MSI U115 Netbook sports both solid-state and hard drives
By Gareth Powell
MSI has launched a netbook called the MSI U115 Hybrid that uses both solid-state and hard-disk drives. This MSI netbook is the same as the Advent 4211-B that this is being written on. Except for the solid-state drive which is an excellent differentiator.
This is how it works: the U115 Hybrid comes with a solid-state disk for most of the PC’s operations, together with a hard-disk drive that can optionally be used for storage. Optionally because that hard disk drive can be switched off in use which MSI claims extends battery life, as solid-state drives are generally more power-efficient than normal hard disks.
This is very likely to be correct. They are certainly quicker.
Otherwise it is much the same computer as the earlier model in that the 10-inch screen has a resolution of 1,024 x 600. The device uses a 1.6GHz Z530 Intel Atom processor, Windows XP Home, and a gigabyte of DDR2 533MHz RAM. Bluetooth is included and it also has two more USB 2.0 ports than the Advent which gives it three.
You can choose between a 1.3-megapixel or 2.0-megapixel webcam although for the sort of work it will do — mainly video chats over the Internet —the resolution, unless you have a very fast connection, will negate any difference.
You can also chose between a three- or six-cell battery; and 802.11b/g/n or 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. The machine will come comes with two possible combinations of drives: A 120GB hard drive with an 8GB solid-state drive, or a 160GB hard drive with a 16GB solid-state drive.
The U115 Hybrid weighs around 1kg with the three-cell battery. And that is pretty much all you need to know about this machine.
What has not as yet been stated is the price. At a guess $1,000 with the larger solid state memory. Which does not quite calculate as you can buy a Samsung 16GB memory stick for less than $35 and a bog-standard machine for around $500.
In a sense what the MSI U115 Hybrid does is combine those two in one package. Worth paying extra for but not an immense amount. So, as usual, it will come down mainly to price.
At $550 the MSI U115 Hybrid will be an interesting buy. At $1,000 it is too expensive for what it is. What we must now wait for is the price announcement.
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January 5th, 2009
From what I read, solid state drives are not always faster than mechanical hard drives. Apparently only the expensive SS drives are faster; most of the ones used in low-end notebooks are actually slower than standard hard drives.
March 25th, 2009
I just purchased a Lenovo s10e from Fry’s electronics in Downers Grove, Il. It has a build date of 3/11/09. The unit was supposed to come equipped with a 160 Gb hard drive. When I turned the unit on, and checked “My Computer” it showed only a 4Gb drive. When I checked the BIOS, it showed a 4Gb SSD, and a 160Gb Western Digital drive. The 160Gb drive was not online, and did not have a drive letter. I formatted the drive, and assigned it drive letter “D”. “My Computer” now shows the two drives, C & D. The 4Gb drive is not a partition, as the computer will run without the 160Gb drive. I called up Lenovo support to confirm the two drives. Upon checking my serial number, he did confirm the two drives, and asked me if I ordered it that way. I told him I bought it “off the shelf”. The Lenovo press release doesn’t even show the S10e available with two drives; it’s either one or the other. I assume that Lenovo had made too many of the SSD units, and just added the 160Gb drive to ship them in a timely manner, eating the cost of the SSD. By the way, the SSD is apparently mounted on the motherboard, and is not user accessible. It is not installed in place of the normal hard drive.