MSI GX640-260 15.4-Inch Gaming Laptop - Black/Red Review
If you are looking at this machine, you are probably struggling with the same questions I am: Is it fast enough to game? Buitl well enough to last? Does it have Keyboard flex? Is it ugly? Should I get the Asus, Lenovo, or Envy instead and accept less of a graphics card? Maybe I should just do what my friend said and buy a desktop...
Let it go friend, because this is an excellent machine, so long as you realize the virtue and wisdom of MSI's various decisions. This system is clearly a pretty well thought out attempt to provide maximum value to a certain kind of customer: The one that's broke but wants a real, high performance gaming machine.
Fist and foremost, no one offers this combination of processing speed, graphics muscle, battery, 7200 rpm hardrive, high resolution LED panel, bluetooth, webcam, HDMI, etc, and does it for less than about 00 bucks. Many systems come close, but as of this writing this is it, this is the near-00 dollar machine that defies the pricing logic of the market at the moment. Other systems might have a better processor, but a lesser grahics card, a better screen w/out the real muscle to game at the native resolution and so on. But this MSI, so far, is a very well thought out machine. Lets explore the Pros and Cons:
Battery and power:
Battery life, even with a 9-cell "only" about 3-3.5 hours max. MSI's "eco modes" consistently report lower batter life than Windows settings(fail MSI)I wish you could shut off discrete graphics when unneeded (you can on more expensive machines)
Not a huge fan of the battery jutting out, or the 90-degree power connector that doesn't seem right for the machine (crowds VGA port or sits on the batter)
Aesthetics:
GF Hates the paint job, its fairly discrete, so I don't might. The mostly plastic-with aluminum lid all around has a nice solid feel. Pretty minimal vents on the bottom (I hope this isn't ultimately a bad thing). Far from the ugliest "gamer" machine, I don't think people will think I'm a geek for whipping this baby out at work. The power brick is actually about brick sized, however. Plastics literally show my finger print (you could take it to a lab), but it cleans well. This is a step down in portability from my 14", but surprisingly, the weight feels about the same to me. All around, I think it looks great in real life (the photos are sort of off the mark - they also show a blu-ray drive, FAIL, amazon).
Accessibility:
Nice touchpad feel, Keyboard layout is fine, no flex. Does take some adjustment however. I do like having a numpad handy from my spreadsheets. Sort of high effort on the clicking. Touch panel is sort of fugly, but works as advertised. Hate the placement of the Fn key where ctrl should be. This will cause me a little pain I'm sure (fat fingered). Volume and Brightness adjusted with Fn key however, and so far works no matter what I am doing.
Screen:
Awesome screen. Minimal backlight bleed, not overdone with "gloss" coating, good contrast, good gamma, images seem more evenly bright than my old dell. Great resolution for having windows side by side, and a good match for the video card. LED backlit by the way, older models had a CCFL panel (and these reviews were not updated). Not as piercing bright as I expected however, so probably not perfect for really brightly lit rooms, or the great outdoors. Whatever.
Performance:
SOLID performer for sure. Haven't gotten to crysis yet, but Batman is completely maxed and running perfect at native resolution. HDD is fast, and processor doesn't seem to break a sweat. I tortured myself over whether or not I "had to have" a core i7. I'm glad I skipped it. Dual core is still the way to go really, since consoles rule the earth and the average machine is a dual core or worse, an atom. I expect this computer will game viably for at least the next year. But make no mistake, 1100 on a desktop buys way, way faster parts. Processor, Ram, and HDD all upgradeable, but I doubt I'll need to.
Multimedia:
Speakers have a weird sound, basically bass-less. But dialogue is clear. They aren't crap, but they are nothing to show off, that's for sure. Headphones sound awesome however, crisp, and plenty of punch. One doesn't buy a laptop for their speakers anyway. DVD drive (not blu ray as photos show). Got nice headphones or nice speakers at home, and you will find nothing to complain about here - Movies and streaming TV look great.
Warranty:
2 years included, no 'accident' coverage, bad batteries 1 year only, only DOA coverage for accessories. Even so, 2 years is long enough to possibly replace a HDD or a failed motherboard. Mail-in for service but still, decent coverage.
Heat and Noise:
The machine's processor is idling in the 50 cent area, and climbs to 80-85 under stress. Max temps aren't too bad, I've had a GPU that actually hit 100 cent regularly in a laptop before (not a great thing though!). The key issue is that this means lots of fan noise on and off, fairly loud under stress. Certainly not a deal breaker, but I really feel obligated to attempt well ventilated areas, raising the notebook up a tad, applying new thermal past etc. Then again you have to consider the power you are purchasing versus the package they are trying to put it in. I would have appreciated having an extra fan, or at least another vent somewhere. See warranty above.
Connectibility:
VGA Out, estata, 2 USB, SD reader, PC card slot, HDMI, audio jacks (configurable). You have a little better than the basics and thats it. USB count not an issue, I've rarely needed more than 2 at once.
Bloatware:
System a breeze to set up. Not really ANY bloatware to remove (except for Norton Anti Virus, and some trials). First computer I've ever bought where I didn't race to blow the HDD and install from scratch. First computer ever, where I couldn't find a single driver, or firmware to update. MSI sort of oddly but welcomely included winrar preinstalled, and adobe, and MS Office compatibility pack. Geez, thanks, you really know what we geeks love!
So I am off to week one of this computer. Fear not, it is maximum price / performance. Its not perfect, its not a dream system, but it has it where it counts, and that's why I bought it. Its a well thought out system for people looking for a solid gaming experience coupled to a comfortable (if less portable size)chassis. I was going to buy a desktop, and smaller cheaper notebook, but I was forced by life to compromise. This is definitely one of the best deals out there if you are looking for a medium sized gaming notebook with few performance compromises. Go ahead, look around, search everywhere. The 2 thousand, 3 thousand, and 4 thousand dollar gaming laptops are better in many ways, but hardly returning the same performance for your dollar. It can't be done but here.
MSI GX640-260 15.4-Inch Gaming Laptop - Black/Red Feature
- Core i5-450M 2.4 GHz 1066 MHz 3MB L2 Cache Processor, ATI Radeon HD5850 1GB DDR5 VRAM, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
- Windows 7 HP 64 bit, 15.4 inch LCD 1680x1050, 9 cell, 2.0 MP Webcam
- 2 x USB port, Wireless 802.11 a/g/n, 4 IN 1 (SD/MMC/MS/XD), HDMI-out
MSI GX640-260 15.4-Inch Gaming Laptop - Black/Red Overview
Core i5-450M 2.4 GHz, ATI Radeon HD5850 1GB DDR5 VRAM, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB 7200rpm Hard Drive, Wireless 802.11 a/g/n, 2.0 MP Webcam, 2 x USB ports, HDMI-out, Headphone out, Mic-in, VGA, RJ45
Available at Amazon Check Price Now!
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Oct 29, 2010 13:17:07
