Which should I buy? GX660 or GX640

Here are the specific specs:

GX 640x(i72+)
Intel Core i7 720QM 1.6Ghz
ATI Radeon HD5850 1GB DDR5 VRAM
15.4" WSXGA TFT Display (1680x1050)
4GB DDR3 Memory
500 GB HDD
SRS Premium Sound
6 Cell Battery

or

GX660x(i55+)
Intel Core i5 460M 2.53Ghz
ATI Radeon HD5870 1GB DDR5 VRAM
16" HD LED Display (1366x768)
4 GB DDR3 Memory
500 GB HDD
Dynaudio Sound Technology
9 Cell Battery

Both are worth P 55,000 (Philippine Peso)
which converts to $1,250.00

i know it sucks, cause I can buy a $ 1,300+ G53Jw instead of these(if i live in the USA) but no, ASUS G models here in the philippines is limited to G73JH and it is worth $ 2,200. no Jw models.


(the keyboard Fn + ctrl swap wont bother me cause it can be fixed through BIOS, then ill physically swap the keys).

I am aware that sound-wise Dynaudio is much better, plus the battery is a go go for the GX660. But what bothers me is that i5, which will perform faster?

i7 + 5850 OR i5 + 5870

also I would like to know if i can put 2 HDD on either of the 2 laptops,. Since I intend to have an OCZ Solid State Drive as a Primary drive, then a 500GB 7200 RPM as my secondary drive.

please help me decide. i will do a lot of gaming. thanks.....

 

i7 + 5850 should be better than i5 + 5870 if you overclock the 5850.

The screen res is much better in the GX640.
But the 660 has an LED backlight.

I hear the cooling in the gx660 is much better.
So I would go with that.

 

In a tropical-esque environment I would definitely lean towards a system with better built-in cooling which is the GX660.

 

GX660 Its clearly obvious.

 

performance wise, I still say the MSI GX640 wins though, but overall considering your environment and what not then the GX660 wins

 

thanks for your replies....

btw, does that mean the GX640 really get high temps?

and if any of you know about GX660 having problems with non Intel SSD? nd if they are true?

 

The GX640 does not gain anything at all the I7 is mearly a pimple to the I5 mode wise not core wise.

The I5 will perform better have better cooling.

The new 5870 is better than the 5850.

You can clock the 5870.

I think the 660 is the best option IMO i never buy I7 i just despise the core it gains heat fast and is unreliable compared to the I5.

Still the I7 kicks but the I5 is better quality IMO.

 

lol...I really question your state of mind on most of your posts.

 

The GX660 has 2 HDD bays. The GX640 only has one.

 

Actually in gaming the i7's make a huge difference. Average fps might be similar if you only look at benchies however u get less fps dips in those intense situations which could determine a kill or death.

However I would go for the gx660 as the i5 is still plenty strong in gaming and the lower res screen means more fps

 

Do you know if the 740 can take 740qm?

 

The cooling system is not well designed and CPU temps with a Quad can skyrocket to >65 C. However, adding a few RAM Sinks to the GPU plate can partially alleviate the issue with a hot 45nm 720QM.

Not that I know of. I run both an Intel X25-M and an OCZ Vertex. No problems whatsoever.

Regarding the i5 vs i7 debate. A high clocked i5 will outperform a low clocked i7 in any daily application that is not natively threaded to scale with the number of cores. Heck, I'll go out on a limb and say a 2.66GHz i5 will blow the 1.6GHz 720QM out of the water in games.

I extensively use my system (in my sig) for FFT analysis (Matlab) and statistics (pClamp, Origin) with zero problems. As somebody pointed out, in a tropical environment, going with a better cooling option would be the way to go.

 

How did you OC your 430M to 3.2?

And the 720QM will likely switch to single core 2.8ghz or 2.4 dual core mode depending on usage. Same as 430M switches from 2.26 in dual to 2.5 turbo.

So the 720QM still gets better frequencies in games that require brute freq but also has the multi-core ability when needed.

 

I used UncleWebb's Throttelstop and SetFSB. I am sure this chip will go a lot higher, but I have no way to increase the VCore.

The 45nm i7 720QM is a hot beast. Its TDP is 10W more than any dual core i5/i7. With his choice, the i5 460M will go up to 2.8GHz as well, without the excessive heat. I don't think there are many games available that scale with the number of cores.

Both laptops seem to be priced the same. He would be better off with the 660 which supposedly has better cooling and an HD5870 to boot vs the 640.

 

I am not really a hardcore gamer. I am still in my 6th year in college and my course won't let me play all the time. Just that I wanted to play these new games every now and then without having to put the quality on the lowest scale.

The GX640 goes a little bit hot, has no 2nd HDD bay, and all the Fn+Ctrl bios change will be a bit stressful.

The GX660 has better audio, better Graphics card, better cooling, has a 2ndary HDD bay(for my SSD to fit in the primary slot), and well it looks a bit more expensive.

The i5 and i7 wont provide much of a difference in gaming considering the native resolution.

Hence, I'll be buying the GX660. Thanks to everyone for all the info that you have given.

 

No problem. Keep us posted when you get your notebook.

 

If you look at the FPS results in I7 to I5 There is onlu a slight difference then comes reliability.

Hey im not bashing the I7 but i have an I7 desktop it kicks major butt but then i have an I7 Laptop and compared to my I5 laptop the I7 version is worse with heat then comes reliability.

Im just saying ..... if your after quality and reliability go with the I5 if our after performance and heat go with the I7.

Im yet to touch 80c on my 660R I5 and that's without cooling button on and no turbo mode ......

 

This is true however I find that there is a big difference between minimum fps between i7 and i5 however average is similar. I dnt like my games dipping so that was the reason why i had bought the i7.

 

I agree with you.

If it where not for the dam 1920x1080 Full HD screen this laptop would kick with a native res of 1366x768.

 

Heat isn't necessarily bad. Lower is better but the recommended max is 100C for a reason. As long as you're not red lining it every time, you're not risking damaging your components. It's like 20C vs 30C. If I told you 30C would get you better performance, you pick it every time. Everyone on these forums likes to show off low temps but it often doesn't really impact much at all. There's warmer, and then there's overheating, totally different concepts

 

I get 60C on FurMark after 1 hour xtreme burn.

u jelly?

 

If you would please pull up your virtual pants it would be greatly appreciated

 

On the GX640, heat is annoying as hell because all the hot air gets dumped on your right hand. I don't want to cook my hand as I game.

 

i like heat touching my hand it warms me up .

And i don't even own the 640 i own the 660.

 

Really want to do this...how do i go about doing this?

 

First you have to go to Svet on MSi HQ Forums and request for a BIOS Modification on your specific BIOS to swap the Fn and Ctrl keys, then there is also a thread regarding changing the physical keys with scissors mechanism(w/c could be easily made).

Although I find it stressful to change the BIOS since it is dangerous, this is because my friends have had their share of bricked gadgets and I don't want to risk that with mine.

 

I see.. sounds like hard work. Nakabili ka na ba ng laptop?
Im using my GX640 here in manila.. havent had the chance to game on it since i got here (currently very busy fixing my wedding)

 

not yet, though i'll be buying within this week. Im trying to see various MSi branches here, cause they offer the laptop differently. I was surprised the Megamall branch has their GX660 a Full HD monitor for the same price,. I am currently looking for the one with just 720p for better FPS.

goodluck on your wedding!

 

You have your priorities mixed up. Game pwns wife any day.

Spoiler

*Disclaimer*
I am not responsible for any bodily harm that results from following my advice.

 

lol,. i second that................................. nah. ^_~

Happy holidays everyone!