Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q893 vs MSI GX740 variants

My search for a budget gaming laptop below 1000$ was not very fruitful, and I decided to up my budget to something like 1150$
In this budget I found two laptops
1. Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q893 (1149$ at Amazon)
2. MSI GX740-235US (1099$ at Amazon)

Now Toshiba may be an inch bigger, but the screen is that 16:9 (1680x940).
MSI has a better rez screen

Both companies offer 1 year Global warranties, so they are pretty much matched on that.
Now coming to the confusion point.

I went over benchmarks and bit by bit comparison, and here are my findings
I will tabulate them
Part MSI Toshiba Verdict
Processor i5-450m i5-460M Toshiba better(slightly)
Graphics 5870 460M More or less evenly matched
Batter life Nvidia Optimus advantage
HDD 320GB 500GB Toshiba wins
Screen 1680x1050 1600x900(approx) MSI!

So when I look at the points, my biggest pain point with MSI is 320GB from the spec sheet. Price difference is not much between 320GB and 500GB, but I am unable to find a 1130$ MSI model with just that slightly better HDD space.

Second thing I wonder is about GPU state when idle. I read on the forums that by updating the bios, I can have the slow GPU clock facility where MSI will conserve battery when GPU is not in use. With i5 Nvidia 460M already has this capability.

Thirdly, I am hearing reports of the 120W power adaptor not being enough. Is it true? If I am gaming for an hour, is there chance of frying. Please note I will be travelling some, and this laptop will be used in 220V power supply scenario.

I went to sites like rkcomputer.net and Xoticpc etc., and their prices are significantly higher for the same config. All I want is slightly bigger HDD at a cost.

I researched the Toshiba quite a bit, and thats a lovely machine, except for its weight(10lbs). But since MSI is more popular, naturally there are more disgrunted customers.

Speaking of 500GB MSI machine, on amazon the 079US overshoots my budget by 200$ It has i7(which is even more power hungry) and costs 1350$
Amazon.com: MSI GX740-079 17-Inch Laptop: Computer & Accessories

Ideally I am looking for something in between the two. Something around 1120$, 500GB 5870

Please answer my other questions also about new Bios upgrade, video bios upgrade etc.,

Last but not the least, how are the laptop speakers. The Qosmio has good ones.

 

I don't really like toshiba, but in this case I would go with it.

If you do get the MSI, it would be easy to upgrade the HDD to a 500gb one, wouldn't even void warranty (afaik).

 

Scorpio black or momentus 7200.12 for 500GB can be had around $60, then you can sell the old 320GB for maybe $30-40.

BTW 1600x900 trumps 1680x1050.