MSI CR410

MSI is not a new player in computing industries. I’ve been frequenting MSI products since 1997. Back then they produced cheap mainboards for computer. Since getting a cheap and reliable mainboard is the core of building new computers, thus MSI proven to be quite of a reliable source, besides Asus and the-now-defunct Abit. Back then, Intel mainboard was priced around RM350 and above, whilst the Taiwan manufacturers priced their mainboards at half the price. Furthermore, I personally think their mainboards are quite reliable. It’s a no wonder, after a couple of years, they can come up with a longer warranty periods for their goods. Plus, more computing parts introduced into the market by these companies, graphic cards, sound cards and even computer casing.

Asus has been into producing notebook for quite some time. Despite their bulky and boring design back then, Asus has upped their ante by offering their notebook with a 2 years warranty, unlike any other major brand. MSI notebook is relatively new, and they’ve entered the market during the time of price drops of Notebook price. Maybe due to the assault of tablet-size Android goodies, since the Apple introduced their first IPad like 2-3 years ago. These tiny, easy to carry around, touch sensitive pads, android-based tablet has become the in-thing now. Not much of a work horse, or word processing, or Photoshop slave or the likes, but heck, why would anyone want that now? They need Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. They need instant Messaging. They need their daily dose of FaceBook games… God I think they are boring and idiotic. So here we are, notebook and personal computers is going through the obsolete phase for consumers. What they need is just a device that able to do ‘just-what-they-need’. No one needs I3 or I5 powered laptop or portable device that is powerful enough to run AutoCad and complex desktop publishing anymore. The trend is moving here, faster than we might ever imagine. Portable devices are getting smaller and lighter, and the most importantly, made specific to the task. Welcome to the end of multifunction personal computing era!

Hokie, cut the crap anyway… multifunction or not, portable or not… I really need a cheap new notebook. Some supplier has offered me MSI CR410 price at previously unimaginable price, at a quantity purchase of course. I said; why not, MSI has been good to me, their mainboards are damn good and reliable, I knew it, my customers knew it, so why not MSI Notebook. So I had these like 8 sets of new MSI CR-410. Powered by AMD V120 processor and the newer version AMD V160, clock around 1.2GHz to 1.6GHz, 1 GB DDR3 Ram (this is a joke actually, but considering the price I get… this is still OK and can be upgraded in no time at all) and the best part, they are all sported with ATi Radeon 4250 graphic chips, with dedicated 256MB memory. Other stuff are pretty the same like any other notebooks, webcam, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet (RJ-45 ports), DVD writer, 14” Led display with glare display, 320GB SATA hard disk, MSI bag and so on.

The design is quite basic and bland. MSI opted for a black piece of plastic for encasement, that looked uglier than most of other notebooks. The MSI and AMD stickers placed on the palm rest, somehow reduce the strain on the eye upon the hideous sight. Keyboard and touch pad is placed as where it should be placed (lol). There’s set of launch buttons on the upper left side of the keyboard, which will turn on the webcam, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Physically, there’s nothing special on MSI CR410. It is black, bland, dull, boring… just a how a personal computers 15-20 years ago look like; it is beige, bland, dull and boring.

The AMD V120 and V160 is the slower version of AMD notebook processor in the market. Unlike the other notebook (Acer Aspire 4552 and HP CQ42), those processor they’re using are the dual-core AMD. So performance wise, MS CR410 is a slow notebook. As for the graphic concerns, yes, I’ve tried a few games on it. The MSI CR410 can handle games like Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 at a very low setting. So, it was just another low-performance notebook, even after I’ve upgraded the memory till 3 GB DDR3. Sure, they can handle Photoshop, desktop publishing, spreadsheets and even a 24/7 Diablo 2 LOD botting, no problem. But don’t bank in your money expecting CR410 to play Call of Duty Black Ops or Battlefield Bad Company 2.

The LCD picture quality is superior since the LCD is HD glare type with resolution of 14". It’s a pleasant to the eyes as long as we using it indoor. Viewing is harder when used outdoors, even after I maxed up the screen brightness. The sound quality is not bad, since MSI claimed that the CR410 is using 2 high quality, un-named speakers. As the matter of fact, better than HP CQ40’s notebooks which use Altec-Lansing-speaker. As for Wi-Fi, in my opinion the MSI CR410’s wireless LAN 802.11 b/g/n is superior than what HP is using on their CQ40, CQ41 and CQ42 lines of notebooks. These CR410 quickly identifies my wireless network settings and sticking into it like a super-glue. Unfortunately those HPs’ CQ40… I had to resort for RJ-45 cables.

MSI CR410 is somehow, a worthy notebook at its price. It is capable to run long hours up to 12 hours daily. Not much of a gaming or a multi-purpose heavy duty jobs, but yeah… it can do loads of work, browsing, desktop publishing, Photoshop, a few hours of Diablo 2 LOD botting, a few sessions of Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare2 and Warcraft 3, video and audio conversions or even just to get that daily dose of FB stuff. The packaging is nice anyway. It's sealed medium size gray carton-box, where they tucked a notebook bag into it, with another smaller-size color printed box (this is where they put the CR410). Nah, I've seen other manufacturers doing this too.