For those who need serious horsepower, but want to do without the flashing lights and polarizing design of most gaming notebooks, the MSI FX600 offers a convincing compromise. While its gaming scores were not exactly worthy of Alienware, you can play all your work and much of this $ 899, to reach the high computing power, switchable graphics, and a nice range of connectivity options spoon.
MSI currently offers two F-Series notebooks, the Core i5-450M equipped MSI FX600-002US, which we tested here, and the Core i3-350M-powered FX600-003US. Both machines have suggested retail price of 899 $ and are essentially identical, with the exception of the optical CPU difference and different drives. (The 003US adds a Blu-ray option.)
The external enclosure of MSI’s F-series notebook is mostly black with some silver trim. It has a subtle but attractive checkered flag pattern with an anti-fingerprint coating, which bears on the palm rest. The bezel around the screen is a glossy piano black finish, however, and it’s definitely fingerprint-prone. We give high marks to the aesthetics and the effectiveness of the FX600 is ready, but consumers looking for something more eye-catching or spectacular in the crowded mainstream notebook market is something of the appearance FX600 are underwhelmed.
The MSI FX600 footprint measures 15.1×9.8 inches. At its thickest point, the notebook is 1.5 inches thick and 1.3 inches at its thinnest. And the machine weighs 5.3 pounds, the average for a notebook in this class, and somewhere between $ 699 Lenovo IdeaPad G560 (5.7 pounds) and the $ 849 Asus UL50VF (4.4 pounds) is. Both competitors fall into the category of mainstream and to align for entertainment, as well as the FX600.
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The opening of the MSI FX600 to power on it makes some of its outstanding features, along with some weaknesses. Recording a 15.6-inch screen allows MSI, the FX600 with a full-size keyboard and a numeric keypad outfit. The keyboard has slightly Chiclet-style keys with an excellent layout and spacing curved, but the writing on the notebook caused considerable flex, what to feel inconsequential to a pulpy. For most users, some keyboard flex not be a problem, but for touch typists who deserve to be on their laptop keyboards make a living, the FX600 is flex is a turnoff.
Just below the keyboard, the left of the center of the notebook palm rest, is a structured, multi-touch enabled touchpad with a single rocker switch. In terms of its features and capabilities that FX600 is touchpad is excellent. The machine also features a touchpad on/off button to inadvertent movement of the cursor while minimizing feverish typing sessions. In practice, however, their dimpled texture adversely affect the experience: We felt like we were running a finger over the bristles of a comb. Furthermore, the touchpad does not always register our taps. Fortunately, the rocker button works well and offered good tactile feedback when pressed.
Above the keyboard is a handful of keys to turn starts the volume up or down, media players, turning Wi-off fi or so that the FX600 is TDE (or Turbo Drive Engine) function, and for the supply of machine. Accompanying the buttons on either side are two of the four FX600 TruStudio Pro THX speakers. The buttons work as expected, so we have not much to say about them, but the speakers really stand out. In addition to the speakers at the top of the keyboard, the FX600 has two more speakers behind the grille on the front panel. Simply put, the volume and sound quality produced by the speaker setup, the FX600 was the best we’ve ever heard of a notebook. High and mid frequencies are reproduced with excellent clarity, and there was plenty of bass, though not as much bass as larger desktop replacement with a dedicated subwoofer. Listening to music, movies and games on the FX600 Speaker was a pleasure.
In addition to the MSI FX600 excellent speakers, an LED-backlit LCD display with a native resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels and a shiny surface. This resolution is a little low for a screen this size, but the FX600-screen makes up for his lack of pixel properties with very good viewing angle and excellent contrast and brightness. We were very impressed with the screen content during the day to day computing tasks and were impressed, particularly during movie playback and gaming. With the highest resolution, which it is true 1080p HD movie playback is not possible (without scaling), but 720p video looked superb, and fast-paced gaming produces no noticeable ghosting. While we talk about high-definition video, we should also point out that the MSI-FX600 has a built-in webcam directly on the screen that the capture of 720p at 30 frames per second (fps).
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In a tour of the edges of the MSI FX600 discloses a reasonable arrangement of ports and status indicators. On the left side of the notebook, users will find a Kensington lock slot, power connector, an HDMI output, two USB 2.0 ports and headphone and microphone jacks. On the right you will find the FX600′s DVD RW optical drive, another USB 2.0 port, a VGA output and an RJ-45 LAN jack. The back of the machine is free of any features, but the front is a pair of speakers, seven status LEDs (drive activity, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, battery, Caps Lock, Num Lock, and sleep) and four-Card Reader (support SD, MMC, Memory Stick, xD-picture card and format). There is nothing extraordinary about the MSI FX600 range of connectors, but the selection is versatile enough for most users. Another USB port or eSATA/USB combo port would have been nice.
In the heart of the MSI FX600 is a powerful array of hardware, including an Intel Core i5-450M Processor, 4 GB RAM, an Nvidia GeForce graphics chip with 325M Optimus technology and a 500GB hard drive. If we all that hardware with PCMark Vantage, the system total taxable performance tests, the MSI FX600 returned an excellent score of 5380. This is the best we’ve seen from a mainstream notebook for less than $ 1,000 each. Compare that with the Core 2 Duo-based Asus UL50VF who managed only 3563 score on this test. The Core-based i3 G560 fared better (5,059), although both missed the FX600. Also enables the FX600 is TDE function that easily led to overclock the processor, to an even better result by 5656.
For the CPU performance, especially the MSI FX600 again above average. has on our Windows Media Encoder test, the FX600 3 minutes and 59 seconds, which requires significantly faster than 6.10, the average mainstream laptop that encode our test video. And his score of 3.14 iTunes also much faster than the average 4:20 ‘best in class. Whip the FX600 handy both the Asus and Lenovo models, earlier on two tests above, the Lenovo only come in better than average and the Asus model fall well below the average.
The same was on our 64-bit Cinebench 10 test, all the available CPU cores of the taxes come true: The FX600 achieved a score of 8308, which is well above the 7000 average. Most sub-$ 1,000 laptops have not hit 6500 this test.
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Thanks to the FX600 is MSI Nvidia GeForce GPU, the notebook also points to our graphics-related benchmarks. On 3DMark06, for example, the 3D gaming and video performance measures, set the FX600 a score of 5941 while running in its native resolution, which is almost double the average score for a mainstream laptop. The Asus UL50VF offers switchable graphics, but it still mustered a score of only 3348 on the same test. Similarly, frame rates on the DirectX 9 and 10 versions of our Company of Heroes gaming test, also with a native resolution, 140fps and 24fps, respectively. Frame rates in the game Far Cry 2 were in the low 20s.
Since the FX600 offers nvida’s Optimus technology, the discrete GPU is only when applications that benefit from the additional power to be 3D games like that are running on. This can be a positive feature, since the low-power Intel integrated graphics are used to conserve the battery while it may be mundane tasks, and the GPU, if more graphics power is needed kick. The particular configuration of the MSI-FX600 graphics can not compete with dedicated gaming notebook, but it is much faster for regular play and is perfect for graphics professionals and video buffs.
About the only area where the FX600′s performance is something ordinary in terms of battery life. With its six-cell battery that MSI FX600 lasted for only 2 hours and 34 minutes in our DVD rundown tests, the right in accordance with the category average. We had hoped, but that the Optimus technology would have a greater impact on battery life. This is also an area in which shines the Asus UL50VF. It took almost four hours on our test, while the IdeaPad G560-ended only a few minutes when the FX600, at 2:45.
The FX600 has been relatively free of bloatware. The only nuisance was a constant nagging to activate Norton Internet Security 2010 on boats, but par for the course with most notebooks these days. Notable freebies bundled with the machine, an ad-supported Office 2010 Starter Edition Trial, Norton online backup, and a number of ArcSoft programs (Connect, Magic-I, Print Creations, and WebCam Companion). ArcSoft Connect supports the management of other applications and ArcSoft updates and the like; Magic-I is a basic visual effects application that things such as borders and themes can add to video-chat sessions. Print Creations offers users the ability to print projects such as greeting cards and calendars produce during WebCam Companion enables users to capture photos and videos from the notebook integrated webcam and do some basic editing functions. The machine also comes with Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) operating system is loaded. MSI supports the system with an industry-standard one-year warranty and technical support via the company website or phone.
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Despite some scattered small quibbles, there is a lot about the MSI-FX600 like. This notebook offers a very good performance, on budget with outstanding speakers and a wonderful image for a friendly-899 $. We were not flex with the amount of the keyboard we experienced in love, and the touchpad leaves something to be desired, but all in all, the MSI FX600 represents an excellent value and at $ 899, now a solid, easily better than the competition. If you want better performance than this, be prepared to spend twice as much money.
