Its easy to recognize the purpose of the MSI Megabook GX700 Extreme at the first glance. Each detail hints on the gaming aspect. Framed by bright red flames there is a big logo on the deep black lid. Once open, you'll detect the same flames on the palm rest area and dark red movement keys, W, A, S, D.  Even the touch pad has a glaring red colour spot. Furthermore, a laser mouse with the same design, a simple headset, and a handy knapsack are provided. The equipment with accessories is exemplary, so that there is hardly any need to buy additional  accessories for elegantly travelling to the nearest LAN-party.

If you take a closer look at the generous scope of supply, it gets obvious soon that MSI has been clearly inspired by the gaming series by Asus, one of its competitors. Asus gaming notebooks come with a similarly striking design, similar accessories and are offered at a comparable price. If you prefer a more business-like design, you can order the MSI GX700, model "performance", whose performance is nearly the same, but, has a case better suited for daily work without extensive striking design. However, this model does not include the knapsack and the other accessories mentioned above.

The MSI Megabook GX700 Extreme has a completely black case made of plastics. Our tests proved that it is quite robust and that its workmanship is good. However, it does not stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately the cavity for the interfaces at the front of the case is quite edged, so, daily work with the touch pad might not be extremely user-friendly. Typical big notebook made of plastics, the surface of the case slightly yields and creaks especially at the palm rest area when applying moderate force.

The quality of the lid conforms to the standard of this notebook class. Even when applying only some force at the outside, the whole lid deflects, so, the sensible LCD is not well protected. If you carry the notebook in the knapsack, you should, therefore, especially take care that nothing heavy, e.g., books, bear against the lid. Furthermore, the design is very sensible to dirt of all kinds. Fingerprints and dust almost stick to the shiny black plastic surface and it's merely a matter of time until there are some small scratches if you carry it frequently. Of course the same is also true for the inner surfaces which are made of plastics. Especially the palm rest area will look used soon. However, it can be easily cleaned by the provided micro fibre cloth.

Despite the first impression the equipment of the MSI Megabook GX700 Extreme is not only suitable for computer games. The interface equipment consist of unfortunately only three USB ports, Firewire, and a memory card reader at its front side. There is a small web cam in the display frame, which is alright for video conferences. With the provided headset you are also  ready to understand you partners without problems. The integrated sound chip by Realtek has both, an analogue interface, which can be used to attach a stereo or surround system, and a combined optical out, which provides high-quality sound via a fitting adapter.

The last aspect is especially important for home use, because the MSI Megabook GX700 Extreme is not only a gaming notebook, but also an exemplary multimedia computer. An analogue VGA port and finally a ultra-modern HDMI out increase combined with up-to-date LCD TVs the fun even more. It was possible to attach a LCD TV by Toshiba to the reviewed notebook within seconds. It's as easy and trouble-free as attaching an external computer screen. So, you can play games or watch films in unbelievable size. However, transferring audio signals via HDMI with the pre-installed driver did not work properly.

The movie itself can be as usual on hard disk or on CD. The optical drive even supports the still not widespread HD-DVDs. If you have the proper media, you'll be able to see new top quality pictures. The difference to standard DVD playback gets obvious at once and is really impressive, regardless of whether you connect an external 32 inch screen or use the 17 inch notebook panel. Also exemplary: This notebook comes with a proper software for watching HD-DVDs. So, there is, in contrary to other manufacturers, no need to spend a high amount on money on it. Apropos HD-DVD: The GX700 Performance can also be equipped with Bluray drive. According to the latest developments its seems that this standard is more wide-spread than the HD-DVD format. So, it is likely that there are more and more movies in this format available in the future. Hopefully, MSI will upgrade the more stylish GX700 Extreme with a Bluray drive soon.

Loudness

If you are very sensible to noises, you won't be happy with this notebook. Regardless of the load, the fan runs permanently and is thereby clearly audible. We did hardly recognize any hard disk accesse due to a noise level of about 39.0 dbA. When running 3D games the speed of the fan is slowly increased in two further steps. So, the noise reaches 47.3 dbA after some minutes. The sound via the integrated speakers or via the headset is able to compensate the turbine like noise of the fan to some extent. Most other laptops of this class are clearly quieter though.

Temperature

Despite a loud fan the temperature increase of the MSI Megabook GX700 Extreme was above-average during our tests. The maximum was 38.4°C at the top side, which is already rather uncomfortable. At some parts the bottom side gets as hot as 52°C. We won't recommend running one of the current 3D games lap top.

When running standard office applications the temperatures stay alright. We measured up to 30°C at the top side and up to 31°C at the bottom side.

A 9-cell battery with nearly 800 Wh capacity provides energy, if the notebook is unplugged. The battery weighs about 470 g and protrudes the back side of the notebook by about one and a half centimetre. In return, its runtime is good. Up to four hours are possible, under full load still nearly one and a half hours. When running standard applications like Word, Excel, and Powerpoint the runtime is about three to three and a half hours - laudable.