Remain with Intel if you need speed to compile programs and stuff. Otherwise, yeah, the AMD CPU is a considerable bottleneck to CPU heavy stuff. RAM upgrades can help the GX60 but it'll still slow down when doing REAL CPU taxing stuff.

Gaming + programming below RM4k and remains cool. Acer V7 (3.7k)? Also, the Illegear RE15: Nvidia 765 and 15 inch FHD screen for about the same price. That's prolly about it for "not so hot" laptops suitable for gaming.

Alternatively you can get the RE13/GE40 but both runs HOT, at least at full load.

RE13 runs slightly colder, has the 765 + beautiful FHD IPS screen, slightly thicker body and a 4-hour battery life. GE40 on the other hand, runs hotter, has the 760 + 900p TN (read: considerably less beautiful) screen, thinner body and a 6-7 hour battery life.

As for others, err Lenovo Y510P SLI? 1 hour battery life, FHD screen and TWO 750m GPUs. Of course it runs hot as well unfortunately. Alternatively, the GE60, but it also has bad battery life and runs just as hot with only a single 765.

IINM your best bet is the Illegear RE15 for that budget. Maybe you can also consider the MSI GE60 with the nvidia 750 which is even cheaper than the GE40 (3.4k), but the RE15 has better specs for only an extra 300++.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 12 2013, 07:36 AM

Actually, how DO you transfer the F3 hidden partition to an SSD? Full disk cloning with Acronis or something?

I thought a full HDD clone from a normal HDD to an SSD is not recommended as the fragmented sectors on the HDD image might not transfer well to the SSD?

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 12 2013, 10:27 AM

Mine normal 40-45. 50 should be okay IMHO, but supposedly the larger case of the GX60 has better ventilation?

@davidmak: UNLESS you choose the "custom" preset, SB Cinema defaults to the defaults of every preset (game, cinema etc.) after every reboot. Under "custom" the changes should hold.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 12 2013, 02:51 PM

Then go upgrade with Storm88. He's an "authorized dealer" so it's fine that he upgrades your stuff, at least according to MSI-NB here on Lowyat.NET.

Note "diagnosis case by case". So it's not a simple matter of "tear sticker = automatically void".

Why is the sticker there then? To protect MSI in terms of liability... and to help scare off the less technically inclined amongst us from blowing up their laptops.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 12 2013, 03:42 PM

Very true for some other pastes as well. Thankfully my Xigmatek Freezing Point isn't corrosive, though it's probably not as effective as IC.

The GE60 with 750 ALSO comes with just an i5, so yeah it'll be LOTS cooler. It's a lot cheaper too at 2.8k now (on offer).

Still holding on the RE15 as my recommendation for now.

@MSI-NB: Thanks for the clarification boss.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 12 2013, 05:39 PM

Yep. I'd readily recommend the GS70 to anyone who can live with 17 inches (it's freaking thin though) and "just" a 765. It's slightly over his budget but I say get it (even the lower end model) if he could stretch a liiiiiiitle bit more.

IMHO it's the BEST all rounder solution from MSI so far, until they come up with an equally good 14inch version (GS40? Please?).

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 12 2013, 06:51 PM

As long as it doesn't spill down to the green IC board below, you'll be fine. If it does...

But really, even if IC Diamond is DA BEST paste, the heating performance difference between the top brands is like 1-2c only. If you don't want to live with the risk of holes in your motherboard, just get another top end brand paste that's not corrosive.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 12 2013, 07:37 PM

Yeah I actually googled. Not "corrosive" like the other "corrosive" paste, it's actually "abrasive".

And I'd say the chances of scratching something is definitely higher than 3/100 with IC Diamond. Doesn't make it a bad paste, but definitely not newbie friendly when removing it.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 12 2013, 08:20 PM

GE40 no backlit, or any lights besides the indicators and the dragon eyes for that matter.

@MSI-NB: Regarding the DDR3L, we found out the hard way that 1.5v is not really well liked by Haswell.

It's 2.9k or something only now, got promo (not sure for how long). Intel i5 only (dual core IINM) and 750, no backlit (AFAIK). Should run much cooler on load (compared to the i7/765 GE60 and the i7/760 GE40) due to the i5 and 750.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 13 2013, 01:17 AM

Supposedly no. Not sure though.

You want power (but with CPU bottleneck risk for compiling programs) = GX60

You want balance and low heat = GE60 750 (prolly).

You want small size and battery life = GE40.

Still standing by my recommendation of the Illegear RE15 though.

Lolol. I'm a honest recommender. If the GT60 comes out and it's good, I'll recommend that one wholeheartedly. But for now, for his specific needs (low heat, programming, around 4k) there's not really anything I'd REALLY recommend except for the GS70.

I is the no fanboi... Bought my GE40 because it was perfect for my needs, warts and all.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 13 2013, 10:09 AM

Just name dropping prolly to make sure the GT series remains the Flagship. People only really look at the "names" attached to a product, right?

As for Haswell-E, yeah, seems they're skipping X89. But really, Haswell is more a mobile oriented architecture that doesn't even overclock that well - it's future as a "enthusiast" platform is questionable. Plus knowing Intel (and this whole DRR3L thing), they're gonna make DDR4 "compulsory" and that's really gonna sting, financial-wise.

Not that enthusiasts are gonna care about the hole in their pockets much anyway.

For me, I'm gonna remain a "mobile gamer" for many years to come so this isn't really relevant much lol. Gimme interesting stuff in Sky Lake and I'll be happy.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 13 2013, 01:15 PM

BTW, some strange static issue with the Illegear RE15 is brewing over in the Illegear thread. So I'm retracting my recommendation of the RE15 for the time being until it gets sorted out.

Sure good service is good service, but a design fault is something totally unacceptable. So let's wait up a bit first to see what's going on.

Next recommendation, save up a bit and get the GS70.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 13 2013, 02:24 PM

Lower volts also mean it's faster to run full speed from power off, but that's a very marginal performance gain.

About it NEEDING DDR3L, like I said before, DDR3L is simply DDR3 rated to run stable from 1.28v to 1.45v. By extension, any standard DDR3 sticks with chips from a good bin would able to run under 1.35v with no issues - something I have observed myself.

UNFORTUNATELY, not all DDR3 sticks come with chips from a good bin, as some people have shown with their instability with 1.5v DDR3 on Mobile Haswell. And besides luck and chance, there's no other way to determine if a DDR3 stick would run fine with 1.35v.

Like you said, out of the box compatibility would have been even better, like Desktop Haswell. A mobile platform is all about power savings though, and using DDR3L is a simple "cheat" so that the Haswell mobile platform would seem very "power efficient". BECAUSE it's a "cheat", Intel will be very reluctant to state the fact that this is what is "really" happening.

SOOOO, the simple way out for Intel is to keep quiet (something they are EXPERTS at by now).

MSI on the other hand, cannot take any chances and will HAVE to (like Asus) ENFORCE the 1.35v requirement simply so that people won't go though memory issues with 1.5v/1.65v DDR3 and blame THEM for the problem.

With that said, I'm getting myself a second stick of DDR3L anyway. At least I'm not risking any warranty issues in the long run - MSI can't simply say "see, we told you using 1.5v RAM will burn your laptop" when I go and claim warranty (for something completely unrelated) later.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 13 2013, 03:24 PM

Not that it's a BAD thing, lower OVERALL power consumption for about the same levels of system performance as the previous gen Architecture is always a welcome thing in a mobile platform.

Problem is:
1) Intel is NOT making the use of 1.35v a choice. AND even THAT isn't clear.
2) Intel isn't pushing memory makers to churn out DDR3L faster.

Maybe this DDR3L push is simply a ploy from the memory makers (in cohoots with Intel of course) to clear out stocks for a memory standard that was already out from 2010 and didn't really catch on - in anticipation for the next big thing: DDR4.

I mean, somebody has got to clear out those mountains of DDR3L somehow. And notice that this "recommendation" to use DDR3L has been going on since Sandy Beach - at which time people really didn't give an eff and kept on using normal DDR3 anyway.

Just my conspiracy theory flavour 2 cents.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 13 2013, 03:48 PM

Please note the RE15 got some sort of issue now (sound card static). So I have to stop recommending it for a while, please save up for the GS70 (or get the GE60 i7 750) if possible if you need your laptop ASAP.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 13 2013, 08:04 PM

Run with the battery inserted AT ALL TIMES if you plan to go full load. If not... well, if I tell my broken adapter story one more time Elysian will flip again lol.

IF you want to run with your battery out (to save battery lifespan or something), go get an MSI spec (Toshiba/Acer seems to use the same AC jack) 120w adapter from eBay or something. Otherwise you run the risk of toasting your AC adapter.

On a lighter note, my Killer WIFI arrived edi, now waiting for my delicious cheapo Hynix DDR3L to come in. Lai lai lai.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 14 2013, 01:17 AM

It's not designed for it, but with a thermally efficient rig with a sufficiently powerful GPU like the GT70, why not? Though it really depends on how "long term" you mean by long term - a Dell Precision Workstation with a K5000M GPU might be better suited if you want to render for months on end without stopping. After all, a "gaming" laptop is not really made for "heavy continuous use" scenarios - I don't think normal people play Battlefield 3 continuously for months without stopping.

My GE40 could probably do heavy rendering too in a pinch, but not continuously for a long period of time, as it will probably degrade a lot of things due to heat - it wasn't really designed for thermal efficiency under long term use (or even short term one for that matter lol).

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Sep 14 2013, 07:51 AM