# Razer Blade 2014 vs. MSI GS70 (870m)



## funkmetal

Another option is getting a Lenovo Y510P and a Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 although I've heard you can't update to Windows 8.1 without 1 of the GT 750M's Disabling. Is this true and is there a way to re activate it?


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## NameUnknown

Thin and light in a gaming laptop is my primary concern. The thinner it is the less height there is for more surface area on the heatsink in the exhaust. This in turn means the laptop will run hotter, which is bad for the components and unpleasant for you. Likewise the lighter it is the less copper there is internally conducting that heat away. Yes the primary weight of a laptop is its battery, but they aren't touting some new battery tech at all so its likely that aside from a smaller battery that the weight reduction comes from internals and construction of the laptop. Anymore most laptops have barely any, if any, metal in the actual construction of the system. This leaves the metal pretty much in the HDD casing (assuming no SSD) and in the heatsink assemblies. Given that they have 2x 128GB SSDs you can call that roughly the weight of a standard HDD.

I'm not saying its going to suddenly go poof and catch fire but I have my reservations until more is seen and tested in real world conditions by normal people. With that said I would stick with a tried and true like the Sager, especially considering its only .5lbs heavier.


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## Shiftstealth

If you really need a disc drive you can just buy an external one usb one for like 20 bucks. In games where SLi is an issue its probably an older game and doesn't need it unless that games name is farcry 3. While blu rays are nice. I'm not going to be carrying a blu ray around with me to watch in my laptop and when i would watch it at home i would be watching it on my tv.

I vote Aorus x7


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## Ryou-kun

The important question to ask, so we can narrow down the results is , "OP what kind of light games are you playing?"


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## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ryou-kun*
> 
> The important question to ask, so we can narrow down the results is , "OP what kind of light games are you playing?"


Single Player RPG's such as Skyrim, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Witcher. The standard fare of RPG's basically.


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## Ryou-kun

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Single Player RPG's such as Skyrim, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Witcher. The standard fare of RPG's basically.


Hmm, I think GTX 765m SLI is a perfect GPU for you. I think it is better than Sager.
I mean, it is going to be a really hassle carrying a heavy gaming laptop from class to class. Why not grab Aorus x7 that is thin and has powerful specs?
Not to mention, Aorus x7 has an appealing design that I like, so it is like hitting two birds with one stone.

Forgot Aorus x7 is a 17.3" laptop.

Hmm, go to electronic store and test between 15.6" and 17.3" laptop to see which one is your liking.
To me, Aorus x7 may be thinnest laptop, but is it bulkier than Sager to carry the laptop?


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## TheReciever

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Another option is getting a Lenovo Y510P and a Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 although I've heard you can't update to Windows 8.1 without 1 of the GT 750M's Disabling. Is this true and is there a way to re activate it?


Was the case upon release of 8.1 but after an update this issue is no longer prevalent

Though I believe most of them ship with 755m now


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## funkmetal

I decided to put a back order-order on the X7 from Newegg


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## Imglidinhere

Between the two, the Aorus is MUCH better for what you need it for. Neither the 780M or the SLI 765M support Optimus so the battery life will be the same and the 765M SLI setup is just as fast as the 780M anyway. From what I can see, the Aorus is probably the best option for anyone who wants gaming ultrabook. it makes my M17x look fat...


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## TheReciever

The X7 looks like a lot of fun to be quite honest


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## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheReciever*
> 
> The X7 looks like a lot of fun to be quite honest


I just got a P34G and was thinking if it were a 17" it would be more amazing. Only gripe with the X7 is the TN screen.


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## funkmetal

So before you guys posted these other thoughts, I was talking with a friend and he recommended against the X7. I took his words and he recommended I order this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152397

So thats what I ordered. I noticed this morning that it is now out of stock, could I have bought the last one from Newegg?

Also, Its only about 2 lbs. heavier than the X7, so I dont think it will be a massive increase.


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## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> So before you guys posted these other thoughts, I was talking with a friend and he recommended against the X7. I took his words and he recommended I order this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152397
> 
> So thats what I ordered. I noticed this morning that it is now out of stock, could I have bought the last one from Newegg?
> 
> Also, Its only about 2 lbs. heavier than the X7, so I dont think it will be a massive increase.


Its literally 2 and a half times thicker than the X7, so while it may *only* be 2 lbs heavier (which is a 33% increase) it will be a lot less portable.


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## TheReciever

I hope MSI's build quality has improved, as it used to be once of its largest achilles heels


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## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> Its literally 2 and a half times thicker than the X7, so while it may *only* be 2 lbs heavier (which is a 33% increase) it will be a lot less portable.


Thickness doesn't really matter to me, only weight.

Also the reason my friend told me to stay away from the X7 is because he stated that SLI was a gimick in a laptop and to run some modern games I would need a better single GPU instead of 2 less powerful GPU's


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## TheReciever

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Thickness doesn't really matter to me, only weight.
> 
> Also the reason my friend told me to stay away from the X7 is because he stated that SLI was a gimick in a laptop and to run some modern games I would need a better single GPU instead of 2 less powerful GPU's


I would tell your friend to do his research. This isnt 1995 where we have to pencil mod cards together and have buggy software support.

I have only run into one game that didnt support SLI and that was Sniper Elite Nazi zombie army 2, of which I could import the profile from the first game as they are essentially the same.

with my 755m stock I pull ahead of a 770m. Overclocked its more so (not to say the 770m cant overclock)


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## funkmetal

So what are you guys saying, cancel this order and wait for the X7 to be off backorder? I already have a shipping label, how would this work with Newegg?

EDIT: Well, I just looked and I cant return it now> I have to go through with it


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## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> So what are you guys saying, cancel this order and wait for the X7 to be off backorder? I already have a shipping label, how would this work with Newegg?


You could refuse the shipment and it would go back to newegg and they would refund you.

My view towards SLi is if a game doesn't support it, the game probably doesn't need it. Battlefield 4 will support it fantastically. Doom 3 not so much. I think you can see where i'm going with this.


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## TheReciever

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> You could refuse the shipment and it would go back to newegg and they would refund you.
> 
> My view towards SLi is if a game doesn't support it, the game probably doesn't need it. Battlefield 4 will support it fantastically. Doom 3 not so much. I think you can see where i'm going with this.


Even with Doom 3, I max it with sikkmod on one 755m anyways, a 765m should have little to no issues lol

On paper the MSI unit is great, but they have been notorious for not having the greatest of build quality for the money.

I cant comment on the X7 though, never knew of that one so I dont know anything about it


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## funkmetal

I contacted Newegg and they said they would try to catch the package, and if they cant I have to be at the door when the Fedex guy gets to my place and refuse the order. Hopefully they do catch the order and send it back.

I guess I will be getting the X7 (Hopefully).


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## Shiftstealth

You can write a note on your door saying you refuse the package


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## Imglidinhere

Yeah your friend recommended you to a laptop that will unfortunately run hotter and is even more insanely overpriced than what IT is supposed to be competing against. (a.k.a. Sager and Alienware)

The GT70 is just stupidly thick. It really really is. It's actually thicker than my M17x R3 at the moment... so yeah... that's a thing.


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## TheReciever

Do they still have horrible build quality or has that been amended?


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## Imglidinhere

To my knowledge the build quality is the same as it has been in the last four generations/hardware revisions of the GT series. I've heard people loving or hating them. There is no inbetween.


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## NuclearCrap

I used to sell the GT70 when I worked retail and it was just nowhere close to the quality of other 17" class gaming laptops. They do usually offer a bit better hardware for the money but the chassis is just way too plasticky and downright feels nasty. It's also an extremely dated chassis at this point. The newer GS70 is the one to go for when it comes to MSI, but it only carries up to a single 765M. However, it does have the best battery life out of all the 17" gaming laptops on the market where the Aorus X7 is amongst the lowest.

If battery life isn't a concern for you at all, then by all means the X7 is a solid choice. Personally I would have the GS70 for the best balance between performance and battery life, and the GS also weighs a bit less.

Pretty good value too at $450 less than the X7: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152477


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## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NuclearCrap*
> 
> I used to sell the GT70 when I worked retail and it was just nowhere close to the quality of other 17" class gaming laptops. They do usually offer a bit better hardware for the money but the chassis is just way too plasticky and downright feels nasty. It's also an extremely dated chassis at this point. The newer GS70 is the one to go for when it comes to MSI, but it only carries up to a single 765M. However, it does have the best battery life out of all the 17" gaming laptops on the market where the Aorus X7 is amongst the lowest.
> 
> If battery life isn't a concern for you at all, then by all means the X7 is a solid choice. Personally I would have the GS70 for the best balance between performance and battery life, and the GS also weighs a bit less.
> 
> Pretty good value too at $450 less than the X7: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152477


The GS looks pretty nice although if i were purchasing i would still avoid MSI after everything i've heard.

Especially with all of the heat related issues i've heard and it being such a small chassis


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## funkmetal

Ok, so I refused the package at the door as advised by Newegg. Other than the X7, are there any other Thin and Light Gaming Laptops I should look at? You guys were mentioning the MSI GS, but the specs are kinda on the low side of what I was wanting.


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## TheReciever

Just stick with the X7


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## Ryou-kun

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheReciever*
> 
> Just stick with the X7


I agree.
Only one laptop that I could think that is sort of thin and light which is similar to X7 is probably Razerblade 17" laptop, however, I believe it might be weaker compare to x7. I don't have anything to confirm it sadly.


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## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ryou-kun*
> 
> I agree.
> Only one laptop that I could think that is sort of thin and light which is similar to X7 is probably Razerblade 17" laptop, however, I believe it might be weaker compare to x7. I don't have anything to confirm it sadly.


The X7 is better than the razer blade 17".

Stick with the X7


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## Ryou-kun

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> The X7 is better than the razer blade 17".
> 
> Stick with the X7


Agree. Beside X7 looks cooler than Razerblade 17", lol.


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## TheReciever

Give us pictures too!...


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## funkmetal

So before I make any rash decisions again I wanted to check all my bases. Are there any Ultra Thin Laptops like the Aorus X7 or MSI GS70 that have a single 780m? The only ones I can find have 765m's


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## TheReciever

I would think not, 780m is a lot of heat to disperse in an ultrabook form factor. At least with 765m's you have 2 separate but lower heat output to disperse from the computer. I would look around, but its been a very long and dramatic day. IF you havent made a decision Ill join the search tomorrow.

Until then, free complimentary bump.


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## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheReciever*
> 
> I would think not, 780m is a lot of heat to disperse in an ultrabook form factor. At least with 765m's you have 2 separate but lower heat output to disperse from the computer. I would look around, but its been a very long and dramatic day. IF you havent made a decision Ill join the search tomorrow.
> 
> Until then, free complimentary bump.


Yeah, go ahead and go to bed. I doubt the Aorus X7 will be off backorder by tomorrow. I am guessing also that there are no laptops 780m in the Thin Formfactor area


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## TheReciever

765m SLI has the same score count, but that isnt the whole picture, for now just keep in mind that with that scenario you will receive on par performance of 780m and that I havent had a single issue with SLI save for Doom 3 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution Directors Edition


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## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheReciever*
> 
> 765m SLI has the same score count, but that isnt the whole picture, for now just keep in mind that with that scenario you will receive on par performance of 780m and that I havent had a single issue with SLI save for Doom 3 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution Directors Edition


Yeah, the one game I am suprised that wont have SLI from what I can tell that I will be playing alot is Titanfall. So basically in Titanfall I will be playing with the equivalent of a GTX 460 SE.


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## TheReciever

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Yeah, the one game I am suprised that wont have SLI from what I can tell that I will be playing alot is Titanfall. So basically in Titanfall I will be playing with the equivalent of a GTX 460 SE.


Remember you dont need max AA to have better picture quality because your on a smaller panel compared to 24" for desktop.

I almost never feel the need to add AA to the games i play because I dont see any pixels to begin with, so why add uneeded GPU strain for something you cant really see? TitanFall is from the source engine right?

Actually looking at notebookcheck.....what a minute...

Im really surprised at how small the gap is between the 755m sli and 765m sli, Ill have to double check that but they have always been accurate from that I know....more research is needed


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## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheReciever*
> 
> Remember you dont need max AA to have better picture quality because your on a smaller panel compared to 24" for desktop.
> 
> I almost never feel the need to add AA to the games i play because I dont see any pixels to begin with, so why add uneeded GPU strain for something you cant really see? TitanFall is from the source engine right?
> 
> Actually looking at notebookcheck.....what a minute...
> 
> Im really surprised at how small the gap is between the 755m sli and 765m sli, Ill have to double check that but they have always been accurate from that I know....more research is needed


Link to data?

EDIT: I am really contemplating the MSI GS70, Do you think a Single 765m will be enough to run most games on at least high with a good battery life? Its also about $500 cheaper (Cost of the laptop isnt an issue for me but the lower the price the better).


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## b.walker36

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Link to data?
> 
> EDIT: I am really contemplating the MSI GS70, Do you think a Single 765m will be enough to run most games on at least high with a good battery life? Its also about $500 cheaper (Cost of the laptop isnt an issue for me but the lower the price the better).


I have been looking at the MSI GS 70 as well. So if you get it let us all know how it is.


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## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *b.walker36*
> 
> I have been looking at the MSI GS 70 as well. So if you get it let us all know how it is.


Just found out a few minutes ago while doing early morning research that MSI is releasing a new GS70 that has a 870m in it with what I think is the same CPU. What is your guys opinion on that?

MSI GS70 Stealth Pro-001


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## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Just found out a few minutes ago while doing early morning research that MSI is releasing a new GS70 that has a 870m in it with what I think is the same CPU. What is your guys opinion on that?
> 
> MSI GS70 Stealth Pro-001


The 870m is still speculation. If it has 1344 Cuda cores, id be all over that like white on rice.


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## b.walker36

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Just found out a few minutes ago while doing early morning research that MSI is releasing a new GS70 that has a 870m in it with what I think is the same CPU. What is your guys opinion on that?
> 
> MSI GS70 Stealth Pro-001


I'm actually going to jump on the gs60 Ghost when it comes out as I wanted a 15in not 17 anyway. But if you want a 17" I think the gs70 is better than the Aorus as according to some of the stuff I read you should see around 40% over the 770m. Although they are supposedly just rebranded the 870 and 880 that is. The 850 and 860 are maxwell from what I read.


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## funkmetal

Going off of my trick that usually works for Nvidia Desktop GPU's I have a feeling the 870m will be similar in performance to a 780m. Because usually I have found out that for each generation you go up one level (580/670/ 760). Think this is how it would work?


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## mylilpony

i wonder if the auros will release an 8xx series laptop soon? The power/battery optimization seems like a vast improvement


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## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mylilpony*
> 
> i wonder if the auros will release an 8xx series laptop soon? The power/battery optimization seems like a vast improvement


Well, MSI announced a GTX 860m and a few GTX 880m Laptops today. Along with the Razer Blade 14in with a GTX 870m


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## Awsan

Quote:


> NVIDIA 800M Series Laptops have landed at XOTIC PC. We've just added 42 new gaming laptops!!!
> 
> Check out all of them here:
> 
> http://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming-laptops-notebooks-nvidia-800m-series-laptops-ct-95_51_463.html


this was on xotic pc's facebook page


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## funkmetal

Anyone know how well a 870m will do compared to either a 780m or 765m SLI?


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## Ryou-kun

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Anyone know how well a 870m will do compared to either a 780m or 765m SLI?


OP. Quick question.

Do you really need all those GPU power just to run games that even GTX 700m series can run it quite well?
Quote:


> Single Player RPG's such as Skyrim, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Witcher. The standard fare of RPG's basically.


I mean, you aren't going to replace your desktop with a laptop are you?
Right now, I think you are going a bit overboard with your decision on a laptop that is just me.


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## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ryou-kun*
> 
> OP. Quick question.
> 
> Do you really need all those GPU power just to run games that even GTX 700m series can run it quite well?
> I mean, you aren't going to replace your desktop with a laptop are you?
> Right now, I think you are going a bit overboard with your decision on a laptop that is just me.


I may be going a bit overboard but I want to play games on at least high with 60 fps with games 2 years down the road. And yes, I am not looking to replace my desktop because as you can see from my sig rig I have a pretty beastly desktop. I just want something to game on the go and for me, the weight to performance ratio of the laptop is the biggest thing for me. Anyway that's what my thoughts on your concern is and yes I may be going a bit overboard.


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## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> I may be going a bit overboard but I want to play games on at least high with 60 fps with games 2 years down the road. And yes, I am not looking to replace my desktop because as you can see from my sig rig I have a pretty beastly desktop. I just want something to game on the go and for me, the weight to performance ratio of the laptop is the biggest thing for me. Anyway that's what my thoughts on your concern is and yes I may be going a bit overboard.


The GTX 870M has 1344 Cuda cores at 941 Mhz, very close to your gtx 670's. Only difference is the Memory bus is 192bit instead of the 256 bit on your gtx 670's and it is clocked at 5ghz instead of 6ghz. If you can game well on one 670 thats close to what you can expect from the 2014 Razer blade.


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## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> The GTX 870M has 1344 Cuda cores at 941 Mhz, very close to your gtx 670's. Only difference is the Memory bus is 192bit instead of the 256 bit on your gtx 670's and it is clocked at 5ghz instead of 6ghz. If you can game well on one 670 thats close to what you can expect from the 2014 Razer blade.


Yeah when I got my first 670 a couple of days after they launched when I was on my old Amd 965 BE cpu, I was quite content with it at 60 fps. The laptop I was looking at with the 870m was the MSI GS70 Stealth Pro. I don't trust Razor's build quality on such a expensive product when I hear horror stories about their pc accessories


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## Ryou-kun

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> I may be going a bit overboard but I want to play games on at least high with 60 fps with games 2 years down the road. And yes, I am not looking to replace my desktop because as you can see from my sig rig I have a pretty beastly desktop. I just want something to game on the go and for me, the weight to performance ratio of the laptop is the biggest thing for me. Anyway that's what my thoughts on your concern is and yes I may be going a bit overboard.


Maybe. However, technologies evolve fast. Probably as soon you buy current gen or next gen, then next year or two, we might get better CPU and GPU than current gen or next gen.
Might as well buy a laptop that actually fits your need rather going overboard.

Also you said you'll be playing games while waiting for your next class, right?
How long do you have to wait for your next class?
If it is less than an hour, it isn't worth it IMO unless it is higher than 2 hours then it is worth getting it.

I do agree. Thin and light for a gaming laptop is a must have, but you usually sacrifice your performance and maybe battery life, however, you'll pay more for it.
Beside isn't there'll be a Lenovo Y50 gaming laptop that has either 2K or 4K resolution, touch or non-touch, optional to have a dedicated GPU and etc? I believe it is weigh under 6 lbs.

However, I believe you should be fine with Aurora X7 laptop. I mean, I know you want to play games at high settings with at least 60 FPS, but I believe you probably jump right back on your desktop mostly and play on your laptop while on the go ... for a little while.


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## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ryou-kun*
> 
> Maybe. However, technologies evolve fast. Probably as soon you buy current gen or next gen, then next year or two, we might get better CPU and GPU than current gen or next gen.
> Might as well buy a laptop that actually fits your need rather going overboard.
> 
> Also you said you'll be playing games while waiting for your next class, right?
> How long do you have to wait for your next class?
> If it is less than an hour, it isn't worth it IMO unless it is higher than 2 hours then it is worth getting it.
> 
> I do agree. Thin and light for a gaming laptop is a must have, but you usually sacrifice your performance and maybe battery life, however, you'll pay more for it.
> Beside isn't there'll be a Lenovo Y50 gaming laptop that has either 2K or 4K resolution, touch or non-touch, optional to have a dedicated GPU and etc? I believe it is weigh under 6 lbs.
> 
> However, I believe you should be fine with Aurora X7 laptop. I mean, I know you want to play games at high settings with at least 60 FPS, but I believe you probably jump right back on your desktop mostly and play on your laptop while on the go ... for a little while.


I understand that technology evolves quickly and I know 2-3 years down the road it will be outdated. As for waiting for class, I have to take a shuttle bus to the campus because I don't have a car or license and even after I get my license and car I will still take the bus to save gas ( I know it's odd saying I want to save money when I am talking about a $2000 laptop but just go with me on this). I have to take the bus 2 hours before class because the buss that arrives next gets to the campus 10 minutes after class starts and I am there for another hour after class ends because that is when the next bus leaves.


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## TheReciever

Then maybe you might be wanting something a little more modular, the X7 will have no problems at all playing games for quite some time to come.

I would look at notebookreview marketplace just for reference of popular laptops that can be upgraded, alienware is popular for that as well as origin pc I believe, cant say for certain


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## rcoolb2002

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheReciever*
> 
> Then maybe you might be wanting something a little more modular, the X7 will have no problems at all playing games for quite some time to come.
> 
> I would look at notebookreview marketplace just for reference of popular laptops that can be upgraded, alienware is popular for that as well as origin pc I believe, cant say for certain


With modular comes the price of size and weight that the OP was trying to stay away from. Anything MXM is going to be thick, and heavy because of the modular designed coolers, etc.


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## TheReciever

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rcoolb2002*
> 
> With modular comes the price of size and weight that the OP was trying to stay away from. Anything MXM is going to be thick, and heavy because of the modular designed coolers, etc.


Well aware of that bud









Then X7 it is


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## b.walker36

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheReciever*
> 
> Well aware of that bud
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Then X7 it is


MSI has the specs for their new GS Stealth, That has the 870 in it which will probably be just as fast if not faster than the sli in the aorus. Worth taking a look if you have not yet.


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## TheReciever

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *b.walker36*
> 
> MSI has the specs for their new GS Stealth, That has the 870 in it which will probably be just as fast if not faster than the sli in the aorus. Worth taking a look if you have not yet.


Problem with MSI is their build quality has been shoddy for years now, has that been amended yet?


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## b.walker36

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheReciever*
> 
> Problem with MSI is their build quality has been shoddy for years now, has that been amended yet?


I have never heard of problems with the original stealth as I was researching it pretty heavy until i realized the refreshes were coming out. The only real complaint against it was the touch pad but I would never use that for gaming anyway.

That being said I have not owned a stealth but it seems to be their highest build quality laptop, its all aluminum very thin and light for the size. They also have a 15" version called the ghost that looks spectacular. If portability was not my main concern I would go with msi but the 14" razer is calling my name lol.


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## Imglidinhere

Alrighty...

I have to say this now that I've done my research, It might be a better idea to go for the Sager rather than the Aorus. The new GTX 860M is unbelievable and the GTX 870M is just shy of matching the GTX 680MX...

The Aorus was a nice idea, but now with the arrival of the newer GPUs, I'm not so sure...


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## TheReciever

Guess its time for the waiting game to see what products get the refresh lol


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## b.walker36

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheReciever*
> 
> Guess its time for the waiting game to see what products get the refresh lol


Yeah I would definitely wait for an 8xx series as its showing an average of 45% increase. Like the above poster said the 870 matches/beats the 780m


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## Ryou-kun

By the way, OP, are you in any rush to buy a gaming laptop?


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## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ryou-kun*
> 
> By the way, OP, are you in any rush to buy a gaming laptop?


I am not in a serious rush, but I dont want to wait a super long time. I am hoping to get this laptop at the latest by the end of April


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## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> I am not in a serious rush, but I dont want to wait a super long time. I am hoping to get this laptop at the latest by the end of April


It might be a little longer depending on how long it takes nvidia to get the 800m chips out


----------



## b.walker36

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> It might be a little longer depending on how long it takes nvidia to get the 800m chips out


Well MSI and Razer plan for end of march early april shipping so I would think he is going to be fine for getting one by end of april as long as he jumps pretty quickly when they can be ordered. My razer is expected to ship in the first week of april so we will see if that pans out.


----------



## funkmetal

What are your thoughts on ordering from some place like Gentech PC or Xotic PC? I can get my laptop Custom Colored and get better Thermal Paste applied.


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *b.walker36*
> 
> Well MSI and Razer plan for end of march early april shipping so I would think he is going to be fine for getting one by end of april as long as he jumps pretty quickly when they can be ordered. My razer is expected to ship in the first week of april so we will see if that pans out.


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> What are your thoughts on ordering from some place like Gentech PC or Xotic PC? I can get my laptop Custom Colored and get better Thermal Paste applied.


I would apply the paste myself, its cheaper and then you'll know what you are doing with the laptop. I've ordered from xotic twice and had no issues either time.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> I would apply the paste myself, its cheaper and then you'll know what you are doing with the laptop. I've ordered from xotic twice and had no issues either time.


I'd rather not, I would be fine doing it on a Desktop, but on a Laptop I wouldn't do it


----------



## Awsan

Xotic Pc are fantastic

For the paste i would recommend letting Xotic Pc paste the IC Diamond for you as when i changed my friends IC Diamond the Temp went up by 2 Degrees which indicates that Xotic PC did a really good job


----------



## funkmetal

Well, my local Fry's when I went today already have a couple of MSI Models with the 800m Series. They had a GT70 with a 880m and I think it was a MSI GE Model with a 860m. No SSD though in either IIRC.


----------



## b.walker36

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Well, my local Fry's when I went today already have a couple of MSI Models with the 800m Series. They had a GT70 with a 880m and I think it was a MSI GE Model with a 860m. No SSD though in either IIRC.


Yeah a couple of their models were ready to ship when announced. I would personally wait for the GS models though as they seem to be the best quality and best mix of power/mobility.


----------



## funkmetal

Think there will be a version of the MSI with the 870m without Raid? Or would I have to custom order it like that from a place like Xotic PC? I'm kinda hesitant with Raid as the boot drive. Or is there nothing to worry about?


----------



## Imglidinhere

Okay... now between the two new choices, the GS70 is superior. The 870M is a 680M but clocked up around the level of a GTX 670 again. So... yeah... unfortunately the Aorus released right at the worst possible time. The revamped Kepler GPU should do nicely as it's literally within around 10% of the SLI 765Ms but you have no SLI issues that MAY exist. Not saying they do, but meh.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Imglidinhere*
> 
> Okay... now between the two new choices, the GS70 is superior. The 870M is a 680M but clocked up around the level of a GTX 670 again. So... yeah... unfortunately the Aorus released right at the worst possible time. The revamped Kepler GPU should do nicely as it's literally within around 10% of the SLI 765Ms but you have no SLI issues that MAY exist. Not saying they do, but meh.


About 10% on a laptop GPU is about what? 3-5 FPS in real world scenario?


----------



## TheReciever

Depends on the application. However if you were getting 100 FPS then that means 110 FPS at lower power consumption


----------



## funkmetal

What are the chances of other companies coming out with a Ultra Slim laptop with a 870m? Right now the only confirmed ones that I know of are the MSI GS70 and the Razer Blade. Any others?


----------



## TheReciever

Y50 I believe has something similar


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheReciever*
> 
> Y50 I believe has something similar


Yeah, I'm not really interested in a 4K Gaming Laptop


----------



## TheReciever

That seems to be trending lately, not really something I'm jiving either


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheReciever*
> 
> That seems to be trending lately, not really something I'm jiving either


I'm even hesitant about the 3K laptops that are coming out, at least in desktops when you hear a 4K you are usually talking about Multi GPU Systems and usually Titans/ High End AMD GPU's with lots of VRAM. I dont know how a single laptop GPU (Even if it is a high end one) would hold up at decent FPS at that resolution


----------



## TheReciever

I would have to see how it works at 1080, if its looks distorted then I probably wouldnt be interested


----------



## funkmetal

Well, it seems the MSI GS70 Stealth Pro was announced today,. How long till retail places have them do you think?


----------



## b.walker36

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Well, it seems the MSI GS70 Stealth Pro was announced today,. How long till retail places have them do you think?


My guess would mid-late april. Maybe early but I think thats pushing it. They plan to have the gs60 out early april so I guess its possible.


----------



## StringTheory11

Hey do you guys know if the new MSI GS70 stealth pro like mentioned before, with a 870m, i7 core 4700HQ, 16gb ram, etc will be able to run arma 3 on high/ ultra at 60 fps? And will I be able to do bigger battles with it considering fps in arma drops significantly when adding more units. Also will I be able to play BF4 on ultra at 60 fps? As well as more future games like Bad company 3 and Battlefront 3(I do know it is hard to draw conclusions based on games that aren't even in alpha yet). My point is will I be able to play future games at high settings too.

Thank you


----------



## TheReciever

Too early to tell, there arent any reviews that I can find to use for reference yet.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *StringTheory11*
> 
> Hey do you guys know if the new MSI GS70 stealth pro like mentioned before, with a 870m, i7 core 4700HQ, 16gb ram, etc will be able to run arma 3 on high/ ultra at 60 fps? And will I be able to do bigger battles with it considering fps in arma drops significantly when adding more units. Also will I be able to play BF4 on ultra at 60 fps? As well as more future games like Bad company 3 and Battlefront 3(I do know it is hard to draw conclusions based on games that aren't even in alpha yet). My point is will I be able to play future games at high settings too.
> 
> Thank you


Hard to tell but, my Current desktop (Sig Rig Black Dragon AKA The Monolith) only gets about 30-40 FPS with everything turned up with a i7 4930k Hex Core and SLI 780Ti Classifieds so I doubt a laptop with SLI 880m's will be able to play Arma 3 on max, BF4/Future Frostbyte engin games. I have seen some reviews for the 870m and it looks like the 870m only gets about 40ish fps on Ultra at 1080p in BF4

EDIT: Here is where I saw those results, you can restrict what cards you only want to see by selecting them with the checkbox and hitting restrict. It seems they are in the order of how powerful they are.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html


----------



## TheReciever

Also keep in mind that on a 15" panel @ 1080p there isnt a need for AA.


----------



## funkmetal

Well, the GS60 Ghost with the 860m was released on Newegg. I wonder how far behind the GS70 Stealth Pro will be?


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Well, the GS60 Ghost with the 860m was released on Newegg. I wonder how far behind the GS70 Stealth Pro will be?


AS the 860m is Maxwell and the 870m is Kepler i will say the difference will be 10% between the two of them and maybe less when overclocked because maxwell is a beast of an overclocker


----------



## b.walker36

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Awsan*
> 
> AS the 860m is Maxwell and the 870m is Kepler i will say the difference will be 10% between the two of them and maybe less when overclocked because maxwell is a beast of an overclocker


I think he meant release lol. I would guess in the next couple weeks.


----------



## Awsan

Ops


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Awsan*
> 
> Ops


Its fine, that would have been my next question, how close in performance is it to the 870m and would it be worth getting the GS60 Ghost over the Aorus and the GS70 Stealth Pro. Thoughts?


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Its fine, that would have been my next question, how close in performance is it to the 870m and would it be worth getting the GS60 Stealth over the Aorus and the GS70 Stealth Pro. Thoughts?


Here is a good Aorus x7 review by HTWingNut Review

The X7 is a beast in every way but it has some heat problems

Will it heat up? Yes
Will it throttle? No

Which is not a problem if you will use it as a desktop replacement as you can easily put a Cooler under it.

If you compare them at stock speed the 765m SLI is around ~55% faster than the 870m which is around ~10% faster than the 860m


----------



## NuclearCrap

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Its fine, that would have been my next question, how close in performance is it to the 870m and would it be worth getting the GS60 Ghost over the Aorus and the GS70 Stealth Pro. Thoughts?


Again, how much do you value battery life? SLI will throw that out the window. You're better off sticking with single GPU unless you want it tethered to the wall outlet most of the time. 4-5 hours of battery life is pretty standard these days, especially for students traveling between classes, and the Aorus will get you half that at best, and that's when it's not doing any gaming. You would be essentially screwed if you need your laptop to for 2 consecutive classes and are unable to find a seat close enough to an outlet, and it's not unusual for that to happen these days with overcrowded classrooms everywhere.

If you're to spend extra money, the new Razer Blade 14" is mighty attractive with i7-4702HQ and GTX 870M with 3200x1800 IGZO touchscreen in a 14" package, and it only weighs around 4.5 lbs.









Also, more powerful laptops will come with larger, heavier AC adapters. The difference there may not be much, but it can get annoying.


----------



## Ryou-kun

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NuclearCrap*
> 
> Again, how much do you value battery life? SLI will throw that out the window. You're better off sticking with single GPU unless you want it tethered to the wall outlet most of the time. 4-5 hours of battery life is pretty standard these days, especially for students traveling between classes, and the Aorus will get you half that at best, and that's when it's not doing any gaming. You would be essentially screwed if you need your laptop to for 2 consecutive classes and are unable to find a seat close enough to an outlet, and it's not unusual for that to happen these days with overcrowded classrooms everywhere.
> 
> If you're to spend extra money, the new Razer Blade 14" is mighty attractive with i7-4702HQ and GTX 870M with 3200x1800 IGZO touchscreen in a 14" package, and it only weighs around 4.5 lbs.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also, more powerful laptops will come with larger, heavier AC adapters. The difference there may not be much, but it can get annoying.


Oh, yeah. The OP did said he want to play games on a two hour long bus I believe. If he grab X7 or SLI GPU, the laptop won't survive much with less than hour or half an hour.


----------



## b.walker36

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Awsan*
> 
> Here is a good Aorus x7 review by HTWingNut Review
> 
> The X7 is a beast in every way but it has some heat problems
> 
> Will it heat up? Yes
> Will it throttle? No
> 
> Which is not a problem if you will use it as a desktop replacement as you can easily put a Cooler under it.
> 
> If you compare them at stock speed the 765m SLI is around ~55% faster than the 870m which is around ~10% faster than the 860m


Where did you get those numbers. The 765 sli was around the 780 mark in performance. The 870 should perform along the same lines as the 780 and will be a fair margin ahead of the 860 from my reading. Would love to read more on it but everything I have read so far does not align with that you are saying.


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *b.walker36*
> 
> Where did you get those numbers. The 765 sli was around the 780 mark in performance. The 870 should perform along the same lines as the 780 and will be a fair margin ahead of the 860 from my reading. Would love to read more on it but everything I have read so far does not align with that you are saying.


We don't really need to read anything. We already have knowledge of the architecture.

GTX 870M 1344 Kepler Shaders 941 Mhz 192 Memory Bus 5Ghz (Gimped GTX 670) Expect about 20% Slower than a GTX 670

GTX 780M 1536 Kepler Shaders 823 Mhz 256 Memory Bus 5Ghz (Gimped GTX 680) Expect 15% slower than a GTX 680.

GTX 765M 768 Kepler Shaders 850 Mhz 128 Memory Bus 4Ghz (Gimped GT 650 Ti) Expect 20% Slower than a GTX 650 Ti

GTX 860M 640 Maxwell Shaders 1029 Mhz 128 Memory Bus 5Ghz (Full GTX 750 Ti) Expect a full GTX 750 Ti

So take a look at SLi GT 650 Ti's non boost and compare them to a gtx 670. That is roughly what you are looking at.

Edit: Between the 860m and 870m i'd expect it to be rougly a gtx 750 ti vs a gtx 760.


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> We don't really need to read anything. We already have knowledge of the architecture.
> 
> GTX 870M 1344 Kepler Shaders 941 Mhz 192 Memory Bus 5Ghz (Gimped GTX 670) Expect about 20% Slower than a GTX 670
> 
> GTX 780M 1536 Kepler Shaders 823 Mhz 256 Memory Bus 5Ghz (Gimped GTX 680) Expect 15% slower than a GTX 680.
> 
> GTX 765M 768 Kepler Shaders 850 Mhz 128 Memory Bus 4Ghz (Gimped GT 650 Ti) Expect 20% Slower than a GTX 650 Ti
> 
> GTX 860M 640 Maxwell Shaders 1029 Mhz 128 Memory Bus 5Ghz (Full GTX 750 Ti) Expect a full GTX 750 Ti
> 
> So take a look at SLi GT 650 Ti's non boost and compare them to a gtx 670. That is roughly what you are looking at.
> 
> Edit: Between the 860m and 870m i'd expect it to be rougly a gtx 750 ti vs a gtx 760.


Thanks i was just going to write it up but you saved me the hassle


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NuclearCrap*
> 
> Again, how much do you value battery life? SLI will throw that out the window. You're better off sticking with single GPU unless you want it tethered to the wall outlet most of the time. 4-5 hours of battery life is pretty standard these days, especially for students traveling between classes, and the Aorus will get you half that at best, and that's when it's not doing any gaming. You would be essentially screwed if you need your laptop to for 2 consecutive classes and are unable to find a seat close enough to an outlet, and it's not unusual for that to happen these days with overcrowded classrooms everywhere.
> 
> If you're to spend extra money, the new Razer Blade 14" is mighty attractive with i7-4702HQ and GTX 870M with 3200x1800 IGZO touchscreen in a 14" package, and it only weighs around 4.5 lbs.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also, more powerful laptops will come with larger, heavier AC adapters. The difference there may not be much, but it can get annoying.


TBH, I hate Razer products with a passion. Plus I dont see how a 3K Screen will do well on a laptop. And for me at least, Even 512GB will not be enough storage for me. So, thats why I havent mentioned the Razer Blade. Also, yeah I am guessing the Aorus X7 is basically out right now. I guess now its between the MSI GS70, GS60 or any other options you think I should look at. I am a big fan of the Sager's looks and price to performance. I was looking at the Maingear site I saw the Pulse 17, think they will do a refresh of it with 800m GPU's?

EDIT: Scratch that on the Maingear, price to performance on their laptops are horrible.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ryou-kun*
> 
> Oh, yeah. The OP did said he want to play games on a two hour long bus I believe. If he grab X7 or SLI GPU, the laptop won't survive much with less than hour or half an hour.


No, it was I had to get there 2 hours early because of the bus and hang around one of the Student Lounges.


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> TBH, I hate Razer products with a passion. Plus I dont see how a 3K Screen will do well on a laptop. And for me at least, Even 512GB will not be enough storage for me. So, thats why I havent mentioned the Razer Blade. Also, yeah I am guessing the Aorus X7 is basically out right now. I guess now its between the MSI GS70, GS60 or any other options you think I should look at. I am a big fan of the Sager's looks and price to performance. I was looking at the Maingear site I saw the Pulse 17, think they will do a refresh of it with 800m GPU's?
> 
> EDIT: Scratch that on the Maingear, price to performance on their laptops are horrible.
> No, it was I had to get there 2 hours early because of the bus and hang around one of the Student Lounges.


Settle for the GTX 860m it won't be that far behind the 870m to be honest.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> Settle for the GTX 860m it won't be that far behind the 870m to be honest.


I'm still not convinced, I had both a single 670 and SLI 670's and they were great cards, on the other hand I havent owned a 750Ti, what would that be in the 600 Series, a 660(non Ti)? And with you guys saying that the 870m is about 20% less powerful than a 670, that would be a little better than a 660Ti I would think, because IIRC, the 670 was only about 2-5% less powerful than the 680 (At least at launch of the card).


----------



## Shiftstealth

Guess its a bigger gap than i thought:

http://benchmarkreviews.com/12744/nvidia-geforce-gtx-750-ti-benchmark-performance/3/?cbg_tz=240


----------



## funkmetal

Just for reference, this is basically what I am carrying around right now. I think this is the same model.

http://www.ebay.com/ctg/Samsung-Series-3-305E5AI-15-6-500-GB-AMD-A6-Quad-Core-1-5-GHz-4-GB-Notebook-Silver-NP305E5A-A03US-/118238665


----------



## Lehendario

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *b.walker36*
> 
> Where did you get those numbers. The 765 sli was around the 780 mark in performance. The 870 should perform along the same lines as the 780 and will be a fair margin ahead of the 860 from my reading. Would love to read more on it but everything I have read so far does not align with that you are saying.


+1

It hits nearly GTX 780m FPS...

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/laptop/3506733/msi-gt70-2pc-dominator-review/


----------



## funkmetal

So here's a chat log between me and the Aorus Facebook Page. (Name changed to protect identity)

funkmetal: Is AORUS going to release a X7 with SLI 860m's or 870m's? Otherwise I would have to get a different laptop, because SLI 765m's are last gen and as you said a single 870m beats the SLI 765m's?
Like · Reply · 40 mins

AORUS Technically speaking if you tweak our machines - it would probably be way more powerful.
Like · 1 · 31 mins

So what it seems like they are saying is you can overclock their machines or something to get more performance? Or is this a PR Rep trying to make their laptop look good?


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> So here's a chat log between me and the Aorus Facebook Page. (Name changed to protect identity)
> 
> funkmetal: Is AORUS going to release a X7 with SLI 860m's or 870m's? Otherwise I would have to get a different laptop, because SLI 765m's are last gen and as you said a single 870m beats the SLI 765m's?
> Like · Reply · 40 mins
> 
> AORUS Technically speaking if you tweak our machines - it would probably be way more powerful.
> Like · 1 · 31 mins
> 
> So what it seems like they are saying is you can overclock their machines or something to get more performance? Or is this a PR Rep trying to make their laptop look good?


You can overclock the 860m's too so i would just brush that off. Just trying to get a sale.


----------



## TheReciever

SLI 765m's are no slouch bud, I run 755m's at stock and I max out all games save for Rust and Total War Shogun II w/ DX11 maxed in field battles with high unit count.

The core clock of the 765m seems kind of low in comparison to mine as well, 865Mhz? I think? I know I can push mine to 1228Mhz

In any case though, its already a powerful set up, so the refresh will enable even more performance for ya bud









Customer reps are typically not the ones to go for with accurate information from the mouth. If hes saying just overclock and wont need to get new GPU's then its possible they wont be joining the refresh which would be odd


----------



## funkmetal

Hmm, I want your guys opinion. I can either get a fully customized MSI GS70 Laptop with a Single 870m for about $3500.
http://www.xoticpc.com/msi-gs70-stealthpro001-preorder-p-6934.html?wconfigure=yes

Or I can get a Sager with a 120Hz Screen, SLI 880m's, 620GB SSD space, and a 1TB 7200RPM Data Drive for about the same price.
http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_customed&model_name=NP9377-S

I know the Sager will have not as good battery life and will be heavier, but the price to performance ratio on the Sager is much better than the MSI. Also the Reason my customized MSI cost so much more is because I would have to get new SSD's to get rid of the Raid that the Laptop comes with according to the Xotic PC Rep I was talking with.
Plus all the quality of life stuff such as theft protection, and a custom painted A panel.


----------



## NuclearCrap

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Hmm, I want your guys opinion. I can either get a fully customized MSI GS70 Laptop with a Single 870m for about $3500.
> http://www.xoticpc.com/msi-gs70-stealthpro001-preorder-p-6934.html?wconfigure=yes
> 
> Or I can get a Sager with a 120Hz Screen, SLI 880m's, 620GB SSD space, and a 1TB 7200RPM Data Drive for about the same price.
> http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_customed&model_name=NP9377-S
> 
> I know the Sager will have not as good battery life and will be heavier, but the price to performance ratio on the Sager is much better than the MSI. Also the Reason my customized MSI cost so much more is because I would have to get new SSD's to get rid of the Raid that the Laptop comes with according to the Xotic PC Rep I was talking with.
> Plus all the quality of life stuff such as theft protection, and a custom painted A panel.


You can get a GS70 with 870M for a little over half the cost. Theft protection? At that price you can easily afford to buy another one if it's stolen. Also, MSI comes with 2 years warranty standard, with 1st year accidental.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1035165&gclid=CLScwf6Por0CFVKDfgodk0AAAQ&Q=&is=REG&A=details

Again, if you value battery at all, avoid SLI. That Sager goes against everything you said you wanted.


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Hmm, I want your guys opinion. I can either get a fully customized MSI GS70 Laptop with a Single 870m for about $3500.
> http://www.xoticpc.com/msi-gs70-stealthpro001-preorder-p-6934.html?wconfigure=yes
> 
> Or I can get a Sager with a 120Hz Screen, SLI 880m's, 620GB SSD space, and a 1TB 7200RPM Data Drive for about the same price.
> http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_customed&model_name=NP9377-S
> 
> I know the Sager will have not as good battery life and will be heavier, but the price to performance ratio on the Sager is much better than the MSI. Also the Reason my customized MSI cost so much more is because I would have to get new SSD's to get rid of the Raid that the Laptop comes with according to the Xotic PC Rep I was talking with.
> Plus all the quality of life stuff such as theft protection, and a custom painted A panel.


I will got with the sager my self but it depends on you, and XoticPc is best price/performance ratio for sager laptops


----------



## TheReciever

I would get the sager out of principle, but I would have to check reviews for both units first


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NuclearCrap*
> 
> You can get a GS70 with 870M for a little over half the cost. Theft protection? At that price you can easily afford to buy another one if it's stolen. Also, MSI comes with 2 years warranty standard, with 1st year accidental.
> 
> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1035165&gclid=CLScwf6Por0CFVKDfgodk0AAAQ&Q=&is=REG&A=details
> 
> Again, if you value battery at all, avoid SLI. That Sager goes against everything you said you wanted.


Hmm, 128GB for an SSD to me is kinda small. I was hoping to get at least a 240/256GB. Maybe Xotic PC will offer this version. The only other version they offer of the GS70 (Aside from the version with the 765m) has a 860m in it.


----------



## NuclearCrap

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Hmm, 128GB for an SSD to me is kinda small. I was hoping to get at least a 240/256GB. Maybe Xotic PC will offer this version. The only other version they offer of the GS70 (Aside from the version with the 765m) has a 860m in it.


You're better off waiting a couple weeks for this thing to come out, then get the cheapest model that has the baseline HDD configuration, usually around $1500. Then, buy your own SSD and add it in yourself.


----------



## funkmetal

So, I'm not convinced now that what the Xotic PC Sales rep told me about the GS70 having to get new SSD's to disable Raid knew what he was talking about. I was looking at Gentech's Options for the GS70 and while I can't get the custom painting on the A panel (Which now I'm not so sure about getting because there seems to be a small strip of plastic that wouldnt be painted) The offer disablement of Raid, and I can get my 128GB Boot Drive and a 500 or 750GB Game Drive/ Program Drive and then I can either have the Mechanical HDD removed or use it as a Drive for pics, music, videos etc.


----------



## funkmetal

So what are the thoughts on getting this version of the GS70 with the 2 "free" SSD's set in Raid 1 and and getting an extra 500GB SSD for Programs/Games?

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NuclearCrap*
> 
> You're better off waiting a couple weeks for this thing to come out, then get the cheapest model that has the baseline HDD configuration, usually around $1500. Then, buy your own SSD and add it in yourself.


I know its the most "Cost effective" and if it was a desktop I would agree with you. But I dont feel comfortable taking apart a laptop, I would prefer it to be built with what I want when I get it and not have to worry about upgrades. And if something goes wrong, I would take it to a shop that deals with laptops.


----------



## funkmetal

Anyone here that has bought custom laptops from either Gentech PC or Xotic PC, which of those 2 would you recommend buying from? Doing more research, Xotic PC for the exact same configuration on the GS70 Stealth is about $400 more than Gentech. Gentech also offers different Raid settings on the SSD's while Xotic only supports SSD Caching and Default setting (RAID 1) at this time. But Xotic offers a Price Match on a case by case basis.

Which is the better option? Ive heard good things about Xotic PC but I dont know anything about Gentech PC and I couldnt find any reviews on them.

EDIT: Gentech PC has reviews on their site that links to a reseller rating site where they have a perfect 10/10 after over 100 reviews, so either they are really good or something is fishy


----------



## funkmetal

bump


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Anyone here that has bought custom laptops from either Gentech PC or Xotic PC, which of those 2 would you recommend buying from? Doing more research, Xotic PC for the exact same configuration on the GS70 Stealth is about $400 more than Gentech. Gentech also offers different Raid settings on the SSD's while Xotic only supports SSD Caching and Default setting (RAID 1) at this time. But Xotic offers a Price Match on a case by case basis.
> 
> Which is the better option? Ive heard good things about Xotic PC but I dont know anything about Gentech PC and I couldnt find any reviews on them.


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> bump


Both are good re sellers but i bought 3 Sager Laptops from XoticPc and the experience has been perfect in every way

But something i noticed is that XoticPc is the cheapest Sager re seller while having a higher price on other devices but you can always price match


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Awsan*
> 
> Both are good re sellers but i bought 3 Sager Laptops from XoticPc and the experience has been perfect in every way
> 
> But something i noticed is that XoticPc is the cheapest Sager re seller while having a higher price on other devices but you can always price match


Ah ok, looks like Xotic PC it is then.


----------



## funkmetal

Well after talking with my parents about the laptop they say they know it's my money but they think I should get a Sager because they say the price to performance is better and they think I would be fine carrying around a little more weight. If I were to go with Sager, what model should I get and would a 880m be worth it over the 870m? Also should I go 15 inch or 17 inch?


----------



## Awsan

For 15 inch get the Sager NP 8258 for 17 inch get the Sager NP8295 these two are the best bang for your buck

but you can check the Sager NP 9377 which is the best model after the NP 9570 and the 9377 can hold upto two graphics cards


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Awsan*
> 
> For 15 inch get the Sager NP 8258 for 17 inch get the Sager NP8295 these two are the best bang for your buck
> 
> but you can check the Sager NP 9377 which is the best model after the NP 9570 and the 9377 can hold upto two graphics cards


Yeah, like @NuclearCrap was saying I should probably stay away from SLI if I can help it, unless the battery life is better on something like a Sager with a 9 cell battery as opposed to the 6 cell batteries that are in the Aorus or the MSI. I was personally thinking of the NP8298 with a 880m?
Thoughts?


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Yeah, like @NuclearCrap was saying I should probably stay away from SLI if I can help it, unless the battery life is better on something like a Sager with a 9 cell battery as opposed to the 6 cell batteries that are in the Aorus or the MSI. I was personally thinking of the NP8298 with a 880m?
> Thoughts?


I have an NP8180 with crossfire 6990m and the battery life is poor so if you really need the batterylife then you should choose a laptop with a single GPU

The Sager NP 8298 is a nice 17 inch laptop but i will take a look at the NP9377 as you can choose a single GPU


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Awsan*
> 
> I have an NP8180 with crossfire 6990m and the battery life is poor so if you really need the batterylife then you should choose a laptop with a single GPU
> 
> The Sager NP 8298 is a nice 17 inch laptop but i will take a look at the NP9377 as you can choose a single GPU


Ok, then whats the difference between the NP9377-S and the NP9377? All I could tell was better stock configuration? Is that all it really is? Also, if I do get only one 880m right now, can I upgrade to a second 880m or two 980m's (Or whatever the latest GPU is at the time?)?


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Ok, then whats the difference between the NP9377-S and the NP9377? All I could tell was better stock configuration? Is that all it really is? Also, if I do get only one 880m right now, can I upgrade to a second 880m or two 980m's (Or whatever the latest GPU is at the time?)?


The special edition is always cheaper than the normal one with the same configuration and i notice you can upgrade to a 120hz panel on the special edition for free!
Yes you can add another GTX 880m along the way as long as you have the 300w-330w power brick or you can get a GTX 880m and a 330w power brick later.
One more thing i think that even with a single GTX 880m you cant switch between the Nvidia and Intel HD GPUs as i found out that the Intel HD is always disabled on any laptop with two MXM slots, Only the Alienware can hard switch between those by restarting the laptop.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Awsan*
> 
> The special edition is always cheaper than the normal one with the same configuration and i notice you can upgrade to a 120hz panel on the special edition for free!
> Yes you can add another GTX 880m along the way as long as you have the 300w-330w power brick or you can get a GTX 880m and a 330w power brick later.
> One more thing i think that even with a single GTX 880m you cant switch between the Nvidia and Intel HD GPUs as i found out that the Intel HD is always disabled on any laptop with two MXM slots, Only the Alienware can hard switch between those by restarting the laptop.


Ok, well. How much battery life can I expect from two 880m's in the Sager with the 8 Cell Battery or should I just get one and be done with it? Also, that is unfortunate that Alienware is the only one that allows that because Alienware's Price to Performance is terrible in my opinion.

Or should I go with the version I was thinking with the single 880m that cannot do SLI?


----------



## TheReciever

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Ok, well. How much battery life can I expect from two 880m's in the Sager with the 8 Cell Battery or should I just get one and be done with it? Also, that is unfortunate that Alienware is the only one that allows that because Alienware's Price to Performance is terrible in my opinion.
> 
> Or should I go with the version I was thinking with the single 880m that cannot do SLI?


I would say it depends on the capacity of the cells. There arent any reviews for the 880m SLI yet so its hard to tell, but you can use the 780m or reference.

880m SLI = 200w

755m SLI = 100w

I get maybe 3.5 hours non gaming on my machine without undervolting


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Ok, well. How much battery life can I expect from two 880m's in the Sager with the 8 Cell Battery or should I just get one and be done with it? Also, that is unfortunate that Alienware is the only one that allows that because Alienware's Price to Performance is terrible in my opinion.
> 
> Or should I go with the version I was thinking with the single 880m that cannot do SLI?


If you would take advantage of the switchable graphics then i will go with the 8298 but the 9377 is superior in every other aspect


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Awsan*
> 
> If you would take advantage of the switchable graphics then i will go with the 8298 but the 9377 is superior in every other aspect


Ok, doe it auto switch or is it something that I would have to switch manually?
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheReciever*
> 
> I would say it depends on the capacity of the cells. There arent any reviews for the 880m SLI yet so its hard to tell, but you can use the 780m or reference.
> 
> 880m SLI = 200w
> 
> 755m SLI = 100w
> 
> I get maybe 3.5 hours non gaming on my machine without undervolting


That's actually not that bad. I was expecting in the sub 2 hour range.


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Ok, doe it auto switch or is it something that I would have to switch manually?
> That's actually not that bad. I was expecting in the sub 2 hour range.


Nvidia Optimus works the way you want either you let the 880m off all the time and choose which programs uses it or you let it on in high performance mode and off in power saver mode


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Awsan*
> 
> Nvidia Optimus works the way you want either you let the 880m off all the time and choose which programs uses it or you let it on in high performance mode and off in power saver mode


Yeah I would never remember to set the profiles or turn on the power saving mode. I guess the SLI 880m option would be best for me in that case?


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Yeah I would never remember to set the profiles or turn on the power saving mode. I guess the SLI 880m option would be best for me in that case?


You can achieve GTX 780ti performance on those SLI GTX 880m so i would say go for it


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Awsan*
> 
> You can achieve GTX 780ti performance on those SLI GTX 880m so i would say go for it


Would you recommend a CPU upgrade or will the i7 4800 be enough for those cards? I was told that CPU is about equivalent to a 2600k?


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Would you recommend a CPU upgrade or will the i7 4800 be enough for those cards? I was told that CPU is about equivalent to a 2600k?


The 4810qm is a very fast CPU and also you can use throttle stop to lock the 4 cores at 3.8Ghz and i read somewhere that you can use XTU to add 200mhz-300mhz to the Haswell generation CPUs which will make it run at around 4.0Ghz


----------



## funkmetal

Hmm, i7 2600k and 780ti performance levels. This is really sounding like I am building a 2nd pc lol.


----------



## TheReciever

The 4700mq has the same performance as a 3770 non k at stock in cinebench r15


----------



## funkmetal

Ok, so I have a friend recommending I get the 870m SLI instead of the 880m SLI. He is stating the performance difference vs the 780m/870m doesn't warrant an extra $600 and even with the 880m SLI I still might not be able to hit 120 FPS to make the 120Hz Screen worth it


----------



## 1337LutZ

I got the Clevo P157SM.

http://www.mysn.eu/shop/xmg-p503.html?___store=default&___from_store=default

with the R9 M290X and it serves me well for any game i throw at it.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *1337LutZ*
> 
> I got the Clevo P157SM.
> 
> http://www.mysn.eu/shop/xmg-p503.html?___store=default&___from_store=default
> 
> with the R9 M290X and it serves me well for any game i throw at it.


Thanks for the input, I am a very big Nvidia fan, so a AMD card wouldnt be the right choice for me I would think


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Ok, so I have a friend recommending I get the 870m SLI instead of the 880m SLI. He is stating the performance difference vs the 780m/870m doesn't warrant an extra $600 and even with the 880m SLI I still might not be able to hit 120 FPS to make the 120Hz Screen worth it


Yes thats true as the 600 is a little too much for the performance difference and second the 120hz monitor is free with the GTX 880m, but for me i would go for a single powerful GPU before picking two slower cards as an SLI configuration has its problems with some games.

Single GTX 880m: P8514 3D Mark11

Dual GTX 880m: P15325 3D Mark11

Single GTX 870m: P6532 3D Mark 11

Dual GTX 870m: P11368 3D Mark11

The difference between the a single 880m and SLI 870m is around 38% so an overclock on a single 880m will bring it to even a lower percentage which will make a single 880m better balanced option and also its up gradable in the future to dual 880m


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Awsan*
> 
> Yes thats true as the 600 is a little too much for the performance difference and second the 120hz monitor is free with the GTX 880m, but for me i would go for a single powerful GPU before picking two slower cards as an SLI configuration has its problems with some games.
> 
> Single GTX 880m: P8514 3D Mark11
> 
> Dual GTX 880m: P15325 3D Mark11
> 
> Single GTX 870m: P6532 3D Mark 11
> 
> Dual GTX 870m: P11368 3D Mark11
> 
> The difference between the a single 880m and SLI 870m is around 38% so an overclock on a single 880m will bring it to even a lower percentage which will make a single 880m better balanced option and also its up gradable in the future to dual 880m


Yeah, after respecing the Sager with 880m's I can get it sub $3k which I feel is a really good deal

Also, if the SLI 880m's is about 780Ti Performance, what would SLI 870m's be in performance, a 770?


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Yeah, after respecing the Sager with 880m's I can get it sub $3k which I feel is a really good deal
> 
> Also, if the SLI 880m's is about 780Ti Performance, what would SLI 870m's be in performance, a 770?


Yea around that


----------



## funkmetal

Hmm, Im really leaning towards the 880m SLI, Im guessing if I'm careful I can get upwards of 4 hours battery if just sitting in class browsing and taking notes with backlight on the keyboard off and the screen was dim. And hopefully Nvidia will add more support for battery boost


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Hmm, Im really leaning towards the 880m SLI, Im guessing if I'm careful I can get upwards of 4 hours battery if just sitting in class browsing and taking notes with backlight on the keyboard off and the screen was dim. And hopefully Nvidia will add more support for battery boost


Hmm, Now thinking about it, I am thinking the MSI may still be an option. I would like some input if Raid 0 in a laptop is reliable, because if so. I would probably get the GS70 with the stock config and just customize it a bit and it would be cheaper than the Sager with the SLI 880m's and the battery would be better. Since all my friends and I agree that weight isnt an issue. Now the issue is battery life and performance to battery life. I am guessing I was thinking that I would need more power than I would actually need. I realize this wont replace my desktop and this is just a portable solution and I should be fine with turning down some settings to get better FPS if need be.

So, thoughts?

EDIT: Edited thread title to mirror new options


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Hmm, Now thinking about it, I am thinking the MSI may still be an option. I would like some input if Raid 0 in a laptop is reliable, because if so. I would probably get the GS70 with the stock config and just customize it a bit and it would be cheaper than the Sager with the SLI 880m's and the battery would be better. Since all my friends and I agree that weight isnt an issue. Now the issue is battery life and performance to battery life. I am guessing I was thinking that I would need more power than I would actually need. I realize this wont replace my desktop and this is just a portable solution and I should be fine with turning down some settings to get better FPS if need be.
> 
> So, thoughts?
> 
> EDIT: Edited thread title to mirror new options


Those SLI 880m's are actually like 10% more powerful than my 780 ti. Way more power than you need for 1080P. Sure it will future proof it, but its also a bit of a splurge.

While weight might not be an issue it is nice to have a small laptop. I've had a alienware m17x R1 that was 12 lbs and i can tell you, i did not like moving that. While i know it isn't an option i have a razer blade 14 2013 and it is awesome to carry around. I would strongly consider the GS70 as the first choice if you can tolerate GTX 660 Ti like fps at 1080P. I don't think you need GTX 780 Ti performance on a mobile laptop. While it would be nice i can't see why you would need 140 fps in titanfall.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> Those SLI 880m's are actually like 10% more powerful than my 780 ti. Way more power than you need for 1080P. Sure it will future proof it, but its also a bit of a splurge.
> 
> While weight might not be an issue it is nice to have a small laptop. I've had a alienware m17x R1 that was 12 lbs and i can tell you, i did not like moving that. While i know it isn't an option i have a razer blade 14 2013 and it is awesome to carry around. I would strongly consider the GS70 as the first choice if you can tolerate GTX 660 Ti like fps at 1080P. I don't think you need GTX 780 Ti performance on a mobile laptop. While it would be nice i can't see why you would need 140 fps in titanfall.


Eh true I guess, but that 120Hz screen is a nice benefit, even if I wont be using it alot. Also another option is a "upgradeable" Sager so I could get a 870m right now and down the road get a 880m or even a 900m/1000m or whatever they will be called by then. I am also now considering a 15in Sager after playing some Neverwinter Nights 2 on my current laptop (all be it at low and at 1366x768 with 30ish FPS lol) Thoughts? Or should I just consider the GS70 or a 17in Sager?

EDIT: Forgot to mention I would probably be fine with a 660Ti equivalent performance. And for portability I would be fine turning down some settings for more FPS


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Eh true I guess, but that 120Hz screen is a nice benefit, even if I wont be using it alot. Also another option is a "upgradeable" Sager so I could get a 870m right now and down the road get a 880m or even a 900m/1000m or whatever they will be called by then. I am also now considering a 15in Sager after playing some Neverwinter Nights 2 on my current laptop (all be it at low and at 1366x768 with 30ish FPS lol) Thoughts? Or should I just consider the GS70 or a 17in Sager?


Well heres some benchmarks for comparision.

The GTX 870m will pull 65 FPS in witcher 2 with ubersampling off at 1920x1200:
http://www.techspot.com/review/565-nvidia-geforce-gtx-660-ti/page8.html

The SLI GTX 880m's would pull over 120 FPS.

Upgradeable sagers are nice. I had a 8130HM that i put a 2920xm and a 7970m in and it rocked. But with the way laptops are going, i expect you will see less modular video cards especially with the 870m's being soldered now. Most companies will likely solder GPU's in the coming years because the laptops will be thinner, and it will force you to buy a whole new one.

Note: I am trying to provide you with information so that you can make the decision. I do not want to make it for you.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> Well heres some benchmarks for comparision.
> 
> The GTX 870m will pull 65 FPS in witcher 2 with ubersampling off at 1920x1200:
> http://www.techspot.com/review/565-nvidia-geforce-gtx-660-ti/page8.html
> 
> The SLI GTX 880m's would pull over 120 FPS.
> 
> Upgradeable sagers are nice. I had a 8130HM that i put a 2920xm and a 7970m in and it rocked. But with the way laptops are going, i expect you will see less modular video cards especially with the 870m's being soldered now. Most companies will likely solder GPU's in the coming years because the laptops will be thinner, and it will force you to buy a whole new one.


So at 1920x1080 in Witcher 2 I could expect 70+ FPS with those settings? Not bad, and yeah in most circumstances 120FPS in a Single player RPG is pointless, I would only need that 120FPS for FPS games like BF4, Titanfall, Planetside 2 etc. which I would be fine with a 60Hz monitor because I gamed with one up until a couple of months ago.

Yeah, I am leaning more towards the GS70 again (Why does this have to be so hard to decide







). Also, thoughts on MSI's Super Raid 2 tech, how reliable is it?


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> So at 1920x1080 in Witcher 2 I could expect 70+ FPS with those settings? Not bad, and yeah in most circumstances 120FPS in a Single player RPG is pointless, I would only need that 120FPS for FPS games like BF4, Titanfall, Planetside 2 etc. which I would be fine with a 60Hz monitor because I gamed with one up until a couple of months ago.
> 
> Yeah, I am leaning more towards the GS70 again (Why does this have to be so hard to decide
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ). Also, thoughts on MSI's Super Raid 2 tech, how reliable is it?


Well RAID because of the nature of how it is set up has a higher failure rate than a single drive because you have 2 points of failure instead of one. , but that is a really low failure rate anyways because they are SSDs.Example if one drive fails you can't rebuild the RAID.However that depends on the drive, and to be straight forward no one has really used the M.2 drives that are in the gs70 yet, but SSD's are way more reliable than HDD. I would take it for what its worth. Its way faster than a single drive.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> Well RAID because of the nature of how it is set up has a higher failure rate than a single drive because you have 2 points of failure instead of one. , but that is a really low failure rate anyways because they are SSDs.Example if one drive fails you can't rebuild the RAID.However that depends on the drive, and to be straight forward no one has really used the M.2 drives that are in the gs70 yet, but SSD's are way more reliable than HDD. I would take it for what its worth. Its way faster than a single drive.


So do you think it would be better if possible to get 2 128GB SSD's in Raid 1 and the 3rd SSD to be upgraded for more storage (240-500GB maybe) and made a storage drive if I can through a customizer/reseller like Xotic?


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> So do you think it would be better if possible to get 2 128GB SSD's in Raid 1 and the 3rd SSD to be upgraded for more storage (240-500GB maybe) and made a storage drive if I can through a customizer/reseller like Xotic?


I would do that.

That way you get the speed of RAID on the boot partition, then you have a backup for your DATA(MP3's video's etc) They are on the slower partition, ie 500 MBPS instead of 1400MBPS. Still plenty fast for media. If you had a 3 way raid you'd have another point of failure. At least this way you either lose your data or your OS, with a lower chance to lose your data.

I haven't looked at the raid config page, if you wanted the most redudancy in a laptop with 3 drives you could do RAID 5. It wouldn't be as fast as raid 0, but it would be faster than a single drive and you need 2 failures out of the 3 drives for it to go down, but you do lose storage space. You'd need to look more in dept for that but you'd want 240GB drives and you'd end up with like 480GB of storage from 3 240gb drives.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> I would do that.
> 
> That way you get the speed of RAID on the boot partition, then you have a backup for your DATA(MP3's video's etc) They are on the slower partition, ie 500 MBPS instead of 1400MBPS. Still plenty fast for media. If you had a 3 way raid you'd have another point of failure. At least this way you either lose your data or your OS, with a lower chance to lose your data.


Yeah that's what I was thinking, now to find out if Xotic PC or other resellers offer the options mentioned.

I think the Mirror Raid would be better for me because I can still use the laptop probably if one of the 128GB goes it doesnt affect me too much. Also, I thought Raid 1 didnt offer extra speed, it was more data security?


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Yeah that's what I was thinking, now to find out if Xotic PC or other resellers offer the options mentioned.
> 
> I think the Mirror Raid would be better for me because I can still use the laptop probably if one of the 128GB goes it doesnt affect me too much. Also, I thought Raid 1 didnt offer extra speed, it was more data security?


Yeah RAID 1 just mirrors the primary drive to the secondary.

You could do 2x 256Gb drives and a 512GB drive and do RAID 10

This gives you RAID 0 on the 2x 256GB and backs it all up to the 512GB Drive


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> Yeah RAID 1 just mirrors the primary drive to the secondary.


Thats what I thought, and if one of the SSD's does go out, I would just change Boot priority in the bios and it would boot right? (Sorry if I sound noobish on raid, Ive never dealt with it before)


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Thats what I thought, and if one of the SSD's does go out, I would just change Boot priority in the bios and it would boot right? (Sorry if I sound noobish on raid, Ive never dealt with it before)


No its fine, RAID is a pretty odd thing to deal with in the pc world. I edited my above posts and added some raid 5 and raid 10 info.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> No its fine, RAID is a pretty odd thing to deal with in the pc world. I edited my above posts and added some raid 5 and raid 10 info.


kk, I see that, I dont think those options are worthwhile in a laptop. I think Raid 1 will be enough for me. I'm fine with waiting a few more seconds to boot with a SSD without Raid 0 and the extra security would be great on a laptop that costs this much. I am guessing that battery life is unaffected by Raid in any form?


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> kk, I see that, I dont think those options are worthwhile in a laptop. I think Raid 1 will be enough for me. I'm fine with waiting a few more seconds to boot with a SSD without Raid 0 and the extra security would be great on a laptop that costs this much. I am guessing that battery life is unaffected by Raid in any form?


For all intents and purposes you wouldn't notice a difference it might be 1WH difference.


----------



## rcoolb2002

Do you really need raid1 with SSD? Newer SSD failure rate is so low, I would think the laptop itself would be your failure point. Dont waste the space for raid1. If you do raid, do raid0 for speed.

You are more likely to drop the laptop or spill a drink on it, than have the SSD fail.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rcoolb2002*
> 
> Do you really need raid1 with SSD? Newer SSD failure rate is so low, I would think the laptop itself would be your failure point. Dont waste the space for raid1. If you do raid, do raid0 for speed.
> 
> You are more likely to drop the laptop or spill a drink on it, than have the SSD fail.


Personally I think better safe than sorry, but If other people think that Raid 1 is unnecessary I guess I could get a single 128GB Boot Drive and then a 500GB Storage SSD and it would cost about the same. Or I could get the 128GB SSD Raid 0 like you mentioned and it would cost the same also.


----------



## rcoolb2002

Raid1 is okay for quick recovery, but its not really data security. Periodic backup to external drives is data security. Corruption can happen to data across both drives. Raid only helps with drive failure, and that is very slim to none on recent SSD's.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rcoolb2002*
> 
> Raid1 is okay for quick recovery, but its not really data security. Periodic backup to external drives is data security. Corruption can happen to data across both drives. Raid only helps with drive failure, and that is very slim to none on recent SSD's.


So get Raid 0 on the two 128GB drives and be done with it?


----------



## Imglidinhere

Steer clear of the 880M. It's a 780M rebrand with 8GB of memory. Completely pointless for a laptop. it's pointless to have anymore than 4GB for 1080p even...even Skyrim would never touch that amount no matter how many mods you have installed.

I wouldn't go beyond 870M SLI personally, but that's pushing it for me even...


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Imglidinhere*
> 
> Steer clear of the 880M. It's a 780M rebrand with 8GB of memory. Completely pointless for a laptop. it's pointless to have anymore than 4GB for 1080p even...even Skyrim would never touch that amount no matter how many mods you have installed.
> 
> I wouldn't go beyond 870M SLI personally, but that's pushing it for me even...


Yeah, I'm probably not getting the SLI 880m's any more and just going for the MSI now. I called up Sager for info on the NP9377-S and the rep I talked with said I would get max 1 hour on battery. I need to call them back tomorrow because it was late in the day to confirm that it was just browsing on battery that gets me 1 hour and not gaming on battery. I wouldnt be gaming on battery personally.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Yeah, I'm probably not getting the SLI 880m's any more and just going for the MSI now. I called up Sager for info on the NP9377-S and the rep I talked with said I would get max 1 hour on battery. I need to call them back tomorrow because it was late in the day to confirm that it was just browsing on battery that gets me 1 hour and not gaming on battery. I wouldnt be gaming on battery personally.


Hmm, I will need to call up Sager today after all. Doing some more configurations, it seems the SLI 870m's in the Sager may be more cost effective than the single 870m in the MSI GS70


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Hmm, I will need to call up Sager today after all. Doing some more configurations, it seems the SLI 870m's in the Sager may be more cost effective than the single 870m in the MSI GS70


Thats like paying less for a 2005 super computer that is as powerful as our 2014 laptops. Its bigger, uses more power etc.

Just my thoughts. But i've been all for portable all along.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> Thats like paying less for a 2005 super computer that is as powerful as our 2014 laptops. Its bigger, uses more power etc.
> 
> Just my thoughts. But i've been all for portable all along.


Yeah, I'm guessing that the MSI is what I need. I called up Sager again today and I talked with their "sales manager" and he seemed like he didn't want to sell to a student that was asking about how long the battery life on their laptops was. He wouldn't even give me an estimate stating "There are all new models and we dont know how long the battery will last". Also he was sounding very rude to me after I told him I was a student looking for a laptop because he flat out said that Sager's are for "Professionals". I'm about ready to give up on looking for a laptop if just about everywhere I go to find out info about the laptop is rude to me or doesn't want to talk with me because I'm not a Professional.


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Yeah, I'm guessing that the MSI is what I need. I called up Sager again today and I talked with their "sales manager" and he seemed like he didn't want to sell to a student that was asking about how long the battery life on their laptops was. He wouldn't even give me an estimate stating "There are all new models and we dont know how long the battery will last". Also he was sounding very rude to me after I told him I was a student looking for a laptop because he flat out said that Sager's are for "Professionals". I'm about ready to give up on looking for a laptop if just about everywhere I go to find out info about the laptop is rude to me or doesn't want to talk with me because I'm not a Professional.


Did you call sager, gentech,or xotic?

If you tried sager, give gentech a call.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> Did you call sager, gentech,or xotic?
> 
> If you tried sager, give gentech a call.


I called Sager directly, I have also had a bad experience with Xotic but that's a different issue. I guess I could try Gentech on the Sager's


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> Did you call sager, gentech,or xotic?
> 
> If you tried sager, give gentech a call.


Ok, so I gave Gentech a call today and the rep I talked with stated that I could get around 2 1/2 - 3 hours on the NP9377-S with SLI 870m's and around 3-4 hours with something like the NP8278-S (870m or 880m Single Card).. I could live with 2 1/2 - 3 on that Sager if it's more powerful and will last longer. Also after my talk with Gentech, that is where I am probably buying from.


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Ok, so I gave Gentech a call today and the rep I talked with stated that I could get around 2 1/2 - 3 hours on the NP9377-S with SLI 870m's and around 3-4 hours with something like the NP8278-S (870m or 880m Single Card).. I could live with 2 1/2 - 3 on that Sager if it's more powerful and will last longer. Also after my talk with Gentech, that is where I am probably buying from.


I've heard good things from both Gentech and Mythlogic. Both are US based companies that basically making their living on providing good customer service. They all sell the same product as sager and xotic, but its whoever is the nicest gets the sale obviously.


----------



## NuclearCrap

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> I know its the most "Cost effective" and if it was a desktop I would agree with you. But I dont feel comfortable taking apart a laptop, I would prefer it to be built with what I want when I get it and not have to worry about upgrades. And if something goes wrong, I would take it to a shop that deals with laptops.


You'd be surprised how easy it is on any of these laptops you're looking at. On the GS70, remove 1 panel and everything's within reach:




If you built your own desktop, this is a piece of cake. If something dies in the future, I'd simply revert to stock components and send it in, though every laptop I've upgraded myself so far has been fine.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> So get Raid 0 on the two 128GB drives and be done with it?


I would get a single 256GB over 2x 128GB. The performance difference only shows in benchmarks, but you do save a port with a single drive.

Are you replacing your gaming desktop with this? If you're still gonna have the desktop with you, you probably shouldn't decide purely based on how much hardware you can get for the money but instead start with finding the chassis that's right for you first (form factor, weight, size/weight of power brick, etc.), and I'm speaking from personal experience and all the other people I know. Also, with more powerful gaming laptop, don't expect to find a replacement charger locally if the original charger gives. They may seem like better value for hardware, but so is strapping a desktop on your back with a car battery.









Long story short, I wouldn't pick a large gaming laptop unless you need it as a desktop replacement, but if you are replacing your desktop, then by all means, go for it.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NuclearCrap*
> 
> You'd be surprised how easy it is on any of these laptops you're looking at. On the GS70, remove 1 panel and everything's within reach:
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If you built your own desktop, this is a piece of cake. If something dies in the future, I'd simply revert to stock components and send it in, though every laptop I've upgraded myself so far has been fine.
> I would get a single 256GB over 2x 128GB. The performance difference only shows in benchmarks, but you do save a port with a single drive.
> 
> Are you replacing your gaming desktop with this? If you're still gonna have the desktop with you, you probably shouldn't decide purely based on how much hardware you can get for the money but instead start with finding the chassis that's right for you first (form factor, weight, size/weight of power brick, etc.), and I'm speaking from personal experience and all the other people I know. Also, with more powerful gaming laptop, don't expect to find a replacement charger locally if the original charger gives. They may seem like better value for hardware, but so is strapping a desktop on your back with a car battery.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Long story short, I wouldn't pick a large gaming laptop unless you need it as a desktop replacement, but if you are replacing your desktop, then by all means, go for it.


Ah ok, yeah that does seem somewhat simple. I guess I could try it. I know on the Sager's it wouldn't void warranty but on the MSI would it void the warranty? Also, the only reason I am still looking at the Sager is because for a similar price I can get better components with a slightly higher weight. But I am thinking the MSI is still the best for me.


----------



## NuclearCrap

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Ah ok, yeah that does seem somewhat simple. I guess I could try it. I know on the Sager's it wouldn't void warranty but on the MSI would it void the warranty? Also, the only reason I am still looking at the Sager is because for a similar price I can get better components with a slightly higher weight. But I am thinking the MSI is still the best for me.


As with all laptop warranties, it remains valid as long as the modifications aren't the cause of the laptop's failure. But like I said before, if something fails, just throw the original SSD/HDD back on and RMA.

The Sager is great value for money, but there's a good reason why these days people are willing to pay just as much for something 1/3 as powerful, 1/4 of the weight, and 3x the battery life. It's not always about getting the most powerful hardware for your money when it comes to mobile computing, it's about getting the best balance between power, weight, battery life, and functionality for your money and needs. That's the only reason I settled for a lowly GT 735M even though I could've easily gotten a GS70.


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NuclearCrap*
> 
> As with all laptop warranties, it remains valid as long as the modifications aren't the cause of the laptop's failure. But like I said before, if something fails, just throw the original SSD/HDD back on and RMA.
> 
> The Sager is great value for money, but there's a good reason why these days people are willing to pay just as much for something 1/3 as powerful, 1/4 of the weight, and 3x the battery life. It's not always about getting the most powerful hardware for your money when it comes to mobile computing, it's about getting the best balance between power, weight, battery life, and functionality for your money and needs. That's the only reason I settled for a lowly GT 735M even though I could've easily gotten a GS70.


Agreed

I had a P34G and it was every bit as good as my razer blade component wise, but the razer blade has the better keyboard and touchpad and you can really tell. The touchpad on this thing is awesome. I don't mind using it at all. The keys also can't be ripped off my a cat as easily.


----------



## NuclearCrap

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> Agreed
> 
> I had a P34G and it was every bit as good as my razer blade component wise, but the razer blade has the better keyboard and touchpad and you can really tell. The touchpad on this thing is awesome. I don't mind using it at all. The keys also can't be ripped off my a cat as easily.


I hate Razer to the guts, but I admit, if anything's built like a Macbook, it's the Blade, and compliments on build quality don't get much better than that.









I actually wouldn't mind owning one if they weren't so pricey, but I do need active pen so I'm stuck with a small selection. The new Blade is something I'd also recommend to OP if he can ignore the fact it's a Razer, especially now that they dropped the Killer 1202 in favor of Intel's 7260-AC.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NuclearCrap*
> 
> I hate Razer to the guts, but I admit, if anything's built like a Macbook, it's the Blade, and compliments on build quality don't get much better than that.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I actually wouldn't mind owning one if they weren't so pricey, but I do need active pen so I'm stuck with a small selection. The new Blade is something I'd also recommend to OP if he can ignore the fact it's a Razer, especially now that they dropped the Killer 1202 in favor of Intel's 7260-AC.


Yeah, I am usually a very anti-Razer person, I am not sure if that 3K resolution on that 14 in screen would be good. The 17 inch Blade Pro would be nice because of the 1080p resolution. One thing though is that I would need the 512GB model Because that would be the amount of storage I would need.


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NuclearCrap*
> 
> I hate Razer to the guts, but I admit, if anything's built like a Macbook, it's the Blade, and compliments on build quality don't get much better than that.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I actually wouldn't mind owning one if they weren't so pricey, but I do need active pen so I'm stuck with a small selection. The new Blade is something I'd also recommend to OP if he can ignore the fact it's a Razer, especially now that they dropped the Killer 1202 in favor of Intel's 7260-AC.


I snuck my 256GB one off of ebay for 1400 a few days ago.

1K cheaper than the other one and all im missing out on is the screen and the video card which i think personally is going to make it blow up. Too much heat.

This is something you could consider if you dont mind second hand.


----------



## funkmetal

So between the MSI and the new Razer Blade (14in or 17in). Which one would you recommend? I am willing to overlook that its Razer if you think its worth it to me. My only experience with Razer have been their peripherals which in my experience have been fairly bad quality (Such as stop working after 6 months or so, not actual physical damage)

EDIT: Updated title for new options


----------



## NuclearCrap

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Yeah, I am usually a very anti-Razer person, I am not sure if that 3K resolution on that 14 in screen would be good. The 17 inch Blade Pro would be nice because of the 1080p resolution. One thing though is that I would need the 512GB model Because that would be the amount of storage I would need.


The real question is, why would it not work? Just like on a Retina Macbook Pro or most modern smartphones, everything can be scaled. As far as power vs weight goes, you won't beat having a 870M at 4.5 lbs. According to Razer, it gets 2-3 hours of battery life when gaming, and up to 6 hours in normal usage. Real life math would put it to a solid 4-5 hours mixed non-gaming usage. At full res, unscaled, you also get some real nice work space. Besides, at this weight, keep an USB 3.0 2.5" 2TB HDD with you. When gaming, you can choose to dial down to 1600x900 resolution and have a 4:1 pixel scaling so it'd look like a native 1600x900 screen. 14" at 1600x900 is around 131 ppi, which is as sharp as 17" at 1920x1080 (130 ppi). If anything I would stay far away from the 17" Blade mostly because they brought back the touchscreen touchpad which is at where the numpad is supposed to be. It's very annoying when you want to use it normally.

It all comes down to preference which one you want. With the GS70 you have more options for storage configuration (and easily upgradable), and a superior factory warranty. The Razer Blade 14" offers an unrivaled balance between power and weight, but it's more expensive and has little room for expansion (replaceable SATA M2 SSD, but RAM is soldered onto the motherboard). Battery life between the two is very close.

If you're that worried about on-the-go storage, get the GS70. So far it seems like the one laptop we keep circling back to in this thread. There doesn't seem to be anything to upgrade if you go with this version: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1035165-REG/msi_gs70_stealthpro_024_17_3_notebook.html

That is unless 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD still isn't enough for you. At $1799 it's good value too.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NuclearCrap*
> 
> The real question is, why would it not work? Just like on a Retina Macbook Pro or most modern smartphones, everything can be scaled. As far as power vs weight goes, you won't beat having a 870M at 4.5 lbs. According to Razer, it gets 2-3 hours of battery life when gaming, and up to 6 hours in normal usage. Real life math would put it to a solid 4-5 hours mixed non-gaming usage. At full res, unscaled, you also get some real nice work space. Besides, at this weight, keep an USB 3.0 2.5" 2TB HDD with you. When gaming, you can choose to dial down to 1600x900 resolution and have a 4:1 pixel scaling so it'd look like a native 1600x900 screen. 14" at 1600x900 is around 131 ppi, which is as sharp as 17" at 1920x1080 (130 ppi). If anything I would stay far away from the 17" Blade mostly because they brought back the touchscreen touchpad which is at where the numpad is supposed to be. It's very annoying when you want to use it normally.
> 
> It all comes down to preference which one you want. With the GS70 you have more options for storage configuration (and easily upgradable), and a superior factory warranty. The Razer Blade 14" offers an unrivaled balance between power and weight, but it's more expensive and has little room for expansion (replaceable SATA M2 SSD, but RAM is soldered onto the motherboard). Battery life between the two is very close.
> 
> If you're that worried about on-the-go storage, get the GS70. So far it seems like the one laptop we keep circling back to in this thread. There doesn't seem to be anything to upgrade if you go with this version: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1035165-REG/msi_gs70_stealthpro_024_17_3_notebook.html
> 
> That is unless 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD still isn't enough for you. At $1799 it's good value too.


Yeah, the main and only upgrade I would get for the MSI would be a 500GB Msata SSD but thats about it. I could probably live with 512GB in the Razer


----------



## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Yeah, the main and only upgrade I would get for the MSI would be a 500GB Msata SSD but thats about it. I could probably live with 512GB in the Razer


The razer laptop is probably the highest build quality of any laptop ive ever owned.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> The razer laptop is probably the highest build quality of any laptop ive ever owned.


I'm not suprised, the physical build quality on Razer products was never an issue for me, it was the part of them stop working after about 6 months


----------



## funkmetal

Hey quick question, my sister is wanting a laptop now too since she found out I was looking for a new laptop. Think this is a good one for her? Or should I get the 850m version? All she plays as of now I WoW but she wants to branch out to other games.


----------



## NuclearCrap

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Hey quick question, my sister is wanting a laptop now too since she found out I was looking for a new laptop. Think this is a good one for her? Or should I get the 850m version? All she plays as of now I WoW but she wants to branch out to other games.


What does she want her laptop to do? If she's playing mostly low requirement games, integrated graphics would do. Let's start with the following:

Size?
Weight?
Touchscreen? (Convertible? Active pen?)
Price?
Storage?
Types of games she wants to branch out to?


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NuclearCrap*
> 
> What does she want her laptop to do? If she's playing mostly low requirement games, integrated graphics would do. Let's start with the following:
> 
> Size?
> Weight?
> Touchscreen? (Convertible? Active pen?)
> Price?
> Storage?
> Types of games she wants to branch out to?


*Size?*

15in she says is perfect for her (Or she's used to it because her current laptop is a 15in?)

*Weight?*

Doesn't matter to her

*Touchscreen? (Convertible? Active pen?)*

Doesn't need it, for her art she already has a tablet pad that she rarely uses

*Price?*

Since I'm paying, I would like to keep it under $1300-1400 USD

*Storage?*

500GB-1TB She doesn't need a SSD either as she said

*Types of games she wants to branch out to?*

I'm assuming other MMO's or RPG's but I don't personally know


----------



## Awsan

There is this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152557

or this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152404

or this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152558


----------



## NuclearCrap

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> *Size?*
> 
> 15in she says is perfect for her (Or she's used to it because her current laptop is a 15in?)
> 
> *Weight?*
> 
> Doesn't matter to her
> 
> *Touchscreen? (Convertible? Active pen?)*
> 
> Doesn't need it, for her art she already has a tablet pad that she rarely uses
> 
> *Price?*
> 
> Since I'm paying, I would like to keep it under $1300-1400 USD
> 
> *Storage?*
> 
> 500GB-1TB She doesn't need a SSD either as she said
> 
> *Types of games she wants to branch out to?*
> 
> I'm assuming other MMO's or RPG's but I don't personally know


Well if you want to be nice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152567









Otherwise, if you're looking at specs only, the GE60 will be fine, but as we already know the GS chassis is far superior. The GE chassis feels like any average laptop we've seen for the past years. Also, what sort of battery life does she need?
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Awsan*
> 
> There is this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152557
> 
> or this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152404
> 
> or this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152558


I would stay far away from the GT chassis. It's extremely dated in design and feels downright nasty, like sitting in a car with an extremely cheap interior and nasty hard plastic everywhere. When I worked retail selling computers, we called them boomerangs since they almost always come back. The only thing it offers is value if you're looking at specs *only*.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NuclearCrap*
> 
> Well if you want to be nice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152567
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Otherwise, if you're looking at specs only, the GE60 will be fine, but as we already know the GS chassis is far superior. The GE chassis feels like any average laptop we've seen for the past years. Also, what sort of battery life does she need?


lol yeah, unfortunately she doesn't want a ultra slim formfactor like I want. I dont know exactly what battery life she wants but 3-4 hours should be fine for her. And she doesnt care about the looks, she just wants something that can game with decent FPS over the old laptop she is using right now. I am leaning towards the GE Pro for her personally.


----------



## funkmetal

Well, tomorrow is the last day of March and Gentech states that the GS70 with the 870m will be available at the end of March. So I guess tomorrow is the day I get to order my GS70?


----------



## zoalord12

Dont get the active 3D display on the laptop. I have an alienware mx17 with active stereo and its just not worth it.

The hype might seem cool but i never use the stereo vision. I am a total fan for 3D though. FPS games are not cut out for active stereo since the things are moving so fast, it sucks

its pretty good with versus fighting games, like Street Fighter 4 etc, and for League of Legends, some of the text is pasted flat on the screen and it doesnt look good on top f the stereo 3D model renders.

Just telling you as a user of 3D on laptops, its not worth it, as in dont pay extra for the 120 Hz spec, try to get the best bang for buck on ur 60Hz screen.


----------



## zoalord12

also if you order at Xotic, you get a free Assassins game and yes that deal expires on March 31st as well.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zoalord12*
> 
> Dont get the active 3D display on the laptop. I have an alienware mx17 with active stereo and its just not worth it.
> 
> The hype might seem cool but i never use the stereo vision. I am a total fan for 3D though. FPS games are not cut out for active stereo since the things are moving so fast, it sucks
> 
> its pretty good with versus fighting games, like Street Fighter 4 etc, and for League of Legends, some of the text is pasted flat on the screen and it doesnt look good on top f the stereo 3D model renders.
> 
> Just telling you as a user of 3D on laptops, its not worth it, as in dont pay extra for the 120 Hz spec, try to get the best bang for buck on ur 60Hz screen.


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zoalord12*
> 
> also if you order at Xotic, you get a free Assassins game and yes that deal expires on March 31st as well.


Yeah, the Sager was the one that I could get a 120Hz display for free with a 880m but I decided against that. I am getting the MSI unless there are any other suggestions. Also, I already have AC4. I got 2 copys with my pair of 780Ti's a couple of months ago and I wont be ordering off Xotic unless they have a good deal because of a bad experience I had with them.


----------



## zoalord12

what bad experience with Xotic, can you please explain ?

Currently they are my only option to buy the MSI-GS70 Pro, since they offer a 3 SSD Super Raid-2 configuration.
Gentecpc only offers Raid 0 - 1 for 2 ssds, the third one just sits there as a separate hard disk from what i gather.

So right now i am trying to get a 3 SSD for windows (+ games) and a 250GB SSD on the SATA3 slot for linux.
All others Razer, Gigabyte, Lenovo have falled through on weight, screen, specs etc. for me and so MSI from XOTIC is my best bet.

Also, they are giving out a free Assassins game (30$worth) and free shipping and 31st march is the deadline. !!!


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zoalord12*
> 
> what bad experience with Xotic, can you please explain ?
> 
> Currently they are my only option to buy the MSI-GS70 Pro, since they offer a 3 SSD Super Raid-2 configuration.
> Gentecpc only offers Raid 0 - 1 for 2 ssds, the third one just sits there as a separate hard disk from what i gather.
> 
> So right now i am trying to get a 3 SSD for windows (+ games) and a 250GB SSD on the SATA3 slot for linux.
> All others Razer, Gigabyte, Lenovo have falled through on weight, screen, specs etc. for me and so MSI from XOTIC is my best bet.
> 
> Also, they are giving out a free Assassins game (30$worth) and free shipping and 31st march is the deadline. !!!


Yeah, I am having Raid disabled on my MSI, and am getting a 500GB Msata SSD as a game/program drive, so I will have 756GB (Total before format) with 2 128GB and a 500GB SSD.

Also, the issue I had with Xotic was I was talking with a Rep and he seemed like he didnt want to talk with me and was acting very rude to me. Not a way to treat a customer that may drop $3k on a laptop.


----------



## zoalord12

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Imglidinhere*
> 
> Steer clear of the 880M. It's a 780M rebrand with 8GB of memory. Completely pointless for a laptop. it's pointless to have anymore than 4GB for 1080p even...even Skyrim would never touch that amount no matter how many mods you have installed.
> 
> I wouldn't go beyond 870M SLI personally, but that's pushing it for me even...


More VRAM is always good, if you have 6GB in the 870M, you can run a GPGPU application that will run faster.
obviously no1 might wana benchmark it, but that what i thought before i got a CUDA card in my laptop. It really helps run stuff when the cluster is having issues or they setup a new build environment.

Secondly, in the long run, more and more textures are being added to games and no wonder games are spanning over 10GB +. More VRAM = always good. there is no limit to 4 or lower in my opinion.


----------



## zoalord12

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Yeah, I am having Raid disabled on my MSI, and am getting a 500GB Msata SSD as a game/program drive, so I will have 756GB (Total before format) with 2 128GB and a 500GB SSD.
> 
> Also, the issue I had with Xotic was I was talking with a Rep and he seemed like he didnt want to talk with me and was acting very rude to me. Not a way to treat a customer that may drop $3k on a laptop.


Hmm that rep thing sucks, no excuse for them to do that, i agree with u 100%

Why aren't you getting the super raid configuration :'(
thats a big improvement, look at this video that compares normal Raid-0 with Super Raid - 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N23FPbNm6k

i was actually shocked when i saw these results. Its totally worth it. he runs BF4 and dang its impressive.

My MSI is actually raking up to 2247$ (with cash payment) 3 SSD (128GB) in Super Raid - 2 (which is actually improved Raid-0) and an additional 256 GB SSD.

so its worth looking into. No matter how much RAM you get, it will get paged from the Hard Disk, hence running games will improve dramatically. Word will run the same hehe ^_^


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zoalord12*
> 
> Hmm that rep thing sucks, no excuse for them to do that, i agree with u 100%
> 
> Why aren't you getting the super raid configuration :'(
> thats a big improvement, look at this video that compares normal Raid-0 with Super Raid - 2
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N23FPbNm6k
> 
> i was actually shocked when i saw these results. Its totally worth it. he runs BF4 and dang its impressive.
> 
> My MSI is actually raking up to 2247$ (with cash payment) 3 SSD (128GB) in Super Raid - 2 (which is actually improved Raid-0) and an additional 256 GB SSD.
> 
> so its worth looking into. No matter how much RAM you get, it will get paged from the Hard Disk, hence running games will improve dramatically. Word will run the same hehe ^_^


Well, to be fair that video is comparing SSD raid vs HDD Raid. Even a single SSD will be faster. Im fine with waiting a few more seconds if it means less problems.

Edit: Heres a video that I found comparing 1 SSD all the way up to 4SSD's in Raid 0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPuywNBctvg


----------



## zoalord12

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Well, to be fair that video is comparing SSD raid vs HDD Raid. Even a single SSD will be faster. Im fine with waiting a few more seconds if it means less problems.
> 
> Edit: Heres a video that I found comparing 1 SSD all the way up to 4SSD's in Raid 0
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPuywNBctvg


Hmm ya you are right about the SSD vs HDD thing. I did re-consider the "points of failure" issue with 3 Raid-0 disks
okay new plan, getting a 2 SSD in Raid-0 and 1 mSATA with 0.5 TB.

Also since you rendered the super raid issue meaningless, I conclude that at gentech you can get a better discount (3% paying cash + 2% for student + free 30 day dead pixel guarantee) which is better than Black Flag + Xotic final price.


----------



## funkmetal

Well, I just put my preorder in for a MSI GS70-002 on Gentech. Hopefully it gets processed soon because I want this laptop


----------



## zoalord12

haha nice, I'm just pooling in all my cash to get the 3% knocked off, might take a few days...
i did talk to them about shipment and this was their reply,

Q. If I order this laptop today, when will it actually ship ?
" We are still waiting for first shipment and ETA is around end of this week."


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zoalord12*
> 
> haha nice, I'm just pooling in all my cash to get the 3% knocked off, might take a few days...
> i did talk to them about shipment and this was their reply,
> 
> Q. If I order this laptop today, when will it actually ship ?
> " We are still waiting for first shipment and ETA is around end of this week."


Yeah, I called them up about that too. And thats why I put in my preorder


----------



## Shiftstealth

With a thread this long you better let us know how it is when you get it.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Shiftstealth*
> 
> With a thread this long you better let us know how it is when you get it.


lol, I'll be sure too


----------



## funkmetal

So my sisters laptop arrived today. I'll try to get some pics of it later.


----------



## funkmetal

So I was able to get some pictures of the GE70 Pro that I got my sister and here they are. She hadn't set it up yet, that's why there are no photos of it on. Also sorry for the bad picture quality, I am not an expert photographer.


----------



## zoalord12

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> So I was able to get some pictures of the GE70 Pro that I got my sister and here they are. She hadn't set it up yet, that's why there are no photos of it on. Also sorry for the bad picture quality, I am not an expert


Please tell me about the sound quality and how it feels.
after all my research, that is the only issue i have left with this device...


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zoalord12*
> 
> Please tell me about the sound quality and how it feels.
> after all my research, that is the only issue i have left with this device...


Unfortunately I won't be able to test that. This laptop was a gift for my sister. So even though I bought it, I dont think I will be able to test it.


----------



## funkmetal

Just a final check, Is there any reason to get the Razer Blade 14in (2014) over the MSI GS70? I am seriously contemplating it now. Dat 3K screen for school work.


----------



## funkmetal

So I just found out that they are releasing a GS60 Pro with an 870m and 3K screen. Think it would be worth it to wait for that or would the thermals be terrible? Also the 15in would probably be lighter an would definitely be smaller. Anyway, thoughts?


----------



## zoalord12

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> So I just found out that they are releasing a GS60 Pro with an 870m and 3K screen. Think it would be worth it to wait for that or would the thermals be terrible? Also the 15in would probably be lighter an would definitely be smaller. Anyway, thoughts?


I thought about it as well but its not worth it. Your 870M can only push 1920x1080 pixels at high settings for most games, even if you have a 3K screen.
You will have to play the game at lower res, which wont be as crisp on that screen. Plus GS60 is hard to upgrade yourself, the dis-assembly is not trivual and it takes in non-standard M2 SATA SSDs. Stealth pro is way easier to upgrade.


----------



## funkmetal

So yeah, I just went to my local Fry's and purchased my GS70 Stealth Pro. It's in service right now getting better themal compound applied but I should have it by Monday at the latest. Then I'll get some pictures of it for you guys


----------



## NuclearCrap

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zoalord12*
> 
> I thought about it as well but its not worth it. Your 870M can only push 1920x1080 pixels at high settings for most games, even if you have a 3K screen.
> You will have to play the game at lower res, which wont be as crisp on that screen. Plus GS60 is hard to upgrade yourself, the dis-assembly is not trivual and it takes in non-standard M2 SATA SSDs. Stealth pro is way easier to upgrade.


Outside of gaming, it's much nicer to have that amount of workspace for multitasking especially for users who are used to having multi-monitors on their desktops. 3200x1800 scales 4:1 to 1600x900 (just as crisp as native) if you need gaming performance. 900p @ 15" is actually very close to the pixel density of 1080p @ 17". M.2 (NGFF) is also the newer SSD format for mobile computing. Crucial already sells their M500-series SSDs in M.2 format with fairly competitive prices (50-60 cents/GB). In fact, I'm planning to use one when I downsize my main rig with a Z97 board.

Upgrading the GS60 is different only in the sense that you have to take the motherboard out and flip it over to access SSDs and RAM, but it's certain no more difficult than the GS70. If anything it's more of just an extra step; a little more time-consuming.




GenTech exaggerates the difficulty of a 10-minute job, going as far as saying it's not user-upgradeable, but it's pretty obvious from the video that it really isn't more difficult than installing a full cover waterblock onto a desktop GPU.

I won't argue that either GS60 or GS70 is good though.








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> So yeah, I just went to my local Fry's and purchased my GS70 Stealth Pro. It's in service right now getting better themal compound applied but I should have it by Monday at the latest. Then I'll get some pictures of it for you guys


Nice. Fry's is usually pretty up-to-date with MSI's gaming notebooks. If I were you I would've skipped the service and either do it myself or use it as-is. These things are really easy to take apart, and it pays in the long run to be familiar with your laptop's internals. But whoever sold you that laptop with the service definitely made good commission, assuming you don't have buyer's remorse and return it.

<---- used to be a Fry's salesman.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NuclearCrap*
> 
> Nice. Fry's is usually pretty up-to-date with MSI's gaming notebooks. If I were you I would've skipped the service and either do it myself or use it as-is. These things are really easy to take apart, and it pays in the long run to be familiar with your laptop's internals. But whoever sold you that laptop with the service definitely made good commission, assuming you don't have buyer's remorse and return it.
> 
> <---- used to be a Fry's salesman.


Yeah, I probably won't have buyers remorse and yeah after talking with the sales guy he said that sale made his day. Anyway when I get the laptop and test it out I'll be sure to rep everyone that helped me. Also other than 3Dmark any other tests I should run?


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Yeah, I probably won't have buyers remorse and yeah after talking with the sales guy he said that sale made his day. Anyway when I get the laptop and test it out I'll be sure to rep everyone that helped me. Also other than 3Dmark any other tests I should run?


3Dmark Vantage,3Dmark 11,3Dmark 2013
CineBench
AS SSD

Install HardDisk Sentinel along with RealTemp to monitor your CPU/GPU/HDD Temps + that HD Sentinel will monitor your HDD/SSD Health and speeds

I recommend installing ThrottleStop to make your CPU run at its fastest states and using Nvidia Inspector to overclock that GPU (If Needed)

Tip: If any temp program cant read your Nvidia GPU Temps (Because of switchable graphics) Go to Nvidia settings and choose the program to be launched by Nvidia GPU


----------



## funkmetal

So I picked up my laptop today (Even though they just installed the SSD and didnt even format it >.>) but also my phone's screen broke yesterday so I cant take pictures of the new laptop. So I will run the tests and when I can, I'll get some pictures


----------



## zoalord12

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Yeah, I probably won't have buyers remorse and yeah after talking with the sales guy he said that sale made his day. Anyway when I get the laptop and test it out I'll be sure to rep everyone that helped me. Also other than 3Dmark any other tests I should run?


sound sound sound, hows the sound ?


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zoalord12*
> 
> sound sound sound, hows the sound ?


The sound is really good on the GS70 for a laptop IMO, better than my desktop speakers (Although I will admit that my speakers on my desktop are a set of generic Logitech







)


----------



## mboner1

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> The sound is really good on the GS70 for a laptop IMO, better than my desktop speakers (Although I will admit that my speakers on my desktop are a set of generic Logitech
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> )


How's the performance guy? Looking at grabbing one as well, just sold off my desktop, they are asking $2,900 in Australia for this laptop, prices here are a joke.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mboner1*
> 
> How's the performance guy? Looking at grabbing one as well, just sold off my desktop, they are asking $2,900 in Australia for this laptop, prices here are a joke.


Performance is really good. The only three games I've been able to test were CS:GO which I was getting 150 fps on ultra at 1080p. Planet side 2 I was able to play on high with playable fps. And BF4 I was able to play on high with around 60 fps


----------



## mboner1

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Performance is really good. The only three games I've been able to test were CS:GO which I was getting 150 fps on ultra at 1080p. Planet side 2 I was able to play on high with playable fps. And BF4 I was able to play on high with around 60 fps


Cheers man. Was there any stuttering in bf4?I been using my girlfriends vaio to play a bit of bf4 while im "between" computers, and that only has a 7670m , playing on low I get around 30 to 45 fps but it stutters pretty horribly as well.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mboner1*
> 
> Cheers man. Was there any stuttering in bf4?I been using my girlfriends vaio to play a bit of bf4 while im "between" computers, and that only has a 7670m , playing on low I get around 30 to 45 fps but it stutters pretty horribly as well.


Not really, the only stuttering I have is when I try to play games on battery because it seems to fps cap the games at 30 fps


----------



## navidrvl

Great so far! can u please tell me how's the battery life and temperature? Also the quality of screen and body(is there any flex) ??


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *navidrvl*
> 
> Great so far! can u please tell me how's the battery life and temperature? Also the quality of screen and body(is there any flex) ??


Battery life is around 3 hours with Bluetooth enabled, I just recently disabled it but haven't been able to test the battery life with it off. I will need to test the temps because I haven't actively checked that but I will the next time I am in game and there is almost no flex in this laptop. The build quality is excellent and very solid, even with the keyboard.


----------



## navidrvl

Thanks! I was also planning to get this one, this thread cleared all of my confusion. This is the best slim one out there so far I think. But I will go with 3 ssd raid cause I would rather take minimal risk and relativity issue over greater speed. By the way which ssd config did u take?


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *navidrvl*
> 
> Thanks! I was also planning to get this one, this thread cleared all of my confusion. This is the best slim one out there so far I think. But I will go with 3 ssd raid cause I would rather take minimal risk and relativity issue over greater speed. By the way which ssd config did u take?


I went witha single 128GB SSD for boot and a 500GB SSD for programs


----------



## djinferno806

I just yesterday purchased the GS70 2PE Stealth Pro as well. I needed something for work(lots of free time) and school. It was between the m17x and Asus G7x lineup. But those were just stupid heavy to carry around.

I am pleasantly surprised by the build quality and power of this thing. The sound is pretty amazing too for built in speakers.

I was a big crap talker of gaming laptops but I can honestly say this has won me over haha.

BF4 at ultra(except for msaa at 2x and post AA off) gives me anywhere from 40 fps to 50 in multiplayer. Just amazing!

This thing is so thin and light too. The only drawback is the top left gets pretty toasty during gaming but the way the chassis and heartpipes are laid out, it never radiates to the other areas that can become uncomfortable. I also like the slanted vents that send hot air away from you than to just the sides.

I got mine with a 128GB ssd and 1TB HDD.

I know some of you were saying MSI is notorious for their build quality in notebooks but this thing just screams quality. No weird quirks either yet.


----------



## funkmetal

Finally got my phone back from the screen repair place (took them over 2 weeks >.>) so I should be able to post some pictures later tonight


----------



## djinferno806

So I spoke too soon, I just ended up replacing mine with a new one.

I started to notice throttling issues with the gpu while gaming formore than 30 minutes. I was hitting temps of 95 degrees Celsius and my core clock would get cut I half to 450 MHz. The CPU would also hit mid to high 90s during CPU intensive tasks.

Then I had a dead pixel, weird electrical noise/hum when on battery, my "enter" key started sticking and se of the keyboard LEDs wouldn't change color.

I'm opening the new one now. I will probably open her up and clean and repaste with Antec Diamond paste.

*Funkmetal,* how are the temps for you? Which gs70 did you get? 870m or 765m?


----------



## Domino

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Imglidinhere*
> 
> Yeah your friend recommended you to a laptop that will unfortunately run hotter and is even more insanely overpriced than what IT is supposed to be competing against. (a.k.a. Sager and Alienware)
> 
> The GT70 is just stupidly thick. It really really is. It's actually thicker than my M17x R3 at the moment... so yeah... that's a thing.


His friend recommended a laptop that has one of the best laptop sound systems on the market. It is properly engineered to withstand a high thermal envelope as well. Sager is not really "much" better, if at all, after I got my hands on my brothers and helped fixed his overheating issues. Sager gives the impression of better cooling by many isolated fans. But frankly, mass air flow over the fins is what matters.

I'm yet to see my custom BIOS for the GTX570m go above 87C. After 3 years, the laptop is just starting to show signs of thermal paste wear. I just need to open it up and give her a good scrub and reseating and she'll be even better than when I got her originally. I don't think these are remotely close to being overpriced based on what you get.

The amount of refurbished MSI laptops lying around would be a good place to look if you plan on using the GT70. I've seen laptops, like that, run, locally from Memory Express go for around 1200 refurbished.

I recommend that X7 though. It looks nice (on paper). Be good to see an internal breakdown of how it is designed inside to see if the cooling would be adequate.


----------



## Domino

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NuclearCrap*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *zoalord12*
> 
> I thought about it as well but its not worth it. Your 870M can only push 1920x1080 pixels at high settings for most games, even if you have a 3K screen.
> You will have to play the game at lower res, which wont be as crisp on that screen. Plus GS60 is hard to upgrade yourself, the dis-assembly is not trivual and it takes in non-standard M2 SATA SSDs. Stealth pro is way easier to upgrade.
> 
> 
> 
> Outside of gaming, it's much nicer to have that amount of workspace for multitasking especially for users who are used to having multi-monitors on their desktops. 3200x1800 scales 4:1 to 1600x900 (just as crisp as native) if you need gaming performance. 900p @ 15" is actually very close to the pixel density of 1080p @ 17". M.2 (NGFF) is also the newer SSD format for mobile computing. Crucial already sells their M500-series SSDs in M.2 format with fairly competitive prices (50-60 cents/GB). In fact, I'm planning to use one when I downsize my main rig with a Z97 board.
Click to expand...

Scaling is vector based. You don't get this 4:1 scaling people claim.


----------



## Blackcurrent

I wouldn't bring something like that to school, it would get easily stolen.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Blackcurrent*
> 
> I wouldn't bring something like that to school, it would get easily stolen.


While yes that is a possibility, I never let this thing out of my sight.Even if I were to go and get up to get a drink after I had gotten in the classroom before class started, I would pack it up and take it with me to get said drink. So I shouldn't have to worry








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *djinferno806*
> 
> So I spoke too soon, I just ended up replacing mine with a new one.
> 
> I started to notice throttling issues with the gpu while gaming formore than 30 minutes. I was hitting temps of 95 degrees Celsius and my core clock would get cut I half to 450 MHz. The CPU would also hit mid to high 90s during CPU intensive tasks.
> 
> Then I had a dead pixel, weird electrical noise/hum when on battery, my "enter" key started sticking and se of the keyboard LEDs wouldn't change color.
> 
> I'm opening the new one now. I will probably open her up and clean and repaste with Antec Diamond paste.
> 
> *Funkmetal,* how are the temps for you? Which gs70 did you get? 870m or 765m?


I would need to activily check the Temps, give me about 30-45 minutes because I just installed HWMonitor on this PC and I will get back to you. And also, I got the GS70 with the 870m.


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *djinferno806*
> 
> So I spoke too soon, I just ended up replacing mine with a new one.
> 
> I started to notice throttling issues with the gpu while gaming formore than 30 minutes. I was hitting temps of 95 degrees Celsius and my core clock would get cut I half to 450 MHz. The CPU would also hit mid to high 90s during CPU intensive tasks.
> 
> Then I had a dead pixel, weird electrical noise/hum when on battery, my "enter" key started sticking and se of the keyboard LEDs wouldn't change color.
> 
> I'm opening the new one now. I will probably open her up and clean and repaste with Antec Diamond paste.
> 
> *Funkmetal,* how are the temps for you? Which gs70 did you get? 870m or 765m?


Ok, Update on Temps. In CS:GO on max settings (I know its a weak benchmark but its what I had installed so I could just hop in with some bots and test for you guys

Max temp on the GPU was 93C it was usually around~85C and I saw no throttling at all


----------



## djinferno806

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Blackcurrent*
> 
> I wouldn't bring something like that to school, it would get easily stolen.


Anything can get stolen if you leave it lying around. Be responsible and it won't get stolen.

@*funkmetal*

Lol I wish I was getting 83 degrees before with my first gs70. I'm still downloading sniper elite v2 to check this replacement one out for temps.

Have you repasted inside at all or is it stock?


----------



## TheGoat Eater

I have been impressed with my notebook's build quality as well. I am glad to see that another person with a MSI gaming notebook is rethinking the whole "gaming notebook" thing lol. I would recommend that if you game on your lap to put something flat and rigid underneath the notebook to get better airflow. I found a nice notebook cooler on newegg to use while at my desk. Check out the Cooler Master offerings.


----------



## Imglidinhere

I'm considering just going for one of the GE designs...my only issue is that the entire laptop lineup suffers from an apparent lack of HDD bays. The GE60 Pro looks promising, I've heard good things about the cooling now that it's matured. But then again, the Sager NP7358 has teh SAME issue with cooling, put IC Diamond on there and the temperature difference is unreal. Stock paste job it throttles under games; IC Diamond on it's sitting pretty maxing out at 80*C.

I just wouldn't be too fond of only having a single HDD bay to work with. Don't mind the mSATA stuff, I just like having a second bay I can use if I need to... >.>


----------



## Domino

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Imglidinhere*
> 
> I'm considering just going for one of the GE designs...my only issue is that the entire laptop lineup suffers from an apparent lack of HDD bays. The GE60 Pro looks promising, I've heard good things about the cooling now that it's matured. But then again, the Sager NP7358 has teh SAME issue with cooling, put IC Diamond on there and the temperature difference is unreal. Stock paste job it throttles under games; IC Diamond on it's sitting pretty maxing out at 80*C.
> 
> I just wouldn't be too fond of only having a single HDD bay to work with. Don't mind the mSATA stuff, I just like having a second bay I can use if I need to... >.>


Been using stock paste. MSI sure does a good job on stock. After I move out into my new place I'm going to put on some proper paste (AS5) as the paste under the CPU has dried up completely (nearly). The turbo fan works wonders on these things.

I agree about the thermal paste and the sager. But even on stock paste I never notice throttling at first. I remember that 11.6 in gaming notebook they had. My buddy picked on up and I really liked the cooling on there. The thing can really be pushed. It shares similar concepts to the MSI build. I love seeing laptop designers understand simple thermodynamic principles where they merely put each component on their own pipe. Can't say that about some companies that charge twice as much for similar performance. Yuck!


----------



## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *djinferno806*
> 
> Anything can get stolen if you leave it lying around. Be responsible and it won't get stolen.
> 
> @*funkmetal*
> 
> Lol I wish I was getting 83 degrees before with my first gs70. I'm still downloading sniper elite v2 to check this replacement one out for temps.
> 
> Have you repasted inside at all or is it stock?


It should have been replaced by my local Fry's when I had them install my 500GB SSD into the Laptop, but I'm not sure if they did because they didn't even format the SSD, they just installed it.


----------



## djinferno806

Well I opened her up, repasted it all with Antec Diamond compound, and it still is overheating.

Instead of reaching 95 degrees after 10 minutes, it now reaches it after 20. Not acceptable at all for gaming. Especially when I am being throttled. This thing is going back asap, not happy at all. Its too bad because the form factor is perfect for taking to school and such.


----------



## Imglidinhere

Ouch... sorry to hear that dj, what laptop was it that you're having these problems with? I missed that part.


----------



## djinferno806

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Imglidinhere*
> 
> Ouch... sorry to hear that dj, what laptop was it that you're having these problems with? I missed that part.


It was the MSI GS70 Stealth Pro, the newer model with the 870m. After reading around online, seems to be a general problem with MSI's gaming notebooks. Whether it be the GT or GS series.

Anyway I returned it back to the store and got the ASUS G750JH with the 780m instead. Cost a little more but it was on sale too. I am already tons happier. Its faster, runs cooler(max GPU temp ive seen is 73 celsius and CPU 75 celsius) and is almost silent even under load. The TN panel is obviously a downgrade compared to the IPS of the GS70 but im getting used to it. The response time and lower input lag makes up for the poor viewing angles and slight colour downgrade.

Only thing is its heavier but still easily portable, I think people have hugely made it a bigger issue than it is for lugging around,

Also with the bigger 230W power brick, none of that NOS nonsense where it uses up battery power on top of the AC charger if your GPU turbo boosts.


----------



## Imglidinhere

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *djinferno806*
> 
> It was the MSI GS70 Stealth Pro, the newer model with the 870m. After reading around online, seems to be a general problem with MSI's gaming notebooks. Whether it be the GT or GS series.
> 
> Anyway I returned it back to the store and got the ASUS G750JH with the 780m instead. Cost a little more but it was on sale too. I am already tons happier. Its faster, runs cooler(max GPU temp ive seen is 73 celsius and CPU 75 celsius) and is almost silent even under load. The TN panel is obviously a downgrade compared to the IPS of the GS70 but im getting used to it. The response time and lower input lag makes up for the poor viewing angles and slight colour downgrade.
> 
> Only thing is its heavier but still easily portable, I think people have hugely made it a bigger issue than it is for lugging around,
> 
> Also with the bigger 230W power brick, none of that NOS nonsense where it uses up battery power on top of the AC charger if your GPU turbo boosts.


I found something out recently regarding the refresh line for the Asus laptops. In regards to the 860M, 870M, and 880M, the heatsinks for the GPUs are now made entirely of copper. The fin array is no longer aluminum.

Apparently it's necessary to maintain acceptable temperatures for the entire lineup.







Makes me want one, but my budget is set at $1110 like my last DTR laptop that I bought new.


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Imglidinhere*
> 
> I found something out recently regarding the refresh line for the Asus laptops. In regards to the 860M, 870M, and 880M, the heatsinks for the GPUs are now made entirely of copper. The fin array is no longer aluminum.
> 
> Apparently it's necessary to maintain acceptable temperatures for the entire lineup.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Makes me want one, but my budget is set at $1110 like my last DTR laptop that I bought new.


If you're happy and you're broke buy Sager *Clap* Clap*


----------



## Imglidinhere

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Awsan*
> 
> If you're happy and you're broke buy Sager *Clap* Clap*


From what I understand, you're still rocking that P180HM are you not? That was the laptop I wanted SOOOOOOO badly back in the day... and then they stopped selling it and I was sad... I still am...


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Imglidinhere*
> 
> From what I understand, you're still rocking that P180HM are you not? That was the laptop I wanted SOOOOOOO badly back in the day... and then they stopped selling it and I was sad... I still am...


Yea it mad me sad too







, But after two years i actually understand why they stopped selling it after noticing the Design Flaws in the machine but to say the truth they are all small problems that can get solved easily by the user but will need a total redesign by the company.


----------



## Imglidinhere

Design flaws? Like what?


----------



## Awsan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Imglidinhere*
> 
> Design flaws? Like what?


1-The GPU heat sinks are designed for 75W GPUs only but i am housing two 6990m which are 100w each, Temps are not that bad but i mean that would've been solved if they gave it a thought (Not really a design flaw as the Laptop was released with two GTX 560m and the 6990m/580m were added later on). Solution: adding better TIM and Thermal Pads

2-After 8 months of usage i noticed that the outer screen shell (Plastic Cover) got some scuffs and marks from the laptop it self because the raisers didn't raise enough space between the laptop and the screen when its folded its permanent which makes it annoying to look at the screen when you have a bright/white background. Solution: either get some new raisers or just put a piece of cloth between the screen the keyboard when folding the laptop.

3-HDMI doesn't work if the secondary card is not attached (Is it a Bios problem or a hardware problem?? i am not sure ). Solution: Use the DVI port.

4-The mouse Touchpad is made of the same glossy material as the laptop chassis which makes it a little annoying to the touch and kinda hard to scroll around. Solution: Covered it with some kind of clear book cover which made my fingers slide much more easier.

5-Always on USB charger will not work if there is any USB device connected to the laptop!! I need to remove the mouse\keyboard and the external hard drive every night so i can charge my phone when the laptop is off. Solution: ????????????

6-The touch panel on top of the keyboard is getting slower and slower each day which renders it useless to the user. Solution: NOPE

7-Not a Sager Np8180 problem but the battery will heat up and stop working even if its full after 5 mins of gaming if i turn off all the power saving features. Solution: just apply the battery power saving options. (I think its because of the Two 6990m and an i7 which makes it hard for the battery to keep up)

8- The Chassis it self needs a little redesign for once if you remove the battery from the laptop the screen portion of the laptop will get heavier and will make the laptop flip on its back ._. second because of the added Gaming keys they need to move the keyboard a little to the right which makes typing on it a little hard ( I laughed when one user told me this before i buy it but now i understand )

9-You cant turn off the Blue light that is around the TouchPad and the Touch controls above the keyboard which makes it annoying when watching a movie in the dark (Because it has such a large screen and five loud speakers of holly bass for an enjoyable movie time ruined by those blue lights)

But i still love it and its still a monster after two years of daily usage.

(I might have a lot of grammar mistakes but forgive me as English is not my first language)


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## twistedspace

We're going to have to make an underclock.net for all these slim gaming laptops.


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## zoalord12

Hmm i just ordered my GS 70 Stealth Pro.

Now I am getting concerned about the heating and throttling issue. What is the longest gaming session anyone has had on this laptop ?
can anyone tell ?

And is the throttling really obvious or just a spec on the monitoring software, i mean do you see the frame drop when playing TitalFall or something ?

I dont want to cancel my order :'(
I dont like any other alternatives, Razer = sucks, because of their touch screen panels. All others are heavy laptops that need to be lugged around
I know since i have 2 Alienware 17 inch laptops.


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## djinferno806

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zoalord12*
> 
> Hmm i just ordered my GS 70 Stealth Pro.
> 
> Now I am getting concerned about the heating and throttling issue. What is the longest gaming session anyone has had on this laptop ?
> can anyone tell ?
> 
> And is the throttling really obvious or just a spec on the monitoring software, i mean do you see the frame drop when playing TitalFall or something ?
> 
> I dont want to cancel my order :'(
> I dont like any other alternatives, Razer = sucks, because of their touch screen panels. All others are heavy laptops that need to be lugged around
> I know since i have 2 Alienware 17 inch laptops.


Unless they drastically changed their manufacturing of the coolers, you will get GPU throttled in games and CPU throttled in CPU bound programs like rendering or calculations.

It only takes me around 20 minutes to get the GPU up to 93 + degrees at which point it throttles to 400 MHz and back every second and then it will settle at 800mhz for a few minutes until it needs to throttle again then back to 400 MHz until the temps drop back to 80 wish degrees. This happens back and forth and does affect frame rate especially when you are just over 60fps and it tanks to like 45ish fps. I guess how noticeable it is to you depends on the game and how GPU intensive it is.

But imho its not acceptable. Regardless of what you notice. The other issue is the gs70 gets so hot that it can actually burn you by keeping your hand above the gpu /keyboard area. Not kidding. That heat radiates everywhere after and is uncomfortable to play.

The other issue is how loud the fans are. Unbearable and clearly don't do their job so really what's the point?

At this point thin and light gaming laptops are a joke and do not stand a chance against the likes of full sized and cooled versions.


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## Domino

Aw man, I kept mixing the GS and GT models. I thought we were talking about the GT model this entire time.

Must have gotten the short end of the stick. The cooling system seems great; much better than similar competing models. Temps are an issue, but I wonder if cranking up the fan speed or changing out the thermal paste (or properly seating the coolers) would make a difference. Because, look at this, this is actually well done.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/fullimage.php?image=59268


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## djinferno806

The cooling system seems great in theory but in a practical sense, gets overwhelmed really quickly. Even at max fan speeds.

I've been reading that the GT lineup has overheating issues too. But I don't have any first hand experience.


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## Domino

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *djinferno806*
> 
> The cooling system seems great in theory but in a practical sense, gets overwhelmed really quickly. Even at max fan speeds.
> 
> I've been reading that the GT lineup has overheating issues too. But I don't have any first hand experience.


The fans must just be not pushing enough air. Poor fan design. The principle is spot on; seems like their major flaw is just the poor fan choices. You want to move as much air as possible.

GT models, like my GTX, only had issues with the poor application of the thermal paste. My refurbed model went 3 years without a hickup until now. Custom bios to make he GTX 570m perform better than a GTX 460 and my temps don't go above 87 or something like that. Only showing signs of CPU throttling now. I'm going to be opening her up in the next couple days and putting some AS5 on everything.


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## mardon

I'm ordering an MSI GS60 this week, which has the same 870M. A poster on notebookreview.com has flashed a custom VBios on the 870m with around 84C down from 93C after 10 mins on Furmark. I'm going to do the same as well as underclock the CPU using Intel XTU. The GPU still runs at full speed and doesn't throttle.


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## Domino

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mardon*
> 
> I'm ordering an MSI GS60 this week, which has the same 870M. A poster on notebookreview.com has flashed a custom VBios on the 870m with around 84C down from 93C after 10 mins on Furmark. I'm going to do the same as well as underclock the CPU using Intel XTU. The GPU still runs at full speed and doesn't throttle.


The smaller model is going to even have a more difficult time in cooling. 10 minutes after reaching it's maximum is an indication that the fans definitely need to be better. It's such a shame considering this is a great laptop that has all the principles correct and just being help back by a minor but important flaw.

Anyways, what is going to keep your temps down the most is adjusting the voltage. Good luck.


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## djinferno806

That's probably what that 870m modded bios is, undervolted and no turbo boost.

Which then you have to be careful with because due to different chip binnings you may or may not be stable.

And honestly why drop all this money just to underclock a CPU that already comes low clocked when compared to its desktop siblings. That's just my opinion but why basically show MSI its OK to produce products that overheat because we will just take it.


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## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zoalord12*
> 
> Hmm i just ordered my GS 70 Stealth Pro.
> 
> Now I am getting concerned about the heating and throttling issue. What is the longest gaming session anyone has had on this laptop ?
> can anyone tell ?
> 
> And is the throttling really obvious or just a spec on the monitoring software, i mean do you see the frame drop when playing TitalFall or something ?
> 
> I dont want to cancel my order :'(
> I dont like any other alternatives, Razer = sucks, because of their touch screen panels. All others are heavy laptops that need to be lugged around
> I know since i have 2 Alienware 17 inch laptops.


I have been on 4 hour sessions in Planetside 2 on High and I havent yet seen throttling.


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## djinferno806

Planet side is more CPU based if anything and most users don't even see close to full GPU utilization due to software bottlenecks in the game. That may be keeping your GPU under that throttle mark.


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## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *djinferno806*
> 
> Planet side is more CPU based if anything and most users don't even see close to full GPU utilization due to software bottlenecks in the game. That may be keeping your GPU under that throttle mark.


Eh, that is true. I also went on a 2-3 hour session of Dragon Age Origins and Skyrim when I went on my RPG binge last week


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## djinferno806

Well that's definitely a good thing that you aren't being throttled lol. I wonder if MSI switched to full copper or something but I doubt it.


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## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *djinferno806*
> 
> Well that's definitely a good thing that you aren't being throttled lol. I wonder if MSI switched to full copper or something but I doubt it.


Yeah, I will admit the upper left side of the keyboard gets toasty but I have never seen any performance decrease in gameplay. So I dont know?


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## zoalord12

Hey

So i got my MSI Stealth Pro and I like it except the screen. Its very grainy
Does any1 who owns the laptop have this problem too or is it just my unit , i dont know ?

When i play games its okay but if you show full white you can see tiny black dots etc, its like the pixels are too far away or something. And it happens throughout the pixel array. Also maybe looks like you have a thin film of water in front of the screen or something, maybe something is misaligned.

I have a 2 year old Alienware M17x and a 5 year old gaming laptop and both have better screens than this guy, same resolution ?

Please tell me so i can decide to replace it or return it .... Do you guys have the grainy screens ?


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## djinferno806

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zoalord12*
> 
> Hey
> 
> So i got my MSI Stealth Pro and I like it except the screen. Its very grainy
> Does any1 who owns the laptop have this problem too or is it just my unit , i dont know ?
> 
> When i play games its okay but if you show full white you can see tiny black dots etc, its like the pixels are too far away or something. And it happens throughout the pixel array. Also maybe looks like you have a thin film of water in front of the screen or something, maybe something is misaligned.
> 
> I have a 2 year old Alienware M17x and a 5 year old gaming laptop and both have better screens than this guy, same resolution ?
> 
> Please tell me so i can decide to replace it or return it .... Do you guys have the grainy screens ?


Its not a deffect or anything, its the anti glare coating on the screen. Its normal. You will get used to it. It didn't bother me at all when I has it. In fact the screen quality itself was probably the only redeeming thing about that laptop next to its size and weight. Going from that to the TN panel in my Asus was hard lol.


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## zoalord12

But matte coating should affect the brightness, not the picture quality like that ?
I mean this is really weird. I dont like that screen. probably gonna take the stupid newegg 15% hit and return it. :'(

such a waste


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## djinferno806

It doesn't affect the screen quality. Only if you put your nose right up to it. Its meantn to be viewed from a decent distance. I'm not sure what your mean by affect brightness as it didn't when I had mine. During gaming and videos you shouldn't notice it.

Its basically the same as those anti glare phone screen protectors just not as bad.


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## funkmetal

Completely forgot to rep the people that helped me. Silly me







People that helped me are Repped now


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## Imglidinhere

Two hundred and seventy posts later the thread finally comes to a close!

I think that's a new record by far. o____________O


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## funkmetal

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Imglidinhere*
> 
> Two hundred and seventy posts later the thread finally comes to a close!
> 
> I think that's a new record by far. o____________O


Indeed, and I still have forgotten to post pictures


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## funkmetal

Here are the pictures that I promised about a week ago but forgot









The front of the laptop closed



The Laptop Open with a camera flash so you can see it better



Same area but without flash so you can see the backlighting



Dat Light Up Dragon Logo



The left side of the laptop



And the right side of the laptop



I'd like to thank everyone who helped me pick this laptop, I am very pleased with it. If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask


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## mardon

I have the GS60 Pro also it's a beauty! Already modded up with undervolted bios and custom fan profiles. Next to put some COOLABRATORY Ultra on there and overclocking the GPU a bit.


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## RazerGuy

Just got my Razer the other day and it's absolutely stunning, build quality is just mind blowing.
Now about temps :
Out of the box during idle tasks (web browsing, videos) it is almost silent but when gaming the fans get loud but nothing crazy, when gaming CPU temps were high .Tried BioShock 3 on ULTRA max res 3200x1800 and it look absolutely gorgeous and get steady 30FPS, never throttled.

CPU was low to mid 90's








GPU never went over 85.









Thought CPU temps were high so I tried under volting the CPU using Intel XTU and the results were fantastic with the same settings ,this is what I got after an hour or so of gaming.



Runs much cooler now and performance remains the same, have to admit this is the best laptop I have ever had and I have had many gaming laptops ( still do ).
Now I know the temps are nothing to brag about ( but are much better than stock temps)but the fans don't ramp up as much and I know I can get lower temps tweaking the settings but this was my first go after stress testing the CPU and passing.
I live in the US so I got it from the Microsoft Store and it shipped the next day , why do you ask and not get It directly from RAZER?
We'll for everything they did right with this laptop RAZER still sucks at having stock and shipping delays. My order was delayed so many times I just got sick and tired of waiting after learning the MS store has them ready to go.
A bonus for ordering at the MS store they have a 10% off student discount and a special for $100 off for new graduates( which I'm not but that's another story ) but I still managed to get a the deals and saved $339 total









I have the 256GB model
Razer price $2399.00
MS Store price $ 2060.00 after discounts and promotions.....thank you MS!

Love these new thin and lite form factor gaming laptops I was looking at the GHOST as we'll but since I have a MSI GT60 for home use wanted something thinner and lighter without sacrificing power on the road.
You might say "why I didn't get the Ghost" well the answer is simple really, I really wanted the RAZER.
Don't get me wrong I think the Ghost is an amazing laptop and almost ordered one but after configuring one the way I wanted (SSD size)that was close to the RAZER it would almost cost me the same I got with my RAZER deal and if I didn't like it would return it and get the Ghost( Yeah I know the Ghost is much customizable but the RAZER was just too tempting to resist! )
So far so good.


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## AsusFan30

I had the MSI-GS70, and it was am amazing Laptop. I get a new Gaming Laptop at least once a year, and that Laptop was very nice. Keep in mind, I have had Alienware, Sager Notebooks, MSI, and Origin PC. It was on Par with all the rest of them.


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## Shiftstealth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mardon*
> 
> I have the GS60 Pro also it's a beauty! Already modded up with undervolted bios and custom fan profiles. Next to put some COOLABRATORY Ultra on there and overclocking the GPU a bit.


You'll have to let me know how you did the vbios flash.


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