MSI launches back-to-school lineup

Scott Stein | Aug 14, 2009

The 2009 budget train continues, as MSI has just announced a back-to-school lineup of 16- and 17-inch additions to the Classic C Series notebook line, promising starting prices as low as US$549. What's new and notable here is that the 17.3-inch models all have 1,600 x 900 resolutions, which is a nice upgrade from the 1,366 x 768 we're used to seeing on budget machines. Even more intriguingly, the 16-inch CR600-017 includes a Blu-ray/DVD writer drive for hi-def movie watching (but sadly and quizzically, only a 1,366 x 768 resolution on that one). But this is the kicker: It only costs US$649.

All machines also feature ATI or Nvidia graphics of some sort--the CX600 and CX700 models have ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330 graphics cards with 512MB RAM, while the CR600 and CR700 models have Nvidia GeForce 8200M GPUs.

There is one caveat, however: all these laptops have Pentium Dual Core T4200 and T4300 processors. Therein lies the discount. However, it could be an excellent compromise for those who value some multimedia and screen size over processor speed. In essence, your price options are either US$549, US$649, or US$799. Details below for reference (all 16-inchers are 1,366 x 768, all 17.3-inchers 1,600 x 900):

CR600-013US (US$549): 16-inch display, 2.0GHz T4200, 4GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 8200M G, DVD writer

CX600-049US (US$649): 16-inch display, 2.0GHz T4200, 4GB RAM, ATI Mobility Radeon 4330, DVD writer

CR600-017US (US$649): 16-inch display, 2.1GHz T4300, 4GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 8200M G, Blu-ray

CR700-012US (US$649): 17.3-inch display, 2.0GHz T4200, 4GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 8200M G, DVD writer

CX700-020US (US$799): 17.3-inch display, 2.0GHz T4200, 4GB RAM, ATI Mobility Radeon 4330, DVD writer

Via CNET Crave

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