MSI GX740 Notebook Review
Fantastic performance for the price, but its flaws are slightly too pronounced…
MSI is best known for manufacturing PC components, hut also offers a comprehensive range of netbooks and laptops. The GX740 is its high-end gaming machine and, while power and usability are bettered in this group, it provides great value for money.
Despite costing significantly less than the Asus G73Jh, the MSI uses the same dedicated ATi graphics card for almost identical levels of gaming performance. While unable to match the Alienware’s abilities, the latest games fly along with speed and run smoothly at all times.
As with the Asus, this is also one of the only laptops in this group to support Microsoft’s Direct X 11 technology. Offering full support for the latest graphics features, this future-proofs the GX740 somewhat – a key selling point for garners.
Home office performance is less impressive. Rather than the quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU of its rivals, a less powerful Core i5 chip is used to keep costs down. There is still more than enough power on offer for home use, however, so you’re unlikely to feel short-changed.
Despite its lower-powered components, the GX740 drains its battery far faster than its quad-core rivals here. While none of these machines are particularly portable, the 83-minute battery life on offer here
is very disappointing. At 3.3kg it is the lightest laptop in this group. however.
Frustrating design
Finished in a combination of red and black, the brushed-metal chassis looks great. Annoyingly, MSI has also placed a huge sticker on the palmrest detailing the machine’s core components and we found it almost impossible to cleanly remove.
In terms of usability, the GX740 is a mixed bag. While the spacious keyboard is comfortable and accurate to use, its idiosyncrasies frustrate, such as the half-sized Enter key and the fact that the CTRL key is indented. This is definitely a machine to try before you buy if possible.
The same flawed approach can be seen from the 17-inch Super-TFT screen. While the display is suitably sharp and offers decent colour reproduction, it lacks the brightness of its rivals in this group test, providing less striking image quality.
As with all but the Asus, 500GB of hard drive storage is provided, making it easy to copy games to disk and run them directly from the drive. High-speed wireless and fixed networking is also provided courtesy of 8o2.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet.
While the GX740 provides cutting-edge power at a low price, there is no avoiding its flaws. The awkward keyboard, dim screen and the frustratingly difficult-to-remove sticker reduce the usability of this laptop, but there’s no denying the great value for money on offer here.
Specs Detail
- PROCESSOR INTEL 2.26GHZ CORE i5 430M
- MEMORY 4096MB DDR3 SDRAM
- HARD DRIVE 500GB (5400RPM)
- OPTICAL DRIVE TRI-FORMAT DVD DL
- SCREEN SIZE AND TYPE 17-INCH SUPER-TET
- DISPLAY RESOLUTION 1680 X 1050 (WSXGA-+)
- GRAPHICS CARD ATI MOBILI-Y RADEON HD 5870
- DIMENSIONS 395 X 276 X 45MM
- WEIGHT 3.3KG
- WIRELESS LAN 802.11N
- ETHERNET GIGABIT
- USB PORTS 4
- FIREWIRE 1 (MINI)
- OPERATING SYSTEM WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM
- STANDARD WARRANTY 2 YRS C&R P&L
Price £1,000
Fantastic performance for the price, but its flaws are slightly too pronounced…
MSI is best known for manufacturing PC components, hut also offers a comprehensive range of netbooks and laptops. The GX740 is its high-end gaming machine and, while power and usability are bettered in this group, it provides great value for money.
Despite costing significantly less than the Asus G73Jh, the MSI uses the same dedicated ATi graphics card for almost identical levels of gaming performance. While unable to match the Alienware’s abilities, the latest games fly along with speed and run smoothly at all times.
As with the Asus, this is also one of the only laptops in this group to support Microsoft’s Direct X 11 technology. Offering full support for the latest graphics features, this future-proofs the GX740 somewhat – a key selling point for garners.
Home office performance is less impressive. Rather than the quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU of its rivals, a less powerful Core i5 chip is used to keep costs down. There is still more than enough power on offer for home use, however, so you’re unlikely to feel short-changed.
Despite its lower-powered components, the GX740 drains its battery far faster than its quad-core rivals here. While none of these machines are particularly portable, the 83-minute battery life on offer here
is very disappointing. At 3.3kg it is the lightest laptop in this group. however.
Frustrating design
Finished in a combination of red and black, the brushed-metal chassis looks great. Annoyingly, MSI has also placed a huge sticker on the palmrest detailing the machine’s core components and we found it almost impossible to cleanly remove.
In terms of usability, the GX740 is a mixed bag. While the spacious keyboard is comfortable and accurate to use, its idiosyncrasies frustrate, such as the half-sized Enter key and the fact that the CTRL key is indented. This is definitely a machine to try before you buy if possible.
The same flawed approach can be seen from the 17-inch Super-TFT screen. While the display is suitably sharp and offers decent colour reproduction, it lacks the brightness of its rivals in this group test, providing less striking image quality.
As with all but the Asus, 500GB of hard drive storage is provided, making it easy to copy games to disk and run them directly from the drive. High-speed wireless and fixed networking is also provided courtesy of 8o2.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet.
While the GX740 provides cutting-edge power at a low price, there is no avoiding its flaws. The awkward keyboard, dim screen and the frustratingly difficult-to-remove sticker reduce the usability of this laptop, but there’s no denying the great value for money on offer here.
Specs Detail
- PROCESSOR INTEL 2.26GHZ CORE i5 430M
- MEMORY 4096MB DDR3 SDRAM
- HARD DRIVE 500GB (5400RPM)
- OPTICAL DRIVE TRI-FORMAT DVD DL
- SCREEN SIZE AND TYPE 17-INCH SUPER-TET
- DISPLAY RESOLUTION 1680 X 1050 (WSXGA-+)
- GRAPHICS CARD ATI MOBILI-Y RADEON HD 5870
- DIMENSIONS 395 X 276 X 45MM
- WEIGHT 3.3KG
- WIRELESS LAN 802.11N
- ETHERNET GIGABIT
- USB PORTS 4
- FIREWIRE 1 (MINI)
- OPERATING SYSTEM WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM
- STANDARD WARRANTY 2 YRS C&R P&L
Price £1,000
