MSI GX660R 060USGadget Review

A good gaming notebook with much bang for your buck. The MSI GX660R gaming notebook is the sequel to last year’s popular GT660R. This 15-inch gaming notebook packs one fast Intel Core i7 processor, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 graphics and a 1080p screen. This should be that your next mobile gaming machine? Keep reading to find out.

MSI offers multiple configurations of the GX660R. Our review unit of the MSI GX660R-060US has the following features:

15.6. Inch 1080p (1920 x 1080) display with LED BacklightingWindows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) Intel Core i7-740QM (1.73 GHz) OverclockableATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 (1 GB DDR5) Overclockable 6GB DDR3 RAM

1066MHz (2 GB x 3) 640 GB (320 GB x 2) 7200 RPM HDDSuper-multi/Blu-ray optical drive802.11b/g/n wireless and Bluetooth9-cell lithium ion battery with 150W power AdapterWeight: 7.74 LbsDimensions: 15 x 10.25 x 1.78 InchesMSRP:$1,599.99 ($ 1399 street price)

Construction and design

At first glance, the new MSI GX660R is identical with the GT660R, which we reviewed in 2010. In fact gaming notebook on the use of a higher resolution, has changed little with this other hard disk setup and a slightly newer ATI graphics card one. Truth be told, not is necessarily a bad thing.

The new GX660R uses the same thickness chassis loaded with functions that handle the same speaker system from Dynaudio, and it just about any game can provide you with high detail settings and a 1080p resolution to throw ports. Combine that with an average Street approximately $1,400 price and you have a good gaming laptop at a fair price.

Use at the bottom the details of design, discusses the outer plastics in a scratch-resistant coating to improve the durability. The screen lid itself is also in “MSI color film print technology” which dealt with a multi layer is embedded in the plastic primarily printed image. In this case, you can see that a weak honeycomb pattern on the lid similar to used on the Palm rests as the texture, if you open the notebook.

The body plastics not Squeak, creak or flex also under considerable pressure, but the keyboard tray still suffers obvious Flex under heavy type pressure such as the GT660R, which we reviewed last year. The metal-reinforced main chassis offers added a fair amount of structural support, but also the bulk and weight of the notebook. Overall, the MSI GX660R 060US looks good, but the heavy use of shiny plastics means that your fingerprints will show anywhere.

The bottom of the notebook contains a single, massive access plate for the RAM, wireless cards, and the drive bays. The battery clips in the bottom of the notebook in one of the Palm rests. The three RAM slots are stacked, require use of the extra chassis thickness by the high-performance graphics card. Despite the strength and weight of this notebook, the internal layout helps to keep the housing design as thin as possible. Once again, my only complaint is that you have to remove, too many screws to obtain in this notebook. Considering that the target group for this laptop will be expected to be the RAM or hard disks at a given time update (may, once you buy it) I’m sure customers would appreciate it if MSI get simplified inside.

Ports and features

The MSI GX660R 060US is again largely unchanged from the GT660R, you will find the same large set of ports. This gaming notebook is packed with two USB 3.0 ports two USB 2.0 ports, eSATA port, Express card slot, Ethernet, two video out ports, a media card reader and audio jacks. I’m glad to see, the ExpressCard slot and four USB ports, bearing in mind that a growing number of desktop replacement notebooks are the ExpressCard slot cut and limit the number of USB ports on three to make easier the notebook. Sure, the MSI GX660R 060US weighs nearly eight pounds, but most are frequent travelers not to buy this laptop it is for players who will remain generally at one point during gaming.

Here is a quick tour ports on this laptop: