My review of the MSI 1039 WXGA

Well here is another review of the MSI 1039. Hope this helps those who plan to purchase.

First off, i bought this great laptop from rkcomputer.com
I recommend them to everyone. The customer service there is tip top. Their rep (Rob) was very prompt to answer questions i had before, during, and after i recieved the laptop. Seeing as he himself owns the MS 1039, he was very knowledgable. Buy from them, you wont be disappointed. And THANKS Rob

Specs. MSI 1039

15.4" WXGA Glossy/Glare Widescreen (1280x800)
ATI Radeon X1600 256MB VRAM
AMD Turion 64 MT-40 2.2GHz 25w 1MB
2 GB DDR400Mhz (2x1 GB)
100GB ATA @5400RPM 8MB Cache
MSI MS 802.11g PCI WLAN Card
Windows XP Pro SP2


--Display--
You know i really contemplated getting the higher resolution WSXGA, but i am sure happy i did not. This WXGA screen is gorgeous. no dead pixels or light leakage and the overall screen is drop dead gorgeous. I am really glad i went with the WXGA. I wont be using the laptop outdoors too much so it is perfect for my application.

--Build/Appearance--
The exoskeleton is made up of semi-durable plastic. The top is grey and the bottom black the keyboard black and surrounding areas grey. It seems pretty durable. The 1039 sits on four rubber props, 1 on each corner. These props "grip" surface well and play a huge role in making sure the fan (underneath) can suck in sufficient air (which the 1039 NEEDS bc of its semi-hot running core). The ports seems placed well except for the USB on the right that i tap my wireless mouse into. But it is not a bad design by any means and doesnt really get in the way. There is a power button and four tabs at the top right of the deck. One is for the wirless internet/bluetooth (looks like a satelite) and it must be pressed to connect to the router. Personally i like this bc a tab will pop up on the screen and tell you that you are connected/stengnth and ready to use the net. Now there are also status lights on the front lower right side of the deck. One for battery, one for HD inuse (i think), one for wireless and a few more for ? i really havent paid attention to the others (sorry). When the satelite tab is pressed the status light will turn green. The battery is always on(blue light) and the HD is usually on and flashing when its working. Personally, i think the blue light up power button and status lights make the 1039 look stunning and in a dark room, a spectacle.

--Performance--
Although i do not have any numbers for you guys i can tell you that this laptop (at least the way i have it configured) does not miss a beat. The Turion goes through multitasking with ease. Now i primarily game on my 1039 and here are a few things i have noticed.
While gaming, the bottom right hand corner (just to the right of the pad) gets considerably warm. Now it is not obnoxiously warm where it seems unbearable to touch or that something is definately melting, but it is considerable. Since the 1039 only has 1 fan, it bumps (not that loud) while gaming. If you put your hand over the back vent, where the hot air exits, it is pretty **** hot air. I wish the 1039 came with another fan but overall the heat seems to exit pretty well. The fan sucks in through the bottom and exits via the vent in the back. I would highly recommend that you game ONLY on a solid surface where the fan can suck in fresh/steady flow of air.

Gameplay is very smooth and flawless. The only games i have played on it so far though have been Painkiller which is very old and runs at super speeds, and Hitman Blood Money. Hitman, which has a higher minimum spec, runs flawless at native resolution and high settings. Very impressed with the X1600.

Sorry guys i am not too tech inclined and am still learning about computers so i attempted to give you my thoughts on the 1039...and i hoped i helped at least one person

 

Thanks! Did you ever measure the temp with a program like mobilemeter or alike? I would be interested in know what CPU temperature you get while gaming. My 1029 sure gets hot and I wonder if they improved it with the 1039 some. That would be great. Thanks again. Here is mobilemeter http://www.geocities.co.jp/SiliconValley-Oakland/8259/release/0310/mm0310.zip

And if you want to read info about it.
http://tamaru.homeip.net/~shingo/mobilemeter/mobilemeterreadme1.htm

 

Question for you 1039 owners, I've gotten mine today to play with on my long trip home, have you found the keys a little hard? I seem to be almost bashing mine at the moment to get them to go....

 

Great review on the new 1039. Are you planning on running some 3D Mark or any other bench?

 

add some pictures =D

 

MS-1039 Pic's

http://www.rkcomputer.net/downloads/photos/ms1039/index.html

http://www.rkcomputer.net/downloads/photos/ms1039_2/index.html

 

I would like to buy a cooler for my 1039 just for piece of mind. Im wondering what cooler would be best for the 1039 since it only has one fan located in the rear right bottom side of the laptop. Any ideas??

how about this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834999850

 

Im seeing the CPU temps at 50-55c at idle and 70-72c during gaming in fear
seem right? a little hot?

 

MSI 1039 -- Now that you've had your laptop for a bit how about some follow up impressions? What's your battery life been like. Things that you've learned about the machine you like, don't like. Problems?

I am considering this model, from RKC, spec'ed identically to yours (yer my hero! ;-) and I'd like just a little more info before I pull the trigger.

 

Sure jvanark-

impressions: I love this laptop. pretty light around 7 lbs. i really like the sleek look to it.

The only things i would say are cons are that the touch pad is very sensitive and if you even slightly graze it while typing it will slide your cursor. So watch the screen while you write!!! Also the right palmrest gets pretty warm. I suggest a cooler for the 1039 and i suggest the lapcool 2. I have it and it is GREAT. blows cold air up. got about 3-5c drop at idle and im sure around that or more at gaming/dvd. Speakers are a little weak but by no means unacceptable. The X1600 256mb GPU is a nice card. Will handle just about anything. And for demanding games such as fear and quake 4 you can set it down to medium setting if you want..but not needed usually.

Dude...get it...you wont be dissappointed...go RK and talk to Rob there

i can post pics but i dont know how..i have the pics on photobucket..any help anyone?

 

oh and i have not had it off ac power for long but when i did i can tell you that the battery drains pretty fast:/

 

9 cell battery for the 1039 is available now!!

http://www.rkcomputer.net/store/index.php/action/item/id/116/prevaction/category/previd/6/prevstart/0/

 

I know this is really off topic, but do you have any idea when the MS-1042 will come out? The HP DV9000 is deathly close to its release, and I really want a 17" Turion X2 with dedicated graphics.

 

No, sorry. I haven't heard anything at all about a the release date.

 

Ohhh yes! 9 cell battery finally. Anyone have it? How much longer does the battery last? My 6 cell can get 2 hours and 15 minutes when i dim the screen a whole lot. If the 9 cell dramatically adds time, I definatly want it.

 

MSI 1039 --
I appologize for this being soooooo late a reply to your kind help -- but thanks very much for you added input.

I did purchase from RJ Tech and was very pleased with their service. Nice machine, though, as you pointed the touchpad is very sensitive. As nit to pick that's not too bad. The machine is being used by my son in college.

Again, thanks for your input.

 

No prob. Glad i could help.

Just for precaution, since you mentioned your son is using the 1039 at college, i suggest he look into the new 9 cell battery for the 1039 if he is taking it to classes etc..the 6 cell is not too great. maybe 2hrs..i do not have the 9 cell but im sure its better and having a backup battery in class sure seems like a life saver. Glad you/he liked the laptop

 

The 1042 was released today.

 

Ok -- thanks for the battery input. Also, and this is more than a bit off topic but do you have a docking station for your 1039? If so, where'd you get it? If not, any ideas. I've just started poking around. I guess another question is: is there any standard rear port layout standard for laptops?