MSI 17.0" Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 4GB Memory Windows Vista Home Premium 9S7-172234-074

Pros: For this price you won't find a better performing laptop. At its native resolution this laptop can run Crysis Warhead at full graphics. The screen is beautiful also; the combination of the high resolution on the 17" makes for a very sharp image; the pixels are still so small that you really don't even need anti-aliasing.

The full-size keyboard is a very welcomed feature but it wasn't executed perfectly (see cons). I like the easy access touch buttons at the top, but much like the keyboard they have their flaws.

The laptop itself is pretty sleek; the brushed aluminum, the red/orange frame, and the chrome accents really give this laptop the "performance machine" appearance. This laptop definitely turns heads.

The battery life is amazing for a laptop of these components; I get a 3:15 battery life on "Battery saver mode" and a 2:00 battery life on average. The amazing part is getting 1:10 life while playing Crysis.

The built in media center remote receiver was a plus also.

Cons: This laptop doesn't have an deal-breaking cons really; there's just a whole ton of fine issues:
-The keyboard layout is very convoluted. Not only is the function key and Ctrl key switched, but the whole right side of the main keyboard is squashed to make way for the numpad. They could've made the keyboard larger if the power button didn't take up the space to the left.

-They used touch buttons to control the wifi. I have already accidentally touched the wifi switch several times, messing up internet related processes. Furthermore the media controls are not labeled, you can only see where they are transparent for the lighting.

-The hard drive and windows setup were done somewhat backwards. Not only did they install 32-bit Windows on a machine with 4GB, but they also installed window on a small partition of the 320GB HDD, leaving very little space for programs to be installed in the default location. (See other)

Overall Review: First thing I did was install Windows 7 RC x64 after clearing the two partitions. It worked perfectly fine with all of the drivers included on their disc. The only problem I had was that Catalyst Control Center would not install in 7, so I do not have access to the overclocking and powerplay features. Windows 7 runs and looks amazing on this laptop, I would highly recommend trying that out, even if you just install it on the original blank partition.

As I said above the pricing on this laptop is amazing considering the performance, if you can put up with the quirks then I highly recommend this laptop.

Pros: Excellent hardware specifications at an extremely competitive price. Too bad it can be too good to be true.

Cons: While I understand not everyone has encountered these problems - here's what you (a future potential buyer) should be aware of.

My unit has an extreme problem with overheating. How bad? I can't play any games for longer than an hour or so before it tops off at or over 100C. At 110C it shuts the system off.

At first I just kept my head up and RMA'd it to MSI. What a nightmare. I had to pay the $50 shipping to them, and what did I get? I got my laptop repackaged and sent back with absolutely no changes. Not to mention MSI customer support would not answer me when I asked what was wrong and what was done to fix it. I know for a fact it was the same exact Heatsink/Fan/Thermal Paste and Video Card.

Overall Review: Horrible customer support. Maybe it was just my bad luck I got some techs with a bad day, but their support back and forth with emails is terrible also. I was sent a spreadsheet with hardware specs of my laptop the day it was sent back. What the heck am I supposed to do with that? I already know what's in it. No problem resolution... no comments, nothing!

I will never ever buy another MSI product and I will make sure no one else I know buys from them. I now have an oversized netbook. Thanks MSI!