MSI Computer Corp. Notebook Computer GE60 0NC-006US;9S7-16GA11-006 15.6-Inch Laptop

Was in the market for a new laptop. I did not want to spend much over $1000 and I wanted between 15 and 16″ screen size like my previous laptop, with a resolution of at least 1920×1080. I also wanted to be able to play games on it while I have downtime at work or between college classes, or otherwise away from my desktop, and this laptop fit the bill! It uses the latest series (2012) Gtx650m nVidia graphics card which performs very well for a laptop in this price range. It has no problem maxing out GW2 at comfortable FPS and handles Civ 5 and Battlefield at near max as well with no problems. The processor is also very quick, and I am very satisfied with it.

Some negatives to it are the keyboard could use better keys, I am not a fan of the ‘feel’ of them, however the inclusion of a number pad more than makes up for it. One other minor gripe that I won’t fault it for since it’s a completely different feature is that I wish it had a keyboard back light. I did not realize I would miss this until I started using this over my old laptop.

Almost forgot, another con is the battery life, it is horrible, but again, that can be fixed quite easy.

Finally, since I like to end on a positive, the sound of this laptop is impressive (for a laptop) While I may still get desktop speakers if I was using it in the same location all day, this is the best sounding sound I have ever heard out of a laptop.

This product was a great deal for the price. As a gaming laptop, or a laptop in general, this item is amazing. By taking a look at its price and the specs, you’d expect much higher price from a laptop. THis item is great for those who are considering expensive laptops like Alienware. The speakers are amazing, the display gorgeous, function keys for the fan is also very helpful, and the keyboard is also fairly decent.

I got my MSI ge60 only two days. I bought this laptop from Amazon when it have a rebate event. It cost me about $930.
Nothing is prefect in this world. Itz a very good laptop, but still have some downside.
The windows rating is:
7.6
7.6
7.2
7.2
5.9
I get this rating after I set the graphic card use GT650m only from Nvidia panel. I did not download any nvidia drivers yet. After you change the HDD, you can got all 7. For this price, what u want for more?

Buy it if u are a low key person, and likes play some new games. u like watch full HD movies, edit your pictures and watch Youtube without any lags. Or u need a powerful laptop can easy to carry around.

Don’t buy it if, you have mysophobia. This thing can easy leave fingerprints, must clean very often. Or u have very good taste, u want something beautiful to show others.

Cons so far about this laptop:

1. overall build quality is just soso. cheap feel. The bottom of the laptop can make some plastic noise if u press it harder. the same with the CD driver area.

2. fingerprints. but most same level other brand laptops leave fingerprints too..so

3. touchpad is soso.. when I scrolling use the touchpad, I feel bad compare with my macbook pro.

4. the S-Bar software is stupid… who the hell will run it all the time ?

5. The screen is made by LG in 2009….WTH . such a old screen.

6. The blue color indicator light on the front of laptop is too bright..no reason made something like this.

Pros:

1. Gt650m 2GB ddr5 runs game very good. I play world of tank in 1920*1080. all set on high, and get 60-70 fps.

2. very quiet compare my old HP laptop. If u just do some normal task..you cant hear anything, when play games, its still quiet compare with others.

3. Heat. Itz the most important reason that I choose this laptop… doing normal task, the cpu temp stays at 45-50 C. Graphic card and HDD temp at about 30-35C. When u play games, the cpu temp is rarely over 80C. You can not feel any heat from your keyboard. The fan did best job on this laptop.

4. Audio.. just wow….the THX trustudio pro is amazing. 4 speakers bring you to heaven. You should try this by yourself.

5. The screen is old, but is still the middle level full HD screen in the market. It is a TN, Matta screen. Itz good enough for me. I did not find any dead pixels on mine.

6. very light.( thatz why the build quality is just soso)“

7. I like the keyboard so far.

8. I like the power connection at the left side of laptop..so when I use my mouse. It wont disturb my mouse line..

9. Easy clean fan dust. This is important. Im lasy, I want something can easy open it, This laptop is very easy to open, and u can see the fan when you open the bottom.

so far I can only think those pros and cons. I will update more later. thx

I had previously purchased the top of the line MSI GT783 which is a beast of a machine. A few months later the next generation of Nvidia cards came out with the Kepler GPU and my girlfriend’s laptop died. I was looking for a reasonably priced gaming laptop to get her as a gift. I came across the MSI GE60 which has the new Nvidia GTX 650M. I bought it for her and set everything up. I have to admit after working with it, installing all the software and games, this machine is almost as good as my more than 2.5 x more expensive GT783 and runs the games as good if not better with the new Kepler GPU.

I now wish I had bought two of the GE60′s and actually saved a grip!

Highly recommend this laptop for anyone looking to game on the go. (NOTE: this is a gaming laptop, so don’t expect long battery life out of it unless you really tweak the system services and settings).

Summary: I wanted something that was going to be able to play games for at least a yr. to 2. Also, something I could upgrade continuously. This comp. allowed me to do that. Some people might be turned off by the screen size for gaming, but that is left up to the individual. I wanted something small, because I need something small to travel with. The resolution for this size is great! I would however recommend getting a laptop cooler for it if your going to game. Because, of its compactness its very easy for this laptop to start heating up quickly, (sorry no heat sink numbers for you, but it is in my opinion not to run this computer while gaming without a laptop cooler.) I enjoy the hot keys that MSi offers with this computer, and plenty of USB for a laptop this size. Also, impressed with the THX sound card that it has!
Again, yes the screen is small but I believe this to be a great Gaming Laptop while being compact and maneuverable.

This laptop is just amazing it requires everything you need!!! especially the HD screen is delicious! i only have one negative point, because I didnt get my charging cable which wasn’t a big deal , because i just replaced it with the one from my old laptop.

I chose this laptop because it had a 1080p screen in a 15" form factor. For me, 15" is reasonably portable, but 17" is just too big. I have no issues carrying this around in a laptop backpack.

I do some gaming on this laptop when I travel, and so far everything is running great. Skyrim is smooth on ultra-high settings.

The RAM is a little weak at only 6gb, but I haven’t had any issues yet, and I see lots of sales on 16gb laptop RAM packs, so I may upgrade to that in the future. I do wish it had an SSD, but for this price I didn’t expect one. Another easy upgrade in the future when I find a good deal.

Overall, highly recommended.

I wanted to replace my Alienware M11XR2 with another machine with NVIDIA Optimus technology and a higher resolution screen. I have had MSI videocards and motherboards in the past and have never had hardware issues with their products so I thought I’d give this laptop a go based off of the specifications and price.

Short note for gamers… I’ve played the following games on it with all graphics options turned up (except antialiasing) at the native resolution (1080P):
Borderlands 1, 2 (on 2, I had to turn PHYSX down to medium to get graphics smooth)
Call of Duty Black Ops
Batman – Arkham City
Just Cause 2
Skyrim
I haven’t used FRAPS to see actual framerates, but I did not experience any framerate dips or stuttering when playing these games. This is my main reason for this machine and I am very satisfied with the game performance.

The screen is great, 1080P with no glare and it gets very bright when you turn up the brightness all of the way.
The keyboard is great and doesn’t feel crowded even with the number pad, I like the feel of the keys when typing and have not had any input issues.

The four speakers can get very loud without distortion and the THX software is great for simulated surround sound!

The case is all plastic and is a fingerprint magnet, but it is solid and keeps the weight down. I have not experience any flexing or creaking plastic when moving it around or using it. I am amazed with how thin and light MSI engineered this thing. Gaming laptop under 6 lbs, and the power adapter isn’t the size of a brick!

The only heat exhaust is on the left side toward the rear, it blows out hot air when gaming for prolonged periods.
The cooling system works great though, it keeps the heat directed towards the exhaust and prevents the whole machine from getting hot.

The new Core I7 processor is very fast and complements the videocard very well.
The 650M GPU runs every game I’ve thrown at it, it seems to run faster than my media PC’s GTX 460!
Again, NVIDIA’s Optimus graphics switching software is awesome! It lets you decide when you use the dedicated graphics processor, and the Intel integrated graphics handle everything non-gaming perfectly.

General Hardware:
Built in WiFi/Bluetooth and Gigabit Ethernet all work flawlessly, my bluetooth mouse setup in seconds and WiFi signal around my house has full signal (my Alienware would lose signal in two of the rooms).
The optical drive works great and the eject button by the screen is well placed.
The 7200 RPM 750 Gig Hard Drive included is plenty fast and doesn’t get hot.
This is my first machine with USB 3.0 and I have 3.0 external drives, it is much faster (4X) than USB 2.0 on my desktop!

Upgrade Options:
Putting the mSata SSD and installing more RAM took less than 5 minutes (once I found the right screw for the mSata SSD). Make sure you contact MSI support and get confirmation prior to taking off the cover before upgrading as there is a Warranty Void sticker covering one of the screws.
I upgraded the memory to 16GB and put a 240GB mSata SSD drive into the vacant slot on the motherboard and reinstalled the system software onto the SSD.
This system was no slouch right out of the box, I just love the 15 second boot times that SSD provides!

I am very pleased with how much computer you can get for under $1000.
I used to buy only ASUS/DELL for gaming systems, but it looks like MSI are on to something.
I’ll definetly be looking at MSI first for my next laptop (which won’t be for quite awhile now

I recommend this system to anyone looking for a gaming/performance laptop at an excellent price!

UPDATE: Oct 17. I installed a Plextor M5S 128GB SSD. The Windows 7 experience rating on the drive is 7.9. This laptop flies and has handled everything I’ve thrown at it. Guild Wars 2 runs at 1920×1080 on max settings with zero slowdown, even in World vs World. The matte screen is great. Keyboard is still great. Loving it.

To give perspective, I am upgrading from an ASUS G50Vt that is about four years old. That one has a Core2 Duo at 2GHz, 1366×768 matte screen, 4GB RAM and a GeForce 9800GS graphics card. The Windows Experience processor ratings were 5.8 and the graphics came in at 6.7. I recently put a Crucial M4 SSD in it that rates a 7.8 (highly recommended for any computer, FYI).

This laptop rates the processor at 7.8, graphics at 6.8(?) and the hard drive at 5.7 (I have an SSD on the way).

I do quite a bit of gaming on the computer.

This laptop is fantastic. The 1920×1080 matte screen is very clear and bright. I have not taken it outside, so I can’t comment on outdoor viewing, but it’s great indoors. I also like the ‘stepping’ that the hot keys do when adjusting brightness. On the ASUS, it seemed that every FN-F4/5 press to dim/brighten the screen changed the screen by 1%. It took forever to adjust brightness. This computer has more deliberate stepping that seems to be around 10% per press.

Gaming wise, I haven’t gotten around to running everything I want yet, but on the highest settings and full resolution, I haven’t seen a slowdown yet. Guild Wars 2 can maybe get a bit of a drop during World v World when there are a million spells exploding at once and player names are all on, but things like League of Legends and Torchlight 2 are perfectly smooth. For you WoW players, I can’t see a reason this laptop would give you any issues.

I’m not sure why both graphics cards are benchmarking the same in Windows Experience (probably because it’s a horrible benchmarking tool). It’s obvious that the 650M with 2GB of DDR5 is FAR FAR superior.

Unlike some other reviews, I REALLY like this keyboard. On the ASUS, pressing the keys (especially in the middle) would make the keyboard flex in. On the MSI, the keyboard is solid. There is absolutely no flex. I type pretty fast and I haven’t haven’t had any missed keys yet (which I would actually get sometimes on the ASUS). I also feel that the trackpad is nice. The button to turn it off is handy, and it’s an actual button. The ASUS has those sensor touch ‘buttons’ that would press if you brushed your hand anywhere near them. I prefer actual buttons, like on the MSI.

The powerbrick is virtually identical to my ASUS. It’s fairly large, in my opinion…barely tolerable if you’re traveling (but still tolerable). At least it’s not like one of the new ASUS chargers that has the speakers in it and is like a 2 liter soda.

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of bloatware. There is far less than I thought there would be. I immediately uninstalled the S-Bar, which was amazingly useless. Think of it like a notification bar on your phone that has the options for turning on/off wifi, bluetooth, etc… It’s just in the way and redundant, especially since you can do everything with FN-hotkey. There were only like two other programs I uninstalled.

Now, the one disappointing feature of this laptop (besides backlit keyboard, but I knew that going in…). The wifi card is a Centrino 135 and it is 150mbps, single channel. It does not support the 5GHz band on wifi. For what is basically a gaming computer, I expected it would have dual channel and maybe be rated at 300mbps. I mean, don’t get me wrong….it still works fine and is fast (enough). But, the ASUS can see the dual channel so I don’t see why they skimped on what is probably a $3 network card.

For the price, the specs and the overall build, I’m happy with the purchase. Now to just get the SSD and install it!

Excellent Laptop, in quality and power. The information of the seller is correct.Glossy Cover – Looks fairly nice but it gets fingerprints & smudges extremely easily, if you are someone who gets bothered by fingerprints then you will spend a lot of time removing them.

I recommend it.