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2016+ Gaming Laptop Thread: Embracing Pascal's Wafer (Please Read OP)

K

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Doesn't seem like the new MSI line has fully rolled out on Amazon yet. I'm sure they'll have every SKU on their store, sooner than later.

shockdude said:
Now that Pascal's finally arrived for laptops, should we rename the thread?
"GTX 1080 on the go" or something more clever.
Click to expand...

I'm taking suggestions. What do you think of....

"After 9 Months, Pascal Delivered"
 
S

SwiftDeath

Member
fluffydelusions said:
Any reviews for that 14" MSI with 1060. Really leaning towards that one unless someone can convince me otherwise for something around that price point lol.
Click to expand...

Not with the 1060 refresh but here's an indepth review of the previous sku for reference

midasmulligan said:
Do I need more than a m.2 256gb pcie and 1TB 7200 storage?
Click to expand...

Hypothetically if you were to watch adult entertainment, would you stream it or download it?

I mean to say, do you believe you'll have much video content saved/downloaded onto your laptop as well? Games these days can be quite large but as they're 20+ hrs of entertainment I think a lot of people can run with only having 2 or 3 installed at a time.

Videos can take up massive space just from how many you can accumulate. I ripped some of my blu ray collection for digital consumption and did not heed the warnings of how size hungry raw blu ray rips are.

You can make that combo you suggested work though. It's all about how much effort you want to put into managing your HDD space etc.

FerretGamer said:
Is Amazon selling the MSI configuration from Best Buy's website for $1549? I can't find it on Amazon and the cheapest 15.6" model they have is the one with a 512gb SSD for $1699.
Click to expand...

Does not appear to be for that specific config, seems to only have that on the 14" model
 
F

fluffydelusions

Member
Got the Shakes said:
I searched earlier and Best Buy was the only place that I could find it for sale. It is definitely a machine I'm adding to the list of possible purchases for myself. Only thing I don't like is that it doesn't seem to be a GSYNC monitor, unless I missed it in the specs.
Click to expand...

B&H has it as well
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...vr_phantom_pro_006_14_gs43vr_phantom_pro.html

Man I feel like pulling the trigger but going to sell my current laptop first. Funny thing is this laptop (ASUS g751j w/ 970m) plays everything perfectly for me lol. Never ran into an issue with any game not playing great. Just need the new hotness haha.
 
A

Admiral Woofington

Member
that's strange.

The same laptop I ordered already says it's ready to ship from both Xotic PC and from the other guy as well. From Amazon, so I can use prime, it still says 'pre-order'

did anyone already have their computer get shipped out?
 
G

Got the Shakes

Member
fluffydelusions said:
B&H has it as well
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...vr_phantom_pro_006_14_gs43vr_phantom_pro.html

Man I feel like pulling the trigger but going to sell my current laptop first. Funny thing is this laptop (ASUS g751j w/ 970m) plays everything perfectly for me lol. Never ran into an issue with any game not playing great. Just need the new hotness haha.
Click to expand...

That's a different one. The one from Best Buy is a 15" Stealth Pro.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-15-...D=1&siteID=je6NUbpObpQ-1aakua156.11b2F5nNq4Pw
 
A

Admiral Woofington

Member
Got the Shakes said:
That's a different one. The one from Best Buy is a 15" Stealth Pro.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-15-...D=1&siteID=je6NUbpObpQ-1aakua156.11b2F5nNq4Pw
Click to expand...

nice.

TBH If it wasn't for my preference to stick with amazon, and getting 3% back on my CC, I would have gone with this. Bigger screen and bigger keyboard than the 14'' one I ended up going with, plus it seems to have thunderbolt too.

But I hate Geek Squad with a passion though, so I'd rather not deal with them to repair my laptop in case of issues.
 
G

Got the Shakes

Member
Admiral Woofington said:
nice.

TBH If it wasn't for my preference to stick with amazon, and getting 3% back on my CC, I would have gone with this. Bigger screen and bigger keyboard than the 14'' one I ended up going with, plus it seems to have thunderbolt too.

But I hate Geek Squad with a passion though, so I'd rather not deal with them to repair my laptop in case of issues.
Click to expand...

I'm seriously considering this machine and I would buy it from Best Buy. I can get 5% in rewards with their CC plus it would mean that I would keep my elite rewards status for another year. I think it's down to that Best Buy one or this one https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1270391-REG/msi_gt62vr_dominator_pro_073_15_6_gt62vr_dominator_pro.html

I like the size of the one at Best Buy more and the fact that it's $250 cheaper than the B&H Photo one, but I like that the B&H one has the 1070 and G-Sync.
 
A

Admiral Woofington

Member
Got the Shakes said:
I'm seriously considering this machine and I would buy it from Best Buy. I can get 5% in rewards with their CC plus it would mean that I would keep my elite rewards status for another year. I think it's down to that Best Buy one or this one https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1270391-REG/msi_gt62vr_dominator_pro_073_15_6_gt62vr_dominator_pro.html

I like the size of the one at Best Buy more and the fact that it's $250 cheaper than the B&H Photo one, but I like that the B&H one has the 1070 and G-Sync.
Click to expand...
If it's between a 1060 and 1070 then it should be a no brainer unless the cpu in the latter is no good
 
G

Got the Shakes

Member
Admiral Woofington said:
If it's between a 1060 and 1070 then it should be a no brainer unless the cpu in the latter is no good
Click to expand...

It's the same i7-6700HQ that seems to be in the standard config of all of these machines.

Thing is, I'm honestly not sure what is more important to me at this point, something a little more portable and cheaper or something with a better card and G-Sync. The Best Buy one does have TB3 so an external card could always be an option down the line, but until enclosures drop significantly in price I'm not sure it's a risk I want to buy into. The other thing is I'm not well versed in this stuff enough to even know if not having G-Sync on a 60hz screen even matters.

I'm also coming from a weird spot. I have a desktop gaming PC that I built last year with a 970 in it. I just sold a 4 year old MacBook Pro that I hardly ever used. I bought a Surface Pro 4 a bit ago thinking it was going to be a laptop replacement, but I don't really find myself using that because it ended up being a bit too small for my liking for a Windows 10 machine (I use an iPad as my tablet so my Surface doesn't even get used much for that). What I actually use as my daily machine is an old ass Sony Vaio with a battery that hardly holds a charge, a 17" screen, and it weighs like 6+ pounds. I keep using this damn thing because over the years it I have everything setup exactly the way I want on it and it's been bulletproof. I'm used to lugging around a big machine and having to be plugged in all the time (honestly I don't even find myself carrying around a laptop often anyways) so I'm ok with the possible weight of a gaming laptop and poor battery.. My intentions with buying a gaming laptop is that I want something portable-ish to game on, and I finally want to retire my old Vaio. I know that I won't be able to get more than 2-3 hours of web browsing or productivity out of it on battery, and that's fine because like I said I'm used to needing to be plugged in.
 
S

SwiftDeath

Member
Dsyndrome

Dsyndrome

Member
Ordered a MSI GT73VR Titan Pro today, whatever advertisements MSI sent out yesterday about the new hotness put a bug in me, causing me to convince my wife today that I needed it.

My wallet fucking hates me though.

Went with the GTX 1080, 4K IPS version. Can't justify to myself that I need SLI in a laptop.
 
S

SwiftDeath

Member
Admiral Woofington said:
I'm going entirely by the thunder arrow symbol, but true.
Click to expand...

Connectivity picture also clearly states TB 3

GS63_connectivity.jpg
Click to expand...

So we're good
 
A

anddo0

Member
Pretty close to pulling the trigger on the MSI GS73VR Stealth Pro-025; dat 120hz at sub 2K!
Though I'm tempted to go full 4K... I'm trying to get my unit by Monday, it's gotta be from Amazon (taking full advantage of deferred paying, immediate impact on wallet will be minimal)
 
K

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Man websites selling these laptops have been so confusing on whether they're using Thunderbolt 3, but I will defer to MSI's own website.

dIEHARD said:
wtf is "IPS-level" screen? .. Maybe a VA screen but they want the more recognized IPS on there?
Click to expand...

IPS is proprietary to LG, other screens (probably Samsung) use PLS. Pretty much identical technology.

anddo0 said:
Pretty close to pulling the trigger on the MSI GS73VR Stealth Pro-025; dat 120hz at sub 2K!
Though I'm tempted to go full 4K... I'm trying to get my unit by Monday, it's gotta be from Amazon (taking full advantage of deferred paying, immediate impact on wallet will be minimal)
Click to expand...

For me, 120Hz G-Sync offers more benefit, especially with a 1060, a card that isn't even built for 4K/30fps gaming.

Go 1080p and crank the settings.
 
G

Got the Shakes

Member
K.Jack said:
Man websites selling these laptops have been so confusing on whether they're using Thunderbolt 3, but I will defer to MSI's own website.



IPS is proprietary to LG, other screens (probably Samsung) use PLS. Pretty much identical technology.



For me, 120Hz G-Sync offers more benefit, especially with a 1060, a card that isn't even built for 4K/30fps gaming.

Go 1080p and crank the settings.
Click to expand...

So I have a question about this. MSI doesn't mention anything about the laptop with the 120Hz screen being G-Sync. Are all 120Hz screens now G-Sync? I honestly don't know how this all works so I'm a bit confused. I've seen other MSI laptops with 60Hz screens specifically mention G-Sync, that's why I'm asking.

Edit: I guess what I'm asking is if screen tearing would or wouldn't be an issue on that 120Hz laptop.
 
D

diehard

Fleer
K.Jack said:
IPS is proprietary to LG, other screens (probably Samsung) use PLS. Pretty much identical technology..
Click to expand...

Oh right, PLS. IPS isn't proprietary to LG though, they are just the largest manufacturer. Without doing any research i would actually expect these to more likely be AHVA.
 
J

jetsetrez

Member
K.Jack said:
Doesn't seem like the new MSI line has fully rolled out on Amazon yet. I'm sure they'll have every SKU on their store, sooner than later.



I'm taking suggestions. What do you think of....

"After 9 Months, Pascal Delivered"
Click to expand...
And on the ninth month, Nvidia said, "let there be light."
 
S

SlickVic

Member
K.Jack said:
First off, to help you see where you currently sit, the 860M is a downclocked GTX 750 Ti. You literally have identical hardware. So looking at benches that compare a 1070 or 60 to the 750 Ti will give you a good feel of how big the upgrade is, and help you decide on which massive leap you will more prefer.

It's still early, so I don't know to what extent a 6700HQ, running at its max 3.1Ghz, will or won't bottleneck the 1070. I'm sure it's not likely to affect the 1060 much.

$500 or $600 sounds reasonable.[/URL]
Click to expand...

Really appreciate the response. I spent some more time thinking about it and I probably will just stick to my 860m laptop for the time being. I spent some time tweaking settings on my current games and found some settings that gave me a good balance of performance and fidelity. I got this laptop just a little over 2 years ago and I guess it still just feels too early to upgrade now, even if the 1060 and 1070 are worthy upgrades IMO. I may change my mind next year, but for now I think I'm ok with buying a PS4 version for a game like Mankind Divided where it seems my 860m is barely in the minimum requirements, and sticking to PC for indies and my Steam backlog.
 
U

Unknown Soldier

Member
Dsyndrome said:
Ordered a MSI GT73VR Titan Pro today, whatever advertisements MSI sent out yesterday about the new hotness put a bug in me, causing me to convince my wife today that I needed it.

My wallet fucking hates me though.

Went with the GTX 1080, 4K IPS version. Can't justify to myself that I need SLI in a laptop.
Click to expand...

I think it's a bit crazy that you just bought a laptop which has almost the same specs as my 4K living room gaming setup.

Well, it used to be crazy. Now it's probably going to be the new normal that people just tote around laptops which can just plug into a monitor or TV using HDMI or DP and blast out the same gaming experience as a gaming desktop PC.

dIEHARD said:
wtf is "IPS-level" screen? .. Maybe a VA screen but they want the more recognized IPS on there?
Click to expand...

VA is better than IPS so there wouldn't be any reason to say "IPS-level" if they really had VA. The ASUS ROG laptop has an AHVA screen and they specifically cite that in the specs.
 
M

Mendrox

Member
European prices are lolworthy. First time I am considering a notebook for gaming and the prices are just fucked in Germany. *sigh*

Anyone good any good options for Germany?

1080p
1060
Everything else I don't care
 
D

derFeef

Member
So confused by models and namings... pretty sure I went through the right stuff on the MSI homepage and chose a 4k model - then the shop sites tell me it's a 1080p display.
Maybe I will settle with 1080p anyway but then it's not 17" - I should see those in person I guess.

Mendrox said:
European prices are lolworthy. First time I am considering a notebook for gaming and the prices are just fucked in Germany. *sigh*

Anyone good any good options for Germany?

1080p
1060
Everything else I don't care
Click to expand...

Did you try https://www.notebooksbilliger.de ?
 
JayBabay

JayBabay

Member
I'm seeing reports coming out these past couple days about Pascal cards in laptops performing nearly identical to the desktop equivalents. That is a huge stride in laptop gaming.
 
A

arts&crafts

Member
Anyone know where you can order/check prices for 1060/1070 laptops in Canada?

Amazon.ca doesnt appear to have them although searching doesnt really work as it wont let me filter laptops by graphics card and when I search 1060 I only get graphics cards.
 
adamsapple

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Guys I need a bit of assistance and general guidance.

Has anyone here tried this model yet ?

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...vr_phantom_pro_006_14_gs43vr_phantom_pro.html

1060 with 6700HQ for $1499.

Not being too familiar with PC specs (previously a mostly console gamer), is a 1060 a decent future proofing choice for it's price ?

Keep in mind that:

- I don't care about VR or anything being VR ready.
- I'm A-OK with 1080p gaming. 4K is an afterthought.
- Really not an issue if I can't hit 60fps with everything on super ultra. I'm fine with High or even Medium etc as well.

The reason I'm leaning towards a laptop is because i have a lot of portable use around the house and I have a 60'' Samsung which I can use for gaming when needed use the new Xbone controller via Bluetooth.

Is this the best (price conscious) option for me ?
 
B

BruceCLea

Banned
I'm leaning towards the Razer when it gets the 1060 in the next month or two. What's the consensus on it? I heard it runs loud and hot. Is that true?

I'm not going to go crazy on it. I just love the build quality and size. Thanks
 
A

Admiral Woofington

Member
Decided to shell out a bit more and went for the GS63VR with the bigger solid state drive offered in Amazon. Canceled my pre order for the 14''. The Best Buy one with the smaller SSD would've been nicer but it won't break the bank and I guess I have a bigger solid state drive now.

This is for the best though, apparently the other the keyboard wasn't too clicky and I also had to deal with a smaller keyboard.
 
G

Got the Shakes

Member
Admiral Woofington said:
Decided to shell out a bit more and went for the GS63VR with the bigger solid state drive offered in Amazon. Canceled my pre order for the 14''. The Best Buy one with the smaller SSD would've been nicer but it won't break the bank and I guess I have a bigger solid state drive now.

This is for the best though, apparently the other the keyboard wasn't too clicky and I also had to deal with a smaller keyboard.
Click to expand...

I'm really damn close to ordering the one from Best Buy. If I order by tomorrow, they say it will be here by next Tuesday (just in time for Deus Ex). That said, I think I have it narrowed down to 3 machines, don't want to spend more than $1800:

GS63VR Stealth Pro-001 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1060-1tb-hard-drive-128gb-solid-state-drive-aluminum-black/5515003.p?id=bb5515003&skuId=5515003&ref=199&loc=je6NUbpObpQ&acampID=1&siteID=je6NUbpObpQ-1aakua156.11b2F5nNq4Pw

+Light weight/Portable (under 4 pounds)
+Thunderbolt (possible external GPU in the future)
+$1550

-No G-Sync (how big of a deal is this?)
-Longevity with 1060?

GT62VR Dominator Pro https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1270391-REG/msi_gt62vr_dominator_pro_073_15_6_gt62vr_dominator_pro.html

+GTX 1070
+G-Sync
+TB3

-Weight

GS73VR Stealth Pro-025 http://www.xoticpc.com/msi-gs73vr-stealth-pro-025.html

+120Hz screen
+Weight for a 17" machine
+Bigger SSD than the Best Buy 15" machine

-$1800 for a 1060
-Longevity with 1060?


Open to comments and suggestions. I know for just about everyone the tough choice is the 1060 or 1070. I could make the case that the 1060 is the way to go just because it most likely last 3 or so years and I could be willing to upgrade again the (or external enclosures have come way down in price by then. I feel like for what you get, the 15.6" Stealth Pro is pretty portable. My one other consideration was the new AORUS X5 V6 because it's not a crazy big machine and packs a 1070, but all I've seen out there are the top of the line config for $2400 which is too much for my tastes. If anyone would have any idea what the X5 V6 with the 1080p display and 6800HQ cost instead of the one with the 3K display and HK then it might change my mind, but my guess is that still makes it a ~$2000 machine.


Edit: So after some more thought and calculations, if I go with the Best Buy MSI machine it will cost like $1645 with tax. If I ordered the 1070 MSI machine from B&H it would be $1799 shipped since they don't charge tax out of state. Almost seems like I have to go with the 1070 machine for only a $150 difference.
 
K

Kieli

Member
Admiral Woofington said:
Decided to shell out a bit more and went for the GS63VR with the bigger solid state drive offered in Amazon. Canceled my pre order for the 14''. The Best Buy one with the smaller SSD would've been nicer but it won't break the bank and I guess I have a bigger solid state drive now.

This is for the best though, apparently the other the keyboard wasn't too clicky and I also had to deal with a smaller keyboard.
Click to expand...

You can always stick in an extra PCI SSD whenever you want.
 
S

SwiftDeath

Member
Admiral Woofington said:
Decided to shell out a bit more and went for the GS63VR with the bigger solid state drive offered in Amazon. Canceled my pre order for the 14''. The Best Buy one with the smaller SSD would've been nicer but it won't break the bank and I guess I have a bigger solid state drive now.

This is for the best though, apparently the other the keyboard wasn't too clicky and I also had to deal with a smaller keyboard.
Click to expand...

15.6" model Laptop should also be notably cooler, pretty sure the 14" ghost ran super hot even if it's a MSI laptop
 
S

Specialmias

Member
Sigh. The EVGA SC17 1070 looks nice at around 3 grand
...

I can do it but.. this thing only has three usb ports... And costs as much as a fucking car.
I can't tell if a powered USB hub will run the rift touch. I know I can run my Vive. It's heavy and the closest in spec MSI is $2500. I'm paying a $300-$400 premium for a nicer build quality, customer service and warranty.

Also... Why the hell would I want 4k on a 17 inch screen with a 1070? Are there any other manufacturers out there that don't have craptacular support around this price range? Been burned by laptops quite a bit.

Pros of it seem to be:
Powerful as all hell and can replace every PC I own, work, home and random TV streaming
Made like a tank
Support seems to be among the best of any laptop manufacturer. With policies such as in warranty repairs for even ONE dead pixel.

Cons:
Expensive, can buy a car
The screen is 60hz and perplexlingly seems under powered compared to the rest of the hardware.
Seems like it'll struggle running content in 4k unless it's downgraded.

Aorus seems like a good alternative but goddamn they're known for spotty support and build quality as well.
 
C

Clipse

Member
Configuring an MSI on Xotic PC and have a few questions on options:

- How are the stock SSD's? Would upgrading to Sandisk or Samsung be a waste of money?

- Are Killer NIC's good? Can upgrade to Intel for $15 more.

- Stock thermal compound or IC Diamond for CPU/GPU?

- $35 dead pixel warranty? Dead pixels aren't already covered by MSI?
 
S

Specialmias

Member
Clipse said:
- $35 dead pixel warranty? Dead pixels aren't already covered by MSI?
Click to expand...

Don't know the metrics for the other stuff but:
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) Screen Bad Pixel Policy:
All notebook displays use TFT* technology, manufactured according to high industry standards, to guarantee trouble-free personal computing. Nevertheless, your display may have cosmetic imperfection that appears as small bright or dark spots. This is common to all LCD displays and cannot be avoided by any of our models. These imperfections are caused by one or more defective pixels or sub-pixels. MSI follows the common bad pixel policy from the industry.

Following the industry standard, MSI warrants a defective LCD display as having 5 or more bad pixels*. It's required that users to contact the original , or MSI within 30 days from the invoice date for a replacement.
Click to expand...
 
K

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Specialmias said:
Sigh. The EVGA SC17 1070 looks nice at around 3 grand
...

I can do it but.. this thing only has three usb ports... And costs as much as a fucking car.
I can't tell if a powered USB hub will run the rift touch. I know I can run my Vive. It's heavy and the closest in spec MSI is $2500. I'm paying a $300-$400 premium for a nicer build quality, customer service and warranty.

Also... Why the hell would I want 4k on a 17 inch screen with a 1070? Are there any other manufacturers out there that don't have craptacular support around this price range? Been burned by laptops quite a bit.
Click to expand...

Where are you seeing prices for the new 1070 model? I wanna see too.

MSI GT73 is a really safe bet, can be had with a 1070, unlocked i7 6820HK, and the new 1080p 120Hz G-Sync display for $2199.

I wouldn't be going 4K with just one 1070 either.
 
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