Small notebook shootout - part III - Benchmarks, Conclusion
Author: Vedran Dakic
Date: 08 Apr 2008

Let's see how good does this thing do in terms of benchmarks. First thing, battery life. This notebook actually made it pass the four hour mark (4:20) which is very good. It's twice as long as the ASUS F9Dc, and some 70% more then U6s can deliver.

PCMark and 3dMark scores are lower then ASUS's, but this is kind of expected. This one has integrated graphics and slower CPU, but it's much more appropriate for the whole 12.1"-notebook-to-carry-around thing. So 537 3dMark 2006 and 3300 PcMark Score doesn't tell the whole story here.

Keyboard and touchpad quality are something that needs some attention, and I already discussed this with MSI people. Future models are gonna have completely different keyboards so you shouldn't worry about that. This is one cheap-badass small notebook that contains unbeliveable value for its price. ASUS's models are somewhat "stronger" in terms of hardware, but that still doesn't explain the significant difference in price when compared to this notebook. ASUS's models are just way too expensive. Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about right now.

From the top of my head, the most perfect comparison that I experienced myself would be a comparison between Toshiba Sattelite X200-15K and Apple MacBook Pro 17", only done the other way around. MacBook is just so many lightyears ahead in terms of build quality but it's actually completely unreasonable that Toshiba's big'n'heavy contender has only 250EUR better price, but at the same time it sucks in terms of build quality and/or anything that's remotely important - the keyboard on that Toshiba is worse then on PR200. And it costs three times more the money plus.

12.1" notebooks aren't gaming machines, they shouldn't be power-hungry and they sure as hell shouldn't have such a bad battery life like ASUS's. Most of the people I know can't even read the 1280x800 screen on a 12.1" notebook accurately, so why bother to have 3D-card inside if it's just not supposed to be there? Laptops should be done exactly the same way this MSI notebook is done - it's ment to last, be small and completely affordable and light and enable you to do your basic work. If only there was an XP-only model...

If you're looking for a very nice looking 12.1" notebook that will draw some serious attention because of the way it looks, while still keeping your hard-earned cash in the bank to be spent on something other then notebook, PR200 is the perfect choice. It has just the right balance of power, battery life and price and as such should be very high on your buying list if you're looking for something small and affordable. The fight for Value for Money award stops here since the next laptop is again a lot more expensive then this one and according to scores - that's how it is. Nice work, MSI!