for several months with many replacements which were all the same and had to go over the setup more than 5 times, a complete waste of time, that is, if you value your time (no pun intended). I don't have any dead pixels on mine and 0 backlight bleeding, ordered from HIDevolution with the dead pixel guarantee.

If this was such a widespread issue, you would have seen many threads about it on the forums.

You get what you pay for. Period.

 

I have absolutely no comment. There's absolutely nothing nice I can say about the original poster.
All I can say is, be smart, be like @Phoenix .

OCD is a bad thing and letting it take control of you is a serious mental illness.
Either pay the money and get the dead pixel warranty, or accept defects and live with it.
I got the 30 day dead pixel guarantee from Xotic PC and I have no dead pixels.

I sure hope Amazon paid for you shipping the items back to them, otherwise I feel sorry for you....

 

Did the OP legitimately buy and return that many brand new units to Amazon? Seriously over a few tiny spots? Amazon can and will ban you from purchasing from them for life. In your case it's entirely possible you will be banned down the line after this is looked at during a routine internal audit. This sounds less like a defect and more OCD about a seemingly small issue. You should have stopped after about 3 laptops and moved on. Sending back that many units does nothing but cause prices to go up for everyone else and causes places like Amazon to change their great return policy.

 

I agree... Should have bought it from HIDevolution instead and you never would have received a defective unit. They never would have sent it out messed up. Accidents can and do happen, even with the best, but good lord... how many? After getting broken laptop #2 that would have been the end of the line... there never would have been a third chance to make it right. Clearly MSI has some pretty serious QC problems besides their sissy-boy castrated BGA CPU filth. Never should have left the factory or made its way to Amazon messed up like that. But, oh wait... every brand has serious QC problems. They all seem to excel at selling broken junk now. If it ain't one thing it's another... cancer firmware not excluded.

Knowing all this icky stuff to be the norm rather than the exception, buying from a place that does things right, like HIDevolution, is absolutely crucial. Otherwise, you may as well just bag the whole laptop scene. The whole thing has turned into a huge joke and looking at the new garbage (like Max-Q cah-cah) coming down the turnpike, things are only going to get worse. Be smart like a @Phoenix and sly like a fox. And, remember... friends don't let friends buy trash.

I know they ban people that abuse their generous and flexible return policy, but I would not have tolerated a screen like that. I doubt they would fault a guy for not accepting screwed up merchandise. If they were to take any action, the right action would be to discontinue offering that on Amazon. But, then again, they never would have received that many opportunities to make it right if it was me. Like I said, after the second messed up laptop, that would have been scratched off my list as an acceptable option. I would have asked for my money back and looked for something different. But, hey... we're all different in one way or another.

 

@Phoenix Mr. Fox Well it was good at least for experience. I have ordered electronics from Amazon before (Shield Tablet, Shield ATV, Nintendo Switch, etc.) and never experienced a frustrating issue like this. Also before this I never experienced an issue like this, because it seems that this is not your typical LCD problem which can happen with any LCD, more like a Chi Mei production issue.

@Talon If they ban me be it. If they ban someone for sending back defective units maybe instead of banning the person they should actually check their inventory and maybe, just maybe then returns would stop. Or I should be sorry that I did not accept a defective item and tried to get one that does not have this? In my eyes if my $550 laptop can be issue free, then a $3000 laptop should be too. Oh the remaining units on Amazon UK have been pulled, so something got in to motion.

@ Falkentyne Amazon does not check the items they send out, they send out every item without checking. Unfortunately in the EU there is no seller who sells this laptop and will do testing/custom mod before sending it out. Call it OCD or anything you wan't I will not accept defective items and unfortunately there was no alternative so I kept trying. Funny thing is, I had a bug with my Clevo P775DM3-G too which "no one else had". Games running with DX12 API had a weird annoying after shadow when panning the camera. I tried several units with different screens (same type) and different VGA (all GTX 1080) but all had this issue. (Tried all drivers too that were released the past 6 months). This is why I returned it when it went missing.

I think this was a good experience for me to not order an expensive laptop like this from Amazon but instead from a more experienced seller, sorry you guys for taking this long for me to acknowledge this.

Shoe from the shoe store, laptop from .... well this is a hard choice. I already bought a laptop from XoticPC in the past and had good experience (right until the VGA died on me at a WoW RAID ), GentechPC have better prices, but it seems to me that most of you guys got your GT73VR 7RF from HID. I am done saving a few pennies so since it seems HID has the most experience with these laptops I will be sending a few carrier pigeons at Donald's direction. Hopefully they accept a picky and annoying person like me as a customer.

 

Thank you for your inquiry!

You have said some nice things about HIDevolution.com, and we really appreciate that...thank you :

But you also made it clear that buying from HIDevolution.com was not a good option for you, which we totally understand:

Then I read this thread.

Unfortunately @DRevan, I don't think we are the right reseller for you. I would recommend that you continue your search for a reseller that will be suitable to satisfy all of your needs, without the added expenses of VAT and shipping, and that will be closer to you in the EU or UK.

 

Thank you for getting back to me Donald. I have written my reply in a PM.

I will ask a mod to close this topic, I think this topic has already outlived itself.

 

This has decided it.
I will wait for the GT75VR and hope it will be sold locally somewhere.
A journey has ended. The road was tough but it gave so much experience.

@Phoenix @Mr. Fox thanks bros for the support and patience