MSI GX60 Gaming Notebook: Powerful mobile GPU without breaking the bank?

[Julio Franco]

Read the full article at:
[newwindow=https://www.techspot.com/review/632-msi-gx60/]https://www.techspot.com/review/632-msi-gx60/[/newwindow]

Please leave your feedback here.

 

[misor]

Wow, nice price point, nice performance, nice display..
..at the same price level as my Acer with Intel core duo > 6 years ago

However, I prefer an Intel ivy bridge processor over AMD A10.
I agree with Julio's statement:
"sort of potential the GX60 could have had with the right processor."

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Yeah I agree. It's a nice machine even if the A10 processor is a little weak kneed but doing the whole Intel thing is going to make it more expensive. It looks like they are striving for a certain price point & if they achieve that then it's a success.

 

[Arris]

SC2 at 1024x768, Medium Quality 31.7 fps, and 48fps for Farcry 2 isn't very good for a 7970M system. Not going to stay current very long for a portable gaming computer unless they are using discrete daughter board/GPU modules that can be upgraded. Think a larger investment for a higher powered system(read : better processor for gaming) would work out better in the long run. Nice for those that are happy to play at lower quality settings and definitely nice specs at the price point.

Don't think I've ever seen a 640M LE system beating a 7970M regardless of CPU its paired with

 

[havok585]

Arris, Acer has a much lower screen resolution, look it up, + the speed improvement of intel cpu and SC2 being very CPU taxing !

Get Alienware = problem solved !

 

[Twixtea]

That CPU bottlenecks the system.
I think it's cool though MSI is offering different gaming solutions, I mean you can always lay out all your cash and grab the laptop with the 680M + i7 CPU.

 

[Jbucko]

Arris, Acer has a much lower screen resolution, look it up, + the speed improvement of intel cpu and SC2 being very CPU taxing !

Get Alienware = problem solved !

Alienware is not what it use to be.......

 

[Arceles]

That review is plain wrong, the user didn't deactivated crossfire nor set the application to performance mode (this must be done on the catalyst control center, which he didn't mention) those numbers are simply not realistic for a 7970m, considering I get even better results with my 6750m with an A6-3410M.

 

[WaveZero]

There are other MSI gaming notebooks, you guys should check out the GE or GT series. The GE series are way more portable and lightweight while offering a massive performance punch. Check out GentechPC very reputable and good service.

 

[VitalyT]

...a number of benefits such as simultaneous multi-key presses...

I didn't know there were keyboards that didn't allow it. Sounds ridiculous.

 

[misor]

That review is plain wrong, the user didn't deactivated crossfire nor set the application to performance mode (this must be done on the catalyst control center, which he didn't mention) those numbers are simply not realistic for a 7970m, considering I get even better results with my 6750m with an A6-3410M.

Can you provide the details of your own benchmarking?
I usually read techspot, anandtech, and tomshardware for some benchmarks.
(it's nice to know or be informed of some latest results from amd/intel/nvidia)

 

[9Nails]

...a number of benefits such as simultaneous multi-key presses...

I didn't know there were keyboards that didn't allow it. Sounds ridiculous.

http://www.microsoft.com/appliedsciences/AntiGhostingExplained.mspx

Some keyboards have limitations on how many keys can be pressed at one time. Any additional key presses are not registered, this is often referred to as "Ghosting". Some gamers I know are "clickers" and only use WASD for movement, spacebar to jump, and their mouse for most functions. They often don't notice a problem. Others who use both hands on the keyboard may run into ghosting problems. The website above explains this in greater detail.

 

[veLa]

I wouldn't buy this laptop because my current laptop already has a Core i7 and a good enough video card. I just can justify the use of an AMD CPU in a laptop (although I do love them in desktops)

 

[VitalyT]

I wouldn't buy this laptop because my current laptop already has a Core i7 and a good enough video card. I just can justify the use of an AMD CPU in a laptop (although I do love them in desktops)

They seem to come up with their new APU-s fairly quick in the recent times, and they are quite good. And when it comes to the embedded graphics, Intel is miles behind with their HD4000. Even the new HD4600 will still be miles behind AMD alternative.

So, I wouldn't be hasty there

 

[Julio Franco]

That review is plain wrong, the user didn't deactivated crossfire nor set the application to performance mode (this must be done on the catalyst control center, which he didn't mention) those numbers are simply not realistic for a 7970m, considering I get even better results with my 6750m with an A6-3410M.

Arceles, misor
FYI, we have retested to make sure we got things right. We had already tweaked the drivers prior to publishing the review and it all looks solid. That's what we score on the MSI system which is not bad at all, but the 7970M could evidently do better with a more powerful CPU.

 

[Heihachi1337]

Alienware is certainly not what it used to be and a better alternative, go Clevo/Sager.
MSI certainly gives much more bang for your buck over Alienware.
Additionally, the article is a bit incorrect in calling the MSI GX60 a "barebones". Go check out some of the reseller websites that offer the "PowerPro" or "Force" laptops, those are your "barebones" laptops. Barebones is essentially the non-branded, stripped down version of the MSI branded laptop.
This article only covers the GX60, if you want more performance check out the GT60 or GT70 series which offers the GTX 680M graphics card and Intel chipset. Same package as the GX series but it packs more of a punch in performance.

 

[misor]

Julio, I didn't question your methods/testing results.
since arceles doubts the results, I asked him to provide his own benchmarking results.
I am not versed in testing methodologies nor qualified to cast judgments so I always read the results/conclusions...
(hence my opening remarks and the first post of this thread: "Wow, nice price point, nice performance, nice display..")

 

[GeforcerFX]

Wow, a $1400 laptop from late 2012 that scores the same scores in 3dmark vantage and 3dmark06 as my precision m6500 from 2009, that I paid $1200. How does weighing 7.7lbs and only having a 15.6" screen is beyond me.

 

[misor]

@geforcefx, I can't find the display resolution for your precision m6500 from dell.

from another site http://www.notebookcheck.net/Hands-On-Dell-Precision-M6500-Workstation.23070.0.html:
The Precision M6500 is particularly designed for CAD and CAM users, who need a big desktop. So, Dell offers three different display models in WUXGA resolution and only one WXGA+ screen with a resolution of 1440x900 pixel as alternative.

perhaps, the difference in pricing could be attributed to native resolution of 1920x1080 for msi gx60.

 

[GeforcerFX]

@geforcefx, I can't find the display resolution for your precision m6500 from dell.

from another site http://www.notebookcheck.net/Hands-On-Dell-Precision-M6500-Workstation.23070.0.html:
The Precision M6500 is particularly designed for CAD and CAM users, who need a big desktop. So, Dell offers three different display models in WUXGA resolution and only one WXGA+ screen with a resolution of 1440x900 pixel as alternative.

perhaps, the difference in pricing could be attributed to native resolution of 1920x1080 for msi gx60.

the precision m6400, m6500 and m6600 all were 16:10 and offered a 1440x900 screen and two different 1920 x 1200 screens (one being ultra awesome or something) I did start with the 1440 x 900 screen back then, but bought a 1920 x 1200 screen last summer for $120. but I did have 2 hard drives( one being a 64gb SSD) a core i7 and only the quadro FX 2800m, if I had gone with the mid level screen at 1920 x 1200 back then I would have paid around $1400-$1500, but shouldn't a computer from 2012 beat a computer from 2009 at the same price point? that's all I was implying, 3 years difference and same scores in benchmarks, guess there's just no value in the MSI for me, but others looking for a decent 15" gaming rig might like it.

 

[Arris]

Alienware is certainly not what it used to be and a better alternative, go Clevo/Sager.
MSI certainly gives much more bang for your buck over Alienware.
Additionally, the article is a bit incorrect in calling the MSI GX60 a "barebones". Go check out some of the reseller websites that offer the "PowerPro" or "Force" laptops, those are your "barebones" laptops. Barebones is essentially the non-branded, stripped down version of the MSI branded laptop.
This article only covers the GX60, if you want more performance check out the GT60 or GT70 series which offers the GTX 680M graphics card and Intel chipset. Same package as the GX series but it packs more of a punch in performance.

Yup, Clevo based laptop is the way I went, but in the end not with a 7970M, but the benchmarks with that and an i5/7 were far beyond the results of that MSI unit. AMD are stuck with great "APU" products for general use and great GPUs, but not reaping the benefits of the GPUs when pairing them with the APUs.

 

[misor]

Alienware is certainly not what it used to be and a better alternative, go Clevo/Sager.
MSI certainly gives much more bang for your buck over Alienware.
Additionally, the article is a bit incorrect in calling the MSI GX60 a "barebones". Go check out some of the reseller websites that offer the "PowerPro" or "Force" laptops, those are your "barebones" laptops. Barebones is essentially the non-branded, stripped down version of the MSI branded laptop.
This article only covers the GX60, if you want more performance check out the GT60 or GT70 series which offers the GTX 680M graphics card and Intel chipset. Same package as the GX series but it packs more of a punch in performance.

Yup, Clevo based laptop is the way I went, but in the end not with a 7970M, but the benchmarks with that and an i5/7 were far beyond the results of that MSI unit. AMD are stuck with great "APU" products for general use and great GPUs, but not reaping the benefits of the GPUs when pairing them with the APUs.

Arris, can you clarify the statement "not reaping the benefits of the GPUs when pairing them with the APUs"?
I thought amd processors can do hybrid crossfire if paired with amd discrete gpus?

 

[Arris]

Arris, can you clarify the statement "not reaping the benefits of the GPUs when pairing them with the APUs"?
I thought amd processors can do hybrid crossfire if paired with amd discrete gpus?

Possibly but even so, desktop CPU/APUs from AMD are shown to perform poorer than Intel i5/7s paired with AMD or Nvidia cards. I wouldn't think that would be any different for mobile processors. Haven't seen any benchmarks of the hybrid crossfire (although crossfire used to run the GPUs at the lower spec GPUs level so if that is still the case I'm not sure how beneficial that would be to a system with a 7970M in it). Might give lesser non gaming focussed models a boost though.

 

[GeforcerFX]

Arris, can you clarify the statement "not reaping the benefits of the GPUs when pairing them with the APUs"?
I thought amd processors can do hybrid crossfire if paired with amd discrete gpus?

If I remember correctly the highest end card that can be crossfired with the APU's is the 7670m, which also seems to be the only card that most companies put in with the APU's. But Crossfiring a APU with a discrete card is hybrid crossfire and not just normal crossfire, hybrid crossfire is supposed to be asymmetrical so the performance (if drivers are working well) is just supposed to improve, so basically the 7670m uses the APU's graphics to help it but without hurting it's baseline performance.

 

[veLa]

So, I wouldn't be hasty there

My laptop doesn't use integrated graphics, it has dedicated and high powered GeForce.