Excellent Ultra Portable Notebook

By Reginald Garrett (Houston, TX)

This review is for: MSI X600-021US Slim Laptop

After much debate and hand wringing about what should be my next laptop, I decided that I would write to perform real tasks. These include, writing paper, with moderately intense graphical online games, that is, Second Life, VirtualBox virtual machine, Internet surfing, and of course, enjoying my legally purchased music, movies and pictures. I need a larger screen with high graphic capability, easy portability and decent processing power. These requirements led to the consideration of the Apple MacBook series. The air, while powerful, portable and was extremely sexy, too lacking in the external connectors to be practical. The other MacBook models were much ive to spend $. The Alienware models but I was certainly powerful enough for all my activities, but they were super super hard and spending $ ive as well. I had to find a middle way.

Enter the MSI X600.

Although I had not really from this brand outside the realm motherboards I heard my due diligence done. The great opportunities, reasonable price, and super portability allow me to comfortably run some all of the above tasks and then. This feat would not be possible at all on any netbook. Were it not for the powerful desktop replacement practicable, as I do, would live under a bridge in order to afford it.

The x600 is not all wine and roses, however, that in odd quirks that still baffle me after six months of blissful human-computer compatibility.

These include:

1. The oddly placed Delete key (Where's Waldo). Why is it mixed with the other? It is often such that it can be used on a corner of the board for easy access.
2. There are two "pipe"-button for some reason. One of them takes valuable real estate from the space bar.
3. The body feels a bit meager, while open, but I think that is the reality with a super thin notebooks that are not grateful for a piece of aluminum (for the vision of Apple is not).

Overall I am very happy with this model of computer and see us happy for a long time (in computer time anyway). If I meet someone with a cause that I want, I ask her if she would buy it again. If they say yes then this is the ultimate confirmation. So I would certainly buy it again under similar circumstances. It is a nice combination of features versus portability at a great price.

Cheers,

Reg