MSI - GT70 Dominator-895 17.3" Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 8GB Memory - 1TB Hard Drive - Aluminum Black
Model: 9S7-1763A2-895
SKU: 5142092
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Customers recognize the GT70 Dominator-895 17.3" Laptop for its gaming capabilities, speed, and keyboard. Customers appreciate the laptop's ability to run games smoothly without problems and its responsive, lighted keyboard that enhances their gaming experience. The laptop's fast performance and great graphics are also highlighted as positive aspects.
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I purchased this computer about two month's ago (March '14) as a replacement for my Surface Pro 2 (which I was not so happy with for many reasons). I was looking for a gaming laptop with a full-size keyboard and number pad, dedicated video card, i7 processor, optical drive, and good cooling. This proved to be difficult as many are no longer including the optical drive. I looked at various MSI models, Asus ROG series and Lenovo as my main options. Based on price and specs I focused my research on the MSI or ROG. The ROG I wanted (with similar specs) was almost $1000 (purchased this on a wicked-wicked sale) more than the MSI GT70 Dominator and the GT72 was actually lower performance than the GT70. Based on the specs listed, the computer received had an improved i7 4810MQ (vs 4800MQ) processor and AC wireless (only supposed to have B/G/N). When I booted and logged on my Microsoft settings were placed on this computer, which was nice not having to reload all I had. As it has a HDD it does take time to boot, but has an extra bay. Eventually I'll get a 1TB SSD and a smaller boot drive. The computer stays cool and has the ability to turn the fans on full speed to give a nice boost of cooling with vents to the left and rear. The battery lasts much longer than anticipated. Depending on what I'm doing I can easily get a full workday of use (music, net, movies). If I'm gaming I've found the time to be about 4 hours (no high graphic intensive games have been tested yet), which is still not bad considering it's a high powered laptop (and list life around 3 hours in all uses). The keyboard was also a main point for me. It has full-size keys and key spacing in a compact form (number and arrows are closer to the keyboard) that are responsive and feel like I'm on a regular keyboard (mostly). If you do 10-key it does taking some getting used to as the zero is not as long as a stand alone keyboard due to an arrow key encroaching on it. One thing I don't like is the home/end buttons require the press of the Fn key as the default is PgUp/PgDn and haven't been able to change the default click. Pros -Full-size keyboard and number pad, also highly programmable and responsive -Large screen -BD optical drive -Cool boost (ramps up fan to provide extra cooling, but is loud) -Easy on/off touchpad button (sometimes it's the small things that matter) -5 USB ports (3-3.0 2-2.0) plus audio ports -Good sound for laptop speakers -Battery life, about 7 hours Cons -Number pad is pushed close to QWERTY board, takes some getting used to the new size of the zero and arrow keys -Home and End are not default keys -Big and heavy, as expected As a whole I'm very happy with my purchase and feel this is the closest to an actual computer in laptop format. The few cons should not dissuade you from purchasing, or seriously considering this one. Even at the current average price of $1200 this is well worth the cost, but if you're patient, like I was, you'll find it on sale. Learning how to use the arrow, zero, and home/end keys took about 2 weeks, but it's now like second nature. The computer feels very solid and well made, and should give many many years of happy service for me.
Posted by OddballBrewer
Very fast laptop. Very good value for the price. Keyboard backlights are a great feature and can be customized. Video card included is very good. Would like to see more ram and make it easier to drop in a ssd.
Posted by pcdude89
My brother let me know this and then I bought for the Christmas gift by self. This is good performance for game. Fast, great graphic, good display, also nice design!
Posted by ray334