GE60 internals – component locations

The GE60 has been with us for a while, and some of you who bought one by launch may feel that the system is getting on a bit. Maybe you feel the need for more RAM, or perhaps another SSD?

A video guide on how to change these things is coming along shortly, but until then, here’s what the GE60 looks like internally, and where the components are. As always, if you decide to open the notebook up and replace things yourself, any damage caused by you will void the system’s warranty. Proceed with caution.

Desktop graphics... Notebook CPU?

So, we found this thing in the office. Apparently, it is a notebook, with a… Desktop GPU? At PCI-E 3.0 x16, no less.



What might this wizardry be? Any takers?

NVIDIA GeForce Pick Your Path Game Bundle



You're a gamer, and we have the hottest titles this holiday for whatever you like to play. Buy any MSI Notebook with GTX 970M/980M. and get a game code. You can pick the path of an assassin, a freedom fighter, or a racer, and download Assassin's Creed Unity, Far Cry 4, or The Crew for free. For further details, please follow the steps below of registration for getting game code.

Promotion Date: 20th November 2014 - 20th January 2015

Game Code Expiry Date: 20th February 2015

Game Code Redeem Type: Digital Code

Eligible MSI Notebook Models:
GT72 2QE
GT72 2QD
GS70 2QE
GS60 2QE

Bundle Games (Choose 1 out of 3 games):
The Crew
Far Cry 4
Assassin's Creed Unity

Note: To be eligible, consumers must purchase MSI Notebook with GTX970M or GTX980M from 20th Nov 2014 to 20th Jan 2015. The redemption is available from 20th Nov 2014 to 20th Jan 2015 or till supplies last.

Read here for guide to redeem your game code: http://bit.ly/msimynb_nvidiapickyourpath2014

Why Quadro?

If you’re already reading this in a sub-forum titled “Workstation notebooks” you probably already know what the uses are for a Quadro. Still, we’d like to try and explain what the benefits of workstation graphics cards are.

In short, however, let us explain it this way – a workstation graphics card (i.e. an NVIDIA Quadro card, as found in the MSI WS/WT series) is a card optimized for specific tasks, such as CAD or other cases with demanding GPU simulations. Or, as NVIDIA itself puts it:

“The Quadro mobile workstation product family offers a complete range of graphics with unmatched performance and quality for the most demanding professionals on the go. From digital content creators on a movie set, to design engineers at a remote plant, to geo-scientists on an oil rig, mobile professionals bring Quadro graphics where their work is.”

So the target audience is clear – professionals. But what about the performance? As with everything else, it’s different from test to test, but in general, the properly specialized software, such as Catia, Maya and SolidWorks will make full use of a workstation card, and it’s these users who are the target audience of the MSI Workstation notebooks.


In any case, our findings show that even the entry level Quadro K2100M, as found in the WS60, will completely monster even the GTX 780M in all professional applications.



Granted, the result would be more or less the other way round in games, but for those serious about their work in animation, CAD and other demanding applications should consider a mobile Quadro to boost their productivity.

We will return to this topic in the future with updated tests, watch this space.

GE60/70 Upgrade guide

We’ve been getting requests for upgrade videos lately, so we decided we should give it a try. The most popular models to upgrade are probably the GE60/70, in which you can quite easily replace the RAM, HDD, SSDs as well as the WiFi/Bluetooth card.



In case you were curious on how to upgrade your GE before, you no longer have to be. We take you through the steps over a 10-minute video on Youtube.

If you have purchase any MSI Gaming Notebook, check out the MSI promotions below and redeem your freebies!

[NEW!]MSI Year End Promotion






[NEW!]NVIDIA GeForce Pick Your Path Game Bundle





[NEW!]Your Fantasy Starts with MSI GS Series

Elder Scrolls Online on the GE60

We often focus on higher-end material when we present our technical articles, but as Christmas nears, we’re getting a bit lazy. Instead, we produce things like in-game videos of Far Cry 4 on those high-end machines, but we also have Elder Scrolls Online bundled in lots of regions around the world.

ESO runs just fine with quite high settings even on lower spec machines, such as the GE60 with the modest GTX 850M. We had a little game session at the office, averaging over 60 FPS in the Wailing Prison, while hitting way over 30 FPS when we got out of the prison, into the more demanding scenery.



Being an online-only game, we can’t run any benchmarks, but even our lower-end offerings will run ESO without any sign of trouble, in case you are interested in picking up a G series with the free game and 30-day subscription.

Stay tuned for our in-game video of Elder Scrolls Online – we promise it’ll be played as badly as the Far Cry 4 one.

Matrix Display – setup and model chart

This time, it’s time for a little repetition – we’ve been noticing a bunch of questions on how to set up Matrix Display (the ability to use several monitors on MSI Gaming notebooks) lately, and we’d like to show you all once more. Basically, it is very simple, but there are differences in how to enable this on different models.

The procedure for the GT series can be found here:
Link

GS and GE:
Link

Worth noting is that different models have different capabilities when it comes to outputting video. Below, you can see which model is capable of what.

GT72/GT70/GT60: Built-in display + 3 external monitors
GS70 + GX series: Built-in display + 2 external monitors OR 3 external monitors
GS60, GE60, GP series: Built-in display + 2 external monitors


Matrix Display is yet another MSI feature that not only helps you with your gaming experience, but also boost your productivity, with a minimum of three monitors supported across the range.

Super RAID 3 performance

Super RAID 3 is MSI’s name for a 4-SSD RAID 0 solution used in the GT72. You may know that traditional mechanical hard drives are going out of fashion like… Uhh, I don’t know fashion, but their only upsides have been storage density as well as price. Until very recently, that is, now SSDs have actually surpassed hard drives in storage density on 2.5” drives. Also, SSD controller manufacturer Phison, claims that SSDs will basically replace traditional hard drives in notebooks as soon as 2015 or 2016. The future, therefore is SSDs.

While we have absolutely no doubt that our Super RAID solution is the ultimate, we want to demonstrate to you exactly how massive the gap is. With the help of benchmarks, obviously, and an unfair one at that. What we did, was find a GE40 with a relic of a mechanical hard drive in it. A 7200 RPM one, so not the slowest we could find – and compared it to the GT72 Dragon Edition and its Super RAID 3 solution of 4 256GB SSDs in Crystal Diskmark. Extreme differences? You bet.


First up the HDD:



A typical hard drive result – easily surpassed by even USB 3.0 memory nowadays. Peaks of just over 60MB in sequential read and nearly grinding to a standstill in the 4K tests.



Super RAID 3 though – it monsters the HDD (and, to be fair, everything else on the market). Not surprisingly, exactly, but with 1.5GB/s (not Gb, GB, Gigabyte) sequential read speed it is what you call fast. Windows 8 loads quickly with one SSD, but with four in RAID0, you’re barely given time to blink.


Best of all, with a 4x256GB SSD, there’s plenty of room for your games on the RAID array, meaning you can always be the first onto the battlefield in games, as your maps will load so much faster than the opposition’s.

WS60 2OJ 4K Edition

A lot of you out there have been asking for 4K resolution for added productivity. Of course, it has always been possible to connect external monitors to your MSI notebook, whether it’s a workstation or a gaming notebook, but what if you need more on the go?


We’ve heard your prayers, and gone on to complement the 3K (2880x1620) panel in the WS60 lineup with a 4K Ultra-HD one with a 3840x2160 panel. A resolution this high (as large as 4x Full HD panels clustered together) will of course increase productivity and do more even if you’re stuck with “only” one screen.



The WS60 2OJ 4K edition will be available world-wide starting January, but if you look closely, you might be able to find this in stores already, in select regions.

[NEW!]Boost Your Performance



Purchase a GE60 2PE or GE70 2PE and you are entitled to 'Boost Your Performance' by purchasing one 128GB SSD (mSATA) for only RM99.

Promotion Date - 8th December 2014 to 31st January 2015
*Offer Valid at all MSI Authorised Resellers (http://bit.ly/mymsinb_wheretobuy) in Malaysia

Terms & Conditions
*Promotion valid while stocks last. Limited to maximum of one SSD per notebook.
*For Installation and Transfer of Operating System to SSD, an additional charge of RM99 will apply.

**BONUS!** This promotion is also eligible for MSI Year End Promo:http://event.msi.com/mb/2014/beatitpromo/

120Hz output on MSI Notebooks

If you haven’t been living under a rock lately, you’ve noticed that not only is higher resolution monitors in extreme demand, but also 120Hz ones. As you might know, in case your panel has a refresh rate of 60Hz (which is standard for PC monitors), you will not notice any difference in framerate above 60 FPS. This is because 1Hz = 1 oscillation per second, meaning a 60Hz panel refreshes 60 times per second, and subsequently a 120Hz panel does this twice as often. Even screens with refresh rates as high as 240Hz exist.



Slightly exaggerated picture courtesy of Eizo

All notebook screen panels are unfortunately 60Hz panels, effectively capping what you see at 60 FPS (even if your measured framerate actually might be higher), and if your (non-MSI) notebook comes with NVIDIA Optimus (a technology that automatically switches between the CPU graphics and the dedicated NVIDIA one), you’re even capped at 60Hz on any external monitors connected to your notebook. This is why MSI has chosen to not use Optimus, because we believe that with our high-performance hardware, you should be given the choice to run at higher frequencies, such as 120Hz.

All MSI Gaming notebooks equipped with DisplayPort supports output of refresh rates higher than 60Hz, in case you’re a 120Hz-connaisseur and worried about maybe not being able to use it on your MSI Notebook.

MSI GT80 Titan Launch Event @ Malaysia IT Fair



Join us in Malaysia IT Fair this week at Mid Valley, Kuala Lumpur and check out the Worlds First Gaming Notebook with Full Mechanical Keyboard and Special Preview of New MSI GE62 Gaming Notebook!

Date: 9th -11th Jan 2015
Time: 11am - 9pm
Venue: Mid Valley Exhibition Centre, Hall 1 Booth No. 109

MSI @ Malaysia IT Fair (I) 2015

Date: 9th -11th Jan 2015
Time: 11am - 9pm
Venue: Mid Valley Exhibition Centre, Hall 1 Booth No. 109