Customer Ratings: 
List Price: $1,299.99
Sale Price: $1,299.00
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After several days of getting to know the laptop, I decided to write a review. I apologize for the lengthy review, but there was no way I could just put in a few sentences for a large purchase such as this.
First of all, I'd like to say that the price point for this laptop is amazingly good. Sure, it could have been cheaper, but you'd lose all of the features it had!
Performance wise, it's a great laptop. It dynamically adjusts the clock speeds depending on the load, meaning you'll save a lot of battery. I've seen it run as low as 700 MHz, and I've seen it go all the way up to 3400 MHz The Haswell processor handles it very well, resulting in a very little loss of performance even when you leave it idling and decide to start opening up programs.
When you need the performance, you can expect it with this laptop.
Now moving on to the graphics part The included NVIDIA GTX 765M is nothing to scoff at. Granted, it's a laptop, so you shouldn't expect it to perform as well as a gaming desktop. For all intents and purposes, this card will run everything you need at 1080p in medium to high settings, or sometimes ultra settings! I was able to play several games in 1080p ranging from medium to ultra settings with an absolute minimum of 60 fps.
NVIDIA Optimus is another cool thing on this laptop, it will automatically determine which graphics processor to use. When you want battery life, you can set it so that it'll run on Intel's integrated graphics unit. However, when you want the performance, it'll switch over to the NVIDIA GTX 765M. You can actually see which mode the laptop is running on based on the color of the power button's LED. Blue for integrated, Orange for NVIDIA.
Of course, you can always override this and set it to permanently use integrated graphics or NVIDIA graphics. If needed, you can also configure each program individually to run on integrated graphics or NVIDIA graphics.
I have to comment about the keyboard. When I looked at the pictures, I was concerned that some buttons were cut short (Such as Right Shift, Enter, and Backspace buttons), but after handling the laptop, it proved that it was of no issue. The backlighting, while it didn't look anything like in the pictures, was still decent. It was sufficiently bright, and there was 3 modes. The first 2 modes being on/off, and the third being half lit. Apparently the purpose of this was to illuminate only the keys you'd use during gaming.
The keyboard itself was a pleasure to type on, sharp enough to receive feedback, but soft enough to have that cushioned feel. Also as an added bonus, the wrist area (the space below the keyboard) stays very cool even while playing games!
The display is perfect, there was no dead pixels. Excellent quality and color. The viewing angles are wide enough for me, so I don't have anything to complain here.
The battery life on this laptop is good, but not amazing. I haven't really tested it in different scenarios though. However, at full brightness, I was able to watch a 2 hour long movie before it died. However, I would expect the battery life to dramatically increase when you reduce the brightness and do less intensive tasks.
The temperatures are decent, idling at around 40-45c for the processor and the graphics card. I did run a prime95 stress test, as I wanted to see how hot the processor could get. The CPU did go up to 93c, but did not go beyond that. I don't expect the CPU to get this hot with normal usage or even gaming for that matter. The GPU ran considerably cooler than the CPU though. The hottest temperature I've ever seen it reach was at around 75c.
Now, moving on to the cons:
Even though I know that this is a gaming laptop, the battery life could have been better. I'm really surprised that they only put a 6-Cell battery in this laptop. It was probably to maintain the slim form factor, but still, I feel like this is something they could have improved on.
The USB 3.0 ports are finicky. On the first USB 3.0 port, it would only perform at USB 2.0 speeds, on the other port, it'll perform at USB 3.0 speeds, but disconnect constantly (USB 2.0 devices doesn't disconnect however). A firmware update fixed the USB 2.0 speeds, but it also switched ports I was having issues with, so the first port is now having the disconnections, while the second one works flawlessly. I suspect that this is a firmware issue, and might be fixed at a later date. However, it's not a big issue. It seems like a common problem, not with MSI products, but with USB 3.0 in general.
Also, on Amazon's product description page, it said that there was 3 USB 3.0 ports and 2 USB 2.0 ports. This is incorrect, there are only *2* USB 3.0 ports.
The "Cooler Boost" function on this laptop barely did anything. It might have knocked the temperatures down by 1 or 2 degrees, but nothing to be amazed about.
This thing attracts a lot of fingerprints. The area below the keyboard, and on the sides of the keyboard, and the lid all attract fingerprints.
Considering the positive aspects of this laptop, coupled with few (very) minor annoyances, this is a great laptop for the money. I would suggest this notebook to anyone who's looking for a laptop that has the performance of a desktop, and the portability of a laptop.
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This laptop is amazing! Super fast, looks great, solid build. I have been using 17" HD laptops for years and this is the best I have ever used. I bought an miniPCI-E SSD card and used Acronis to move the system image over to it and now it boots SUPER-FAST! The only issues I originally had were figuring out how to scroll with the touch pad. It's like a Macbook, you use two fingers and drag in the reverse direction you want to scroll. Took me forever to figure it out, but it works great. I also couldn't figure out how to force the video card to be the Geforce versus the Intel HD one, so the Windows Experience Index was pretty low (comparatively) until I went in to the Nvidia control panel and changed the 3D default settings. Then, it was zooming (though, no real need for it to always use discrete graphics, so I switched it back).
In the end, everything is great. I love the separate button for the illuminated keyboard and another for the "cooling down mode" which amps up the fans and lowers the laptop temp by 10 or so degrees.
The keyboard feels great. The touchpad is huge and works well (after getting used to it) and there is VERY little bloatware. The MSI utility for creating boot discs also works great (I created a USB key and 4xDVDs).
If you're in the market for a 1200.00-1300.00 performance laptop this is the one.
The screen is beautiful as is the chassis. All around, the best laptop I've ever had.
Best Deals for MSI G Series GE70 2OE-017US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black/Red)
(Updated at Bottom: 08/07/2013)
Original Review:
What can I say, the price you pay for the amount of features, specs and overall quality that you get out of this laptop is just unbeatable. Its no wonder I couldn't find this laptop at Microcenter, Bestbuy, or anywhere else; and they were selling like hotcakes online. Its amazing.
I'll go through the pros and cons (very few) of this beauty.
Pros:
17.3 Inch Screen running Natively at 1920x1080 (1080P). The Anti-Glare and Anti-Reflective work as advertised.
i7 Generation 4 Technology, boy its fast.
SteelSeries Mechanical Keyboard BUILT-IN to this laptop (with light-up keys) (Detection speed is amazing. Also has a Turbo-Fan button which pushes heat out quickly from the inner-workings.
2 USB 3.0 ports for your fast external drives & 2 more USB 2.0 ports for other devices.
Quallcomm Killer Network Manager included with this laptop (keeps you lag and Packet-loss free)
12 Gigs of RAM (Multitasking galore) + Adobe Premiere Pro and Cinema 4D work without any lag
Discrete Graphics (GTX 765M) (Plays everything on high with great frame-rates (60+), plays a few games on Ultra with 60+ frames, but most with acceptable frames (30~45FPS))
VGA & HDMI out for multiple TVs, resolutions and devices.
Bluetooth Syncing with Mobile Devices and Storage
750Gigs of space (Partitioned into 500Gigs for System and 250 for a data partition) (@7200 RPM vs 5800RPM). Included with IntelRapidStorage Technology which actually makes the drive perform closer to a 10,000RPM level than 7200.
Cools well, even without a Cooling Pad (though I'm still getting one)
No bloatware (Useless or advertising programs that take up space, memory and are annoying)
BluRay Combo Drive (How could they do this at $1,300?)
Cons:
No Solid State Drive; SSD. (Would improve performance greatly). If you are proficient at computers, I would suggest purchasing a 128GB SSD and installing it into this laptop, then cloning the system partition to it. It will make this laptop blazingly fast. I'm thinking of doing this myself soon. If you don't know how to do it, and you'd really like the performance out of an SSD, ask your local tech at one of the big stores to do it for you. Its worth the cost.
Windows 8 64-Bit (I'm getting used to it, but still prefer 7)
Low Battery Life (2.5 Hours). Its a gaming laptop though, so its to be expected. Tip: If you want your battery to maintain its maximum performance, disconnect it after its fully charged if you don't have to go anywhere with your laptop. The laptop runs fine without a battery if its plugged in.
The battery is fine for around the house and a short trip somewhere. Otherwise, if you want to go out and game, bring your charger. If you have the need for long battery life and mobile gaming on-the-go, go ahead and get a Razer Edge Pro.
For this price, there are surprisingly few cons with some very high quality parts and software included. MSI did a great job bringing together one of the best multi-manufacturer laptop builds I have ever seen. It looks sleek, it feels sleek and it runs quick and light (software wise and literally). I'd say build a desktop if you don't really need everything to be all-in-one, but the fact remains that its a very tempting buy. You could build only a little better desktop for the same amount of money ($1,300).
Update (08/07/2013):
Before you take this update harshly, let me say that I still think this laptop is very well made, works well, and is extremely high quality for an attractive price. If I could, I would buy it again. There are just a few issues that need to be addressed to make it perfect.
After a few days with this laptop, figuring out all the little nuances, there are a few minor things that you should do to have it running optimally for games. Because of this, I have lowered my rating to four stars. This takes away from the ease-of-use, which otherwise would make it 5 stars.
MSI should update their system image for their Killer E2200 drivers.
#1: Be sure that you always have the Power Options set to High Performance. Otherwise, this laptop WILL throttle the graphics card. I can't tell you how many times I've thought that something was wrong with the graphics card because of laggy games, only to discover that I had the Power Options on Power Saver. Also, make sure that the laptop is PLUGGED IN with the charger. The graphics card will throttle heavily otherwise. This makes high-end mobile gaming on the battery impossible.
#2: When you first get the laptop, uninstall the Qualcomm Killer E2200 Software, and get an official update for "Embedded Ethernet" for Windows 8 64-Bit from their official website: www.killergaming.com. This is simple and easy. The current driver that shipped with this image causes a blue screen at times. This will fix that issue.
#3: Buy a Laptop Cooling Pad. I'm not fully sure that its necessary, but I think it would contribute to the overall health and longevity of this system. It DOES have a high-end, heat producing card and processor in it, and at times it does seem to get pretty hot. The cooling pad I use (Cooler Master NotePal X-Slim Ultra-Slim Laptop Cooling Pad) has helped keep the heat just coming out of the vents where its supposed to.
Because of the blue-screen and having to have the laptop plugged in to play any high end games, and a possibility of needing a cooling pad, I've lowered my rating to 4 stars. That isn't to say those 3 things took away from this laptop, I don't mind plugging it in to play high end games or having a cooling pad, or even fixing a bluescreen issue, but for others understanding of this product that its not quite a mobile gaming laptop and it does have an issue with a driver that causes system failure, and that it could overheat, I must lower the rating.
Honest reviews on MSI G Series GE70 2OE-017US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black/Red)
Brilliant work MSI, runs like an alienware preforms like a god, could not be happier with a product this great at this price! I believe its on par with the alienware 18, just does not have random cool programs or interchangeable blacklit keyboard, or a huge hard drive. But lets serious, you can pickup a 1tb external hard drive for 3$. If you going to go anything better than this, go in to the 2000-2300$ bracket.
cons, Have not found a single con yet, besides the small keyboard layout. But you get use to it!
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for MSI G Series GE70 2OE-017US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black/Red)
This laptop runs WoW on ultra no problem, Skyrim, FarCry3 all on highest, and every other game I have thought to try. Pretty large laptop but beautiful screen. DONT try to uninstall windows 8 however because you'll need to order the recovery disks separately to get your windows 8 key back which is hidden in the bios. This laptop is definitely worth the money. EDIT: Only buy this if you frequently travel, otherwise build your own rig! It's a nice laptop and all, but it is just that. A laptop. In a few years this will most definitely not be powerful enough while a custom built PC will allow you much more flexibility. If you're a real gamer, don't buy a laptop.
