Gaming notebooks are often the trappings of the wealthier geeks — or at least those that forgo food to afford a high-priced rig. But now you can afford a decent gaming notebook, even if you aren't the type who has a season pass at Aspen and a Lamborghini. You don't need a dump truck full of cash to afford the $800 MSI GX630, and it can actually hold its own in the most heated frag-fest.
Granted, it can't go head-to-head against a $3,500 Alienware 17-incher, but it isn't a dollar-menu double cheeseburger either. MSI included a 2.3-GHz AMD X2 and 4 GB of RAM to give it a respectable 100.4 frames per second in Quake 4, and its business performance score put it in league with a Sony FZ or Apple 15-incher.
Then again, you can't offer such an affordable gamer without cutting corners. There's no Blu-ray option, so you won't be piping any hot hi-def out to your TV with this machine. The keyboard is also a weird mix of thoughtful accents and blundered control placement. The addition of a numpad is smart, but some gamers will fume at the misplacement of the left Control button (there's a Fn button in its stead). There are also only 2 USB ports, and the fan blows right on your mouse hand (unless you're a southpaw).
The system's 1.5-hour battery life is poopy at best. It gets a little leeway by being a gaming machine, but for a 15-incher, the battery life should be better. But for all these shortcomings, the GX630 receives an executive pardon for its price — ramen-eating game junkies everywhere should rejoice.