CeBIT 2010 First-hand: MSI unveils a Gaming beast - GT66O

This system should be right up at the top of the performance chain

MSI GT series has been a pet toy for the gaming enthusiasts, and the Taiwanese computer giant never failed to shell out some great systems in this family. This time also there was no difference – with the brand-new GT660 MSI showed off during the ongoing CeBit 2010.

We were amazed by the power this monster is capable of unleashing, when we observed the GT660 at the MSI stall. Well, at first glance, you might wonder if this is just another wanna-be gaming destop replacement. But go skin-deep and you will come to know the true colors – none other than the latest Intel Core i7 720QM CPU runs it, accompanied by the awesome Geforce GTX 285M . Go one step ahead and open the Device Manager and you will know why this video card ranks so high in our GPU comparison guide. The GTX 285M is based on G92b core and based on the 55nm architecture. Its acceleration is much faster than many of the high-end graphics card at less than a second. Although it does not support DirectX 11 yet, look for the PureVideo HD Video processor and easy switching between the dedicated and integrated graphics card for better energy management. This, when combining with quad-core 720QM with 1.6GHz (overclock-able up to 2.8GHz with the help of the Turbo mode) clocking speed, should be able to sail you through effortlessly through most of the demanding games.

We wished the build-quality was as impressive! The chassis is made of mostly plastic with Plementary designs that gives an impression of reeling under any substantial pressure.  The overall impression is below average.

The sound quality is good though, and ditto goes for the brilliant 16-inch Colorhine LED HD (1366x768) and HD + display (1600x900) panel. MSI also throws in two customs hard drives, dual HDD support with two-disk slot and integrated USB 3.0 port. Also you can equip the GT660 with up to 12GB of RAM in the three slots available.

This beast should be yours for anything between 1500 to 1999 Euros ($2030 - $2700), which I would not say is much, apart from the lack of sturdiness. Keep a watch for our Benchmarking and in-depth review of the MSI GT660 once the sample is available.