MSI GS30 Alternatives

[CtrlAltELITE]

Hey Folks

 

So I've decided I would like to treat myself in the christmas sales, I have always loved the look of these GS30 notebook+Gaming dock combinations, So I have decided to pick one up, along with a new 1080. However I was wondering if anyone knows what alternative units their are out there. I have seen the Razer core unit as well as the alienware amplifier but both of these units seem to be horrendously overpriced & I prefer the dock concep. I know MSI was supposedly coming out with a new version with a more sleek base station but all I can find on this is the GS32 with its far less sufficient dual core processor but better discrete GPU (which I dont really care about).

 

Any suggestions are apprieciated, although the LTS mantra off 'Just build a desktop' will most likely be blanked . I like having a single device rather than a desktop+laptop combo.

[Pendragon]

18 minutes ago, CtrlAltELITE said:

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Well, Razer Core is more than just the product. It's basically the first tb3 enclosure and represents TB3 eGPU tech. If you're unhappy with either then there isn't much you can do. The MSI solution seemed pretty cool with the PCIE 8x slot, but I hope they do better next time. 

[CtrlAltELITE]

1 minute ago, Pendragon said:

Well, Razer Core is more than just the product. It's basically the first tb3 enclosure and represents TB3 eGPU tech. If you're unhappy with either then there isn't much you can do. The MSI solution seemed pretty cool with the PCIE 8x slot, but I hope they do better next time. 

 

Out of curiosity what advantage does a TB3 enclosure have over a direct PCIe link like that featured in the MSI solution? I would expect that using a 'different' standard of data transmission would add an extra layer of complexity & most likely niche software issues. But would happily be proven wrong.

 

[CtrlAltELITE]

Just realised MSI hasn't updated the GS30 for 2017 & it is still on 5000 CPU series. Cock.

[Pendragon]

21 hours ago, CtrlAltELITE said:

 

Out of curiosity what advantage does a TB3 enclosure have over a direct PCIe link like that featured in the MSI solution?

Its just a universal USB c connector. It's actually worse than direct pcie. That's why the Alienware graphics amp works better

[Monte_Carlo]

I'm not sure what you'd qualify as "overpriced," but a bare Alienware Amplifier is actually fairly cheap at 150 dollars from Dell.  Last I checked the Razer Core will be dramatically more expensive at something around 400-500 dollars.  Remember, these are both without any graphics options installed.  Your biggest downside here with the Amplifier will be zero inter-connectivity possible between other brands.  Then again Alienware seems fairly competitive these days.  

 

 

[CtrlAltELITE]

1 hour ago, Monte_Carlo said:

I'm not sure what you'd qualify as "overpriced," but a bare Alienware Amplifier is actually fairly cheap at 150 dollars from Dell.  Last I checked the Razer Core will be dramatically more expensive at something around 400-500 dollars.  Remember, these are both without any graphics options installed.  Your biggest downside here with the Amplifier will be zero inter-connectivity possible between other brands.  Then again Alienware seems fairly competitive these days.  

 

 

 

My big hold up with the Alienware solution is that you need to purchase an already rather bulky gaming laptop with a discrete GPU to work with it. Also I am over the age of 12 and intend to take the small laptop to work with me so the styling is a major negative.

My big hold up with all the Razer laptops is they charge a fortune for what you get.

After doing some research I have found MSI have 2 options with 6th gen intel CPUs now, the GS32 with an awful low power dual core & the GS40 which is more bulky than the GS30 with a 960M as well as the quad core i7, with a price premium for the discrete GPU which I really don't need. The GS40 has also been updated to run a 1060 but without the dock compatibility.

 

I am tempted to pick up an old 5th gen gs30, simply because they are very cheap now and I could probably actually make a profit from selling my old gigabyte p35x for one. Meaning I'm only £400 or so down from picking up a 1080.  But I'd really rather get the new CPU as I know my 5700hq currently chugs using some games and programs.

[Pendragon]

1 hour ago, CtrlAltELITE said:

But I'd really rather get the new CPU as I know my 5700hq currently chugs using some games and programs.

uhhhh that REALLY shouldn't be happening. That's a software issue. Top tier Haswell and Broadwell mobile CPUs are faster than Skylake and Kaby Lake. Just far less efficent. Yes they are faster. The 4940mx and 5950hq are still faster than the 6920HQ on the Skylake platform.

[CtrlAltELITE]

2 hours ago, Pendragon said:

uhhhh that REALLY shouldn't be happening. That's a software issue. Top tier Haswell and Broadwell mobile CPUs are faster than Skylake and Kaby Lake. Just far less efficent. Yes they are faster. The 4940mx and 5950hq are still faster than the 6920HQ on the Skylake platform.

 

Oh yes I am well aware it is. Badly optimised single threaded programs are the bane of laptop CPUs. But yes you are right about the speed, however most small laptops thermal throttle under full load so efficiency matter far more than it does in a desktop with a big tower cooler. They do sell the GS30 with a 5950hq although I cant find a single UK outlet who sell it in that skew.