Is the MSI GX660 notebook a good buy?

**thejonchoi** · May 2nd, 2011 01:33 AM

That's a better notebook in all aspects - except the graphics chip.

The HD6470 is newer tech, but it's entry-level tech. Comparing it to the HD5xxx series, it's slightly slower than an HD5650 (midrange). The HD5870 in the GX660 though is still a monster by today's standards.

The FX420 will outperform the GX660 in everything BUT games. And we're not talking a handful of single-digit frame rates here. It's the newest budget graphics chipset against the past generation's king.

If the notebook's primarily for gaming, the GX660 still smokes all the local competition in the sub-40k segment.

**ghosthunter** · May 2nd, 2011 09:37 AM

rats! ... I thought meron na akong nakita na bargain gaming performance notebook PC.

**ghosthunter** · May 2nd, 2011 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by thejonchoi

That's a better notebook in all aspects - except the graphics chip.

The HD6470 is newer tech, but it's entry-level tech. Comparing it to the HD5xxx series, it's slightly slower than an HD5650 (midrange). The HD5870 in the GX660 though is still a monster by today's standards.

The FX420 will outperform the GX660 in everything BUT games. And we're not talking a handful of single-digit frame rates here. It's the newest budget graphics chipset against the past generation's king.

If the notebook's primarily for gaming, the GX660 still smokes all the local competition in the sub-40k segment.

You're right about the video chipsets. I checked the Gigaflop rating for both GPUs and the older HD5870 does roughly twice the performance of the newer HD6470.

In that sense, the GX660 notebook is still much better.

**Horsepower** · May 3rd, 2011 12:52 PM

The specs sound good esp the 8gb. Been looking for a sandy bridge myself. I'm probably okay with 6470 (mine is 5470 1GB). But I'd wait for an ASUS. Can't seem to trust MSI's build quality again after some horrors I've had with their products back then.

I've been hoping that a computer company (even Apple) would do a dual storage setup. SSD (like 64gb 800MB/s direct to mini-PCIe) + 500gb HDD. I'd be happy with that. I'm currently using a Core i3 K42jr (<1y) but I'd be happy to move to N series as long as it has this wonderful keyboard.

**170kphlang** · May 3rd, 2011 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by Horsepower

The specs sound good esp the 8gb. Been looking for a sandy bridge myself. I'm probably okay with 6470 (mine is 5470 1GB). But I'd wait for an ASUS. Can't seem to trust MSI's build quality again after some horrors I've had with their products back then.

I've been hoping that a computer company (even Apple) would do a dual storage setup. SSD (like 64gb 800MB/s direct to mini-PCIe) + 500gb HDD. I'd be happy with that. I'm currently using a Core i3 K42jr (<1y) but I'd be happy to move to N series as long as it has this wonderful keyboard.

just a little OT pero related to laptops:

http://www.msi.com/product/nb/GX780....=Specification

i like how unassuming the laptop looks from the exterior, pero halimaw sa performance. i guess halimaw din sa price ito. oh well, kailangan ulit maghintay till xmas para bumabab sa 50k ang price nito hehehe..

**thejonchoi** · May 3rd, 2011 05:52 PM

Originally Posted by 170kphlang

just a little OT pero related to laptops:

http://www.msi.com/product/nb/GX780....=Specification

i like how unassuming the laptop looks from the exterior, pero halimaw sa performance. i guess halimaw din sa price ito. oh well, kailangan ulit maghintay till xmas para bumabab sa 50k ang price nito hehehe..

That's like a Porsche GT3 RS3 with a turbocharged 2.0L engine.

Flashy? Yes. Drives like a dream? Of course. Good engine? Sure, but not at this price range.

An i7, 8GB of RAM, USB3.0 support - good specs, for the most part. And I'm a sucker for back-lit keyboards! But why'd they use the GT555 as the graphics chip? The HD5870 in the much-cheaper GX660 has it beat in all but a couple of Nvidia-optimised games. Since they're probably charging a premium for this model, they should've used a mobile dual-chip (SLI/XFire) solution instead. That would've given a much-needed H6/V6-level boost to an otherwise godly notebook.

**Horsepower** · May 3rd, 2011 09:47 PM

Dual HDD setup, nice.

Would've had me if they used a PCIe SSD instead though. No SATA bottleneck! (for now

).

check out asus G series too

**Flip** · May 17th, 2011 11:26 PM

im also considering buying gx660 i3-380, any other reviews from owners? im specifically concerned about build quality. TIA

let me share na din something i read from a forum about how to readily compare HD GPUs thru their model numbers. the first number only indicates the series of the unit while the second number is the one that tells us how powerful the unit is. Thus HD5145<HD6250<HD6470<HD5730<HD5870

**birdpoop** · May 17th, 2011 11:36 PM

Originally Posted by ghosthunter

Is the MSI GX660 notebook a good buy? (gaming notebook)

Price: P40K

Intel i5 M430
2gb ram (expandable to 8gb)
320gb hdd
15.6 LED screen
Ati Radeon HD 5870 1gb
eSATA
USB 3.0
etc

what kind of games, GH? Heavy FPS ba?

**thejonchoi** · May 22nd, 2011 11:56 PM

Originally Posted by Flip

im also considering buying gx660 i3-380, any other reviews from owners? im specifically concerned about build quality. TIA

let me share na din something i read from a forum about how to readily compare HD GPUs thru their model numbers. the first number only indicates the series of the unit while the second number is the one that tells us how powerful the unit is. Thus HD5145<HD6250<HD6470<HD5730<HD5870

Yep, this is correct. The same is true for Geforce cards. GT420 < GT240 < GTS250 < GTX260 < GTX460 < GTX570. In ATi cards though, the third number further expands the lineup for that particular card family. HD5830 < HD5850 < HD5870. RAM almost always means nothing in the realm of graphics cards.