MSI Wind Top AE2020 review

MSI’s Wind High model brings to thoughts Atom processors and tiny price tags, however the AE2020 is extra highly effective than you would possibly count on. It differs from most touchscreen PCs we’ve seen lately in its mixture of an Intel Pentium Twin-Core processor and Nvidia’s Ion chipset. In our benchmarks it scored a superbly wholesome 1.34, which is greater than sufficient to deal with demanding functions.

That Ion chipset makes use of GeForce 9400M graphics, that are highly effective sufficient to serve a media objective – the MSI performed again our excessive definition take a look at recordsdata flawlessly. There’s probably not sufficient energy for gaming, although, as its rating of 23fps in our low-quality Crysis benchmark attests; you’ll have to stay to older titles with diminished high quality settings to attain playable body charges.

The chassis belies the low price, too. The shiny black exterior is augmented with a transparent plastic encompass and pretend leather-based strip, and there’s a wide selection of ports and sockets, with eSATA becoming a member of the same old USB and Gigabit Ethernet. The included peripherals are snug, too.

The 20in 1,600 x 900 panel, nevertheless, is distinctly common. Though it affords wealthy, shiny colors, the resistive touchscreen layer creates an off-putting mottled impact which is very seen on lighter colors, and we additionally seen a contact of backlight bleed on the backside and sides.

In real-world use it was additionally too delicate. This was notably evident in MSI’s personal front-end, a 3D carousel that options shortcuts to main functions; we discovered we by accident launched instruments when scrolling. And, regardless of this proprietary front-end, each shortcut results in a Home windows software, with no signal of any instruments designed by MSI. Additionally disappointing have been the audio system, that are tinny, lack quantity and made music and films nearly unlistenable.

It’s a disgrace, as a result of on paper the AE2020 appears to be like a tempting proposition, with attractiveness and first rate efficiency to go along with a low price. Sadly for MSI, the fact simply doesn’t match up sufficient to tug our wallets from our pockets.