Battery Life Part 2: Battery Boost Functionality (cont’d), Traditional Battery Tests
Continuing our Battery Boost testing from the last page…
StarCraft II
Battery Boost OFF:
Just 49 minutes of runtime is likely to do you in even quicker than a Zerg rush. Fortunately, with Battery Boost ON:
…a 120% increase in runtime is achieved. That’s more like it!
Metro 2033
One last candidate, just for the sake of argument and exploration. Metro 2033 is hardly an easy game to run on max settings even today. As we’ll see on our next page, even while plugged in, the built-in Subway benchmark only produced 67 fps on average. It’s safe to assume that under the circumstances, Battery Boost’s effects would be minimal here.
Battery Boost OFF:
And ON:
As expected, that’s a difference of just 7 minutes—just a 12% increase.
So what’s the verdict? First of all, the important part: Battery Boost works. Unlike during our testing with the GTX 880M in the GT70, it functioned as intended in all of the games we threw its way, and in most cases, it increased runtimes by at least 60%. That’s substantial to say the least, even if its effects are likely to diminish somewhat as games become more demanding in coming years (since the margin for reduction in frame rates above 30 will be slimmer). However, GeForce Experience also exists to help narrow that gap somewhat by automatically dialing back the settings accordingly. It truly is a valuable proposition if you ever find yourself in a situation where you’ll be playing unplugged for a reasonable period of time.
Traditional Battery Tests
Rounding out our extensive battery testing on the GT72 are our conventional battery tests: namely, the Battery Eater Pro Classic Test (max load, average brightness, all timeouts disabled), Reader’s Test (minimum load), and finally, our web surfing test, where we refresh a static web page at regular intervals.
It’s worth noting that the GT72 no longer features Optimus technology, opting instead for a physical button (along the left side of the keyboard among the rest) which switches between dedicated and integrated GPU. These tests were performed with the dedicated GPU on, however, so bear in mind that one could likely eke a bit more runtime out of the machine with the integrated GPU operating in its place. Switching it off is useful, but it’s also more of a pain than you might expect: you actually have to reboot the machine for it to kick in, which means that many people probably won’t even bother.
First, the Classic Test results:
Reader’s Test:
That’s pretty much what we expected from the hulking GT72, and it’s certainly nothing special in the realm of runtimes. The Reader’s test results are actually below those from the GT70, primarily due to the loss of Optimus (if we tested the GT72 with integrated graphics enabled, we could expect similar values to the GT70’s). But, as we said in our GT70 review, if you’re judging this machine based on its battery life during general use, you’re judging it for the wrong reasons. This baby would have serious problems fitting in a bag and could barely stand a trip on a plane (could you image this on a tray table?). A more likely scenario is that the laptop is accompanying you to the porch to play some games or do some web browsing—where if you happen to run low on power, you can simply trek back into the kitchen and find an outlet. Odds are no one’s complaining about a three-ish hour maximum runtime under those circumstances anyway.
Still, for sake of context, here’s how these values stack up:
Oh my science.
Oh my science.
For $3000 you can have a
For $3000 you can have a gaming desktop with 4790k a 500 gig ssd 2 gtx 970s in sli all the bells and whistles plus have a decent laptop probably with the same specs minus the mobile gpu for some remote steam big picture gameplay.
Thanks for the feedback
Thanks for the feedback guys!
There's no disputing that gaming desktops are far cheaper, but then, what's the point of even looking at gaming laptops if you're satisfied with being tethered to a desktop in the same place each time? Most people are, but some people want to move around. That's what these machines are all about.
Besides, in the conclusion, I mentioned "If it were our money, we’d probably spring for the $2,299 model, which is arguably a better value." It is–and for most people, it makes a heck of a lot more sense. You also skirt the issue of the quad-SSD failure rate concerns if that bugs you too. Quite frankly, at that price, with the GTX 980M, there isn't a better competitor around right now. The display isn't perfect, but apart from that and the internal battery, there's really not much else to hate on here. Until some other comparable machines pop up with considerably lower prices (not likely), it's IMO the best option around.
It's a cream of the crop machine with a couple of small niggles. If that's not what you're after, look elsewhere I say!
Highly disagree with those
Highly disagree with those specs.
A TN panel and it isnt even 120hz.
32 gig ram? for gaming?, 16 is more than enough, 8 isnt even tapped out yet.
Instead of all that mess of hard drives, can i just have ONE 500gig SSD? ill utilize the USB3 ports if i need more for all my legal movies.
At least that i7 is a quad core, instead of the dual core i7s.
Good thing the display is 1080p, it could have been 1366×768.
Wow, such a arrogant comment
Wow, such a arrogant comment for a person with loads of money. I get your point. But you can still have your preferred hardware with GT72 with added cost. Hope you done your research. And guess what, those days you never need more than 2GB RAM for gaming, and now you yourself saying that 16 GB sufficient.
I’m gaming right now and I
I’m gaming right now and I NEED 16Gb… Yeah I have 20 Chrome Tabs opened (1Gb), Minecraft FTB opened using 6Gb and Minecraft Vanilla using 5Gb and Skype using not much but yeah stil needing 16 Gb… Atleast I don’t have my server ON!
Thank you for an excellent
Thank you for an excellent and well-thought review! I purchased the GT72 Dominator Pro and I must say that I am extremely happy with the build quality and performance of this PC. I purchased the 24GB RAM/256 SSD option with the 980M. This was a catch-weight choice for $2,500, I want the computer to be future-proof and last for years. Everything about this PC is so slick and high quality, the aesthetics are just amazing! The GT72 is easy to love, sometimes I just stare at this beautiful beast in admiration. Every game title is easily played on Ultra with virtually no performance challenges that I have seen. Supersampling is the only option that I have seen lower fps. I accepted the fact the LCD screen was TN and 1080P when I made the purchase. I find the screen to be bright and colorful, with great contrast and sharpness. Screen perfection is one of the more discriminating elements of a laptop and it’s a huge cash investment to get modest gains, in my option. I’m glad that MSI invested in engineering that substantially affects performance. Besides, the GT72 allows for (3) 4K displays to be connected in tandem, so if you want to get nerdy, there are certainly options. The 1TB 7200RPM HDD also performs well for gaming, so I keep my key titles and frequent load apps on the 256 SSD and offload the rest to HDD. Lastly I’ll say the audio is immersive and enjoyable while playing games, impressive.
I have always found the desktop/laptop argument to be curious. It’s obvious that gaming laptops are for users that want to be mobile. Streaming is coming along but it’s still very early in that concept. In the 2000’s, I would play games with friend and I would have to travel with a desktop computer, monitor, peripherals. Those days are long behind me and I am willing to take a moderate hit on my wallet to ensure that I am mobile in any situation. Even if you are mildly cost conscious, the GT72 is a beautiful juggernaut and it’s an absolute pleasure to own.
The Nvidia Geforce GTX 460m
The Nvidia Geforce GTX 460m feature reach is not something is able first rate gaming background. Being a midrange item, it is equipped for running all the recreations that are presently in the business. The 1.5gb feature memory is the thing that aides in getting a charge out of requesting recreations. The SLI ability makes it conceivable to match an alternate Geforce representation card which thus helps in boosting the execution. Is it accurate to say that you are searching for a gaming record book with noteworthy sound yield? The Qosmos X505-Q896 has got Harmon/Kardon speakers that are equipped for creating great sound impacts.
The Qosmos X505-Q896 is controlled with Intel Core i7 740qm processor that gives a preparing rate of 1.73 Ghz. This processor is one of the most noteworthy performing processors accessible in the today’s business sector. With 4gb of Dd3 RAM on your framework, you will have the capacity to run a few projects at the same time and subsequently make the best utilization of multitasking.Now i am found this website http://writemyessay4me.blogspot.com/2014/10/blog-post.html it id really helpful. you should be visit.
I have the 970m upgraded to a
I have the 970m upgraded to a 256gb m.2 and added two matching 4gb sticks to the 12gb to have 24gb.(freq brand are a macth). Great laptop smokes my i7 860, gtx670 desktop.