Reviewing the GT680R notebook by MSI was a blast. Being a tech head that lives for gadgets and the latest technologies I really put this notebook through the ringer.
First off, the lights that are around the screen and on the base of the unit remind me of the movie The Fast and The Furious. The notebook just glowed and when the lights are off it looks even more impressive. The notebook also looks fast as soon as you take it out the box, and when you turn it on it is. In the 20 years I’ve played with computers the speed knocked my socks off. I turned it on and in seconds I was able to use it.
I first wanted to see the quality of the screen. The notebook is packing an NIVIDIA Geforce GTX 460m with 1.5GB GDDRS. It may not be the best video card, but it’s more than enough for many gamers and certainly a premium for any business/home users.
The sound was also fantastic. MSI has partnered with Dynaudio and the notebook features THX, which really means you feel part of the game or music that’s playing.
The notebook isn’t the lightest but, then again, if you’re concerned with weight buy a tablet and don’t get all the bells and whistles (or the fun) this offers.
I also left the notebook running for 10 days without turning it off. I wanted to see if the sound or video would break down or what I call stutter. This is when the sounds are not continuous and the video becomes choppy. But all was good. No issues.
The notebook has a turbo button which does work, and is kinda cool when you think about it. It also comes with other features such as a cooling fan that you can turn on when you’re deep in a game, trying to steal car in Grand Theft Auto.
I also used the notebook in a business situation. While its exterior is super flashy, I had to present 40 slides pitching a program to a corporate customer. The transitions between slides were no issue and the sounds I incorporated in some of slides frankly caused a “whoo” from the customer. That could have been the presenter, but I think it was the sound itself. The customer even commented on the look and asked how he could get one. The customer was a gamer and was salivating over the unit.
At the end of the day, the notebook in my eyes scored very well and frankly, based on the price point ($1,649.99), that the fact I would use it as a game/home/business computer in this order it met and exceeded my expectations.
