Comments on: First Look: MSI Wind [UPDATED]

By: joel

joel — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:55:31 +0000

hello there. i do a lot of music. though i use fairly simple instruments. wondering if you could test a trial of Tracktion 1,2, or 3. also maybe try out Pluggo? both have free trials :)

all the best and thanks for your time

-joel

By: Anton

Anton — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:27:47 +0000

Hi Doug!

I am a highschool student in Denmark. In my high school you can not survive without a laptop, so, i am thinking about buying MSI WIND. BUT!, i like to play WoW and Warcraft 3 on weekends with my pals. I know that MSI WIND comes with 1 GB ram and that it can play WoW decently. But i want my pc to be fast. I allways carry a chrager cable for the pc so battery life is not an issue.

I am wonderring if I buy WIND and upg to 2 gb ram will it be running things more smoothly? Some people say its Processor 1,6 GHz Intel Atom is not so good.

Is it worth it to buy WIND for school work and weekend WoW playing?

By: Vlad

Vlad — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 07:23:21 +0000

I just tried Ubuntu 8.04 on Wind and it ran very nicely, the exception is bluetooth…

By: Adam

Adam — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:57:26 +0000

Just got the black Wind with 802.11g. It just uses the standard XP wireless manager and so far has gotten very solid reception all around the apartment with WPA2 enabled.

By: Bryon

Bryon — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:51:08 +0000

Doug,

Wifi connectivity is a major benefit for me. How does the Wind do at receiving wifi, how easily does it detect networks and how difficult is it to configure?

Thanks,

Bryon

By: Bryon

Bryon — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:51:07 +0000

Doug,

Wifi connectivity is a major benefit for me. How does the Wind do at receiving wifi, how easily does it detect networks and how difficult is it to configure?

Thanks,

Bryon

By: Doug Aamoth

Doug Aamoth — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:59:45 +0000

Hey everyone, thanks for all the questions. I had to send the Wind back to MSI so I can’t test anything else, unfortunately.

A lot of you asked if World of Warcraft would work. While I didn’t get to test it, the game appears to require more graphics horsepower than the Wind has. You might be able to run it under really reduced graphics settings but I wouldn’t buy it just for playing the game.

I didn’t get a chance to try Office 2007 either, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t run well. The Atom chip is pretty nimble.

Full review can be found right here: http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/07/07/review-msi-wind/

Thanks again.

By: Doug Aamoth

Doug Aamoth — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:51:27 +0000

2048×1536

By: Doug Aamoth

Doug Aamoth — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:49:20 +0000

Exact, exact, exact screen dimensions are 5.25 inches tall by 8.75 inches wide.

By: Doug Aamoth

Doug Aamoth — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:46:29 +0000

Yes, you can scroll by running your finger down the right-most side of the trackpad, similar to other notebooks.

By: Doug Aamoth

Doug Aamoth — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:45:53 +0000

Completely made of plastic

By: Doug Aamoth

Doug Aamoth — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:45:20 +0000

Hi Amanda. No, it wouldn’t tip over. It’s only if you’re trying to balance it on one leg or maybe on a pillow or something like that. It’s absolutely fine on flat surfaces.

By: Doug Aamoth

Doug Aamoth — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:43:50 +0000

Hey Arno, the RAM upgrade isn’t easy to do, unfortunately. You’d have to take the thing apart. It’s upgradeable to 2GB, but I’m guessing there’s just one RAM slot, so you’d have to replace the existing 1GB stick. There’s no cover underneath, though.

Display quality is excellent. LED does make a difference, yes. It makes everything brighter and colors more saturated. Text seems easier to read, too. It’s almost like you forget you’re reading a 10-inch screen.

External resolution can handle 1920×1400 full HD and even goes all the way up to 2048×1536.

By: Doug Aamoth

Doug Aamoth — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:24:02 +0000

Tested it out in a car, no serious screen wobble. It’d take a pretty aggressive bump to knock the screen out of whack.

By: Peacesoup

Peacesoup — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:09:57 +0000

Hi Doug,

With the recent release of Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04.1 (July 3rd), it appears the problem you had installing Ubuntu on the Wind has been resolved.

See the msiwind.net wiki for details: http://wiki.msiwind.net/index.php/Ubuntu_8.04_Hardy_Heron

By: muldoonie

muldoonie — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:44:14 +0000

If you do re-format using an oem version of windows home/pro you can get the latest drivers from here
http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=downloaddetail&type=driver&maincat_no=135&prod_no=1474
you can also flash the bios but do so at your own risk

By: muldoonie

muldoonie — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:32:00 +0000

One of the best ways to install a program without a cd/dvd drive is to use a virtual drive I.E (DAEMON Tools),just connect a usb hard drive or memory card,create an image of the program you wish to install and run using a virtual drive,if you need to re-format your WIND just install any windows home edition cd use the serial which has been stuck on the bottom of the notebook and away you go.

By: muldoonie

muldoonie — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:29:35 +0000

One of the best ways to install a programme without a cd/dvd drive is to use a virtual drive I.E (DAEMON Tools),just connect a usb hard drive or memory card,create an image of the programme you wish to install and run using a virtual drive,if you need to re-format your WIND just install any windows home edition cd use the serial which has been stuck on the bottom of the notebook and away you go.

By: muldoonie

muldoonie — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:19:00 +0000

Hi i have tested the MSI wind with an external monitor at 1680 by 1050 and worked fine.

By: sam

sam — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:47:15 +0000

hi. sorry for my ignorance. very interested in purchasing the msi wind, but i have one major concern, how do i install software (eg. ms office) without a cd drive on the computer? And for example if i want to re-format in the future, how do i do so without a recovery disc, or how do i re-install the xp? thanks.