Power Pro 11:36 (MSI 16F2 barebone) review

I just ordered the R11:36 from powernotebooks.com. After talking to Donald for like 45 minutes all my questions are answered and I'm pretty sure this rig is going to be awesome.
R 11:36
I7-2670qm 2.2ghz-3.1ghz
gtx570m 1.5 gb
8gb 1333mhz
120gb ssd
640gb 5400rpm hdd
Intel 6230 w/bluetooth
The customer service at powernotebooks is great, you won't be let down.

 

Congrats and welcome to the club!

 

I got mine last week. (specs in sig)

I'll post up a review and some benchmarks/pics soon.

 

sorry the noobie question, does it have sata 6?

 

Yes the two HDD ports are SATA Gen 3 (600MB/sec) while the ODD is SATA Gen 2 (300MB/sec).

 

Here's my order. Hopefully it will get here soon. This thing should be pretty beastly. I also have a Crucial M4 128gb SSD on the way. With o/c, what fps would you expect BF3 on ultra?

1 PowerPro R 11:36 Matte Gaming Laptops -
FREE - Battlefield 3
15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) LED Backlit Glossy LCD
nVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M 256bit w/2.0GB GDDR5
Intel® Core™ i7-2760QM (2.4~3.5GHz) w/6M L3 Cache - 4 Cores - 8 Threads
FREE IC Diamond to CPU + GPU w/CPU Upgrade ONLY
16GB (4x4GB) Kingston HyperX DDR3/1600 Dual Channel Memory - CL9
750GB SATA II 3GB/s 7,200 RPM Hard Drive
Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive
Built-in Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1102 - Ultimate Gaming Card -
Smart Li-ion Battery 9-Cell
Windows 7 Premium - 64-Bit w/Full Version OEM + Drivers & Utilities Disks
Full Range 180W Auto Switching AC Adapter

 

Same as a GTX560ti dektop which you can look up.

 

this is what BF3 runs at ultra on my overclocked 570m. No AA. hovers in the mid to high 30's and is pretty well playable.

 

Which desktop has a i7-2760QM and 580m in it? I'm looking to see if anyone has this setup. Not a paper comparison of possible performance. Thanks.

 

Thanks man. That's more helpful.

 

1) A fully overclocked GTX580M is the same chip running at the same clocks as a GTX560ti stock, they will perform the same.

2) A i7-2760QM will perform similarly to a 2500k at stock but it does not matter as at those settings you will be entirely GPU limited so look back to point 1).

I directed you to the 560Ti desktop as there will be FAR FAR more reviews from trusted sites with detailed breakdowns on performance.

So fine, next time you have a problem I'll be sure not to help. Ignore on.

 

After much deliberation and research I finally settles don getting a Powerpro 11:36 from Powernotebooks.com

I was having a lot of confusion over what to get but Donald helped me out a bunch and actually saved me quite a bit of money.

Specs are in sig

Will post more when it arrives, extremely excited!

 

I've tried to search this in the forums but for some reason searching "580m" in the MSI forums turns up zero results. What's the good route to go in o/c the 580m on these laptops? Is there a bios flash available? What are good numbers for everyday gaming? I don't care about benchmarking. I can't wait to receive my beast and squeeze a little more juice out of her. Thanks in advance!

 

I apologize. I'm still looking for the specific fps on those specific specs but thanks for posting something and helping out.

 

Got mine. Skyrim, FFXIV, and NFS Hot pursuit run great on it.

I run Skyrim at High rather than Ultra. Spawned 40 dragons. Still ran smoothly when they weren't attacking.

FFXIV needed medium to high, but this is more due to the limitations of the engine than the machine itself.

NFS hot pursuit, being an older game, ran effortlessly.

Great soundsystem, tolerable keyboard, good screen. I actually like the build quality quite a bit. Feels sturdy to me.

Also spawned enough cheese in skyrim to push the NPC's in a house to the ceiling without a crash. Kept doing so until it crashed but it held up like a champ most of the way.

 

I took other people's advice and placed some thin foam under the keyboard, around the top right and it really helped firm it up.

 

LOL just go to Markarth. If it can muster 30 fps there, you're pretty much guaranteed 50~60 everywhere else

If you're not already using it, go get Skyboost R3 (or whatever revision it's at now) ASAP!!

my frame rate in markarth literally did this (this screen shot group was taken from my desktop computer but my laptop saw similar improvements) Shows the difference between the SKSE mod and skyboost. Can't believe what a difference skyboost makes. Zero side effects or anything.

 

Good find. I'll have to look into it.

As a more extended review, I've found the keyboard, speakers, and case to be very solid. The keyboard definitely beats the one on the Sager NP5165 and even the numeric keypad is rather comfortable.

I've seen some reviews about the barebones case not feeling solid in the display part, but I've found the top part of the case to be very solid, as well as the hinges. When you position the screen on the hinges, it stays without much give.

The only area where it feels at all bendy would be the bottom area, but I hardly notice it.

I'm pretty crappy with reviews and descriptions, but I can at least say I have no regrets purchasing this laptop. It's done things that I honestly didn't think a laptop of this size would have been capable of.

 

yeah the keyboard is good (not great) but really has to be supported with that foam tape under it in some areas to cure the "spongy" feel that so many reviews on websites complain about.

I think the track pad is fine (not the best I've ever used but far from the worst) but I do hate the fact that the left/right click are 1 button that sort of pivots in the center rather than being independent buttons. I have caught myself trying to click almost right in the center and getting mad because it's not clicking only too look down and see that I'm not far enough to the left or right on the button for it to actually go down ಠ_ಠ

 

Any help on this?

 

Sure...just remember Google is your best friend

https://www.google.com/search?q=over+clock+GPU&ie=utf-8

 

I realize this thread is a bit stale but I have a few questions.

Is the standard keyboard backlit?

Does the BIOS let you set an HDD password?

Thanks!

 

The MS-16F2 does not have and cannot support a backlit keyboard.

You can set an admin password in the bios.

 

Thanks for the response.

The reason I asked about the HDD BIOS password specifically is because Intel uses that in conjunction with their hardware encrypted 520 series SSD.

 

First off, that was an excellent review, Tim. Plus reputation for you, and I enjoyed reading and perusing over the feedback and tests you've done. Nice job.

I just ordered a PowerPro 11:36 from Donald and Powernotebooks.com this afternoon/evening, with the specs in my signature now. I'm under a time crunch for this notebook, and Donald was very understanding, accomodating, and extremely helpful in the ordering process. As far as the ordering process went, Donald and Powernotebooks are aces in my book. It was a very painless and enjoyable experience thus far.

Really looking forward to this notebook, and will pass along my impressions once I receive it (which will be soon). I'm especially looking forward to the OCZ Synapse SSD.

 

Thanks for kind words! Donald and his team are indeed very Professional guys. I am sure you will enjoy your new lappy!

 

You're welcome.

Yep, I can't wait for my new 'precious' and hope that it will perform great!

 

Donald was very helpful in getting my order together. Enjoy the new beast!

 

Thanks! I'm glad to hear that you had a positive experience as well, and also hope you will enjoy your new monster. Are you going to be playing any games?

I can't wait for Guild Wars 2 and Diablo III (The Secret World as well).

 

Just ordered my 11:36-675. Donald is my man, i love that guy and he helped me out a lot on building a beast.

 

Don't forget to keep us updated on it

 

Just ordered one of these myself (although a lil better specs). Can't wait for it to come in the mail and love the powernotebook team! Btw good review. I hope mine comes out just as awesome!