MSI GT680 Sandy Bridge Gaming Laptop Review

Game Tests

FarCry 2
DirectX Gaming Performance


FarCry 2

Like the original, FarCry 2 is one of the more visually impressive games to be released on the PC to date. Courtesy of the Dunia game engine developed by Ubisoft, FarCry 2's game-play is enhanced by advanced environment physics, destructible terrain, high resolution textures, complex shaders, realistic dynamic lighting, and motion-captured animations. We benchmarked the test systems in this article with the FarCry 2 benchmark tool using one of the built-in demo runs recorded in the "Ranch" map.

The MSI GT680R performed well in our FarCry 2 tests. The Eurocom Panther outperformed the GT680R, but considering the additional power and specs found in the Panther, we weren't too surprised. The GT680R achieved playable frame rates at both 1280x720 and 1920x1080 resolution.

Metro 2033
DirectX Gaming Performance


Metro 2033

Metro 2033 is your basic post-apocalyptic first person shooter game with a few rather unconventional twists. Unlike most FPS titles, there is no health meter to measure your level of ailment, but rather you’re left to deal with life, or lack there-of more akin to the real world with blood spatter on your visor and your heart rate and respiration level as indicators. The game is loosely based on a novel by Russian Author Dmitry Glukhovsky. Metro 2003 boasts some of the best 3D visuals on the PC platform currently including a DX11 rendering mode that makes use of advanced depth of field effects and character model tessellation for increased realism. We tested the game engine using the Metro 2033 benchmark tool.

Metro 2033 is known to be a GPU-crusher, so we weren't too surprised that the MSI GT680R had a hard time producing playable frame rates, particularly at a resolution of 1920x1080. Still, if you dial the settings back a bit to 1024x768 and drop AA back to 2x, you'll get a very playable 43.33 fps.

 Lost Planet 2
 DX11 Gaming Performance


Lost Planet 2

Lost Planet 2 is a third person shooter developed by Capcom. It is the sequel to Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, and takes place ten years after the events of the first game. The plot begins with Mercenaries fighting against Jungle Pirates, while featuring major boss battles, extreme terrain, and the ability to pilot mechanized armor suits. We tested the game engine using the stand alone benchmark tool.

Lost Planet 2 is another very demanding game, especially when you crank up the settings. Here again, the MSI GT680R struggles to produce playable frame rates, particularly at 1920x1080. However, if you dial things back to 1280x720 and opt for DX9 over DX11, you'll get 45.5fps.


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