MSI G Series GX60 1AC-021US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Summary of a dozen or more professional reviews: mediocre processor, amazing video card. This thing chews up everything I throw at it, Ultra settings on BF3 and Skyrim at 1080P no problem. Under heavy multitasking with office work (Windows Updates plus several utilities running while I set it up) it does feel a tad slow, the poor AMD CPU just can’t keep up like i5′s and i7′s.

Screen is great, one of the better laptop screens I’ve gotten. Tiny bit of bleeding and uneven backlight, but you get that with most screens unless you pay a LOT more…

Really though, the next cheapest laptop you can get with a 7970 vid card in it starts around 1500, so if you’re on a budget and want gaming, this thing is fantastic. The nVidia alternatives don’t quite pack the punch of the 7970, except for the 680, but those are again a whole price range up from this machine. Everything else around 1200 dollar mark carries 670′s, 675′s, and they’ll all be a bit slower, especially at 1080P.

For the price, it’s really impressive what this laptop can do. I have it hooked up to 2 23" inch Asus VS238, with the MSI in the middle witha coolermaster cooling pad. It is perfect for all of my desktop needs. Throwing in some gaming as well! The CPU is more than enough to play games. Some people seem to have an issue with the AMD CPU. Maybe if you need really CPU intensive software like video coding and whatnot, this CPU is not for you. But for what I do, it is seriously overkill. Microsoft office, displaying graphs, browsing on the internet and editing some images. Some gaming too, say I run a few CPU statistics while playing. Playing Skyrim at max settings, the CPU has a load of around 60-70% most of the time. While the 7970m goes 90-100%. The key is multitasking. If you plan on gaming with this, there will be NO multitasking. Apart from that, the Eyefinity feature works flawlessly. My 2 external monitors are considerably bigger than the 15.6 display, so eyefinity is kind of Awkward. But it runs it like a champ in games that support it natively like Sniper Elite V2. I don’t really see an impact on performance, if any at all, I’m sure it can be compensated by diminishing the draw distances.

The keyboard is a pleasure to type, the speakers are great. And the screen is OK. The touchpad is below average. I don’t like the finish of the button, and also that it is not 2 separate buttons, also that there are no gestures and the such. I mostly use it with a mouse, but keep in mind that the touchpad is generally bad. Also, the construction of the screen housing looks and feels rather cheap around the edges. I also don’t like the finish on the outer shell of the lid. It looks like it’ll scratch easily, and since they added those curved lines, adding something like carbon fiber is somewhat difficult. I might just do it anyway. But I’d rather have a brushed metal finish or at least a smooth and level finish to cover with carbon fiber. There are plenty of USB ports, but they are most likely never enough.

Windows 8 Boots in about 20 seconds. So, I don’t see the need for an SSD anyway. The RAM is not my favorite.. 11 CAS latency, I wish they put in 9 CAS latency. Upgrading to that will cost you ripping the "Warranty Void" sticker and 40 bucks. Or you could go with a 16 Gb 10 CAS latency for 80 bucks. No real need for it, but it would be nice to have.

Overall, I like it very much. A huge bang for your buck. Can’t complain as this much money will get you a mediocre Alienware or Vaio or Macbook. Great for a desktop replacement. Can run up to 4 screens, including the main monitor. As for the durability, the construction seems ok. Except the lid. We’ll see how well it holds up.

Update:

Download the AMD Beta Catalyst Drivers. See comments.
I’m now getting 40-50fps for BF3 on 1080p and Medium Settings.
So I omitted my older comments. This laptop is a beast!

The settings in the Catalyst Control Center need to be changed.
Under the Switchable Graphics Tab, Change Optimal Performance to Maximize Performance.
Optimal performance defaults applications to power savings unless high performance is specifically selected.
Maximize performance defaults to high performance unless power savings is specifically selected.

This laptop has an AMD A10-4600M processor which scores slightly above the Intel i5-2410M in CPU Mark.
Browsing and running desktop applications like Office isn’t as quick as my i5 desktop or i7 laptop.
I returned an i5 Lenovo Y500 running crossfire 650M for this laptop. I had screen tearing and very low frame rates.
That laptop was ridiculously hot and noisy too.

The MSI GX60 has exceeded my expectations. It’s well worth the cost. The engineers did a great job on its design.
The graphics card doesn’t get that hot since the laptop is elevated. It’s also pretty quiet under full load for a gaming laptop.
The touch pad and palm rest stays cool to the touch even when gaming.

The steelseries keyboard is EXCELLENT. It’s a full size keyboard and the number pad does come in handy.
There are some touch buttons just above the keyboard. P1 is a programmable button. This can be tied to pretty much any executable. There is a display off button.
When you press it again though it doesn’t turn back on and you have to move the mouse or press a key.
There is a fan button so if you want to cool your laptop really fast you can spin the fans at a higher RPM. Not sure if it’s the max setting.
There’s an eject button for the blu ray player. It’s a nice touch.

My only gripe is they moved the windows key to the right hand side.
Thus, your alt key is now about one key to the left and it’s just awkward since my thumb has to go under the palm.

A backlight would be nice, but for the money I don’t expect much.
Still, I would be willing to pay a bit more if it were an option.
Hopefully there’s upgradeable keyboards in the future.

The speakers are pretty good. The mini subwoofer isn’t as good as my XPS15, but it comes in handy when listening to music and hearing explosions in game.
The sound card isn’t able to deliver enough power to my headphones. I have an ATH-A700. Bass is still lacking.
UPDATE: Turn off THX Tru Studio Pro settings (power button icon). The crystalizer was ruining my hip hop music lol.

If you like to multitask while gaming it will be a bit slower than you’re used to, but still bearable.
The stutters I’m getting may be just related to Windows 8.

More about the build quality…
1) The display is more matte than reflective, but not completely matte. Still pretty vibrant colors.
It’s kind of flimsy. The top of the laptop including the front and back of the display has this cheap finger-catching plastic.
The screen is about 1 inch higher than usual for most laptops. I like it, but it might take others some getting used to.

2) The bottom portion of the laptop is actually quite sturdy. It has a different plastic material that is much easier to clean.

More about the features…
1) Support for Eyefinity
For Eyefinity you will still need an active display adapter. I have an Accell one miniDisplayPort -> DVI (I will also test this on BF3)

2) Killer NIC (I don’t plan on testing)…It has a Wireless-N (My mistake still 2.4 GHz) adapter.

I decided to purchase this computer for my father, who mostly plays games like the Total War series, civilization, and other military games. I decided to play around with it first/set it up before giving it to him. At first I was a little hesitant because most people seem to hype the fact that it has a fairly modest processor, which bottlenecks the powerful GPU (powerful by laptop standards, but still one of the best available). I did a lot of research before purchasing this computer and I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised.

GAMING:
I have tested several games on it, from the total war series all the way to bioshock infinite and it seems to run all of them almost flawlessly. The only times that I have noticed that the processor is an issue in games is in load screens (takes a bit longer but not by too much), and the occasional slowdown when jumping into a new scene (but that doesn’t last more than a second at most). Now, does the CPU bottleneck the GPU? It does, but like I said its not noticeable. The laptop is still more than capable of playing most games with excellent framerates, providing a smooth gaming experience. However, this is dependent on the game, as some games might be more CPU dependent than others. There’s only a handful of games that are affected by this processor. Another thing that is important is that you have to keep things in context. If you’re a gamer who’s trying to get a good laptop FOR GAMING, and you’re trying to do it on a budget then your options are limited. For the price of this system (I got it for 1,100) your choices boil down to this laptop with a modest CPU/powerful GPU or an intel i7/GTX 660. The 7970 that is on this system blows the 660 out of the water in games. In order to get similar performance to what you would get with this laptop you would have to spend anywhere from $1,500 or more (so that you could get a decent CPU/GPU combination) and even then this still would function competitively. To really beat this laptop in terms of gaming you really gotta shell out some extra money. If you have the money to spend and you think that that is important to you, then by all means step up. However, if you’re trying to keep a budget and your main focus is games then this will get you excellent performance for the price you pay. I mention focus on games because, if you are someone who does a lot of programming, photo/video editing, or other things of that nature then you may require a faster CPU. In this case, you might be better off with a faster CPU. It all boils down to what you’re going to be using it for. However, one upside to this system is that the CPU is pretty low power, so its going to give you better battery life when you’re not gaming, and with light gaming you can simply switch it to the onboard GPU (which is better than anything intel is offering at the moment).

EVERYDAY USE:
As far as everyday use goes, this laptop runs pretty smooth. It’s great for every day tasks like web browsing, apps, office work, etc. The keyboard is fantastic and will be great for anyone who does a lot of writing, spreadsheets, presentations, etc. At first, I was a little hesitant about Windows 8 but after playing around with it, it doesn’t seem too bad. It’s something that I think takes some getting used to but it doesn’t take away from the windows experience and it offers quite a bit of customization. It also boots up quickly, and shuts down quickly. This is a plus because I hate waiting around for a laptop to shut down.

SCREEN:
The screen is pretty nice for a budget gaming laptop such as this. The colors are bright and vivid, and it offers excellent performance in games, movies, and every day usage. I think 15.6" is a pretty good size for everyday use, and if you need something bigger you can always hook up a monitor or TV to it.

SOUND:
I used to be one of those people that could never understand why audiophiles get so pumped up about having a great sound system. While I don’t know if this is up to audiophile standards, its definitely a surprise for me. The sound is much more crisp than what I’m used to and it can definitely pack a punch, volume wise. This is in contrast to many laptops that come with really mediocre speakers that can barely be heard. So far its been great to listen to music on this, play games, and watch movies.

TRACKPAD:
This is the one area where I think the laptop falls short. The track pad, while nice looking, offers a fair amount of friction. This makes it so that you have to push a little bit harder than you might on other laptops. The same goes for the mouse buttons, they offer quite a bit of resistance. This might be a benefit to some, and I won’t take eggs off of because it’s not that big of a deal. Plus, you can always hook up your favorite mouse to this, as I imagine most gamers would.

SIZE:
This may be a con to some people, but its also something you have to keep in context. It is heftier than other laptops on the market, though still very portable. It really has to be this way because there has to be enough room for the components and proper airflow.

BATTERY LIFE:
I haven’t gotten a chance to test out the battery life yet, and I’m planning to update this review one I do. However, as I mentioned earlier, I feel that it will have better battery life than your typical gaming laptop (as long as you’re not gaming or doing heavy work that is).

That’s about all I have to say about this product so far. I will update it in the future, most likely, and I’ll add whatever input my father gives me while he is using it. I also realize that there is a refresh of this product coming out with a slightly updated processor. That being said, my experience with this laptop has been good enough so far that I believe that purchasing the refreshed product will be a good buy.

I don’t think I’m allowed to link for reviews but just keep in mind that there are some good reviews out there that you can also look at.

For people who want to play their favorite triple-A games (e.g. , like Skyrim) on the go, this computer is for you. Also great for hooking up to an HDTV, which turns it into a game console. I have it running all my games at 60 fps and 1080p, all on high or better LOD, including Skyrim, Diablo 3, Tomb Raider, Darksiders 2, Dirt 3, and Starcraft 2. The 13.1 Catalyst drivers from AMD really seem to do the trick.

Also, though reviewers noted it’s relatively modest Windows performance, I haven’t noticed an issue with it. It’s plenty fast for my uses: Office, Java programming, and photo editing. The 750 GB HDD runs at 7200 rpm, giving the machine excellent I/O performance for a laptop. Feel free to install an SSD if you’d like, but personally I haven’t had performance problems with what the computer shipped with.

With a generous 8 GB of RAM, even most power users will be set for a long time to come. Also, the matte screen is excellent, with crisp text, rich colors, and respectable viewing angles. And being able to play Blu-Rays on the go is fabulous. Best value under $1500.

This GX60 is by far better than what I expected at the $1200 range for an entry level gametop (I just made that up… copy right)

As others have said, this is an entry level gamer’s laptop and it doesn’t disappoint there. Most new games, it does not get 60+ FPS on 1080P and ultra settings, but it will get 60+ FPS on 1080P and high settings. You will have to play around with the games video settings to get it perfect, but expect it to be somewhere between high and ultra/highest.

At this price, you will sacrifice some raw CPU power for more GPU. But the biggest thing that is holding back this laptop is the 7200 RPM Hard drive. Upgrade that first and you will get a little better performance.

This is made for more of a gamer than a desktop power user. A lot of heavy processes will slow down this laptop (like playing iTunes while converting old lost-but-recently-found CDs, browsing the internet, downloading and installing updates, moving files from another PC and photo-shopping while you are waiting for a 20+ GB zip file to extract (yup that was how my first hour went). Again when looking at the performance, the hard drive is just too slow – at 100% usage while everything else is below.

I have also notice that this laptop has some of the best WiFi connection speeds I have seen. On my home internet, it is a 6 Mbps speed and I get 6 Mbps consistently for hours (days?). At work I have seen over 32 Mbps. Other desktops and laptops on my same network will not get that good of speeds even if they are on the network by itself.

Pros

1. Great mobile gaming for price
2. great GPU
3. eyefinity (great multi-display)
4. Additional HD bay
5. WiFi connection is rock solid (its good enough that it makes me too lazy to plug in the network cord… apparently it has a Killer NIC for lower than normal latency)
6. Sound ports for at least 5.1 speakers (sorry that’s all I have; it could do better)
7. Makes games look better than the console versions aka Skyrim, Fallout, etc…
8. HDMI port
9. On board speakers are better than expect (obviously not better than external, but you get my point)

Cons

1. HD speed is really holding this laptop back(but you can always upgrade to SSD )
2. Windows 8
3. Touch pad (its not horrible, it’s ok when you don’t want to use a mouse)
4. on board camera (I personally don’ care, but it’s really not that great of a picture)
5. battery life (again I personally don’t care because mine is always plugged in to something)

Other Stuff Worth Saying

A couple things if you decide to buy this laptop:

When you first get it, you need to do a GPU drivers update (update the graphics card, silly). The first drivers that came with this laptop did not work that well at all. Some games didn’t let the laptop use its full power (this laptop has two GPU processors in it. The simple explanation is that one chip is for saving battery life and another chip for gaming). With out the new drivers, some games only recognize the chip for saving the battery life. Because of this, a lot of early bench marks rated this GPU/laptop a little(alot-ish? that’s a word, right?) lower than it deserves.

Another thing is when you have updated, change the power settings to use full power when plugged in. This will also help the system choose the right GPU settings for you (but everyone should really update all drivers anyway when buying a new computer).

People have said that you can’t overclock the CPU. I have not even looked at the BIOS but that is the rumor (I mean, the internet wouldn’t lie to me, the internet said so).

Also my biggest complaint about this laptop has nothing to do with MSi or any thing like that.

It is…

wait for it…

Windows 8.

I do overall like it after making some… personal… upgrades to windows 8, but somethings could have been designed or planed better, like: Laptop comes with Blue Ray and DVD player (yay!), windows 8 does not have software for either (boo!). You have to buy it. Or part of it. From third parties (read it will cost you more money and they will send you annoying spam emails).

What I mean is that this laptop does come with PowerDVD, and that will let you play DVDs (make sure you up date this software from the GSi website. Chances are you have a version that gives you an error message and won’t let you use it. DO NOT REMOVE THE SOFTWARE, just update it or you might not be able to install the working version update).
You can always upgrade your PowerDVD for like $50+ but still, I believe no one should have to do that. Not GSi’s fault, but Windows 8 and the movie industries fault (or PowerDVD for charging money).

Also Windows 8 loves to install updates when I am gaming and sometimes causes the game to crash!! <-- my sad face

Again, I really like this laptop, enough to only let one of my friends buy it so we can make fun of other people who spent more money and got less, or people who spent less money and still got less (I joke, I joke, but seriously the laptop is awesome for the price. buy it.)

This laptop does exactly what one would expect from it. It isn’t a high end gaming machine that will pump 60+fps at 1080p in ultra settings, but it will offer a great experience on medium/high settings at 30-45fps on even the most demanding games, like Crysis 3 and Far Cry 3. CPU can bottleneck, but that’s what you get for a budget gaming machine. An Intel i7 paired with a 7970m would probably cost an extra 300$, and this is really where the GX60 shines. It’s all about the cost to value ratio. If you have 1500$+ to spend, then go ahead and get an i7, otherwise, grab a GX60. You won’t regret it.