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Review MSI GX60 Notebook

The gaming giant MSI is particularly known for its attractively priced multimedia laptops (GE60 & GE70) and its powerful high-end machines (GT60 & GT70). It can be said that the GX60 released in late 2012 is an intermediary model. http://www.askbattery.com/asus-g73jh-tz012v.html ASUS G73JH-TZ012V charger

The 15 incher promises a lot of gaming power with its installed Radeon HD 7970M. At least on paper because the 2.3 to 3.3 GHz Trinity CPU does not exactly belong to the fastest of its kind. No wonder that the A10-4600M has only been used in entry-level and midrange laptops until now. Most manufacturers rely on the efficient Ivy Bridge generation from Intel for their gaming products. We checked whether the quad-core’s performance noticeably decreases using diverse benchmarks.

The other equipment in the GX60 is throughout impressive. The US-American AC1-013TW model we were provided with features two small 64 GB mSATA SSDs that work together in a RAID 0 mode, in contrast to the German A10797287B counterpart (~EUR 1200). A 750 GB HDD from Western Digital is installed as the secondary hard disk.

The models are otherwise largely identical. A four GB DDR3 RAM bar is in both working memory banks. Matching the Full HD screen, the manufacturer also installs a Blu-Ray combo drive (burns CDs & DVDs). MSI opted for Windows 8 64 bit as the operating system.

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The Taiwanese company continues to use flashy gamer looks although the current design trend is going toward elegance and simplicity. While the metal wrist rest makes a fairly high-end impression, the other surfaces look quite cheap. Glossy plastic elements might look chic on press pictures, but their high smudge susceptibility soon becomes annoying in practice.

Fingerprints and dust particles not least accumulate on the display frame, the keyboard base and the useful function bar. However, the biggest shortcoming is the sensitive lid that clearly affects the quality impression. We would have appreciated a matte, aluminum finish like on the more expensive GT60 model. If you generally like it less obtrusive, you should prefer Clevo’s W350ET barebone (Schenker XMG A522) or P150EM (Schenker XMG P502).

The GX 60 also has to accept criticism for its large size. The gaming laptop towers over most 15 inch contenders with dimensions of 395 x 267 x 55 millimeters. For example, the just mentioned Schenker XMG P502 "only" has a size of 376 x 255 x 51 millimeters. The GX60 also weighs more (3.4 vs. 3.2 kg). At least the chassis features good stability. Merely the vents on the bottom yield noticeably under higher force.



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We would say that the build quality is good. Apart from minor details (display bezel / lid transition), MSI has done a good job. Unfortunately, the GX60 cannot compete with the quality standard of Asus’ G75 or Alienware’s M17x R4, but the latter devices are also much more expensive.

The A10-4600M is a mobile quad-core processor from AMD’s low-cost Trinity range. In contrast to the latest Intel generation, the quad-core is still based on small 32 nm structures. With a TDP of 35 watts, the power consumption is within the range of Core i5 dual-core contenders.

Like Intel’s Ivy Bridge CPUs, the Trinity models can overclock dynamically. The A10-4600M’s Turbo ranges from 2.3 to a maximum of 3.2 GHz. If we only look at the clock rate, its speed should roughly be on a par with the Core i7 3610QM (2.3 - 3.3 GHz). Regrettably, the Trinity CPUs are not quite as efficient, i.e. the performance per MHz is much lower. Overall, the performance is only adequate for the entry-level sector.

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AMD is miles ahead of the competitor with its integrated graphics chip. Intel’s HD Graphics 4000 doesn’t stand a chance against the Radeon HD 7660G. However, the chip is rather insignificant since a dedicated graphics card is installed in the GX60.

CPU Performance

The scores in the CPU benchmarks do not necessarily indicate a potent gaming laptop. Quite the contrary: 2.01 points in Cinebench R11.5 is everything but worthy of reference. Even the weak Core i3 3110M that does not feature Turbo calculates roughly 20% faster (2.41 points @ HP’s ProBook 4540s). Intel’s speedy 2.4 - 3.4 GHz Core i7 3630QM accomplishes three times as much (6.46 @ Deviltech’s HellMachine). We will scrutinize how much impact the processor has on 3D programs in a moment.

The Radeon HD 7970M is currently AMD’s fastest laptop graphics card. Like its desktop counterpart, the high-end model is based on the GCN architecture manufactured in a 28 nm process. AMD tries to justify its high power consumption (100 watt TDP) with 2.8 billion transistors, 1280 Unified Shaders and two gigabytes of GDDR5 VRAM (256 bit interface). The manufacturer clocks the card with 850 MHz (core) and 1200 MHz (memory).

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Among others, the review of Alienware’s M17x R4 underlines that the Radeon HD 7970M is a very good option for gamers. Alongside a strong Intel CPU, the graphics card can compete with the main contender from Nvidia. The GeForce GTX 680M only wins in some games.

Back to topic: MSI installs a cutting edge driver with the Catalyst 12.11. That is also very necessary because AMD’s graphics switching (codename: Enduro) caused a lot of problems in the past. Lousy identification ratio, modest performance in low settings, black screens after driver installation: The problems were multifarious particularly in the Clevo P150EM and P170EM barebones.

Although Nvidia’s Optimus technology still performs better (lower performance loss, higher reliability, more visible support), AMD has taken a big step forward with the Catalyst 12.11. Gamers no longer have to get annoyed about incorrectly assigned 3D programs since the driver features a global setting option (see right screenshot). Games are reliably started with the Radeon HD 7970M when the option is set to "Maximize Performance".

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Perfect: the menu "Switchable Graphics Application Settings" now stores all installed and executed programs. The user can create and modify profiles similar to Nvidia. "exe" files can be easily assigned to a specific graphics card. The menu of the first drivers was still quite unsatisfactory. However, Enduro still lacks a convenient update function and an indicator for GPU activity (Nvidia has already had this for years). The GX 60 can be connected to as many as three monitors owing to Eyefinity technology.

GPU Performance

AMD’s weak processor does not have much significance in extremely graphics-heavy applications, such as 3DMark 11. With a GPU score of 6423 points, the GX60 overtakes Deviltech’s Devil 6700 by about 8%. Its GeForce GTX 680M accomplished 5947 points in this test (slightly older driver).

That sounds like an excellent performance, doesn’t it? It is as long as only the GPU scores are considered. The overall score is often dismayingly low. HD 7970M laptops equipped with an Intel CPU reach approximately 100% higher scores in 3DMark 05, 06 and Vantage.

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The GX60 exhibits a good performance again in the Unigine Heaven 3.0 benchmark. The laptop rendered 57.7 fps using 1920 x 1080 pixels, high details and default tessellation. The GTX 680M in Schenker’s XMG P502 recently accomplished 57.6 fps.

Last but not least, MSI touts the GX60 with a promising RAID 0 array. Both small 64 GB mSATA SSDs from SanDisk are to easily defeat the competition. This promise may still be true when looking at the sequential read rate - over 600 MB/s in the AS SSD benchmark remain out of reach for most SATA III models. Even the 512 GB version of the extremely swift Corsair Neutron GTX (Schenker’s XMG P722 PRO) has to be satisfied with 514 MB/s.

However, as soon as focus is put on smaller files, the exultation quickly vanishes. 8 MB/s in the 4K test and 57 MB/s in the 4K-64Thrd test are rather moderate for SSD conditions. The 128 GB model of Samsung’s successful SSD 830 is 2.5 times better in 4K with 21 MB/s and 5 times better in 4K-64Thrd with 291 MB/s. The big shock comes first in the write rates though. With a sequential rate of not quite 44 MB/s, the RAID 0 array drops below the average HDD level (CrystalDiskMark still recorded 88 MB/s). For comparison: Both mSATA members accomplished a 9x better 391 MB/s in the GT70.

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The distance to the SSD competition is also gigantic with smaller files. Most solid state drives can only smile wearily at a 4K rate of 12 MB/s and a 4K-64Thrd rate of 5 MB/s. The somewhat older but still popular Crucial Read SSD M4, for example, settles to 50 and 158 MB/s respectively (128 version @ Gigabyte’s U2442N). Basically, we do not deem the RAID 0 array a good idea. A "conventional" 2.5 model would make a subjectively faster impression in practice.

But the GX60 also sports a 750 GB HDD besides the solid state drive. MSI relies on a product from Western Digital dubbed WC75000BPKT-22PK4. CrystalDiskMark certifies the SATA II drive a very good performance. Only few HDDS surpass 114-115 MB/s in the sequential benchmark. The drawback of 7200 rpm is a fairly loud operating noise.

When looking at the gaming results, we wonder whether MSI tested the hardware combination thoroughly in advance.

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Although the GX60 could sometimes outperform Intel devices, equipped with a GeForce GTX 670MX or GTX 675MX, in extreme conditions (1920 x1080, maximum details), the Radeon HD 7970M often dropped to the level of the actually weaker GeForce GT 650M or GTX 660M in medium settings (1366 x 768, high details). In the worst case, the refresh rate was only just above the processor-integrated Radeon HD 7660G chip.

CPU-heavy tracks, such as Guild Wars 2, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Hitman Absolution and Assassin’s Creed III can only be played with restrictions if at all. It is surprising to what extent the slow Trinity CPU affects the Radeon HD 7970M. The GX60 would likely score much better with a low-end dual-core processor from Intel’s Core i3 or Core i5 range. The HD 7970M is normally sooner comparable with a GeForce GTX 680M.

After extensively studying the benchmarks, the retail price no longer seems particularly attractive. Less expensive laptops, such as Schenker’s XMG A522 often accomplish a comparable gaming performance. MSI should have invested its budget in a faster CPU. The Radeon HD 7970M can only rarely exploit its true potential. A detailed benchmark list can be found below this article.

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Temperature

One of the GX60’s biggest strengths is its moderate temperature development. Owing to the casing’s clever build, the wrist rest never exceeds a temperature of 30°C even during demanding 3D programs. The chassis settled to decent 26°C in idle mode. The temperatures were also absolutely reasonable during load. The laptop only reached just below 40°C at the vent.

The user does not have to worry about the hardware, either. The graphics card "only" reached 80°C after one hour of stress testing. The processor climbed to acceptable 70°C according to Core Temp, but the clock rate occasionally dropped below two GHz (throttling). Note: Our first test device recurrently crashed in the stress test.

Power Consumption

The power consumption is within limits when the Radeon HD 7660G is primarily active in idle use. With 13-24 watts, the MSI laptop consumes roughly the same power as Deviltech’s GTX 680M contender Devil 6700 (16-22 watts). The GX60 is a bit more energy-efficient during load (85-138 vs. 100-149 watts).

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The strong, 87 Wh lithium ion battery accomplishes good to very good runtimes. The 15 inch laptop lasts for around seven hours without the power outlet in ideal conditions (minimum screen brightness, low load).

We always perform our Wi-Fi test with a brightness of approx. 150 cd/m². This resulted in almost five hours of wireless Internet entertainment. A DVD ran for roughly 3.25 hours in maximum brightness. We ascertained a minimum runtime of around one hour.

All said, we regrettably cannot fully recommend the GX60. As our benchmark course illustrates, the lame AMD CPU partly extremely slows down the Radeon HD 7970M. The performance loss is so high in some areas that the frame rate drops to a midrange level.

We would have expected a more sensible hardware setup from an alleged gaming expert. The surprisingly low price is no argument. The 15 inch Clevo P150EM barebone is available for approx. EUR 1300 with an Intel quad-core and a Radeon HD 7970M. Its advantage is a more consistent performance without nasty outliers.

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Both mSATA SSDs are also a double-edged sword. The excellent sequential read rate contrasts the poor performance in small files. In addition to that, there is the unusual keyboard layout and casing’s sensitive surfaces.

But that is enough complaining because the GX60 also has its good sides. Besides the generous connectivity and low temperature development, we have to mention the first-rate TN screen. MSI has put particular focus on the sound. The built-in 2.1 system clearly excels most other laptops.

Nevertheless, it is not easy to come to a final verdict. The GX60 is sooner designed for casual gamers considering the CPU issue. Ardent gamers will currently not get around an Intel quad-core.