MSI unveils notebook with E-450 APU, new X460 ultraportables

Matthew DeCarlo

Posts: 5,271   +104

MSI has unveiled a new value-minded notebook for media fiends. Billed as a "high-end multimedia machine," the CR430 is packing fresh Fusion silicon from AMD, courtesy of the company's E-450 APU. That model may be unfamiliar to you considering it isn't available yet. It's due sometime this quarter and features two 1.65GHz processing cores, 2 x 512KB of L2 cache, a 508-600MHz Radeon HD 6320 graphics core, and support for DDR3 1333MHz RAM

That's up from the HD 6310 and 1066MHz RAM support in the E-240, E-300 and E-350 -- the latter of which we reviewed in February and found it to be more powerful than the Intel Atom CPU and Nvidia Ion GPU. Accompanying the new Zacate chip will be a 14-inch 1366x768 LED-backlit display, 320GB to 640GB of storage, a DVD burner, HDMI and VGA outputs, a multi-card reader, USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports, Wi-Fi, a 720p webcam, and a six-cell battery.

Although MSI hasn't shared the CR430's pricing or release date yet, such details are available for the company's X460 and X460DX. Launched today, the sub-inch-thick ultraportables are available in three configurations ranging from $800 to $1,200. Although the systems share common features like a 14-inch 1366x768 display, Wi-Fi, HDMI and USB 3.0 connectivity and an eight-hour battery life, the core specifications change between models:

  X460DX-008US X460DX-006US X460-004US
Processor Core i3-2310QM 2.1GHz Core i5-2410QM 2.3-2.9GHz Core i7-2630QM 2.0-2.9GHz
Memory 4GB DDR3 6GB DDR3 6GB DDR3
Graphics GeForce GT 540M GeForce GT 540M Intel HD 3000 Graphics
Storage 500GB 7200RPM HDD 500GB 7200RPM HDD 750GB 7200RPM HDD
Price $799.99 $899.99 $1199.99

If you intend to purchase a laptop for anything graphically demanding, you'll likely want to opt for the base or mid-range configuration. The $1,200 machine loses Nvidia's GeForce GT 540M graphics chip and Optimus graphics-switching functionality, but gains double the processor cache (6MB) and supports Intel's Wireless Display (WiDi) technology. As a side note, MSI is also preparing a Windows tablet that we plan to review in the near future.

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Compared to the Atom, we found the E-350 to be much more powerful. The E-350 was more responsive than the Atom 330 for basic use, while the Radeon HD 6310 trumped the Nvidia Ion in virtually every 3D application we tested. Furthermore, the E-350 offers more features than the Atom/Ion combo as well as support for full DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD bitstreaming.

I never realized that the E-350 was more powerful than the Intel Atom, not to mention the GPU being better than Nvidia Ion; all for cheaper? I'm confused now.
 
I don't understand why does the AMD lappy height need to be 28mm, that's nearly 3cm. Do vendors always make AMD laptops unattractive with their dimensions? No wonder noone buys their products.
 
I'm looking forward to reviews of the E-450. Seeing press releases mentioning it is a good step forward.
 
From a lot of reading on the E-350, it doesn't beat the Atom in all benchmarks, but the graphics capability does thump the Atom. Will be looking into the 450 now with interest, although was looking for a netbook with max 11" display for my girlfriend, they might not pair that 450 with that small a screen...
 
I'm using an Asus Laptop with APU E-350. I play Stalker SoC with low graphic setting (+ native 720p display resolution) with only little hiccups...

To play a fullHD video (compressed like .mkv .mp4 & others h264 format capable), only ATI AVIVO codec can do the job... other codec won't work.
 
I'm using an Asus Laptop with APU E-350. I play Stalker SoC with low graphic setting (+ native 720p display resolution) with only little hiccups...

To play a fullHD video (compressed like .mkv .mp4 & others h264 format capable), only ATI AVIVO codec can do the job... other codec won't work.

Thanks for the feedback Guest. Might help me make a decision on a netbook ;)
 
Arris said:
From a lot of reading on the E-350, it doesn't beat the Atom in all benchmarks, but the graphics capability does thump the Atom. Will be looking into the 450 now with interest, although was looking for a netbook with max 11" display for my girlfriend, they might not pair that 450 with that small a screen...
A dual core Atom might beat an E-350 in some multithreaded benchmarks where hyperthreading makes a difference, but for practical use the faster single threaded performance of the E-350 is better for everyday work (browsing, word processing, etc.).

I'm sure the E-450 will crop up in many 11.6" laptops, which is where the E-350 is most successful.
 
Guest said:
I'm using an Asus Laptop with APU E-350. I play Stalker SoC with low graphic setting (+ native 720p display resolution) with only little hiccups...

To play a fullHD video (compressed like .mkv .mp4 & others h264 format capable), only ATI AVIVO codec can do the job... other codec won't work.
Have the same laptop. I found that Media Player - Home Cinema does the job best with .mkv files. It's internal .H264 decoder squeezes most out of the graphics and plays 1080p smoothly. Not that you'd want 1080 on screen slightly larger than 720 ;)

As for games, League of Legends, which I play most, on above the lowest settings stays at 25-30+ fps.

Guest said:
I don't understand why does the AMD lappy height need to be 28mm, that's nearly 3cm. Do vendors always make AMD laptops unattractive with their dimensions? No wonder noone buys their products.
Don't be misinformed. 28 nm is the manufacturing process used not the laptop's thickness. >.>
 
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