The GT640-030UK is from MSI's latest line up of gaming systems and even though it is not attractive to all it is a decent looking laptop, with strong build quality and relatively great performance, even though laptops at a similar price can be found with better performance.
A gaming laptop has to have a decent and dedicated graphics card to handle the constant barrage of game playing. The MSI GT640-030UK includes a Nvidia GeForce GTS 250M 3D 1GB chip that will handle even the latest games without an issue even if they are in low settings.
I'm sure for those who read the specifications of this rather expensive laptop why on earth MSI are shipping it with a 32bit version of Windows, particularly when a 64-bit version of Windows 7 is far more powerful and is a lot smoother to run. However, MSI have declared they will be shipping it out with 64bit Windows 7 soon.
The Intel Core i7-720QM is a fast quad-core CPU but is the slowest of the Core i7 quad-core range. It incorporates 4 cores but with the use of hyper threading works on 8 threads simultaneously. In addition, and thanks to Turbo Mode or Turbo Boosting the CPU can be clocked up to 2.8GHz when necessary and therefore is faster for single core applications such as older and less intensive games. However, for £500 more you can purchase yourself an Alienware M17x which outstrips the Intel Core i7-720QM with its much faster Intel Core i7-902XM.
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Nevertheless, the 15.4inch screen is clear, crisp and detailed providing a great screen to watch blu-ray movies on thanks to the Blu-ray RW drive. Furthermore, the keyboard is comfortable to use even though it does seem to creak under the pressure of our fingertips. However, an additional feature of the keyboard is that the W, A, S and D keys have all been painted red making it easier for gamers to locate. In addition, MSI have even managed to squeeze in a numeric keyboard.
However, the question of portability is somewhat a confusing matter considering this laptop weighs 2.8kg which is relatively light for a gaming laptop but the battery life only lasts 2 hours.
Overall, the MSI GT640-030UK is a great gaming laptop if the design appeals to you and considering that far better gaming laptops can be purchased for around £1000 this wouldn't necessarily be the top of Laptops.co.uk best gaming laptop list but the inclusion of a blu-ray RW drive is certainly a great thing.