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The MSI FX720 is a beast of a laptop. It has a 17.3in screen, a powerful Intel Core i5-2410M processor and a dedicated Nvidia GeForce GT 520M graphics chip. It weighs almost 3kg, so you’re unlikely to want to lug it around with you, which is fortunate as the battery lasts for two hours and 37 minutes between charges. It’s clearly aimed at those wanting to ‘upgrade’ from a desktop PC but still have a large screen.
For well under £700, it’s no surprise there’s no Blu-ray drive, and the graphics card isn’t the fastest model. It scored 29fps in our Dirt 3 benchmark, proving that it can play some games, but you may have to sacrifice some of the graphical effects to achieve smooth frame rates.
The GT 520M has no problem decoding HD movies, however, and the large screen has a glossy finish that adds vibrancy to colours. It has a 1,600×900 resolution, so it can’t display 1080p movies in all their glory, but it still has the same 16:9 aspect ratio as an HD TV. The backlight isn’t the brightest around, but it’s even. Contrast is surprisingly good: the screen produces deep blacks and there’s detail in shadowy areas.
Vertical viewing angles are tight, however, and the glossy finish also attracts unwanted reflections from overhead lights. When you want to watch movies on a bigger screen, there’s always the HDMI output and, if you have an AV receiver with HDMI, you can plug the FX720 straight in. The internal speakers are quite loud and less tinny than most laptops. Peripherals are catered for by four USB ports, two of which support the faster USB3 standard, and there’s also a memory card reader.
In terms of aesthetics, the FX720 isn’t the smartest laptop we’ve seen recently. It shares some design elements with MSI’s cheaper laptops: the case is finished in a ‘scratch-resistant’ textured black plastic which isn’t particularly attractive.
MSI hasn’t used the entire width of the case for the keyboard and number pad, which is a shame as the keys felt smaller than other laptops’. The numberpad has four columns, but the main Enter key is only single-height and the backslash key has been moved to the left of the spacebar.
The keys themselves are good, however, with a light action and a crisp bite that provides excellent feedback for touch-typists. The touchpad isn’t particularly large but has a nice textured surface; we found it responsive, but the single see-saw button is a bit stiff.
Although at face value the FX720 looks like a bargain, it has some frustrating niggles that we can’t forgive: the cramped keyboard, dated design and limited battery life detract from what is otherwise a powerful laptop with a large screen and some modern features. The HP Pavilion dv7-6000sa may be slightly slower, but its large screen, massive hard disk and excellent build quality make it a bargain at under £500.
