MSI GX720 Review

The new MSI GX720 Gaming laptop is the follow up to the MSI GX600 Extreme Edition which was released about 9 months back with a bang. It packs much more power and is very much suited to become a desktop replacement for all the frag happy gamers looking for a good offering in a decent budget. The specs of the new MSI GX720 are almost top of the line with some slight letdowns but overall it offers a good package in an affordable price. In this review we check out its features and check out whether it is a value for money offering.

MSI GX720 Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 2.53 GHz
• RAM: 4 GB DDR2 800 MHZ
• Display Size: 17 inches – 1680 x 1050 pixels
• Hard Drive: 320 GB SATA 5400 rpm
• Optical Drive: BD-R
• Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT 512 MB GDDR3
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 a / g / n, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR, Mobile Broadband
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
• Ports: 3 USB 2.0, Audio in, Audio out, Ethernet, Firewire, HDMI, Headphone, Microphone, Modem, VGA out, eSATA, 4-1 card reader
• Dimensions: 15.5 x 10.7 x 1.4 inches
• Weight: 3.28 kgs
• Price: $1800

Design and Build Quality:

The MSI GX720 is a mean beast but has dimensions that don’t look very intimidating. It measures just 15.5 x 10.7 x 1.4 inches and and weighs around 3.3 kgs which is quite good considering the other bulky laptops which offer the same computing power but are much heavier relatively. It sports a rather clean but stylish black and red design compared to the GX600 Extreme which was extremely wild aggressive in design maybe to appeal to gamers. The GX720 looks very appealing and is perfect for hauling around in LAN parties without straining your hands with too much weight. The build quality is good and can easily take some strain without any problems. It may not survive huge falls but can manage small bumps easily. Overall it has a good clean design with sturdy build quality.

Display and Speakers:

The MSI GX720 comes with a glossy 17 inch display supporting a native resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels. It has superb brightness and offers excellent contrast. The picture quality is nice and vibrant, making it ideal for high definition movies and videos. The viewing angles it offers, both horizontal and vertical are great and can easily cater to an audience of about 6-7 people at a close range. It offers great frame rates even for HD content thanks to its superb processor and graphics card. As it comes equipped with a Blu Ray drive, you can very conveniently watch high definition content. It comes with Dolby’s Theater Class 4.1 surround sound speakers with subwoofers which produce totally realistic sound with superb quality which enhances your gaming or movie watching experience. You can bump up the display resolution to 1920 x 1200 pixels for an even better experience. The sound quality is great and can satisfy most casual users and has a good volume. Coupled with the superb display, the speakers deliver one of the best gaming experience we have seen in recent times. To further enjoy your videos or games, you can use the HDMI port to output the video to a bigger HD enabled monitor.

You also get a 2 MP webcam located exactly above the display which offers decent video quality. It is good enough for video conferences or casual video chats.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The MSI GX720 sports a good keyboard with great key spacing and travel. The keyboard has the standard key placement with little changes. The W, A, S, D keys have been colored red to assist gamers in their fragging experiences. The keys offer good tactile feedback and are ideal for touch typists. The touchpad is nice, responsive with good sensitivity. The touchpad buttons have a nice feel too. On the top of the keyboard, you find a aerodynamically styled touch sensitive media controls to perform basic media functions and shortcuts. It is a really nice addition and adds to the overall appeal of the notebook.

Performance:

The MSI GX720 is powered by the Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 clocked at 2.53 GHz. It offers 6 MB of L2 cache and runs at a bus speed of 1066 MHZ. It is one of the best mobile processors which offer great performance and consume much less power. It is a part of the Montevina or the Centrino 2 platform. It also comes with 4 GB DDR2 RAm clocked at 800 MHz which is more than enough for most applications and games. You can multitask around 10-12 normal apps easily on Windows Vista without feeling any lags. The graphics part is handled by the new Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT with 512 MB of GDDR3 memory. It can handle all current games easily including Crysis and Call of Duty 4. We wonder why MSi didn’t include the 9800 series of cards with this one. The combination of the Processor, RAM and GPU is superb and can bring most games and HD content to its knees and play them in their full glory.

When connected to external AC power, you can switch to ‘Turbo Mode’ by pressing the Turbo button above the keyboard for an instant performnce boost. It automatically increases the CPU clock speeds to give you better performance. The GX720 uses the new power saving ECO engine which can be switched between different modes – Gaming mode, Movie mode, Presentation mode, Office mode and Turbo Battery mode while gaming, playing multimedia content, performing presentation applications, dealing with office tasks, or to minimize the battery power consumption respectively.

Battery Life, Wi-Fi and Ports:

The MSi GX720 can run for bout 3 hours with moderate usage with Wi-Fi on a full charge. To maximise battery life you may switch off Wi-Fi and lower speaker volume and display brightness or use the Eco Mode options. The Wi-Fi reception is good had has a wide range.

The MSI GX720 comes with many ports for connecting external accessories and devices. The right side houses a USB 2.0 port, FireWire and eSATA / USB ports, headphone, microphone, audio in, audio out jacks, and a 4 in 1 memory card reader (SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro) while on the left side, you find two more USB 2.0 ports, ethernet and modem jacks, and a Kensington lock. The back sports the VGA and HDMI out for connecting to an external video display device.

Pros:

• Nice Design and Build Quality
• Great Display and Sound
• Superb Performance

Cons:

• Negligible ‘Turbo Mode’ performance gains
• Low battery life

Conclusion:

The MSI GX720 is a very good notebook especially for gamers and offers good value for money. It is perfect for gaming sessions and watching high definition content. It may not be as good a proposition as the Gateway 7811 FX but it does give you another option. It is a very good alternative to the Dell XPS M1730.

Our Rating: 3.5 / 5.