If you want to have only 1 computer (vs. 1 gaming & 1 portable), and you like to move around with it (even just around the house), then this is definitely the one to get. It strikes the perfect balance between price/specs/portability. I used to have the Samsung 9 gamer from last year (which was surprisingly under-appreciated considering its price, specs and gorgeous screen), but it was a 9 lbs monster that almost never left my desk, partly because of the typically lousy battery life. Funnily enough, 1 year later, this MSI has almost the same performance at half the weight and triple the battery life. So now I take this one out to the library or coffee shop at least a few times a week. And even just around the house, I don't hesitate to bring it to the sofa so I can chat and surf while watching TV. I like my HTC One, but multitasking on Android still sucks. The long-lasting battery really is a big deal. I leave it plugged in overnight and while I'm at work (full charge in < 3 hrs), and then I can use it from the time I get home until I go to sleep, or all afternoon on the weekends. I shake my head when I see people lugging around their power bricks.I've had the laptop for a few weeks now, and overall I'm very happy with it. I decided to buy it without waiting for reviews because of the good things I heard about Haswell, and I haven't been disappointed. I was a little concerned about fan noise, which can be a problem with many gaming rigs, but it's not a problem with the GE40. I haven't tried gaming on it yet, but I've heard the fan go max a few times, and the noise level is very acceptable. Most of the time, if there's any amount of background noise, the fan isn't noticeable.
The matte screen was a pleasant surprise, I can't stand glossy. The viewing angles aren't great, but this is MY toy, so I don't care, and the colour is good. There is, however, 1 bright pixel, and MSI will only replace it if there are at least 5 bad ones (I didn't buy from Amazon). That's pretty poor by industry standards, especially since MSI has a crazy chart for identifying what is, in fact, considered a bad pixel. Regardless, I only (barely) notice the bright pixel if the area around it is completely black, so it's almost a non-issue.
What IS a minor annoyance is the hinge. No problems when it's open, but there's a bit of bounce when it's closed and I'm walking around with it. I hold it by the battery against my hip with the lid facing out, as I think most people do when walking around with a laptop. Other than that, no complaints.
So, if you want a machine with specs that will last a few years and won't break the bank or your back, you can't go wrong with this one.
With a dual hard drive setup its very fast(SSD 128GB on 6GB SAS + 750GB 7200 RPM drive 3GB SAS) you have enough space to load your os on to the ssd and gaming data ect on the 750GB drive. Running games are very smooth. With a brand new GTX 760M 2GB vid ram it can run most any new games with little to no issue. Comes with one 8GB ram stick so adding additional ram is a snap. Removable battery and slot for optical drive(have to remove ssd drive).
Trackpad and keyboard feel really responsive.(No back-lite on keyboard though..) Screen is very bright and matte display so no annoying reflections.
Running games from battery actually works Ok, I've had some gaming laptops that stutter so much because the GPU/system is not getting enough power but from the looks of this system its able to run on battery without issue(though you will notice a slight fps drop due to the system not using turbo boost as often.)
Not a big fan of the windows 8 install but I living with it until i can dual boot win 7 or Ubuntu. I did backup the win 8 recovery system to a usb disk in case of a re install.
Course this system doesn't have a optical drive so if you need it you can always hook up an external drive to one of the usb ports(2 USB3.0 and 1 USB 2.0). You can order the same laptop without an ssd drive and then it will include an optical drive but i prefer the fast-boot time and launching of apps that run off the ssd drive..
Overall I think this is a great new laptop with new generation intel i7 haswell processor.
Buy MSI G Series GE40 2OC-009US 14-Inch Laptop (Black/Red) Now
Finding balance between a good gaming system and portable notebook is a difficult endeavor. There are plenty of 15.6" or 17" screen systems out there that are able to pack the highest performing components inside, but leave your shoulder/back aching. On the other side of the spectrum, there are a number of sleek, ultra book class notebooks that are easy to carry, but leave you wanting more performance. I needed a high performance notebook that allows me to multi-task and game a bit while away from home. The MSI GE40 is a nice compromise between the two categories with a few caveats.Design:
Weighing in at 4.4ish pounds, the GE40 is quite light for what it packs inside. The palm rest and lid are a brushed aluminum. The lid has eye-catching red LEDs in the form of "dragon eyes". The rest of the body is comprised of your standard glossy plastic that attracts finger prints, but isn't handled all that often in everyday use. There is more flex in the palm rest and keyboard than a full aluminum chassis, but it doesn't scream poor quality.
Screen:
My main issue with the GE40 is the quality of the screen. While it does feature a high 1600x900 resolution for a 14" screen, it is an average TN panel with OK viewing angles. This evaluation is quite subjective although I personally think the vertical viewing angles are poor. You will need to view the screen dead on or the image will be washed out. This left me a little frustrated trying to watch netflix on my bed.
Performance:
With a high wattage Intel Haswell Quad-core 4th generation processor, it chews through everything quite quickly. The lower wattage CPUs in ultrabooks are primarily designed for battery longevity with decent performance. The difference between Apple's latest generation Macbook air with it's 15W Dual-Core CPU and the GE40 is very noticeable in the programs that I use (namely Acrobat Pro, Photoshop, transcode applications). The dynamic overclocking of the CPU also allows lightly threaded applications to take advantage of higher clock speeds whilst putting the unused cores to sleep.
The graphics duties are shared between the integrated intel HD4600 and a dedicated NVIDIA GTX 760M. The switching is handled with NVIDIA's optimus tech. The integrated graphics are powerful enough to handle the Windows GUI acceleration, Flash, and movie playback to conserve power and reduce heat generation. The GTX 760M kicks in when you launch a full screen 3D application, allowing you to take advantage of a large performance increase. The GTX 760M did a great job of providing acceptable frame rates at the native resolution in the games I play. For specific numbers, look up the GTX 760M on Notebookcheck.com
This version of the GE40 has a 128GB solid state drive and a 750GB hard disk drive (occupying the bay where the DVD-ROM is on the cheaper version). Out of the box this notebook is much faster, but you should ask yourself if that is enough room for your OS and programs. Personally, I think a 256GB SSD is the minimum size, but you can always put your steam folder and larger games on the mechanical drive if you're willing to deal with longer load times.
While the GE40 has 8GB of DDR3-Low Voltage memory installed, it is a single DIMM. This is both a plus and minus. With a single DIMM, you drop your effective bandwidth to 10GB/ps for the CPU and integrated GPU. You'll be hard pressed to see a noticeable drop in performance, but this is supposed to be a high end system. On the other hand, if you were planning to go to a total of 16GB of RAM, you won't have to buy x2 8GB DIMMs. Just grab 1 8GB DIMM and you'll get your dual channel memory performance.
Preinstalled Software:
Windows 8: You either love it or hate it. I personally like Microsoft's new OS due to the faster performance and support for new hardware technologies. I'm not a fan of the Start Screen, but that's easily remedied with a third party start menu replacement. The product key for Windows is integrated into the UEFI BIOS of the system so you won't need to enter a key during Windows setup. Just activate once you've reinstalled the OS.
As I mentioned before, Norton and other trialware is preinstalled. You'll be greeted with a number of desktop cluttering icons and background services taking up system resources. It isn't nearly as bad as some, but again, this is a gaming system that shouldn't have junk preinstalled to begin with.
I personally reinstalled Windows 8 after installing an extra 8GB DIMM. Be prepared to download the wireless LAN drivers beforehand as Windows 8 doesn't come with them out of the box. There are also a plethora of other drivers that need to be installed to restore full functionality (Bluetooth, WLAN switch, ETC).
Noise/Heat:
In normal operation, the notebook is a bit warm to the touch and the fan constantly runs at a slight hum. The fan is audible, but not overtly or annoyingly so. When gaming, the notebook does get hot. Not unbearably so, but it isn't super comfortable. The fan kicks it into high gear and is very noisy. I was able to hear it every between explosions in game with my headphones on. Both the heat and noise levels are to be expected, especially with the amount of performance packed into such a small chassis.
Overall evaluation:
The MSI GE40 is a great notebook that fills my needs well. The balance of portability and performance allows me to finish my work quickly to get a little bit of play in. If you can cram your programs and games onto a 128GB SSD, you'll find more value in the upgraded version of the GE40. Otherwise both notebooks can stand to have an additional 8GB of memory and a clean install of Windows to maximize its performance and your enjoyment.
Update 7/10/2013:
I was curious if I could get the thermals down a bit, so I opened up my notebook again to see what kind of job MSI did with the thermal paste. As I suspected, they put way too much on which was hindering the heat transfer from the CPU and dedicated GPU to the heatpipe assembly. I'm sure it's their policy that it's better to have too much than too little.
Dis-assembly was not that difficult; 8 philips screws and the fan and heatpipe was easily removed. I cleaned up the factory paste and wiped the CPU/GPU and heatpipe with some isotropic alcohol. I then applied a thin layer of artic silver 5 and put it all back together. Subjectively, the notebook runs cooler. The fan spins slower at idle and comes back down from 100% quicker after playing a game. The palm rest and WASD keys were also a bit cooler. I didn't record before and after temperatures, but there are a couple youtube videos detailing this modification and the tangible results.
If you are comfortable performing this procedure, I wholeheartedly recommend doing it. You're left palm and wrist will thank you.
Read Best Reviews of MSI G Series GE40 2OC-009US 14-Inch Laptop (Black/Red) Here
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