Mesh MSI PR600

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http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/0,39030093,49292883,00.htm

Reviewed 19 September 2007

Reviewed by Patrick Wignall

Mesh makes its own PCs but it doesn't make its own laptops. Instead, it takes machines like this one -- the MSI PR600 -- and resells it under its own brand name.

The laptop is built around Intel's latest power-saving Centrino technology for laptops -- so we expected it to have not just good performance but also better than average battery life. But did it live up to these expectations?

Strengths
The PR600 isn't the most stylish laptop we've ever come across, but the black and silver colour scheme is not exactly offensive to the eye and the laptop's chassis certainly feels well built.

The glossy screen makes colours look vibrant, but will reflect light outdoors

Like most of the desktop replacement laptops around at the moment it uses a display with a glossy coating. This makes colours really leap from the screen and adds extra contrast that really looks wonderful when watching DVDs or viewing slideshows of photos. However, the coating also means it's more reflective, which can be a problem if you're using it outdoors.

A neat little extra perched at the top of the display is the 1.3-megapixel camera. It's handy to have for making video calls using something like Skype or Windows Live Messenger.

When it comes to storage you get a 160GB hard drive, which is enough to hold a decent amount of MP3s, digital snaps or videos and the 2GB of RAM keeps Windows Vista Premium ticking along nicely.

The laptop is built around Intel's latest Centrino mobile platform, so we expected it to be a pretty decent performer. However, the 1.8GHz T7100 Core 2 Duo processor pushed it along to a score of 3,695, which is respectable rather than really outstanding.

However, the battery life was more impressive. In our Battery Eater test it ran for an hour and 22 minutes, which is about 20 minutes more than some of its rivals.

Weaknesses
Perhaps the biggest issue we have with this laptop is the layout of the keyboard and trackpad. MSI has decided to adorn the machine with a keyboard that includes a full numeric pad -- just like a standard desktop keyboard. That's all well and good, but the problem is that it has then shifted the trackpad to the left so it still sits under the main part of the keyboard.

The result is that when you're working on a document or browsing the Web, you end up sitting slightly off centre to the screen. It's a very odd arrangement that just takes some getting used to.

The speakers are also a disappointment. Slap on some tunes and you'll find that they're pretty much incapable of producing bass, leaving you with tinny-sounding audio. And they're also very quiet. Even with the volume turned up full whack, you can still comfortably have a conversation over the top.

Gamers won't find much to interest them here either, as the laptop posted a lowly 3D Mark score of just 454. It's enough to play older games but it'll chug along with the latest titles.

Conclusion
The PR600 isn't a bad machine. It's got a decent screen and plenty of storage, as well as a healthy amount of RAM. However, next to the cheaper Toshiba A210, which is a faster performer with a vastly superior 3D graphic chip, it looks a little lacklustre.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday