ms-1656 or Gx640

Hi guys. I've been doing some notebook searching and I think I'm finally going for the Gx640. Was hoping for the G53, but i heard it's coming out in the fall and i need one this summer. Anyways i was originally going to buy the gx640 but i found a ms-1656 @ RK Computers that didnt have the red trim that i disliked. Both come out to be the same price with same configurations. Problem is it has 1 year of warranty instead of the Gx640's 3 year warranty. I know it sounds stupid to give up a 3 yr warranty, but i just dislike the red trim.

But of course, I have some questions. If i get the ms-1656, will it come with driver cd's that i have to install. Also, will i be able to use the same drivers as gx640 owners? (Like the beta vbios).

Also, how is RK Computers? I'm choosing them because they have the options to upgrade to a mirror polished cpu/gpu with ic diamond and a chiclet keyboard (to maybe fix the flex and the fn/cntrl buttons) Gonna add in a i7-620m to maybe increase my gaming experience.

ms-1656
RKC MS-1656-ID4 (GX640) 15.4" WSXGA+ Intel® Core™ i5-i7 Custom Gaming Notebook-937-165641-005

gx640
MSI GX640-098US 15.4" WSXGA+ Intel® Arrandale Core™ i5 Gaming Notebook 9S7-165611-098

Thanks for all your help guys!

 

3 year warranty vs 1 year

And design

It's really not that bad just like any normal red not flashy at all.

 

-LIFETIME MEM with barebones, buy your own
-3-5 years on HD buy your own
-no red, or a -no red....
those are the paerts that are most prone to trouble.

 

I personally really like the red. At first I was worried that it'd look too flashy, but in reality it just adds some personality to it. It has a very unique look. Much cooler than typical Dell, HP, or Mac laptops.

The back of the laptop, which more people will be seeing from a distance, looks sleek and business-like.

I say go for the GX640.

 

@ OP , yes you will be able to use their vbios/bios/firmwares etc etc and CD drivers is something you don't want as most drivers on it are outdated.

You can easily get them online

 

There's no contest between the two machines, the GX640 wins hands down for value, warranty and looks. This particular vendor will even replace the cheap thermal paste with IC Diamond for free.

If design is more important than functionality to you, check out the Macbooks.

 

This

 

Yeah gota agree, even with the red, the model has a sleek, discrete look/feel about it, i have a barebone of the 725 with white/silver and black, and i feel sometimes that i would have liked red

 

thanks a lot for your response guys! Guess i'll go for the Gx640. Just thought it would be like the other gaming laptops that are super flashy. But since you guys said its not that flashy, i'll take your word for it.
I just hope I wont be getting the high temps with the mirror polished upgrade and that the flex and fn/cntrl buttons will be fixed with the chiclet. RK Computers seems to let u upgrade a lot of stuff. I can even upgrade the battery to 7800mAh. I'm still debating if I should get the blu-ray drive though b/c i already have a ps3.

Thank you so much for your help guys!! You guys are really helpful. I love this site!

 

Assuming this is the one they use MSI Notebook 103 Key Chiclet Style Full Size Replacement Keyboard (Black) it does not look like the fn/ctl are switched back to "normal"

 

eh the Fn/ctrl thing is only annoying for about the first 2 days. I find Ctrl+z/x/c/v to be a lot more comfortable now actually, but I have small hands (enter dirty joke)

I'd say GX640, I had the same dilemna but the extra 2 years on the warranty is definitely worth it. Also your warranty with MSI on 1656 will only cover the Chassis/keyboard/screen/gpu and not all the other parts you stick in it.

 

BUT you can update your parts and not void your WARR, can that be done with the GX640?

 

Hey guys thanks for all your help. I just have one more question.

Should I upgrade the cpu to the 620m? I'll be using it for gaming (a lot of the latest fps and rts). I'll also be using for some engineering programs I guess because I'm going into the mechanical engineering field. As of now I don't know which programs because I'm going to be a freshman. I doubt these programs need high end processors though....so the high-end gaming is the main reason I want to upgrade.

So..will I see a significant difference in performance if I upgrade my cpu? Considering that price is NOT an important factor. Luckily I have a very big budget

 

For gaming, many people will recommend that you stick with the 430M. It's what I did. It's still a very powerful processor - about equivalent to nearly the most high end Core 2 Duo line of processors - but is much more efficient than the Core i7's. Well not necessarily more efficient, but it does use less power and it puts out less heat. Helps a lot with the battery life.

I have a desktop with a Core i7 930 and Nvidia GTX 260. That processor is pretty beastly, and I don't notice that desktop running any faster than this laptop during normal tasks. Games don't seem much different either. I detect no lag whatsoever on any of the games I've tried yet - all on the highest graphics settings. That includes Starcraft 2, Splinter Cell Conviction, Mass Effect 2, and Americas Army.

Starcraft 2 is the most CPU intensive of the games I've played, and the i5 430m has no issues with it at all. Any faster of a processor will serve no benefit.

So I recommend staying with the 430m or maybe one step up - 520m.

The only reason you should consider going for a more powerful processor is if you are greatly concerned about future-proofing it.. at this point the 430m is enough to do just about anything, but a year from now it'll probably be considered low end.

That's just my opinion. Overall, any choice you make will probably be a good one. This laptop just rocks!

Haha I feel like I'm writing one of them fake testimonials on a company website

 

There will be new mobile cpus soon as well and Barebones is the way to go if you plan on upgrading and selling your old cpu for a few bucks.

I got my CPU and Ram on ebay for about $263.00 shipped, and I know I'll be selling it in 6-12months for a new CPU.

 

Yes you can, only the parts in the GX640 that you upgrade are voided, the rest is still covered

 

If price is not a factor get the biggest CPU you can afford really. But really this rig isnt about the best money can buy, its more about the best one can get for his limited money.

 

thanks again guys. I was just wondering if the 430m would be the bottleneck in games, so I thought about upgrading the cpu. So i guess the 430m is not the bottleneck at all. nice to hear. saved me a couple hundred haha.

 

It's not just that, though. Is this not the only 15" laptop with a decent battery life with the 5850?

 

Yep, this is the best "gaming" laptop with any kind of decent battery life

 

I would love to sell you mine for $950 + shipping with recovery disks and Windows 7 on a USB drive... bought it from XoticPC a few weeks ago, and works perfectly.

I just figured out I really don't play video games on my PC anymore (I have zero installed)... it's all about the Xbox for me now. So I'll be getting something more mobile soon... probably an HP Dm4t. I could probably ship it in a week and a half.

 

man you couldnt have said this like 2 days ago le sigh lol.

 

Sorry man... $250 extra bucks in the end isn't too much though.

 

it is when your unemployed and returning to school and your only other computer barely functions.

 

Consolation fail on my part. Oh well

 

Pretty much, I got a lan i gotta be at by the 18th so hopefully xotic will have my new one too me.

 

I replaced my 430M with the 620. It doesn't run any hotter than 65C at 3.33ghz/full load and makes number crunching apps noticeably faster. I'm happy.

ps. The enemy of this laptop is the GPU heat. Once you tame that, this laptop really shines.