MSI's new line of Slim and Sleek Superior Performance notebooks

Subject: Mobile | August 16, 2011 - 05:27 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: msi, x460, x460dx, 14

Today MSI introduced three new 14" 1366 x 768 notebooks, the X460DX-008US, X460DX-006US and the X460-004US.  All but the X460DX-008US sport 6GB of DDR3, with the aforementioned limited to 4GB, the two DX models have a 500GB drive for storage while the non-DX has 750GB. All three have THX TruStudio Pro Technology for sound, USB 3.0 ports, HDMI out, 802.11 b/g/n Wireless LAN and extended battery life that MSI claims will provide all-day computing.  Check out the rest of the specs, including processor below, and click over to MSI if you are interested in purchasing one.

Podcast #165 - QuakeCon 2011, MSI's GTX580 Lightning, Intel 710 SSDs, Ultrabooks and more!

Subject: General Tech | August 11, 2011 - 02:27 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: podcast, pcper, nvidia, msi, Intel, GTX580, amd

PC Perspective Podcast #165 - 8/11/2011

This week we talk about QuakeCon 2011, MSI's GTX580 Lightning, Intel 710 SSDs, Ultrabooks and more!

You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.

The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!

• iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
• RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
• MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file

Hosts: Ryan Shrout, Jeremy Hellstrom, Josh Walrath and Allyn Malventano

This Podcast is brought to you by MSI Computer, and their all new Sandy Bridge Motherboards!

Program length: 1:25:12

Program Schedule:

1. 0:00:27 Introduction
2. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
3. http://pcper.com/podcast
4. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
5. 0:02:02 Quakecon 2011 and our Workshop - Postmortem
   1. Day 1 Coverage
   2. Day 2 Coverage
   3. Day 3 Coverage
6. 0:18:05 This Podcast is brought to you by MSI Computer, and their all new Sandy Bridge Motherboards!
7. 0:18:54 MSI N580GTX Lightning Xtreme Edition Review: What a GTX 580 Should Be
8. 0:30:18 Antec High Current Gamer HCG-750 PSU Review
9. 0:31:30 Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Review - The Best Android Tablet?
10. 0:32:16 Just Delivered Exclusive: PNY XLR8 Liquid Cooled GTX 580 Combo
    1. ZOTAC Unveils Water-Cooling Solutions
11. 0:36:40 Let us do some math, shall we? The cost of consoles
12. 0:41:46 Intel 710 SSD Prices Leaked
13. 0:47:40 ExpressCard trying to pull a (not so) fast one?
14. 0:55:30 NVIDIA Outlines Multi-GPU and Cloud Graphics With Project Maximus and Virtual Graphics Technologies
15. 1:06:50 Will Intel's Ultrabook form factor come with an integral Achilles Heel?
    1. Intel bets $300m on their Ultrabook-ie. Next step: broken legs.
16. 1:09:15 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
    1. Ryan: Blackmagic Intensity card 
    2. Jeremy: Strangely, I find myself thinking kindly upon BigFoot Networks
    3. Josh: http://www.faststone.org/FSResizerDetail.htm
    4. Allyn: http://pastebin.com and Ghostery
17. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
18. http://pcper.com/podcast   
19. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
20. 1:23:50 Closing

Just Delivered: MSI Z68A-GD65 G3 Motherboard with PCI Express 3.0 Support

Subject: Editorial, Motherboards | July 29, 2011 - 02:03 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: z68, pcie 3.0, msi

Just Delivered is a section of PC Perspective where we share some of the goodies that pass through our labs that may or may not see a review, but are pretty cool none the less.

As we gear up for the PC Perspective Hardware Workshop at Quakecon 2011 next weekend, August 6th, we are starting to get in some very interesting products.  The coolest part?  All of this is going to be GIVEN AWAY to attendees!! 

MSI is supplying us with a pair of new motherboards for our system build contest that will be held during the workshop - faster person to get a system up and running will get some killer prizes.  Even better, these are some of the FIRST Z68A-GD65 G3 boards in the US - the very same ones we saw at Computex in June sporting the world's first PCIe 3.0 implementation.

Sporting an LGA1155 socket and the new Z68 chipset, you get all the features associated with it including SSD caching and integrated graphics support.

The classic features from MSI continue to exist here with the Military Class II components as well as the always well-received OC Genie button.

It sports a total of 4 USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, DVI and VGA outputs and a lot more.  

One thing to note: this motherboard will ONLY support PCIE 3.0 speeds once the Ivy Bridge processors are released later this year so unless you have some unreleased hardware (and please do share!) then you aren't going to be seeing the advantages of this tech quite yet.  

Still, future proofing is good news!! 

Thanks to MSI for these boards and if you are coming to our workshop be prepared for your chance to win one before the rest of the worlds gets their hands on them!

Phone in your overclocking, MSI Afterburner App for Android

Subject: General Tech, Graphics Cards, Mobile | July 25, 2011 - 02:58 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: msi, Android

Are you a hardcore PC user who likes to tweak your computer? Naturally there is an app for you. MSI has launched an application for the Android Marketplace this morning to allow users wishing to monitor and overclock their computers the ability to use their Android-powered smartphone or tablet for that purpose through their wireless network. This version allows you to monitor temperature, voltage, fan speed and adjust clock rates, voltages, and fan speeds.

Let's hope Angry Birds doesn't see this: Some systems' power consumptions are pigs!

MSI Afterburner APP has relatively modest requirements: a tablet or smartphone device running Android 1.6 or higher, a system running Windows XP or later with a discrete graphics card, access to a network with wireless access for the Android device to link into, and Afterburner 2.1.0 or later installed on the PC. Setting up your PC is relatively simple once you have Afterburner installed as you just need to run, not even install, an application “Remote Server” that you can download from the MSI website linked to from the Android Marketplace link. While this application is too new to be rated, it is free and thus there is little reason to not simply try it out yourself.

PDXLAN Gears up with sponsors and gamers

Subject: Editorial, Shows and Expos | July 16, 2011 - 12:51 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: sli, sapphire, pdxlan, pdx, nvidia, msi, amd

If you are a PC gaming and live near or around the Portland, OR area you are familiar with the concept of PDXLAN - one of the most popular (but still cool and underground) LAN events in the country.  The primary event is going on this weekend and I am here to both game and take a look at what the sponsors are showing off. 

MSI has a lot of stuff going on including a look at the latest version of the Afterburner overclocking tool, the 3GB version of the GTX 580 Lightning (that Josh is currently working on a review of) and even a NVIDIA Surround based Dirt 3 sim seat.

Gaming laptops are still taking off here in the US and MSI has a couple on display including a HUGE 18-in mode (on the right) with a keyboard that lights up with various colors of LEDs, configurable.  

The Sapphire guys are here as well and are showing off much of what AMD for gamers including Eyefinity configurations like the very popular 5x1 portrait mode.  This is something that only AMD offers currently and in this demo we were looking at Dragon Age II.  It was definitely grabbing some attention!

Showing that AMD's HD3D technology does indeed have legs Sapphire was showing off the new Samsung SyncMaster SA950 that has a nice external design.  I am going to spend some more time with it today to see how it performs, so check back for more!

If you are here, you can also find me getting butt kicked at various games.  This is the machine I'll be on, a Maingear built GTX 580 SLI right with an overclocked Intel Core i7 Sandy Bridge processor and 30-in display.  I know, it sucks to be me, but someone has to sacrifice and play on it, right?

More from PDXLAN later today!

The MSI N580GTX Lightning Once Again Breaks Three Graphics Card World Records

Subject: Graphics Cards | July 15, 2011 - 02:20 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: overclocking, N580GTX Lightning XE 3GB, msi, LN2

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA – July 15, 2010 – Since releasing its Lightning series graphics cards, world-renowned mainboard and graphics card manufacturer MSI has received universal praise from media and gamers alike for their outstanding design, rich use of components, powerful performance, and infinite overclocking potential. With the release of the N580GTX Lightning that follows in the footsteps of previous generation Lightnings, graphics card world records were sure to fall. Overclocking enthusiasts from all over have been running the N580 GTX Lightning with LN2 for some extreme overclocking and once again broke 3DMark 11, 3DMark Vantage, and Unigine Heaven (DX11) single-card, single-core world record scores. These considerable achievements demonstrate once again that only a Lightning can outshine a Lightning!

The triple world record king－N580GTX Lightning
At the beginning of June, US overclocker Splave put the N580GTX Lightning under LN2 cooling and effortlessly set a Unigine Heaven (DX11) single-card, single-core world record with a high score of 2501.6. Then, he topped that score this week with a new world record score of 2562.51! Russia's overclocking ace Smoke also paired a N580GTX Lightning with LN2 for some extreme overclocking as well. In the past few days, with scores of 11,390 and 46,546 respectively, he broke both 3DMark 11 and 3DMark Vantage single card single core world records! This proves the superlative performance of the Lightning series is its best spokesman.

Most advanced design and Military Class II components create a king amongst record-breakers
The N580GTX Lightning, whether in terms of specifications or design, belongs in the highest class of products. The exclusive Power4 power supply architecture and triple overvoltage function strengthens overclocking stability and potential. Additionally, the Extreme OC Function, specifically designed for overclocking, ensures the graphics card can still function normally under extreme overclocking conditions. Adoption of materials has also undergone careful consideration. High quality, second generation Military Class components provide the most stable user experience and optimum durability. In all aspects, MSI Lightning graphics cards demonstrate design and development capability and infinite overclocking potential.

MSI Launches Two New X-Slim Series Models With WIDI

Subject: Mobile | July 9, 2011 - 10:30 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: notebook, msi, gaming

MSI has announced two notebook computers with optional Intel Core i7 quad core processors and supporting a slew of fast data transfer standards including Intel’s Wireless Display technology, HDMI, Bluetooth 3.0, and USB 3.0. The Intel Wireless Display technology is capable of transmitting 1080p in addition to 5.1 audio to HDTVs without wires, and is available on both new models. The X460 and X460DX chassis is constructed of a metal alloy with feather patterns and an aluminum palm rest as well as room for a second internal hard drive. The models comes equipped with batteries that MSI claims are capable of up to 8 hours of power.  Both models also come equipped with either Windows 7 Home or Windows 7 Professional.

Dubbed the X460 and X460DX, the X-Slim series of notebook computers has received a fresh update. The X460 weighs in at 1.98 kg (~4.36 lbs), is less than 1” thick and bears a 14” form factor. MSI claims the notebook is the lightest Core i7 quad core packing computer currently out. Further the X460 is able to use Intel’s second gen “Sandy Bridge” Core i7 2630QM or the Core i5 2410M processors. The X460 sticks with the Intel processor graphics (HD 3000). The X460DX on the other hand comes with an Intel Core i5 2410M processor and a discrete NVIDIA GT540M with MSI’s GPU Boost graphics switching technology. To be more specific, the new models come with the following specifications.

No word yet on prices or availability; however, the brushed aluminum look never seems to get old and the specifications seem decent. What are your thoughts on the new models?