Interior
Let’s pay attention to the hole chiseled
through the "Warranty Sticker Void if tampered" label (Warranty
Sticker is no longer valid if it is damaged). This is from us. We invalidate
the warranty, so you should not imitate us.
Six Phillips screws and numerous plastic
caps attach the underneath shell to the MSI GX60. Once you have removed, you
will have easy access to the mSATA SSD RAID array, GPU, RAM, CPU and 2.5-inch
hard drive. Take notice that while removing the six cover screws, you also
removed three of the four fan screws and one of the two hard drive screws.
Let’s
pay attention to the hole chiseled through the "Warranty Sticker Void if
tampered" label
Starting in the upper- left corner, we have
two SanDisk mSATA SSD drives on what seems to be an exclusive daughterboard. It
looks like a second 2.5-inch drive could also take up this space, but alas,
there are not any connectors. With the speeds of larger mSATA drives are
keeping up with the 2.5-inch SSDs, but the lower-capacity models are much
slower, this is a really clever configuration. You have the performance of two
64GB SSDs in RAID 0, while still leaving enough space for a large-capacity,
cheap hard drive, available in its own drive bay.
Removing the daughterboard and the mSATA
drives is not the problem. There are two screws on the board and the other two
screws for each drive.
Another exclusive connector connects the
daughterboard to the mainboard. While you can order an exclusive daughter card
for a 2.5-inch drive, of course, we will certainly stick with the existing
dual-mSATA and single-hard drive setting.
Continuing, we see the GPU. The connection
seems to be a standard 100W MXM-B slot. There are two heat pipes for the GPU
and a third for the built-in memory. The system RAM slots in front of the GPU
are left empty to help you get a better view.
The heat pipes are inserted into a large
heat sink that goes through the rear of the machine.
The CPU and GPU are cooled by a unique
large fan. The advantage of this is the large fan can move more air at lower
RPM speeds. It also means that fewer parts are failed.
Although they share the same fan, the CPU
and GPU heat sinks are unrelated to each other. The thermal solutions for each
one is still physically separate. The pressure of this system or the other will
only make the fan blow more air through both of the heat sinks. Thus, a CPU
under full load leads to the idling GPU a few degrees cooler.
Here is a closer look at the CPU heat sink.
It has a large heat pipe compared with the GPU’s three, which is quite
reasonable because the GX60 has a 35W CPU and a 100W GPU.
This
is an overhead photo of the machine with all of the parts that the user can
replace removed.
Because three of the four fan screws were
removed with the bottom cover, why not remove the last screw? The fan is easily
removed, which may be the major plus point when cleaning. Pay attention to the
small sponge strips. They make sure that all air is blown through the heat
sinks.
This is an overhead photo of the machine
with all of the parts that the user can replace removed.
Less than 5 minutes later, everything is
located back in its position.
The
only problem we encountered when accessing the internal components of the GX60
was replacing the bottom cover. Around the edges are small plastic clips
holding it in place.
The only problem we encountered when
accessing the internal components of the GX60 was replacing the bottom cover.
Around the edges are small plastic clips holding it in place. Snapping them may
be quite a tiring experience. If you are careful, and find out which one to
insert in first, you will be fine. During the process of our review, we popped
off the cover four or five times without having any problems. With all of the
clips are in place and tightened by the six Phillips screws, the bottom of the
system is very sturdy.
Keyboard and track pad
The layout of the GX60’s keyboard and track
pad is typical of what you find on most laptops. The keyboard includes a full
number pad, and because the touchpad is in the standard center of the keyboard,
it slightly lies to the left on the palm rest. The palm rest itself is coated
metal, giving it a sturdy feel.
The MSI GX60’s track pad is a Synaptics
model. The left and right buttons are combined into a single silver bar below
the tracking area of the pad. The track pad works well, and has a decently
rough surface repeats the steel palm rest. Compared with the track pads on the
other laptops, the track pad of the GX60 is quite compact, especially compared
to the giant click pads that are on the Ultrabooks. However, it does a manful
job.
The
keyboard includes a full number pad, and because the touchpad is in the
standard center of the keyboard, it slightly lies to the left on the palm rest.
The palm rest itself is coated metal, giving it a sturdy feel.
Below the track pad are indicator lights
for Bluetooth, WI-Fi, battery charge status, sleep mode, and hard drive
activity.
The large-sized keyboard that consists of
103 keys is by SteelSeries, the manufacturer of high-end gaming accessories.
The keys have a rough surface contrasts well with the shiny surfaces
surrounding the keyboard. The keyboard has a decent feel if you normally use medium
or light force. However, if you usually press hard into the key, the keyboard
will slightly flex. Like most laptops, the chiclet-style keys of the GX60 have
a short movement -. But they have a fantastic tactile feel when you press them.
After typing on it for a period of time, we really started to appreciate how
good the GX60’s keyboard is.
One thing that we do not grasp is the lack
of backlighting. We know that the GX60 is worthy of your budget, but this is
the stuff that we wish MSI had not cut.
Let’s keep coming to the row of custom
buttons and indicator lights on the keyboard.
Located on the left of the power switch are
controls for P1, fan speed, and ironically, keyboard backlighting. P1 is a
quick-launch button assigned by the users. The fan speed switches between 100%
duty cycle and the most silent mode is available for the current system
temperature (this was one of our most frequently used controls). The keypad
backlighting button must be there just to laugh at us because, as we have recognized,
the GX60’s keyboard is not truly backlighting!
Located on the right of the power switch
are controls for Wi-Fi, built-in screen, and a button to activate the optical
drive eject mechanism, along with caps and num lock indicator lights. Of
course, having the Wi-Fi switch on the upper center, not requiring any combo
keys, is certainly a good thing. The screen control switch is very handy as
well.
