MSI GX780

The GX780 is a well-built notebook, and obviously an attempt at the upmarket audience. However, it is let down by a mediocre GPU - the GT555M isn't a hardcore gamers' GPU, and at a price of Rs. 1,19,999, it doesn't satisfy us. Especially when we’ve tested the ASUS G74SX, which has a GT560M GPU, a stereoscopic display; and is a significantly better performer for just Rs. 5,000 more.

Pros

· Customizable backlit LED keyboard

· Full 1080p HD display

· Supports USB 3.0, E-SATA and HDMI ports

Cons

· Expensive

· Poor battery life

· Average gaming performance

MSI aims to address the needs of gamers with the release of GX780 gaming laptop, that is designed and developed by Team Fnatic - the world's popular professional gaming team in association with SteelSeries - a leading gaming keyboard manufacturer in Europe. The completely customizable backlit LED keyboard with about 5 different LED scenario modes is an interesting feature for the enthusiasts and gamers. Let us find out if the laptop can truly perform up to the expectations, apart from its exquisitely impressive set of features including customizable LED keyboard, full HD display, and DirectX 11 texture rendering. Its GPU also supports Nvidia 3D Vision - but there's no stereoscopic display onboard however.

Look and Feel
The GX780 is well built with Aluminium brushed metal finish on the lid, rubberized finish on the sides of the keypad and the palmrest. The palm-rest itself is well crafted with matte-textured finish to give it a classic look. The two shiny, rectangular-shaped grilled speakers above the keypad on either side it, attract ones attention. The hot function keys gives access to movie mode, adjusting fan speed, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and optical drive eject. The display's glossy finish makes it glaring when exposed to direct sunlight or a brightly lit room. The sharp-cut edges on the corners of the lid and chassis stand out along with the delicately cut edges of the trackpad. However, its exterior design is too simplistic in comparison with the Alienware laptops that have contours and such other designs that make them that much more pleasing to the eye.

Meanwhile, the Windows key is shifted to the right to provide bigger 'left ctrl' and 'alt' keys for the gamers. The isolated keypad design enhances keyboard usability and navigation by providing sufficient key-spacing that is particularly important for making those vital combo moves in hack and slash games. With due credit to SteelSeries, the keyboard design gets a makeover, which has vastly improved the keyboard ergonomics and responsiveness. The gamers would love the flexibility of pressing up to 10 keys simultaneously during those close combats for making quick second special moves!

Features

The GX780 has a 17.3-inch display that runs at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, making it an ideal entertainment device too. Adding support for the NVIDIA 3D Vision and DirectX 11 gives you the advantage of stereoscopic 3D experience, as well as run the latest games on optimized settings for better texture rendering. In addition, by including a 720p HD webcam and USB 3.0 interface, the GX780 strengthens its claim to be a complete multimedia laptop. If you are a hardcore gamer who likes customizing the rig to its limits, then you would love the idea of choosing between several LED colour combinations split across five scenario modes for tweaking your keyboard's backlight LED through the Keyboard LED Manager. Depending on your taste and usage purpose, you could choose between Normal mode, Gaming mode, Breathing mode, Wave mode and Dual colour mode for the keyboard backlight LED. Other interesting feature includes a set of hotkeys sandwiched between the two grilled speakers at the top of the keyboard. Among them the noteworthy ones are the turbo button that allows you to overclock the processor to its limits, while the cooler boost button revs up the fan speed to keep the laptop from overheating at peak loads.

Performance
The GX780 delivers comparatively much better performance than the ASUS G53Jw across most of the synthetic benchmarks including the PC Mark Vantage and Maxxon CineBench R11.5 CPU score, wherein the GX780 holds the scores of 8233 and 4.88, as against the G53Jw's scores of 6980 and 2.91.

This difference in scores might be attributed to GX780’s superior 2nd generation Core i7 processor. However, its gaming score of 54.6 fps across S.T.A.L.K.E.R Call of Pripyat at medium settings with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, is just marginally better than the ASUS G53Jw that scored 47.12fps. Also, its performance across Dirt 3 and Aliens Vs Predator is ordinary at medium settings, with scores of 41.07 and 44.2 frames per second respectively. However, good sound reproduction and impressive HD video playback performance sans stuttering and pixilation are its desirable traits. The low battery-life doesn’t come as a surprise for such a powerful configuration.

Verdict
The GX780 is a well-built notebook, and obviously an attempt at the upmarket audience. However, it is let down by a mediocre GPU – the GT555M isn’t a hardcore gamers' GPU, and at a price of Rs. 1,19,999, it doesn’t satisfy us. Especially when we’ve tested the ASUS G74SX for a mere 5,000 bucks more that has a GT560M and is a significantly better performer.

Specifications
Processor: Intel Core i7 2630QM (2 GHz); Memory: 16GB DDR3 1333 MHz; Chipset: Intel Cougar Point HM67; Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M; Hard drive: 500GB; Display: 17.3-inch LED backlit, Screen resolution: 1920 x 1080; Weight: 3.9 Kilograms;

Ratings
Features: 7.5
Performance: 6.5
Build Quality: 7
Value for money: 6
Overall: 6.5
Price: Rs. 1,19,999