MSI Wind12 U230 gets priced

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief January 7, 2010 · 1 min read

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A nice upgrade to the Wind U210 is the new MSI Wind12 U230 with the same Athlon Neo processor but on a better. The suggested retail price — Php23,994.

MSI Wind12 U230
AMD Athlon Neo X2 L335 1.6GHz Processor
AMD RS780MN + SB710
2 GB DDR2 667MHz (up to 4GB)
12.1″ display screen @ 1366×768 pixels
ATI Radeon HD3200
250GB SATA
1.3MP webcam
4-in-1 card reader
Gigabit LAN
WiFi 802.11b/g/n
HDMI port
3 USB 2.0 ports
6-cell battery

MSI promises up to 4 hours of battery life on the 6-cell battery. The 9-cell (8200mAh) battery I’m using with the Wind12 U210 registers 5.5 hours on full charge so the 4 hours on the 6-cell isn’t far off.

Villman carries the model for Php3,999 for 6 months at zero interest. The unit does not come with Windows OS though (just DOS) so you’ll need to shell out at least Php7k for Windows 7 for that one.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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151 Comments

jsj · 16 years ago

Pinag iisipan ko talagang ibenta ang 1.5 year old MSI Wind U100 ko at bilhin itong U230!

Syempre resale value niyun <16k na lang.
So iniisip ko kung worth it talaga para makuha masmabilis na processor at HD playback at hi-res screen.

I've heard may basic games kaya.
Has anyone tried heavy Photoshop, Lightroom or Picasa with lots of files?
It'd be great if I can use this for a lot of photo post processing.

Wally · 16 years ago

This netbook has a good specifications, I wonder if this can support some graphic softwares such as Adobe Photoshop???

vinZiii · 16 years ago

@Donn: Try mo nga search sa megamall. Ive heard na may nagoffer dun ng 21.5k for the netbook. I bought this netbook @ Pc Live SM North for 22.5k libre mouse + nagpainstall na din ako sa knila ng kung anu anu :)

@Kenneth: Either mag bluetooth dongle ka katulad ni maeco or pwede ka din bumili ng internal bluetooth adapter kaso dadayo pa ung netbook sa service center :)

maeco · 16 years ago

@kenneth calamay

just bought mine yesterday at msi shoppe sm cebu. you need to buy a bluetooth dongle, i bought one at cd-r king at 220. im still iniatilly charging it now. im looking forward to using it in a few hours from now. :)

donn · 16 years ago

@kenneth

brand new tol… tnx for the info….

@ANYONE

can war craft, league of legends, generals, nfs, diablo2 can run on this laptop without any problem? and also… does radeon 3200 HD have 256 dedicated graphic memory… if so… can we still share memory from your RAM? how many? tnx tnx tnx

Kenneth Calamay · 16 years ago

@donn, I got mine at MSI SM Megamall. 22950 siya pag cash basis. That’s 1k cheaper. Or naghahanap ka ba ng 2nd hand?

donn · 16 years ago

where can i buy u230 around metro manila with same specs which has cheaper price?

Kenneth Calamay · 16 years ago

Hi again guys,

Nakabili na ko. Pano nga po pala gamitin yung bluetooth functionality nito? May kailangan ba akong bilhin? Thanks a lot. Nga pala, anyone tried running from Linux through WINE yung globe tatoo?

Kenneth

NineSwordz · 16 years ago

siguro pang tawag.. hehe. cellphone narin ang laptop these days. ^_^

mawi · 16 years ago

Para saan po ba yung sim card slot sa laptop/netbook? :D

Joy · 16 years ago

I just bought one and it does have a SIM card slot. I haven’t tried it out, though.

amielDH · 16 years ago

sabi sa isang review at may video pa na may simcard slot sa ilalim nang battery..

JKisaragi · 16 years ago

Thanks for the reply vinZiii.

Updated from a trial version of Windows 7 Home Premium.

I guess you’re right. Maybe it was just adjusting on the resolution, as I did notice that one of the updates for Windows 7 was for the graphics chip (3200).

I’m not taking any chances though and I’ll still monitor for any “flickering” that it might show over the weekend.

vinZiii · 16 years ago

I haven’t experience that on this unit. Maybe its adjusting on the resolution that’s why its a bit flickered on the win7 loading screen. Is it a fresh install of windows 7? or updated from an old OS?

JKisaragi · 16 years ago

Just got one of these babies at Accent Micro yesterday for 22,900 (0% 12 Months installment).

Was scared when I updated Windows 7. After restarting the netbook, the screen went all crazy in a few seconds (like literally, the screen got blurry and all jumpy on the Windows 7 loading screen), it all got smooth again on the log-in screen. I still have to thoroughly test this to see if it happens again.

Any of you guys experienced the same? Parang gusto ko isoli tuloy (OC lang). T_T

vinZiii · 16 years ago

@Kenneth: yes! you can do install an OS using USB flash drive. :)

Kenneth Calamay · 16 years ago

Ah ok. Thanks po. I’m not used to booting from external devices po kasi. I trust that I can install an OS to this laptop using an external DVD. Thanks again.

Kenneth Calamay · 16 years ago

Hi Mr. Olandres,

I am planning to buy this model but I’m concerned about the absence of an optical drive. Can I install Windows or Linux to it using an external optical drive? How about thumb drives?

This is my first time buying a laptop actually. Are there any other means of installing an OS to it?

Thanks,
Kenneth Calamay

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 16 years ago

@kenneth – you can always get an external DVD drive. :)

Cuayo · 16 years ago

So my only concern is battery life, iggy says it goes up to 5 hours, has anyone tried underclocking the unit? perhaps it could go to 6 probably 7hrs.

oh and one more question, will this fit those 9 cell batteries of other msi models like u210?

thanks. :)

franciselmer · 16 years ago

can someone please try playing heroes of newerth on it?hehe thanks.

Hendrix · 16 years ago

sir yuga ask lang kung ilang hours ang charging time ng MSI Wind U230? because i just bought it, thanks hope you can help me and where can i buy the mini pci 3g modem? to work the slim slot…Thanks!

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 16 years ago

@hendrix – about 3 or 4 hours to full charge.

the hatter · 16 years ago

so it works well with HD videos? nice! one last thing though, has anybody tried playing 3D (call of duty, etc.) games on this unit? how does it fair?

Hypermind · 16 years ago

Yes meron sim slot ang u230 but u still need a mini pci 3g modem for it to work… (just my guess)… :D

Iggy · 16 years ago

I just got mine yesterday from Accent Micro – Cebu.

MSI U230 is by far the best “muscle” netbook in the market today from price to specs aspect.

All effortless….from OS (Win7) multi-applications’ responsiveness all the way to BluRay HD 1080 playback via HDMI!

For hours of operation, this netbook doesn’t even feel warm unlike others as if your laps gonna melt.

Battery lasted almost 5 hours under normal operation (internet browsing & MS Office apps).
You could still squeeze more hours (+2 maybe — I’ll test this out in the next few days) by using its eco-engine technology developed by msi.

It was just a WOW impression!!! what an amazing package.

Please allow me to share this link:

http://blogs.amd.com/patmoorhead/2009/09/09/congo-vision-test-driving-amds-2nd-generation-ultrathin-notebook-platform/

.. a very similar experience that I can honestly relate and agree upon.

Hope this personal comment of mine helps to the undecided ones.

Max · 16 years ago

Nice machine :D

but no bluetooth, and just 4 hours battery…windows 7 home basic :(

great performance…waiting reviews and videos

Wind · 16 years ago

well, thanks. now a friend is buying this model for me in korea but i don’t know if the w7 come in english. thanks for the answer, and i wait to try it. bye

Wind · 16 years ago

well, thanks. now a friend is buying this model for me in korea but i don’t know if the w7 come in english. thanks for ask, and i wait to try it. bye

Wind · 16 years ago

ok, but the w7hb come in english?, thanks for the answer

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 16 years ago

yup!

Wind · 16 years ago

yuga, you kwon if come with windows 7 home premium in english(languaje)?

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 16 years ago

It’s just Home Basic.

NineSwordz · 16 years ago

sir yuga, how much memory does the HD3200 have? is it the same with the Nvidia ION which has 512mb? err.. which is better then?

btw, can you make a review on Asus Eee PC 1201N.

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 16 years ago

Up to 256MB

JKisaragi · 16 years ago

I’d be using it for casual games (maybe even a bit of online gaming) and the basic stuff (surfing, word processing, etc).

MSI u230 Fanboy · 16 years ago

you know if in Korea or Philippines the msi u230 come with W7 home premium english version (languaje)? please answer me, thanks.

Mawi · 16 years ago

Sir Abe,
I’m torn between buying this and hp mini 110 [pink chic]
I’m going to use the netbook I choose for:
*internet [reading fanfiction, mail, video streaming and facebook]
*Microsoft Word, Powerpoint and Movie Maker

I like this MSI model because it’s screen is much bigger than the screen of HP Mini 110, but it comes only with DOS.

I’d be thankful if you will help me. You could also suggest other netbooks/laptops that you think suits me.

JKisaragi · 16 years ago

Sir Abe, question po. I’m torn between getting this one or a Compaq CQ40-416AU.

Which one’s really worth it? @_@

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 16 years ago

What’s your primary use for it?

travisthetruth · 16 years ago

crap, i just bought a u210 last december, i shouldve just waited for this one..pareho lang naman sila ng price..

Unknown Soldier · 16 years ago

gee… thanks for the info sir yuga! :)

btw, i saw you last night on Q-Tube :) nice review about blackberry storm :)

Unknown Solder · 16 years ago

will it run Visual Studio 2008, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator on this rig?

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 16 years ago

Yeah, I think it can.

rlug2 · 16 years ago

PC Corner advertised in Tipidpc that this has a sim card slot and therefore makes this way better that the U210, aside from the graphics card.. PC Corner’s ad may be misleading.. but then again they may be talking about the slot only, not the modem.. hehehe

vepa814 · 16 years ago

sir abe, may SIM card slot cya sa likod, right? Compatible ba cya sa Globe and/or Smart? Thanks.

daddy joey · 16 years ago

no bluetooth.

Calvin · 16 years ago

only 4 hours with the 6-cell? must be the ati radeon draining the battery that quick.

Pusang Kulog · 16 years ago

Sorry for the third reply. This is not to SPAM. Here’s the AMD Forum link to my stated issue with the ATI HD3200

http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=279&threadid=99753&STARTPAGE=1&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

Pusang Kulog · 16 years ago

Here’s the link to the video posted at 3D Planet Now as to the issue of the ATI HD 3200 having problems with scrolling on a Windows XP OS.

http://translate.google.de/translate?u=http%3A//www.planet3dnow.de/vbulletin/showthread.php%3Ft%3D355982%26garpg%3D2&sl=de&tl=en&hl=de&ie=UTF-8

Sory for the long link but it is the translated to english version webpage. The original webpage has some Germanic language on it.

Again, might as well put a Windows 7 OS on it if you plan to get this unit or any unit that has the same graphics chipset.

Pusang Kulog · 16 years ago

They say that using Windows XP, the HD 3200 seems to have problems with current and older drivers, as there is no 2D acceleration. This leads to very slow interactions with windows and scrolling (especially with Firefox as reported in various discussion boards). More information on the topic can be found at Planet 3D Now or the AMD forum.

Might as well put a Windows 7 OS on this unit…