msi a good company?

hi i was wondering if the company msi is good.
1) Does it have good build quality that will last me years to come?
2) how is the customer support, in the UK,?

 

its a so so company not too good but not bad

 

is it compareable to dell?

 

MSI is still new in terms of notebooks compared to other companies. Dell, HP and other big brands have been in the industry for a while and have a far larger customer base(and therefore budget) than MSI.

It's following Asus in the "we make computer parts and now we make notebook computers" path lol They're probably more comparable to Asus in that department.

Are they that good? Well they're decent in terms of the actual computers they build. The main downside of their notebooks is the keyboard flex(and keyboard display on the 15.4" models). I've heard little else of really wrong nor really recurring problem other than that. I don't really know about their customer support though.

 

I have had only good experience with MSI. I've bought 2 Winds and a ms-1722 chassis. I've also dealt with Customer Service and RMA Department. Everything was quick and painless. No complaints.

 

Don't have it, but is doing extensive review. Decided to go with MSI, instead of ASUS. So i think, MSI and asus are like best in price/spec for gaming (you may want to check out clevo, too). Asus seem to have more problems, though. Heating, shutting down. But ASUS has super warranty 3 yrs, 1 yr accidental damage. MSI sucks with 1 year, but seem to have less problems. And as i read, MSI's support usually sucks (read it in at least 5 threads/opinions).

Hope it helps.

 

I'm not really sure about MSi reputation, but let me clear one thing here.

Firstly, Asus is by no means a "we make computer parts and now we make notebook computers" kind of company... They are one of the largest Original Design Manufacturers ( ODM) in the planet.

Secondly, Dell, HP, Toshiba, Sony, Alienware, Compaq and even Apple none of them build their own laptops, they all use one or many ODM (Original Design Manufacturers) to take care of basically all the aspects of the design and manufacture and Asus is one of those ODMs among others like Compal, Quanta, Uniwill, Clevo computers and MSi among others.

Take a look a this interesting read on OEM/ODMs: HERE

Cheers!
RayanMX

 

I don't see how Asus being an ODM doesn't put them on the level I described. ODM means they make the products themselves correct?

So last I checked, Asus DOES make computer parts and they HAVE moved onto making notebooks. I really don't see how any of this contradicts them being an ODM. It just means that now they also sell the products they make to the public instead of only to other companies.

And for the record, they don't build everything from scratch in terms of notebooks, they still purchase CPUs from Intel/AMD and GPUs from ATI/Nvidia.

 

He's trying to correct you because ASUS has been manufacturing notebooks for many, many years prior to releasing ones under the ASUS name. The Intel-based Apple Macbooks are built by them, and so are the good majority of the Sony laptops. They didn't just decide to start building notebooks, they decided to start releasing notebooks under their nameplate.

You're right, but they still make the PCB for it. Neither ATi or nVidia makes the physical GPU either, that's done by TSMC.

 

Yeah, but my statement was referring to them actually selling the notebooks to the public. Before, they only sold their computers parts to the public and now they have moved on to actually selling the notebooks they make to the open public. That's what I referred to by "we make". I should've written "we sell" sorry >.<

 

Thanks RaynMX, this was very usefull to me. I do knew that MSI makes many computer parts, and not only, but I didn't knew that is ODM. This for sure will be a sign for quality. How good they are will see when my first MSI comes (Barebone MS-1722 ID2).

 

Actually ASUS has been selling notebooks here for at least 14 or so years as far as I can recall. Also unlike MSI they seemed to have gotten in retail chains right aways, which is why I can recall ASUS nbs having been around for almost forever as I remember seeing them displayed in stores along with HP & Compaq.

Acer is the next one that I recall seeing in stores, but can't recall if they appeared before, same time, or after ASUS.

So ASUS and Acer have been in the nb business for quite some time, but not as long as Apple, HP, Compaq and a very few others(Clevo, bunch of dead companies e.g. Atari).

MSI OTOH is fairly new, but it looks like they've got a solid line going.

(Sony also seems to be fairly new to nbs, as I can't really recall seeing any until the late 90s, and those were mainly the tiny Vaios. They may have made and sold them longer in japan, but as far as I can remember they're also pretty new in the US and likely elsewhere.)

Actually Rayanmx you're incorrect as far as Apple goes. Up to the switch to x86 I know for a fact that Apple designed their own desktop and notebook motherboards. Case designs/etc. were farmed out to whatshisname though, well at leats the basic styling. And since Apple notebooks are still not manufactured by any of the ODMs, I'd say that it's still very likely that Apple is designing and contracting fabbing and assembly of their machines. [EDIT] Looked it up, as I was pretty sure that ASUS doesn't make the macbooks, they are produced by Quanta for Apple, and have been for quite some time now since Apple closed down their own manufacturing facilities. Also I beleive that Sony design their own motherboards, etc. as well but am not positive about them... [/EDIT]

 

I might be wrong about Asus being an ODM to Apple, but long ago I've read that statement... And even today there are bits of information stating that on Google. It seems like Asus was manufacturing the old iMacs and Powerbooks according to this information where it shows Apple's relationship with several ODMs including Asustek.

But thanks for the clarification cutterjohn!

EDIT: (I found some more info)

Here

Here

Regards,
RayanMX

 

I'm wodering why any of you didn't check Wikipedia. Here what is said for ASUS and Apple:
Asus sells to Apple (iBook), Sony, and Samsung. Info
But any way I thing that this was a place to discuss MSI. So here is what Wiki says:
MSI, as most Taiwanese computer manufacturers, sells products on OEM/ODM basis. It also sells products worldwide based on its own brand name "MSI". Info
According to Wiki, the information is dated 28 June 2007 (about ASUS as ODM) and 25 January 2009 for MSI.

 

http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=html&name=about_intro

 

msi is definately better than hp i terms of quality. you can trust me on that one ^_^

 

The only relationship that Apple has with any ODMs or OEMs is to actually manufacture their products as they no longer have that capability, since they closed the last of their own manufacturing facilities and fabs 10 or so years ago. (Actually longer for the fab IIRC.)

Wikipedia is hardly a definitive reference, and I find an ASUS relationship with Apple to be suspect at best, given the long term relationship and contracts with Quanta Computer.

 

Not that I want to keep the conversation off topic but I found this table with several Asus references as ODM to Apple:



Source: http://www.emsnow.com/newsarchives/archivedetails.cfm?ID=7693

Anyhoo... I'm ditching Asus and will go MSi for this round with the GT627-218US

Not that I don't like the Asus G50VT, but I guess the GT627 is a bit less flashy and less "gamer-esque" (is that a word???) and that's just what I need at the moment.

 

GT725s are apparently in stock @ frostcomputers.com and msimobile.com, but MSI is more expensive by $100 for the -074US and by $50 for the -075US..

Hmmm... interesting, but I don't see any of the recent machines on there, and still they're only manufacturing them, not designing. It's also possible that Quanta had to sub-contract out some of their manufacturing as well...

 

Nice find, that chart is dead-on. Since it's old, it excluded the newer Intel Macbooks (Plastic body ones manufactured by ASUS) and the Macbook Pros (Manufactured by Quanta). I'm not sure who manufactures the current aluminum Macbooks though, but I suspect it to be Quanta.

 

@cutterjohn,

Yeah, It seems Asus no longer ODMs Apple anymore...

Oh, and thanks for the GT725 post on the other thread, but I really don't like 17 inch laptops since I will be carrying it all over the place. But it sure rocks with that ATI card.

If all goes well, I think I will be placing my GT627 order by the end of the week!

Cheers!
RayanMX

 

The thing is (and I could be completely wrong about this), Asus has been for some time now, the world's largest computer seller, or at least right up there with the biggest names. However their market has been, until fairly recently, limited to the developing world.