MSI MS-1013 Blue Media
A MSI business portable notebook that has been a true traveling partner over the years, amd one of the small footprint barebone system that MSI offered.
It can be found under different models (S260-S270) and is the basic for other brands such as Tchibo, Medion, Averatec, VooDoo, Targa etc ...
Whilst it lacks in GPU performance (ATI Xpress 200M), it makes up with decent hard drive, Bluetooth, Wireless and a good AMD CPU.
Over time I have played with changing the keyboard, swapped out the casing in order to bore holes into it to add extra air flow
Subsequent models have seen a combination of Core2Duo CPU and better ATI/Intel Graphic and is still a solid 12.1" line in current market.
Specifications:
Operating Systems:
Genuine Windows XP® Home Premium
Architecture:
. AMD Turion processor technology
. ATI RS480M Chipset
CPU Section:
. AMD Turion 64 ML-40
. 2.20GHz, 1MB L2 Cache
. Number of Cores: 1
Memory:
. 2GBMemory PC2700
. DDR SDRAM (2x1GB)
. Max. Supported Memory: 2GB
Drives:
. 100GB IDE 7200rpm
. DVD+-RW/+-R DL/RAM
Drives Speed:
. Write: CD-R x24, CD-RW x24, DVD-R DL x6, DVD-R x8, DVD-RW x6, DVD+R DL x6, DVD+R x8, DVD+RW x8, DVD-RAM x5
. Read: CD x24, CD-R x24, CD-RW x24, DVD x8, DVD-R DL x8, DVD-R x8, DVD-RW x8, DVD+R DL x8, DVD+R x8, DVD+RW x8, DVD-RAM x8
Display:
. Glossy LCD
. 12.1
. 1280 x 800
. 16:9
. WXGA
Graphics:
. ATI Radeon Xpress 200M
. Shared Video Memory of 128MB
Interfaces:
. 4 Pin i.LINK™ (IEEE1394), 400 Mbps 1
. DC in 1
. 1 x SD Card Slot (4-in-1)
. 1 x Audio out Stereo Headphones/Speakers Jack
. 1 x Microphone Jack (Stereo)
. 1 x RJ-11 Direct Port (Modem)
. 1 x RJ-45 Direct Port (Network)
. 3 x USB Port, 2.0, Connector type A
. 1 x VGA Connector for Monitor
. 1 x PCMCIA Type II
Connectivity:
. Built-in Modem V.92/V.90
. Integrated Wireless LAN, Max. Date Rate (Mbps) 300 (RX)/150 (TX), max. 100m Range, 802.11a/b/g/Draft n
. Integrated Bluetooth (Version) 2.1 + EDR, 10m Range
. Ethernet network 100 BASE-TX/10 BASE-T
Multimedia:
. Realtek High Definition Audio compatible
. Built-in Stereo Speakers
. Windows® Sound System Compatible
Keyboard:
. Touch Pad 1
Features:
. Power button, Wireless switch
. Auto Resolution: Plug and Display
Supplied Accessories:
. AC Adapter
. Battery Lithium-Ion battery
. Battery Life (min): 200
. Power Cord
Dimensions:
. Depth Main Unit: 11.93"
. Height Main Unit: 1.1"
. Width Main Unit: 8.8"
. Weight with Supplied Battery and Supplied Drive: 4.4lbs
What was in the Box:
. Notebook
. AC Adapter
. Power Cord
. Manual, quick setup
. Recovery disks.
Looks & Design
Simple and clean, not much here to brag about but it is pleasant to carry around. One can always be imaginative and mod the cover or the palm rest to make it more attractive.
Screen
A winner here with a glossy anti-glare 1280x800 resolution that presents stunning colours for videos and pictures. It is not so far off from the Sony X-Black screens. There is no distortion at any viewing angles.
Keyboard
It is a bit weak with some flex in the middle. Other than that one can type comfortably, and surprisingly there is no over-typing with its keys right next to each others.
Touchpad
Classic design with 2 buttons, responsive to fingers and light touches. It is not interfering with typing and offers easy access when switching between typing, scroling and clicking. Another plus on this mobile notebook.
Multimedia Keys
Not much here other than the wireless, the search, the mail and the internet keys. Whilst they are thin and narrow, tgey are quite responsive at touch.
Wireless Performance
Very good connectivity as the antenna ends are being placed at the hinges. Wireless supports B and G signals with a surprising good range. I can connect to my extended router from 2 rooms away.
Bluetooth is simple and straightforward with connectivity to mouse, headset, keyboard, printer and mobile phone.
Optical Drive
It is a bit noisy but performs well in burning DVD, Double Layer and CDs. My next mod is probably to install a slot burner.
Sound
Well, one cannot expect much from this notebook
It is decent and works better with an external sound box.
Heat and Noise
It is on the warm side and can be noisy at times. As mentioned I bored some 2mm holes into different parts of the casing. This plus a new application of Liquid Pro has turned this "noisy" notebook into a quiet one.
Gaming Performance
It lets me flying through WoW, CoD2 with ease. More can I ask for with light gamings.
System Performance
Browsing with multi tabs/windows does not seem to slow it down, nor working with large spread-sheets and word documents. I run large Powerpoint presentations (with an external projector) with zero slack.
Input and Output Ports
Front
Firewire, audio in, mic, leds and q's special air vents
Right
2 x USB 2.0, modem, NIC, vent, VGA, power in
Left
DVD RW, USB 2.0, PCMCIA, Card reader
Rear
Battery
Bottom
Vent, q's extra rubber foot to elevate the comp
Battery Life
With a larger battery I can push up to 4+ hours between charges. A good 3hrs DVD film would survive the charge easily.
Pros
. Simple but stylish
. Good screen performance
. Decent system performance
. Good performance/price ratio
Cons
. Integrated GPU
Conclusion
It has been 5 years sine I own this notebook and find it hard each time to part from it in order to make room for another mobile new model.
It survives many of my rough handling during traveling. I even dropped it a few times only to find it running further at the push of the button. With many newer models doing away with an optical drive on this notebook size (less than 13") I have the feeling that this would be with me until the board really croaks out.
A MSI business portable notebook that has been a true traveling partner over the years, amd one of the small footprint barebone system that MSI offered.
It can be found under different models (S260-S270) and is the basic for other brands such as Tchibo, Medion, Averatec, VooDoo, Targa etc ...
Whilst it lacks in GPU performance (ATI Xpress 200M), it makes up with decent hard drive, Bluetooth, Wireless and a good AMD CPU.
Over time I have played with changing the keyboard, swapped out the casing in order to bore holes into it to add extra air flow
Subsequent models have seen a combination of Core2Duo CPU and better ATI/Intel Graphic and is still a solid 12.1" line in current market.
Specifications:
Operating Systems:
Genuine Windows XP® Home Premium
Architecture:
. AMD Turion processor technology
. ATI RS480M Chipset
CPU Section:
. AMD Turion 64 ML-40
. 2.20GHz, 1MB L2 Cache
. Number of Cores: 1
Memory:
. 2GBMemory PC2700
. DDR SDRAM (2x1GB)
. Max. Supported Memory: 2GB
Drives:
. 100GB IDE 7200rpm
. DVD+-RW/+-R DL/RAM
Drives Speed:
. Write: CD-R x24, CD-RW x24, DVD-R DL x6, DVD-R x8, DVD-RW x6, DVD+R DL x6, DVD+R x8, DVD+RW x8, DVD-RAM x5
. Read: CD x24, CD-R x24, CD-RW x24, DVD x8, DVD-R DL x8, DVD-R x8, DVD-RW x8, DVD+R DL x8, DVD+R x8, DVD+RW x8, DVD-RAM x8
Display:
. Glossy LCD
. 12.1
. 1280 x 800
. 16:9
. WXGA
Graphics:
. ATI Radeon Xpress 200M
. Shared Video Memory of 128MB
Interfaces:
. 4 Pin i.LINK™ (IEEE1394), 400 Mbps 1
. DC in 1
. 1 x SD Card Slot (4-in-1)
. 1 x Audio out Stereo Headphones/Speakers Jack
. 1 x Microphone Jack (Stereo)
. 1 x RJ-11 Direct Port (Modem)
. 1 x RJ-45 Direct Port (Network)
. 3 x USB Port, 2.0, Connector type A
. 1 x VGA Connector for Monitor
. 1 x PCMCIA Type II
Connectivity:
. Built-in Modem V.92/V.90
. Integrated Wireless LAN, Max. Date Rate (Mbps) 300 (RX)/150 (TX), max. 100m Range, 802.11a/b/g/Draft n
. Integrated Bluetooth (Version) 2.1 + EDR, 10m Range
. Ethernet network 100 BASE-TX/10 BASE-T
Multimedia:
. Realtek High Definition Audio compatible
. Built-in Stereo Speakers
. Windows® Sound System Compatible
Keyboard:
. Touch Pad 1
Features:
. Power button, Wireless switch
. Auto Resolution: Plug and Display
Supplied Accessories:
. AC Adapter
. Battery Lithium-Ion battery
. Battery Life (min): 200
. Power Cord
Dimensions:
. Depth Main Unit: 11.93"
. Height Main Unit: 1.1"
. Width Main Unit: 8.8"
. Weight with Supplied Battery and Supplied Drive: 4.4lbs
What was in the Box:
. Notebook
. AC Adapter
. Power Cord
. Manual, quick setup
. Recovery disks.
Looks & Design
Simple and clean, not much here to brag about but it is pleasant to carry around. One can always be imaginative and mod the cover or the palm rest to make it more attractive.
Screen
A winner here with a glossy anti-glare 1280x800 resolution that presents stunning colours for videos and pictures. It is not so far off from the Sony X-Black screens. There is no distortion at any viewing angles.
Keyboard
It is a bit weak with some flex in the middle. Other than that one can type comfortably, and surprisingly there is no over-typing with its keys right next to each others.
Touchpad
Classic design with 2 buttons, responsive to fingers and light touches. It is not interfering with typing and offers easy access when switching between typing, scroling and clicking. Another plus on this mobile notebook.
Multimedia Keys
Not much here other than the wireless, the search, the mail and the internet keys. Whilst they are thin and narrow, tgey are quite responsive at touch.
Wireless Performance
Very good connectivity as the antenna ends are being placed at the hinges. Wireless supports B and G signals with a surprising good range. I can connect to my extended router from 2 rooms away.
Bluetooth is simple and straightforward with connectivity to mouse, headset, keyboard, printer and mobile phone.
Optical Drive
It is a bit noisy but performs well in burning DVD, Double Layer and CDs. My next mod is probably to install a slot burner.
Sound
Well, one cannot expect much from this notebook
It is decent and works better with an external sound box.Heat and Noise
It is on the warm side and can be noisy at times. As mentioned I bored some 2mm holes into different parts of the casing. This plus a new application of Liquid Pro has turned this "noisy" notebook into a quiet one.
Gaming Performance
It lets me flying through WoW, CoD2 with ease. More can I ask for with light gamings.
System Performance
Browsing with multi tabs/windows does not seem to slow it down, nor working with large spread-sheets and word documents. I run large Powerpoint presentations (with an external projector) with zero slack.
Input and Output Ports
Front
Firewire, audio in, mic, leds and q's special air vents
Right
2 x USB 2.0, modem, NIC, vent, VGA, power in
Left
DVD RW, USB 2.0, PCMCIA, Card reader
Rear
Battery
Bottom
Vent, q's extra rubber foot to elevate the comp
Battery Life
With a larger battery I can push up to 4+ hours between charges. A good 3hrs DVD film would survive the charge easily.
Pros
. Simple but stylish
. Good screen performance
. Decent system performance
. Good performance/price ratio
Cons
. Integrated GPU
Conclusion
It has been 5 years sine I own this notebook and find it hard each time to part from it in order to make room for another mobile new model.
It survives many of my rough handling during traveling. I even dropped it a few times only to find it running further at the push of the button. With many newer models doing away with an optical drive on this notebook size (less than 13") I have the feeling that this would be with me until the board really croaks out.
