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MSI CX620 Review

We got 3 units of MSI notebooks powered by the latest Intel Core i3 processors (CX620, CR420 and CX420) but despite having varying form factors and configurations, they all basically look alike. As such, we’ll start the review of the MSI CX620 and go from there.

The CX620 is so far, the largest notebook under MSI’s Core i3 series with a 15.6″ display screen. It’s a bit bulky and heavy, which is expected of its size. It’s not really meant to be carried around but could be a good candidate for a desktop replacement.

This is partly due to the combination of a built-in graphics (Intel GMA HD) for better battery life and a discreet graphics (ATI Radeon HD5470) for a bit more muscle in video performance. The two graphics can be easily switched anytime with a push of a button situated beside the power switch on the top right corner of the keyboard (one for Battery Boost and another one for 3D Graphics Boost).

The notebook design is pretty simple with a glossy finish on the lid and a hint of black & white horizontal lines as accent on the cover as well as the palm rest. The keyboard is well-proportioned with the chiclet-type keys spaced-apart real well to make room for a separate numeric keypad on the right side.

We seldom see this keyboard type for laptops but it’s a layout that needs some getting used to. Of course, you get that benefit of having dedicated numeric keys and and extra (a 3rd) Enter key on the rightmost-side.

The large screen is bright and relatively crisp which is due to the glossy finish. The screen resolution is a mere 1366×768 pixels is a bit underwhelming considering the display size (I was hoping for something more, like 1600×1200 perhaps). As with most other glossy screens, the display is practically hard to use in the outdoors or against bright light sources. You’ll have to crank up the brightness level to 100% in order for it to be barely viewable.

Storage is provided by a 500GB SATA hard drive with an internal DVD+RW drive. It only has 2 USB ports though but MSI added an HDMI port and eSATA port at the back as well a 4-in-1 card reader and ExpressCard. The placements of the ports are also bit out of the norm.

System performance is pretty decent and Windows Experience Index gave it a base score of 5.1, taken from the graphics performance. The 4GB DDR3 RAM got the highest sub-score of 7.1. What’s most intriguing is the sub-score for the CPU which is just 5.9 — it’s significantly lower compared to the 6.5 I got with the MSI CX420 which has the same CPU as the CX620. Will have to do some more investigation on that end.

Got in a bit of a problem with the wireless connection (WiFi 802.11 b/g/n) and wasn’t able to activate it with the function keys.

The 6-cell battery is rated at only 4400mAh can’t offer that much juice and BatteryBar records about 2.75 hours on a single full charge. Not really that efficient considering the amount of juice the ATI Radeon consumes but that’s already expected for this kind of system.

The MSI CX620 is one of the more affordable yet capable laptops running a Core i3 processor couple with a discreet graphics. The suggested retail price of Php39,990 is very competitive for its specs.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

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 considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

16 Responses

  1. Avatar for Mon Mon says:

    MSI might be cheap but breaks down easily.
    It also has a poor after sales service.
    MSI service center will not cover the warranty and blame the defects on the user.
    Don’t be a victim like me of this cheap laptop because instead of saving money you will spend more for its repair. I have IBM laptop since 2005 it’s still doing good until today Aug.10, 2011. Toshiba is ok still doing good after 3 years but MSI! did not last for a year. tsk! tsk! and the cost for repair is more than half of the price when i bought it. Shame on MSI! Poor quality with after sales service!

  2. Avatar for Walton Demma Walton Demma says:

    This will be a great website, might you be involved in doing an interview about just how you designed it? If so e-mail me!

  3. Avatar for stanley lao stanley lao says:

    i was able to buy a msi cx620 i5 from taiwan for 18,900 ntd about 28,000php, is the price ok?

  4. Avatar for Brand Brand says:

    Laptops in philippines are highly priced compardd to other countries..i dnt know why but i prefer if possible to buy laptops in us or dubhai..sir yuga pls do some reviews on toshiba qosmios and satelite A660 series..tnx

  5. Avatar for Gian Viterbo Gian Viterbo says:

    I almost bought this lappy 3 weeks ago but I got myself an Asus K42Jr (i3, 2gb ram, 320gb hd, ati radeon 5370 1gb) instead for 36k.

  6. Avatar for navid navid says:

    U can visit www.msi.com
    click on “where to buy” and select Ur country and city…

  7. Avatar for on _arb on _arb says:

    Where can I buy this?

  8. Avatar for Rich Rich says:

    Got a better deal at KSA with a colleague

    (http://www.jarirbookstore.com)

    got this laptop at 2300 saudi riyal

    (2300 riyal x 12.5 peso exchange rate = P28750)

    Laptops in the Philippines are ridiculously expensive compared to other countries where you can buy a Toshiba Core i5 laptop worth 50k only (with FREE toshiba 5.0 megapixel digital camera) where it’s 75k-90k at the stores in the Philippines.

  9. Avatar for Trifrey Trifrey says:

    Hi sir yuga! Ask ko lang po kung okay ang quality ng MSi laptops? I’m planning to buy the newly released core i5 model, CX 420x. Could you make a review on that? Thanks! =)

  10. Avatar for Trifrey Trifrey says:

    Hi sir yuga! Ask ko lang kung okay ba ang quality ng MSi laptops? I’m planning to buy a core i5 notebook at sila pa lang ang nag release(correct me if i’m wrong) ng may dedicated videocard. Could you make a review of it? I think it’s the CX 420x model. Thanks!

  11. Avatar for Jercouzen Jercouzen says:

    “The 6-cell battery is rated at only 4400mAh can’t offer that much juice and BatteryBar records about 2.75 hours on a single full charge. Not really that efficient considering the amount of juice the ATI Radeon consumes but that’s already expected for this kind of system.”

    This is a bit confusing. 2hrs 42mins using the ATI 5470 on idle?

    If so, do you have the battery life using the Intel HD gfx? It’s idle TDP should be much lower than the 5470 considering the Intel HD is integrated into the processor.

  12. Avatar for alexander.castilloâ„¢ alexander.castilloâ„¢ says:

    MSI specs are quite good but how about the audio quality?

  13. Avatar for hannah hannah says:

    ive been having a hard time finding laptops with keyboards that have numeric keys for office use. are there other choices, i hope? like P30,000 or below.

  14. Avatar for guyrony guyrony says:

    Very competitive indeed! Looks the part of being a heavy weight lappie.

  15. Avatar for Jhay Jhay says:

    There are a host of other notebooks in this category with better performance and specs with roughly the same price tag.

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