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Published in Reviews

MSI Wind U115 Hybrid netbook tested

by on16 July 2009

Index


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Review: Excellent battery life at a price

 

MSI has drawn a lot of attention and media hype with its Wind U100 netbook, and users have been pretty satisfied with it as well. This tiny netbook has since become a number one in its class thanks to its great specs, design and an affordable price. MSI recently started shipping an improved version based on the Menlow platform, dubbed MSI Wind U115 Hybrid. The word 'Hybrid' stands hybrid storage, combination of SSD and HDD drives where the SSD handles the OS and applications, while the HDD is supposed to be used for storage. In extreme scenarios where battery life is of the key importance, you can always turn off the HDD and save some battery life.

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Due to its small dimensions and long-lasting battery, the Wind U115 Hybrid netbook is aimed at users who need a device to access the internet, check e-mail, do word processing and basically perform any not-too-demanding operation. The U115 has all the needed ins and outs, and the 10-inch screen is large enough to fully display web pages while surfing.

MSI Wind U115 Hybrid is one of the first netbooks on the market to feature hybrid storage, meaning SSD and HDD. Both storage options of course have their pros and cons, so this combination is probably the best choice for now. SSD is great for quick access to data, allowing better performance, it’s inaudible, consumes less energy and is far more durable than any HDD, whereas HDD devices still have one ace up their sleeve – a vastly superior price to capacity ratio. You can see that for yourself, and you will if you order the Wind U115 with a higher capacity SSD. The test model we’ve received comes with 8GB SSD and 160GB HDD and is priced over €500. As you can see, the HDD packs enough storage space, whereas the SSD’s 8GB should be enough to install the OS and some basic applications you might end up needing.

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Design-wise, the Wind U115 Hybrid is very similar to the Wind U100. It looks relatively thin and stylish, and just like the lid, the rest of the case is slightly curved and rounded towards the edges, creating an illusion of an even thinner device. However, as it costs about €200 more than a U100, it should have more distinguishing features, and it should look better than its cheap sibling.

The lid is prone to gatherimg smear marks, but they won’t be easy to spot due to the texture of the material. The silver plastic around the trackpad looks nice and solid, and it won’t show smears thanks to the matte finish.

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You’ll notice that the keyboard is quite roomy and not even the thickest fingers will miss the right key. Just like the rest of MSI’s laptops , the U115 has a non-standard placement of the Fn key, which is located on the bottom corner where the CTRL usually resides. This is quite awkward especially in your first few days with this device, but you’ll get used to it after a while. We’d seriously like to see MSI listen to its customers as we believe that most users are unhappy with this layout.

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The arrow keys are pretty small despite the fact that there was enough room to use larger ones. Typing on this keyboard is not a problem and there's not a lot of flex (unless we’re talking about the area around the F keys, which won’t be a problem anyway). One of the most important keys you’ll end up using on the U115 is F10, as it’s used to turn the HDD on and off.

Our Wind U115’s SSD came with preinstalled XP, system programs and apps, whereas the HDD as we already mentioned is used for other data such as documents, movies, music, etc. Being able to turn the HDD off when not needed is a great advantage, and will instantly show on your average battery life. This is the so called ECO mode, but bear in mind that the disk should be idle if you want to turn it off.

Apart from the Hybrid Storage technology, MSI’s Wind U115 comes with a couple of other novelties. The basis of this entire concept is Intel’s Menlow platform with an Atom processor and a new chipset, which greatly reduced total consumption. The new generation of Atom Menlow processors features the Z510 (1.1GHz), Z520 (1.33GHz) and the Z530 (1.6GHz), and our today’s test model comes with the Z530 running at 1.6GHz.

Specs say that a Menlow based netbook consumes two times (about 4W) less than Diamondville based one (about 8W), which is a direct result of the new chipset – Poulsbo SCH (System Controller Hub) US15W with support for 200MHz graphics core and Windows Vista. Although Menlow supports Vista, the U115 comes with XP, and the reason is obvious – XP simply runs faster.

MSI U115 Hybrid netbook specs:

  • Windows XP Home SP3
  • Intel Atom Z530 (1.6GHz)
  • 10” 1024 x 600 LED backlit display (matte)
  • 1GB RAM (upgradable to 2GB)
  • 8GB SSD (1.8” ZIF, faster SLC type) + 160GB HDD (2.5” SATA, 5400rpm)
  • Intel SCH US15W chipset + GMA500 graphics (Poulsbo)
  • HD Audio, stereo speakers, noise canceling microphone
  • 1.3MP Webcam
  • Multi-card reader
  • 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, 10/100 MB/s LAN
  • VGA out, 3x USB 2.0, Microphone and headphone jacks, RJ45 LAN ports
  • 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (5200mAh)
  • 260 x 180 x 19-40 mm Dimensions
  • 1.32kg Weight (with 6-Cell battery)
  • 2 Year Warranty





MSI Wind U115 comes with a LED-backlit 10-inch matte screen with maximum resolution of 1024x600. Color and brightness intensity is pretty good, allowing it to retain picture quality even in ECO mode when the brightness is down to 50% or less. The best thing about the screen is that it's matte, so you can even enjoy it on the go, which can't be said of glare screens found in many similar devices.

You can use the VGA out to connect an external monitor, and we tried with iiyama’s 24’’ TFT monitor with 1920x1200 resolution, an older Samsung 19’’ TFT monitor with 1280x1024 resolution and with 17’’ BenQ monitor also with 1280x1024 resolution.

Intel’s integrated graphics media accelerator supports multiple displays but we weren’t at all happy with the quality of the image. The 24’’ TFT allowed for native resolution of 1920x1200, but sharpness was nowhere near what we’d call ideal. Of course, that’s not to say you can’t do work with it, but we don’t recommend working for longer periods. The same problem persisted on the smaller Samsung monitor, whereas the 17’’ TFT displayed a pretty nice picture and quite adequate for work.



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The build on this device is great and feels tough and sturdy. Opening the lid is easy and the mechanics isn’t rigid as is often the case with netbooks.

Since the camera is of course a must on a netbook, MSI equipped this device with a 1.3MP camera and the microphone. The camera is good enough for video calls but we didn’t particularly like the mic. Even when at maximum loudness, it’s still not enough for the person on the other side of “the wire” to hear clearly, so the only way out is for your conversation partner to turn up his/her speakers.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the Wind U115 doesn’t quite excel in sound, as the integrated speakers are just not good enough. The speakers, which are located on the front bottom side, are not loud enough for you to watch a movie unless you’re alone in a silent area and right next to the netbook. The following photo shows the Wind U115 upside down, and the speakers are hidden behind the round grills.

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I/O connectors for external speakers, headphones or microphones are on the right side of this device.

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The right side houses a USB port, multi-card reader, standard jacks for the microphone and headphones, VGA out and RJ45 LAN port. The left side houses two USB ports, cooling vents, charger port and a Kensington lock.

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As we mentioned in the specs, the U115 features a couple of networking devices: the Wireless adapter (802.11b/g/n WiFi), Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, as well as 10/100MB/s network card.

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The front also features indicator LEDs whereas the rear has no ports whatsoever.

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Due to this device’s dimensions, the touchpad is pretty small and placed so that the keys are on the ledge of the case. Such placement takes time to get used, but we thought that another centimeter added on the width wouldn’t have hurt the design, and would be much more functional. After a couple of days of usage we noticed that the left side gets dented after we release the key, but it still runs fine. 

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What missing on this touchpad is the scroll bar, as well as multi-touch functions which are today considered standard, even with some much cheaper competitors. We must admit that we consider this a must have, especially for a netbook with this price tag.

The battery is what sets the U115 apart from the competition and you simply have to try it to believe it. If you’ve ever complained about short battery life, then the Wind U115 might be the right one for you. You can read more about the battery on the following page, for now it’s enough to know that it’s a 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (5200mAh).

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Here we must warn you to watch out if you’re holding your U115 in your lap or on the edge of the table while your screen is up. Much of the weight is concentrated in the battery pack and screen, so even a slight touch in such a scenario will be enough to tip it over, and that could be ugly if it's sitting on the edge of your desk.


Packaging

Within a recycled cardboard box you’ll find a carefully packaged U115, as well as MSI’s protective pouch which will surely come in handy when you’re carrying this device around.

Package Contents:

  • Quick start guide
  • Warranty
  • Recovery DVD
  • Utilities DVD
  • Power cable
  • Protective pouch





Battery and Consumption

It turns out that MSI’s claims on excellent battery life were mostly true, and we were turned into believers ourselves. In normal work, with wireless, HDD and 50% brightness, the battery will last between 5 and 7 hours. If your turn eco-mode on, which as you know turns off your HDD, the battery can last over 11 hours. We put the battery through its paces by turning on the HDD, setting the brightness to 100% and starting a couple of pretty long documentaries on Google’s video service, and the battery depleted in 4,5 hours. Charging time was exactly 100 minutes.

The 160GB HDD will be ideal for storage, but bear in mind that you can’t turn the ECO mode on while you’re using the HDD. The 8GB SSD can also supply a couple of free GB for work, and it will help the battery run longer than 5-6 hours.

If you’re living in the US, then you’re lucky as you can purchase this same model with a 9-cell battery and 2MP camera.


Performance

Testing a netbook is not much fun, as these devices are all very similar and they all lack performance. They do what they’re designed to do – surfing, watching movies and office work, so forget about gaming or any more demanding work. Still, if you’re buying a 10-inch netbook, it’s surely not for gaming but rather to have a portable device you can store information in, make a presentation, etc.

The Wind U115 comes with SSD and HDD drives, where the first runs faster, consumes less, is much more shock-resistant and runs cooler, so it’s an ideal choice for the OS.

Booting to Windows XP Home edition takes about 40 seconds, and if you’re working on the battery it might be wise to turn the HDD off. By plugging your netbook into the power outlet, the HDD automatically turns on. We’ve done a couple of tests with the HD Tune application and noticed that our SSD isn’t quite the crème of the crop. Namely, the 52.4MB/s read times are relatively low for SSDs and the HDD managed to outperform it in maximum read times as it scored 61.5MB/s. We got the same result in write tests, meaning the HDD again emerged a winner. In all fairness, the SSD is still twice as fast as on most Linux netbooks solely equipped with SSDs, and it's much faster than the SSD used on Lenovo's hybrid storage S10e.

Nevertheless, we’d still say that the SSD on the U115 is a good choice as it runs cooler and consumes less, since battery life is one of the flagship features on these devices. You won’t notice the device heating up even after long hours, so you can easily hold it in your lap the entire time. Maximum CPU usage resulted in maximum CPU temperatures of 58 degrees Celsius.

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As we expected, 3DMark06 reports pretty lame results. MSI’s Wind U115 got only 87 points and the processor got  41.

Reproducing any standard definition media file is not a problem, but HD content is another story. This isn’t that bad though, as YouTube and divx files will run with no trouble, and after all this is the most frequent content found on netbooks.  

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Compared to the Z520 and N270, Sandra shows a slight advantage for the Z530 used in MSI's Wind U115 netbook.



Conclusion

MSI Wind U115 Hybrid is a netbook that you’ll instantly like, most of all for its battery life lasting anywhere from 5 to 11 hours, depending on the workload. MSI Wind U115 seems perfect for work on long journeys or a day on the beach. Despite its small form factor that might discourage anyone from typing, U115’s keyboard is large enough to provide comfortable work even after a few hours of typing.

The hybrid combination of SSD and HDD storage devices has its pros, most evident in long battery life, but such a thing always reflects on the price. Unfortunately, SSD pricing is still pretty high, so the U115 comes with only an 8GB SSD. This is enough for XP Home Edition OS and a couple of apps you can’t live without, whereas the rest can be stored on the HDD. The hybrid combination allows for turning off your HDD anytime you don’t need it, lengthening the batter life for up to a couple of hours.

Atom Z530 at 1.6GHz and integrated Intel’s graphics are not strong enough to handle more demanding operations such as video editing or gaming, but they’re good enough for the Wind U115. Surfing the internet, word processing and watching YouTube videos are an easy task for Intel’s Menlow platform. The screen resolution is 1024x600 with nice contrast and brightness, it’s matte and offers a wide viewing angle. Processor usage often hit maximum while we were using this device, but the device never failed us.

Of course, not everything on this device is gold and we found a couple of cons - the switched positions of CTRL and FN keys, small cursor keys, weak microphone and speakers, touchpad with no scrolling and multi-touch, and the fact that the device can easily be tipped over if your screen is open. Unfortunately, for a €500+ netbook, Wind U115 shouldn’t suffer from “common netbook ailments.”

Of course, in times like these the price might prove to be the key factor to making a decision on buying such a device. MSI’s Wind U115 Hybrid is not quite the champ in this department as its pricing is anywhere from €504 to €600 on EU markets, which is twice as much as entry level netbooks. What's worse, you can even get a 13-inch CULV-based thin and light notebook for €500-€600.

Depending on the manner of use, the U115 can offer incredible battery life, but if a few hours is enough for you, then it might be wiser to check out MSI’s other, cheaper models.

 

 

Last modified on 16 July 2009
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