Pros: THIS computer is AMAZING runs best with windows 8, this computer not only plays games on max setting with no lag but also when you turn on the gpu and use the on board graphics card you get 6 hrs of battery life!! which is perferct for students/ gamers like my self.

i had alienware 17 for 4 months and it died... dell refunded me underwarranty. i purchased this thing is amazing quick.

Cons: the screen quality could be bit better but they put the ips screen in the next gen. i wish they offered a 3d option.

Pros: I've had this since December 2012 and it's been fantastic. Love the graphics, no low FPS issues so far. Love gaming with it.

I also recently upgraded to Windows 10 and only had one issue with the sound software. After a few support emails back and forth they finally were able to figure out what I was asking and had me install different sound software.

Cons: First, I am a security nut so I don't use the admin user to log in with for my daily stuff and playing games. That being said, the MSI Gaming Dragon app keep popping up asking for the admin password when I first log in. I don't think that should be necessary.

The only other thing I think is a negative is the support site. I've asked questions about upgrading to Windows 10, adding a second SSD drive, etc. and they don't to give very helpful or detailed responses.

Pros: Runs most games on High-Ultra (depends)
Nice keyboard (more in cons)
Good sound from headphones and speaker
Monitor is good for what it is
Able to triple monitor!

Cons: -TOUCHPAD AWEFUL
-keyboard hurts after long use because it is so high, recommend an keyboard rest under your wrist if you stick with it
-980m and not 980
-Some games can struggle to be high even skyrim when you add mods
-Expecting more in terms of CPU/RAM tbh as I use it for Big Data Work

Other Thoughts: I use this laptop everyday for work connecting a BenQ 24 inch monitor and a 23 inch touchscreen acer to it. I do not use the keyboard but switch between more ergonomic keyboards from logitech and wireless ones. I recommend this laptop because it was best bang for my buck at the time for its power and wasn't that different from the 2015 version i believe.

I use this for Hadoop Sandbox development which is very intensive VM test environment. I also used to play most modern games on it. Most can take it, however when I go home to my monster rig that is 2 years older it still is way faster and better of course. If you are trying to replace a desktop, this isn't it. This will play REALLY WELL BUT desktop is cheaper and much more effective at running games than a 980m even if it's a lesser graphics card.

I also play total war Rome 2 and Attila which are intensive games quite fine actually, however playing alpha release games will definitely be a pain sometimes because optimization.

Pros: Sound, speed, and video are outstanding. Ultra graphics all the way. The keyboard and effects are beautiful (and customizable). The mechanical keyboard is comfortable (other than sometimes hitting shift when I mean to hit 'a' because things are slightly closer than my desktop. The fan speed and the gpu engine switch are nice and I can really crank down the power usage and go without wall charger for a ridiculous amount of time. The sound quality is simply amazing The surround effect is great and full bodied. The fan button kicks on and has a moderate amount of added dB's but with the sound it isn't noticeable whatsoever. Gaming software makes tuning easy also.

Cons: I was tempted to rate it 4 star because something I figured out late into the game with this one. The Laptop comes with Win 8.1 64 (check), the laptop comes with a blu-ray player (check), the laptop comes with Power DVD 10 (failure). The problem here is that PDVD 10 doesn't function with blu-rays and windows 8.1 and it was purchased in January of this year (by that time cyberlink in it's ever increasing money scheme had released a few new 'versions' of it's software). So I'm stuck without a way to update to a version that is not only compatible with win 8.1, but isn't 79 bucks to upgrade because PDVD 10 doesn't get the free upgrade to the compatible versions that play blu-rays. I've tried getting VLC and the codec/key file to work to no avail... I called MSI and of course got a guy that helped zilch and was unsympathetic to my desire to watch a movie occasionally!

Other Thoughts: I bought a nice Samsonite Laptop backpack for it and with less than a foot of a drop bent in a corner of the laptop (very slightly) even with all the padding. Be wary of taking off your backpack too swiftly and dropping it down.

Pros: - Minimal setup required
- Solid gaming performance
- Outstanding SSD performance, power on to log-in screen in under 7 seconds
- Solid construction
- Great keyboard tactile response
- no thermal issues when gaming

Cons: - Weight
- Fans can be a little loud when they kick in at 100%

Other Thoughts: This laptop is everything I had hoped for and expected. A solid preforming gaming laptop that also performs great for photo processing. Some reviewers had noted some calibration issues with the screen, but I did not have those issues. This machine has run great from day 1. I was also very impressed with the build quality on the machine, it has a very solid feel and the base does flex in the least. The screen/lid does have some flex to it, but no more than expected from a 17" screen.

I was personally more concerned with performance than overall dimensions and weight when making my choice. If you want a solid gaming laptop that can handle just about anything else you want to throw at it as well, then I would not hesitate to recommend this machine. I have had no issues with this machine or the Newegg service & delivery.

Pros: Good, solid gaming laptop. Also does a good job doing renders of 3D artwork. Graphics card hardly blinks at just about anything you throw at it. Hard Drive is nice and fast. Steelseries keyboard with the pretty lights is not something I'd normally find necessary but it is very appealing. Probably my favorite feature is the button that lets you optionally kick the fans into high gear... it will do this automatically when the CPU or GPU reach a high temperature, but I like that I can pre-empt it. Even doing high-caliber DAZ3D renders, with the fan on full, the CPU and GPU stay well below 50 C. Very nice.

Cons: I only have one major con for this laptop - the calibration of the monitor is insanely cool blue. I have not measured it with an external device yet, but reports from tech sites have it at 13,000K. That is insane. Standard monitor color temp is around 6500 K.

Other Thoughts: Overall, this is a solid machine and I would recommend it to someone who wants a high end laptop, because in most every aspect, this computer rocks. But I do not understand why MIS hass set the monitor's color temperature to be this cool. And since there is no easy way to set the color temp of the monitor in the software, I'm probably going to have to buy a $100+ external device to recalibrate. I find that pretty darn annoying given all the money I spent to buy this high-end ubermachine... after all what is the point of an 8 GB super-vid-card when the monitor is putting out badly calibrated color? On the other hand, I mostly notice this while trying to work on artwork, not while gaming... so if you are going to JUST game on this thing, it may not be an issue for you.

Pros: Good looking, good specs, good gaming performance.

Cons: Window 8.1, conveniently 30 days in fact since 11/11/14 the laptop has failed to copy files and groups of files larger than 2GB. The laptop crashes and restarts giving 4 messages depending on the instance.
1.memory management
2.ntfs file system
3.irql not less or equal
4.system thread exception not handled

No disk errors, scan disks, scanned with malwarebytes and nod32.
windows memory diagnostic tool says "hardware problems were detected contact the manufacturer"
memtest86+ ran for over 12 hours and detected 4802389 errors in memory.

Under warranty yes, detroyed my opinion of msi yes. While the Asus g series doesnt have a rainbow keyboard im sure it isnt sold with a bunch of bad memory perhaps worse a motherboard. Will not buy msi again.. would buy asus if I had a do over. Silly thing is a sticker on the bottom voiding warranty if removed. Not even allowed to access the memory dimms to remove each and troubleshoot. Instead I have to send in the entire machine causing me to remove all personal files and pay for shipping. Not even sure of the turnaround time. Just a bad experience all around.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the product, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at usreview@msi.com or at our toll free support number 888-447-6564 m-f 6am to 6pm pst. and we will be more than happy to assist you, thank you.

Best Regards,
MSI Review Team | usreview@msi.com

Pros: boots windows in 7 seconds
spare bay for another ssd
2 extra sata 2 spots
custom keyboard colors
it has everything!

Cons: the price is expensive but it is a much better choice than asus
I came from a g73sw-a1 and while its still working this is a much sturdier and well layed out laptop

Other Thoughts: if you are thinking about buying an asus please consider this computer

Pros: -This laptop came quickly and proved to be great from the start.
-New gen GTX was a selling point from previous models.
-Fans were silent when off the cooler booster, when on cooler booster they got louder or course, but quickly lowered the temperature a substantial amount.
-Loaded a couple games including Skyrim which ran on high settings perfectly fine.
-The keyboard is highly customizable with different modes of flashing/fading backlights.
-The system turns on from being completely off in only a few seconds.

Cons: -Battery life will last 2 1/2 hours on a power saver mode, or a little over an hour while playing a game.
-Weight is a little much to have it actually sit on your lap for awhile.
-The keyboard, touchpad portion, and the rest of the surrounding areas get fingerprints and smudges all over them easily.

Other Thoughts: When I received this laptop it seemed great, but when I loaded the first game on it, I noticed an issue. There was a light blue vertical pixel line that spanned from the top of the monitor to the bottom on certain grays and brown backgrounds in and out of the game. (Hooked it up to an external display and it was not there among other things. So I determined it was something with the monitor.) So it looks like I'm going to have to get this mended somehow.

I'm really glad that the fans work as well as they do since I had a previous MSI laptop that overheated right after my 2 year warranty ran out. So hopefully I don't get a repeat of this.

The cons aren't really too bad because they are to be expected in a laptop with the powerful hardware this one is running and I do not plan to use it unplugged from a power source for too long. Portability was more so my concern.

Overall: The looks and power of this laptop are spectacular and all the little added features make it really feel high end.

Pros: 980GTX is better than my 680GTX main system.
Duel hard drive bay's with raid support
Multi Monitor hookups.
Button that hard switches Intel and Nvidia card
Great keyboard.
Quiet Fans

Cons: Battery life
LARGE power brick and close to a 120watt draw on high end games.
No model with a touch screen.

Other Thoughts: I was looking for a good gaming/workstation laptop for some traveling and this is it. It plays multiple instances of World of Warcraft with no issues, hooks up to two monitors, and has great sound. Plays Alien Isolation at Ultra settings with no problem and Farcry 4 is awesome on it.

Plenty of USB ports and the touch pad auto turns off when I plug in my mouse.

While I complain about the battery life, it does last a good 2 hours with just browsing and an hour on light gaming. External battery's are an issue too because most only accept a 90 watt power draw. It will only draw 50-80 watts as long as you don't use the Nvidia so I got around that as well.

The only real gripe I have is no touch screen. While I don't use it at all in any of my games, Windows 8 is AWFUL without one. If I could of gotten Windows 7 I would of. I do like how the screen is matt but still would of preferred a touch. Its not that big of a deal as most other manufactures at this time, didn't have touch screens for their gaming laptops.

All in all it has great features, great build quality and no complaints. I have not tried their support however.

PS - When the laptop arrived it posted but wouldn't boot as it couldn't find an operating system. As I had a high tech knowledge, I opened to bottom and re-seated the flash drives used in the Raid-0 and rebuilt the array and it booted fine. I didn't contact tech support so I don't know how well they would of walked me though it.