MSI G Series GE700NC-003US Notebook Intel Core i7 3610QM(2.30GHz) 17.3" 8GB Memory 750GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M

Pros: eh, It hasn't crashed.

Cons: The 'gaming' keyboard is a fail. I have to aggressively attack each key spot on center. This totally kills the joy of owning a good machine. There should be an option to allow a more normal style. This board is so bad I am bringing my Tablet USB keyboard home to use.

As if no keyboard is not challenging enough I have to manually turn OFF the overly sensitive touchpad with every boot/sleep/hibernate. The options to make the touchpad turn on with the use of a mouse and to make it less sensitive fails.

This is a 'gaming' machine. Even with a light game like Sims 3 I have to play on medium because all the background stuff eats up over 2.8g of ram! It is going to take me weeks to free this machine up.

Dead pixel right out of the box.

Other Thoughts: Good think I bought this for an office. I feel if I ever traveled with this machine it would break. Hope I can somehow fix the keyboard.

Pros: It does NOT matter what the Pros are if you cannot use the keyboard!

Cons: You HAVE TO hit the keys exactly spot on center to work. I have never had a keyboard (laptop or desktop) as bad.

You HAVE TO turn the bothersome, overly-sensitive touch pad off every time you boot up.

No mute button (fn+0 -- which sucks because keying anything on this beast is bad)

Other Thoughts: Last year I bought a MSI for my son and loved it so much I bought one for me. Huge difference. I feel like I have a cheap HP. I now wonder if MSI produced great laptops as a new company and now is producing cheap junk for profit?

Pros: First impression upon opening the box was WOW this is a beautiful looking machine. I only hoped that performance matched the look, and to date it has. I have had it running for long playing sessions, and have had mutliple operations running simultaneously and haven't had any issues. When i was shopping for a laptop I learned pretty quickly that one had to compromise on SOMETHING... Until i found this machine, I find the look, screen, and performance for the price to be very satisfying.

Cons: I would have to agree with the other comments about the touch pad being bothersome at times.

Other Thoughts: Hadn't dealt with either MSI product or Newegg, but pleased with both and will definetely look to them for future purchases.

Pros: This is a gorgeous laptop. I love all the specs. Very fast.

Cons: The keyboard is a little unresponsive sometimes. Not sure if I love the Anti-glare coating. It makes the screen a little hazy.

But here is the big CON. I wanted to install a second hard drive. I looked everywhere online to find out what kind I could install. Couldn't find anything. I open it up and see it is only a mSSD slot. Which is totally fine, but I had a new SSD ready to go and I couldn't use it. :( So I get the new ADATA XM13 AXM13S2-60GM-C mSATA 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD). Install it. Now here's a curious thing. When I first installed it, the mother board made the SSD stick upward at a steep angle. Weird. I then had to burry the other end under some cables to get it to stay flat. Put it back on, and it boots up no problem.

I install the Win 7 Professional on it. Again, no problem. Then it happened. The mSSD would freeze randomly for about 30 seconds. I called both MSI and ADATA and it was finally determined it was a flaw in the Motherboard.

Other Thoughts: Trackpad is a little touchy. But It was fine.

This model is now discontinued. :( So now I'm back on the hunt for another laptop.

Pros: So far great performance. I think for the price, you can't find a better bargain for the technology this laptop packs. great looking screen, high res

Cons: terrible keyboard... not sure why people like this keyboard, but it feels like the keys are placed on top of sheetmetal... is that why they call this "steelseries" ? I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but my typing sklls are decent... i often find myself having to delete or go back because the keyboard didn't register my keystroke.

touchpad is TERRIBLE! i couldn't believe how bad it was... while just trying to browse a freshly powered up laptop, it was registering clcks EVERYWHERE! i had to disable "tapping" in order to gain my sanity... not sure if this is a defect, but the sensitivty is way off and without an external mouse, i don't know how i would use this thing

Other Thoughts: smudges very easily

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued MSI Customer,

We would like to apologize for the issue you have experienced with this particular notebook. Please email us directly via USUserSupport@msi.com or call us Toll Free: 1-888-447-6564 your notebook's serial number and your complete contact information, subject heading "MSIGE700NC-003US". I would like to help you get this resolved.

Best Regards,
User Support
MSI Product Support

Pros: This laptop is amazing! It is really fast and responsive. It comes with 3rd gen Intel i7, which only a few have it and I must say that it is amazing! The graphics card is really great too. USB 3.0 are a plus too, so you can use your external hard drives at their full speed. Fan Cooler Mode makes the laptop to not overheat, and I tested it by stressing the processor and it is not even a little heat. Turbo mode turns on automatically when you play games or watch movies with hardware-accelerated playback. So far no complaints about this notebook. I upgraded my 3 year old Core 2 Duo processor with this one and wow! there is a great boost in performance!

Cons: None so far. This is an excellent notebook.

Other Thoughts: At first I thought the Turbo Mode was activated by pressing the Turbo Mode button, but actually, it turns on automatically when the graphics card is in use.

Pros: Great keyboard. Anti-Glare Screen. Screen makes everything look good. Relatively thin and lightweight. Fan has a "turbo" mode which can be used during gaming. ODD can be easily swapped for an SSD, which really increases performance. New Ivy Bridge and NVDIA 650m make for a very decent mobile gaming platform. Speakers are about as good as you can get on a laptop. Gold coated audio ports.

Cons: No led backlit keyboard. No eSATA port. Touch pad button could be better...but who doesn't use a mouse anyway? Only space for 2 drives so to install an SSD you have to remove the ODD. Cover smudges easily.

Other Thoughts: A great, lighter and cheaper alternative to the GT70. Very reasonably priced.