Question 1

Whats the battery life like?

Accepted Answer

Around 2.5-3 hours performing basic tasks such as browsing the web.

Question 2

does this laptop include an optical drive? on other store websites, this exact laptop says it doesnt include an optical drive. also, is this upgradeable to 16gb ram?. and can you swap the optical drive if it has one, for an ssd?

Accepted Answer

Yes the computer does have an optical drive. You should be able to upgrade the RAM no problem. I do not know if you can swap the optical for an ssd. The laptop already has 2 slots for an ssd if you replace both of the hard drives it comes with. I have not opened up the laptop myself yet but from other reviews I have read this is what should be possible.

Question 3

what is the release year for this computer?

Accepted Answer

I think it was early of this year since it has the GTX 965m.

Question 4

Hi just curious if this computer would upgrade to windows 10 home or pro?

Accepted Answer

Windows 10 Home. The laptop ships with Windows 8.1 non pro.

Question 5

Has anyone added an m.2 ssd to the PCIe slot? I bought a Samsung NVMe SSD 960 EVO M.2 and can't get the laptop to recognize it..

Accepted Answer

Yep. I added it to the center slot, could not get the 2 underneath to work. Also, if you want to install Windows/OS on it you have to remove the HDD, install OS on the SSD then you can replace the HDD and everything will work. Weird, but it's 100% the case.

Question 6

Is it difficult to deal with a battery only lasting around 3 hours for those of you in college or those of you that use this for work?

Accepted Answer

Hello,

The short answer to this would be yes but i will elaborate more. This computer is meant to be more of a desktop replacement. Yes it will last a solid 3 hours on balanced power or power saver mode but in today world that isnt that long. In my experience though this computer will last a whole night class on a full charge and usually class rooms have a power outlet. Same thing would go for work and meetings.

Overall I love this pc. Yes you sacrifice battery life but in this day an age we are never that far from an outlet. And if you really need something on the go though with a longer battery life, i would suggest getting a cheap tablet or something to compliment this product.

This computer is more for sitting down in an area and using its beast of a hardware to do demanding work.

I hope this explanation helps.

Question 7

Hows the battery life? Not while gaming because ill have it plugged in.  I'm talking about just web surfing and word on comfort or green mode.
One last thing, Did anyone find it too big to carry around?

Accepted Answer

Depends on what you're doing.  Here's what I got in a few scenarios:

* Watching a full screen h.264 movie in VLC - ~2 hours
* Web surfing with an occasional short YouTube video - ~2.5 hours
* Letting it sit with all power management turned off - ~3 hours

You can get more, or less, depending on how you're system is configured.  Screen brightness, keyboard lights, using the Intel video, USB devices pulgged in, etc.

Question 8

Can you upgrade the cpu, RAM, storage etc?

Accepted Answer

You can upgrade parts without voiding the warranty regardless of the sticker. I originally upgraded my ram and added an ssd. The warranty application asks if you have upgraded anything, but this is purely to track components so you get all your stuff back. I have warrantied mine with no problems.

Question 9

What are the temperatures while gaming in this laptop?                 (Both CPU AND GPU.)

Accepted Answer

Not sure of the exact temperatures but it doesn't seem to run very hot. I.E. I haven't taken any notice to it. I'll check out the temp. Next time its running and report back.

Question 10

Does this laptop have an addition HD bay? Either m.2 or otherwise?

Accepted Answer

There is only one place for a HDD (internally). From what I read tho, you can use the slot where the optical drive is to put a HDD. I pulled out the optical drive to verify this, but the plug was different from a regular SSD/HDD 2.5 inch. so I can't really answer this one. Maybe you can buy some type of adapter to make it work from MSI. There is (2) M-Sata connectors internally.

Questions & Answers