MSI GT60 2PC Dominator Review: A Fast Notebook With Battery Boost

[Crashman]

MSI's new GT60 2PC Dominator outperforms the company's previous-gen GT60 2OC thanks to a new CPU, new GPU, and triple-monitor Surround technology. We compare both configurations, add up the differences, and gauge the effect of Nvidia's Battery Boost.

MSI GT60 2PC Dominator Review: A Fast Notebook With Battery Boost : Read more

 

[blackmagnum]

Cue the " I can build a faster desktop at half the price " argument...

 

[HT]

what about the noise ? This article needs a noise evaluation. The old GT780DX's fan was terrible.

Once burned, twice shy MSI.

 

[danwat1234]

Does Battery Booster allow you have a set FPS goal, like instead of cutting back when the GPU is crunching more than 60FPS, have it cut back once FPS goes beyond 30FPS?

The fan in this laptop is awesome. MSI is the only company I know of that puts a 12 volt fan in their laptop. This single fan can move about 25cfm of air (source; http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gt70-dragon-edition-2-core-i7-4930mx-laptop,3545-5.html)
which may be more air flow than the Asus G750 can supply, who knows.

The CPU in this laptop is socketed and fully supports all the way up to a 4940MX Extreme CPU 3.1/4GHZ and supports overclocking via Intel XTU.
The CPU in the G750 cannot be upgraded so it is just a gaming laptop whereas this can be a workstation laptop.

The screen can tilt back significantly more than the G750 (both the GT60 and GT70 MSI laptops) and weighs less with the same computing hardware.

The 180w AC adapter limitation and the NOS crutch can be annoying if you are fully taxing the extreme CPU and the GPU for long periods of time, it may dip into the battery. Once the battery goes down to 30%, it'll stop sucking from the battery and throttle.
Luckily I don't think NOS ever really activates unless you have an extreme CPU in it and everything fully taxed and may be quite hard to activate since this model isn't the -2PE model with the 880m.

The new MSI GT72 has a 220w AC adapter so I guess they've figured that they need more power headroom).

 

[Plusthinking Iq]

msi still have issues with cooling and noise, a laptop must be silent and cool or its pointless....

 

[Crashman]

what about the noise ? This article needs a noise evaluation. The old GT780DX's fan was terrible.

Once burned, twice shy MSI.

The noise wasn't bad but the room was cool so I was concerned that it might not be realistic for normal users

Does Battery Booster allow you have a set FPS goal, like instead of cutting back when the GPU is crunching more than 60FPS, have it cut back once FPS goes beyond 30FPS?

You can set other FPS targets but I left it at the 30FPS default to get the best battery benefit.

msi still have issues with cooling and noise, a laptop must be silent and cool or its pointless....

Then you're not going to find a notebook you can game on...anywhere.

 

[danwat1234]

msi still have issues with cooling and noise, a laptop must be silent and cool or its pointless....

The only issues I've seen are bad paste jobs from the factory. If it's done right the cooling systems work fine, from my research. What other cooling issues does it have? Thanks

 

[hex2bit]

Why the continued use of mechanical drives? Would not a SSD help with power, speed and cooling?

 

[Plusthinking Iq]

number of fans and heatpipes are a problem

 

[wtfxxxgp]

"Then you're not going to find a notebook you can game on...anywhere."

I LOL'd at this. Well-said Crashman. I don't know how anyone that has ever used a laptop even for light gaming (I'm referring to something as simple as League Of Legends) could say something like "a laptop must be silent and cool or its pointless". The fact is: performance = heat = adequate cooling = noise. The amount of each of these is dependent on the other...as well as the build (obviously), but the confined space in MOBILE COMPUTERS (aka notebooks/laptops) will always be a challenge until technology can convert the effects of energy used into cold, instead of heat.

 

[Crashman]

"Then you're not going to find a notebook you can game on...anywhere."

I LOL'd at this. Well-said Crashman. I don't know how anyone that has ever used a laptop even for light gaming (I'm referring to something as simple as League Of Legends) could say something like "a laptop must be silent and cool or its pointless". The fact is: performance = heat = adequate cooling = noise. The amount of each of these is dependent on the other...as well as the build (obviously), but the confined space in MOBILE COMPUTERS (aka notebooks/laptops) will always be a challenge until technology can convert the effects of energy used into cold, instead of heat.

BTW, I came up with 40-50db at full load. Your mileage may vary.

 

[xenol]

Call me vain, but could they at least design these things so they aren't so fugly? Like those ports on the back how the ethernet and DP ports are offset slightly.

I don't know, I just feel like they gave the design job to a freshman intern.

 

[xenol]

[Double post]

 

[Amdlova]

too heavy to call notebook. maybe mechbook...

 

[gxpbecker]

very nice, my wife has a 1.5 year old MSI GT60 with the 670MX vid card. It runs amazingly cool but the fan can get a bit noisy (like a desktop). It still runs fantastic and she consistently plays ESO with me (high settings low shadows). Lil brother has the GX60? (with the AMD10 and 7890M) that is also a fantastic machine.

 

[HT]

Thanks crashman for the db info, tho 40-50 is a long gap and for my money it's not even close to being quiet at idle when sitting close to it for 8-12hours a day. i've had my gt780 for 2 years and i decided to buy a cheaper lappy just to get some quiet for work/vid/internet. Tinnitus is a real thing, my ears would ring after using it for a while. Protect those ears, they're the only pair you've got !


it's been 3months since i last gamed on it, and i don't miss it. My desktop tower keeps my big cpu & video card super quiet compared to that laptop. all i can say is its been a slice but now i'm looking to get rid of it. i'll miss the backlit keyboard its really usefull in the dark but i'll make due.

Going back to desktop for gaming and using a cheapo lappy for work makes more sense and is much quieter, that's kind of a biggie since i'm on it more than 12hrs a day.

cheers and thanks for a good article,
Smitty

 

[Wisecracker]

It's always good to see new stuff like "battery-boost" but sadly it screams, "We need new battery tech!"

Or, maybe 18-cell batteries.

 

[cobrax5]

The single stick of memory and rotational drive are inexcusable. If they allowed people to upgrade, I'd say it's a great idea as it lets people put in more memory and an SSD for a lower price than the manufacturer would charge. However, it voids your warranty!!

Like many MSI notebooks, this one will only be good if you get it rebranded by a manufacturer who allows upgrades or equips it properly.

 

[danwat1234]

You can upgrade the RAM and hard drive without voiding the warranty. Their aren't any warranty-void sticker to tear off to replace those items, at leas the DIMM slots on the bottom side of the laptop & hard drives/mSATA. You have to break a warranty-void sticker to mess with the CPU though but I have heard in the forums that that doesn't necessarily void the warranty if you check with MSI first, for the purpose of repasting.

 

[dilbert]

I have last year's GT60 2OC 24US, a more balanced option. It has a mSATA SSD + the 1TB HDD, and 12GB of RAM (8+4). It also has a Blu-ray drive. The rest of the specs are the same. It's a fantastic machine, I have nothing to complain about. When I have time to play games for several hours, noise is not an issue, nor temperatures.

 

[Crashman]

You can upgrade the RAM and hard drive without voiding the warranty. Their aren't any warranty-void sticker to tear off to replace those items, at leas the DIMM slots on the bottom side of the laptop & hard drives/mSATA. You have to break a warranty-void sticker to mess with the CPU though but I have heard in the forums that that doesn't necessarily void the warranty if you check with MSI first, for the purpose of repasting.

Take another look at the photos and description, the sticker covers a screw that needs to be removed to get into the notebook from either side.

 

[danwat1234]

What! I see that! Ridiculous. Before (GT60/GT70 2OC 2OD trims) I think there was just a warranty sticker within the laptop to undue the CPU heatsink. I wonder if there are a lot of people complaining about it because indeed with a lot of laptops it's not a big deal to the company, to upgrade the RAM or storage with warranty and this is an enthusiast laptop

 

[agnickolov]

Intel 4800MQ is NOT an upgrade of 4700MQ! Both CPUs were released together last year. The upgraded versions released this year are 4810MQ and 4710MQ:
4700MQ: 2.4 GHz
4710MQ: 2.5 GHz
4800MQ: 2.7 GHz
4810MQ: 2.8 GHz

Therefore, MSI did not upgrade to a newer version of the CPU, they upgraded to the higher model from last year. Which is disappointing. They should have gone for the current 4810MQ model instead, considering the price is the same.

Considering the small price difference between 47xx and 48xx models, it surprises me that gaming notebooks cut corners with the CPU. The performance difference of 300 MHz from the upgrade is very noticeable! At least MSI corrected that deficiency in this new model.

 

[Crashman]

Intel 4800MQ is NOT an upgrade of 4700MQ! Both CPUs were released together last year. The upgraded versions released this year are 4810MQ and 4710MQ:
4700MQ: 2.4 GHz
4710MQ: 2.5 GHz
4800MQ: 2.7 GHz
4810MQ: 2.8 GHz

Therefore, MSI did not upgrade to a newer version of the CPU, they upgraded to the higher model from last year. Which is disappointing. They should have gone for the current 4810MQ model instead, considering the price is the same.

Considering the small price difference between 47xx and 48xx models, it surprises me that gaming notebooks cut corners with the CPU. The performance difference of 300 MHz from the upgrade is very noticeable! At least MSI corrected that deficiency in this new model.

Thanks for that!

 

[sjc1017]

I wish they'd stick a better trackpad on this model with two separate buttons not that horrible rocker-type.