CoffeeShark's MSI 1036 Review - Page 2

Hey unleaded I think I bought the 1036 from you last week. You are Rawpower? I look forward to configuring the system. I get it on Friday

Raveis:

Enjoy your MS-1036. I have been suitably impressed playing with the unit I have on hand. Please share your impressions with me upon receipt.

Unleaded

Great Lappy

Since there hasn't been much first hand talk about the 1036, I thought I'd add my 2 cents. I have had my 1036 for a week now and I agree with CoffeeShark's review. I haven't had any previous laptops so I have nothing to compare it to.

The weight is on the heavier side, but it’s not too heavy to carry from room to room. I haven't carried it on my back yet.

Heat on the right palm rest is warm, like CoffeeShark said, and I agree that it is not too warm though. The system does get quite warm on my lap. When playing games I can't keep it on my lap for more than 20 or 30 minutes.

I would to have preferred to have full size arrow keys, but the small ones aren't unusable. I don't have a touchpad button problem like CoffeeShark mentions. It's not too easy for me to push.

The screen is great. I was afraid it might have too much glare. It is glossy, but there is not as much glare as I had expected. I have not noticed any dead pixels either.

The audio is much better than other laptops I've listened to. It's not comparable to a great Logitech desktop system, but from the limited laptop's I've listened to its the best.

I have been using the modem and it works. There's not much else to say.

I do notice the fan noise, but it doesn't bother me at all. The spin up of the DVD player can get annoying if you are using it frequently though.

The X700 has been awesome. I played Far Cry and Call of Duty 2 almost maxed out graphically. Both looked great with no slowdown at all.


My system:
Turion MT 34
1 GB DDR 400
80GB 7200 RPM Seagate

I would recommend this system to others looking for a 17" Turion with a lot of bells and whistles.

I don't want to turn this into a Peripherals discussion but I get the 1036 today and I need to know a resource to reviews on portable printer scanner setups.

is probably your best bet.

CoffeeShark,

Nice review. Bit confused as to why your's has DVI... most things I've seen said VGA out, but hey I won't complain. lol. Been looking seriously at this model for some time, just waiting on a project to finish up so I can get paid

I read that the 1029 someone bought came with a pad for protecting the keyboard/screen, does the 1036 come with something like this?

I live in a western town not too far from your western town... you guys have a shop or something? I'd like to be able to see this unit in person if I could

-- TuxToaster

You might want to try sending Coffee a PM as he may check that sooner than this post.

The only place you will see the specs posted as D-Sub are on MSI's site which, ironically enough, is incorrect (along with a few other specs). If you look closely at the pics of both the unit CoffeeShark reviewed and the one I am still in the process of reviewing you will see the DVI port.

He already saw it and PM'ed me. Thanks though.

--

Any word on if the kit comes with a pad for keeping between the screen and keyboard? Friend of mine can get me one but not sure if it's proportioned for a widescreen or not, someone was saying their 1029 had one but I haven't seen/heard if it's more like a simple shipping pad or if it's a cloth covered one meant for that purpose.

For whatever reason, the MS-1036 is not provided with a "keyboard cloth" like their other systems.

Maybe because of the screen size? Oh well, guess I'll have to order one :/

Im still waiting.

Well I had my 1036 for about 3 hours. The overall quality was good except the key board. It had allot of flex and the (H) key stuck. I had to send it back for a replacement. The screen was shiny and HUGE but not to much glare. The speed and ease of installing the operating system was flawless right out of the box. I didn’t have to change any bios settings to begin Win xp cd install. Beware that you actually have the WIFI and blue tooth installed. If you don’t order it separately, you won’t have it. When you install the WIFI & Bluetooth drivers, windows manager shows ports evan when the card is not installed. After an hour of trying to get the absent WIFI to work, I was told that the MSI sight was wrong about integrated support.
Well that’s all for now folks. I hope to have more when I receive a working keyboard unit.

By the way, when I called about the (h) key gone bad, the vender immediately paid the return shipping OVERNIGHT!! That is great service.

Nice to hear raveis

Is this laptop light and durable enough to be considered portable. I won't be carrying it around while walking, just transporting via vehicle...would it be sturdy and light enough to be easily used in a cafe/bookstore setting then transported home?

Also, are extra batteries available anywhere, as with 4 hours battery life an extra battery could put it up to 8 hours which would be perfect for my uses on weekends (long writing sessions).


I really like every aspect of this computer as it allows me to do lots of different things I just want it to be sturdy and light enough to not have to worry about transportation

Thanks. I'm more of a desktop guy, I've never done the notebook thing before, but I think getting this instead of a fancy new desktop will be better for me (I don't write well from inside my house, too many distractions). I like the 1036 because I can still play some games (I mostly play strategy games so I don't need top of the line graphics anyhow) and have a nice big screen to do my more serious work with.

Is there anywhere to individually buy an emblem or something to put over the hole in the back of the monitor backing, or will I just have to cover it with a piece of electrical tape?

And what would the best reseller for this model be? I've never done internal work on notebooks (I can put a desktop together no problem) so I want one that's going to configure it before being built. Appreciate the help

As far as resellers are concered and before Coffee or Unleaded get here I recommend either www.xmeld.com or www.rawpowerpc.com

Just noticed the same chassis is available for the Rock Quadra T64, looks ok but the firewire port is on the front! :-( I use firewire for burning so that means once I start the burn I'll have to leave it be, especially since firewire cable easily plops out (and doesn't have screw downs) Is there a way of fixing firewire more securely? Some other laptops have firewire on the front also. hmm but Rock is lower spec screen (1440 x 900 Res)

http://www.rockdirect.com/notebooks/quaddrat64_cons.htm

Is the MSI available in the UK?

Is there an IR port on the 1036? I don't see one in any of the pics...

Don't see anything about it on MSI's website, but maybe Coffe or unleaded can enlighten us more.