Request advice re: MSI GE73 Raider 8RF options

After 8 years, my son's gaming Sager finally died. After years of having Sagers myself (with heat problems as well as unexplainable crashing), I bought an MSI GE73 VR 7RF Raider a year ago. I was completely happy with the customer service, customization assistance, and delivery experience I received from HIDevolution. I've had zero problems at all while playing the latest games for extended periods of time, so my parents and I plan on buying my son the following tomorow:

Custom Built MSI GE73 Raider 8RF RGB-012 17.3" w/ nVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070

LCD Panel
17.3" FHD (1920*1080), 120Hz 3ms Wideview 94%NTSC ...

LCD Panel
17.3" FHD (1920*1080), 120Hz 3ms Wideview 94%NTSC Color Anti-Glare

Display Calibration
Yes, display professionally calibrated w/ profile saved ...

Display Calibration
Yes, display professionally calibrated w/ profile saved to USB drive - $50.00

Minimize LCD Backlight Bleed
Yes, quality check and give me a panel with minimal bac ...

Minimize LCD Backlight Bleed
Yes, quality check and give me a panel with minimal backlight bleed. - $100.00

Display Warranty
30 Days Zero Defective Pixel Warranty (perfect panel gu ...

Display Warranty
30 Days Zero Defective Pixel Warranty (perfect panel guarantee) - $35.00

Video Card
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 w/ 8GB GDDR5
Processor
Intel® 8th Generation Coffee Lake Core™ i7-8750H 6 Core ...

Processor
Intel® 8th Generation Coffee Lake Core™ i7-8750H 6 Core - 12 Thread Processor, 2.2 GHz (Max Turbo Frequency 4.1 GHz), 9MB Smart Cache

Thermal Interface Materials
Gelid GC Extreme on CPU + GPU, and Fujipoly Extreme The ...

Thermal Interface Materials
Gelid GC Extreme on CPU + GPU, and Fujipoly Extreme Thermal Pads on heat sensitive surfaces – installed by HIDevolution - $65.00

Memory
HIDevolution Approved Standard 32GB DDR4/2666MHz (1 x 3 ...

Memory
HIDevolution Approved Standard 32GB DDR4/2666MHz (1 x 32GB) - installed by HIDevolution - $310.00

M.2 PCIe RAID Options
no RAID (1st drive as primary boot drive, 2nd drive as ...

M.2 PCIe RAID Options
no RAID (1st drive as primary boot drive, 2nd drive as storage drive)

M.2 PCIe / SATA Slot 1
HIDevolution Approved 1TB M.2 SATA 6Gb/s SSD - Installe ...

M.2 PCIe / SATA Slot 1
HIDevolution Approved 1TB M.2 SATA 6Gb/s SSD - Installed by HIDevolution - $190.00

M.2 PCIe Slot 2

2.5" HDD/SSD Bay
2TB Seagate FireCuda Gaming 7mm SSHD (ST2000LX001) - in ...

2.5" HDD/SSD Bay
2TB Seagate FireCuda Gaming 7mm SSHD (ST2000LX001) - installed by HIDevolution - $90.00

Here are my questions regarding this proposed build:

1) Is there any reason to get an extended pixel warranty for more than 30 days? What I recall from speaking with HIDevolution a year ago is that either the screen is "perfect" from the factory or it isn't. Should I worry about pixels dying more than 30 days out?

2) Should I pay $360 more for 64 GB of RAM vs. 32? My understanding is that
gaming performance is primarily determined by your video card, so long as your processor and RAM are reasonable (modern multicore processor + >8 GB of RAM). Suggestions?

3) How much better is the the Seagate FireCuda than the stock 5400 RPM SATA 2 TB drive? For $24 more, it seemed like a "no brainer" upgrade to me. Does anyone have any experience with this drive, pro or con?

4) I have read different things about the Grizzly Conductonaut liquid metal product. Clearly, the raw numbers prove that it's great for heat dissipation. I've also read that it is not recommended for notebooks due to "pumping out" (drying out), as a thread on this forum suggests. The only options offered by HIDevolution are stock, Gelid, or Grizzly Conductonaut...thoughts?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Entelechy0

PS How much is the HIDevolution NBR discount? Is there any requirement for duration of membership, post count, etc.?

 

1.) Nope, never heard of a single case where the screen broke after 30 days of purchase.
2.) Exacly, even 32GB RAM is way to much, 16GB is the current norm.
3.) Due to SSHD remembering what programs you open more frequently it can load games near SSD speeds.
4.) Since you do have warranty for the liquid metal service, going for it would be a good idea.

 

My initial comments before reading your questions:

1) I wouldn't choose the option to professionally calibrate an MSI screen as MSI has its own tool called MSI True Color which has pre-calibrated profiles and you can easily choose between profiles like "Gaming", "sRGB", "Designer", etc to suite your needs.

I like to keep my profile set to Designer at night as it's a bit warmer and easier on the eyes at night or set it to sRGB when watching movies or Games when playing games

2) Why not choose the best thermal paste which is Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut instead of Gelid GC Extreme?

3) Change the memory from a single stick of 32GB to 2x 16GB, that way they would run a bit faster since they will be running in DDR (Dual Data Rate) not SDR (Single Data Rate)


To answer your questions:

1) I wouldn't, if a screen is good, it's good as you said. I never had a screen had a green pixel over time although that *may* happen anytime I don't it's worth it to pay extra for that kinda warranty

2) I like to always maximize my RAM just for bragging rights but 32GB should be more than enough for your needs. Just split them into 2x16GB to be in Dual Channel Mode but if budget is not a problem, sure, go for 2x32GB that will help in the long run as you will NEVER be short of RAM in any task that you do and be in Dual Channel mode

3) No experience with that drive I only buy SSDs since a few years. Can't stand the slow HDDs which may fail anytime.

4) HIDevolution has their proprietary method of applying Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut which prevents spillage/leaking so don't worry about that and get it! Anything *they* do when you order it is covered under warranty anyway. That's why I don't like tinkering with these things myself although I know how to.

Email [email protected] before you order to ask him about the NBR Discount. No one knows the exact amount but hey, why not if you can save some money.

Since you are an HIDevolution Member, feel free to tag me if you ever want me to tweak your laptop (one time only per laptop).

These are the Ultra Male Tweaks:

1- Uninstallation of all the Windows Store Garbage Apps like 3D Paint, Print 3D, Alarms & Clock, Feedback Hub, Maps, Groove Music, News, Weather, etc.
2- Removing all Windows 10 Privacy Invasion stuff like Telemetry, sending your keystrokes to Microsoft, automatically installing suggested apps in the background, allowing Microsoft to conduct experiments on your laptop, disabling automatic driver updates through Windows updates, disabling Windows 10 ads, disabling Cortana, Cloud Search etc.
3- Disabling Microsoft Edge from starting up automatically in the background upon reboot.
4- Adjusting a lot of options in PC Settings like disabling Windows Tablet Mode (you have a laptop not a tablet), disabling suggestions appearing in the start menu, disabling automatically connecting to Paid WiFi Hotspots, disabling Game DVR which reduced performance in games, and a lot more.
5- Replacing Cortana with a much better search tool that finds results instantly called Everything which finds any file you want as soon as you start typing even a few letters of its name and it doesn't even rely on the Windows Indexing Service to do this!
6- Restoring the classic Windows Photo Viewer
7- Restoring the Classic Windows 7 Start Menu
8- Removal of the new and useless 3D Objects Folder that appears when you open "Computer"
9- Completely disabling Windows Defender from its roots (including all scheduled tasks and startup files) for those who want to install their own AV. ESET NOD32 Antivirus is highly recommended if you want the utmost security with the least system performance impact.
10- Updating all drivers to the latest versions in case they weren't up to date.
11- Disabling the performance hit that is caused by the Meltdown and Spectre patches recently released by Microsoft (optional, only if you don't mind having this security vulnerability and would rather have your CPU's full performance back)
12- Overprovisioning your SSD anywhere between 10-20% depending on how much space you can spare to ensure optimal and consistent performance at all times.
13- Blocking the Google Chrome Software Reporter Tool (which causes a high system load when it is scanning files)
14- Preventing Microsoft Edge from running on startup in the background
15- Creating a system restoration image using Macrium Reflect

 

As far as I know the GE73 Raider does not support 64gb of ram. Not sure why HIDevolution has it as an option

 

Thank you very much for your advice. I will certainly do as you say (I meant to select 2x16 GB when I was customizing...thanks for pointing that out).

Thanks very much for your kind offer to customize the OS and clean out the M$ garbage. I did 90% of what you recommend for my current MSI; I think I can follow your instructions and do it myself (good practice for this old coder who first learned to program on an HP 3000 mainframe in 1977).

I'll be calling HIDevolution shortly; will report back re: final build.

Entelechy0

 

Please note the 64GB is made up of 2x 32GB pieces. All MSI models have been tested and they do support 32GB pieces.

It is not uncommon for manufacturers, including Intel, to show their specs based on what was available at the time of publication. Since then, 32GB SODIMM pieces have become available.

 

Memory
HIDevolution Approved Standard 32GB Dual Channel DDR4/2400MHz (2 x 16GB) - installed by HIDevolution - $250.00


Correction

 

Thank you very much, Donald.

I spoke with Donald, who passed me to Ted, who had helped me with my prior purchase last year. They have a system where they ensure "continuity of care" (to use the medical phrase) so that the same sales associate will always help you with your subsequent purchase(s), if they are available when you call.

Ted concurred 100% with the recommendations of both Danishblunt and Ultra Male. He stated that the 2 TB FireCuda is an excellent value, and that the Grizzly Conductonaut (with HIDevolution's proprietary application and sealing system) results in 10 degree C drops in temps compared to other TIM options, without any worries about leaking or drying out that some people have mentioned.

So, the final configuration was as above, with the changes:

--no HIDevolution display calibration (MSI calibration is sufficient)
--2x16 GB RAM (for DDR)
--Grizzly Conductonaut instead of Gelid

By the way, in order to get the NBR discount (which varies by price of the system you order, from $30-75 per Donald), you have to have posted at least 3 times. My discount was $60, which brought the grand total to $3289, which is an excellent price, in my opinion, for such an amazing beast of a machine, which should last many years.

Thanks to all for your help,

Entelechy0

 

Good info Donald. I didnt know that

 

Should you really be turning a $1900 mid-range laptop into an over $3,000 expenditure? You could get a GT75 for that kind of money.

 

I paid right at $3k for my GE73. I seriously considered the GT63 and the GT75. I went and looked at the GT63 in the store and it was just way too big. And the GT75 is even bigger. Don't really see the point in either of them to be honest. Might as well just get a desktop.

 

Any choice is a good choice as long as it is the choice you wanted. Everyone's requirement is different plus there can be several conditions available to justify the purchase decision of a particular model.