MSI Screen Quality

I have been looking for a notebook for some time now and have just about saved up the money for one. Its really down to the Z70VA or a MSI 1029, 1032.

I like the SXGA matte screen on the Asus but like the lower costs of the MSI. Do any MSI owners have any opinions on the screens of the MSI?

Also does anyone have any opinions as to build quality of the MSI(i.e creaks or flex).

Thanks

 

I have the 1029 and I feel as though the screen is one of the better features on this laptop. I just wish the resolution was higher than wxga, but you can't have it all for a fairly cheap laptop. I think the keyboard is probably the worst feature this laptop has to offer. I have gotten used to it but I think it's awful. The screen is solid and doesn't wobble when I am typing and the glare isn't too bad. I have seen brighter but it's bright enough for me.
Scott

 

I just got my 1022 today, and so far I love it! The screen is GREAT. There are no dead or stuck pixels and it is very bright with good contrast. The resolution (like the 1029) is only WXGA, but it's all I need.

As for build quality, I'd rank this as one of the best feeling notebooks I've used. There are absolutely no creaks or flexes when you pick it up or move it. The hinges are spectacular. It feels very solid.

 

The MS-1022 is one of MSI's best systems, imo. Small, solid, powerful and quiet with a good screen.

 

i'm diggin my 1029

 

ttupa where did you buy yours from and how was te experience?

 

What exactly is the issue with the keyboard?

 

I bought mine from rawpowerpc, and the resellerratings don't lie. It was one of the better buying experiences I've ever had. They were very professional, and answered all of my questions politely. The product shipped with great protection, and arrived flawlessly. I highly recommend them as a dealer.

As I said before, you can check them out on www.resellerratings.com

 

If it's like mine, it tends to not register some keystrokes.

 

the lower right corner on my keyboard has lots of flex and the arrow keys make loud clicking noises when i use them. it doesn't register some keys when i am typing. i was spoiled by work which allowed me to have access to thinkpads for the past 6 years which have the best keyboards. but my budget didn't allow for a thinkpad so i got the 1029. some people like the keyboard, but i really hate it. i have learned to adjust to the keyboard but when i use my wife's thinkpad 600x i remember what a great keyboard is. everybody has their own opinion and i just happen to think that the keyboard is lacking on the msi 1029. besides the keyboard (for me) it's a great laptop.
scott

 

Is this also the case with other MSI midels like 1022 or 1032 or is it limited to the 1029?

 

the 1 thing i learned is you have to be the judge. i asked many people about the keyboard and everybody said it was great. as you know now i think differently. i also asked people about the fan noise. while it is a lot quieter than any pentium m laptop i have owned or used. it's not as quiet as i was looking for.
scott

 

The 1022 keyboard is actually very good, as is the 1036. The 1029 is a little 'clickety', and some don't like the feel.

scott - you're right, it's completely up to the end user. Some are really sensitive to fan noise, others don't notice unless it's really spinning hard. same with DVD noise, heat sensitivity and LCD quality. But it's nice to at least get an idea of what other people think before buying.

 

Tom's Hardware compared the MSI635 (same as 1029?) to a "Gigabyte W511A", whatever the heck that is. It was mainly a comparison of Turion vs. Intel processors. But they had a few unkind things to say about the MSI's build quality.
http://www.mobilityguru.com/2005/09/06/the_turion_64_inside_story_part_ii/

"In comparison to the display in the Gigabyte W511A the monitor in the Megabook M635 comes off second best. The black-white contrast we measured from this device, at 466:1, is relatively bad for a glossy display. This stems from the display's minimum black value of 0.333 cd/m2, and its maximum brightness of only 155 cd/m2. As a consequence the colors aren't as strong from a distance as those on the W511A. In addition, the relatively low maximum brightness only accentuates the glare effect of a glossy display in bright environments or strong direct light. By comparison the W511A's display has a minimum black value of 0.242 cd/m2, and a maximum brightness of 191 cd/m2 for a contrast of 789:1. Nevertheless, the display characteristics of the Megabook M635 are sufficient to permit individuals to work in shaded areas outdoors, and in typical lighting situations indoors, and to watch videos on DVD.

The display lid is not robust enough, much like the W511a's. This can be seen in the unsightly lines on the screen that appear while adjusting the display angle by hand, while these distortions go away again when the pressure is removed.

The keyboard keys have a nice stroke, but are subjectively somewhat hard to depress and rattle just a little. The layout speaks to prevailing standards, and the quality of the keyboard is in keeping with devices in this price range."

So now I'm wondering if these problems are localized to the 1029, or if other MSI models have similar issues.

 

Tom's Hardware compared the MSI635 (same as 1029?) to a "Gigabyte W511A", whatever the heck that is. It was mainly a comparison of Turion vs. Intel processors. But they had a few unkind things to say about the MSI's build quality.
http://www.mobilityguru.com/2005/09/06/the_turion_64_inside_story_part_ii/ "The black-white contrast we measured from this device, at 466:1, is relatively bad for a glossy display. This stems from the display's minimum black value of 0.333 cd/m2, and its maximum brightness of only 155 cd/m2."...." the relatively low maximum brightness only accentuates the glare effect of a glossy display in bright environments or strong direct light."..."The display lid is not robust enough.....This can be seen in the unsightly lines on the screen that appear while adjusting the display angle by hand, while these distortions go away again when the pressure is removed"....."The keyboard keys have a nice stroke, but are subjectively somewhat hard to depress and rattle just a little."

 

Honestly, Tom's hardware tends to be something of a "specturbator".

I can't comment on other MSI models as I only have the 1029. The keyboard is subpar, granted, but the screen is absolutely beautiful. The blacks are very black, and the brightnesss is more than enough. In fact, I use mine about 3 levels below max brightness, because the highest setting is literally a lamp; it will light up an entire room.

As for glare, I'll just say that I've seen some xbrites with more glare than my 1029. Sometimes I wonder if these review sites actually spend some time with their review machines or if they only compare numbers. I mean, they are saying the exact opposite from my experience; bad display, good keyboard.

 

I refuse to believe anything from Tom's hardware anymore. When I first started reading the website 10 years ago they were all about the hardware. Now they are about who will give them funding for positive reviews. Just about everyone of their reviews is totally bassackward of 5 other hardware review sites that I go to.

 

What are the hardware review sites that you trust?

 

HardOCP, Viperlair, guru3d, rbmods, and some others. Toms has just gone downhill over time. there are some interesting things on there, but I take it with a grain of salt and check other sites.

 

Those are all sites which review components, which are great resources. But do you also have some favorite sites that provide complete reviews of notebooks?

 

Other than here and NBF, no not really. Trustedreviews is ok. When it comes to complete systems I prefer real world users experience over someone who uses it for just that 1-3 days of testing as the realworld people also sometimes give updates as to how their system has been working or interesting little quirks they have found. I have to say HardOCP has offered up some complete laptop reviews. CoffeeShark and Unleaded provide some of the best reviews I have ever read though.

 

in addition to this site for notebook reviews, i look at notebookforums.com and laptoplogic.com.

scott

 

i've seen Laptoplogic. Will also take a look at trustedreviews.

Do unleaded and coffeeshark sell MSIs? I'm sure they're very knowledgeable and honest, but is also helps to have reviews from independent, third party reviewers. Particularly when they provide test data like performance benchmarks, screen brightness measurements, contrast ratio measurements, etc.

 

Yes they do. Here is a link to a review of the 1036 by CoffeeShark:
http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=124913

 

Honestly, I don't think that an end user will ever have a lumen measuring device attached to her laptop...

I think that review websites always give out 9.5/10 ratings to the likes of the XPS line, voodoo, and northwest falcon. That is ok, as long as you have an unlimited amount of cash.

My personal rules for buying electronics are A)The most important spec is value, and B) NEVER focus in one single component.

If you want the absolute best display get a Qosmio, but if you are in a budget, you'll get a Celeron Qosmio with 128 MB of RAM and a 4,200 RPM HDD. However, if you settle for second or third best display in the market (whch are actually not that far away), you can get decent processing, graphics, RAM and HDD.

I'm not saying you should get an MSI product, I'm just saying you should get good value/balance.

 

Hucsman, I hear what you're saying about value. But part of the value equation is quality. And for brands like MSI, Asus, Sager, etc, most people never get a chance to see them in stores or in friends' homes before they buy. So to evaluate value and quality, you have to take the word of strangers, whether they be resellers, independent third party reviewers, or end users. Yes, you can get some idea from the components brand and model ( particularly RAM, HDD, GPU, ODD). But how the heck do you evaluate a screen if you haven't seen it? you can't. You have to go by others' opinions.(And maybe some measurements of brightness and contrast if you can find them.) And I'm not gonna invest $2000-2500 without trying to cross-check the validity/objectivity of reviewers/resellers/end users opinions.

 

Thats funny you said that. I saw a MSI 1022 first hand at a SB party I went to. It was a chance encounter and possibly meant to be but the screen was absolutely gorgeous to me! The build quaility on this unit was perfect to me also. Unleaded's review was pretty spot on about it's quaility.

 

That's nice to know. Now if AMD would just come out with their dual cores, the MSIs would be even more "future proofed" with 64 bit CPUs.