MSI GE40 Dragon Eyes 2OC-010US i7 4702MQ 8G 128G 750G 14in HD+ GTX760M 2GB Windows 8 Gaming Notebook

Comment:
was looking to upgrade for a long time. my previous laptop was 14" Asus with exact same keyboard layout. do programming so having exact same location for page up/page down, home, end sold me. ordered two for office, took the ram and msata ssd from one to upgrade both to raid-0, 16gb ram and purchased additional 16gb kit and msata drives. very fast and responsive.for what I do this laptop works great and has been great upgrade from two year old Asus.

Comment:
If you want to have only 1 computer (vs. 1 gaming & 1 portable), and you like to move around with it (even just around the house), then this is definitely the one to get. It strikes the perfect balance between price/specs/portability. I used to have the Samsung 9 gamer from last year (which was surprisingly under-appreciated considering its price, specs and gorgeous screen), but it was a 9 lbs monster that almost never left my desk, partly because of the typically lousy battery life. Funnily enough, 1 year later, this MSI has almost the same performance at half the weight and triple the battery life. So now I take this one out to the library or coffee shop at least a few times a week. And even just around the house, I don't hesitate to bring it to the sofa so I can chat and surf while watching TV. I like my HTC One, but multitasking on Android still sucks. The long-lasting battery really is a big deal. I leave it plugged in overnight and while I'm at work (full charge in < 3 hrs), and then I can use it from the time I get home until I go to sleep, or all afternoon on the weekends. I shake my head when I see people lugging around their power bricks.I've had the laptop for a few weeks now, and overall I'm very happy with it. I decided to buy it without waiting for reviews because of the good things I heard about Haswell, and I haven't been disappointed. I was a little concerned about fan noise, which can be a problem with many gaming rigs, but it's not a problem with the GE40. I haven't tried gaming on it yet, but I've heard the fan go max a few times, and the noise level is very acceptable. Most of the time, if there's any amount of background noise, the fan isn't noticeable.The matte screen was a pleasant surprise, I can't stand glossy. The viewing angles aren't great, but this is MY toy, so I don't care, and the colour is good. There is, however, 1 bright pixel, and MSI will only replace it if there are at least 5 bad ones (I didn't buy from Amazon). That's pretty poor by industry standards, especially since MSI has a crazy chart for identifying what is, in fact, considered a bad pixel. Regardless, I only (barely) notice the bright pixel if the area around it is completely black, so it's almost a non-issue.What IS a minor annoyance is the hinge. No problems when it's open, but there's a bit of bounce when it's closed and I'm walking around with it. I hold it by the battery against my hip with the lid facing out, as I think most people do when walking around with a laptop. Other than that, no complaints.So, if you want a machine with specs that will last a few years and won't break the bank or your back, you can't go wrong with this one.

Comment:
I'll leave performance benchmarking to the pros, but my general impression is that this laptop has great specs while staying nice and light, and having surprisingly good battery life. I haven't tested thoroughly, having only owned it for a couple of days, but the 3 to 4 hour battery life cited online is only when gaming. While this is important, I don't tend to game far away from a power outlet, so the simple fact that it's not a desktop is good enough for me in terms of gaming portability. However, for non-gaming uses, I want as much battery life as possible, and this machine delivers. I'd say LaptopMag's estimate of 10 hours of web browsing is pretty accurate.Build quality seems ok, but the bottom of the chassis is made of cheapish plastic. This does obviously help with the weight though, and since the screen, trackpad and keyboard seem pretty good, I'm not too worried about the overall product. Also keep in mind that competitors are easily $500 more expensive... and heavier!The dragon eyes and the power button are probably a bit tacky, but the rest of the laptop looks really professional, so overall, it works for me. YMMV.It comes with a fair bit of bloatware, but that's just a matter of uninstalling, right? Windows 8 is fine. Don't believe all the haters that say it's as bad as Vista. I must emphasize, however, that metro is awful, and you should install something like StartIsBack or Start8 right away. After that, it functions like a much-improved Windows 7 as long as you can stay out of Metro-land.Summary: get this laptop if you want a light, affordable-ish 14" machine with a good balance of specs and battery life(and don't mind Dragon Eyes glowing at everyone in the room except you... maybe this decision shouldn't be left up to just the purchaser)