MSI X400 review

The MSI X400 is a 14in laptop, yet it’s barely more expensive than a netbook. Weighing 1.5kg, it’s almost as light as a netbook too and, although the screen makes it much wider and deeper, it’s incredibly thin, with curved edges that make it quite attractive. The 1,366×768 resolution display is far larger than the 1,024×600 on smaller 10.1in netbooks, which lead to problems with dialog boxes disappearing off the edge of the desktop.

Our first concern was that build quality might have taken a back seat to design, but while the lid flexes, it’s not worryingly fragile. Similarly, there’s some flex in the base and keyboard, but not enough to cause concern. It does affect typing, especially on the right side: while the keys are large and have a light action, the flex takes the bite out of the key resistance, so you get less feedback.

Some keys have been moved, too. The Enter key is single-height, and the Backslash key has been moved to the left of the Space bar, but other than that the layout is fairly standard. The touchpad is large and responsive, with a single see-saw button that has a light action. It’s too recessed however, which means that your thumb often hits the casing around the button rather than the button itself.

An 1.3GHz Pentium SU2700 processor powers the X400. It’s a single-core chip, much like the Atom processor found in most netbooks, and it’s also designed to use less voltage than a standard mobile chip, so it’s no surprise that it didn’t fare too well in our tests. It’s far more powerful than an Atom in single-threaded applications, scoring 42 in our image-editing test, but it slowed to a crawl in our multi-tasking test, which plays a video while compressing some files.

This means it will be fine for simple applications such as web browsing, email or word processing, which don’t tax the processor while they’re in the background. As you’d expect, the X400 doesn’t have the power to play games but the integrated graphics chip can decode Full HD video content, so the only games you’ll be able to play will be casual or browser-based titles.

Movies look great on the 14in screen. Its glossy finish makes colours more vibrant, but you’ll have to be careful that overhead lights aren’t reflected. You’ll also have to adjust the lid carefully to get the best vertical viewing angle, but once you get the sweet spot, you’ll be rewarded with accurate colours and decent contrast.

Sound through the internal speakers is compressed, tinny and not loud enough to fill a small room, but you can output digital audio and video through the HDMI output, for example to a big-screen HD TV. There are only two USB ports, which limits your choice of peripherals.

Sadly, while the X400 may have similar performance to a netbook, it doesn’t have the battery life we’ve come to expect. It lasted only three hours and 15 minutes in our light usage tests, so despite its weight and slim profile, it’s not ideal for days away from mains power. However, it comes with a carry case and a two-year warranty and, along with the low price, it’s enough to earn it a Budget Buy award.