***The Official MSI GT 70 w/GTX-680M Owner?s Lounge***

SuperRAID0 is two (2x) mSATA (SATA III) SSD's paired together in a RAID0 configuration. In your example above, the 'stock' option would be two 64GB (2 x 64GB = 128GB SuperRAID0) MemoRight MS-701 mSATA SSD's in RAID0. The other options are offering increased capacities, but are only single mSATA SSD's, and none are RAID'ed.

Again, as I told you in my earlier post, those individual 240GB Mushkin mSATA SSD's are pricey at $369 each ($738 a pair). At Amazon or NewEgg (self installation required) they can be had for $250 each, or $500 a pair if you desire SuperRAID. Also, GenTech is offering these, installed, for only $518 a pair (2x 240GB = 480GB SuperRAID0).

 

This is what I did with GenTech, if you have the $, you won't be disappointed.

 

Me too.. :smile:

 

The MSI GT70 0NE-416US only comes with a single 128GB MemoRight MS-701 mSATA SSD and configured as AHCI not Super-RAID.

 

Just bought a 276US from GentechPC. Can't wait for it to arrive! One question though, I chose the option to remove bloatware. Are there any of those utility programs that are actually useful that I should re-install?

 

Hi all,

Due compatible of my game only running optimum in windows Xp, I made my laptop dual boot, Windows 7 (x64) and windows xp (x64).
During installation I got problem for driver, I tried to search but I found only driver of intel 4000 Graphic card.
The others hardware driver I could not found, such as NVIDIA Geforce GTX680M, Killer wireless-N 1103, etc.

I hope someone can help me to get those drivers for windows xp (x64) .
Laptop Specification: http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi...w-gtx-680m-owner-s-lounge-32.html#post8860026

Thanks.

 

This is a nit picky issue - but I'm curious.

Are any of you experiencing excessive noise coming out of the analog headphone / speaker out port on your models - even with sound turned off.

The heaphone port is 100% more noisy than the speaker out port. The speaker out port is closer to the edge of the case (further away from any components inside).

I know laptops are not the gold standard for noise free audio - with all the cramped confines it's impossible to eliminiate noise. That said, here is what I am experiencing.

With no programs open (just viewing the desktop) I can hear some "chatter" that "pulses" on a regular basis. Similar to what you hear when your cellphone is causing interference with a speaker.

When I open a game the noise fluctuates depending on what is being displayed on screen. So I startup Vantage, or BF3 and turn off all sound - just moving through the world adds all sorts of "flutters" and "eeks" that change with the video image. Many times all I hear is mild "buzzing" like there is a beehive in the distance.

I think this is being caused by something not being shielded well - video, panel, hard drives perhaps.

It's not a huge issue when there is lots of noise - but quickly becomes annoying when there are quiet passages in movies or games.

Just wanted to know if anyone here has experienced the same thing or if this is exclusive to my model.

Oh - worked with Ken already on eliminating the Soundblaster THX stuff as a source. I'm about to try a USB wireless headset to confirm this is analog outs - but I'm almost 100% sure this is the case. I have tried multiple outlets, power bricks, and tested two separate analog headphones, in different locations. I have confirmed these headphones "quiet" on a tower computer.

I've got super raid with the mechanical secondary, Big Foot, and stock screen.

Thanks

 

Ladies and Gentleman, Girls and Boys,

Pardon me for interrupting your excitement and joy,

May I please kindly ask ask how many hard drive bay does the GT GT70 0NE-416US comes with ???

Is it only 2 ???

1 for the SSD
1 for the SATA Drive

Can the Drive Bay for the SSD Drive be used for a 2.5" SATA II 7200 RPM Hard Disk instead ?

???

 

WOW! Windows XP? Since support for WIN XP has officially ended, I would try Google, Mod driver sites, and die-hard XP user sites.

Good luck with that.

It has 2 HDD bays..... one is equipped with a single MemoRight MS-701 128GB mSATA SSD (SATA III bay), and the other is equipped with a 500GB (7200RPM) HDD (SATA II bay). This and other helpful GT70 0NE information can be found HERE!

Also, YES, you can use whatever 2.5" drives you prefer, in either bay.

 

What game do you need XP for?

Besides what was already recommended, you could also run XP as a VMware virtual machine in 3D mode. Performance is reduced, how much depends on the game.

I could get away with world of warcraft for instance believe it or not!

 

Thank for that, I am very need driver specially KILLER WIRELESS-N 1103 to connect internet. I am struggling to search in Google.

I am still playing MotoGP 3 URT and MotoGP 07.
Those game if running under Wind 7, the menu to configure controller not activated.
The last solution, I will try install VMware virtual machine.
Thanks for your suggestion.

 

Hey all!, just got mine and it is freaking amazing! I love this laptop.

I just have one problem if someone can help: I see the main drive is 128 gig raid-0 ssd with a 500 gig HDD. Does that mean there are THREE ports for a disk drive? Can I possible upgrade to TWO 256 gig SSD NO raid since It seems raid-0 on ssd produces little speed increase (and keep the HDD).

I've never done a disk drive upgrade before; any help would be appreciated.

 

Specifically, which GT70 0NE model do you have? I assume a European model?

You have two drive bays (primary & secondary), not including the optical drive bay. If you have 128GB in RAID0, that would be two 64GB mSATA SSD's in the primary drive bay..... also known a SuperRAID. Click the following link for a detailed pictoral view of what this looks like:

MSI GT70 Super RAID Detailed ( NOTE: Disregard the mSATA SSD's shown. MSI is currently using much faster MemoRight MS-701 mSATA SSD's)

Little speed increase? You must not have read THIS POST regarding SuperRAID. Anyhow, your best bet for an upgrade, would be to simply swap to larger capacity mSATA SSD's.

Also, click HERE for other helpful GT70 0NE information.

 

Hi Stiker!

Do you have any news for us about the throttling issue for the GT70? I'm really waiting for this, because i'm hoping to have one.. please say you have good one..

Thanks!

 

That couldn't be farther from the truth, a Raid 0 mSATA setup is twice as fast as a single mSATA setup in non-Raid. Check this thread for benchmarks.

 

Keep in mind GT60 0NE and GT70 0NE cpu throttling is only a suspicion of mine, and no, I have not tested or verified this yet. To clarify further, what has led me to this 'assumption' is the following:

1.) These MSI 680M models score significantly less in benchmark testing, than comparable competitor models.
2.) The MSI marketed feature of these models, the Turbo 'TDE' function, essentially does nothing to appreciably improve 680M performance.
3.) The MSI 680M vbios is limited or locked, restricting the use of the Turbo (TDE) function, or any other over-clocking tools.
4.) Without OC, numerous users have reported FPS lag spikes during normal gaming.
5.) The MSI 680M can be OC'ed, but only with a unofficial/unsupported modified vbios..... and even such, ThrottleStop 5.00 must be used.
6.) Considering the notebook's power demand when under simultaneous CPU and GPU load, the MSI 680M models have the least rated (180W) power adapters, as compared with competitor models.
7.) Regarding lower benchmark scores, lack of Turbo (TDE) function, and inability to OC these models, numerous email and benchmarks were submitted to MSI. As such, MSI USA an MSI R&D (Taiwan) conducted their own testing (results of such, I have), but thus far they have not addressed the issue further.

We have seen this before, and I am reminded of UncleWebb's (ThrottleStop author) words on the topic.....

The throttling issue is one reason why I avoided another Asus gaming notebook. I hate the thought of my new MSI notebook throttling, but you got to love the guys who develop these helpful tools.

More words of wisdom from UncleWebb.....

Good advise that I for one, intend to follow..... and I recommend the same for anyone experiencing gaming FPS issues. For those also concerned or interested.....

ThrottleStop 5.00

Anyhow, I'll be game testing with ThrottleStop soon, but it would be very helpful if other owners would do this too. The more data, the better!

 

It's fine if you don't overclock, if you want to overclock you need to use ThrottleStop:

Downloads

 

Thanks for the reply Striker and ken..

I have another question. Is the GT70 0ne-276 also the same as the GT70 0ne-277 in canada? And can i still use the drivers listed in here or i just need to download it manually on the MSI GT70 0ne-277 website?

I'm planning to have one in canada btw..
Thanks again!

 

To further quote UncleWebb or the ThrottleStop download site:

Question is..... Did MSI lock or limit the vbios, because the power adapter is inadequate to support needed power demands under load? Is this why the Turbo (TDE) function does not work, and why we cannot OC with AfterBurner? Is the notebook throttling during normal gaming load, without OC? Is this why some users have been reporting FPS lag spikes during gaming? To definitively answer these questions, load testing or ThrottleStop log monitoring will be required..... right? The bottom line is the notebook should not throttle at all under normal design conditions, and if it is during gaming, MSI has inadequately powered the notebook. ThrottleStop is a 'work-around', not a fix..... and by circumventing this designed safety feature (throttling), has it's own risk.

Yeah, same basic notebook, but two different MSI SKU's..... which usually means a slightly different hardware configuration. The MSI drivers listed HERE, are linked directly from the MSI Global Downloads site, so these are fine.

 

Do you have some numbers for us to look at?
I looked at notebookcheck, but I don't see any difference in 3dmark11.

 

At normal clocks it scores similarly to the Clevos/Dells. But if you overclock it it won't reach comparable levels.
I'm using a modded vbios and with clocks at 854/2200 I get around 6500-6600 on 3dmark11. At 900/2400 I get around 6900 (all with Throttlestop). I can't break the 7000 barrier whereas the Clevos can break that with 854/2200 overclocks with normal voltage. The GPU doesn't down throttle clock speeds during these benchmarks (I've checked using graphs). Something is definitely not right. Both the MSI and Clevo (15") use a 180W PSU so I don't know what the deal is.

Just ran another benchmark. Clocks at 854/2200 (stock voltage): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3610QM Processor,Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. MS-16F3 score: P6650 3DMarks

 

Sure! This chart clearly demonstrates how MSI 680M GPU's (stock Vbios) are currently code limited when compared with Sager/Clevo.....and interestingly enough, the more clock frequencies are increased, the more performance diminishes.

*Image removed*

Please keep in mind my suspicions are with the branded MSI 680M models only, and if they are throttling while gaming, 'factory stock', and with the original vbios. Furthermore, I suspect the 180W PA is borderline, and this is why the original MSI 680M vbios is so limiting. As such, I believe this explains why the Turbo (TDE) feature is basically functionless, and why these notebooks cannot be even mildly OC'ed with AfterBurner.

Also, though the 15" Sager/Clevo 680M models are also equipped with 180W PA's, these manufacturers chose 220W PA's for their 17" 680M models. Also Dell/AW opted to use a 240W PA for their M17x 680M model.

Again, no notebook should throttle, 'as delivered' in it's original factory state..... and if it does, it is inadequately powered. I am simply saying a case can be made that warrants testing of the branded GT60 & GT70 0NE models.

 

So...does modding the vbios in the branded models allow the GT70 to catch up to the scores of the sager in your chart?

If we wanted to mod our vbios, isn't the power supply still a concern?

I guess what I'm trying to figure out...is it worth doing / the risk in your opinion?

I don't wanna burn out my gear, or spend time trying to unlock some added performance if the units power supply wont be able to keep the hardware on.

That said, I think we should all get what we paid for...this is a little irritating to learn about after purchasing.

Thanks for your input.

 

I see here at the wall it draws 188watts under full load stock settings. Not much, if any head room for overclocking.

 

My scores are with the branded MSI GT60 model and I get these low overclocking numbers. Very annoying to know that they aren't on the same level as the Clevos (15", 9150 with 180w PSU in my case).

 

I think as long as it doesn't throttle in stock form (non-overclocked) I think it is fine. Yes overclocking is fun, but is not guaranteed. I have never seen any sort of throttling while playing games on my GT60.

I mention this because some systems have throttling under normal use & games. I think some versions of the 580m had bad throttling at one point.

 

Does modding the vbios in the branded models allow the GT70 to catch up to the scores of the sager in the chart above? Yes, and as you can see in the following chart, the vbios and driver versions make a huge difference in 3DMark Vantage performance scoring..... BUT, GT60 & GT70 0NE notebooks are throttling with only the slightest OC. Also note below, the vbios version used by MSI R&D to accomplish this:

*Image Removed*

But is flashing the vbios or OC'ing worth it? This of course, is up to the individual user, and their wallet. Manufacturers generally do not condone such, and in doing so, you place your warranty and hardware at risk. Personally I would not recommend this for the faint-of-heart or the inexperienced.

My concerns here are not so much about maximum benchmark scores or how much we can OC the notebook. It's more about how the notebook performs at original 'stock' levels...... and brim31 raises precisely my point. On a stock system with original vbios, is the 180W PA sufficient, and is there enough headroom here to avoid CPU throttling? During normal gaming, are the power demands exceeding the PA's capacity, resulting in throttling? If these notebooks are throttling, then the manufacturer should provide adequate hardware to meet the power needs. This is what owners paid for.

This is why I would encourage all owner's test with ThrottleStop as UncleWebb suggest. Again......

If the evidence clearly shows that as 'original equipment', these notebooks are throttling, then the manufacturer should address and resolve the issue...... or at the very least, provide us an option of higher watt PA's. Perhaps then and ideally, MSI could provide a less limiting vbios, 'stock' benchmark scores would be improved, the featured Turbo (TDE) would work to a meaningful level (perhaps 5 to 10%)..... and we could at least have the headroom of say; a mild 15% boost with AfterBurner.

Anyhow, as things stand presently, my hunch is the headroom simply doesn't exist with the 180W PA. For those interested or concerned, please game test with ThrottleStop (monitoring mode only) and 'paste' your logs HERE. Then post us a link for your Pastebin.com log here in the thread. All of this of course, needs verification, and evidence needs to be collected to make the case.

 

Thanks for explaining. I agree with other comments, I am more interested in curbing throttling on stock - If it exists.

I'll post a log later today, but here is what I saw last night.

My cpu varied...but only very slightly. Do multiplier differences of 0.20 or much less constitute throttling to the point that it would cause fps lag spikes?

I had WoW cranked up to ultra with max sampling etc. Flying over the dense major capital cities for 8 minutes or so. There were some occasional hiccups, but I didn't experience it had anything to do with my hardware - more world loading more than likely.

Gpu hit 71 max and settled in around 68-69 c.

I'll post my logs on my break today.

 

I think the best answer to your question is please read the ThrottleStop documentation. You will find this in HTML format within the ThrottleStop download zip file. Good stuff, and very informative!

Also, I would recommend testing with several games, and games that tax the system the most. For instance, Max Payne 3 will do so, more than COD: Black Ops. BTW, your WOW temps look good.



EDIT: I had to re-think the posting of ThrottleStop log files here. These could be quite lengthy, and as UncleWebb suggest, Pastebin.com is probably the best method. Please see my previous post for reference.

Also, perhaps it is best to trim or edit the log files, isolating where inconsistencies are noted. At some point it would be very nice to have UncleWebb involved here..... if he would so kind.

 

can you explain what you mean by "a dying 680m?" and how you diagnosed it? my gt70 is coming in tomorrow and i just want to make sure it is working properly

 

Freezing after 1-2 minutes...and not being recognized by the nvidia drivers (hardware not found trying to enter the control panel)

Gaming worked by forcing the Intel graphics to be used on games.

 

So what am I reading here, is this laptop gimped? I thought I was buying a top of the line gaming rig, but now I'm reading that its inadequately powered, its scoring on the low end of vs competitors, and not even recognizing the 680M, which is the very reason I bought it.

 

No, some of this discussion has colored what is still a great unit.

At stock, things are close. It doesn't OC as simply as some of the others - or without concerns.

Reading this thread over the last few weeks - There was one other person with a failing 680m on arrival. I was unfortunately one of the minority. I was able to have it fixed without returning the unit and...because of optimus it kept running.

It's plenty fast. Great screen, good battery, best keyboard, pretty good build, smoking storage options...blu ray.

I'm still a happy owner.

I might have considered another brand if keyboard options / track pad were better.

 

Gimped? Not at all! Don't look at this negatively, but more as progress in the making. All new models get thoroughly tested by their customer base.

I have tried to be very clear here, so no one should read more into this.

Many notebooks available have throttling issues, and there are various types of throttling conditions. This can be particularly prevalent when OC'ing, when taking system hardware to it's limits, beyond the manufacturers designed intent.

My concerns are more directed to the branded GT60 & GT70 0NE model, and whether or not they are experiencing throttling in their original factory state. This has not been proven, and I have been very careful to use words such as 'hunch', and suspicion', when making my points. I simply feel conditions exist, that warrant looking into this, that's all.

If game testing reveals this is the case, evidence can be collected, and it can be presented to the manufacturer for their review.

No, the sky is not falling, and this is not the end of the world. Besides, we always have nice folks like UncleWebb, who come to our aid, developing such cool tools as ThrottleStop.

 

FYI!

Two New GT70 0NE ' Windows 8' models are available for pre-order.

The GT70 0NE-446US - $2,599.00

and.....

The GT70-0NE-452US - $2,299.00

Enjoy!

 

Can anybody suggest a free and simple tool or the way to check 680M on a newly bought GT70-0NE for such mentioned 'dying' issues? I can use 3DMark tools, but I'm thinking of some other simple tool to stress nVidea card.
And what about 180W power supply. It was mentioned that it might not be enough enev in case of a small OC. Is it a real issue?
Could you suggest more powerful AC if it's the case?
Thanks in advance.

 

Dying issue? There have been a few report bad 680M cards, but this is not a wide-spread issue. Most likely your 680M is fine..... just download and run the 'FREE' version of either 3DMark Vantage or 3DMark11. If the benchmark completes sucessfully, you are good to go.

The download links for these tools, and other info can be found HERE!

As far as the 180W PA, this is not an issue..... IF, the notebook performs normally, and without CPU throttling, in it's original 'stock' or factory state. This is what some of us will be looking for, game testing with ThrottleStop logging in the background. If you intend to OC the notebook, then the manufacturer is off-the-hook, so to speak, and you assume all liability and risk from there.

 

^
Exactly. I could not get through 5 minutes without a BSOD or freeze up. Switching to the Intel integrated graphics confirmed solved the issue and we knew it was the card.

AFAIK I was only the 2nd person here to report this issue. It's an isolated incident.

I was grateful to have Ken @ Gentech respond so quickly and get the replacement card out to me in 2 business days.

 

Thanks. You may think I'm too concerning, but I would like to check everything right away, just in case.
Will try with 3DMark11.
ps: as a part of checking laptop for possible common and specific issues (dead pixels, keyb registering keys issues...), mic issue is already checked by Gentech btw.

Yep, I know, I just wanna know should I buy like a 220/240W PA additionally in case I start OC? Just to have some additional power in place before I get started. And what can you suggest in this case?
As far as I remember, you or Ken tried more powerful brick during OC testing. Any links to Amazon/Newegg/eBay?

 

Ive had my GT70-416 now for almost 2 days and its freaking awesome! Running everything I am throwing at it perfectly (other than an XCOM sound issue) and the build quality on this is very very good. My stepson has a year old 15" Sager and this build quality is way better IMO!

The screen is top notch, love the anti-glare.
This laptop runs cool and the cooling in it seems about as good as it can get.
Love the SteelSeries keyboard more than I thought, Its awesome to type on.
Shocked at how good these DynAudio speakers are.. step daughter has a BEATS audio HP and this really is another whole league better in sound.
This model comes with 128gigs SuperRaid mSATA HDD space and its so freaking fast I really thought i would be a gimic but it seems to be a tech to really look in to.

All in all I am super happy with the buy and glad i passed on a Sager and then canceled that Alienware I first ordered.. once my free steelseries mouse, heatset and MSi backpack come in that will really be what set this laptop apart.

 

It's always nice to see a happy owner, and glad you are enjoying the new notebook. One small thing though......

GT70 0NE-416US

It is only equipped with one 128GB mSATA SSD..... so no SuperRAID, and only single SSD performance. On a positive note however, your model does have the dual mSATA SuperRAID adapter, so all you would need do is add another mSATA SSD of equal capacity, and then set them up in a RAID0 configuration.

MSI GT70 mSATA SuperRAID Detailed, a pictoral view ( NOTE: Disregard the mSATA SSD's shown. MSI is currently using much faster MemoRight MS-701 mSATA SSD's)

 

I'll poke my head into the "Elite" lounge over here for a second

Interesting on the power... IF (and yes, I fully understand the grammatical connotation of words like if, maybe, possible, further testing), IF testing reveals a shortage of power from the 180W brick at stock speeds, are there any quality branded 220w/240w bricks from other laptops that would fit the MSI plug, or are we looking at re-soldering a connector?

Got my 1762 w/ 680m on the way right now, I'll be curious to run throttlestop while keeping an eye on the power consumption... I'm not terribly interesting in excessive overclocking, but I'd sure like to get every last drop of stock out of it

 

I don't get one thing. At msi website you can see this description:

"Immerse yourself in the leading 3D technology for notebooks, NVIDIA 3D Vision®, which automatically converts over 650 games like Battlefield 3 into eye-popping 3D. You also get best-in-class 2D gaming with ultra-smooth 120 fps gaming on 120Hz LCDs"

120Hz refresh rate over HDMI cable? Maybe, but only with 720p resolution, since HDMI does not hold it with 1080p. Display port can do it, but I don't see one in GT70. So there are no ways to get it working in 1080p + 120Hz at an external monitor?

 

I am sure if 'push comes to shove', with a little research we could come up with a higher watt PA..... but will this be necessary? If the notebooks are throttling in their original factory state, then a case could be made that the manufacturer needs to correct the problem. In essense, they would be designed flawed, not meeting the standard of their intended use. However, this case for this could not be made for folks who are OC'ing or modifying their vbios against the manufacturers recommendation. For these folks, their notebooks will throttle..... ThrottleStop then becomes a necessity, and all risk is upon them.

Yeah, this has been a bit confusing for me too. My understanding is HDMI 1.4 will do 120hz at 720P, which really isn't bad, and is still considered HD..... albeit on the low end of the spectrum, it's better than DVD 480p.

I have a 240hz 3D bigscreen, but I haven't tried to fool with this. Anyone tried this yet? Any 3D success stories? Videos?

 

FYI!

New NVidia driver package released, 10 Oct. 2012:

GeForce 306.97 Driver

• Release Notes (v306.97)

 

I'll admit to having another more specific reason for my interest as well - next year I'm going to be moving to a country with a poor quality power grid. Power coming in a little under voltage at times, and other similar power problems are not out of the norm. So they idea that my AC adapter needs to be running at maximum/peak efficiency and pumping out the FULL 180w at all times, with no wiggle room, has me a little nervous, since I can envision a number of times where it is possible that I simply won't have the luxury if feeding good enough power to run at max efficiency. Hence my keen interest in a higher capacity adapter with more room to wiggle - having a 240w adapter that only needs to run at 75% capacity seems like a much more reliable option in my particular situation.

 

Understood! Please let us know if you come up with any workable solutions.

 

I have just bought GT70 0NE-428AU, i can't seem to make it use the NVIDIA graphics card while under battery power, I've tried selecting that card under the nvidia control panel, tried making profiles for specific games, tried putting the ECO engine in gaming mode, no luck. Any help would be awesome!

 

Will do.

I've never had an MSI laptop before, so if anyone happens to know other compatible laptop brand plugs (not voltages, just plug style), please LMK

 

Actually you don't want to run your notebook on battery with the 680M. It a high-watt GPU, it will drain the battery quickly, and your gaming FPS will reduce to nil. Your system has two GPU's..... the Intel 4000 for low-power general use, and extended battery life..... and your NVidia 680M to get your hi-power gaming on. For the later, if you want maximum performance, plug it in!

Even when plugged-in, a few games will attempt to use the Intel 4000, when they should be using the 680M. For these, you will want to set profiles in the NVidia Control Panel. Please read-up on 'NVIDIA Optimus' for a better understanding.

NVIDIA Optimus Whitepaper: A technical description of Optimus Technology and how it works.

Also, this may be helpful.......

NVIDIA Control Panel User's Guide