iBuyPower Battalion M1771 (MSI GS70) Gaming Notebook Review
by Dustin Sklavos on December 30, 2013 2:45 PM ESTDisplay Quality
I'm happy to be at the point where I can actually be critical of a 1080p matte display on a notebook instead of merely being thankful that it even exists. The Chi Mei TN panel that MSI employs for the iBuyPower Battalion M1771 has a slightly high amount of grain in the coating, but it's actually pretty stellar for a non-IPS display, at least in objective measurement.
Color reproduction is good, but not great. Where the panel excels is in its overall contrast ratio and brightness. Most users should be very happy with the panel in the M1771.
Battery Life
I'm mystified as to why this is the case, but nonetheless: the Battalion M1771's battery life is, in a word, horrible. I can't pin down exactly what the efficiency issue is, but whatever it is, it's absolutely killing running time off of the mains.
Normalize the battery life and it doesn't look as bad, but it's hard to ignore that the M1771 is both using a battery that's probably too small for it and is just plain lousy on running time. This is half the efficiency of the Razer Blade 14, or worse, despite a substantially smaller gulf in overall performance.
Heat and Noise
Despite the thin chassis, the M1771 is actually a pretty good citizen where noise is concerned. Unfortunately, there does seem to be some cost exacted for that.
While the GTX 765M doesn't get especially hot, the i7-4700HQ gets extremely toasty. Haswell runs hot in general and it's pretty evident here. MSI could probably tune the fan profile to be more aggressive on the CPU side, but part of Haswell's problem is the same thing that plagued Ivy Bridge, I suspect: high heat density. The 765M is a healthy sized chip that draws a lot of power, but that also means there's a much larger surface area to dissipate all that heat. Integrating the voltage regulation on the 4700HQ is really only going to amplify the heat density issue. Performance is fine, but those thermals would give anyone pause.
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Mil0 - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
As far as I'm aware the GE40 with 1080p screen comes with a decent panel, should be the same as the p34g (which was great according to the preview here). At least, this is what I based my purchase decision on. (the p34g isn't available in the Netherlands yet, also they seem to have a bending issue, not sure if thats fixed yet).Connoisseur - Wednesday, January 1, 2014 - link
The ge40 is about 30% thicker than the blade. If they can make a laptop that's thinner than the blade pro I'd think they could make one closer to the thickness of a blade but with a better screen.Mayuyu - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
Why does this and the Razer Blade cost so much. I look at the Y410p and it offers a i7-4700MQ, 1600*900 display, 8GB RAM, 2GB Nvidia 755m, and a 1TB Hard Drive for $769Where is all that extra money going to?
Meaker10 - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
Screen, chasis, graphics, ssd, heatsink.Mil0 - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
The 765 is a substantially faster chip, thus both more expensive and requiring better cooling. Also Msi seems to charge more for the 17", the ge40 is basically the same but quite a bit cheaper.Sancus - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
I think calling this a competitor to the Razer Blade is a surprisingly inaccurate, questionable statement coming from Anandtech -- How many people looking for a thin, light 14" gaming laptop are going to even CONSIDER 17", 6lb machines, let alone actually purchase one?This machine would be FAR better if it was 14" with a 1600x900 screen(which is also nicely within the performance envelope of the 765M -- 1080p is not). The razer blade is good machine because it is weight and (almost) battery life competitive with a 15" Macbook Pro, with superior gaming performance.
The GS70 is inferior in terms of weight, portability, and battery life. It's not even in the same class as the Razer Blade, let alone competitive, in any key metric for a "thin, light" machine except price...
TheinsanegamerN - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
you know, there is a 14 inch 1600x900 laptop from msi. the GE40. its got the 760m, but they are the same chip, the 760m is just clocked slower.Mil0 - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
If you're considering the ge40, do yourself a favour and get the 1080p screen. Though 900p fits the 760m better, the difference in screen is supposed to be dramatic.Mil0 - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
He's calling it a competitor to the blade *PRO*, which is also 17". Both are thin and for the screensize light. Whether that's thin, light & portable enough is subjective, of course. I've considered it, but it was just outside of my budget.jigglywiggly - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
you have to send it back? don't reviewers normally keep the hardware they are sent?