ViciousXUSMC's Ultimate MSI GT70 Unboxing & Review

I'm interested in the new killer Ethernet card. Has anyone seen an improvement in ping or stability when on a familiar server?

 

HARDOCP - Real World Killer NIC Gameplay - Gaming with the Killer NIC

Review is Dated from 2006 but I'll quote the findings that you may be interested in. Essentially this would also apply to the Mobile Version of the Killer NIC Ethernet Card:

 

to be fair they have had almost 6 years to work on drivers...

 

Review updated with first 3 gaming benchmarks. Be sure to check out the album for full details on settings used.

BF3 next just need to get my game to show in English instead of Russian :/

 

Try changing the settings under Region and Language under the Control Panel.

Could you also Benchmark Stalker Call of Pripyat. There's a benchmark available for Free Download on the Web.

Download Link for Benchmark: http://cop.stalker-game.com/?page=news&item=150

 

Say, is there really any GPU performance over the GT783, seeing as the 570M = 670M?

 

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

 

Very nice indeed, +rep ASA I can

 

Vicious I am still waiting for you to post that battery test(which I told you already that i need a SIMPLE test, not a full day battery drain one)while websirfing to buy my laptop. You would be kind if you post it

 

Battery Test Going Now.

Power Draw Testing:

Lowest Brightness Screen, No Wifi, No Blutooth
19w

Highest Brightness
24w

Add Music 50% Volume Winamp
27w

Add Wifi
28w

Add Browsing NBR
30w

YouTube Full Screen Video
35w

Wprime 100% CPU Load
65w

Furmark 100% GPU Load
132w

Batman Arkham City Benchmark Load
130w

Net Wattage Costs:

Cost for max brightness
5w

Cost for music 50% volume
3w

Cost for Wifi On
1w

Cost for general browsing
3w

Cost for YouTube
7w

Cost for Max CPU Load
37w

Cost for Max GPU Load
104w

Cost for Gaming
102w

Battery is 87Wh

I am running a 30w avg test for battery life now. Have to go to the park with the kids, so lets see if its alive when I get back. Forced power mode to keep screen on full time.

 

Back from the park laptop still on.

So far about 3 hours on time with screen full brightness and music playing. battery at 15% left.

This is ~30w load and I have about 30m left or so.

On power save w/ low brightness we can get under 20w load so that would be 50% more life time.

So we are looking at an estimated 3.5hours x 1.5 = 5.25hours of battery life if your trying to get max life out of it. Way better than any other gaming laptop I have owned but this is to be expected with the new 22nm cpu and the integrated graphics.

 

Excellent and well thought out power test. Thank you Vicious.

 

Love you <3
Platonically of course

 

ViciousXUSMC could you do the Stalker Benchmark ?

 

Yeah I will do that next time I have a chunk of time to d/l run benches.

 

New battery drain chart, figured out how to get it to display proper.



30w Load
Screen Full Brightness
Music Playing 50% Volume
Browser Window Open

 

New keyboard came in today, anybody think they would want/need a video on how to install a keyboard if so I can record one. if not I will just do the keyboard swap without worry and report back.

 

to the person asking for Stalker benches got those done tonight (took forever to download on slow wifi)

I'll graph these out later and put in the review this is just a quick screenshot of the results. The first one is DX11 High, the second is DX11 Ultra

Spoiler

 

Thanks for taking the time to benchmark Call of Pripyat. It seems even under Ultra it is playable however with Sun Shaft's the frames do lower to almost nearly playable territory. Nevertheless impressive results for a Fermi based re branded card.

Under Advanced Options what were the settings used for the Benchmark ?

 

Ok heres a really ,really, really dumb question considering the review(which was great) but Im going to ask it because I already know the answer in my mind I just need to see it in black and white.....GW2 imminent(still) and I want a new rig for it(pathetic but hey beats buying 1300 big macs).....sooooooo MX 17 r4.......or MSI GT70??Go ahead and make my day....

 

If it is not too late I would appreciate the keyboard install video.

 

MSI will probably be a ton cheaper for a given configuration, but both can be configured to similar performance. So comes down to your preference and how much you want to spend really.

 

Spoke to your man Ken at Gen Tech....gonna pull the trigger on the MSI but with the new GTX 675m out in June.

 

Hi Vicious, you are planning on upgrading your GT70 to 7970m right? Do you know if it will be very difficult? Would you mind giving us a guide on how to do it? I want to pick up a GT70 later this week =]

 

If I can source one yeah thinking about doing it.

It's not "easy" per say it requires physical modification of the heatsink but its not hard either. I have experience in modding so for me it probably wont be a problem.

There is a thread here on the mod already done by somebody else so you can check that thread for some info/details as well.

 

upgradeyourlaptop on ebay are selling 7970m kits

 

i see only 6990m no 7970m

 

You need to PM them

The guide starts here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/659226-7970m-heatsink-modification-5.html

 

very thorough review vicious and im kinda in the same boat as you

my first laptop was a g73 after falling for the hype

i actually experienced quite a few problems, finnicky touchpad, overheating issues, bios and graphics drivers failing to install smoothly, missing keystrokes

especially the heating issues, it made life with the g73 very difficult. i know an adept computer user could easily bypass these problems but truth to be told, id totally avoid the g73 given the chance

could i ask whether the msi gt70 has any of these "minor" problems that the g73 had?

 

I guess I got lucky I was the first G73 owner and had no problems until maybe 6 months ago my touchpad occasionally acted up (and I know how to fix it but its a pain)

I think it has one of the best cooling systems so have no idea why yours was overheating, but of those issues you listed the GT70 has none of them per say but I will elaborate.

Touchpad - The GT70 touchpad works great as far as responce but its not as big or as smooth as the G73 so if the G73 is working properly I say its better, and for some reason my 2 finger scroll is super hard to use it always moves too fast on the GT70 for me.

Drivers - Being that the GT70 has the dual gpu (intergrated on cpu) it may have issues with drivers as other laptops in the past have with optimus. I would not be too worried about it as every laptop from every brand is using the 3610QM now so if there is indeed a problem with so many people sharing the problem it will be quickly overcome by the community.

Cooling - Seems to work fine on the GT70 and it has the manual override. Not as quiet as the G73 and since its shared it means if your doing anything be it gpu or cpu based the fans going to run while the G73 could run one fan or the other. I also think the rear exhaust on the G73 is a better idea than the side exhaust since its more out of your way and probably less prone to being heard by the user.

Keyboard - Well you saw in the review my keyboard is messed up, I have the replacement keyboard just have not put it in yet. Waiting to find a solid chunk of time to setup and do a install video for anybody else that needs to repair/replace a keyboard.

All in all its a solid upgrade and I am happy with the machine. The core components like the screen, speakers, and hardware are what makes it a good fit for me.

 

im happy to hear that! you were of tremendous help and many thanks for addressing my queries
ill be keeping a close eye on your updates and hoping that your keyboard issues are resolved as soon as possible!

you make great reviews of gaming laptops so ill be sure to keep an eye out for your threads )

 

Going to install my new KB after work today and try to make a install video for it.

 

I have had my GT70-008 (3720, 16GB, Intel 6300 wifi - from GenTech) for a week now. My experience with the keyboard is 95+% good. With the left side Shift and Ctrl keys many times they won't register if I press the left side of the key. I have noticed this when selecting items from a list. It doesn't impact my text typing much because I generally hit the right/center of those keys while text typing. It is an easy adjustment to make to avoid the issue so not a big deal for me so far. The spacebar registers wherever I press it.

I am a firm typist and this keyboard in general requires perhaps a bit more deliberate pressing of the keys. Notice I said a bit more not much more. This may actually be helping me avoid accidentally pressing keys. Lighting feature works well - I keep mine one steady color. At this time, none of these issues would warrant me sending back or replacing the keyboard. In my case the firmness appears to be how the keyboard is designed and not a quality control issue.

My keyboard wish list items would be that Home and End be standalone keys (they are now Fn keys) because I use these frequently and it is a pain to have to use the Fn key combo with both hands. I have started using the shift key in combination with the Home and End keys on the numeric keyboard and that is working better since I can use just my right hand. What would really make me happy is if 17 inch laptop makers developed a standard keyboard that uses the horizontal real estate to spread out the keyboard so the arrow keys would be more isolated similar to Asus.

That’s my 2¢ on the keyboard.

 

I did the install today of the new keyboard and made a guide:
Tutorial: Instructions To Change Keyboard on MSI GT70 Laptop (GT60, GT780, GT783 Similar) - YouTube

So far I have not noticed any problems like I had before with the new keyboard.

I pressed the far sides of the space bar and backspace that would miss well over 50% of the time before and they work 100% now.

I definitely had a bad keyboard and replacing it fixed it. I have not done extensive typing on it yet, I always use my external keyboard anyways I did this video and the keyboard replacement for more the community than for myself.

 

Excellent keyboard replacement video. Thank you.

 

I definitely appreciate the keyboard replacement video, also! Many thanks!

 

God damn, you are one awesome dude Vicious!!

 

Been typing away all night, didnt hook up my external keyboard like normal just so I could give this keyboard a full testing and so far its perfect I have not noticed any problems with any of the keys.

I am still very used to my mechanical keyboard with a lighter key press though but its nice to rest my hands on the palm rest for a change.

 

BTW, Did You hay any problems using MSN Live Messenger and/or loggin into GFWL? Did You tested Starcraft 2 on Ultra settings? i noticed some black línes on certain cinematics not that It bothered me but It was really strange to have that kind or "glitch" with this gpu.

 

Stuff like that would have to be driver related. I have not tried any of those things though.

Can/Should put SC2 on here though so that is an easy one for me to test.

 

As soon as I have my laptop back from MSI México I'll post some SS, they are going to change the keyboard for a new one since I had the same problem as you. :S

 

I know this is a really late reply to this thread, but I purchased a newer model of the GT70 about 6 months ago and I'm a newbie.

It has the Intel i7-4700MQ processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M / 4GB GDDR5, 16GB RAM, and 750GB 7200RPM HDD + 128GB SSD (two 64SSD).

I want to either install an additional SSD, and/or replace the HDD for another HDD that has a larger storage capacity. Either that, or replace the two 64GB SSDs for larger capacity SSDs. Here are some questions I have:

1. Is there another free drive bay for me to place a HDD or SDD? If so, does it need to be an mSATA drive? I've seen conflicting information on whether there is an additional bay, and whether it is SATA 3 (not quite sure what that means).

2. If I were to replace the SDD, which has most of my programs and I believe the OS, can I just copy everything into an external drive and just transfer it over, or does something else need to be done? I suppose the same question applies for the HDD.

3. Will I need a drive caddy?

4. If there is another bay available and I want to use another hard drive (either HDD or SDD), I assume I can't just plug and play? What I mean is, will I have to format the extra drive somehow, or will my computer just recognize it?

I understand some of these are very basic questions. However, since the GT70 has some unique characteristics, I didn't want to screw things up because I didn't know better.

 

1. The mSATA bay should have another slot for a 3rd mSATA SSD. There are two bays in the system, one is the mSATA (3x mSATA slots) and the other is 2.5" standard SATA bay. All of them running at SATA III (6Gbps). If you wish to utilize more SATA device, then you can go about getting a 2.5" SSD/HDD conversion bay for the optical drive, and you will lose access to the optical drive.
2. You can create the factory recovery discs using MSI Burn Recovery utility, and then remake a new RAID 0 array with 3x SSD. Use the Recovery discs to restore the OS back onto the RAID 0 array.
3. Only if you wish to expand to a 3rd bay using optical drive bay.
4. As above.

 

Some people prefer doing a clean instal but if you like all the MSI applications then that's the best way.

 

Wow, thanks for the quick reply!

So about using the burn recovery...

1. I made a recovery on a flash drive when I purchased the laptop. I assume I'd have to make a new recovery again?

2. Is the process fairly simple for adding a new mSATA SSD? I believe the screw that is needed already is included in my laptop. Would I just plug it in, and then run the recovery? Or would I just go to My Computer -> Manage -> Storage -> Disk Management and format the new drive to work?

3. Will this cause me to lose my program data? What I mean is, will I have to reinstall all of my programs? I ask because I'm a student, and some programs' licenses are one-time use only. Will I have to reactivate these programs, or will they still be there when I do the recovery?

4. If there isn't a way to restore the programs, or if I have to re-activate them, is there a way to circumvent this? Would cloning my drive work? If so, do you recommend any software that would do that?

5. I understand that remaking a new RAID 0 array would lead to faster speeds. But if I just want more space, would it be possible to simply insert a new SSD one of the mSATA bays and simply add it to the computer without making a new RAID 0?

Thanks again!

 

1. Best to have the DVD because that's usually the one that may still work in the end.
2. Yes, simply loosen the screw, install the mSATA SSD, then secure it with the screw.
3. Yes, all data will be lost therefore you should use Easy Transfer to back up document files. Programs will not be backed up.
4. Acronis can do this, but it isn't free.
5. You can choose to add the 3rd mSATA SSD as an independent drive to avoid all of the above hassles.

 

Dang, you're awesome. For now, I'll probably avoid the hassle of reinstalling everything and just use the extra mSATA SSD as an independent drive. Maybe when Windows 9 comes out, I'll go ahead and do the Super RAID 0 setup. Now, to hunt down some mSATA SSDs. If I plan to eventually set them up as a new RAID configuration, would I need to get the same one as I already have, or can it be any other mSATA SSD, even if it's a different storage size?

 

To set up RAID, it is required to use the same capacity as others, or else the newly added drive will be wasted if it has more capacity than others, or cause others to waste if capacity is lower.