MSI GX660R-060US or ASUS G73JH-A2?

[Pixelman]

This is my first post on the XoticPC forums so hey everybody. I am a student and I need a new laptop for school and also for gaming and designing (Photoshop CS5, Illustrator). I basically set myself a rough budget of around $1500 but that is just rough.

After browsing the site I have narrowed down my decision to either the brand spanking new MSI GX660R-060US or the soon to be replaced ASUS G73JH-A2. Both have fairly similar tech specs but the MSI is attracting me more as it has the 16 inch screen and a longer battery life which could be useful being a student. Also, although I dont currently own any blueray movies, the MSI comes with the blueray drive and also USB 3.0.

Although it may seem that I prefer the MSI, I am pretty much split between the two. The ultimate question is, which would you personally prefer to own?

[powerpack]

Just on specs the GX660 wins. CPU (slight), USB 3.0, Sound, RAID.

G73 for me? CPU difference is acceptable. USB 3.0, I am not an early adopter. Sound, G73 sound is acceptable for me. I do not have high expectations for note book sound.

Looks, do you like the styling of one over the other? I like the G73. If I was choosing between the two today I would have a hard choice. MSI is a little shiny for me.

[Fr0st]

To be frank, I absolutely love my G73, but I think I would swap it for the GX660R simply for the portability and lighter weight.. The G73 is a fantastic gaming machine, but it really is a "desktop replacement" in both performance and size. The MSI is lighter and more portable, and performs better.

The only departments I think the ASUS has over the MSI is build quality (which many will debate with me, however from my experience ASUS quality > MSI), and looks. Otherwise I'd get the MSI. :)

Either way you can't really go wrong, they are both fantastic machines.

[mrmatt]

To be honest I'm still not sold on the cooling in the MSI, but it is a great deal.

[PTRob]

You can also remove the Blu-Ray drive if you want to save a few $

[Pixelman]

I have it configured at the moment with the IC Diamond thermal compound, Microsoft Office Home, the Intel 6200 and took off the blueray for $1655 after discount. Would it be worth replacing one of the 320GB HD's with an 80 GB or 128GB SSD?

[mrmatt]

I would wait till prices go down

[Pixelman]

I have never owned an MSI laptop before. How easy would it be to replace components further down the road?

[Fr0st]

I have never owned an MSI laptop before. How easy would it be to replace components further down the road?

Expandability on MSI notebooks is pretty much the same as ASUS and other big-manufacturers, which is to say limited to none. You won't get the upgradability out of the MSI like you would a Sager/Clevo laptop. That being said, I don't know the specific upgradability of this model, but the typical things (RAM, HDD) are easy to upgrade. Things like the CPU and GPU, probably not.

[Pixelman]

Thanks for all of the helpful replies. I think I will go with the MSI

15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare Type Screen
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- - Intel® Core™ i7-740QM, 1.73-2.93GHz, (45nm, 6MB L3 cache) - Standard
- IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU (Cools better than all Compounds)
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD5870 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- No Video Adapter
- - 6,144MB (6GB) DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2GBx3)
- Standard Finish
- - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software
- - 320GB 7200RPM WD or Seagate (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s) - Standard
- - 320GB 7200RPM WD or Seagate (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s) - Standard
- No Additional Hard Drive in ODD Bay (When adding Hard Drive, Optical Drive Is Removed)
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- No Back Up Software
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- -Intel® Advanced-N 6200 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- No Network Accessory
- Integrated Digital Video Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- No Carrying Case
- Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- No Fingerprint Reader
- Microsoft Bluetooth Wireless Laser Mouse Has anyone used this mouse (Its $22 with student discount)
- No Notebook Cooler
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Pre-Installed + Drivers & Utilities Disk
- Yes, please create backup recovery DVD
- RETAIL Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student Edition - Word/Excel/PowerPoint/OneNote
- No Software Bundle
- 2 Year MSI US Parts & Labor 1 Year Global Warranty w/ Lifetime Tech Support
- No Xotic PC Gear


This is my configured setup... is there anything else anyone would add within reason?

[Fr0st]

Looks great! Let us know how she performs when you get it :D

[Pixelman]

Im ordering tomorrow even tho it is a Saturday. I'll update when it arrives.

[Pixelman]

I Just purchased the GX660R minus the blueray drive. Added the IC Diamond compound, MS Office 2010 and recovery disks.

Total price after shipping = $1720

Cant wait till it gets here :)

[TinGodz]

Nice. Let us know how it goes after you receive it.

[PTRob]

Great! Yes, please let us know your impressions when you get it.

[Equilibrium1736]

The MSI is way higher quality than the Asus. All you have to do is take the back panel off to see the difference. In an MSI you have full access to high quality heatsinks for upgrades, paste changes, battery, and fan. The G73 is designed very poorly in my opinion from a customer stand point as you have to disassemble the entire computer to get at any component, including fans. The keyboard is almost impossible to remove without damaging due to the double sided tape. If you plan on keeping your laptop for more than 2 years the msi is the definite winner, and that isn't even including the fact that the MSI has way more features and actually has good battery life.

[mrmatt]

The MSI is way higher quality than the Asus. All you have to do is take the back panel off to see the difference. In an MSI you have full access to high quality heatsinks for upgrades, paste changes, battery, and fan. The G73 is designed very poorly in my opinion from a customer stand point as you have to disassemble the entire computer to get at any component, including fans. The keyboard is almost impossible to remove without damaging due to the double sided tape. If you plan on keeping your laptop for more than 2 years the msi is the definite winner, and that isn't even including the fact that the MSI has way more features and actually has good battery life.
Thats not necessarily true. The average user doesn't want to disassemble their computer. Why would you take off the keyboard anyways? 8GB of RAM is more than enough, even for enthusiasts. If you need more than that then you need to be getting a desktop. Average users aren't interested in changing heat sinks or thermal paste. Also, it seems to me that the MSI has an inferior cooling system.

[TinGodz]

Can either of you guys provide some facts to back up your statements? I ask genuinely because I'm very curious as to who is right.

[Maverick494]

Thats not necessarily true. The average user doesn't want to disassemble their computer. Why would you take off the keyboard anyways? 8GB of RAM is more than enough, even for enthusiasts. If you need more than that then you need to be getting a desktop. Average users aren't interested in changing heat sinks or thermal paste. Also, it seems to me that the MSI has an inferior cooling system.

8GB of Ram may be more than enough for now, but in order to reach the 4th Ram slot you do have to take the whole laptop apart. Same if you wanted to upgrade the video card, which is not even a standard MXM card in the G73.

While most average users aren't going to upgrade their laptop, most average users don't shop at Xotic either, they go and get the Best buy G73 model.

So the MSI having more and easier upgrade options certainly makes it at least as attractive as the G73, if not more so than it. So far from the review thread from Xtoic the MSI has a cooling system that is fine, except for one thing: it exhausts out of a side vent. That can be a bad thing for a lefty or for someone that uses things plugged into that side.

[powerpack]

Equilibrium valid points. I would not shade my opinion as strong as you do. I considered the G73 GPU to not be upgradeable from the start so not like I lost anything.

Upgrading the GPU on any notebook is not the rosy path it is for desktops. Anyone who says it is and future upgrade ability on even the Sagers is sketchy at best. That is two fold. What your upgrade options actually are and cost. I do not mean with any disrespect or insult. But when some guys want to upgrade the cost kills or the upgrade just puts the system marginal enthusiast at best. Of course there have been exceptions.

Is the MSI MXM? I do not know, is it user upgradeable? Once again I do not know. If it is great, if not we are talking useless stuff.

On ease of access on the MSI heatsinks. Are upgrades being offered? Back to the GPU upgrade on notebooks while it might be offered it is limited. Most do not do custom heatsink replacements so I hardly see as a major issue. You can't get standard desktop upgradability on a notebook space is just too limited. I thought I read one of the MSI DIMM's was on the underside of keyboard. Less than ideal access. I assume and hope the 4GB stick is in the hard to access area.

Anyone buying now should look at the MSI it does have some nice features.

Those are my off the cuff comments without knowing a hell of a lot about the MSI.

[mrmatt]

The entire purpose of what I said earlier was that most of the points were more or less pointless. Is anyone here really planning on upgrading their graphics card? I don't believe that any of those points about the MSI being "easier" to upgrade doesn't mean that its easy to upgrade. Acquiring a next gen graphics card will cost a arm and a leg. You might as well buy a new laptop. I agree that it is a great computer. I'm anxious to see whether we see a similarly styled 17 inch laptop from them soon.

[powerpack]

Matt I agreed with your points I thought I got it. And I agree with everything you just said. I think we are on the same page. If I ignored you it was only because I tend to agree with you, as usual. Even though you bought a Sager.:p:D

I tried to say not as rosy as some might say. But not feed a fire.;)

[mrmatt]

Matt I agreed with your points I thought I got it. And I agree with everything you just said. I think we are on the same page. If I ignored you it was only because I tend to agree with you, as usual. Even though you bought a Sager.:p:D

I tried to say not as rosy as some might say. But not feed a fire.;)
I understood, I just felt like refining what I said in case anyone misunderstood :wink2:

[BODHi]

I'm anxious to see whether we see a similarly styled 17 inch laptop from them soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYFp2ow58F8

I would love those speaker grills instead of the red ones on the GX660r!

[mrmatt]

Disappointing they stuck a 460m in there. It was sounding like a good laptop. Still don't like the metal grille and shininess.

[BODHi]

Still don't like the metal grille and shininess.

Tell me about it. If the 660 remotely looked like the Sager NP8690 I would've ordered it already. I'm going to TRY to wait it out and see what folks say about it. Still, I like the silver grilles over the red ones. :p

With that in mind I'm going to see which of the following seems best for me:

- a NP8690s/Clevo with USB 3 that I'm hearing mention of
- Detailed reviews of 660R
- or maybe even the G53 specs

[mrmatt]

It looks like the G53 will have a Nvidia card in it as well, I would say that the Sager is your best bet.

[Equilibrium1736]

The entire purpose of what I said earlier was that most of the points were more or less pointless. Is anyone here really planning on upgrading their graphics card? I don't believe that any of those points about the MSI being "easier" to upgrade doesn't mean that its easy to upgrade. Acquiring a next gen graphics card will cost a arm and a leg. You might as well buy a new laptop. I agree that it is a great computer. I'm anxious to see whether we see a similarly styled 17 inch laptop from them soon.

My statement was not directed at those who want to upgrade their video cards. It was meant to illustrate that if something were to go wrong with the thermals it is all accessible without having to send back your laptop to the manufacturer. I own my laptops for 5-7 years and it is impossible to own a system for that long without throughly dusting fans inside and changing thermal paste periodically. You said that the average user doesn't change thermal paste, that may be true but the reality is that the users buying computers from xoticpc are enthusiests for the most part. In other words, this laptop has a much greater lifespan with user care. If you replace the laptop every 2-3 years max then the Asus might be your type of computer. Good luck with disassembling the G73jh if anything goes wrong, I literally cringed when he removed the keyboard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp90M_N6dzs&feature=search

Also, it seems to me that the MSI has an inferior cooling system.

I totally disagree with that statement, the MSI is far more efficient with its 1 fan cooling design. The fact that the GX660r can keep the 5870 in the 70C range under load is extremely impressive considering the MSI is smaller than the Asus.

[Przn4lif3]

does msi know that we don't want our laptops to scream "STEAL ME"?

[mrmatt]

With horrible ambient temps my laptop keeps the 5870 in the 70s. The fact is that MSI does not sell their computers only for Xotic and neither does Asus. Most retailers have customers who do replace their computer every 2-3 years. It would be pointless for Asus to accommodate the every concern of a tiny tiny part of the people buying their computers.

[Equilibrium1736]

With horrible ambient temps my laptop keeps the 5870 in the 70s. The fact is that MSI does not sell their computers only for Xotic and neither does Asus. Most retailers have customers who do replace their computer every 2-3 years. It would be pointless for Asus to accommodate the every concern of a tiny tiny part of the people buying their computers.

It's never pointless to offer higher quality, more features, and accessibility, that's how you gain support for a brand. Just because the so called "majority" of users don't clean out their systems doesn't mean they shouldn't have the ability to. You could use that reasoning to say that the majority of users don't need an express card, firewire port, and Esata slot but guess what, many people are complaining about the lack these features on the G73.

Your computer may have temps in the 70's for now but we'll see if that's the case 3 years down the road without cleaning and maintenance.

[mrmatt]

I'm not saying that your wrong. I do regularly take apart an clean my computer. But the fact of the matter is that if Asus could cut some corners that the majority of people don't care about, then they are going to do it. I'm just playing devils advocate to show why they do what they do.

[powerpack]

Thanks for that video. I will come in handy. Only thing that even slightly causes me pause is the keyboard and double face tape. I would prefer screws, I don not think it will cause me any problems.

Does 10 steps or 40 steps really matter?

Do we know the MSI is that wonderful to work on? It does have a memory slot not easily accessed.

Anyway I don't have a horse in this race. I am happy with mine and that video causes me zero concern. I hope everyone else is as happy with theirs whether Asus, MSI or Sager.