Official MSI GE60 & GE70 2012 Owners' Lounge

I ordered mine last week from gentech
who else ordered one and from where

when is the expected ship date?

 

Ordered mine off Newegg friday. Should arrive today. I'll try to give a little info after I set it up.

 

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this but I think I found an OEM version of this model for sale in Japan.

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Use the Google translate option if you have Chrome or a translation service if you want to navigate easily but if you click on the gallery you can see some photos of the unit and it looks EXACTLY like the GE60 except it is in silver instead of mostly black/red.

I also compared the placement of the ports, the subtle design options and specs and it is almost a 1:1 comparison. This makes me really happy because the GE60 was at the top of my list of laptops to get and though there is the MSI version soon to be onsale here in Japan it is significantly more expensive. This OEM version ends up being about 400USD cheaper (with downgrades in memory and HDD).

So far the only difference in specs that I can see is that the memory capacity is smaller (4GB vs 6) and the hard drive is smaller and probably 5400RPM vs 750GB and 7200RPM of the MSI. Also the Geforce card is the same with 1GB less memory, which I don't care about. Though all those except the video memory are upgradable but I'm fine with the stock specs in order to save money. The dollar to yen exchange rate is painful at the moment T_T

The only potential differences that I won't be able to tell until I receive the unit are the cooling system, screen quality (it's still 1080p matte), and if it uses the "Steel series" keyboard, which I doubt cause it seems to be an MSI thing, although they look identical.

The weight, oddly enough is a little heavier on my Japanese OEM version, but not by much. I don't know if that is an error, or if something is actually different.

Anyway, I just wanted to let someone know because I thought it was kind of interesting, and I'm excited to order the laptop and receive it. Hopefully it is indeed the same, or similar, model so I can join in our your conversation.

I'd also be happy if you guys agree with me that this might be the same or at least very similar model, and/or if someone can provide more information on the ODM of this model.

 

Hi. I'm from Singapore, and just went to a local dealer to order the GE60 for myself & one for my friend too.
Price in SGD is S$1,998 for one unit, which translates to approx USD 1,598.
FOC: MSI Gaming Backpack + MSI Gaming Mouse.

The specs for the GE60 are exactly as specified by MSI.

MSI GE60 Specs:

Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Memory DDR3-1600, 8GB
Display 15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) LED backlight LCD
Graphics Nvidia GeForce GT 650M with 2GB GDDR5 RAM
I/O 2 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, VGA, HDMI, LAN
Hard Disk Drive 750GB 7200rpm
Optical Disk Drive DVD Super Multi RW
Interfaces SD(HC/XC)/MMC/MS(PRP)/xD
Sound THX TruStudio Pro + MSI Audio Boost
Communication 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0 Bigfoot Gaming LAN
Webcam HD webcam (30fps@ 720p)
Battery 6 cells 49Wh
Dimension (WxDxH) 383 x 249.5 x 37.6~32.3mm
Weight 2.5Kg (w/ Battery)
Other Features Keyboard by SteelSeries, TDE (Turbo Drive Engine), Cooler Boost.

 

There was 1 unit left on display, which I declined to take. The shop said they had very limited stocks at hand, and just today they sold 2 units.

Nevertheless, the local distro had stocks, and said it should arrive the shop latest by tomorrow (Sat).

I had asked for a discount & freebies, but they were reluctant, saying this is a newly released unit, their margins were low blah blah. After some negotiation, the sales guy finally gave me a net price of S$1,900 or USD1,519.

The MSI Gaming Backpack + Gaming Mouse remains unchanged, as it is bundled in the box.

Looking forward to my FIRST gaming notebook since my Dell XPS M1530 (Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2Ghz, 4GB DDR2 RAM, nVidia GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB graphics RAM, 1280 x 800 LCD) which I bought way back in 2006!

I was blown away by the specs of the GE60, and a FULL HD, non-glossy screen! That is such a rarity these days. Needless to say, the Intel Core i7-3610QM, the nVidia GT650M with 2GB GDDR5, and the 750GB/7200RPM HDD was the icing on the cake...

 

New GE60 & GE70 with the GTX 660M coming soon!

MSI GE60 0NC-042US 15.6" SteelSeries Gaming Notebook. MSI GE60 0NC-042US
MSI GE70 0NC-033US 17.3" SteelSeries Gaming Notebook. MSI GE70 0NC-033US

 

This is great for rivaling the Razer Blade.

 

I doubt it. Looks like a typo. Could be wrong and I hope I'm wrong actually, I was about to buy the one with 650m,
However even if I'm wrong, it seems like the 650m gddr5 is almost on par with the gtx 660 anyways and uses much less power. Maybe over locking the 650 would be a better option.

 

I agree that this might be a mistake. At first I got excited but even MSI's website has no mention of a GE60 with a 660m. Because of it's light weight and thinness I'd wonder if putting a 660m is even a good idea to begin with. Also, the fact that it's the same exact price as the model with the 650m seems odd.

Although, it does have a different model number, so who knows. GE60 0NC-042US vs GE60 0NC-006US

 

660m is confirmed on ge60. I sent gentech an email and they confirmed it for later this week prob.


Also quick question. I am seeing two different outsides for this laptop. One is brushed aluminum the other is a black with red stripe do dad. Which one or both is correct?

 

660m is confirmed on ge60. I sent gentech an email and they confirmed it for later this week prob.


Also quick question. I am seeing two different outsides for this laptop. One is brushed aluminum the other is a black with red stripe do dad. Which one or both is correct?

 

Oh damn, now I'm going to want to wait for the 660m edition. At the moment the 660m is the highest performing Nvidia card that is Kepler based (new architecture.)

The GE60/70 is black with red "racing" stripes. Where are you seeing the brushed aluminum version?

 

Wait... is that really 5.28 lbs...?

 

Some guy does a mini review on a Singapore notebook forums and he says it's 2.5kg which is more like 5.5lbs.

 

Huh, that's still better than the 6.5+ lbs laptops that I was looking at (and the 8 lb 4 year old monster that I'm typing on right now)

 

Here is one example...

GenTech PC - MSI GE60-0N-006US 15.6 inch with nVidia GT650M

Edit: and that's prob not a typo

 

Is this going to have optimus technology? Otherwise I still see the Asus G55 as a better choice. The MSI is only a 6 cell battery while the G55 has 8 cell. Sure, the Asus is bulkier but also has much better cooling. Itll be interesting to see how a pretty thin laptop like this MSI will be able to keep up without overheating. I'm pretty sure thats why Asus isn't putting a 660m in their multimedia N56 model.

Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

 

This is a nice laptop, I only wished it didn't have the "red racing stripes"

 

That's Nice!

 

Honestly that seems like an out dated pic of the previous generation of the series...

 

Yeah thts what I thought but I thought I would throw it out there to see what you guys think. I like both colors although the brushed metal would be pretty sweet

 

And yes it has optimus

 

if its really coming out in the next week, i'm 100% buying one.

 

Does anyone have the ge60? Says its for pre-order only until eta mid-may.

 

Oh ya, and at gentechpc and xotic pc the ge60 has pictures of some other model, not sure if thats right or not but the ge60 looks way different from the pictures they show.

 

It says on Xotic the pics are from the ge620dx. Wich is obviously not a ge60. You can tell by the keyboard also. The control is not enlarged and the Windows key is not relocated to the right side of the space bar. I'm extremely disappointed with gentech if they have been advertising this like that as it clearly says "the msi ge60's Brushed metal exterior Is..."

 

I ordered my GE60 from ProStar on Monday the 7th and they shipped it on Friday the 11th. According to UPS tracking it should arrive on Weds!

To add to the discussion about the exterior, it is black with red racing strips and NOT brushed metal. I was gonna put a laptop skin on mine because I'm not crazy about the looks, but to each their own. Also, I hope that the weight of it is closer to 5.28 pounds rather than 5.5. I realize not a huge difference but the relatively low weight for such a gaming spec'd laptop was a big selling point for me. I'm gonna be hauling it around campus when I go back to school in the fall.

 

Thats misleading lol. Anyway, i'm am also going to be hauling this thing around campus in the fall for freshman year and when i saw the ge60 I almost had a heart attack lol. So excited to have one of those.

 

Really, then which machine is gentech getting these pictures of?
GenTech PC - MSI GE60-0N-006US 15.6 inch with nVidia GT650M
They're advertising it as having brushed metal ...

 

So has anyone gotten their hands on these yet? My only concern is it overheating. I have the gx600 and it overheats fairly often but it performs well otherwise.

 

I don't know where GenTec are getting those photos from =\. Every single MSI GE60 picture/video I've seen has the black/red racing stripe design (MSI's website shows this too.) You can type in MSI GE60 to google and see this or check out newegg who have their own photos. There's also a couple videos on youtube as well. I'm not trying to say that GenTec is purposely misleading their customers, from what I've heard they are very reputable so either they are stocking some other model (???) or maybe they are using some stock photo from some other MSI laptop...

Heck, I WISH it was brushed metal..it looks much cooler IMO, but I don't think that's the case.

 

I'm a bit confused right now. So, will it be brushed metal or racing car-like? Will there be an option for the GTX 660M or GT 65M is the best we can get?

 

I do believe there are two different versions of this laptop regarding the exterior. The most common is the black with red stripes which you can view actual user photos of here:

[User Review] MSI GE60 - www.hardwarezone.com.sg

However, like the Gentech page shows there also seems to be a brushed aluminum version of this model, which I believe is the OEM version, AKA the version that boutiques use to customize and sell.

A Japanese boutique offers a model that looks exactly like the bushed aluminum version here:

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And there is the previously mentioned Gentech one.

The black version looks to be a glossy plastic on the lid and possibly insides so it's a big fingerprint magnet while the aluminum will likely not be the same.

To summarize: black/red version is a specific MSI configuration: color, "Steel series keyboard", specific sound system codecs/enhancements. While the OEM version seems to be the brushed version, and may or may not have the Steel series keyboard/audio enhancements, etc.

That is just what I can gather from looking at the different configs on different sites.

 

This sounds like a logical explanation of what is going on with the two different looks. I suppose this would also explain why there are a few places who are already shipping/selling the MSI (black/red) version and other places (who are showing a brushed metal version) are still estimating the ship time to be 'mid-may'.

 

See my earlier post here. Google it it is a placeholder pictures for this laptop which they don't have in stock yet I think

 

But I am all for the brushed metal. Can we get a reseller to confirm/deny this? I sent an email but it hasn't been answered yet

 

if this is what indeed is happening i am going to flip out. daddy want that steel series!

 

I really want the 660m version, especially if the pricing is identical/similar but I will most likely be stuck to the Japanese boutique OEM version with the 650m unless they update it very soon, which is unlikely. Unless I can find an American boutique that has sane prices to Japan. Xotic quoted me around 200-250 dollars. Ouch.

 

I am currently living & working in S.Korea. Got my GE70 on Sat 12th. Over here the only option is the 650m. So far what I can say is the screen is awesome and that this thing really flies if you take the option to have an SSD installed instead of an optical drive (which they then give you an external for). Laptop is very light and thin. Haven't done any gaming yet so can't comment on the heat.

The laptop tends to pick up finger prints/smudges pretty quick.I am a little disappointed at the buttons for the touch pad and the fact that the Intel and Nvidia stickers aren't exactly straight. Its a small thing, I know, but for the money you expect the stickers to be straight at least!

Over all, I am very happy with it!

 

Could you provide the link where you bought yours from? Or did you get it at a store?

I'm REALLY curious about heat management on this system so if you'd be willing to do some quick benchmarks with free software to check temperature and noise levels, myself and perhaps many other users would be grateful. Let me know if you're willing and I can link you to some free and easy software to use to measure heat.

How are the noise levels in your day to day tasks? Is the fan constantly on but very low/inaudible or does it switch between on and off when it needs it? Does it ever get annoying or too loud? Any descriptions you can give regarding noise would be awesome.

 

Here is the link :

Gmarket- Korean No.1 Shopping Site, Hottest, Trendy, Lowest price, Worldwide shipping available

I haven't used it much since I got it but for the little that I did it was really quiet. Which benchmarks would you like to see? I can run 1 or 2 when I get home later today...

 

I didn't realize you had the GE70 version. Still, I bet they use a very similar cooling system so I'd like to hear your impressions on heat and noise levels.

Basically, use HWmonitor

CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting

to check CPU and HW temps. You can run it when you first boot to get a baseline temp, and then let it run in the background while you stress test and it'll record your minimum and maximum temps.

You can use Prime95 to stress as many cores as you'd like for the CPU.

Free Software - GIMPS
or
Direct link to 64bit zip file:
ftp://mersenne.org/gimps/p64v266.zip

Basically just do the torture test and choose any of the methods.

As for GPU stressing you can use Furmark

FurMark: VGA Stress Test, Graphics Card and GPU Stability Test, Burn-in Test, OpenGL Benchmark and GPU Temperature | oZone3D.Net

The standard stress test is fine, you don't have to worry about the settings.

I'd just like to see how hot the GPU and CPU get when stressed (not necessarily at the same time, separately is OK) and your impressions on how the noise levels get.

Obviously the fan will ramp up heavily under load so you can just mention how the noise levels are during idle, during moderate use (internet browsing, Youtube, etc) and then heavy load (CPU/GPU stress tests).

All the software I linked is freeware, free of adware/malware, and all of them can be run from an extracted .zip file if you choose, except for Furmark.

Your help is appreciated!

 

OK, Ill check them out and post back tomorrow!

 

Overall a good decent specs for a gaming laptop, just wish it had a backlit keyboard like most steel series.
By the review temps are really hot.

 

Yeah. I prefer to see more tests though. The first thing I would likely do is buy some good thermal paste and change it up. I would be happy with mid 80's C under full load.

 

I'm considering this or the ASUS N56VZ, where the MSI is $200 cheaper and lighter at 5.28 lbs with across the board same specs. However the ASUS is negligibly thinner only by .1 in but has an aluminum or some metal build quality and looks a bit more elegant. Can anyone who has the GE60 vouch for performance, durability, build quality, etc.?

 

Ordered mine on Friday from newegg.

Found this link to a forum in singapore where someone did some benchmarks last week

[User Review] MSI GE60 - www.hardwarezone.com.sg


I downloaded the GE60 manual and it says supports up to 16GB of ram but everything else says 8. I wonder if they are going to support it in the future.

 

Hi guys, what I'd like to know is how the keyboard and audio compare to the gt60? Thanks!

 

Keep in mind the Asus has GDDR3 memory for the video card. If you want the best performance from your 650m you might want to look elsewhere. That was a dealbreaker for me regarding the Asus.

 

Since I won't be doing anything super graphic intensive, would this still be a problem?