MSI introduces GE700 gaming and entertainment laptop

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Jos

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Not long after parading its updated G series at CES, and launching the 16-inch GE600 with discrete graphics and an Intel Core i5 processor, MSI has followed up with a new 17-inch model for the gaming and multimedia entertainment fanatics. As its slightly smaller sibling the GE700 also couples a Core i5 processor with ATI Radeon HD 5730 graphics (with 1GB GDDR3 memory), along with a few other noteworthy goodies.


These include two cinema-class speakers and a subwoofer, an HD webcam capable of 720p video up to 30fps, room for dual hard disks of up to 500GB apiece, optional nine cell battery, and the typical spectrum of connectivity options. MSI also mentions its new GPU Boost Technology can switch between integrated and discrete graphics through a simple key -- unlike Nvidia's Optimus which does this automatically depending on your actual needs.

Unfortunately, there's no official word on price or availability yet but we wouldn't expect it to come in cheap.

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"These include two cinema-class speakers..." What the heck is that supposed to mean?
 
As cool as these gaming laptops are, I could never buy one. I would much rather game on my more powerful desktop for half the price.
 
TomSEA said:
"These include two cinema-class speakers..." What the heck is that supposed to mean?

Hopefully it means you can actually hear sound from the laptop if something else around you is making noise.. my girlfriend's laptop can't even be heard over a microwave in the other room.

wagan8r said:
As cool as these gaming laptops are, I could never buy one. I would much rather game on my more powerful desktop for half the price.

I think most people would agree with you (including myself). However, I did purchase a gaming laptop a few months ago that comes in handy when traveling. The battery life isn't the greatest (~2-3 hours if I use power-saving mode and don't run any graphics-intensive programs), but the 1GB Radeon 4650 handles everything I've thrown at it so far without a hiccup.

I can't wait to see what kind of features these laptops have in a few years when I will be making enough bank to buy a really nice one :)
 
I'm in the school that actually likes the growing market of gaming laptops. In fact, I would challenge anyone who claims to be a PC gaming enthusiast to argue against them. Considering that there are always laments of PC gaming withering away, having portable and highly accessible platforms to play those games will only help to bolster the genre. Keep churning out big clunky space heaters that need water cooling and 400 gigajoules to run them, and telling people that is the ONLY way to game on a PC, and you might as well be bricking yourself into the attic and waiting to die. Gaming laptops encourage more of an "Average Joe" user base, and may end up responsible for creating some new enthusiasts.

Plus, the more mobile gaming hardware like this becomes popular, the more efficient and clever the technology becomes to handle the demand. Isn't it always interesting how those huge, hot, power-hungry GPUs end up eventually getting re-designed and optimized down into a small package that can run fairly cool with some semblance of decent battery life? You'd be foolish to think that all of the knowledge gained in making that little miracle occur doesn't trickle down and benefit the design of future products.
 
it IS going to be expensive!
btw MSI is a good company!
but i prefer desktops for gaming! cuz v can add 7.1 channel speakers ( for lifelike real sound )
can increase the size of display to 30! add as much ram as we want! ( or atleast as much such that the motherboard supports! )
all this cant be done with a laptop!
hence desktops are the best for gaming!
 
Looks very promising, hopefully the price is right. MSI is indeed on a roll.
Dual HDD's I like the most, great design.

It's also really nice they put the option there to put a HD 5730 in there.
 
I don't believe it will revolutionize the gaming scene in any way at all; but there is one plus, it looks very beautiful little gadget compared many of it counter parts from Lenovo/HP etc.
 
(shrugs) I wouldn't argue against them Vrmithax, but I do think it's a niche product. Way more so than home-built gaming PC's are. The pricing alone makes that the case. Decent gaming laptops are in the $2,000+ price range whereas you can built a screaming gaming desktop for $800. Then there's the screen size, battery life and keyboard differences. I can't stand laptop keyboards (especially for gaming) and use a docking station with mine so I can use an ergonomic keyboard. That doesn't translate into portability and I'm not the only one who does that. And even though a 17" screen is huge for a laptop, it pales in comparison to a decent 26" 1900x1200 gaming monitor. And the whole 2-3 hours battery life - uff da! That doesn't compute to a whole lot of gaming if you're not around a power outlet.

At any rate, your point is well taken and are there people who are going to buy this and other gaming laptops? Sure there are. Is it going to become a driving force in the gaming hardware industry? IMNHO, I doubt it for the reasons mentioned above. It's a convenience item, not what most would consider a true gaming rig.
 
Agree with TomSEA, Gaming laptops cannot be compared to PC gaming in terms of convenience and performance, But portability "though limited because of weigh and low battery" is what really drives this market..
 
wagan8r said:
As cool as these gaming laptops are, I could never buy one. I would much rather game on my more powerful desktop for half the price.
+1
I totally agree with you!
But, still gaming laptops are now with great performance, If you are not picky with high details, then It can be your gaming platform, besides desktop PC.
 
wagan8r said:
As cool as these gaming laptops are, I could never buy one. I would much rather game on my more powerful desktop for half the price.

Yep gotta agree :D.

I tried to talk my friends g/f outa getting a gaming laptop, but she was dead set on it. Caught her whining about not being able to run a some game on it the other day. Had to laugh :D.
 
I always seem to catch myself saying, "in a year or two i'll buy a gaming laptop". Because i think to myself, it will be able to run the games i'm currently playing and enjoy, and will be relatively well priced. But it's an unbreakable cycle that i keep getting into. Anyone else feel like this?
 
MSI also mentions its new GPU Boost Technology can switch between integrated and discrete graphics through a simple key
I recently had a first hand experience with this feature on a friend's HP notebook computer. I really like the options to switch between an integrated and a discrete graphic to extend the battery life. I am still not going to pay a premium for this feature though.
 
I don't think it's appealing in design but the fact that it is for entertainment and gaming shows all I need for a laptop's features. There's one thing I'm looking for, does it have the capability of speed similar to netbooks when it comes to networking?...
 
"...gaming and multimedia entertainment fanatics."

Does this mean that programs like Photoshop and After Effects will be viable?

Looks like a really nice laptop, especially like the 1tb of HDD capacity and the 720p HD webcam, that's a nice webcam!
 
hello ...

Since more than 6 months my next PC gaming rig is 'under construction' LOL, a laptop like this one seem interesting, mostly because i actually lack some space, yet i lack also some money to go forward with this project.

MSI do some good hardware & the specs of the GE700 could be good for the actual games, but with limited possibility for upgrades, it's not for everyone.

hey with Onlive, steam going MAC, PC gaming seem to change face ... such laptop will be for niche market

cheers!
 
@TomSEA - I'm with you on your views, it's definitely got a niche market feel to it now. But, as the work force gets increasingly mobile, there's a certain (growing) demographic that likes to have some oomph to be able to play some distractions while on the road. I'm one of those people - I travel often, and like having a laptop capable of doing more than menial graphics without crashing or melting into a slag of burnt plastic and silicon :)

I think the "gaming laptop" variant will always be the high-priced cutting edge selection it is now (just like the premium desktop "gaming rigs" are super expensive things of beauty and sources of envy now). But with things like AMD's forthcoming push towards their Fusion mentality, and (more importantly) nVidia's excellent automatic hybrid GPU system which switches on the fly to give you more pixel pushing when you need it, I believe that gaming capable laptops will become more of the mainstream and less of an oddity. Honestly, the manufacturers would be silly not to bring power to the people, and tier the hardware into easier categories: low end general computing (netbooks, etc), the mainstream laptops (business with some graphics push), and the high range stuff (gaming-centric builds, definitely a rarer niche). There is already quite a bit of shuffling and blending of mobile platforms, where so many defining borders are blurring that it's almost becoming an industry with those 3 basic tiers now.
 
flukeh said:
I always seem to catch myself saying, "in a year or two i'll buy a gaming laptop". Because i think to myself, it will be able to run the games i'm currently playing and enjoy, and will be relatively well priced. But it's an unbreakable cycle that i keep getting into. Anyone else feel like this?

I feel like that with all my current hardware. I keep waiting for prices to come down and they do but then something new is released so I wait a little longer. At some point you just need to bite the bullet.
 
Nice laptop! I wonder how it will compare to alienware? It's nice to have portable gaming system for sure, but I agree with what most others say though. laptops purchases probably aren't the best long term solution for gaming. especially since laptops are more difficult to upgrade
 
Subwoofer? Now I know that MSI laptops have great potential. Although not being an avid gamer, I could see this laptop as a workable unit for an avid gamer. Seems powerful, nice and thin. Perfect for on-the-go gaming. :)
 
I guess this computer is for people interested in on the go gaming while having a single powerful system. Most people can get this performance for half the price on a desktop...
 
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