The MSI X600 is the 15.6-inch entry in the company’s X-Slim series of super-svelte notebooks. Like the X340 did for 13-inch laptops, the X600 ($799) pushes the envelope of portability for 15-inch systems by offering an incredibly light chassis with MacBook Air-like curves. The combination of a discrete ATI GPU and an Intel Ultra-Low Voltage processor give the X600 both good graphics performance and strong battery life. For less than the X600’s $799 price tag, you can find heavier 15-inch notebooks with better overall performance or longer endurance, but overall this notebook has plenty of appeal for those who don't need an optical drive.
Slim, Lightweight Design
At just under an inch thick, the X600 may just be the slimmest 15-inch notebook yet. It’s half an inch slimmer than the Gateway NV Series, and about 0.2 inches slimmer than the Sony VAIO NW and the Acer Aspire Timeline 5810T. The notebook's slim profile is possible because MSI omits an internal optical drive, although the company bundles an external DVD burner.
At 4.8 pounds, the X600 is also the lightest 15-inch notebook we've tested, coming out 0.8 pounds lighter than the Sony VAIO NW and Gateway NV, and 0.6 pounds lighter than the Aspire Timeline 5810T. However, the DVD burner itself is 0.8 pounds, so if you take it with you, you’ll be carrying the same 5.6 pounds worth of notebook as you would with the Gateway and Sony systems.
Like the X340 and the MacBook Air, the X600 has slick, rounded curves. However, unlike the aluminum Air and MacBook Pro, the X600 is made out of lightweight glossy plastic, in either black or silver. We recommend the silver version, which is resistant to fingerprints.
Ports
MSI managed to pack plenty of ports into the X600's slim chassis. In addition to the standard audio jacks, 2-in-1 memory card reader, VGA, Ethernet, and 2 USB ports, the X600 has an eSATA/USB port for connecting to high-speed backup devices and an HDMI-out jack for outputting high definition video to a television or HDMI-compatible monitor. .jpg "msi-x600-ports-4")
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