MSI X420

This brand new MSI X420 notebook is stylish. This $799 MSI X420 is powerful with 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor. Unfortunately the memory is only 2GB of RAM and the storage is 250GB. We can see some competitors with cheaper price, 4GB of RAM and 320GB storage. You will be happier to have 4GB of RAM than 2GB of RAM if you're using Windows 7. This notebook bundled with Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit.

The MSI X420 have less RAM and storage than its competitors. But it has more powerful graphics card. 1GB of ATI Radeon HD 5430 is onboard. It surely will help you to play some 3D games, but not the the games that need a very powerful graphics card like Farcry.

The interesting feature is switchable graphics. If you need a 3D power to run some heavy graphics software you can switch to ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5430 GPU. If you need a longer battery life to do some office work, just switch to the integrated Intel GMA solution.

Like some low level notebooks, this MSI X420 doesn't have an optical drive and Expresscard slot. In equipped with a 1.3-megapixels Webcam, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a card reader, and two USB ports, HDMI and VGA video ports, an eSATA/USB combo port, headphone and microphone jacks, and an Ethernet port.

It weight 4.1 pounds with 0.9x13.8x9.2 inches dimension. The screen is 14 inch and has maximum resolution of 1,366x768 pixels with 16:9 aspect ratio. Large enough for average home and office users. The screen delivers sharp picture and displaying 720p HD video beautifully.

The touchpad is good. But the keyboard is noisy and a little bit flimsy. With its battery you can watch video streaming for above three hours.

If only MSI X420 has an optical drive, it will be a good deal for $799 notebook with 14 inch screen and switchable graphics.

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