MSI have been consistently releasing some of the finest enthusiast grade hardware in the last year and today we are looking at their competitively priced CX640 15.6 laptop which features a capable Core i5 processor, Nvidia discrete graphics, 500GB hard drive and 4GB of DDR3 memory. For under £600 is this an ideal all round machine for gaming and work duties?
The CX640 can be currently bought online for £576.95 from Amazon, which puts it firmly into a very competitive, mid to low end bracket. With a Time stamp function, the machine can automatically back up and restore information. There is a less expensive version available, called the CR640, which is supplied with just the onboard Intel HD Graphics.
Time Stamp has been one of the selling points for MSI, as there is a dedicated button which can automatically return a system to a prior state, ideal for dealing quickly with a data corruption issue for instance. The safety features continue, with the hard drive being placed into a reinforced protection package, a little like a low profile airbag, to help protect against platter damage.
CPU | 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i3 / i5 / i7 Processor |
---|---|
OS | Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (MSI recommends upgrade to Genuine Windows® 7 Professional) |
Chipset | Intel® HM65 |
Memory | DDR3 1333,2 slots, Max: 8GB |
LCD Size | 15.6″ HD 1366×768 (16:9) |
Graphics | nVIDIA Geforce GT520M Graphic Card |
Graphics VRAM | DDR3 1GB |
HDD (GB) | 320G/500G/640GB SATA |
Optical Drive | Super-Multi / Blu-Ray |
Audio | 2 Speakers |
Webcam | 1.3M Webcam |
Card Reader | MMC/SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro/HG |
LAN | 10/100/1000 |
Wireless LAN | 802.11 b/g/n |
Bluetooth | Bluetooth 3.0 (Optional) |
D-Sub (VGA) | 1 |
HDMI | 1 |
USB 2.0 port | 2 |
USB 3.0 port | 2 (optional) |
eSATA | N/A |
eSATA/USB Combo | N/A |
Mic-in/Headphone-out | 1/1 |
Line-in | N/A |
Express Card | N/A |
Modem port | N/A |
Keyboard | 99 keys |
AC Adapter | 90W |
Battery | 6 cells / 8 cells |
Power Management | N/A |
Dimension | 380mm x 260mm x 27.1~34mm |
Weight (KG) | 2.6 |
Havent had time to read it all just yet, but it seems respectable for the price. a lot of the budget has gone on the CPU. so ideal for workers I think.
Our local PCWORLD store has this machine I think. it looks good, but it was very dirty looking, from the people pawing all over it. Sony machines always do well in a retail store environment
Nice looking machine really for the price, but I think id spend a few hundred more aim higher up their range for a better model
Looks quite average, but the CPU is a good selling point
Man their other models are so much better
yeah, not that impressive overall. ive been contemplating one of the google laptops when they are released. to try a new operating system.