The MSI GT70 17.3-inch gaming-centric notebook is now on sale in the US via Excaliber PC and it has been reviewed by Engadget.
The notebook features a 3rd Generation Intel Core processor known as “Ivy Bridge”. Excaliber PC will officially announce which i7 CPU model will be used in the GT70 configurations they offer on April 29th, but unofficially we have learned that it will be the 2.3GHz i7-3610QM quad-core CPU, also used in Engadget’s reviewed unit. The graphics processor is the Nvidia GeForce GTX 670M with 3GB GDDR5 video memory.
The GT70 model in stock at Excaliber PC is the 0NC-013US, while three other configs – 012US, 011US, and 08US, are available for pre-orders.
Here’s a quick comparison chart. The only differences are storage, RAM, and optical drives.
| MSI GT70 Model | 0NC-013US | 0NC-012US | 0NC-011US | 0NC-08US |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-3610QM quad-core at 2.3GHz (most likely) |
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| GPU | Nvidia GeForce GTX 670M 3GB GDDR5 | |||
| Display | 17.3″ Full HD 1920 x 1080 Anti-Glare | |||
| Storage | 128GB SSD + 750GB 7,200rpm HDD | 128GB SSD + 750GB 7,200rpm HDD | 64GB SSD + 64GB SSD RAID + 750GB 7,200rpm HDD | 750GB 7,200rpm HDD |
| RAMÂ (4 Sockets, 1333MHz) | 12GB | 12GB | 16GB | 12GB |
| Optical Drive | DVD Burner | Blu-ray Burner | Blu-ray Burner | DVD Burner |
| Audio | 4 x Built-in HD Dynaudio Speakers; Dynaudio Premium Sound Technology w/ THX TruStudio Pro; Dolby Digital Live; Headset AMP |
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| Input | Steel Series Gaming Keyboard with Multi-Color Backlit; Single-Touch Trackpad | |||
| Communication | Bigfoot Killer Gaming-Class Gigabit Network LAN; Intel “Jackson Peak” 1×2 (802.11 b/g/n) Wi-Fi; Wireless Display (WiDi); Bluetooth | |||
| Ports and slots | 2 x USB 2.0; 3 x USB 3.0; 1 x HDMI 1.4; 1 x eSATA; 1 x RJ45 LAN; 1 x VGA Port; 1 x Microphone; 1 x Headphone Out Jack; 1 x Line-In Jack; S/PDIF; 7-in-1 Card Reader |
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| Camera | 720p Webcam | |||
| Battery | 9-Cell | |||
| Weight | 8.6 pounds | |||
| Dimensions | 16.85″ x 11.34″ x 2.17″ (L x W x H) | |||
| OS | Windows 7 Home Premium | |||
| Warranty | 2 Years Limited | |||
| Price | $1,699.00 | $1,849.00 | $1,999.00 | $1,549.00 |
Besides the latest core components, among these specs gamers will especially appreciate the durable SteelSeries keyboard with key arrangement optimized for gaming, the Killer LAN port for low network latency which is important for online gaming, as well as the optional 64GB+64GB SSD RAID on the GT70 0NC-011US. This feature is designed to provide fast game loads and it delivers extremely good read speeds of 900MB/s+, according to a HD Tune benchmark.
In Engadget’s benchmarks, the tested GT70 was able to score 18,955 3D Mark Vantage points, which is much better result than the older MSI GT683DXR with the previous generation i7-2630QM and GeForce GTX 570M, scoring 16,862 points. Overall, the notebook delivered an impression of a high-performance laptop with a great built quality and speakers, but also a “less-than-ideal” display.