GT60-ONE
Just a little backround, I build my own computers and also do so for my friends and family, probably about 20 or so over the years. I am not a professional, nor do i claim to be any type of expert, however i do have a decent amount of insight and knowledge in modern PCs. I also do a lot of research on the components i buy.
First let me start with the Cons, so you know upfront what you are dealing with.
This laptop is quite large and heavy for a 15/16 inch laptop, which is to be expected for a gaming laptop. The laptop is about the size of most normal 17" laptops. It is about 15 3/8"W x 10 7/16"D x 1 9/16 in the front to 2 1/8"H -this includes the feet in the rear. Whether you deem this "portable" is based on personal preference and uses. For me, being basically a portable Desktop that i can take to other locations, it is definetly portable and i dont mind carrying this around. (I have a tablet and a phone to use for light web surfing/social/media applications/checking scores etc)
The power brick is also quite large but yet a little slim at 6 3/4"x 3 1/4" x 1 9/16". You should basically expect to use most 17" laptop bags/carrying cases/backpacks.
Turbo Fan setting is loud, I would liken it to tower style fan (home fan, not desktop tower) on high setting loud. However while the noise level gets up there, it isnt irratating loud and has very little whine to it IMO. Seems like a great feature to use while alone and using headphones as the cooling boost is nice. Of course this can be turned on/off very easily
Windows 8.... still havn't found a reason to like it, it feels a bit more clunky to use than Windows 7. I am debating installing windows 7 back onto this computer.
No SSD, for the price it is debatable whether this is a negative, I installed my own SSD on the side so i can have a boot 250GB ssd and use the 750GB as a disk drive. Performance does suffer compared to any SSD laptop, so for the price i would definetly recommend an SSD.
There is shiny plastic around the screen, which sometimes can be annoying if it gets hit with the right light angle.
So with all of that said, here is what you get.
For basically $1900 -$2000 w/Mail in rebate (price of SSD included) you get:
GTX680M probably the reason most of you are looking at this laptop, It is also the 4GB version. This thing performs. Dont expect 680 Desktop performance, but for something you can carry around, you play most games at Ultra, or high and get great FPS. My 3Dmark 11 (No Overclocking) scores are about 6200 or 3000 or so less compared to my Ivy I7 GTX670 4GBVRAM Desktop. Keep in mind my desktop graphics car alone is probably 1/3 the size of this entire computer!
Optimus I get between 2 1/2 Hours to 3 1/2 hours off the plug depending what am doing. Keep in mind though that performance is throttled down when off the plug, so dont expect full performance off the plug. To me this is exceptional for a gaming laptop with desktop performance.
I7 3630QM slight upgrade from standard I7 Ivy QM, probably not much difference, but nice upgrade.
12GB Ram dont need to put extra ram in which saves some $.
15.6" 1080P Matte HD screen This screen is really really nice. Comapred to my desktop screens which are samsung LED's of last year, the screen on my laptop is noticibly better. It is bright, and clear, and most importantly has no glare (switching from an Alienware this is a huge difference). It is not one of those 95% NTSC High Gamut screens, however it also does not need color calibration programs which can be tricky to operate in some games and look off without proper calibration software, and also all of these screens cost extra on top if you buy Clevo Chassis Laptops.
Steel Series Keyboard this is one of those preferences, but i like the keyboard, it has a nice feel to it, and the backlight and customization are nice. Keys aren't quite full mechanical, but also not close to mushy like a lot of other laptops, a little firmer than my alienware which i liked for gaming. The keys have to me a 3/4 satisfying click of a mechanical keyboard id say, which is pretty darn good for a laptop keyboard.
Blu-Ray Burner! Pretty awesome to have a blu-ray burner not that i would burn any movies or anything. I think all nice laptops these days should come standard with atleast a blu-ray player. It is definetly a plus to be able to watch blu-rays on this nice of screen on the road without having to carry an extra drive. Also Blu-ray Disk rewrittables anyone?
Dynaudio Speakers I can say that these are without a doubt the best speakers I have personally heard on a laptop. The sound quality is really impressive for laptop speakers. The sub isnt that powerful, but the overall sound quality is really exceptional. I'm not an audiophile, but I have a decently trained ear. A lot of people try and compare these to their 5.1 or 7.1 home speakers saying how its not that good, but there is no comparison IMO because i am not going to carry a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system or even a 2.1 speaker system around with me ever.
Killer 1202 Fast Dual band 2xMIMO wifi card, and also has bluetooth. Very impressed with the speed of the Killer Wifi cards overall.
750GB 7200RPM HD + (should add) SSD IMO this isnt too bad a deal. just add in your own ssd and use the 750gb as a disk drive since it is atleast 7200 rpm.
Has a nice combination of ports, no DVI, but it has HDMI, displayport, and VGA, USB2/3, esata ports. Also I like that the Ethernet port is on the back, I didnt like that my Alienware had the Ethernet on the side.
Cooling works well, laptop stays cool even during gaming. I havn't run any prime test because this thing performs perfectly for what I wanted to do out of the box minus the SSD and probably windows 8.
Build Quality Brushed Aluminum Wrist area and back cover, lots of plastic everywhere else. Doesnt bother me other than fingerprints, however I have not met too many laptops that are not fingerprint magnets! Overall Build Quality is good, not macbook level, but until macbooks can fit a 680M and/or even come close to the price with that card, I think this is your best bet if you want a GTX680M Gaming Laptop.
So In Summary,
Here were my guidlines
Must have:
Intel I7 Ivy Bridge
GTX680M-4GB or AMD 7970M (680M prefered due to speed and optimus if included)
1080P Screen nice looking hopefully:)
Killer 1202
Like design (Obviously preference)
Let me start out by saying I wanted the Asus G75 or G55. I like the design, and i actually buy Asus over MSI unless price is more of a concern.
Here is too me what is wrong with each of the computers and why I did not buy them.
Asus G55/G75 Weak Video cards, great design, but 660m-675M just doesnt cut it for me, especially for the same or more $.
Alienware IMO comparable to Apple Build quality. All these people who rag on alienware, they probably are just haters or just repeating things they heard. They are actually not overpriced anymore, and have the best warrenty/service and build quality of the gaming manufactuers IMO. But their prices are still too high for certain configurations and they do overcharge for add ons. Their best deal was for a 7970M, however while the 7970M is comparible, the Enduro issues and the fact you have to add on the 1080P screen just made this laptop too expensive for the configuration (considering how well priced the GT60ONE is). Oh and they charge Tax which adds on.
IbuyPower Best hardware for price, build quality and brand is questionable still. Very intriguing, however Not looking to burn 2K on a brand i dont really knowthey used to be mostly a pc building operation.
Samsung Nice build premium price, 675MX which is about 30 percent slower than the 680M.
Clevo Brands more expensive for same build, custom build time. I was set to get a sager or mythlogic, however the better speakers, better 720P webcam, better keyboard, mic not being on the keyboard all drove me to the MSI. Basically for what i paid overall, I am spending $200-$300 less for the MSI that has better speakers, about the same build quality, a better keyboard, better warrenty, 2HDD bays instead of 1, and I can buy it from Amazon!
Overall I am very pleased, It is a Great computer. Still trying to get used to windows 8. What really set this over the top for me is the speakers. I watch a lot of movies/netflix when I am on trips along with gaming. These speakers do not disappoint. Oh an Very little bloatware!
I own the MSI GX660R so I have enjoyed that enough to purchase another MSI Gaming Laptop.
Build Quality and Stuff:
I recently purchased this computer from another reseller and so far I have had zero complaints. I own the 15.6" variant so I could fit it into most laptop bags. The build quality is very good. It feels solid throughout. The body is mostly brushed black aluminum and the keyboard feels very sturdy,(more than the GX660R, mostly plastic body). It has a Steel Series brand keyboard which is an attempt to make it like a mechanical keyboard for laptops. They did a good job too because typing on this computer is a joy for me. The GX660R would flex a bit, but not this keyboard. It also lights up just like you see in the picture. It is fully customizable in color so you can make it what you want. It can light up in different modes as well. The sound system on this computer is the best I have ever heard for a laptop. Its not some low budget sound system I hear in most other machines. My build uses the stock screen and I must say that screen is amazing. The clarity is just brilliant. I wanted to get the 95% color gamut but couldn't justify it as I would mostly be using an external monitor (ASUS VE278Q). The laptop screen blows the doors off my external monitor though. The touchpad is nice as well. Although I rarely use it, it gets the job done. Built-in webcam is clear. Hinges on this computer feel solid. I have had zero issues with my previous MSI so I only expect improvement from here on out.
Performance:
This machine is currently able to run every game I have thrown at it. That isn't saying much in my opinion. What matters is that I can run mostly every game at the highest graphical settings in the native resolution of 1920 x 1080. Now that is saying something. The frame rates on this computer are sometimes choppy though depending on the game. Maybe I can get some feedback from someone who has encountered this problem and resolved it. I am currently playing Borderlands 2 and I get mostly 50fps but there are some instances where the frames drop to close to 16. I believe this to be a driver issue and here is why(Nvidia 310.90 Driver at the time of writing). If I stand still in that spot of low frames, the frames slowly ramp back up to the 50ish range (waiting 5 seconds or so). As I move around after the frames rise, they stay high and don't drop again until I arrive somewhere else completely new. Its like the video card doesn't know I need that power now, not in 5 seconds. I also am experimenting with the Nvidia Optimizer in hopes that this issue would be resolved, but no luck yet. I also signed up for the GeForce Experience but this appears to be in closed beta and I have not gotten an invite yet. I have also been playing WoW MoP, Saints Row 3, and BF3. All of these games pretty much run flawlessly and stay around 40-60fps.
I almost didn't buy this computer because I wanted to wait for the Haswell chip sets that I heard are coming out next but I think they were backed up to 2014 or something? Either way this machine makes me happy. I use it for everything, work and play. No regrets after 3 weeks of ownership. This machine is awesome.
My system is customized. It has all stock parts except:
I only have 1 hard drive, Samsung 840 SSD 500gb (updated firmware)
16GB DDR3 1600 MHz SDRAM, 4 x 4GB SODIMM
IC Diamond Thermal Paste on cpu and gpu
BIOS Ver. E16F3IMS.50U
Bluray Reader in place or writer
3DMark 11 Score P6071 Video Benchmark
Buy MSI Computer Corp. GT60 0NE-403US;9S7-16F311-403 15.6-Inch Laptop Now
I've had this laptop for just over a week. I installed an SSD in the second drive bay and had a pretty annoying experience completing a clean install my Windows 8 Pro license, but that is not MSI's fault in any way. I ended up having to install Windows 7 and then "upgrade" to Windows 8 in order to get my install to work.
Now for the good:
This thing performs as expected based on other reviews and the hardware included. It handles everything I've thrown at it thus far with ease (Total War: Shogun 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Borderlands 2) on high/max settings. It gets a bit warm in the upper left hand area of the keyboard under heavy load, but not disturbingly so. The speakers are very nice for a laptop. The potential volume output is great. The multi-touch pad is acceptable but nothing special (as in don't expect Apple touch pad like response, but you can 2 finger scroll and swipe in from the sides).
The not so good:
The build quality appears to be pretty bad. My unit has a few apparent problems. The plastic panel to the left of the power button pops out and will not stay in place. The backspace key is finicky and has to be hit just right to consistently respond. The keyboard itself doesn't seem to be fitted properly. There is a noticeable bulge/warp to it around the o/p/bracket keys. I'm probably going to need to make a warranty claim on it, but I'm concerned they will deny it because I "tampered" with the laptop by installing the SSD. I'll update on that later, if there is anything to report.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the performance of this thing, but am disappointed with the build quality. When I spend this kind of money on a laptop, I want to feel completely satisfied with my purchase. In this case, that cannot truthfully be said. If MSI stands behind the product and gets these issues taken care of, I will be a very content/happy customer!
Read Best Reviews of MSI Computer Corp. GT60 0NE-403US;9S7-16F311-403 15.6-Inch Laptop Here
I agree with many of the reviews you'll find here. Its hard to find a more loaded laptop at this price. I looked at alternatives and this was the best value for the money.
I'd give this laptop a 5 except for MSI's customer service. After having the laptop for 2 months, the hard drive is failing. I reconfigured my system to boot Windows 7 from a SSD and I use the 750 gig that came with the laptop for data. I couldn't save any files, got errors from Windows 7, the chkdsk program loaded on startup, and the drive failed the smart test. I called MSI and they wanted me to first rule out a software problem by reinstalling Windows 8 on the hard drive. They wouldn't just send me a new drive to swap out. They wanted me to send the laptop to them so they could do the work.
That's crazy. My laptop is confugured how I like it. It actually ended up being less trouble to buy a new hard drive for $72 then reinstall operating systems and send in my computer to them so they can realize that the problem is the hard drive and install a new one. Not very customer oriented.
Want MSI Computer Corp. GT60 0NE-403US;9S7-16F311-403 15.6-Inch Laptop Discount?
Don't think you'll be able to find a computer packing this much power for the price. If you're a gamer, you'll love it. It can be a little on the heavy side and the AC adapter is a brick but I'm satisfied with the purchase. I wish that it had a volume control on the side instead of having to use the function keys. Speaking of the keyboard, it is very tactile and the color changes are awesome.
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The laptop looks very nice, doesn`t look like a cheap made to me and it's almost perfect.
