Browsing Category: "MSI Nettops"
MSI Toast Nettop
MSI have come up with an, umm, interesting new nettop this week at CeBIT. They call it the MSI Toast PC - for obvious reasons – although there is no indication that it will actually make any toast. The Toast PC is a nettop with slim, toaster-like design that incorporates a slot-loading DVD drive at the top that loads a disc sort of the way a toaster loads bread. There’s also a remote control that snaps onto the side of the nettop.
It’s certainly interesting – who knows if they’ll actuallybring it to market though.
MSI Windbox DE220
Brad from Liliputing posted about the new MSI Winbox DE220 nettop he spotted at CES 2010 earlier this month.
Word is that there will be a choice of a single core 1.66GHz Intel Atom D410 or dual core 1.66GHz Atom D510 processor with both models using an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphic card, up to 4GB of RAM, and options up to 1tb of hard drive space. The computer runs Windows 7 Home Premium and comes with an optional 802.11b/g/n WiFi card. There also appears to be an eSata port on the back there, making storage upgrades a breeze.
The Wind Box DE220 is a small machine, if not especially stylisth, measuring 10.8″ x x 6.7″ x 1.6″.
No pricing or availability details available yet, but there are a few more shots to check out after the break.
MSI AE1900 Nettop at Amazon
MSI’s traditional Wind Top AE1900 has been shipping here in the US for a while now, but today two new models have been added to the lineup. The AE1900 Black and Dual Core models have just landed at Amazon for just about $600.
The whole press release is after the break.
MSI Wind Top AE1900
MSI’s eco-friendly Wind Top AE1900 has already been introduced and spotted in Hanover earlier this year, but MSI s notorious for withholding price and availability information until the last possible moment.
Well, the details are finally out:
The 18.5-inch all-in-one PC is available with an Atom 230 or 330 CPU, a 1,366 x 768 resolution touchscreen, integrated GMA950 graphics, 2GB of DDR2-533 RAM, a 160GB or 250GB hard drive, 4-in-1 multicard reader, dual-layer DVD writer, WiFi, gigabit Ethernet, a 1.3 megapixel webcam and audio in / out sockets to boot. Two configurations are available (both are shown after the break), with the lesser of the two going for $529.
Even more details after the break
Popularity of small factor configurations is growing rapidly. Except small sizes, thanks to which nettops can be placed almost anywhere in a room or office, manufacturers have begun to pay attention to power consumption of these small PCs. From MSI we got one of their latest nettop models: Wind Nettop D130. Interesting detail of this configuration is the dual-core Atom CPU that operates at 1.6GHz and it should provide higher performance levels with lower power consumption compared to its older single-core brother.
Atom CPU used in this configuration also supports HT so in Windows Task Manager you will see four cores despite the fact that there are only two present beneath CPU heat spreader. MSI advertises this model as ultra low power that will consume only 35W and in a year it will lower power bill in amount that this nettop would pay itself, of course compared to traditional desktop configuration. Well, we tested these claims and yes, this nettop indeed has power consumption of 35W which is lower than consumption of one 40W light bulb! Beside chassis, in package that we got from MSI, we also found power adapter, CD with drivers, manual and stand that allows this nettop to be positioned in vertical position. Interesting detail is presence of Windows XP drivers on supplied CD although Windows Vista was preinstalled. This is very important in case you plan to use Windows XP on this nettop. Manual is small and it is obvious that is intended for few models since it mentions Windows XP Recovery console. Recovery DVD is not included in package but instead there is hidden HDD partition that is used for Vista recovery. This partition has 6GB of capacity so there is enough space for bookmarks, mail backups and other important data in case of emergency recovery.
 |
 |
When we unwrapped device first thing that we noticed is protective transparent foil on black front side. This, of course, means that front side has piano finish so be prepared to use cloth from time to time. On front side are present two USB, speakers and microphone connectors but also SD/MMS/MS/XD card reader, power button with blue LED and red LED for HDD activity. There is no reset button which we found to be odd decision. On lateral sides are ventilation openings. On back side are present 4 USB connectors, LAN, VGA connector, six audio connectors and wireless antenna. During tests neither chassis neither power adapter showed tendencies toward heating up which is result of low consumption. In most cases fans inside chassis didn’t produce noticeable noise and even when we put this nettop under full load, noise levels were very low. Optical device didn’t have any distinctive markings on it, but thanks to info from Windows Device Manager we concluded that LiteOn Multi Recorder DVD device was used in our model.
Performances of this model are in expected range and it will do most of jobs without any problems. Only test that this nettop had problems with was rendering in Cinebench but this nettop isn’t configured as rendering workstation so these results cannot be accounted as big problem. The area where this nettop showed its true office character was games. Even older games like Prey were horrible experience even on lowest resolution and settings. World in Conflict showed better performances but framerate was still unacceptably low.
 |
 |
When it comes to multimedia performances this configuration is enough for almost all content except for 1080p videos. We tested 720p video that was played without any problems and with CPU at 30% usage. Lower 1080p videos with lower bitrate can be played without chopping (drops) but full 1080p video is almost unwatchable. We tried the same video in MPC HC overlay and some other players but the results were the same. Obviously there are some problems with graphics drivers that should be solved in the future because CPU has enough power to support all media formats.
The MSI Wind C120 is a small and low power desktop computer that has the same basic guts as an MSI WInd U120 netbook. That means you get a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N230 CPU (the desktop equivalent of the Atom N270), 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, a 4-in-1 card reader, 802.11b/g WiFI, and integrated Intel GMA950 graphics.
The Wind CS120 also has a slot-loading DVD burner and 7.1 channel audio. It has a total of 6 USB ports and a VGA output. Sorry, no HDMI on this model.
The package measures just 9.5″ x 2.6″ x 1.1″ and consumes 35 watts at peak performance. You can pick one up today from Amazon for less than $320
