MSI gets official with GT627 gaming laptop

MSI briefly mentioned its GT627 gaming laptop amongst hordes of other machines at CES, but now the outfit is playing favorites by officially unveiling its latest 15.4-incher. Said rig features a pixel-packed 1,680 x 1,050 resolution display, a six-cell battery, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, an optional Blu-ray drive and a Core 2 Duo CPU. It's also the first MSI laptop to feature the 1GB NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS GPU, and there's even a 320GB HDD, 4-in-1 multicard reader, twin USB 2.0 ports, HDMI / VGA outputs, gigabit Ethernet, a two megapixel webcam and an ExpressCard slot to round things out. All told, the machine weighs in at 5.8 pounds, but it's your best guess as to how much it'll retail for. Full release is after the break.

MSI gets official with GT627 gaming laptop

MSI Announces New GT627 Gaming Notebook Featuring NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS

GT627 features MSI's Turbo Drive Technology, Blu-ray Player, and
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA – January 26, 2009 – MSI Computer, a leading manufacturer of computer hardware products and solutions, is pleased to announce the newest addition to its Gaming Notebook Series – GT627. The new GT627 is the first in the MSI Gaming Notebook series to feature the NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS graphics processing unit (GPU). This revolutionary GPU delivers blazing-fast mobile gaming and supports NVIDIA CUDA™ technology enabling MSI customers to experience the wide range of CUDA-based applications-such as heart-stopping GPU-accelerated game physics and video conversion. The GeForce 9800M GS also saves power and increases computing efficiently by handling video decoding, allowing the CPU to focus on other tasks.

"We are excited to offer the NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS GPU in the GT627 Gaming Notebooks," said Andy Tung, Vice President of Sales, MSI US. "This GPU will allow us optimize performance and deliver unparalleled graphics for gamers on-the-go."

"Whether viewing or editing photos, finding directions, playing a game, or watching a hi-def movie, the MSI GT627 with the NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GS GPU runs silky smooth, with amazing visuals," said Rene Haas, General Manager of the notebook business unit at NVIDIA. " With the GeForce 9800M GS handling the graphics, video and physics acceleration, MSI customers will be ready for the visual computing movement."

MSI has also equipped the GT627 with a spacious 15.4" WSXGA (1680x1050) LCD, 2W internal speakers, and weight cartridge laser mouse to enhance the mobile gaming experience. The GT627 also features MSI's proprietary Turbo Drive Engine, which can overclock the notebook's Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (Penryn, FSB 1066) by as much as 15% at the touch of a button when in AC mode. When on the go, users can conserve the GT627's battery by taking advantage of the MSI's Eco Engine technology to switch between five power settings to ensure efficient power consumption.

MSI housed the powerful GT627 in its stylish anodized brushed aluminum gaming case. This solid enclosure features stamped aluminum sheeting in both the LCD lid and palm rest for increased protection and durability. However, despite the reinforced casing and a 6-cell battery, the GT627 weighs just over six pounds making it one of the most portable gaming notebooks in its class. Additionally, MSI also included an 802.11 b/g/n wireless modem and a Blu-ray player to make it a true mobile entertainment center.

MSI GT627 Gaming Notebook
CPU	Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (Penryn, FSB 1066)
Chipset	PM 45+ICH9-M
Graphic	NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS DDR III 1GB
Memory	DDR2 800 support up to 4GB
LCD	15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) LCD
HDD	320 GB 7200RPM SATA
Optical	DVD Super Multi / Blu-ray Drive (Optional)
Card reader	4 in 1 (support SD,MMC,MS, MS Pro)
I/O	D-sub*1, USB 2.0*2 , IEEE1394, Mic-in, Headphone, RJ11, RJ45, E-SATA (USB Combo), HDMI
Battery	6/9 cells (optional)
Wireless	802.11a/g/n, Bluetooth V2.0EDR
Communication	Modem, 10/100/1000 Mbps GbE LAN
Webcam	2.0M Webcam
Sound	HD Audio, Stereo speakers
Expansion Slot	ExpressCardx1
Dimension	14.09"(L) x 10.24 "(D) x 1.06"~1.22"(H)
Weight	5.8 lbs (6 cell)
Special Feature	Touch Sensor, E-SATA, HDMI

About MSI

Founded in 1986, MSI strives to design and manufacture superior technology and innovative products, while offering outstanding customer service. The company's expansive range of product lines includes Notebooks, Mainboards, Graphic Cards, Servers/Workstations, Barebones, IPCs, Multimedia Products, CE Devices and Networking Devices. MSI is ranked among the world's top 3 motherboard manufacturers and is one of the top 5 server manufacturers. MSI has developed several new technologies, including ACV (Amazing Crystal Vision), and ACS (Advanced Cooling System). MSI's notebooks are known for their aesthetically pleasing designs and powerful components. To keep abreast of the global market MSI provides multi-language customer service and associated web sites. MSI has offices in Taiwan, Mainland China, USA, Germany, France, Holland, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Korea, Poland, Russia, Canada, and India. To learn more about MSI's complete line personal computers and components please visit www.msimobile.com.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 3:38PM]

Thats a nice box. Somebody buy me one and I'll do a full review. ;-D

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 4:19PM]

Seems a lot like the ASUS G50Vt line.

The GPU annoys me greatly, the 9800M GS's 256-bit bus would prevent any sort of meaningful usage of 1GB of texture memory. Another silly marketing trick, this isn't going to perform any better than the original 512MB card.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 6:29PM]

The reason I recently ditched my laptop in favor of a desktop was for two main reasons so I could play a couple games and because I really needed the screen space a typical 22 inch screen provides (1680x1050), that screen resolution on a laptop would be a really nice feature.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 27th 2009 11:39AM]

I've been enjoying that res (1680x1050) since almost two years ago on my laptops!

Asus G1P and G1S (both 15.4" North American Model gaming laptops) have that resolution and indeed it's nice for a 15.4 incher.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 3:55PM]

But Can It Run Crysis?
-YES it does !

But will it blend?
-Nop

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 4:11PM]

Are you lame?
-- yes

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 5:38PM]

Of course it runs Crysis. Even a MacBook runs Crysis. But not many people enjoy slideshow games.

[Oli D Posted Jan 26th 2009 4:01PM]

I miss the [read] link.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 27th 2009 1:02AM]

I think this Mr [read] link is a Chinese, and has gone home to celebrate the Chinese new year.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 4:08PM]

What laptop is that displayed?

Surely a 15.4 incher doesnt have enough space for a number pad?

Besides that as ca36gtp said, this seems to be a lot of marketing verbiage and a very underwhelming laptop.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 4:21PM]

MSI keyboards are pretty cramped in so they can have pads like that.

I have a G50VT, it's certainly no slouch. But this is going to have
to be priced around $999 to compete, otherwise you might as well just
buy ASUS.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 5:24PM]

Keep in mind the Asus G50 series has a 15.4 or 15.6" screen but has a larger chassis to fit the numpad, probably the same for this MSI.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 4:09PM]

Seems like a nice rig, but I'm waiting for Core i7 to hit laptops before I upgrade.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 27th 2009 5:58AM]

Core i7 will probably won't hit laptops.
Core i5, maybe.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 4:09PM]

Anyone reminded of this...

Homer: "Well basically I copied the old design .... Plus I added this racing stripe, which I feel is rather stylish."
Burns: "Agreed. First prize!"

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 4:28PM]

This might be my perfect laptop, assuming its under $1500

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 27th 2009 5:29AM]

At this spec, you can get for 8000 HKD (~ 1000 USD) in, obviously, Hong Kong.

No red stripes though. It was a lenovo.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 4:38PM]

Stay away from MSI products. I had an MSI 1036 my friend and bro has the 1029 and another friend got the 1013 all had issues, quality issues. Over heating issues. Stay far away.

[Invisiblemoose Posted Jan 27th 2009 2:01AM]

MSI laptops, maybe... But I put a K7D-Master through hell and it still runs fine.... Plus a bunch of Athlon XP boards that still work, as well as an MX4000... I like MSI... Always wanted one of those MegaPC SFFs...

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 4:50PM]

gaming? laptop? im sorry, good luck with that.

only when they perfect nuclear battery and when they can put 200+ stream processors into a laptop, i start to believe.

posted on a gaming desktop, the one that costs less than quarter of the best gaming laptop yet performs nearly twice as fast (overclocked)

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 5:16PM]

The thing is though, with my Clevo M860tu (a 15.4 incher that blows this MSI out of the water), I could take it anywhere I want, take notes in lecture, and then check out the FEAR 2 demo on max settings on my break.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 6:39PM]

Enjoy dragging your Desktop around for LAN parties?

[Invisiblemoose Posted Jan 27th 2009 2:04AM]

@TareX : SFF, maybe? I have an SN45G shuttle with an x850pro. Works fine for the LANs I go to. (Plays Crysis min settings, Far Cry maxed). But I've lugged mid-ATX towers around too.

And I know people who bring full-towers to LANs...

PC gamers are supposed to be the hard-core crowd... You must be a console gamer...

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 5:18PM]

9800gs just won't cut it anymore, give us 9800gtx.

[ScienceProUSAcom Posted Jan 26th 2009 5:20PM]

Looks like they have a barebones based off of this as well.

http://www.msicomputer.com/NB/product_spec.asp?model=MS-1651-ID3

But actually that has a 9600 not a 9800.

I have to admit, it looks pretty sharp. Cool but not overdone.

[xndrr Posted Jan 26th 2009 5:57PM]

just a heads up for anyone in western canada, if you guys can't find an MSI notebook, London Drugs sells a brand called "certified data" which are all actually just rebadged MSI laptops.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 27th 2009 5:58AM]

What sort of a name for a shop is that... London drugs! Sounds like you should be getting Ecstasy served at the counter..

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 6:27PM]

We've had this at my shop for a few weeks now. It's the sharpest looking MSI notebook I've seen. Aesthetically, the worst part is the red accents, which are hot-pinkish red. Day-glow red. Wouldn't-want-to-take-it-out-in-public red. The 17in one has the same colored accents as well.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 8:11PM]

Not massively au-fait with the gaming laptop scene but this has got a lot of great features and I haven't seen one with a number pad before - that's excellent. It's almost perfect... but wait.. they've gone and put the Fn button at the outside of the Ctrl button - Noooooo..... (I need that as my crouch action button)

Like the power saving setting potentially - any word on battery life and please update

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 8:21PM]

I think it's going to come out at about $1,399 to $1,599

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 8:38PM]

Will it have the new E8700(Comes at 3.5GHz)?

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 9:33PM]

Hey, when you post about a computer try talking about its specs... You know, like you do when you post about the Atom in those sad little netbooks? I'm really pissed about those, by the way. Thanks Microshaft, for screwing your customer base again. No one is going to build a real computer in that form factor unless a mainstream OS is available. Ubuntu is wonderful, but not for the newb in most of us.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 9:02PM]

Its not going to be very cheap... :S

http://notebooksplanet.com/en/

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 26th 2009 9:41PM]

Looks like keyboard/mosepad is not centered.
Gateway and Mac are centered.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 27th 2009 12:06AM]

I will be keeping my eye on this.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 27th 2009 1:24AM]

Nothing like old news coming new again. The MSI global news release puts these thing as being released back on Oct '08. Guess they finally got around to building them http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?news_no=688&func=newsdesc

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 27th 2009 1:29AM]

My kids would just love this gaming Laptop when they are traveling with me!




http://www.asiarooms.com

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 27th 2009 2:11AM]

Did it say anywhere how much it will cost?

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 27th 2009 5:34AM]

Only two USB ports on a gaming rig? feels like a bit of a swizz.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 12th 2009 5:36PM]

Here's the price of both configurations... Not bad if you ask me...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=gt627&x=0&y=0