Super-slim MSI X340, Intel CULV coming this month

TalkBack 1 of 1:

• Thread View
• Flat View

I just saw a demo model of the MSI X340

at my friendly PC shop here in southern Taiwan.
It's ultralight, but I wouldn't call it
ultraportable: 13.3 inches is too wide for me.
Not to carry it around in my backpack, no, but
to set it up at my local sidewalk cafe. The
tables there are quite small.

It came with 2 GB of RAM, a SATA 250-GB HDD,
Windows Vista, and even MS Office 2007. I'm not
sure whether the MS Office was strictly to show
off the notebook's speed and power or whether
it's one of the programs that MSI is loading to
justify the high price. I can't say that the
aesthetics of the machine move me at all. I
couldn't care less. I'm a PC, not a Mac. But the
speed with which that 1.4-GHz CPU handled Office
and Vista was impressive.

The high-end model, with a 1.6-GHz CPU and a
SATA 360-GB HDD, will retail for NT$33,900
(US$1007 or 766 Euro at today's rates) and the
low-end model for NT$26,900 (US$799 or 608
Euro). The Macbook Air goes for US$1000.

The Asus Eee PC 1000HE, with a 10-inch screen, a
1.6 GHz Atom, a 160-GB HDD, and 2 GB of RAM
(I've already got a 2-GB SIMM for my old Eee PC
1000H) will cost me only NT$14,500 (US$431 or
328 Euro). About half the price. I'm quite used
to the 10-inch screen and find the Eee PC a
pleasure to work on because it's the perfect
size for mobility -- for me, anyway.

I'm not going to spring for the MSI X340. Too
big and too expensive.

I am going to test Windows 7 Ultimate, the RC
that'll be downloadable on May 5th, on my
current Eee PC 1000H, however, just to see
whether it has any problems on that
architecture. If it doesn't, I'll stick with
Asus and the Eee PC and upgrade to Win7 Home
Premium or Business when I get a new one. If it
does, I'll get a regular Asus notebook with at
least a Core2 Duo and 4 GB of RAM and just
resign myself to having to lug the extra weight
around if I want more speed and power than my
current netbook provides.

Posted by: billfranke@...   Posted on: 04/28/09  (Edited: 04/28/2009 @ 10:16) You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Continuous Performance Management in Eclipse Quest Software Continuous performance management ("CPM") isn't a myth - it's a proven ... Download Now
• Evaluating Price/Performance of VMware ESX Server on Dell PowerEdge Servers Dell This paper examines the price/performance advantage that enterprises can ... Download Now
• DB2 for the Oracle DBA Quest Software In today's tough economy, IT departments are faced with smaller budgets ... Download Now