Customer Reviews

MSI U230-040US 12.1-Inch Netbook - 4 Hour Battery Life

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a high performing netbook, capable of some very limited gaming. The battery life lasts about 4.5 hours if all you're doing is writing or lightly surfing the web. It performs much better when plugged in. It has a dual core possessor and a dedicated graphics chipset. It is the perfect size for me, fits right into my backpack

I believe the cores run at 800Mz on the battery and 1.6Gz plugged in. It plays high definition video without studdering. It can even play some games. I played Half-Life 2 with mid to low settings and had mid 20's to low 30's FPS, Torchlight ran about the same, 28 FPS at mid to low settings. It even played Left 4 Dead 2 low settings, usually at about 27 FPS although when you get a large rush of zombies it can dip down to 16 FPS. Pretty impressive for a computer type that was never designed for gaming. I ran 3DMark06 on it just to see and it scored a 1969, which is really good for a netbook.

For those of you who don't understand much about the last paragraph, let me just say this; If it can handle light gaming it will certainly handle ANYTHING that you might expect a netbook to.

The wireless card seems to turn off from time to time and you have to reset it. I'm still not sure if this a problem with the netbook or router or a powersaving feature, I'll try to update later as I discover more on this issue. Ohh, and the store page says in two different places that the hard drive is 250 GB and 320 GB. For the record it is a 320 GB hard drive.

I bought this netbook to upgrade from my MSI Wind U100 that was a little limited in horsepower for my needs. I wanted a faster processor and slightly bigger screen but still a highly portable computer.

The U230 is a wonderful piece of equipment with an unassuming look. I use it day in and day out for web surfing, article writing and software development and I am amazed by what this little machine can do. I use a 9-cell battery and I carry a spare and this combination usually gets me through my workday at the local road warrior hangout (or in my transatlantic flight :) When I see people carrying their 17" laptop around I can't help but smile.

I have owned it for almost a year and I would probably by this model again if I needed a netbook now. Not sure why MSI is not marketing it more agressively...

Just this month the screen burned in a vertical row. Same thing happened to my wife's model. I saw random places where they'll sell a screen for "do it yourself" for $100. So, after a year it will cost you at least $100 more this product...get another brand.

First thing I did with this baby was install 64 bit Ubuntu Linux.
Came with no operating system :)
No Microsoft tax.

Upgraded the ram to 4 GB for best performance.

Love this notebook.
Great keyboard.
Great for writing, HD video no stuttering.
Nice LED screen

Con:
Screen not fully backward adjustable.

I run low cost hardware with Ubuntu Linux for all my work

No way I'm running Windows EVER.

Linux + 3G is awesome on the U230

Pros: Good build, fit and finish. Large keyboard. Decent screen size. Great features in a small size. Win7 Home Premium.

Cons: Slow overall performance. 320GB hard drive is partitioned into 4 smaller sizes (annoying when installing software). Shareware!!!

Comments: The first thing I do with every new PC is as follows:
1) Uninstall all Trial editions of Windows Office, etc from the Programs menu in the Control Panel
2) Download Revo Uninstaller (free)
3) Uninstall all secondary software (especially Norton but not your drivers) as there's about 10-15 useless programs installed that impede performance
4) Download Ccleaner (free) and clean the registry (dramatically helps performance)
5) Download Malwarebytes and Avast Free Anti-Virus (these do the same Norton does but do not slow your computer down)
6) Run a Windows Experience Index to determine how the system performs

Conclusion: Expect a Windows Experience of...
Processor: 4.1 (this is pathetic for a dual core. single P4s run in the 5s)
Memory: 4.9 (Again pathetic even for DDR2 800Mhz ram)
Graphics: 3.1 (this is expected with integrated video)
Gaming Graphics: 4.6 (will still display some weak 3D games)
Hard Disk: 5.8 (for reference, 7200 RPM drives = 5.9; SSD = 7.3)

Very disappointed that I went out of my way to find a netbook with a dual processor only to find it performs worse than many single cores. In addition, you also sacrifice the later ATI video cards (most are now HD4250). Bottom line, I would buy the ASUS Ece netbook instead.

Other Thoughts: I cannot fathom why anyone would waste time installing an SSD when the processor, ram, and video are slower than the 5400RPM HD. This is a waste of money.