link1313's MSI GE60 Review

[link1313]

Table of Contents:

i) Introduction
ii) Ranking
iii) Specifications
iv) Photos/Pictures
v) Where purchased
vi) First impressions
vii) Build and design
viii) Ports and features
ix) Speakers
x) Keyboard
xi) Touchpad
xii) Hard Drive
xiii) Screen
xiv) Heat & Noise
xv) Battery
xvi) Benchmarks
xvii) Conclusion/Recommendations

i) - Introduction:

MSI heralds the GE60 as being “Slim and light” and “the most powerful and boast the best display performance of any gaming laptops in history”.

I would classify the GE60 as being “slim and light” in comparison to most gaming laptops on the market and while it most certainly isn’t “the most powerful...of any gaming laptop in history”, the Nvidia 650M 2GB GDDR5 it is equipped with can certainly handle most modern games at high settings.

If I had to place this notebook into a “notebook class” it would best be described as a “light high definition mid-range gaming notebook”. Other competitors in this class are:

1) HP DV6T
2) Sager NP6165 (or Clevo W150ERQ)
3) Lenovo Y580
4) Asus N56VZ

I looked into this laptop and the above competitors and found that the GE60 was the best fit for me.

ii) – Ranking:

For this review I will be using the following to grade the various aspects of this laptop:

5 - Excellent
4 - Above Average
3 - Average
2 - Below Average
1 - Poor

iii) – Specifications:

• Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
• Memory 6gb DDR3-1333, support up to 8GB
• Display 15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) LED backlight
• Graphics Nvidia GeForce GT 650M / 2GB GDDR5
• I/O USB 3.0, VGA, HDMI, LAN
• Hard Disk Drive Crucial M4 128gb ssd (self – upgraded from 750gb 7200rpm HDD)
• Optical Disk Drive DVD Super Multi Combo
• Interfaces SD(HC/XC)/MMC/MS(PRP)/xD
• Sound 4 speakers - THX TruStudio Pro - MSI Audio Boost
• Communication 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0
• Webcam HD webcam (30fps@ 720p)
• Battery 6 cells 49Wh
• Dimension (WxDxH) 383 x 249.5 x 37.6~32.3mm
• Weight 2.5Kg or 5.28 pounds (w/ Battery)
• Other Features Keyboard by SteelSeries, TDE (Turbo Drive Engine), Cooler Boost.

iv) – Photos/Pictures:

Here is where I will give GentechPC (Ken?) credit for creating an excellent video of the GE60. I feel like I don’t need to take pictures of externals/internals in this review because it is all covered in this video:

JsVkNL5TRa0

v) – Where purchased:

Typically MSI notebooks are not available for purchase at your local retail outlets (i.e. Best Buy, Office Depot, Fry’s, etc). They are only available through online resellers. MSI ships barebones laptops to the resellers and buyers can further customize components of the laptop such as purchasing an upgraded display, cpu, memory, hard drive, etc through these online resellers. Popular online resellers on these forums are GentechPC and XoticPC. I recommend calling each reseller before ordering to inquire about student/military discounts or if you have additional questions.

I purchased my notebook from newegg.ca for $1,149 + $9.99 shipping and handling on May 23rd. I was a little disappointed that my laptop took exactly seven business days, including weekend non-business days, to arrive at my door when the website advertised 1-4 business days shipping. Other than that everything went smoothly with the purchasing of the laptop.

vi) – First Impressions:

The laptop arrived in a black box adorned with multiple MSI “Turbo Gaming” badges, which is basically a red shield with a silver dragon on it. Overlooking MSI’s lavish marketing on the box, the laptop was actually quite secure within it so you won’t have to worry about it getting any bumps or bruises on its way over from China.

Contained within the box is:
1) Laptop
2) User Manual
3) “Getting Started” foldout
4) Windows 7 Home Premium Booklet (no CD however)
5) MSI Utility/Driver Disc (DO NOT LOSE THIS)
6) Power brick (IKAS-V wanted to know the dimensions: (15cm wide x 6cm wide x 3cm high)

An important thing to note is there is a sticker on the bottom of the laptop that says “Warranty voided if opened”. There is a screw underneath this sticker, do not attempt to frustrate yourself thinking you’ve removed all the screws to the under panel (CPU/GPU area) only to find there is a screw under this sticker.

vii) – Build and Design:

4 – Above Average

The entire chassis of this laptop is made out of plastic. The underside of the laptop is made of hard plastic while the top side, where the keyboard is located, and the screen bezel is made of glossy plastic. For the past four years I have been using a Clevo M860TU which is made from brushed metal and I have to admit I was nervous buying a laptop was made entirely of plastic. In fact I was a little disappointed MSI decided not to make the GE series more like the top of the line GT series which is constructed out of a mix of hard plastic and brushed aluminum. However the GT60 weighs in at 7.7 pounds so the plastic build on the GE60 helps to keep weight down.

On other plastic laptops I have handled in the past, such as the Sony Vaio F series, I could push in certain areas with my thumb which would cause the plastic to bend. This is not the case at all on the GE60, the build quality of the laptop is quite good. It feels sturdy when you pick it up and put it down so it should not be a problem to take to class/work.

The screen bezel only flexed less than 1cm when I tried to bend it. Pushing from behind the screen with my thumb did not cause any distortion on my display. Overall the screen is well protected. It takes two hands to open up the screen bezel from closed position. Beware the lid is a fingerprint magnet.

In regards to the two red racing stripes on the display lid the pictures on advertisements make it look a lot worse than it actually is. They are actually invisible unless there is light in the room shining directly on them.

One minor quam I have with the build quality is how the CD drive is integrated into the chassis. There is an area exactly 1.5cm wide on the underside of the laptop near the right that is not hard plastic but rather the plastic of the CD drive. When I pick up the laptop with the tips of my fingers the CD drive moves up a couple millimetres and returns to position when I put it down. It is nothing major but this could have easily been avoided by smarter design.

I am going to rate the build and design quality at above average. It is definitely on a higher level than consumer laptops such as the Sony Vaio F series and HP dv6 series but it is not nearly as good as my HP Probook or the Clevo 860TU.

viii) - Ports and Features:

GentechPC youtube video in section iv) explains these:







ix) – Speakers:

4 – Above Average

The GE60 incorporates 4 speakers within its chassis. Two are located on the top of the laptop just above the keyboard and the other two are located on the underside of the laptop near the front.

The sound produced by these speakers is the best I have ever heard in a laptop. Wow, just wow. I am blown away. They even have a decent amount of bass.

I want to keep this review as objective as possible so I will put in the disclaimer that I am used to a Clevo/Sager laptop which are NOTORIOUS for having bad speakers.

I can put on this song (No Church In The Wild - YouTube) and hear it from all way downstairs while my laptop is sitting upstairs in my room.

It is important to note that these are “Theater Class” branded speaker and not the Dynacare branded speakers found in the MSI GT series laptops.

x) – Keyboard:

5 - Excellent (my experience)

Something the GT and GE series class notebooks have in common is they both have a Steelseries branded keyboard. However the keyboard in the GE60 is not backlit. The keyboard is an “island style “chiclet” keyboard meaning each key has its own individual location which helps to avoid pressing multiple keys by accident.

I attempted to find keyboard flex by pushing my thumb down hard on every key. The keyboard did not flex at all which is quite impressive as almost every other laptop I have used has some sort of keyboard flex.

The keys themselves have just the right amount of response. They are “short stroke” meaning you do not have to press down very far to register a response. Despite being short they make a “click” sound which isn’t loud at all but lets you know your typing is registered. You could easily take this laptop to a library and not disturb anyone.

Some may rate the keyboard as only above average because it is not backlit but from a typing/keyboard flex perspective this is by far the best keyboard I have ever used on a laptop.

(!!!) Other NBR users have found the keyboard less comfortable to use and have experienced unregistered keystrokes and have generally not favored the keyboard in an office environment. Whether it is a learning curve issue, ergonomic issue, or design flaw on the laptop remains to be seen. I personally do not experience unregistered keystrokes and was rating this keyboard after a week of getting used to it.

xi) – Touchpad:

2 – Below Average

The touchpad left and right click is incorporated into a single “rocker button”, that is 7.5cm long. If you press the left side of it from 0cm to 3cm into it you will get a “left click” response. If you try to press from 3cm to 4.5cm it will not push down. If you press from 4.5cm to 7.5cm you will get a “right click” response. The clicking noise is a quiet and low-pitched so it will not disturb anyone around you. I am worried about the durability of the button because I have seen cases (Gateway laptops) where the rocker button has “rocked” to far to either the right or left side and gets stuck.

The touchpad itself is made of the same glossy plastic as the rest of the laptop however there are lots of tiny circular bumps on it so you can register you are using the touchpad. The tiny circular bumps give it a rough texture. It is slightly indented into the chassis. The sensitivity of the touchpad movement is fine overall, however I found the "tapping left click" to be too sensitive, I used the software to disable the tapping feature and I use the button for left/right clicks.

It is important to note the touchpad is exactly 11cm from the left side of the chassis. The average palm needs around 8cm – 9cm to comfortably rest so this laptop offers ample room. I am happy they did not make it like my HP probook for work which only has 6cm between the left side of the chassis and the touchpad (accidently moving your mouse while typing is NOT fun).

There is also a button just to the top left of the touchpad that you can press to disable/enable it. Nice touch MSI....Still a below average quality touchpad though.

xii) –Hard Drive:

3 - Average

I replaced the stock 750gb HDD with a Crucial M4 128gb solid state drive. The hard drive is located under the left palm rest. After gaming for a couple hours the hard drive palm rest stays very cool, I do not even notice it. In the GentechPC review (which has the 750gb HDD) the left palm rest reached only 32 degrees Celsius; the average human hand is 33 degrees Celsius.

I am going to give it an average rating because I feel MSI could have included a better stock hard drive, i.e. the Seagate 750gb HDD with hybrid SSD would have been a nicer touch.

xiii) – Screen:

5 - Excellent

This is easily one of the best non-upgraded screens I have seen on a laptop ever, it is only second to the IPS display on my coworkers HP Elitebook. The GE60 is equipped with a 1920x1080 non-glossy (matte) LED display.

I would guesstimate that it is roughly 350nits, it is super bright. Much much brighter than my Clevo M860TU.

The viewing angles are fantastic. No matter where I stand there is no “ghosting” of images on my screen and colours remain vivid. It is completely deserving of the excellent rating I am giving it.

Xiv – Heat & Noise:

4 – Above Average

Please bear in mind I have removed the stock thermal paste and have applied Arctic MX-4 to both CPU and GPU so temperatures may be lower than what you experience.

Also note these tests are without the 'turbo fan' button activated.

When my laptop is idle and I am doing light web surfing I can barely hear that the fan is on. Sometimes it ramps up to audible levels but nothing annoying (a low whooshing sound).





When gaming the fan ramps up. However it does not ramp up to ear deafening levels like my previous M860TU. It is a louder “whoosh” noise but I cannot hear it from the next room. I was overall quite happy with the heat management of this system.



Also as I mentioned in the ‘touchpad’ section the left palm rest remained cool at 32 degrees Celsius.

Xv – Battery:

3 -Average

This laptop contains a 6-cell (59w) battery which is housed at the rear of the laptop. It contains a lock button and can be easily be removed by moving a latch to the left.

I am disappointed MSI could not have fit an 8-cell or 9-cell battery into this laptop but the battery life is quite good, I ran two tests:

40% Brightness , WiFi on, Light web surfing: 4 hours 03 minutes to 2% battery life.

100% Brightnesss, WiFi on, Gaming: 1 hour 55 minutes to 2% battery life.

Xvi – Benchmarks:

*A lot of users have been asking if turbo works with the Nvidia GPU and the CPU isn’t throttled:*

The answer is; Yes it works!!
I tested with Diablo 3. The CPU was running at 3.2GHZ (turbo mode) with 650M enabled through Nvidia control centre and overclocked using MSI afterburner.

3dmark 11:



Hd tune



Pi 1M (Turbo off):



For further gaming benchmarks see notebookcheck.com:
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

Xvii – Conclusion:

4 – Above Average

For users looking for a thin and light gaming laptop and have a budget of $1100-1200 I would highly recommend the MSI GE60.

Pros:

1) Display (brightness/viewing angles)
2) Keyboard (my experience with it)
3) Quiet (keyboard/touchpad/fan noise)
4) Above average build quality
5) Speakers

Cons:

1) Touchpad “Rocker” button
2) CD drive flex under chassis
3) Heat vent close to WASD keys (i.e. don’t put your pinky over the side beside fan by accident!)
4) Fingerprint magnet
5) Overly sensitive touchpad
6) Keyboard not ideal for office work

If anyone would like to see anything else I can add to this review please do not hesitate to let me know.

[kai715]

Ah, finally an in depth review of this machine!

Thanks for the work, much appreciated!

[ComradeNF]

WOW, THANKS!! I have been waiting for a review like this for over a month, you have done it mate!! I really appreciate it .

Now that the battery life is confirmed to not suck (4 hours is great for that 40% wifi on test!), there is only 1 huge flaw with the laptop: warranty will be voided if you remove the back... What the hell MSI... What if the consumer wants to throw an Msata SSD in there or replace the stock HDD? I also wanted to personally repaste my CPU and GPU... Just that tiny flaw is enough to make me stay away from this laptop unless XoticPC can confirm that warranty will not be voided if you open the back.

By the way, if it is not too much work, could you take a picture of the sticker on the bottom? Watching Gentech's video I could not see a warranty sticker on the back of the laptop.

[DaCM]

Great review, thanks a lot. +rep
I have a question regarding the touchpad though. You say that it's below average, but what does that specifically mean? Is it not sensitive enough or is the texture uncomfortable?
Also, the battery can be taken out in a matter of seconds then, right? (I really like the GE60, but I'd need more than 4 hours of battery life so I may end up getting 2 batteries :P)

[ViciousXUSMC]

If you can check the bottom of the laptop to see if you have the connection for the led keyboard that would be nice. I have a video showing how to install it.

[Meaker]

Nah they don't. Totally different motherboard:

[User Review] MSI GE60 - www.hardwarezone.com.sg

[slaxys]

Thanks so much for your review!

Just two questions:
1) Is the heat vent close to the WASD keys on the keyboard facing up, or on the side of the laptop? IS that the primary vent?

2) you mentioned the fans were not that loud even under load. Is that with or without the turbo fan on? If not, how loud was it the turbo fans were activated?

[ComradeNF]

Hey guys, I just wanted to say that I was speaking to Michael of XoticPC today and he assured me that removing the warranty sticker on the bottom of the laptop would NOT void the warranty. It is just their so people who do not know what they are doing do not get tempted.

This is a relief.

[DaCM]

Hey guys, I just wanted to say that I was speaking to Michael of XoticPC today and he assured me that removing the warranty sticker on the bottom of the laptop would NOT void the warranty. It is just their so people who do not know what they are doing do not get tempted.

This is a relief.

That's great, thanks for clearing that up. Anyone knows if the mSATA is SATA III?

[ComradeNF]

That's great, thanks for clearing that up. Anyone knows if the mSATA is SATA III?

I think mSATA is SATA II but I may be wrong. I have NEVER seen an mSATA SSD surpass 300 MB/s read, that's what I am basing my conclusion on (again, I may be wrong). My Crucial M4 gets around 500 MB/s on SATA 3 though (in my Lenovo Z370's HDD port).