Derrick
ლ(ಠ_ಠ )ლ
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
- Messages
- 5,085
- Reaction score
- 5
The MSI GT727 manages to deliver a powerful system within a comparatively lightweight and efficient package.
Most notebooks aren’t capable of running much more than The Sims, and with good reason. The more power you cram into that relatively small form factor, the bigger the drain on battery life, and typically, the higher the cost. This makes gaming notebooks significantly more expensive than their desktop counterparts and often leads to so much bulk and weight that they’ll sooner provide a workout routine rather than a gaming session.
Thankfully, not all gaming notebooks fall prey to such design problems. The MSI GT727 manages to deliver a powerful system within a comparatively lightweight and efficient package. Make no mistake, this is a high-end laptop designed to be a mobile desktop replacement. The Q9000 quad-core processor churns away at 2.00GHz alongside 4GB of RAM, while the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4850 brings with it all the specs of its desktop equivalent, albeit at reduced clock speeds. These impressive specifications allow for high-end gaming at generally excellent levels of performance, utilising the high resolution 17-inch widescreen display to its fullest.
Of course, all of those fancy specifications mean nothing without solid performance to back them up, and here the GT727 shines. While it could
only manage smooth gaming in Crysis Warhead running a mixed Mainstream/ Gamer configuration (medium to high), both Unreal Tournament III and Call of Duty: World at War sailed along happily with all the settings at maximum and the display at its native resolution of 1,680 x 1,050. As should be expected, navigation around the Windows environment, file transfers and running multiple applications were handled effortlessly.
Battery life was surprisingly good, managing to squeeze out over an hour of full-tilt gaming and anywhere from two to three hours of mixed office work using one of the Eco Engine settings. Sadly, this is where the GT727 is a bit of a letdown, as the mix of battery-saving settings could do nothing to brighten up the incredibly dull screen. Despite MSI’s “Vivid LCD Technology,” the lower Eco Engine settings left low-contrast images and text on the screen almost unreadable, and even with the Engine switched off and the display at its brightest, the screen was darker than almost any other LCD display I’ve seen. That said, however, gaming in reduced ambient lighting was still quite fine, although the display in CoD seemed a little fuzzy.
Included in the box is an MSIrebranded Cyber Snipa Stinger mouse and a high-quality backpack-style carry bag. The onboard audio card is capable of 7.1-channel surround sound, and while the built-in 4.1-channel speakers do their job admirably, having the option to hook this system up to a high-end speaker system without the need for a bulky expansion card is certainly a nice one.
Most notebooks aren’t capable of running much more than The Sims, and with good reason. The more power you cram into that relatively small form factor, the bigger the drain on battery life, and typically, the higher the cost. This makes gaming notebooks significantly more expensive than their desktop counterparts and often leads to so much bulk and weight that they’ll sooner provide a workout routine rather than a gaming session.
Thankfully, not all gaming notebooks fall prey to such design problems. The MSI GT727 manages to deliver a powerful system within a comparatively lightweight and efficient package. Make no mistake, this is a high-end laptop designed to be a mobile desktop replacement. The Q9000 quad-core processor churns away at 2.00GHz alongside 4GB of RAM, while the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4850 brings with it all the specs of its desktop equivalent, albeit at reduced clock speeds. These impressive specifications allow for high-end gaming at generally excellent levels of performance, utilising the high resolution 17-inch widescreen display to its fullest.
Of course, all of those fancy specifications mean nothing without solid performance to back them up, and here the GT727 shines. While it could
only manage smooth gaming in Crysis Warhead running a mixed Mainstream/ Gamer configuration (medium to high), both Unreal Tournament III and Call of Duty: World at War sailed along happily with all the settings at maximum and the display at its native resolution of 1,680 x 1,050. As should be expected, navigation around the Windows environment, file transfers and running multiple applications were handled effortlessly.
Battery life was surprisingly good, managing to squeeze out over an hour of full-tilt gaming and anywhere from two to three hours of mixed office work using one of the Eco Engine settings. Sadly, this is where the GT727 is a bit of a letdown, as the mix of battery-saving settings could do nothing to brighten up the incredibly dull screen. Despite MSI’s “Vivid LCD Technology,” the lower Eco Engine settings left low-contrast images and text on the screen almost unreadable, and even with the Engine switched off and the display at its brightest, the screen was darker than almost any other LCD display I’ve seen. That said, however, gaming in reduced ambient lighting was still quite fine, although the display in CoD seemed a little fuzzy.
Included in the box is an MSIrebranded Cyber Snipa Stinger mouse and a high-quality backpack-style carry bag. The onboard audio card is capable of 7.1-channel surround sound, and while the built-in 4.1-channel speakers do their job admirably, having the option to hook this system up to a high-end speaker system without the need for a bulky expansion card is certainly a nice one.