Get up to $90 with purchase on Costco.com with purchase using Chase Freedom Flex card - see below
Net effective cost is either $1140 ($1200 - $60), or $1226 ($1200 - $74), or $1210 ($1200 - $90)
YOU NEED TO ACTIVATE THE 5% BY MARCH 14 (AND I BELIEVE IT APPLIES ALSO TO RETROACTIVE PURCHASES ). WHILE CHASE FREEDOM FLEX, WHICH IS A MASTERCARD ISN'T ACCEPTED AT COSTCO STORE, IT IS ACCEPTED AT COSTO.COM!
Assuming you signed up for the 5X Chase Freedom Flex categories this quarter, you will get 5X points for your purchase on Costco.com. That's worth enough points to get $60 ($1200 times 5%) cash back. Subsequently, if you transfer these points earned to Chase Sapphire Reserve it becomes worth 50% more (i.e., $60 times 1.5 = $90) when claimed as reimbursement for travel or groceries on the the Reserve card. If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred rather than Reserve, its worth 25% more or $74 ($60 times 1.25).
https://www.creditcards
II. BOOST YOUR PERFORMANCE
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from rruff
I'll say it again. You can undervolt the processor a good amount: I boosted my 6 core performance 29%, and it runs cooler. You can basically make it as good as a Ryzen (or better) with no risk to hardware. You have total freedom to manipulate power, temperature, and noise to your liking. For instance it runs just as fast at 35W as it did at 45W stock. If I max out the fans and CPU I can run at ~68W and 91C and 4.3MHz on all cores forever. 
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Undervolting is locked out of most 10th gen CPUs, but MSI allows it. You need to enable it in the bios, and then use Throttlestop. Ryzen processors can't be undervolted. 4th time I've linked in this thread? https://www.techpowerup I'd never done anything like this before. It wasn't hard. |
ASUS ROG Strix G17 Laptop: i7-10750H, 17.3" 1080p 144Hz, 16GB , "RTX 2070 Super" ($1,500 at Walmart; was previously on sale in Dec 2020 for $1,300)
VS
MSI GE75 Laptop: i7-10750H, 17.3" 1080p 144Hz, 16GB , "RTX 2070" (non-super) [The one in this deal for $1,200]
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from netscorer
I'm probably going to stick with MSI. Asus is faster and runs cooler, so it's a win, right? But MSI has more premium finish, brighter display, better keyboard, full RGB keyboard compared to zone RGB in ASUS, way more powerful speakers with added subwoofers, more ports, webcam, SD card slot, better management software ( I prefer MSI Dragon to Asus ROG center), smaller, lighter, cheaper and extra year of warranty.
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Plus MSI BIOS allows undervolting and ASUS locked this in the July BIOS upgrade. What ASUS does have in its favor is ability to set Nvidia GPU as the primary card, which adds another 2% to performance. MSI only has Optimus, which means video signal to laptop display always goes through Intel GPU even if Nvidia is running the show. I'd say if you want raw graphics power, go with ASUS, no question. But if you want a better overall laptop, MSI GE75 Costco deal is the winner. |
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from iGeorge
I just played with this at my local Costco. I didn't pull the trigger on the spot, but it seemed like they had plenty of them in stock in my store. My quick 5-10 minute impressions are below, but note, my Costco apparently doesn't connect any of their laptops to their internal wifi, so I couldn't even open google images or watch youtube to determine picture quality.
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Screen - My biggest question is still how many nits does this goes up to. In store, it definitely felt more than 300 (my current laptop is around 250 nits, and I could tell this one was way brighter). Matte display on this was perfect to drown out the harsh factory lights in costco. Resolution of 1080p was fine, but I really wish it was 1440p. I have pretty good eye sight, and the text and icons felt a little too big for me (yes, I set the scaling to 100% on the demo unit). There were some stock pictures in the "photos" app that I looked at, and to be honest, colors looked pretty damn good, ESPECIALLY for viewing inside a damn harsh lit giant warehouse.Couldn't tell if there's backlight bleed on the demo unit, since you know, I can't request my costco to turn all lights off in the entire warehouse lol. I couldn't quite figure out how to view the LCD panel model number to google it once I got home (I tried device manager but couldn't see a specific model). Keyboard - pretty cool seeing the RGB in person. The demo unit wasn't allowed to open dragon center (I clicked the icon, wouldn't open), so I couldn't really play around with colors too much (other than the HARDWARE button on top right of keyboard that flips a couple color modes). Windows key on the right of the space bar kept throwing me off, just muscle memory for me to click it on the left. This was a major annoyance for me honestly. Keys actually felt good IMO, travel was very nice. Font is a little "gamery". Yes, I toggled the hardware "max fan" button while playing with the demo unit, had to rev up that engine lol Touchpad - Actually not bad, I was very surprised. I kept reading it's plastic (which it is), but it felt way smoother than my plastic Dell Inspiron one. Pretty smooth gliding, even on a germ infested demo unit that probably has been used and abused by people at Costco walking around eating the chicken bake rolls. Red accent around the touchpad is kind of wack, but in terms of touchpad, I was pleased. Physical keys under touchpad felt firm, solid clicking (unlike my dell latitude from work that's soft and mushy). Build - Deff a tank IMO. Not extremely "T H I C C", but deff aint a macbook. Felt very solid, especially when closed. It's quite heavy (I tried picking the demo unit up as much as it would allow with the security wire), and I could deff tell it's hefty. Granted, you guys are all aware of this... Physical size isn't what I'd consider the standard, giant 17 inch laptop. It actually appeared a little bigger than a 15 inch laptop, but not a "17 inch laptop" so that was nice. Hinges - I actually enjoyed the "stiff" feel of the hinge when opening and closing the laptop, it made the laptop feel sturdier to me. Don't know if that's squeezing the crap out of the LCD display or not, but the hinges being this "stiff" felt GOOD to me. OS "Snappiness" - Moot point, since this demo unit was literally tied to a demo setting where I couldn't even open dragon center. Also, I looked at task manager, it has been on for over 10 days straight... Plus, since it's not on wifi, I guarantee you it wasn't up to date with latest drivers AND windows updates. Kind of a shame really, I hate seeing this type of beastly hardware neglected like that. There was some constant demo playing on the laptop, that when I viewed task manager, was literally using the cpu at 45%. Overall feel - I didn't pull the trigger, but it's very tempting. I did confirm there's a "tamper seal" on the bottom of the laptop over a screw, so that's still something I'm concerned about (updating hardware aka breaking the seal, and god forbid having to return for a different issue and being given a hard time since you "opened" it). This would be my first "gamery" laptop, so I understand what comes with that. You can't expect macbook thinness and tolerance (tight seems, fit and finish), but I can't imagine how beastly this would be if you actually buy it, do all windows and driver updates, and even upgrade the RAM and SSD. Overall 5-10 minute demo in store, I'd say 4 out of 5 stars. Leaving out a star since I still don't know how the brightness and color of the display is in a normal bedroom setting and not a giant warehouse show floor. |
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from rruff
There is no such thing as "standard wattage" for 3000 series cards. 2000 series had MaxQ and "everything else" which narrowed it down a little.
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---- 3000 series cards have an optional feature whereby they can boost to a higher power level if the CPU demand is low. For instance the max on a 3060 is 115W-130W, where that extra 15W is the extra boost. When RTX 2060 115 watts is used as a base (100%) for comparison: 3060@60W= 94% 3060@75 W = 100% (inserted by RussianBytes for MSI "GF75 Thin Gaming Laptop" RTX 3060 GPU for $1300 at COSTCO) 2060@115W= 100% 3060@90 W = 105% (75 Base Watts+15 watts boost, (inserted by RussianBytes MSI "GF75 Thin Gaming Laptop" RTX 3060 GPU, $1300 COSTCO) 2070@115W= 110% (inserted by RussianBytes for MSI "GE75 Gaming Laptop" RTX 2070 for $1,200 at COSTCO) 2060@115 watts AND further undervolting and overclocking: 110% 3060@115W= 115% 3070@ 90W = 115% (per joon82) 2070S@115W= 120% ("S" stands for the "SUPER" version of the RTX 2070) |
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from atoneapone
Good information in this thread to compare RTX 2000/ 3000 GPUs. So the 2070S is the only 2000 gpu that rivals a full 3060.
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I also found this site that compares GPUs with TDP power. But they left out the lower powered 60w and 80w RTX 3060. I'm guessing they could range to anything between a RTX 2060 90w and RTX 2070, depending on a specific game/resolution, & benchmarks. https://laptopmedia.com/us/top-la...s-ranking/ |
GT > GS > GE > GP > GL > GF > GV
GT Titan Series
GS Stealth Series
GE Raider Series
GP Leopard Series
GL Leopard Series
GF Thin Series
VII: Guide to increasing your laptop's performance by 10% by undervolting and overclocking
The guide is based on this laptops' 2060 TRX cousin but you can use similar logic for the 2070.
https://www.techpowerup
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Undervolting is locked out of most 10th gen CPUs, but MSI allows it. You need to enable it in the bios, and then use Throttlestop. Ryzen processors can't be undervolted.
4th time I've linked in this thread? https://www.techpowerup
I'd never done anything like this before. It wasn't hard.
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Plus MSI BIOS allows undervolting and ASUS locked this in the July BIOS upgrade.
What ASUS does have in its favor is ability to set Nvidia GPU as the primary card, which adds another 2% to performance. MSI only has Optimus, which means video signal to laptop display always goes through Intel GPU even if Nvidia is running the show.
I'd say if you want raw graphics power, go with ASUS, no question. But if you want a better overall laptop, MSI GE75 Costco deal is the winner.
1) I may avoid Gigabyte despite the price as I am concerned about its quality ( < MSI).
2) I will avoid Dell G7; I am in the market right now because of overheating on the existing OVERPOWERED brand laptop (has it 2 years) and don't want to mess around with settings.
3) I assume you have a high opinion of ASUS. What about Lenovo and HP Omen?
4) I booked marked the ASUS link you sent. It's 1,400 at Walmart and may bite if it gets to $1,300. However, I did not another Asus that's already at $1,300.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Asus-R...921522949?
In what way is the $1,400 you recommended better?
5. I noted your tips on the MSI is I go down that route.
6. I can wait until May, at the latest, but I assume I won't get an RTX 3060 17.3" for $1,300 or lower by then?
Thanks.
The Dell g7 for $1150 open box intrigued me since you get a RTX 2070 under $1200.
Most of those were 15.6" models.
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Lenovo 17.3" models have only sold a couple times with RTX 2060 during the holidays, so no guarantee those will come agaiin.
https://slickdeals.net/e/14673773-lenovo-legion-5-laptop-17-3-fhd-ryzen-7-4800h-16gb-ram-512-gb-ssd-rtx-2060-1058-free-shipping?v=1
https://slickdeals.net/f/14374997-lenovo-legion-5-17-gaming-laptop-ryzen-7-4800h-1tb-pcie-ssd-hdd-rtx-2060-1215-50-free-s-h?src=SiteSearc
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That Asus strix you linked for $1305 was only 15.6", while the Asus strix link I sent is 17.3" but currently too high at $1499. I like Asus, as long as it performs like a champ, and isn't too big and cooling ventilation is made ok, but they don't include webcams which bothers me.
Someone mentioned the portability of MSI GE75 is better than Asus, so that's a plus. The only thing I don't like with MSI GE75 is it's 'gamer look' with 2 red line accents on the lid,and around touchpad.
I prefer the low profile professional look of the Legion5, but low price and overall performance matters more.
The Dell g7 for $1150 open box intrigued me since you get a RTX 2070 under $1200.
Most of those were 15.6" models.
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Lenovo 17.3" models have only sold a couple times with RTX 2060 during the holidays, so no guarantee those will come agaiin.
https://slickdeals.net/e/14673773-lenovo-legion-5-laptop-17-3-fhd-ryzen-7-4800h-16gb-ram-512-gb-ssd-rtx-2060-1058-free-shipping?v=1
https://slickdeals.net/f/14374997-lenovo-legion-5-17-gaming-laptop-ryzen-7-4800h-1tb-pcie-ssd-hdd-rtx-2060-1215-50-free-s-h?src=SiteSearc
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That Asus strix you linked for $1305 was only 15.6", while the Asus strix link I sent is 17.3" but currently too high at $1499. I like Asus, as long as it performs like a champ, and isn't too big and cooling ventilation is made ok, but they don't include webcams which bothers me.
Someone mentioned the portability of MSI GE75 is better than Asus, so that's a plus.
Of all the deals I have seen far, it appears that the MSI GE75 2060 at $1100 was the best all round 17.3" deal. (I am 100% certain this dela will be back, so I would go so far as to say that it is the "sweet spot" of all 17.3" laptops ) The one in this thread is $1200 so $100 more for just the upgrade from 2060 to 2070 which on average will likely generate approx. 10% increase in GPU performance, correct? If so, the $100 extra cost might not be worth it.
LIVE now at Costco, MSI GE75 Raider Gaming Notebook Laptop Core i7 10750H GeForce RTX 2070 (10% > RTX 2060 ) 512GB NVMe SSD 2 yr wrnty. $1199
I would say this deal has a 60% chance of going frontpage.
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Of all the deals I have seen far, it appears that the MSI GE75 2060 at $1100 was the best all round 17.3" deal. (I am 100% certain this dela will be back, so I would go so far as to say that it is the "sweet spot" of all 17.3" laptops ) The one in this thread is $1200 so $100 more for just the upgrade from 2060 to 2070 which on average will likely generate approx. 10% increase in GPU performance, correct? If so, the $100 extra cost might not be worth it.
Also despite only 10% improvement, that makes it that much closer to a 30 series laptop. So you will have less envy for the RTX 30 series laptops. I think most RTX 2070 laptops in the $1100-$1200 are stellar deals that allow us to peacefully ignore the current 30 series and upgrade again to the 40 series 3-4 years later.
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Also 17.3" deals are not as easy to come by as 15.6"... so you can save even more on RTX 2060 eg. Legion 5 last week for $950 or some Dell open box/ refurb RTX 2070 deals.
I also found this site that compares GPUs with TDP power. But they left out the lower powered 60w and 80w RTX 3060. I'm guessing they could range to anything between a RTX 2060 90w and RTX 2070, depending on a specific game/resolution, & benchmarks.
https://laptopmedia.com/us/top-la...s-ranking/
https://www.techspot.co
https://www.techspot.co
One thing I know though... the MSI Raiders push their hardware to a high level. It's definitely a gaming laptop. And I think it's super important that MSI allows undervolting for it's Intel CPUs. It makes a huge difference and puts them close to Ryzen in performance/watt. I'll post this again if anyone is interested: https://www.techpowerup
I optimized my Raider 2060 at 4 different voltage/frequency levels, and the performance/watt was very consistently 25% in both Heaven and Superposition benchmarks. In other words, a 40% power increase will give you a 10% performance increase. I think this is a very apples to apples comparison that you can't get when you compare different laptops.
atoneapone.... really like your posts on SD!
Also despite only 10% improvement, that makes it that much closer to a 30 series laptop. So you will have less envy for the RTX 30 series laptops. I think most RTX 2070 laptops in the $1100-$1200 are stellar deals that allow us to peacefully ignore the current 30 series and upgrade again to the 40 series 3-4 years later.
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Also 17.3" deals are not as easy to come by as 15.6"... so you can save even more on RTX 2060 eg. Legion 5 last week for $950 or some Dell open box/ refurb RTX 2070 deals.
2. I won't get an open box, as a personal policy.
3. You can actually get the equivalent $60 cash equivalent points on the Chase Freedom Flex card as there are 5X points on purchases at warehouse clubs including COSTCO.com. I asked the OP to revise the subject line but he ignored my recommendation. here is what I would make the subject line:
"LIVE @ Costco MSI GE75 Raider Gaming Notebook Laptop i7 10750H GeForce RTX 2070 (10% > RTX 2060) 512GB NVMe SSD 2 yr wrnty. $1199 ($1139 w/Chase Freedom Flex Card)"
With the above title, this deal has a 70% chance of going frontpage.
I optimized my Raider 2060 at 4 different voltage/frequency levels, and the performance/watt was very consistently 25% in both Heaven and Superposition benchmarks. In other words, a 40% power increase will give you a 10% performance increase. I think this is a very apples to apples comparison that you can't get when you compare different laptops.
Also 17.3" deals are not as easy to come by as 15.6"... so you can save even more on RTX 2060 eg. Legion 5 last week for $950 or some Dell open box/ refurb RTX 2070 deals.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer...6428255.
And, what about this Asus RTX 2070 for $1300
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Asus-R...921522949?
Which would YOU get?
Your results will vary. You need to experiment. This was the first time I've ever done something like this, so I'm not an expert. I get interested in computers every 5 years or so when I need to get a new one...
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Your results will vary. You need to experiment. This was the first time I've ever done something like this, so I'm not an expert. I get interested in computers every 5 years or so when I need to get a new one...
I hope you make good money in whatever job you have otherwise you are selling yourself short!
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