Thinking about purchasing the GT627...

I'm heading to college soon, and like everyone else I apparently need a laptop. I'm not sure how much I'll be bringing the laptop to class, nor am I sure how much gaming I plan to do in college. Regardless, to keep it safe, I'm looking for a decent sized laptop (no desktop replacement) to carry around occasionally, that has a decent battery life, and can play games fairly well.

The GT627 seems to be the one. It's 15.4", has the 9 cell battery, has a great GPU...is there a catch? I hear the keyboard is a bit odd. How would it be to carry around? I've never owned a laptop before.

Edit - From what I see now, newegg has a 216 and a 218 model, $1,100 and $1,300 respectively. I'd much rather spend less money, so is the 216 alright?

 

The 216 is fine; but it is let down by it's native resolution of 1280x800. I guess it depends on whether you can live with this or prefer the larger resolution of the 218 (1680x1050); what are you going to be using it for in college?

The Blu-Ray drive you can live without to be fair, and the difference in processor speed (2.26 v 2.4GHz) will most likely be unnoticeable.

However, the 218 also comes with a 9 cell battery rather than the 6 cell of the 216. Whilst this does add a little to the weight (0.3 lbs) it will add to the time you can use your laptop away from a power source; something else you might need to consider.

 

i think the 200 dollar bump in price is worth it. both models are of great value, it just depends on what you need.

 

Yes, the bigger battery is a necessity for college. The greater resolution is a plus, but Blu-Ray depends on what you want from this laptop. Processor difference is negligible.

Keyboard pretty much sucks on both models, but many members have fixed that problem with double sided tape or saran wrap, just cruise through this forum.

 

I'm looking at this laptop too (the $1299 variant), but my main concern is with the touchpad. Is the wear issue as bad as people make it out to be? I know a lot of people have said the paint wears off in a matter of days, sometimes hours.

 

Yeah, I'm still a little wary about the touchpad and the keyboard =\

What is the next best laptop GPU, right behind the 9800m? Could you recommend a nice 15.4" or a 14" with whatever GPU that may be?

 

The keyboard is nt such a prob. Its only if u hv a habit to hammer keys.

The touchpad and palmrest is a big problem, bt can be solved.
All u need is a scratch card that comes for mobile screen, cut it and fit in onto the touchpad.
The touchpad remains equally sensitive.
The palmrest needs to be cleaned daily with non-alcohol based lcd cleaner.
Thats it!

There is a perfect laptop, bt dont think of gaming on battery, i got 05 FPS in GTA IV.
On Power i get 29-32FPS.

 

The only issues there are is the crappy coating on the touchpad that gets easily worn(bad) and keyboard flex(not too bad).
But if you can live with those problems the GT627-216/218 is very,very good laptop,even better for gaming.
C'mon everyone gets the itch to game once in a while and the MSI GT627 is very nice.

 

I thought about putting a screen protector over the touchpad, so that's a possibility. But is it the whole palm rest that's prone to wearing? If so, that could be a dealbreaker for me.

 

Palm rest is fine, only the touchpad has wear issues.

 

I've thought about getting the GX620 instead, which has a 9600M GT. I know I'm taking a major hit in the graphics department, but is the 9600 that much worse? I don't expect to play Crysis or anything like that, but I would like to play current games such as Dawn of War II and Empire: Total War, along with the ability to play Diablo III in the future.

 

I thought about that, but I think it's a pretty major hit. Pretty sure the 9600 gets around 5500 or so in 3DMark06, while the 9800 GS gets about 8500. Plus - and someone please correct me if I'm wrong - I think they have the same touchpad issues.

 

The 9800m GS is in a whole other league than the 9600m GT. The performance difference is HUGE.

 

I just noticed this...and it's only on Newegg and RKComputers images - Xotic and Amazon don't have it.

Is there REALLY a second backslash key to the left of the spacebar on the GT627? And if so...just...why?

 

Just noticed on my 627 that yes there is a second backslash key there. No idea why...

 

Yes there is a second backlash key. I don't think there was a need for it. I would have preferred a wider backspace key instead. Anyway it is not annoying or anything but I don't use that key lol.

 

Keyboards with 102 keys (only 1 backslash key) do exist though. Just look at this pic:

http://www.rkcomputer.net/rkcnotebooks/index.php?l=product_detail&p=164

 

I just got my GT627 few days back and I am loving it
And I am sure there is no laptop out there with this performance and still is thin and light
.. I have xps 1530 and it is of same weight and size but far ahead in performanCe... And as u said u will be carrying around this laptop to colg so will fit ur choice...