MSI Gaming Notebooks Reviewers Guide Joran Schoonderwoerd MSI

MSI Gaming Notebooks Reviewers Guide Joran Schoonderwoerd MSI EU Product Marketing V 1. 0

Index � Introduction � Feature line-up overview � Turbo Drive Engine (TDE) � MSI Super RAID � Steel. Series Keyboard � Dynaudio Speakers � Audio Boost � Killer Game Networking � Coolerboost

Introduction Dear Editor, Developing a fast notebook, capable of running the latest PC games, is a step which many notebook vendors can take. But making such a notebook suitable to actually play these games in a smooth, convenient and entertaining way, requires specialism which MSI has acquired through experience and close cooperation with professional PC gamers. As a result, MSI developed the MSI G-Series notebooks (GT 70, GT 60, GE 70, GE 60, GX 60). These notebooks fit to the needs of gaming enthusiasts and are equipped with several features, which benefit even the most demanding gamers. In an easy way, this Reviewers Guide explains where to find and how to test these gaming tools on MSI Gaming Notebooks. Best regards, Joran Schoonderwoerd MSI Europe

Feature line-up overview Feature GT 70 GT 60 GX 60 GE 70 GE 60 THX Tru. Studio Pro Turbo Drive Engine MSI Super RAID Steel. Series Keyboard Dynaudio Speakers Audio Boost Killer Game Networking Coolerboost NOTE: Availability of features may very per country, SKU and may change over time. Please check with your local MSI contact person for current status.

Turbo Drive Engine (TDE)

Turbo Drive Engine (TDE) � Where can you find this feature? The Turbo Drive Engine button can be found in the mediabar above the keyboard. (product picture reference: MSI GT 70 -0 NE)

Turbo Drive Engine (TDE) � What does Turbo Drive Engine do? MSI Turbo Drive Engine (TDE) technology brings more calculating speed to enhance the system’s performance. It benefits the video decoding & encoding, 3 D gaming and art work designing. When you press the Turbo Drive Engine button, the dedicated graphics processing unit (GPU) will be automatically overclocked by 3 -10%*. TDE can only be activated while the MSI notebook is connected to a power cable. To save battery life, TDE cannot be used while running only on battery. *percentage differs per GPU type and SKU

Turbo Drive Engine (TDE) � How to test it? When pressing the Turbo Button, you will get a clear message on the display, indicating TDE is activated or de-activated:

Turbo Drive Engine (TDE) � How to test it? Testing the TDE technology can be done easiest by running MSI Afterburner, which can be downloaded from the MSI website: http: //event. msi. com/vga/afterburner/download. htm. Opening the Afterburner software automatically activates the GPU of the notebook, which becomes visible when the LED light on the notebook power button changes color from white to orange: GPU inactive (running integrated graphics) GPU active (running dedicated graphics GPU) When activating TDE, the GPU core clock speed (MHz) will increase, which can be monitored real-time in MSI Afterburner. You can also use the tool GPU-Z for this, downloadable at various websites, such as http: //www. techpowerup. com/downloads/2181/Tech. Power. Up_GPUZ_v 0. 6. 6. html

Turbo Drive Engine (TDE) Below visual shows both the Afterburner and GPU-Z software tools, monitoring core clock speeds when the dedicated GPU is not activated. * Above results from internal testing with MSI GT 60 -0 ND with Intel Core i 7 CPU + NVIDIA GTX 670 M graphics

Turbo Drive Engine (TDE) After activating the Turbo Drive Engine, the GPU Core Clock and GPU Shader Clock will be boosted, which shows in the GPU-Z monitor mode as shown below. TDE Inactive TDE Active GPU core clock increase * Above results from internal testing with MSI GT 60 -0 ND with Intel Core i 7 CPU + NVIDIA GTX 670 M graphics

MSI Super. RAID

MSI Super RAID � Where can you find this feature? The two SSD’s that form MSI Super RAID can be found on the inside of the notebook, next to the heatsink of the GPU.

MSI Super RAID � What does MSI Super RAID do? The first Super RAID design — one notebook with two SSD m. SATA RAID 0 units, is another world’s first courtesy of MSI. Two m. SATA SSDs result in an increased read and writing speed of the notebook system. With help of MSI Super RAID, booting the operating system – such as Windows 7 or Windows 8 – becomes much faster compared to other notebooks. Even more, starting games and loading in-game levels takes up much less time then ever before. Watch the demo on You. Tube here: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=_N 23 FPb. Nm 6 k

MSI Super RAID With internal testing, we have measured up to 1000 MB/s read speeds and up to 950 MB/s writing speeds with MSI Super RAID on MSI GT 70 -0 ND. Storage Performance Comparison 1000950 900 MB/s 1000 800 550 600 400 185 175 280 240 300 200 0 HDD RAID Read Write Single SSD Gen 2 Single SSD Gen 3 Super RAID 64 GB x 2 Super RAID 128 GB x 2 MAX Speed & High Capacity

MSI Super RAID � How to test it? The free benchmark tool AS SSD (http: //alex-is. de/PHP/fusion/downloads. php? download_id=9) is capable of monitoring the performance of SSD’s, such as the read and write speeds (for uncompressible data). With the benchmark ATTO Disk, you can also test the performance of read and write speeds (for compressible data). * Above results from internal testing with MSI GT 70 -0 ND with Intel Core i 7 CPU + NVIDIA GTX 670 M graphics

MSI Super RAID � How to test it? Another convenient tool to monitor the performance of MSI Super RAID is HD Tune: The free online version is only capable of monitoring the SSD’s read speeds. * Above results from internal testing with MSI GT 70 -0 ND with Intel Core i 7 CPU + NVIDIA GTX 670 M graphics

Steel. Series Keyboard

Steel. Series Keyboard � Where can you find this feature? All MSI Gaming Notebooks are equipped with the Steel. Series keyboard. The keyboard light management software (KLM) is pre-installed. * * Depends per SKU

Steel. Series Keyboard � What does the Steel. Series keyboard do? The Steel. Series keyboard has many smart features: - Perfectly sized and positioned gaming hotkeys (‘Golden Triangle’). - The Windows key has been placed to the right center of the keyboard, preventing gamers from accidentally pressing it during gaming. - The touchpad ON/OFF switch makes sure that accidentally hitting the touchpad does not affect your movements in a game. - With the LED management module you can choose from hundreds of different LED color combinations of your keyboard, ensuring you can always find the right keys at the right moment.

Steel. Series Keyboard � Overview ON/OFF switch Keyboard LED ‘Golden Triangle’ for gamers Keyboard Light Management Touchpad ON/OFF switch Smart placement of Windows key

Steel. Series Keyboard � How to test it? The best way to test the Steel. Series keyboard is by playing FPS games, such as Battlefield 3, Call of Duty and Counter Strike. The Steel. Series keyboard can handle multiple-key commands, benefiting the responsiveness in gaming. The gaming hotkeys (W, A, S, D, Ctrl, Alt, Space) are placed in such a way to offer convenient gameplay for many hours. Pressing the ON/OFF switch will disable the notebook’s touchpad, enabling the user to fully benefit from the external mouse actions, without possible interference by the touchpad.

Steel. Series Keyboard � How to test it? The Keyboard Light Management can be found in the menu (KLM). The keyboard lights are divided in three sections, who can all have their own color by manual adjustments. Light effects, such as Wave, Breathing and Gaming (emphasizing on gaming hotkeys) can all be manually modified to the user’s personal preferences.

Dynaudio Speakers

Dynaudio Speakers � Where can you find this feature? The Dynaudio speakers can be found on the top left and top right side of the C-cover, above the notebook’s keyboard. A subwoofer can be found on the bottom side of the MSI Gaming Notebook. (product picture reference: MSI GT 70 -0 NE)

Dynaudio Speakers � What does Dynaudio do? MSI finds it important that people need to be able to enjoy music and games with good audio quality. MSI has partnered with Dynaudio, to offer gamers and multimedia enthusiasts a top of the line audio output on MSI G-Series notebooks. The Dynaudio speakers are delivering ‘authentic fidelity’ by a crisp and clear sound, provided by 2 high quality speakers and supported by 1 subwoofer. *

Dynaudio Speakers � How to test it? To be assured of the best audio output, you can download the latest audio driver on the corresponding MSI product page. Example: http: //msi. com/product/nb/GT 70 -0 NE. html#/? div=Driver&os=Win 8%2064

Dynaudio Speakers � How to test it? The best way to test the MSI Dynaudio sound output on the MSI G-Series notebook is to simply compare it with any other vendors’ notebook with help of various MP 3 files or You. Tube videos. Some songs / You. Tube videos we can recommend are: Michael Jackson – Billy Jean (beat + instrumental) Adele - Rolling in the deep (vocal + drums) David Guetta - Memories (bass + instrumental) – You. Tube link

Audio Boost

Audio Boost � Where can you find this feature? The Audio Boost feature can be found on the left or right side of the MSI Gaming Notebook, recognized by the golden flash audio jacks. (product picture reference: MSI GT 70 -0 NE)

Audio Boost � What does Audio Boost do? MSI Audio Boost enhances sound output. The golden flash audio jack provides stable sound transmissions (reduced obstruction) and works in conjunction with the optimized AMP (Audio Power Amplifier) design, characterized by low noise and low distortion, to greatly enhance headphone performance and faithfully reproduce each acoustic detail.

Audio Boost � How to test it? Comparing an MSI Gaming Notebook - equipped with Audio Boost – with any notebook without this feature is the best way to test this. The amplified audio jacks will provide an increased audio output on gaming or multimedia headphones from various brands such as Steel. Series, Turtle Beach or Sennheiser.

Killer Game Networking

Killer Game Networking � Where can you find this feature? You can find the LAN-port, equipped with Killer Game Networking technology at the backside of the MSI Gaming Notebook. (product picture reference: MSI GT 70 -0 NE)

Killer Game Networking � What does Killer Game Networking do? MSI has incorporated Killer Game Networking to offer gamers the lowest lag and highest ping while playing games online. Qualcomm Atheros’ Killer™ E 2200 game networking platform is an embedded version of the award-winning Killer™ 2200 Gaming Network Card that delivers maximum networking performance for all online applications. Killer detects all network data at the jack and determines what application uses that data using Advanced Gamed Detect technology. When Killer identifies the data, it assigns a priority to that data, from 1 to 4. This priority determines the policy used for that application.

Killer Game Networking � How to test it? Easy test: Play an online game with the Killer™ E 2200 installed in your system. Then try one of these activities: Open a streaming video Use voice chat Download a large file. You’ll find that Killer™ E 2200’s superior networking performance automatically prioritizes your game data to give you uninterrupted gameplay.

Killer Game Networking � Where to find the Killer App?

Killer Game Networking � How to test it? The Killer Network Manager allows you to give low or high(est) priority to the applications – such as online gaming - that you are running.

Coolerboost

Coolerboost � Where can you find this feature? To manually enable the Coolerboost function, simply press the indicator located next to the Turbo Drive Engine button above the keyboard.

Coolerboost � What does Coolerboost do? This feature was integrated to meet the needs of gamers and power users who are intensively using their notebook for several hours in a row. By activating the Coolerboost function, the notebook fan will speed up to maximum speed, thereby blowing out the warm air from the system and cooling down the notebook rapidly. This is especially convenient for rapidly cooling off the notebook after several hours of gameplay.

Coolerboost � How to test it? MSI’s Kombustor software (which is integrated into MSI Afterburner) utilizes four special effect programs to simulate real gaming environments. Not only is the Kombustor score a good indication for the capability of playing the latest DX 11 games, it is also a good way to increase the workload of the GPU, thereby increasing the temperature within the notebook. When reaching a temperature of ~80 degrees Celsius, you can press the MSI Coolerboost button to start testing. You will see that within a few minutes after activating Coolerboost, the core temperature of the notebook will be decreased with 20 -50%, depending on the GPU load.

Coolerboost * Above screenshot is from MSI GT 70 -0 ND, Afterburner and Kombustor enabled, increasing the GPU temperature.

Coolerboost * Above screenshot is from MSI GT 70 -0 ND, Afterburner and Kombustor disabled and Coolerboost enabled, lowering the GPU temperature within a few minutes to normal level.

Thank you

MSI Contact Information Sascha Faber Sergii Shulga Marketing Manager – MSI Germany Marketing Manager – MSI Ukraine Office: +49(0)69 -40893 -264/245 Office: +38 0443792930 Scott Bentley Marketing Specialist– MSI U. K. Office: +44 (0)5603686580 saschafaber@msi. com sergiishulga@msi. com scottbentley@msi. com Patrick Lee Marketing Manager – MSI Iberia Office: +34 626005929 Radim Zavadil Marketing Manager – MSI Czech Office: +420 724486046 Roland Khamhome Marketing Specialist– MSI France Office: +331 164764949 patricklee@msi. com radimzavadil@msi. com rolandkhamhome@msi. com Aleksandra Akonom Marketing Manager – MSI Poland Office: +48 717105213 Jonas Klar Marketing Communications – MSI Nordics Office: +46 735107345 Anna Phull Marketing Manager – MSI Russia Office: +7495 9814509 aleksandraakonom@msi. com jonasklar@msi. com annaphull@msi. com Gökhan Bodur PR Specialist – MSI Turkey Office: +90 2163841024 Koen Coppens Marketing Communications– MSI Benelux Office: +31 402676657 Vera Divljakovic Marketing Manager – MSI Balkan Office: +38 1112600798 gokhanbodur@msi. com koencoppens@msi. com veradivljakovic@msi. com