MSI X-Slim X370 Fusion Powered Ultraportable Review
User Experience
Pardon us if some of this feels like repeated statements from our time with Lenovo's ThinkPad X120e, but the standard E-350 setup is starting to feel really familiar, and that's not really a bad thing. A lot of the Fusion-based machines shipping out today have identical hardware specifications, or really close to identical. The X370 is definitely a dead-ringer for the prior Fusion-based machines that we've reviewed, at least internally.
What does that mean? It means that you can count on great 720p and 1080p HD video playback, so-so gaming performance on yesteryear's 3D titles, fairly decent multi-tasking, a bit of lag when loading up an application for the first time, and great battery life with just a bit of heat output. That's become the norm for Fusion-based rigs, and that's the case here.
The only real difference is that due to the X370's slim chassis, it emits more heat (but perhaps surprisingly, less noise) than other Fusion machines we've seen. The two vents beneath the front edge were churning out hot air nearly the entire time we were using the machine, even if we were only engaged in simple tasks like surfing the Web and penning a Word document. The fans weren't too boisterous, though.
The overall user experience, however, was satisfactory. The performance in everyday chores is solid, and it becomes even more so once you clear out a bit of the bloatware that ships withthe machine (Norton, a few IE toolbars, etc.). While even Firefox takes a few seconds to load at first launch, it's snappy afterwards, and multi-tasking is (for the most part) fien once you've gone through the launch process of each program.
Watching multi-media was fantastic, and some light-duty gaming was possible as well. Unfortunately, the X370 isn't much of a presentation machine, as the viewing angles go sour pretty quickly when you start deviating from dead-center. However, the incredible trackpad really made it comfortable to use for long sessions, though the awkward keyboard layout took some getting used to. After an hour or so, we weren't dealing with too many errors, and while the keys could stand to be a touch more rigid, they definitely served the purpose.
;)
What does that mean? It means that you can count on great 720p and 1080p HD video playback, so-so gaming performance on yesteryear's 3D titles, fairly decent multi-tasking, a bit of lag when loading up an application for the first time, and great battery life with just a bit of heat output. That's become the norm for Fusion-based rigs, and that's the case here.
The only real difference is that due to the X370's slim chassis, it emits more heat (but perhaps surprisingly, less noise) than other Fusion machines we've seen. The two vents beneath the front edge were churning out hot air nearly the entire time we were using the machine, even if we were only engaged in simple tasks like surfing the Web and penning a Word document. The fans weren't too boisterous, though.
;)
The overall user experience, however, was satisfactory. The performance in everyday chores is solid, and it becomes even more so once you clear out a bit of the bloatware that ships withthe machine (Norton, a few IE toolbars, etc.). While even Firefox takes a few seconds to load at first launch, it's snappy afterwards, and multi-tasking is (for the most part) fien once you've gone through the launch process of each program.
;)
Watching multi-media was fantastic, and some light-duty gaming was possible as well. Unfortunately, the X370 isn't much of a presentation machine, as the viewing angles go sour pretty quickly when you start deviating from dead-center. However, the incredible trackpad really made it comfortable to use for long sessions, though the awkward keyboard layout took some getting used to. After an hour or so, we weren't dealing with too many errors, and while the keys could stand to be a touch more rigid, they definitely served the purpose.
;){kind=link}