MSI GT80 Titan SLI Laptop Review

On October 31^st, 2014 MSI announced its latest gaming notebook dubbed the GT80. At first glance the unusual and different layout of the keyboard was an early indicator that this wasn’t going to be just an ordinary gaming notebook. Joint engineering with SteelSeries the MSI GT80 Titan is the world’s first notebook with a backlit mechanical keyboard fitted with Cherry switches. But it didn’t stop there, throw in dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M and the best and latest mobile CPU from Intel.

There is no doubt that this is hands down the most powerful laptop on the market today. We’ll get to performance later but first let’s take a look at the specs on the highest model available.

Intel® Core™ i7-4980HQ 2.8GHz to 4GHz (i7-4720HQ Review Model)
32GB Memory (16GB Memory Review Model)
Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M 8GB SLI
18.4” Full-HD 1080p Anti-Reflective Display
SteelSeries Cherry MX Brown Backlit Keyboard (RED LEDs)
1TB Solid State Drive + 1TB Hard Drive (512GB SSD Review Model)
BluRay Writer
Windows 8
2 Years Warranty (Includes 1 Year Global)

CLICK HERE FOR FULL PRICING AND PURCHASE OPTIONS 

We received an engineering sample from MSI so the packaging was pretty standard laptop style but I’m sure the full retail versions will offer much more to the customers who buy this beast!

With a screen sized 18.4” the GT80 Titan SLI is a big unit, but the screen size isn’t what makes it the monolithic size it is. The sheer parts inside this beast coupled with a mechanical keyboard makes it a beefy monster that will trouble the strongest of guys carrying it around.

The sides of the GT80 contain 5x USB3.0 ports, audio jacks and an optical output. Towards the back of the sides you’ll find two large vents which exhaust an incredible amount of air. Be sure to keep these vents cleared of any objects that aren’t fond of heat. The GT80 produces and incredible amount of heat but the cooling does an incredible job on getting all that hot air out.

Along the top you’ll find the SteelSeries mechanical keyboard with Cherry Brown switches which is my personal favourite switch so I did find it quite pleasing that they opted for browns. It gives you the tactile feel without the ‘click’ of Blues. The placement of the mechanical keyboard is towards the edge of the laptop to accommodate for the switches and plethora of hardware housed in the GT80. However, I did find the placement to heavily compliment the 18.4” sized display when gaming. It meant that you could comfortable sit back and game like you would using a standard keyboard and desktop with the 18.4” sized display perfectly coupling the distance you would normally be using the GT80. The 18.4” display is vibrant and good enough display for casuals and professionals; however with the dual 980M’s in here it would have been nice to have a 1440p display option (no 4K for me).

Next to the keyboard you’ll find a cleverly designed digital trackpad. When lit up the trackpad acts as a number pad, click the ‘NUM’ button on the trackpad and the lights turn off and it now acts as a mouse trackpad. The trackpad itself is a bit of an awkward location but with a laptop this size most users will find themselves using as USB or wireless mouse so it’s not really that big of a deterrent. Above the number pad are the only physical buttons with the power, GPU switch and fan controller. The fan controller only allows you to switch between full speed or auto control.

The rear of the unit keeps it basic with air vents on either side, 2 mini Display Ports, HDMI, Ethernet port and a large 4-pin power jack accompanied with a huge 360w power brick. The power brick is big and does get warm so always remember to keep it well ventilated. The lid is presented in a faux brushed aluminium and has a clean look to it, just be cautious though as many of the surfaces on the GT80 Titan is a magnet for fingerprints.  The back side of the display has a gently illuminated logo that adds a subtle classy touch to the overall design.

Back at the front of unit above the keyboard area you’ll find a removable cover that reveals just some of the powerful internals including the DVD drive, a 4x m2 SSD’s and a mechanical hard drive. You see glimpses of the GPU’s and CPU but all those components are revealed more on the bottom side of the unit.

The performance of this laptop is what makes it come to life. No matter what game I threw at it (aside from a few AAA titles) it managed to hold up ultra-graphics at comfortable 100fps+. Playing games on this laptop truly felt like a full desktop experience. It looked good and performed amazingly well. The concerning thing was the total underutilization of the GPU’s for most parts which can be partially put on lack of driver updates. In the coming months with NVIDIA’s strong driver support and updates I do expect the GT80 to push performance even more with future updates.

Gaming was comfortable and pleasantly comfortable with the large screen and mechanical keyboard, the laptop did remain pretty cool with GPU temps hovering around 70-75 degrees on load. The keyboard area remained cool with means you can game on the GT80 for prolonged times without the need to worry about sweaty palms. The placement of the keyboard is definitely a win for MSI and I would like to see more gaming focused laptops to adopt a similar style.

One of the key things MSI has done with the MSI GT80 Titan is open the path for future upgrades. With promised GPU upgrades for at least the next 2 GPU cycles you’re looking at a laptop than can last for a solid 5 years (if not, much longer). With most of the other internals being upgradeable or changeable it does give the customer pretty open options to play with.

The biggest and most talked about thing about the MSI GT80 Titan SLI however, is the price tag. At $6299 it’s priced as much as a small vehicle so you have to really ask yourself if this is something you actually need. For hard-core gamers or even people who do a lot of travelling and aren’t happy with their under $1000 modest laptop, this could be an option for you. Sure, it’s a massive investment, but some people do travel a lot and want that full gaming experience wherever they go. Unfortunately no other laptop other than the MSI GT80 Titan SLI will give you that. It simple is the most powerful and convenient gaming laptop on the market.

When doing these reviews I always ask myself what would I change if I were to build this from the ground up? Firstly, I’d stick with a single GTX 980M, which is a fair chunk of the price cut, a 1440p display and more basic storage options (standard SSD’s)

Sahin Selvi

Asus G75VW Laptop Review!

Following the amazing G74, Asus have come out with the latest addition their uber leet (and uber pricey) G series laptops, the G75!

So as always, let’s take a look at this monster’s internals.

Model: G75VW-T1013V
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM (2.3GHz, 3.3GHz Turbo)
Memory: 16GB DDR3 (1600MHz)
Hard Drive(s):  256GB SSD + 1TB 5400RPM
Optical Drive(s): BluRay Writer
Networking: Gigabit Ethernet
Graphics: nVidia GTX670M 3GB
Display: 17.3” Full-HD LED (1920x1080 Resolution)
Audio: Sonic Master with Subwoofer built-in
Coms: 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Inputs: 4x USB3.0,  1x Microphone, SD Card Reader
Outputs: 1x Headphone Out, 1x VGA, 1x HDMI, 1x mini Display Port
Battery: 8 Cell
Weight: 4.5kg

Comparing with the G74 we see the processor upgraded to the latest Ivy Bridge mobile quad core, RAM speed increased to 1600MHz, a GTX670M graphic processor (Don’t be fooled, it is based on the Fermi architecture, not Kepler) and a change in its audio processor. The G74 featured EAX audio while the G75’s has been changed to something called ‘Sonic Master’. Not sure yet whether or not that is a upgrade or a downgrade.

Last time I was pretty unimpressed with the packaging as it just lacked any fine detail or definition, however it seems as though Asus have listening and crafted a much more appealing internal layout. Removing the unit out of its slick packaging felt a bit heavier than the G74 and rightly so weighing in at 4.5kg, definitely not a ‘portable’ machine. The unit is almost covered in rubber padding from the outer lid the palm rest of the keyboard.

Opening up the lid reveals the full sized backlit keyboard and keys with a dedicated number pad.  The keys feel great to type on and use while keeping the ergonomics uncompromised. Along the top right of the unit you’ll see the power button and the ROG button, which allow you to select difference performance profiles for the machine. For testing purposes, I kept it on Performance (Highest setting)

 

The sides of the unit are showered with all your inputs and outputs including 4 USB3.0 ports. Asus have skipped the slower USB2.0 altogether and probably the wisest thing to do.

Flipping the unit upside down we can unscrew a few places off. I noticed a small screwed area towards the rear of the unit and taking off the plastic revealed a small blower fan. Now, I’m not too sure about this but I assume it is there to allow you to remove the plate when gaming for lengthy periods to allow for better airflow. It would also be very beneficial if you have a notebook cooler. The flow of air would create great thermal results. Another larger panel once removed reveals the memory and drive slots similar to those on the G74. Good upgradable laptop to have on hand.

The display on the machine is fantastic and almost is identical to that on the G74 with the matte finish. I would be surprised if it was even a different screen altogether. The sound on the G75 is a bit better than the G74. The small subwoofer on the bottom of the unit, though lacks any punch, helps reduce that little bit of tinny sounds that come from laptop speakers and add a punch, as minuscule as the punch might be.

Performance
The G75 is put simply the fastest laptop I have used. It boots up in a blitz and performs day to day tasks like browsing, emails, light Photoshop work and other tasks an absolute breeze, and it does it quietly and with style. The G series always had amazing thermal performance and the G75 is no less. Even with the higher end parts which theoretically should be slightly warmer, the rear end exhausts do an amazing job in getting that heat out.

Starting up 3DMark11 I tested the machine under Performance and Extreme settings with results as follows:
X963 3DMarks
P3001 3DMarks

 

Overall, that is quite an impressive result. It managed to score around 300 extra points on Xtreme and almost 1000 more under the performance setting. That’s quite a big leap if you ask me for a laptop!

In our Unigine V2.5 benchmark, the G75 once again proved why it is worth the upgrade:

FPS: 22.5
Score: 567
Min FPS: 6.9

With the heavy benchmarks out the way, it was time to test the unit under real world uses, gaming and boy was it awesome! At no point in time did I feel like it struggled, it just simply and easily breezed through my games and delivered exceptional results! Let’s take a look at some of the details:

Temperatures were amazing. Even under full load the GPU didn’t pass 70 degrees with the CPU coming in even lower. The exhausts at the back however were pushing out a good amount of heat so full credit goes to this design by Asus, the dual fan design they have in the machine definitely gets the heat out. Having said that I would not recommend using this on your lap, this will burn the hair of your legs! A desk and even if you have one, an elevated cooler would be the wisest option.

Conclusion
the G74 was something (and still is in my opinion) special, the G75 is even better. It’s faster and what more does it need to be? It simply performs the way you want it too, however all good things have that little tick that could be removed, and in this case once again it’s Asus partitioned the 2 disks into 4 separate drives. I would assume many people would agree with me when I say nobody enjoys that. It’s unnecessary and quite frankly most people simply remove the partitions when they first get it and do a clean installation to remove the crapware that comes with. I mean let’s face it, this is targeted at heavy end gamers who are 80% of the time well aware of everything computer related and know exactly what they need and want in their systems. Asus provides only the internals while falling short on the software side of things with its crapware.

Having said that a simply uninstallation of it all will fix any issues. Whether you do or don’t doesn’t change the fact this is a marvellous machine! If I had 2k to blow on a system, I’d get a G75.

sahin.s@centrecom.com.au

Lenovo Y570 Laptop Review!

The latest addition the Lenovo Y series
http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/0862mdm-lenovo-y570-0862mdm-before-cash-card-redemption-p-56079.html?sort=2a

Up today is the newest addition the successful range of the Lenovo Y Series, the Y570. A few months ago I did the review on the Y560P which turned out to be an absolute monster of a laptop exceeding all expectations. The Y570 appears to be similar in design with beefed up specs, let’s take a look at the specifications.

Model: Y570 (0862MDM)
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM (2.2GHz, 3.10GHz Turbo)
Memory: 8GB DDR3 (1333MHz)
Hard Drive(s): 750GB 5400RPM
Optical Drive(s): Super Multi DVD R/W
Networking: Gigabit Ethernet
Graphics: nVidia GT555M 2GB Switchable
Display: 15.6” HD LED Backlight (1366x768 Resolution)
Audio: JBL Speakers
Coms: 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1
Inputs: 1x USB2.0, 2x USB3.0, 1x eSATA,  1x Microphone, SD Card Reader
Outputs: 1x Headphone Out, 1x VGA, 1x HDMI
Battery: 6 Cell

Features

From the Y560 we see an improvement on the Graphic Chip with switchable graphics, ensuring longer battery life for small tasks and additional USB3.0 ports.

Upon inspection of the box, one will notice the larger sized packaging. Open the box reveals cardboard goodness in a tight fit design. What I like about this particular one is the fact you don’t have to pull it up vertically to take it out. Sitting the package horizontally the lid opens to reveal the laptop sitting in its foam moulding.

Looking at the unit we see a distinctive orange line running around the edge of the screen, with the lid patterned by sparkling dots (in a cool tech kind of way, not a girly way).  Opening the lid reveals a purple brushed aluminium look with sleek touch buttons, a full sized keyboard with number pad and JBL speakers dominating the top section. Not sure who designed this and why they chose purple and orange as a colour scheme. A laptop like this could have used a sleek and glossy black casing.

Like other Lenovo units, the Y570 also features a One-Key recovery option to restore to factory settings, along with a very comfortable and ergonomic keyboard. The track pad feels very smooth and easy to use and doesn’t have that stickiness most laptops suffer from.

Similar to other Lenovo’s once again, the inputs are wisely located and do not obstruct one another. The dual USB3.0 ports and eSATA port add good connectivity to this unit. The display on this unit is fantastic. Very crisp and clear with excellent contrast and brightness. This is definitely one of the better screens on laptops on the market.  HD films look brilliant and coupled with the JBL speakers make it a good buy for movies on the go. The larger hard drive allows for a decent number of films you can carry with you at all times!

Performance

Packed into this unit is a Core i7-2670QM CPU running at 2.2GHz and a solid 8GB of memory to accompany it. An improvement over the Y560P, the Y570 adds a slightly higher clocked CPU with the same memory. Booting the unit came in at 51s for its first boot. It even displays this in a little popup when you first start the machine and even gives you options to try and improve that.

The sound being produced from the JBL speakers is fantastic. You really get a good punch of a sound for something so small and on a laptop. Usually with laptops tinny and ear cringing sound is inevitable but the JBL’s on the Y570 are fantastic. Let’s not forget you won’t be hearing audiophile quality sound, but it offers great sound for a laptop. 

Our Cinebench software gave us the following test results:

CPU: 5.20pts
OpenGL: 44.51pts

Our PCMark07 benchmark gave a result of 2479 PCMarks.
Our 3DMark11 Vantage benchmark produced a result of P1821 3DMarks.

These results prove the extra grunt in the Y570 outperforms that of the Y560P. Comforting to know as it’s not always the case with new products. The CPU was the biggest surprise with a good 300marks improvement over its predecessor.

Multimedia applications ran like a breeze as expected, the Y560P performed will with Photoshop and After Effects and the Y570 is no less. This really is a solid performing laptop. The slower hard drive can occasionally slow down opening and saving files, but with USB3.0 ports at the helm, small issues like this can be avoided. 

Temperatures were interesting with the unit. The hard drive and nVidia G555M chip were at 40 and 45 respectively while the Core i7 was mildly blazing in the low 50’s during idle. While on load you definitely hear the fan working its magic and pumping air out of the exhaust on the left hand side. I really would not recommend using this on a soft surface like a bed, as it can heat and pretty quickly. On load the GPU would hit about the 60 degree mark with the CPU reaching 70 which is a fantastic result overall, however I’m obliged to tell you the fan is definitely working its head off. It pushes good heat from the side of the unit.

Gaming was fantastic on the unit, quite surprising as well. By default it sets your graphics to relatively high settings with 2x AA enabled. With these settings gameplay was smooth and free of any hiccups. The Y560P was brilliant with games and it looks like with the beefed up 2GB Graphics chip on the Y570, gaming on laptops has gone even better.

Conclusion

The Y560P was by far the best laptop I’d tried last year. It provided amazing performance for sub-$1000 mark. The Y570 continues that tradition pumping out even better performance for the same price range. This laptop seems to do what a lot of users will ask out of a laptop. Though it doesn’t stand out as much as its predecessor and lacks some simple colour mixing errors in its design, it offers the end users quite a good deal.

sahin.s@centrecom.com.au