The Official MSI GT73VR Owners and Discussions Lounge

I was kinda thinking about doing the same thing just to retain it's value if I do end up pulling the trigger and getting one. But that's odd no one reported it. I read several reviews elsewhere that said they started to fade after 3-6 months. I figure most gamers are probably more inclined to use an external mechanical keyboard...

 

See if you can expand your budget slightly higher than $2200.
TBH you do NOT want the HM175 chipset version of the GT73VR. Nor do you want the TERRIBLE 7700HQ version. If you want a laptop to be viable 3 years (since you DO want to game on it), you want the 7820HK version.

You don't want the HM175 version because it does NOT come with the headphone hi-fi sabre dac. The hifi dac DOES improve sound quality considerably (just think of phones that have hi-fi dacs like the Korean version of the LG G6, or I believe their current V30+). The problem is the CM238 version of the GT73VR is discontinued, and unless HID has available stock of it, you won't get Hifi Dac unless you go with GT75VR now. MSI did this on purpose.

I'm aware you have a budget. If you have a budget you also do NOT need to buy a laptop RIGHT NOW this very day. Why not save up a bit more and get the specs that would make you even happier and get you more legs? You can't possibly have anyone believe you can never, ever get another dime saved up for such a big purchase. It's something you expect to last for years, right? Then do it the right way and don't cheap out on components.

I know how much you don't want to open the laptop, but in your case, get the GT75VR + GTX 1070 version. Grab a 256GB SSD+1GB HDD, 32 GB of RAM (get 32 GB or you will regret it; ask HIDevolution to verify that all four RAM Dimms are matching, but decide if you want 2x16GB or 4x8GB (these must match; do not mix Kingston with Hynix and have HID verify this. TRUST ME), then upgrade the SSD in the future when you have more cash.

Then when you decide you want moar powa, you can TDP hardware mod the GTX 1070 from the (stock) 115W to 185-190W safely, repaste with Grizzly Kryonaut, and gain around 15-20% higher performance, which IS noticable in games (with this mod, you can actually exceed the 3dmarks of some lower spec GTX 1080's if you overclock the core and vRAM). Of course you don't HAVE to do it, but as you saw with your previous laptop, eventually you want to push it to extend its viable gaming piower.

 

may be but with 17" screen and considering the weight (along with scary articles how laptop heat can destroy man genital) high possibility of use an external kb

to me this laptop is kind of desktop,how I use it like, I open the lid, press power button and laptop runs straight 10 to 12 hours, external KB, Mouse, 10 ports USB hub connected, day end, shut it down, close the lid.

I second @Falkentyne, wait little more, do not buy right away, highly chances MSI will release new GT series in Jan 2018 with coffee Lake which will bring down the prices of Sky Lake and Kaby Lake models.

@DukeCLR @Atma

what you guys say about keyboard letters fading away, since you guys are also using laptop more than a year

 

any help?

 

Ehh.. I dunno man. $3000 is a lot. That's without an extended warranty.

I could get the same specs with the GT73VR, minus the "audiophile grade audio" for $1000 less. For $2600 I could get the same AND a 3 year warranty through HID. I can't justify $1000 more for better audio + keyboard.

 

You'll notice everyone is suggesting buy the newest release laptop model or wait for an even newer one

"No one" wants to order the "last generation" model, even with current CPU and components. It's in their nature.

With the GT73 you get a "tried and true" model, well past it's production glitches - and it should give you the same performance as a GT75 with the same GPU / CPU. Get a 7820HK model, it's worth it while you own it, and for resale down the road.

Like you said you don't want to buy the newest, you want something with the bugs worked out.

 

Hmscott and I are two different people with two different value systems agendas, but there is no flaw in his advice for what he needs. You, as a normal user, would not be disappointed if you bought the "Current" nerfed GT73VR with HM175, even though you are getting a downgrade (no hifi, downgraded Killer Nic(?), downgraded Killer wifi (unless you choose to buy the Intel 8265 upgrade), however there are "issues" that serious overclockers MIGHT run into on the GTX 1080 version of the HM175 based GT73VR (the GTX 1070 version would never be able to pull enough power):

If you look on MSI's current "global" site (not US.msi.com), you will see the "GT73EVR" system--this is the "nerfed" Gt75VR with HM175 chipset. What you need to notice directly is that there is a different EC fimware for this version. 17A1EMS1.112. Yet the CM238 version uses 17A1EMS1.108. The actual mainboard is identical otherwise (they use the same system Bios). Yet, 17A1EMS1.112 works just fine if you flash it on a CM238 chipset version. So why don't BOTH versions use .112? After all, .112 is newer than .108, right?

Well, first, I do not know if 17A1EMS1.108 will work if flashed on the HM175 chipset version. Most likely it WILL work (hell I flashed the skylake (6820hk version) based 17a1EMS1.105 on the kaby lake version, and that worked, except my CPU was hard capped to 45W TDP, since obviously the kaby lake system ID was not present in that EC), but if you look on MSI's website, one thing you will notice is that there is NO SLI version of the GT73EVR. This means that there is no "460W" power allowance code available in the EC, since, on the CM238 version, the GTX 1070, GTX 1070X2 and GTX 1080 all use the same mainboard and share the same EC version, so there has to be a provision for 460W to be allowed to the system. What I found with 17A1EMS1.112 is, if you exceed 330W of total system AC power draw, the CPU gets hard capped to 800 mhz (as if BD Prochot were triggered on, except there is no BD prochot nor power limit flag being visibly set). It just...sets the CPU to 800 mhz. And it sets it to 800 mhz even if there is barely any load on the CPU to begin with!!

I was able to "mimic" this, even though the most amount of REAL power I was able to draw by force was 315W system (350W from the wall; this has nothing to do with the EVR; I was just trying to see if it was possible for a 185W TDP GTX 1070 to exceed system total power of 330W--it's not, although a stock 1080 + OC CPU+AVX load MIGHT be able to do it), by doing something simple and easy:

Setting (in the unlocked Bios), PSYS PMAX=2700 (translates to 337W), and then putting a simple GPU load on the system like running Valley Benchmark.
BAM: CPU is instantly locked to 800 mhz. At something like PSYS PMAX=2400 (330W), this didn't happen. (Psys Pmax wattage is value divided by 8).

Just to make sure I wasn't seeing things, I tried the exact same thing on 17A1EMS1.108, and even though HWinfo64 reported a rediculous system power draw, the CPU happily ran at full speed.
So clearly it was the EC seeing and acting on a "fake" power draw higher than 330W and cutting power to the CPU.

I would hate for someone to try to TDP hardware mod their GTX 1080 to, let's say, 250W, overclock their 7820HK on the GT73EVR with a high combined load, and then suddenly wonder why their CPU is suddenly at 800 mhz. Even if the CM238 version tries to Power Limit 2 the CPU if you exceed 330W, 45W TDP limit via PL2 is a hell of a lot better than 800mhz.

I don't like to be limited by things if I don't HAVE to be, even if they don't affect me right now. It's very uncomfortable to know there is some giant elephant in the room somewhere.....but that's just me. And that's my opinion. And I live and die by my own choices.

 

I tried 17A1EMS1.112 on my taptop and it causes CPU Throttling, didn't even bother to check the GPU so I went back to .108

 

This. I've had this GT73 for 1 year exactly. This is the longest I've owned a laptop. That should tell j00 enough. My name is Phoenix, some call me, Mr. OCD. so j00 get the picture, if I keep a laptop for a year, it's like a super awesome laptop. Even the Clevo Desktop replacements that I had like hte P870DM and P870DM3 didn't last for more than 6 months then I sold them

MSI Gaming Laptops FTW, this is one company that knows how to make quality laptops backed up by good drivers and BIOS

 

Despite some glitches when I got it, and a few trips to the laptop hospital, My GT73 with the 1070 and 6820HK is still going strong and still runs anything I throw at it. It runs about 11 hours a day 7 days a week without a hiccup.