Riffraff Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Pretty cool little rig. A Gaming Notebook That Costs Under a Grand Gaming notebooks are often the trappings of the wealthier geeks — or at least those that forgo food to afford a high-priced rig. But now you can afford a decent gaming notebook, even if you aren't the type who has a season pass at Aspen and a Lamborghini. You don't need a dump truck full of cash to afford the $800 MSI GX630, and it can actually hold its own in the most heated frag-fest. Granted, it can't go head-to-head against a $3,500 Alienware 17-incher, but it isn't a dollar-menu double cheeseburger either. MSI included a 2.3-GHz AMD X2 and 4 GB of RAM to give it a respectable 100.4 frames per second in Quake 4, and its business performance score put it in league with a Sony FZ or Apple 15-incher. Then again, you can't offer such an affordable gamer without cutting corners. There's no Blu-ray option, so you won't be piping any hot hi-def out to your TV with this machine. The keyboard is also a weird mix of thoughtful accents and blundered control placement. The addition of a numpad is smart, but some gamers will fume at the misplacement of the left Control button (there's a Fn button in its stead). There are also only 2 USB ports, and the fan blows right on your mouse hand (unless you're a southpaw). The system's 1.5-hour battery life is poopy at best. It gets a little leeway by being a gaming machine, but for a 15-incher, the battery life should be better. But for all these shortcomings, the GX630 receives an executive pardon for its price — ramen-eating game junkies everywhere should rejoice. WIRED Cheap, cheap, cheap. Offers decent but not astounding gaming performance combined with solid business skillz. TIRED Mushy keyboard with a misplaced Control key. Hot fan makes for sweaty mouse hand. Where's our Blu-ray drive? * Style: Budget * Operating System: MS Vista * Manufacturer: MSI * Price: $800 (as tested) Release Date: January 26, 2009 .............. For those of you in the market for a gamer rig or just have problems with your current system. Disclaimer: I do not own stock or affiliated with the company in any way. Just figured someone may want a high performing machine for a low price tag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Interesting... I always debate with laptops on whether I should just go cheap but functional (ala netbook) or spend a little so I can at least game a bit. For $800 I'd probably pull the trigger on this thing if I was in the market. I might be trying to squeeze a laptop through my employer so I'll keep this in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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