With Intel’s Haswell launch officially behind us, we’re getting a steady stream of new notebooks and laptops that have been updated with the latest processors and GPUs. MSI sent their GE40 our way for review, a gaming notebook that’s less than an inch thick and pairs a Haswell i7-4700MQ with NVIDIA’s new GTX 760M GPU. At first glance, it has a lot in common with the new Razer Blade 14-inch laptop that we recently reviewed; on second glance, it has even more in common.
The basic premise is quite simple: pack as much performance as possible into a relatively small laptop, and if you do it right you’ve got a bona fide gaming notebook that doesn’t weigh eight pounds. In this case, MSI has managed to fit a full-blown quad-core Core i7 processor and an NVIDIA GTX graphics chip into a chassis that’s less than one inch thick. The performance is definitely there, with most games easily handling high detail settings at the LCD’s native 1600x900 resolution. Unfortunately, just like the Razer Blade 14, the GE40 has at least one major flaw: the LCD is junk.
Interestingly, the dimensions are virtually identical to the AMD Kabini system that we reviewed a couple months ago, only the MSI GE40 weighs quite a bit more. Naturally, it’s also substantially more powerful, but at three times the price it ought to be. Everything that we’ve come to expect from a modern notebook is present, and at least on the higher end 2OC-009C model that we’re reviewing, we get hybrid storage with a 128GB SSD and a 750GB hard drive.
MSI GE40 2OC-009US “Dragon Eyes” (MS-1492) Specifications
Processor:
Intel Core i7-4702MQ (Quad-core 2.2-3.2GHz, 6MB L3, 22nm, 37W)
Chipset:
HM87
Memory:
1x8GB DDR3-1600 (11-11-11-28) (Second SO-DIMM slot available)
Graphics:
GeForce GTX 760M 2GB(768 cores, 627MHz + Boost 2.0, 4GHz GDDR5), Intel HD Graphics 4600 (20 EUs at 200-1000MHz)
Display:
14.0" Anti-Glare 16:9 HD+ (1600x900) (AUO B140RTN03.0)
Storage:
128GB mSATA SSD (SanDisk X110 SD6SF1M128G) 750GB 7200RPM HDD (Hitachi HTS727575A9E364) (One free mSATA port on this model)
Optical Drive:
N/A
Networking:
802.11n WiFi (Realtek RTL8723AE) (2.4GHz 1x1:1 150Mbps capable) Bluetooth 4.0 (Realtek) Gigabit Ethernet (Atheros AR8161)
Audio:
Realtek HD (ALC269) Stereo Speakers, Headphone and Microphone jacks
Battery/Power:
6-cell, 11.1V, 5900mAh, 65Wh 90W Max AC Adapter
Front Side:
N/A
Left Side:
2 x USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet 1 x VGA, 1 x Mini-HDMI, Exhaust Vent, AC Power Connection
Right Side:
Headphone and Microphone, Flash Reader (MMC/SD), 1 x USB 2.0, Optical Drive/HDD Bay, Kensington Lock
Back Side:
N/A
Operating System:
Windows 8 64-bit
Dimensions:
13.35" x 9.42" x 0.87" (WxDxH), (339mm x 239mm x 22.1mm)
Weight:
4.4 lbs (2.0kg)
Extras:
720p HD Webcam, 87-Key Keyboard
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