In light of Intel taking the NDAs off of Intel Atom benchmarks, as well as MSI releasing the final specifications of the MSI Wind, LAPTOP Magazine has published their review of this 10.2-inch ultraportable notebook / netbook.
The Intel Atom powers this device, and they were able to multi-task fairly well (including video conferencing while using OpenOffice Writer). A video is included to give you an idea of bootup times (it is using a 5400 rpm mechanical drive instead of the flash-based Solid State Drive (SSD) many in its class are using). One thing that sets the Wind apart – MSI has included a “Turbo” button to boost the CPU speed up to 1.9 GHz (around 20%) while it’s plugged into an outlet.
Under the MobileMark2007 benchmarks, it nearly doubled the score of the 5-inch Fujitsu U810 and was nearly as fast as the 11.1-inch Asus U2E.
Even more impressive, under the 3DMark03 graphics benchmark, it scored nearly 60% higher than the 8.9-inch HP 2133 Mini-Note (the score was almost 100% higher when the “Turbo” mode was turned on).
They were very impressed in general, giving it LAPTOP Magazine’s Editor’s Choice award:
This 2.6-pound system boasts a relatively large 10-inch screen and a full-size keyboard and Intel’s zippy new 1.6-GHz Atom processor (overclockable with a touch of a button). Plus, the MSI Wind NB lasts more than 5 hours on a charge. At $499, no other mini-notebook offers more for your money.
Read: LAPTOP Magazine