MSI mPC 51PV Small Form Factor PC

Name: MSI mPC 51PV Small Form Factor PC - Page 11
Brand: MSI

by Marco Chiappetta — Tuesday, November 14, 2006, 10:00 PM EDT

Performance Summary: The MSI mPC 51PV performed just like a full-sized Asus motherboard, when outfitted with similar components. Throughout all of our tests, this MSI small form factor PC finished within a few percentage points of the M2N32-SLI and put up numbers in-line with expectations. The fact that the MSI mPC 51PV performed on-par with its "full-sized" competition shows that users don't have to sacrifice performance should they opt for a small form factor system.

We really like the MSI mPC 51PV. We understand that some of you reading this may be put off by this system's lack of overclocking tools and somewhat limited expansion options, but the mPC 51PV was designed with a specific audience in mind. It was designed for mainstream users looking for a highly integrated system, and we feel that these users will be more than pleased by the mPC 51PV. Hardcore power-users should obviously look elsewhere. But anyone in the market for an affordable small form factor system should give this machine serious consideration. It's loaded with features like an IGP, Firewire, HD Audio, Gigabit Ethernet, a 7-in-1 card reader, and an integrated WiFi NIC, it's rock solid stable, performs well, and it's incredibly easy to assemble. The MSI mPC 51PV is also competitively priced at about $240 according to our Pricegrabber search engine. Slap a CPU, RAM, hard drive and an optical drive into this system and you're done. Based on its complete feature-set, ease of assembly, performance and competitive price, we're giving the MSI mPC 51PV a solid 8.5 on the Heat Meter.

Ultra-Easy Assembly
Highly Integrated
Solid Performance
Looks Pretty Slick
Wired and Wireless LAN
Affordable

No Overclocking Tools
Limited Expandability
Shows Fingerprints & Scratches

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Tags: MSI, PC, CTO, Small Form Factor PC, Small Form Factor, MS, mall, AC, Tor, ACT

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com