MSi 1057

Ok, I know there are some of you out there who have one of these wonderful notebooks. Just wondering if you could hook us up with some pics and tell us what you think about it.

thanks.

 

Oh yes that would be real helpful, I would like to find out what experiences people have had with this notebook. I currently own the MS-1013 and I would definitely like to see how well the MS-1057 performs and if it is worth the purchase.

 

Hi,

New kid on the block. I recently sold my powerboook g4 12" to my buddy and I've been missing the small form factor. Looking around I was first attracted to the MS-1013 aka Averatec 2100, but then was turned on to the possibility of something like the MS-1057.

Unclezam already had some comments over here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=45672

Check my sig for details on what I'm building. I promise to try to attempt to endeavor to post back here as soon as I put it together, along with pics of the build.

r.jimi.james

 

Hey, thanks for the link. Pretty cool that your getting your notebook soon, I which I can say the same that mine is on the way, but hopefully soon though. Please let us know how the notebook is when you have it all up and running. Good luck!

 

james - thanks for posting and congrats on the purchase. I'm sure we'd love to hear how it goes. I was also looking at the barebones at buy.com because it was only 670 something. I was wondering though, if the bluetooth was already installed on it. Maybe you can answer that when you get it.

I'm sure you've seen this, but in case you haven't here is a build guide:
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/notebook/MS-1057IG.pdf

Good luck & Keep us posted!
thanks.

 

A note about the guide posted in previous message. If you look at the pictures closely, you can see that they were taken of S260 (MSI-1012). In fact the chassis of 1057 seems to be 1-2 millimeters higher than the one in S260. I did add memory to my S260 model, but have not yet opened up the 1057. I will be doing it next week when two 1GB 667MHz CL4 memory modules arrive (BTW, anyone with experience of MDT brand memory? seem to be extremely cheap and also faster than competition:

http://www.alternate.eu/html/shop/productDetails.html?showTechData=true&artno=IANEUF&#tecData

 

Hi, fudgy--

I have been using my MSI 1057 for about two weeks now.

- 1.8 GHz core duo
- 1GB 667 RAM (1x1GB)
- 5400RPM HD
- Intel Pro/Wireless A/B/G card

I have not run any benchmarks, but can report that this laptop "feels" much more responsive than my Dell D410 (1.8GHz Pentium M, 1.5GB RAM, 5400 RPM HD).

Battery life has not been an issue-- yesterday I worked all afternoon on a single charge without much regard for power conservation settings. Others have reported approximately 4 hours of life-- this sounds true for me, too.

Pro's:

- beautiful screen -- handily beats the Dell. Beats my PowerBook 12" G4. Equals my old Sony Vaio. For me (a graphics guy), this is the single best feature of this laptop-- a big, bright screen in a 12" form factor.
- quiet
- responsive (HD is the bottleneck here, I suspect--whenever I sense any lag, the HD light is always on...)
- really cute light scheme: the front of the laptop glows blue and green (blue for power, wireless; green for a/c power)
- easy to turn wireless and bluetooth on and off (dedicated button at the top of the keyboard; the led at the bottom turns off, blue (wifi), green (bluetooth), and blue/green (both wifi and bluetooth)... Not sure why BT light is green, not blue <grin>)
- piece of cake to assemble (did it without a guide), but not for people with chunky fingers--you will be working in some tight spaces.
- attractive case, good fit and finish, nice hinges on the screen, solid latching

Con's:

- keyboard is hard to type on and trackpad buttons take some effort to click; I type 105WPM and frequently find myself going back to hit a key that I pressed but did not register. You will have to type harder on this keyboard than on other laptops.
- the function key and control key are misplaced, in my opinion. The control key is to the right of the function key, not on the outer edge of the keyboard. Makes it hard to find the control key--and you can't remap (at least, not that I've found), because the function key does not register a keypress alone...
- port placement. I prefer to have USB, A/C, video ports on the back of my laptop; others may be fine with having them on the side (as is done on the 1057)
- the battery extends out and down from the back of the laptop. This has a big advantage when working at a desk--it props the keyboard up slightly for increased comfort. The downside is that it adds about 0.5" to the overall height of the laptop--and that makes it a bit harder to fit into a tiny bag.
- some flex and squish to the keyboard-- as, frankly, is found on just abut every laptop I've ever seen... Still, I wish it were tighter (press and hold "esc" on your laptop... do you see the whole keyboard flex downward a milimeter or so?)
- tried to watch a DVD but found the internal speakers underpowered. They are clear, vibrant, and easily configured with the included software. However, I just couldn't get the volume high enough to comfortably hear the audio. Headphones recommended for noisy environments.


Bottom line: I'm very happy with the purchase. I paid $2K for a Vaio S360 about a year ago. This 1057 came in about $600 cheaper. With the exception of the keyboard--which, I'm told, I will grow used to--everything else on the MSI meets or exceeds the Vaio.

The performance is stellar so far-- who knows how it looks on paper; I'm just going by my everyday application usage, where things "feel" plenty snappy. (my everyday apps are: Photoshop CS2, eclipse, Outlook, Firefox).

Best wishes,

John

 

John,

Thanks a million! Great little review you did there and I really appreciate it.

Yeah I was wondering about the battery and if it sticks out or not (a picture of this would be great if I'm not asking too much). Since you have to type harder, is the keyboard uncommonly loud? Overall, how does it compare to your powerbook, esp. in terms of fit and finish not so much performance-wise.

thanks again & have a great weekend

fudgy

 

John,

Thanks for the quick review, it has been very helpful. I had two quick questions for you, did the notebook come with bluetooth already or did you have to purchase a minipci wi/fi card w/bluetooth? For the Intel Pro/Wireless A/B/G card was it a 2915ABG or the 3945ABG? Thank you in advance.

 

I was also wondering if you guys think the Atheros AR5006XS would work in this laptop, or should I just go with the Intel 3945 to be safe. Thanks!

 

Weak. I had a whole thing typed up here and my session expired? Clicked back and post gone. meh.

I am working on a write up.

Quick Notes:
-Unclezam: The build guide has old pics, but if you are handy you can see the differences. It is generally the same in there. I probably won't have time to go through and figure out which pictures are wrong, but fyi.
-johnc: have to say the keyboard isn't bad, it probably will grow on you.
fudgy: build is surprisingly solid, given the fact that I had the whole thing apart on my desk and I put it back together. The incredibly scientific "pick up with one hand while lid is open" test revealed very little case flexing, on par with or better than the 12" powerbook. I'll be getting some pics soon, the battery sticks out maybe an inch or so. I'll let you know about bluetooth functionality, but from the looks of the internals, the module was already installed.

 

Jimi james-

your scientific one hand test is something I consider important as well for some reason. every time I go to a store to check out a laptop's build I end up doing the same thing. it's really nice to hear its on par or better than the powerbook in that regard.

thanks for the post

 

I answered this indirectly in another post, but to answer fudgy's question about bluetooth-

the module is included in the barebones model. The wireless button on the top row turns it on.

Another note: the wireless cards that some of the resellers are selling don't fit this model, i.e.: http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=5904

I know from experience, since I ordered the MP54G4 based on the fact they were selling it. Got it, but the slot in the 1057 is (I believe) mini pci e, not just mini pci, hence neither the MP54G4 nor the MP54GBT2 would fit.

See these pics for a comparison:
MSI MP54G4

vs.

Intel PRO Wireless 3945ABG

The second one (intel 3945) is the correct one. In my limited search, I haven't seen any other cards that fit this slot.

Zeros, based on this, I assume that the AR5006XS wouldn't work. Since the other thread said you got it put together, I figure you learned this already.

 

Well, that's not good. The wireless card is the only thing I didn't install yet. I guess I'll be selling the Atheros when I get it. Any idea of a place to pick up the Intel PCIe for a good price and good shipping?

 

You can go here: http://www.buy.com/retail/product.a...67417&Type=PE&Category=Comp&Gad=0&dcaid=15890

 

hi, does the laptop have s-video out? Some resellers say it does, others don't.
thanks.

 

The early specs showed it, but I can't recall seeing it on the 1057 or on any of the 12" systems from MSI, so no, I'm pretty sure it doesn't have it.

 

I have a 1057 and can verify that there is not a S-Video port, unfortunately.

 

One more possitive reply from Istanbul:

I have to add to the past review on this notebook

all the pros accepted
+ the heating of this notebook is very good balanced very quiet
+ the live update utility that comes with it is very good , way better than what I've seen from sony vaios almost in par with apple software update
+ it actually looks better than the pictures I've seen online from msi , surely they are no apple in fussing and flashing etc.
+ excellent for 12 inc Apple lovers, the hardware is compatible with MacOS X I hear no kidding I will try soon

plus I neglect some of the cons mentioned
The keyboard for me is good and I like hard keyboards more than softer ones...yes I used some old computers in my life
My keyboard doesn't bend as much as his. I've tried the esc test
On the side ports are no problem for me: more accessible than on the back, it doesn't look as good but this is good too
As I updated the sound drivers the sound got better I think. The sound is quite better than what I expected from this notebook.

my cons:
the panel and button lights although very cool a little too bright at night but no big problem. the trackpad is not a work of art but good and feels sturdy.

And if you have no problem with battery life get the smaller battery. I have both but I beleive for those that don't wander much the small one is enough with 2 hours battery life and looks better. For me I've made the cafe nearby my new office so I have both and thats how it goes...

Thanks johnc for the review it was a real good one and helped me buy this thing, I have apparently the same usecases eclipse, gimp, firefox, tomcat (java works fast), windows is fast.

I also heard MSI designed and sells laptops that charge with satellite waves after the solar charged ones which is a plus in my book for this company

Note : check the lid open close manuvers and if the lid button functions properly, mine didn't so I got it replaced... Johnc: The bluetooth light is green because you usually need wireless lan which is blue and the other lights nearby are blue so it looks better

 

Does this notebook have a built in microphone? I'm looking for something I can use with Skype...

 

yes, it does

 

Dose anyone have any experience with the new Merom Core 2 Duo and the
MS-1057/S262

Can you upgrade the BIOS without a possessor installed or do you need to first install a standard Core Duo, upgrade and then swap? How can you find out the BIOS version if no processor has been installed?

/Jens

 

sorry for bringing this old topic up...

I bought S262 with following specs:

CPU: Core Duo 2.0Ghz
Ram: 1GB
HDD: 120GB

it's a centrino platform, but the weird thing that it doesn't have bluetooth!!!
I've been surfing the web unsuccessfully searching for a expressCard|54 Bluetooth...

in short, how can I have Bluetooth?
Note: I'm not considering the USB-Bluetooth Dongle at all...

many thanks in advance

 

If you have a usa model 1057 it does have bluetooth. Did you enable it with the softkey?

 

Next time, just make a new thread as opposed to bumping a 2 year old thread.

Thanks.