First Look: MSI Wind [UPDATED]
- June 26th, 2008
- 106 Comments
I’ve been using the MSI Wind and for a little while now and have checked out a handful of things that our readers have asked about. I’ll have a full review of the notebook itself coming up soon but in the meantime, I’ve tested the following:
Skype video recording and playback, HD video playback (WMVHD and AVCHD), Photoshop, Google Earth, StarCraft, Ubuntu 8.04, DVD playback with a mounted .iso image using DAEMON Tools, and more. Thanks for all the great questions, everyone…
Skype Video
Here’s the first in a series of tests that I’ll be running on the Wind, based on your comments. This is Skype Video, which I’m happy to report works quite well.
HD Video Playback
High-definition Windows Media Video files play back without any problems. Files in the AVCHD format, however, are nah-gah, nah-gah, not gonna work here.
Photoshop CS2
Unfortunately, Adobe’s taken the Photoshop CS3 trial down until July 1st so I had to make do with CS2. I used a 6-megapixel JPEG file, which opened in 27 seconds.
Google Earth OpenGL versus DirectX
Google Earth works okay on the Wind. It’s certainly useable but if you’re looking to use it a lot, you might need something more powerful. OpenGL mode works better than DirectX mode, especially when zooming in.
StarCraft
I’m happy to report that StarCraft runs just fine. No problems there. It’s very smooth.
Ubuntu 8.04
Bad news on this front. I wasn’t able to get a standard installation of Ubuntu 8.04 to load up. That’s not to say that someone with more time and Linux know-how wouldn’t be able to get it going, though. It took a looooong time to load before throwing me to a prompt, although one time it got all the way to loading up the Common Unix Printing System (cupsd) but it ended up just hanging there until I eventually shut down the computer. The Ubuntu Netbook Remix should work, though, as it’s designed for this type of device. I’m not savvy enough to figure it all out quickly enough, unfortunately.
DVD Playback Test
I made an .iso file out of an old DVD and mounted it using DAEMON Tools. Everything worked perfectly. The Wind was running on battery power for this test, too, so it’d definitely make a good airplane companion.
Stress Test
The Atom processor is surprisingly tough. It shot up to around 95% with all of the following stuff happening at once:
- Firefox 3 with five tabs open, one playing a YouTube video
- Windows Media Player playing a WMA file
- Skype loaded but idle
- Webcam utility capturing video
- Large ZIP file being unzipped
- Opening Photoshop CS2
When everything was idle but the above programs were all still open, CPU usage hovered around 60% or so.
Geekbench 2
The Wind scored an 837 using Primate Labs’ Geekbench 2 benchmarking software. Here are some other systems with similar scores.
David (Who am I?)
2 months ago
I’m curious as to whether or not the processor will allow for viewing movies/microsoft office based products with ease?! Looking to pick this up as a second computer for school use, other than traditional websurfing I’d like to have movies with me when I travel and office. So let me know if you get any time to play around with that.
Doug Aamoth (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Hey David, good questions. I can view the above video just fine, along with other Flash-based video from, say, YouTube. I’ll test out some HD movie files when I get a chance, though, and I’ll run it through some Office tests too. If I was in school, this seems like a good option so far but I’ll be running it through some more rigorous testing.
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David (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Thanks for the quick response man, I look forward to hearing your results. I’m thinking about picking up two of them when they are released both for the purpose of a secondary computer that is easier to move about town for simple tasks. I’ve done a little research that sounds like the atom processor is a little underpowered and geared more toward cellular devices, are you noticing any slow down when running more than one tasks? Again, looking forward to your results.
brandon (Who am I?)
2 months ago
i have a few quickies: does it feel as light as it looks? how’s the boot time? any sound coming from the hd? how’s the screen brightness?
thanks!
Doug Aamoth (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Hey Brandon. The big battery actually makes it feel heavier than it looks and it tends to pull the computer back and down every time I take it off my lap, which is kind of weird. So it’s heavier than it looks, but it’s still plenty light. I’ll trade longer battery life for a little extra weight any day, too. Boot time is plenty fast — well under a minute. I was pleasantly surprised. No sound whatsoever coming from the hard drive. Screen brightness is excellent — really, really nice.
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David (Who am I?)
2 months ago
What’s it like typing on it for extensive periods of time? Something like an essay or a school report?
Doug Aamoth (Who am I?)
2 months ago
I haven’t been typing on it for too long, but it’s already a little frustrating. My biggest gripe is that the Fn and CTRL keys on the left side of the keyboard are reversed, so I find myself thinking I’ve done a CTRL-C to copy something, when all I’ve done is hit Fn-C. The period key is small too. Hell, all the keys are small. If you were sitting at a desk, though, you might be able to kind of touch-type or peck with only a few of your fingers on each hand. It’s hard to type a lot of stuff with the thing on your lap, though. I have average sized hands, too, for your reference. This thing would be great for taking notes in class, but writing a big term paper on it might get a little frustrating. Maybe it’ll get better the more I use it, though.
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Devin (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Nice little outro you put on there. very uncomfortable!
Alex (Who am I?)
2 months ago
If you whant to try some HD footage than go to http://www.wimeo.com, there are 1000+ HD videos, lets see how the littel lapie handels it. :)
Alex (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Sorry…. http://www.vimeo.com
Dave Zatz (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Skype Video Calliing?
Doug Aamoth (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Hey Dave, thanks for the comment. I tried in vain to reply using Seesmic, but it was a choppy mess (thanks Logitech!), so I’ll have to do it the old fashioned way, I guess.
I’ll definitely try out video calling on Skype. Absolutely.
Also, I’m disappointed in my lack of Boston accent, too. I just moved here in October, though, and I’ve got 29 years of being from the Midwest to undo. Living in Seattle for five years helped a little bit, but I’ve still got a long way to go. It’ll happen, though!
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Cody B (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Hey Doug,
HDs are cheap so I’m a fan of ripping DVDs as ISOs. Yeah I know they are huge, but you can have a DVD ripped in 10 minutes and you can take it right back to Blockbuster/Netflix ASAP. You also get good quality with it.
Any who, Could you install Daemon Tools or Alcohol to test out mounting DVD images and watching them at full screen?
Also, If I remember right you have never played starcraft. If so the time is now. I’m wondering how the Wind will handle old RTS video games. I’m thinking they only run at about 800×600 natively and will help me kill any productivity that currently has a chance.
Doug Aamoth (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Hey Cody - sure, I’ll load Daemon Tools onto it and see how it handles DVD rips. Good idea.
That’s true, I haven’t played StarCraft. Have I mentioned that before? No better time to start than now, huh? I’ll see if I can get my hands on a copy. I played Sim City 3000 on it for a bit last night without any problems, but that’s not a hugely demanding game. I’ll try out some other games on it too.
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Cody B (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Yeah you mentioned it once.
I think the biggest downfall for the Wind is that I can’t have one yet. I ordered a 100 gb HD (7200 rpm) and 2gb of RAM already for it. I’ve had some noticeable performance increases with the extra rpms on my current laptop so I figured why not. I’m expecting about 30 min loss of battery though. I’ll test if to see how much of a difference it makes. I’ll keep CG posted on that.
Jeff Waddell (Who am I?)
2 months ago
I’m interested in the Wind as a second portable/school computer, so I’d be interested in how it performs with a number of Firefox windows (say 10 tabs, some with flash) and Word fired up with one or two documents open at the same time? Maybe add Pidgen or Skype open, maybe an Excel doc or Outlook. Does the system feel laggy or fast under such a load? Thanks! I look forward to your review!
Doug Aamoth (Who am I?)
2 months ago
I was just thinking about that this morning, Jeff. I had about ten tabs open and it started to slow down. I’ll throw some more stuff at it, too. I’m interested to see how Firefox 2 and Firefox 3 fare against each other, so I’ll be sure to grab the final version of Firefox 3 next Tuesday and see if it handles multiple tabs without slowing down as much.
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Dave Zatz (Who am I?)
2 months ago
FF3 is a lot better - at least on my Mac. So many fewer spinning beach balls!
TheHoldSteady (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Is the hard drive replaceable by the end user? One of the eee’s appeals is the SDD; I’d only consider the Wind if the HDD could be replaced in the future when SDD’s are a little more affordable. A spinning disc in a tiny lappie does not augur well.
brandon (Who am I?)
2 months ago
I don’t know how easy it is, but it’s been done:
http://www.liliputing.com/2008/06/ssd-isn-always-faster-than-hdd.html
Doug Aamoth (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Yes, it can be replaced:
http://www.laptopmag.com/advice/how-to/msi-wind-hard-drive.aspx?step=1
But it’s not a simple procedure and it voids the warranty. LAPTOP Magazine also found that using an SSD in the Wind didn’t provide any noticeable improvement in battery life or performance, either.
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Greg B (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Photoshop possible? AVCHD playback?
Thanks in advance Doug.
Cody B (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Photoshop? Have you see the specs of this thing?
Greg B (Who am I?)
2 months ago
just hoping .. thats all
Greg B (Who am I?)
2 months ago
just hoping .. thats all
maybe elements?
brandon (Who am I?)
2 months ago
maybe after effects
Jitin Sameer (Who am I?)
2 months ago
What about heat? After extended periods of light use, dues it feel hot? Can you keep it on lap?
Doug Aamoth (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Heat hasn’t been an issue. I’ve used it on my lap for 2-3 hours at a time. The machine is so small, though, that you can’t really rest it fully on your lap. I tend to keep it on one leg. It doesn’t get uncomfortably hot, though. The fan is dead silent, too.
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Kchen (Who am I?)
2 months ago
I’ve been looking at the MSI Wind for several weeks now, but it doesn’t seem like its too easy to get one yet.
I’m planning to go traveling a bit late in the summer and I hope to bring a laptop along. Do you know if you can run Google Earth in both DirectX or OpenGL modes? I’ll most likely wipe XP off the machine and use just Linux.
I’d appreciate it if you can try out google earth for me. Thank you!
Elias (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Hey Doug,
Thanks for the quick review! Here’s a question from Holland.
I was wondering how the Wind works with Ubuntu 8.04 instead of Microsofts XP?
I am considering to buy one with XP and rewrite it with Ubuntu because of the better specs: the Linux version will miss the Bluetooth and has only 512mb of RAM.
Maybe you could give it a try for the Linux fans?
THNX!
elipsoid (Who am I?)
2 months ago
I am considering buying the MSI Wind (along with Acer Aspire One and the new Dell E) as a school laptop that I would carry with me almost every day. How is the build quality? Does the lid wobble? I have heard some complaints about the battery “bump” making the whole thing unstable on flat surface, esp. when the lid is wide open. Can you confirm that?
And a second question - don’t laugh - I do quite a lot of photoshop work every now and then, could you maybe try opening let’s say 6mpx photograph in photoshop a let us know how well (bad) it performs? Thank you!
Doug Aamoth (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Build quality is good, especially for such an inexpensive laptop. The lid doesn’t wobble and the battery bump doesn’t create problems on flat surfaces. However, the weight of the battery creates an awkward center of gravity so when you pick the notebook up, it has a tendency to tip backwards. It’s not that bad after you get used to it, though. Plus, you get the 5+ hours of battery life.
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Itai (Who am I?)
2 months ago
I second the screen-wobble and stability questions. I too have read this in some review and both problems seem to be potential show-stoppers for me. Having a laptop whose screen wobbles on public transport is bad, and having a laptop that flips over when put on the lap is definitely a bummer…
I still hope these are just unfounded nasty rumors though, because I do like the idea of buying one. It’s the only laptop that seems reasonable for my needs short of an X61.
Doug Aamoth (Who am I?)
2 months ago
You know, I haven’t actually tried this thing out in a bumpy car or on the subway to see if the screen wobbles, so I’ll test that out. It definitely does NOT flip over or anything. The bigger battery just makes it a little wobbly until you get used to it.
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Doug Aamoth (Who am I?)
1 month ago
Tested it out in a car, no serious screen wobble. It’d take a pretty aggressive bump to knock the screen out of whack.
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muldoonie (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Hi thinking of buying one of these little beauties,what i need to no have you managed to open it up and see if there is a mini pci slot so that a HSDPA 3g card could be inserted for total mobile broadband,as i think the eeepc 901 and acer aspire one has mini pci?
Cody B (Who am I?)
2 months ago
I second that motion, but understand if you don’t. I look last week for photos of the internals and all I could find was laptop mags “how to put in a bigger HD.” I couldn’t see a slot, but I couldn’t see the whole MB. Do I see a crunchgear exclusive coming?
muldoonie (Who am I?)
2 months ago
If there is a wireless network card and it has a mini pci interface,in theory you should be able to replace it with a HSDPA card and solder on the antenna wire????????
Cody B (Who am I?)
2 months ago
I have sorta been glancing over the 3g cards lately. is there a hsdpa/wifi card out there?
elipsoid (Who am I?)
2 months ago
You are the man! Thank you for the photoshop test, seems usable to me. Skype performance is awesome.
Man oh man, Acer or MSI, that’s the question.
Greg B (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Thanks for the further testing. I knew the AVCHD was gonna be tough. Glad to see the Photoshop rock.
Elias (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Hey Doug,
Thanks for testing! I’m so happy to see some tests on the Wind by request! Crunchgear@Doug is super!
I’m not a Linux die-hard, so I will try to install a dualboot or maybe wait for the linux version (still unknown which distro it will be).
Thanks again!
Regards, Elias
PS: I’m still frustrated with the fact that with the cheap dollar the Wind is still relative expensive in Europe. Flying to the USA and buying three Wind’s will put me to equal!
Cody B (Who am I?)
2 months ago
I’m willing to hand deliver one to Europe for the price of two and a plane ticket. ;)
MSI has selected Suse as their distro because of their support structure.
Cody B (Who am I?)
2 months ago
I’m willing to hand deliver one to Europe for the price of two and a plane ticket. ;)
MSI has selected Suse as their distro because of their support structure.
Elias (Who am I?)
2 months ago
Right…..Suse….I like Ubuntu much more! Will strip down a XP version!
Well Cody, how about a nice visit to Holland ;) (PS: a single ticket is enough, we’ll fly you back on our legal homegrown grasses :) )