MSI GX720 Notebook Review

Although most of the headlines containing the word “MSI” include the words “Wind” or “netbook” lately, the truth of the matter is that the company has a fairly long history of manufacturing portable computing systems dedicated to most consumer segments out there. And that's exactly the case with its GX720 series, launched back in early September 2008, dedicated to gamers and multimedia fans alike, which we've recently had the chance of testing.

Of course, it's rather hard to imagine a system that will please both categories mentioned above, but the GX720 certainly manages to do so, at least to some degree. Not only that, but it also does it in style, and with a couple of innovations that will certainly make it stand out from the crowd, either from the design or the performance point of view.
As we've been able to see throughout our tests, the GX720 is the kind of machine you can take along to a LAN party without fearing that your “foes'” desktops will prove superior. However, after the LAN party is over, you can also easily connect it to pretty much any type of display (HDTV, projector, PC monitor) in order to watch a movie in HD, and you won't even need a surround sound system, simply because the GX720 carries its own 4.1 high-definition audio system built right in its case (yes, the speakers AND the subwoofer).

Although office work is not exactly what the designers probably had in mind for the GX720, MSI's notebook has what it takes for such tasks as well. Plus, its entire configuration is extremely battery-friendly, while the Wireless-N module helps it get online very fast.

Anyway, I certainly hope that we've managed to raise some interest, because it's about time to get down to business.

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Jump to: 1. Introduction   2. Design and aesthetics   3. Hardware performance   4. Real-life performance   5. Conclusions