MSI GX680 gamer notebook packs Core i7, Nvidia graphics

MSI's new MSI GX680 gamer notebook packs a second-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Nvidia GeForce GT 55M graphics, and room for ample memory and storage.


Computer maker MSI is rolling out something for the gamers with its new MSI GX680 notebook, packing most of the punch and storage capacity of a high-end desktop system into a portable form factor—although we’d wager carrying one of these 7.7-pound monsters all day might be a little tiring. The GX680 packs a second-generation Intel Core i7 2630QM processor and Nvidia GeForce GT 550M discrete graphics with 1 GB of video RAM, driving a choice of to 15.6-inch displays.

“The GX680 notebook computer boasts superior performance and the best wrap around sound available,” said MSI’s associate VP for global sales Eric Kuo, in a statement. “What’s more, new generation GX680 features cinema-grade THX TruStudio Pro smart wrap around sound, so regardless of the kind of music you play, it’s faithfully reproduced.”

The GX680 is seriously expandable: it has four DDR3 memory slots for adding up to 16 GB of RAM and a dual hard drive configuration for up to 1.5 TB of storage in a RAID 0 configuration. Users will have a choice of two 15.6-inch displays: a HD 1366 by 768 LED backlit model, or a Full HD 1,920 by 1,080-pixel model. The GX680 sports HDMI and VGA video output, along with a Blu-ray player/DVD Super Multi burner, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA port, a 5-in-1 digital media card reader, 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR wireless networking gigabit Ethernet, and a 1.2 megapixel webcam. Gamers will be able to show off a bit with the GX680 as well: if has an LED light show built into the chassis that users can activate with a dedicated hotkey: lights embedded in the front of the notebook and keyboard pulse with the notebook’s audio. Think of it as a dedicated visual social filter.

The GX680 ships with a 9-cell lithium-ion battery, and users can select between five power modes to get the perfect blend of power savings and performance for any given situation. The notebook also comes with MSI’s i-Charger technology that pushes more current through USB ports so users can charge cameras, phones, and media players up to three times faster via USB.

MSI hasn’t released any pricing or availability details, but expect to see the GX680 available through MSI’s normal retail channels soon.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 dual GPU graphics card now available

Nvidia says its new GeForce GTX 590 dual-CPU video card is both the world's fastest and, thanks to a special cooling system, the world's quietest.

Graphics developer Nvidia has formally launched its latest high-end PC video card, the GeForce GTX 590. The company is touting the card as the fastest DirectX 11 graphics card ever built, featuring a dual-CPU design that amounts to two GeForce GTX 580 systems glommed together and an innovative new cooling system that Nvidia says makes the GeForce GTX 590 the quietest high-performance card on the planet.

“The GTX 590 is the best dual GPU product ever built,” said Nvidia’s GeForce GPU general manager Drew Henry, in a statement. “With leading performance, support for multi-monitor 3D gaming, Quad SLI, and an acoustic envelope that begs to be heard for how quiet it is, the GTX 590 epitomizes what a perfect dual graphics card looks, performs, and sounds like.”
The GTX 590 offers a total of 1024 Nvidia Cuda processing cores, 3 GB of onboard GDDR5 video memory, and supports a heap of high-end graphics technologies: DirectX 11, Nvidia’s 3D Vision, Cuda, Physx< SLI, OpenGL 4.1, and the card is ready for Quad SLI setups for folks who need mammoth screen real estate. The GTX 11 is a behemoth—a full 11-inch, dual-slot card—but it spots four separate video outputs and supports up to four separate displays. And if folks really want to push the edges, the card will support up to 3 3D displays at a combined resolution of up to 5,760 by 1,080 pixels via Nvidia's 3D Vision Surround technology.

The GTX 590 sports dual vapor chambers as part of an innovative cooling system: Nvidia says the GTX 590 outputs only 48 db of noise, which it claims is twice as quiet as its nearest competitor under full graphics load. (It should be noted that “twice as loud” as 48 db would be about 58 db, not 96 db: the decibel scale is logarithmic, and human perception of sound is a little odd.)

However, for all that the GTX 590 has the parts of two GeForce GTX 580s slapped together, there are a few sacrifices along the way: the GPUs are running at a somewhat slower 607 MHz, the processor clock is running as 1215 MHz, and the memory clock runs at 3.4 GHz. Nonetheless, the GTX 590 should deliver impressive graphics performance…although third party reviews seems to put its performance in roughly the same league as AMD’s Radeon HD 6990, the current leader in single-card graphics systems. However, the GTX 590 should run much quieter than AMD’s offering.

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 is available now for an estimated price of $699.