MSI 1013 Review (pics, specs)

By Sunil Goklani

The MSI 1013 is the barebones version of the MSI S270 -- ultra portable notebook powered by an AMD Turion. Out of the box it provides you with a 12.1" WXGA glossy screen, built in DVD DL RW drive, ATI RS480 (or RS482) chipset with X200 integrated graphics, SD/MMC/MS card reader, PCMCIA slot, and optional wireless with Bluetooth. You get to choose your hard drive, processor, RAM, and wireless card. The 1013 is the ODM for Averatec's 2100 Series, PC Club's ENP413 and VooDoo PC's Envy a:228 notebook computers.

MSI 1013 (view large image)

Assembled Specifications:

• MSI 1013 Barebone System - $640 from acnt.com (I found their service to be better than what resellerratings portrays it as). They had the computer the next day after I had ordered it and I picked it up from one of their local stores.
• AMD Turion MT-40 cpu - $285 @ buy.com with coupon
• OCZ 1GB DDR400 ram - $130 @ newegg.com
• Seagate 5400.2 60 gig hd - $90 @ newegg.com
• MSI MS6855 wireless/Bluetooth mPCI card - $35 @ buy.com

Total parts cost came out to less than $1200, however tax and shipping pushed it a hair under $1300.

Reasons for Buying:

Recently, the laptop bug bit me. I have a very capable desktop at home however, sitting in front of the computer at work makes it cumbersome to do the same at home. I wanted something powerful because I do some software and web development, however I was willing to settle for less as this computer would be secondary to my desktop. I initially considered Thin & Lights such as the Asus Z63a, HP DV1000, Sony VGN-FJ170. I ignored the Compaq V2000z series because I had heard quite a few bad things about Compaq, but now after taking a serious look at Compaq they seem to be making high quality products. Besides the Compaq, neither of these laptops offered the AMD Turion 64 processor. Finally, after looking long and hard, I decided I wanted something smaller than a Thin & Light. This would be a secondary computer, so I ventured off into Ultra Potable land. With a flexible budget of $1200 I came across the MSI 1013. The 1013 seemed to offer exactly what I had wanted in a computer.

I wanted to go with an AMD 64 bit processor because I feel that AMD produces superior products than those of Intel. It could be a possibility that 32 bit applications will outlive my use of this notebook, but hey, I like to live on the cutting edge in hardware and software. I also wanted a decent integrated graphics since future/Vista proofing is also important for me. The MSI 1013 fit the bill. It had a 12.1" LCD with a nice high resolution of 1280 by 800. It supported my desired AMD processor and had integrated graphics which surpasses that of integrated Intel graphics. It also had Bluetooth -- a feature I was wanting on the Z63a. Weighing around 5 lbs with a battery, this computer called my name and said, "BUILD ME!"

Pictured with an 8.5" by 11" sheet of paper on top. Yeah, its THAT small. (view large image)

Inputs and Outputs:

My only complaint is that the power port is on the side versus being out of the way in the back. Unfortunately, this notebook includes a PCMCIA slot. I have a feeling that there will not be many 64 bit drivers available for PCMCIA devices as PCI-E and 64 bit OS's starts to move more mainstream.

Left Side: DVDRW, USB port, memory media reader, & PCMCIA slot. (view large image)

Front: IEEE1394 port, mic, & audio out (view large image)

Right: USB (2), modem, Ethernet, VGA out, & power. (view large image)

Build and design:

Overall, this laptop is well designed for the price. The compact size is very appealing for those on the go. Looks aren't something to brag about. This computer is also available in white. I decided to go with black because since black is easier to maintain and if it were to fade, it would not be very noticeable. The 1013 feels quite solid as there is minimal flex when I pick it up by the corner. The Sony FJ170, HP DV1000, and Compaq V2000z exhibited more flex than the 1013. The screen hinges are quite solid. The screen is nice and thin, and the top casing is made of metal. However, I find that this screen ripples easily if I grab a side and try to close it. It also ripples if I set the notebook down a little hard or if I pick it up by the front corner.

Heat and Noise:

This computer does get warm during use, but nothing extreme. The CPU fan will spin up when it needs to. If I were to run some intense graphics or processing the fan stays on. During DVD playback on VLC media player the CPU fan did kick in about half of the time. However through AMD's power monitor, the CPU remained at 800mhz.

Screen:

This screen is absolutely beautiful. Being 12.1" and 1280 by 800 resolution, this screen definitely delivers. I am indifferent about the glossy coating as the colors are nice, but in direct sunlight it has too much glare. The text is very fine on the screen, so if you have trouble reading small fonts, this may not be the screen for you. For me on the other hand, this resolution is perfect for the screen size. Only downside is that there is a bit of light leakage at the top and bottom of the screen.

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Optical Drive:

For its compact size and price, I am happy that it has a built in dual layer DVD burner. The drive does get a bit loud when a CD is inserted. I wish it were a modular bay, it would have been nice to slap on an extra battery.

Audio:

The speakers are located on the screen which I would definitely consider a plus. Sound is directed at you where on other computers the speakers are placed below the palm rest. Sound quality is ok, as expected when trying to fit them in " depth of the screen.

Kensington Lock:

This is a pretty pathetic lock slot. Not only does the included 8 cell battery occupy the space around the lock, but the lock is comprised of where two plastic panels meet. If someone wants this laptop, they can have it without causing any significant damage.

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Keyboard:

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If this laptop were to fail in winning any awards, this would be the breaker right here. I definitely feel that something was held back on this portion of the computer. My only positive note is that the alphabet character keys are 100% the normal size. Other than that, the Fn button is where I am used to where the Ctrl button should be. I am used to the Ctrl button being the lower left. Asus laptops also have a same setup.

The keypad feeling isn't too great either. The keys feel a bit stiff as I type. I've read some complains about the keyboard flexing. This can easily be solved by removing the keyboard and bending it to the contours of its resting location or by placing double sided tape underneath. There is also some other flaw which I have discovered. Even if making a full press on a key, sometimes this computer will miss registering the key. For example, I know I pressed "www" very quickly to type in a web address, sometimes I may end up with "ww". I tried another trick, I pressed all of the home keys at once "asdfjkl;" instead about 3-4 will register. I tried this on other laptops in the store and to my surprise, Sony, Gateway, Avertec, and Acer exhibited this issue where Toshiba, HP, and Compaq were free from it. However, I have yet to read of any issues of missing keystrokes from those brands, so I am not sure what to conclude from this. Hopefully this will cause the rest of you looking at laptops be more aware of any possible keyboard issues.

Touchpad:

No Complaints on the Synaptics touch pad. Sensitivity is perfect. It doesn't miss any initial strokes. I would prefer it to be in a wide to match the screen aspect ratio.

Wireless:

Wireless reception is ok. It seems to be just slightly worse than my dad's Dell Inspiron 5100. My cousin's HP business laptop recognized that my Netgear router was 108mbps capable and made use of that. This card does not. However this card has a built in gem, - Bluetooth. Being the technology freak that I am, I had to have this feature in my laptop. I plan on purchasing a Bluetooth mouse in addition to making sure I have it on my cell phone when time comes to upgrade.

I have used Bluetooth to interface with my mom's Motorola Razr and it had no problems doing so. Bluetooth did not work after I had built this computer. I had to RMA the wireless card twice until this issue was resolved.

There are 4 wireless modes controlled by the wireless button: both off, wireless on, Bluetooth on, both on, all of which are toggled by the wireless button which is next to the power button. Only downside to such a setup is that you will interrupt one of the wireless features if you need to turn the other one on or off.

Power adapter:

This adapter is very compact and uses a non polarized two pin plug. Ac input is 100-240v 50-60hz. Cabling is also generous giving you just over 11.5 feet from plug to plug. This adapter is definitely a travel friendly adapter. For greater portability, you could purchase a retractable power cord. Additional AC adapters sell for $35 on buy.com (currently on backorder at the time of this review), which is a definite steal when comparing to other laptops.

Battery:

Included with the 1013 is an 8 cell 14.4v 4400mah battery. The 8 cell sticks out in the back about of an inch and raises the back of the laptop -- either of which I could live without. I have been averaging around 3.25 hours of life from the battery. That isn't bad as it met my requirements, however this may not be up to par in comparison to other Ultra Portables and some Thin & Lights. My only argument against that is other Ultra Portables are using ultra low voltage processors and will not be able to hold a candle to the processing capabilities of this machine while maintaining a low price. Other machines are slightly larger than this laptop so living with a 3 hour battery life is a compromise I am more than willing to make.

Microsoft's Power Meter (Win XP 64):

• Dim screen: 3:40
• Full Bright: 2:50

Performance:

Performance on this laptop is remarkable despite the ultra compact size and $1300 price tag. I "could" do with less power, but my Tim Taylor complex disagrees.

Benchmarks: MSI 1013 Benchmarks (click to view)

The Build:

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If you are like me and love to build things this computer is a blessing at first as long as you don't run into any problems. After trying to diagnose the Bluetooth wireless card problem, I may choose not to build another laptop until I am aware of all known issues up front. The build was not very difficult as long as you take your time and do things carefully. I have removed the processor about 4-5 times of this computer and could probably put one of these together in half an hour by now. Here is some pitfalls/advice you should be aware of if you plan to build one:

If you use artic silver, use it only on the CPU. Do not use article silver on the ATI CPU/GPU or any of the other contact points. The heat sink will not be close enough to make proper contact with a thermal conductor like artic silver, so stick with the provided thermal pads.

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The connector on the top panel for the power buttons is very delicate and difficult to put back. You may be better off leaving that connector connected and slipping out the keyboard and panel underneath the keyboard, then disconnecting the other end of the connector from the motherboard.

The sponges can conduct electricity. Make sure they do not fall off or move while working on the computer. If they do, place them back where they came from.

Screws are small, be very careful when removing and installing. I had to remove half the motherboard to free a lost screw.

The magnetic wireless antennas can easily be moved, so when reinstalling the top panel which has the power buttons, make sure the antennas are properly placed.
Make sure to plug the CPU fan into the motherboard. After taking this thing apart for the 3rd time, I forgot to do this...ONCE :-X

On a good note, the ram, wireless card, and hard drive are accessible by removing the palm rest which is held on by 6 screws and about 4-6 tabs. It can be removed in a minute once you know where all the tabs are without breaking anything. The wireless card and hard drive are under the palm rest. You can lift the keyboard up to access the ram. This isn't too bad if you plan on maintaining a fleet of these laptops.

White Screen of Death:

(view large image)

I bought this computer without even knowing that there was a 27 page thread on Laptop Logic about this problem. I may have reconsidered after reading it, but now I have yet to run into that problem after I have updated my bios to the Beta v4.31 (I have ATI RS480 chipset) and down clocked my ram from DDR400 to DDR333. The AMD MT-40 Turion processor was not around when this computer was designed. Memory latency is less while running at 333mhz, so any performance impact should be minimal. So far no stability issues whatsoever. I feel that this issue is no longer a concern if you are looking to purchase this laptop.

MSI Customer Service:

I have had to use MSI's customer service for this computer. I reported my three issues to them, keyboard, Bluetooth, and white screen of death.

While Screen of Death was solved quickly after I talked to the right person. I had sent an email, then called a few hours later. Upon calling, I ended up talking to a tech whom knew nothing about this computer. From my email response, I was contacted by Raymond who is the notebook expert and he provided me with v4.31 beta bios which solved the problem.

Bluetooth was a different story. MSI has two chipsets for their Bluetooth/802.11bg wireless cards, Improcomm and Ra Link. It is a known issue that the Bluetooth on the Ra Link cards may not register on this computer. I ended up with an Ra Link card from purchasing from buy.com. I RMA'ed the card from MSI's website thinking Bluetooth was defective and MSI sent me another Ra Link card. Finally, I got fed up and talked to Raymond in tech support. He was aware of the issue and I had a replacement card in 2 days rather than the 2 weeks it took for the first replacement.

In regards to the keyboard problems, I have communicated to Raymond about pressing multiple keys and not having them register. However since this is neither a functionality nor stability issue, I can learn to live with this keyboard.

Overall I am very satisfied with the tech support from Raymond. If you have any issues, make sure you talk to the right person otherwise you will end up wasting your time.

Software:

Barebone system, no OS included. I installed windows XP and ran the benchmarks. In an effort to diagnose my Bluetooth problem, I installed XP 64. MSI has an rar archive on their website for the 64 bit drivers. For some reason I could not find the driver for the memory card reader, nor have I had time to look into it. I have no comments on the included IVT Blue Soleil Bluetooth software as I don't own any Bluetooth devices yet.

Recommendation:

It would be hypocritical of me to recommend this computer I had had tried to return everything after first encountering those three issues mentioned above. I decided it would be too much of a hassle RMA'ing everything so I stuck with it. After my second wireless card filed, I tried to RMA everything, but I missed the timeline for returns on the MSI 1013. Finally after Raymond resolved my Bluetooth issue I am quite happy with this computer. I am still getting used to the Fn and Ctrl keys being in reversed locations. My keyboard still misses some key strokes; however I have decided that at a $1300 price tag with the features and performance, everything cannot be perfect. MSI has not been in the notebook game very long, however offering performance and price in such a small package, they have definitely hit the nail on the head for being a first generation notebook. I suggest you try to play around with this model before purchasing either by going to a PC Club or finding a store which sells Averatec products.

Bottom line:

There is no other offering by any company which supports an AMD Turion 64 in such a small package at a very reasonable price. Despite the set backs as I have mentioned above, I am happy with this notebook.

Pros:

• Only Ultra Portable available which supports AMD MT Turion processors
• 12.1" WXGA 1280 by 800 resolution screen
• Built in DVD DL RW
• Alphabet keys are full sized
• Bluetooth available
• Excellent value
• Exceptional performance

Cons:

• Keyboard has poor feeling on keys and lacks proper key pickup
• 3 hour battery life with 8 cell battery
• No S-Video out
• Optical drive is fixed, no modular bay
• Light leakage on screen
• Screen ripples easily
• Kensington slot offers little security
  

 

Great review Sunil. This is definitely one of the better ways to get ahold of an affordable ultraportable with a nice config -- it may not be for the faint of heart and beginner's need not apply, but if you have the aptitude and the know-how then buying the MSI 1013 and the necessary components yields a great AMD 64-bit ultraportable product at such a price.

 

for that price you paid, it is good notebook.
and you got an opportunity to assemble it yourself

 

Very nice review. I liked this model which was on display at local PC Club( with their branding). But I thought screen kind of small and price is higher than V2000z and even Averatec 4100 series.

I like MSI products a lot in general, but I did not understand why they took so long to solve problems with Higher end MT Procs and proper support for DDR400.

But anyway I think it is really nice notebook, provided we are willing to accept the pitfalls mentioned above.

 

Great review Sunil! Your story and experience mirrors mine to a tee! I thought about writing a review but I haven't tested my rig enough.

abaxter, beginners can indeed apply. Just let a reseller like rawpowerpc or xmeld do it, I did!

 

Great review. I have a question: is this suppose to show a black background?



If so, then the screen must have an incredibly low contrast ratio.

 

Yes, the background is supposed to be black. You do bring up a great point. HOWEVER, my camera (casio z55) is not very good with shots in low light, and I took that picture at an angle to the glossy screen. So far I think the screen picture quality is excellent. I'll keep an eye out for lack of contrast.

Thanks for the comments everyone!

 

From the description of your needs, I am surprised you never checked out the new emachines W4620 by Arima. Good turion thin and light! Check out my review here and shoot me a message with your thoughts...:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2813

 

Very descriptive review! Definitely a solid machine, I'd prefer that over a 'brand-name" one.

You get a lot of features with an off-market laptop than you get with a regular Dell, Toshiba, etc. I noticed that as soon as I got my Sager. Just really rounds up the features well.

It is nice indeed that the MSI-1013 has a Turion MT and a Radeon Xpress 200M graphics chip. X200M is going to be good to have for Vista.

Cheers on an excellent review,
Chaz

 

Very good review

Very helpful to.

 

Another great "feature" of this NB: it's pimp.

I've only taken it out of the house and into the public realm once during a conference and in that one day, three people asked me about it, said it looks really cool and asked where they could get one.
dryanwilson, if you saw one of these you'd think the same, this NB has appeal; dare I say it's sexy. Two of the three people thought I paid over 2000 for it! Nothing against your rig, but that Emachines looks like any old NB. And the size is a big thing too, there is quite i difference between a 12 and a 15! And keep in mind this 12 inch is WS.

jsis, I was going to comment on that image too but forgot earlier. I guess this NB's screen is not very photogenic, It is true that when I'm in a pitch black room, the leakage is noticible on a black screen but only under that condition, otherwise the screen is gorgeous! And my blacks look great, this picture really does the screen injustice. I don't know the Contrast Ratio but I would be surprised if it was below 350:1.

 

You cant judge a lcd screen by a picture. The camera will make it lighter than it actually is in person so its not an accurate view of it. not to mention screen angle etc any laptop screen will look like that with a camera set to auto.

 

Great review, but l have an idea. l'm gonna buy a Averatec 2155-EH1which is the same chassis as the 1013 with the following:
MT-30
512mb ram (256 x 2, but i'm gonna buy a 1gb stick)
80gb HDD (Dunno what speed)
Xpress 200m
Dvd burner


Then like l said i'll buy a 1gb stick of ram and the total will come a lil under $1,100

 

I've gotten that WSOD when running on too low processor voltage.

 

dryanwilson, thats not a bad price at all. However, I do need a bit more power than that, and I wanted at least a minimum wxga resolution. Thats not bad for a budget comp, but I'm vvvery pickly on who makes my comonents. Here's my original thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=37068

Unreal,
I like your name In my opinion, its worth the extra $200 for the following upgrades:
-AMD MT-30 -> AMD MT-40 - This thing really flies
-Adds bluetooth
-Name brand ram
-80 gig hd -> to Seagate hd - Chances are, I am guessing there will be a 4200 rpm drive in there and it wont have the 5 year warranty that seagates come with.
-Battery? Not sure if averatec is giving you the 4 or 8 cell.

MSI has a list of quality retailers on their site which could build one of these for you.

 

Here's a one year, 7 month update.

Durability isnt that great. Over time, some wires get worn out by rubbing against metal edges inside the computer.
Examples:
1) Keyboard ribbon cable has a spot at the bottom which wore out and would randomly start entering in keys when it shorted out (fixed by wrapping cable with masking tape)
2) My default email application keeps launching because another cable is shorting out (again, fixed with masking tape)
3) Speakers only work when the screen is tilted at 80 or 130 degrees (cant fix this one)

Performance wise, this thing still works great. Wifi is ok, seagate hard drive (seagate's fault) ended up going bad a while back, I have since doubled the ram to 2gb, still running windows xp.

This isnt the friendliest computer to open...so my next one will most likely be from a different brand...

 

hey unrealii glad to see your having problems too. I also have the speaker issue but it get worse.... here is the story from another thread i started:

-------------------------------------------

When i opened it the notebook once, like a lot... so the display was almost facing the ceiling, one of my speakers stopped working for good... unless i close the notebook so much that I can't see the screen and can't even fit my fingers on the keyboard. No biggie, the speakers are so crappy i never use them anyways.

When I opened it up again a couple weeks later to the VERY open position (like when a lappy is closed, its at a 0 degree angle, open is a 90 degree angle, well let's call this about 140~150 degrees) it shut down immediately and completely. Again, booted back up with no problem.

Well this time I did it. Opened it a lot this morning after using it for an hour or so. I heard a pop or crackle sound... and my display is pitch black... and nothing is getting it back on. I think the back light is out or shot because i can still kinda make out the start bar on it... its a little less black than the rest but seriously... its all black. So this means the LCD is still on and working, but my back light is out.

So obviously there is some faulty wiring inside around the hinge... but could it have shorted my light or just unplugged and turned it off.

--------------------------------------------

kinda of not cool to see you can't fix the speaker problem, makes me think the same for the screen

I've been i contact with MSI USA and MSI Canada and the latter said they will take it and take a look and probably still cover it under warranty! (Actually MSI Canada is surprisingly polite and understanding of my situation). Glad to see some will help since that snake Unleaded (Gary S) shut down rawpowerpc.com without telling anyone and going AWOL.

So what do you think about the backlight? Should I just send it off to MSI, or do you think I could possibly fix this?

Cheers!

JR

 

Yikes man, that's crazy!

If you heard a crackle, that could possibly mean that something has fried or blown.

Not sure how comfortable you are taking this thing apart. Its difficult the first few times until you get the hang of it. If you are not comfortable taking it apart, I say just send it in.

I think I know where the back light wires are. To get to them, follow these steps:
1) remove 6 screws to remove palm rest below keyboard
2) Carefully pry off palm rest from the left side where the pcmcia slot is. Carefully lift up the brown bar on the connector to release the ribbon cable
3) carefully lift up the keyboard and pull it towards the front to free it. Disconnect the ribbon cable
4) Disconnect the harness above the keyboard plug on the motherboard
5) Undo the one screw on the top of the back of the computer
6) Press in 3 tabs to release bezel above keyboard. DO NOT PULL IT OUT, just let it sit there
7) Next is to remove the panel below the keyboard. It has 3 screws near the cpu fan, 2 black screws, and two tiny screws on the bottom. You may have to remove the hard drive tray to release this panel
8) Now that the panel is removed you can remove the bezel. I have found these directions easier to use because the plug on the bezel is difficult to plug in, so its better to unplug it on the other end
9) Once you lift up the bezel, I believe the audio and back light wires are on the left. My logic is because the right side seems to have a bus cable, so I'm assuming that is data for the lcd. I could be wrong on this.


Good luck! I say send it in if you have never taken it apart before....especially since MSI is already working with you on this issue.

 

fyi,

Issue with the email hot key has been resolved. Followed those steps I posted above. Found out that the plug for the power key/hot keys was coming out and the wire was shorting out on some metal piece. Pushed the plug back in and did my best to reposition the wires from that spot.

 

hey unrealii, thanks for the reply! Those steps look just a little to scary right now the be honest, but your awesome for posting them, much obliged. This laptop was still the biggest pecuniary investment of my young life so I am not ready to start tinkering with it. Maybe when I get the funds for an 11 inch Sony i'll rip open this one... but till then, I'll send it off to MSI in Toronto. But you should look into the wires around the moving parts of the hinges, maybe there is a way to preempt this flaw. Heed my troubles as a warning.

Cheers!
JR

 

Thanks for the comments JR.

Yes, you are better off sending it to MSI. My computer just gave me another slap today. The ribbon cable under neath the palm rest is bad. Touch pad doesn't work along with half the leds. There's a stiff portion which connects to the main board, then it has a soft ribbon cable after that. It must have been bent too many times from the continuous opening and closing that some wires must have broken by now. Hopefully msi has these cables for cheap. Not sure how much longer of this soap opera I can put up with this sexxxy beast...but for sure, its not much longer.

Best of luck for your repair!

 

I ordered an HP DV2620us last weekend and it arrived mid week. Its not as sleek as my msi with the loads of plastic it has, but it will do the job. I am really liking the media functionality with the hot keys and the remote hiding in the express slot.

I've started disassembling my MSI 1013 ... its a sad time. My experience with such a small and sleek laptop was great for the first year until I started running into the above mentioned issues. Decided it was time to change. The parts for sale is located in my signature.