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MSI PR210 (AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-53 Processor 1.7GHz, 1GB RAM)

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Product Summary

Good

6.9

out of 10

The good: Inexpensive; lengthy battery life; choice of case colors; TV tuner and HDMI port; two-year warranty.

The bad: Underpowered AMD CPU limits performance; heavier than similar laptops; overly reflective screen.

The bottom line: The colorful, 12.1-inch MSI PR210 offers a decent feature set and great battery life.

Read full review of the MSI PR210 »

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CNET Asia Review

By Michelle Thatcher
Jun 18, 2008

Available in blue, pink, and green, the MSI PR210 seems destined to appeal to users who aren't excited by the looks of 12.1-inch systems from Lenovo and Toshiba, but still want a relatively portable laptop. The PR210's attractive metallic cover and full feature set certainly seem a steal for its list price of US$1,000 (though it may cost more when it hits some Asia-Pacific markets). In fact, our primary complaint about the bulky ultraportable lies in its superbudget AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor, which gave a middling performance. The tradeoff for pokey performance is battery life--the PR210 lasted an impressive 3 hours on our drain tests. For most users, the MSI PR210's good looks and lengthy battery makes it worth its price.

Editors' note :

This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.com. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some of other products in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia. Please check directly with your local distributor for details.

Design

Weighing 2.2kg and featuring a 12.1-inch screen, the MSI PR210 is either a small thin-and-light or a bulky ultraportable laptop. Physically, it resembles both the Lenovo 3000 V200 and the Toshiba Portege M500, though the MSI weighs more than both of those models. Regardless of how you categorize it, the PR210's metal-and-plastic case feels remarkably sturdy (which could account for its weight).

The MSI PR210 is fairly comfortable to use; though its keyboard looks cheap, it's actually very comfortable for long stretches of typing. The 12.1-inch widescreen display features a sharp 1,280 x 800 native resolution that's great for watching movies and provides plenty of real estate for typical home uses. Our only complaint about the screen concerns its glossy finish, which is among the most reflective we've seen. The gloss makes images and colors pop, but is almost mirror-like in all but the darkest environments.

Price	US$1,000
Processor	1.7GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-53
Memory	1GB of 333MHz
Hard drive	120GB at 5,400rpm
Chipset	ATI RS690T/SB600
Graphics	ATI Radeon Xpress 1270
Operating system	Windows Vista Home Premium
Dimensions (wide x deep x thick)	302.3 x 231.14 x 30.48mm
Screen size (diagonal)	12.1 inches
System weight	2.2kg
Category	ultraportable

Features

We certainly wouldn't expect to see an HDMI port on a laptop of this size, but the MSI PR120 has one if you need it. We were also surprised to see a connection for a TV antenna along the laptop's right side. Otherwise, the system offers a fairly typical selection of ports and connections for a large-size ultraportable laptop. As an added bonus, our review unit shipped with a color-coordinating padded carry case and a matching USB mouse.

	MSI PR210	Average for ultraportable category
Video	VGA-out, HDMI, Webcam and mic	VGA-out
Audio	Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks, line-in	Headphone/microphone jacks
Data	Three USB 2.0, multiformat memory card reader	Two USB 2.0, mini-FireWire, SD or multiformat memory card reader
Expansion	ExpressCard	PC Card or ExpressCard
Networking	Modem, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth	Modem, Ethernet, 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi, optional Bluetooth, optional WWAN
Optical drive	DVD burner	None, or DVD burner