MSI Megabook S271 with Turion X2

Conclusions:

Performance: The performance of MSI's S271 is a good compromise between size and portability, but we would have hoped for better battery life from this machine. AMD's Turion 64 X2 processor doesn't appear to be as efficient as Intel's Pentium M and Core Duo - battery life during DVD Playback was reasonably good, but the Turion X2 was let down during our general use battery life test. We would have expected well over 3 1/2 hours from a similar-specified machine with a Core Duo chip at the heart.

Gaming on the MSI S271 was all about making compromises, but then we're not going to hold that against MSI - the fact that you can game on this machine is reasonably impressive in itself. It isn't designed for gaming, but it is capable enough to satisfy those who just can't leave their games behind if they're travelling. The notebook was capable of multitasking, and it performed reasonably well in our 2D benchmarking suite.

Specification: The Turion 64 X2 TL-50 is AMD's slowest Turion 64 X2 processor, so it was never going to set the world on fire when it comes to performance. However, it does have the dual-core factor going for it - anyone who is a heavy multi-tasker will see endless benefits from the Turion 64 X2 processor that MSI has included in this notebook. It is good to see that MSI has included 1GB of memory as standard, along with an adequate 80GB hard drive. I'm a big fan of slot loading DVD drives, so it is great to see that MSI has included one of those too. The high-contrast screen also makes for incredibly vibrant colours and video playback.

All in all, there isn't a lot to complain about when it comes to specification.

Form Factor: Weighing in at around 2.1Kg with the 8-cell battery, it just about scrapes into the thin and light category and it is quite a heavy machine for what it actually is. However, it's not so heavy that it impedes with carrying it with you when travelling - that's thanks to the size of the machine more than its weight. Many will prefer to carry a heavier 14" or 15" notebook around with them though, meaning a typically higher working resolution and a more attractive battery life.

Value: At under £800 including VAT, this is a rather cheap notebook considering its form factor and specification. Howeer, there are notebooks out there from Acer, Dell and Samsung that cost little more but provide more in terms of battery life, specification and style. Unfortunately for MSI, the Turion is not a great competitor to Core Duo chips even of the same price. Ultimately, MSI is going to find it hard to break into the notebook market because that market is so competitive when it comes to price, performance and certainly battery life.

Final Thoughts...

MSI has designed a reasonably good looking notebook, but there are some shortcomings that would prevent us from giving the S271 a solid recommendation above some of the bigger brands. The one sticking point is the battery life - had MSI managed to achieve a battery life above 4 hours, the S271 would have been more a attractive proposition. This comes down to the fact that MSI opted for a Turion 64 X2 CPU - it just isn't efficient enough to compete with machines based on Intel's Core Duo processors. When it comes to portability, battery life is king and that is really the only thing that lets down an otherwise solid thin and light notebook.