MS-1036 is here!

A limited number of units arrived to MSI USA yesterday. Eval unit is on the way for review.

 

I see Xmeld and Rawpowerpc already taking orders for this but neither of them seem to have the TV tuner option included. Any info on this?

 

The TV tuner is not being offered in the US. My best guess is that it was based on the PAL standard and not NTSC. Deja Vu to the release of the MS-1029.

 

Yea, I emailed Rawpowerpc and they said it's cause it was based on PAL standards. I guess I'll see if there's a cardbus I can pick up for this.

 

MSI should really start to send some of the premium components this side of the pond

 

I dunno if I would call a TV Tuner "premium". Personally I don't ever feel the need to watch TV on my laptop, but that's just me

 

Hey Unleaded.............what about sexy pics
Yes I am following you!

 

OMG you nudge! Pics when the system arrives

 

ROFL. Still waiting for them pics!

 

Still no pics!

 

I am sure Unleaded is working on his review and pics, but as it is the X-Mas season try cutting him a little slack.

 

(pacing the floor)

 

Bah, pharoke, you know I posted them on that "other" forum. I'll throw them up here as well

 

Awesome... (I just ordered one from your store)

 

I didn't see them until the other day. My bad, I will try to keep both sites updated with your updates

 

Is a port replicator available? Can U please post complete specs?

 

No port replicator. System specs (I'll include the actual configuration of components in this unit I'll be evaluating):

17" WSXGA Glossy Type LCD
Turion MT-37 (2.0GHz)
2GB DDR400 (2 x 1GB)
Mobility Radeon X700 w/256MB VRAM
100GB 5400RPM HD
Gigabit LAN
MSI Combo WiFi/BT Module
Full size keyboard w/ Num Pad
9 Cell Li-Ion Battery (7200mAh)
8lbs fully configured

 

****! that's tight! 2GB RAM and 256 video!!!

 

Mine will have the same config Unleaded is evaluating except I am getting the ML-40 processor and 80GB 7200RPM HD.

 

Wow unleaded, pretty much what I spec'd out on your site for when the day comes I finally get my cash. So the guy on the other forum said an extra battery was available for ordering for and extra 120.00 or so. I was wondering if you can get them too?

 

Yup, we use the same distributor.

 

Excellent. That is what I needed to know. Did Coffee get you those trinkets yet?

 

Nope. Ten demerits!

 

I have a few questions...

1.) Is RawPower ever going to have the ML-42 (2.4GHz) available for this system?

2.) Have they released an NTSC TV Tuner yet? I see it as an available option on the MS-1036 at avadirect.com

3.) Is it possible to order the unit without anything except the wi-fi option? I'm kinda broke, and would rather add everything else later, while I sit and stare at my empty unit :-D

 

1.) ML-42s are in very short supply and appear to be dried up in the channel
2.) Avadirect must have incorrect information as there is NOT a TV Tuner option for the MS-1036. This was a Europe/Asia only option and they must still be quoting the original spec or are offering an external solution.
3.) Most resellers require a full configuration as they can more easily stand by their products this way.

 

Looks, pretty cool, and if you want to buy this laptop cheaper, buy the barebone of it. Check out this site http://www.rkcomputer.net/store/ind.../44/prevaction/category/previd/5/prevstart/0/ and if you want to get the barebone just don't configure the laptop. It will be much cheaper if you buy the barebone, CPU, RAM and HDD separetly, and also check out http://www.newegg.com/ you'll find there the CPU, Ram and HDD for this notebook,

 

I don't think that assembling a notebook from a barebones kit is necessarily cheaper then just buying a pre-configured model. I went through the exercise once of pricing a complete solution, CPU, RAM, Hard disk and optical drive. I found the savings to be somewhere between $50-100. That's only about %5, for a $2000 solution. Now, I priced it with really nice components, I think it was AMD Mobile Athlon 3600+, 1GB Kingston ram, 60GB 7200rpm Hitatchi HD, can't remember the optical drive. You might be able to save some if you use cheaper components, but then, if you don't mind cheaper components, why not just buy a Compaq or a Gateway?

Also, keep in mind that your waranty options might not be as extensive with a barebone kit. Another factor to weigh is, speaking from experience, assembling a notebook from scratch is not that easy.

Other than that, barebone kits are the way to go!

 

I agree. If you get a decent system, but you want a better say vid card and RAM, these are probably the biggest upgrades that manufacturers charge for.

When I was building my I9300, Dell wanted $230 to upgrade from 1GB to 2GB of RAM. I upgraded the RAM myself to 2GB for $160...saved myself $70. I could have saved more if I dumped down the memory to 512MB, but I needed the price up so I could use my coupon.

The video card is a little harder to upgrade and my require some mods. But it is very possible.

So to finish. The easiest place to save money on a PC is the RAM.

 

Has anyone had any problems with wireless? I got the wireless/bluetooth card and I can't seem to get the wireless b/g to work. The drivers and software I got on the cd from MSI don't seem to work.

 

Pacing: I just went through this...

1. Make sure you have the service for the wireless started and set to "automatic"...
2. I had trouble using channel 6, switched to channel 10 on the router and that solved my not being able to acquire an IP address when using WEP.

 

Thanks, but the problem is that I can't even get the system to recognize the wireless card. It doesn't even show up in the device manager. I contacted the reseller and they said the card might be faulty. Thanks for the info though, if I can get the adapter to be recognized and I have connection problems I'll try your solution.

 

Ah. I didn't have that issue, but I had a few troubles getting the wireless network set up. Linksys' automatic set-up program is probably great when it works right, which in this case it did not. The network works perfectly now though, and is properly secured. And very fast.

The machine is working beautifully. I love it so far. I'm using XP x64 and I installed the latest Visual Studio.NET which is one of the few programs written to take advantage of the 64 bit system.

The biggest issue I am having now (which is an XP x64 compatibility issue) is that Cisco's VPN client doesn't work using this OS. So I won't be able to remote from the 1036 to my desktop at work, for now anyway. I've written to Cisco support to see if anything is in the pipeline.

Other than that, I installed the Avast antivirus since the McAfee I was using doesn't install under x64.

The screen is perfect. Glossy but not too glossy, is how I would describe it. None of the dreaded bad pixels I keep hearing about. The width of the screen is approximately the same as my 19" monitor that I have with my desktop, only not quite as tall. This is not only great for watching DVD's and such but gives me the real estate I need for my development environment. Also very clear and easy to read the small text.

So far I'm using it as a desktop replacement... haven't taken it out of the house yet. I'll bring it to work on Monday to get the luggability experience. Note: the AC adapter is fairly heavy. I would say that with a light slip case, the laptop, and the AC adapter and mouse, we're probably above 10 lbs. of what actually gets carried around.

Unleaded sent me the badge to put on the back of the case. I put it on upside down so I now have an "ISW" Looks good though, with the light shining through.

Sounds good for a laptop, too. I initially had to change some settings on the software that came with the sound card which was adding a weird reverb effect that was supposed to sound like an auditorium.

Seems to be very solidly built... good tight fits, excellent hinges.

I haven't really put it through all the paces, yet. But so far I'm very happy with it.

 

Hi everyone, I'm Dave, first time poster long time lurker.
I found this information, and the pics very informative.
I'm probably going to be picking up the MSI-1036 real soon as a desktop replacement for my mom's disgusting Compaq.

I did have a question though, in the pics there looks like some weird big black thing protruding from the back, what is that?! Does anyone know where to get more pics, I've scoured and found nothing, so I decided to join the forum and ask.

It's been a very informative read on this and other threads pertaining to the 1036, ty for the info.
-Dave

 

The 9-cell battery extends out the back of the system by about 3/4 of an inch.