MSI GT627: Bringing Balance to the Force?
by Jarred Walton on April 29, 2009 4:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
Testing Overview
Below is the test configuration for the MSI GT627. We will compare its performance with other recently tested notebooks. We have not included results from every single notebook we have tested in our graphs, but most of the recently tested laptops are present. If you're looking for results from other laptops, please refer to our mobile section.
| MSI GT627-216US Test System | |
| Processor | Core 2 Duo P8400 (2.26GHz 1066FSB 3MB L2) |
| Memory | 2x2048MB Transcend PC2-6400 @ DDR2-800 5-5-5-15 (Transcend JM800QSU-2G) |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS 1GB Driver version 179.48 GPU/Shader/RAM Clocks: 530/1325/1600 MHz (256-bit) |
| Display | 15.4" Glossy WXGA (1280x800) Samsung 154AT01-A03 (Jan 2007) |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Scorpio Black 320GB 7200RPM 16MB (WD3200BEKT-22F3T0) |
| Optical Drive | 8x DVDRW (Optiarc AD-7560S) |
| Battery | 6-cell 51.8Whr |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Hope Premium SP1 32-bit |
| Price | Starting at $1100 online |
Test configurations for the other laptops are available at the following pages:
Acer 6920G
Alienware m15x
ASUS G50V
ASUS U6V
AVADirect FL-92
Clevo D901C
Dell Studio XPS 16
Gateway M-152XL
Gateway P-171XL FX
Gateway P-6831 FX
Gateway P-7808u FX
Gateway P-7811 FX
HP dv5t
Toshiba X305-Q725
We run all of the standard application tests at the native LCD resolution - 1280x800 in this case. For the gaming tests, we will compare the GT627 to other notebooks using a baseline resolution of 1680x1050, with the laptop connected to an external LCD. We will include results at 1280x800 and 1920x1080 to show how the laptop and GPU scale to lower and higher settings. This will allow us to provide an apples-to-apples comparison with other laptops while also showing the performance you can expect at the native resolution, as well as what happens if you increase the resolution. We will also include overclocking results at the native LCD resolution.
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IlllI - Thursday, April 30, 2009 - link
hmm i wonder if maybe down the road we'll see some e-ips panels from laptop manufacturers. they seem to be quite competitive vs tn/pva, well at least the desktop version. (can get a 22in for around $200)JarredWalton - Thursday, April 30, 2009 - link
We can only hope. [Crossing fingers....]IlllI - Thursday, April 30, 2009 - link
still a tn panel thougherple2 - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 - link
I was kind of curious about the keyboard - I don't know of too many other 15" (or so) laptops that have a full 104 key keyboard. Are the keys standard sized?JarredWalton - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 - link
They're very close. I think they might be just barely smaller, but the size of the keyboard never bothered me. The "touch" of the keyboard is a different matter, obviously.erple2 - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 - link
Clearly :)That's one reason why I was contemplating an HP Elitebook or a ThinkPad as my next laptop purchase - I do so little gaming on my laptop anymore (that's what my desktop is for), that I'm looking for the 2 things that this new laptop apparently lacks: SOLID keyboard (I dont' really care about having an included number pad, but the FEEL of the keyboard is absolutely key), and a good quality, high resolution screen.
Those are 2 things lacking on this laptop, unfortunately, which means I won't be able to get this one.
What's my ideal laptop? In decreasing order of importance:
* high resolution (minimum WSXGA+)
* 15" (I suppose widescreen, but I don't care that much about it),
* IPS (like my 2475!)
* non-glossy screen
* solid keyboard feel
* discrete graphics card (makes external monitors a breeze to set up)
* Relatively good battery life
* uhh - dual cores?
Everything else is secondary.
Yes, I would really like to see a quality screen on a laptop. I had read somewhere that one of the ThinkPads used an IPS based panel, but I can't confirm that any more.
Jackattak - Thursday, April 30, 2009 - link
My XPS1530 has the best keyboard feel of any laptop I've ever typed on, hands down.strikeback03 - Thursday, April 30, 2009 - link
Thinkpads used to offer an IPS panel under the Flexview name, I have a T43 with one. It is indeed a nice screen (though some people complain they don't go bright enough). I believe they dropped the option during the time of the T60 though, so there are used T60s that meet all your requirements (though battery life probably tops out between 5 and 6 hrs with the 9-cell and UltraBay batteries), but I don't know of any currently shipping systems that do.Though I have a discrete graphics card in my T43 (ATi X300), it is a pain to use external monitors. The original driver didn't support widescreen resolutions, and the most recent one does, but resets the screen to 1024x768 if you close the lid, and once you reset to native (1400x1050) won't let you use space outside the 1024x768 box.
SeeManRun - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 - link
Why are the Macbooks listed in some of the benchmarks where they dominate absent in the other sections? I can understand having a problem with a software benchmark like x264 playback (though, in that case there is certainly a media player for Apple that will play those files) but for things like the display quality the Macbook should be present. Seems like the only spot the Macbook is in this review is where it is at the top compared to everything else.DJMiggy - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 - link
It's a conspiracy......