Review MSI A6400 Ci507 S Notebook
2011!, Sony VGP-BPS9/S battery the sixth An elegant beauty with broad appeal - that’s how MSI sees the A6400. So the notebook should be an all-rounder, a typewriter, number cruncher, and DVD player in one, and able to handle some older games. We find out whether the notebook’s hardware and software are as impressive as its appearance. Sony VGP-BPS9 battery
Update: Now a reader could also form his own opinion about the tested MSI laptop as a part of the Intel TestIT!2011 campaign.Sony VGP-BPS9A/B battery An equally built device was in the test so that the previously made assessments could be used as a comparison basis. Our reader and reporter's impression can be found at the end of this review's verdict.Sony VGP-BPS9A/S battery
These days there’s a very wide choice of well-equipped, Sony VGP-BPS13A/B battery reasonably priced notebooks for the ordinary buyer. On paper, the A6400 Ci507 S from MSI looks like another attractive offering.Sony VGP-BPS13 battery
The laptop is part of the Taiwanese manufacturer’s mainstream C series,Sony VGP-BPS13A/Q battery and is intended to be an all-rounder with a broad appeal. At first glance, it doesn’t look like MSI has economized on this notebook at all; for only 519 Euros you get a mid-range,Sony VGP-BPS13/B battery second-generation Sandy Bridge processor, all wrapped up in an aluminium-look case. It even comes with two USB 3.0 ports and HDMI. Sony VGP-BPS13B/B battery
Why pay more for a new laptop? A 64-bit version of Windows is also included. Sony VGP-BPS13B/Q battery But do the input devices, screen and keyboard stand up to scrutiny, for this low price? Find the answers to this question and more in our review.Sony VGP-BPS13A/S battery
There is not much to complain about when it comes to the workmanship of the case. Sony VGP-BPS13/Q battery The moderately heavy chassis (2.5 kg) tapers towards the front, in a wedge-shape, which makes it appear slimmer than other machines with a more consistent height. Compared to the previous model the A6200, Sony VGP-BPS8 battery the case has been made to look slimmer, and some ports which were previously on the back edge, like HDMI and VGA, have been moved to the sides.Sony VGP-BPS8A battery
The base unit seems very rigid overall. It is not possible to twist it when holding it with both hands. Sony VGP-BPS10 battery Concentrated pressure in the centre of the palm rest does cause the case to flex slightly. There is also some give in the touchpad and the palm rest themselves when you apply heavy pressure. The area above the DVD drive is very solid. But below the drive, the laptop bottom can be pushed in quite significantly, producing a creaking sound. While you are using the laptop on a solid surface, however, you will not notice these problems. Sony VGP-BPS2 battery
The lid hinges, inset into the body of the case, hold the screen firmly in its open position. Sony VGP-BPS2A battery The hinges are so tightly connected to the base unit that it is not possible to open the laptop with one hand. Despite this, the lid does tend to wobble during a bumpy car or train ride. In the case of very large bumps, the lid can slide backwards from its original position.Sony VGP-BPS2B battery
The lid itself is more convincingly sturdy. It is possible to twist it, holding a corner in each hand,Sony VGP-BPS2C battery but not excessively. The panel is well protected by the top two thirds of the lid; but in the lower third, concentrated pressure on the back of the lid quickly produces inverted colours on the screen. Sony VGP-BPS22 battery The plastic lid has a brushed aluminium-look finish. The glossy plastic surface attracts greasy fingerprints is susceptible to scratches. The palm rest and the keyboard surround are also made of this plastic. Sony VGP-BPS22A battery
The range of ports on the MSI A6400 Ci507 S is appropriate for the price. Sony VGP-BPS13AS battery There are four USBs for connecting peripherals, and two of them are even USB 3.0., which is by no means a given for a laptop in this price range. It also has a 7-in-1 card reader, the usual VGA port and an HDMI port. Sony VGP-BPS13S battery
The USB ports are evenly split between the two sides.Sony VGP-BPS13/S battery On the left side, the two USB 3.0 ports are positioned next to the two monitor ports. The two remaining USBs are located on the right-hand side next to the microphone and headphone sockets. The card reader is on the front edge, to the right. There is no ExpressCard slot. Sony VGP-BPS13B/S battery
The layout of the USB ports is not optimal.Sony VGP-BPS10/B battery On both sides they are positioned very near the front edge. This makes it hard for the user to direct the cables towards the back out of their way. And on the right-hand side, the USB cables could get in the way of the DVD drive when it opens. The USBs are also positioned very close to each other, so a thick USB stick could easily block the second port.Sony VGP-BPS10A battery
This model has a good basic set-up when it comes to communications equipment.Sony VGP-BPS10A/B battery As well as a Gigabit Ethernet port, an integrated Atheros AR9285 wireless adaptor has been included. This supports the WLAN 802.11 b/g/n standard. The notebook doesn’t have Bluetooth. A webcam with a 1.3 MP resolution is built into the lid, along with a microphone, to enable video calls over Skype. Overall the communications hardware is convincing. It would have been practically perfect if Bluetooth had made it into the machine.Sony VGP-BPS10/S battery
The integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics is a low-performance GPU,Sony VGP-BPS21A/B battery designed to cope with basic tasks. Its great advantage is its low energy consumption because it is located on the main processor. This removes the need for additional cooling, as the processor’s cooling will handle it.Sony VGP-BPS21 battery The main activities that the integrated graphics card will be handling are office tasks or surfing the net. The card can at least partially cope with some newer games, but only when played on their lowest detail setting.Sony VGP-BPS21A battery In the 3DMark 06 graphics benchmark, our notebook’s results put it in the same ballpark as many other machines with HD 3000 graphics that we’ve already tested. For example it is on a similar level to the Dell Inspiron 15R (N5110).Sony VGP-BPS21/S battery
Anyone put off by this weak gaming performance should look for a notebook with a dedicated graphics card.Sony VGP-BPS21/B battery The MSI A6400-Ci507 currently has just one other variant, the MSI A6400-i303 S, available in German online stores; but this also has the HD 3000, with a weaker Core i3 2310 processor. dell vostro 1710 battery
5.7Windows 7 Experience IndexProcessorCalculations per second6.9Memory (RAM)Memory operations per second5.9GraphicsDesktop performance for Windows Aero5.7Gaming graphics3D business and gaming graphics6.2Primary hard diskDisk data transfer rate5.9 CB10 Rendering Single 32Bit 3652 pointsdell vostro 1720 battery
In the PCMark Vantage test, the MSI A6400-Ci507 S scored a total of 6,056 points.Dell Vostro 1310 battery This puts it somewhat above the Toshiba Tecra R850-11P, which has the same processor and graphics card but costs twice as much. Overall the MSI laptop fared very well in the comparisons.Dell Vostro 1510 battery Notebooks achieving a similar total score like the Dell Inspiron 17R (N7110) or the MSI CX640-i547W7P have dedicated entry-level graphic cards. Dell Inspiron 1545 battery
On the other hand the MSI notebook’s HDD score in the PCMark Vantage test places it in the middle portion of machines we’ve tested with Core i5 2410M. This probably means that the hard drive is the limiting factor in our review model’s system. dell xps m1530 battery
BenchmarkThe integrated mass storage device is a conventional Hitachi HTS545050B9A300 hard drive with a total capacity of 500 GB.Dell inspiron 1721 battery It is a 2.5-inch drive with 5,400 rpm. It’s not one of the fastest models on the market,dell vostro 1700 battery with an average transfer rate of 65.9 MB/s. The rather sluggish access time of 18.9 milliseconds confirms this impression. Overall the hard drive is average for a modern 2.5-inch hard drive.dell latitude e4300 battery
The integrated HD 3000 in our test model has been thoroughly tested many times already.dell latitude e5500 battery Compared to the first generation Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) HD Graphics from 2010 the 3D performance has improved noticeably once again. Nevertheless,dell xps m1730 battery the Intel graphics card is still an entry-level card which allows you to play newer games on their lowest detail settings at best. You can see which games run on this graphics card in our comprehensive database, ‘Compuer Games on Laptop Graphics Cards’. dell studio 1737 battery
A fan on the left side of the case is responsible for removing waste heat from the MSI A6400-Ci507. dell latitude e5400 battery The fan sometimes stops moving when the computer isn’t doing anything. With light exertion such as surfing the net, the fan starts up at a low speed and is barely audible. dell inspiron e1505 battery