MSI G Series GT780DX-406US 17.3-Inch Laptop
- 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 2.2 GHz
- 12 GB SO-DIMM
- 750 GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive
- 17.3-Inch Screen, NVIDIA GeForce GTX570M
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
MSI GT780DX-406US: 17.3″ Anti-glare Full HD Laptop, Core i7-2670QM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX570M/1.5GB GDDR5, 12GB DDR3 RAM, 750GB HDD (7200RPM), DVD SuperMulti Drive ENTER YOUR GAMING MODE – PROGRAMMABLE BACKLIT KEYBOARD MADE JUST FOR GAMERS
More speed. More Power — Armed with the same sleek brushed aluminum exterior and anti-glare screen as its predecessor, it’s meaner and quicker on the inside. The MSI GT780DX-406US packs the latest NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 570M graphics,
List Price: $ 1,549.99
Price: $ 1,524.00
Laptop Case Deals
Acer Aspire AS7739Z-4804 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)
McKleinUSA RIVER WEST 15715 S Series Fly-Through Checkpoint-Friendly
ASUS G74SX-DH71 Full HD 17.3-Inch LED Gaming Laptop
Sony VAIO YB Series VPCYB35KX/P 11.6-Inch Laptop (Pink)
HP g7-1310us (17.3-Inch Screen) Laptop
Case Logic 17.3-Inch Laptop Case (VNCI-217)
McKleinUSA Bronzville 15485 S Series Leather Medium Laptop
McKleinUSA Gold Coast 43185 I Series 17-Inch Full
CaseCrown Double Memory Foam Case (Alligator Hot Pink)
Toshiba Qosmio X775-Q7380 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop – Fusion
Phenomenal laptop in every dimension,
OK, it took me months of searching for a notebook. I started looking for a notebook around August and there were a couple of them that piqued my interest. That list included the Asus G74, Alienware M17x, HP Envy 17, and the Dell XPS 17. I wanted a gaming notebook, but more then that – I wanted a notebook that would be future proof for a couple of years well as my Gateway FX was when I bought it. Knowing this, I know for sure that I made the right choice. I started looking at the MSI GT780DX after I heard these newer core i7 processors were coming out, I chose straight away that the 2670QM was right for me. At that time when I bought this notebook all of the above listed notebooks, except the Alienware had these newer processors. So why did I choose this notebook? GTX 570M at a price that no one else can beat. At the time of this writing, there is no other brand that even offers the GTX 570M as an option. Its 15% quicker then the GTX 560M and not much slower then the GTX 580M, and with the overclock option on this MSI, it’s not that hard to reach this 580M stock speeds.
So when it was finally time to choose I bought this over the G74SX, those were my two final choices and the MSI was more appealing to me. Better audio system, 5 USB vs 4 USB, Matte show vs glossy show, an unbelievable multicolored changing keyboard vs a regular white keyboard, and in my opinion better styling (debatable of course). Not to mention this MSI was only $50 more and what you get in content was worth a lot more then $50, I would argue the multicolored back-lit keyboard alone is worth that price. Also, this comes with a DIRT 3 voucher where you get the game for free. You just scan the code or take a picture of the voucher, and attach it to the online form, and a couple of days later AMD emails you the game key and you download the game (Have not received mine yet).
So OK, on to the notebook lets start with the speakers. The speakers truly are phenomenal, I have known about Dynaudio for quite some time, a lot of Volkswagen cars use this audio system and the speakers are very solid, just like they are in the cars. I listen to all types of music from classic, all the way to Rap/RNB/Country/Rock and have never felt disappointed with the audio, fantastic job here. The keyboard is wonderful, I like the spacing of the keys, it took me only one day to be able to use this keyboard perfectly fine. It really feels like you are typing on a desktop keyboard, anyone should catch on quick. The back-lit keyboard is truly incredible, you can use many different color combinations, and have different types of settings on the back-light. You can have the keyboard breath, wave, dual color mode (the keyboard changes between two different colors), and gaming mode. Gaming mode is intelligent, it only lights the left hand side of the keyboard so the other keys don’t get in your way especially when gaming at night. Another nice thing about the keyboard is they place the windows key on the right side, so you won’t hit it while gaming!
I have run some benchmarks already, 3DMark06 and Crystal Disk Mark. Both have blown me away, I am getting a score of 17500 in 3DMark06 and for Crystal Disk Mark I am getting read and write times at 125! That is very quick for a normal mechanical HDD, I was expecting about 100 read and write but 125 was very unexpected. This notebook comes with a Western Digital Scorpio Black drive which is known to have fantastic performance. I have not run any other benchmarks yet, and have not overclocked the notebook using turbo mode to run benchmarks, I will update the review and add this in. Before I go, I have to add one thing, this notebook like any other notebook on the planet is not perfect. There are two gripes that I have, the first thing I don’t like is the touch button you have to press on top of the keyboard to open the DVD drive, it is not intuitive. I tried to open my DVD drive while I was restarting my computer, and had to wait until windows booted up all the way to open up the disk drive, very annoying. If there was a physical button, it would have been able to open straight away. The second problem I have, is those touch buttons in general. Maybe its just me, but it doesn’t seem responsive, you have to hit it exactly in the middle for it to work, and it’s hard because these button are not lit period! So you have to really look very closely to even see especially at night time. That’s something I hope MSI considers on the next revision of this notebook, give those buttons back lighting so you can really see them without having to place your head against the screen at night. It lights up when that key/feature is activated, but still that is not enough, make it another color when it’s off so people can still know its disabled.
So overall, I have to give it 5 stars. The value, GPU, build quality, keyboard and the speakers are all truly phenomenal for any notebook under 2 grand. My gripes are…
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|Keep Cool Under Load 40c,
The GT780DX stays very Cool under Load, consistently pushing the graphics the GPU temperature never rises beyond 40c. A welcomed changed from previous gaming PC configurations I have owned. You will be able to tell the difference after the first 45 minutes of game play. No noise.
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|Just Gorgeous,
I previously owned a MSI GT735 laptop and was very satisfied with its quality and performance. But, it was aging and I’m one who tends to like the latest technology. After searching new models and reading reviews, I chose to by another MSI, the GT780DX. I did not order mine from Amazon but from an online retailer of gaming laptops. All, I can say is this laptop is just gorgeous. It is built tough, uniquely designed, and performs better than my expectations.
Screen +
Coming from a glare type screen, the matte was a concern before ordering this laptop. I’m very pleased with the matte screen and really like it more than my glare type. The screen on the GT780 is much brighter than on my ancient GT735 so that makes a difference as well. If matte is a concern, don’t fret because it is probably better than what you have.
Keyboard +/-
I had read reviews of keyboard problems with the GT780 series, but I reckon MSI has worked out those bugs from what i have read. I had an issue with the spacebar not working when the bottom left/right were pressed. I went as far as contacting MSI for an RMA to repair. Not wanting to be without the laptop for ten days or more, I attempted my own fix by gently prying up on the spacebar. This seems to have somehow reseated the key and now it works perfectly. May not work for others. Other than that, I’ve had no other issues with my keyboard. It has no flex and keys are simple to press with minimal pressure. The lighting, as you know, is an added benefit and is evenly lit across the board. The lighting is not a bothersome feature. In fact, I forget it’s even there.
Touchpad +
No issues and it works very well but I have seen better. Pleased with its performance and I am very picky about touchpads. I’ve worked on family laptops which had touchpads that were horrible to use. The touchpad buttons are simple to press and they do make a click sound…they are not silent. The pad is hard plastic and not the rubbery, softer pad.
Build +
Very well built machine all around. Feels very solid. Screen hinges have just the right amount of tension. The power brick is huge. I thought my ancient brick was huge, but this one is about an inch wider and longer. I don’t have a ruler nearby but estimated it to be 3″x6.5″x1.25″. One of the features I like about MSI gaming laptops is the rear power connector. This allows me to site anywhere without a power cord stretched across my lap. My ancient laptop’s power adapter had a right angle, where this one is straight. I prefer the angled adapter because it places less tension on the cable. The DVD drive has no eject button. You have to press a button on the S-bar to eject. This is my first machine without a button but so far it has not been an issue for me. I sorta like the s-Bar eject feature over searching for an eject button on the drive.
Sound +
Couldn’t believe my ears. There is a demo which comes with this laptop called Stone Giant. Run it to hear the full effects of this laptop’s sound quality. The program is hard to exit but, so I had to watch the entire show. Run it full resolution. Don’t expect booming base because the laptops just don’t have the speakers capable of such but the clarity is astounding.
Very pleased with this laptop thus far.
Games played with no issues on max settings, (WOW, Ultra settings, obtain 60fps in SW), (Crysis 2, max Settings), (Battlefield 3, max settings). Laptop fans will kick in (they are silent) and blow some warmer air when playing these games on max settings. The laptop has a touch button to increase fan speed to help removing the hot air (noticeable noise of course).
Installed a Samsung 830 series,128GB SSD, . Now getting bootup to Windows login in about 15 seconds. Windows login to desktop is about a second.
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