14 DAY TRIAL // MSI's GE600 gaming notebook was first unveiled at this year's Consumer Electronics Show and managed to gain a considerable bit of attention because of its ability to pack Core i5 chips and DirectX 11 graphics inside a very slim frame. Unfortunately, the machine has been very much unavailable for purchase, as MSI had to make some final performance tuning and do several tests. Now, however, the device is finally ready to show up in stores and MSI has begun to ship it to North American customers.
The GE600 weighs 5.9 lbs, including the battery, and measures 14.7” (L) x 9.6” (W) x 1.1”~ 1.3” (H), making it one of the thinnest gaming laptops available, if not the thinnest one. It is equipped with a 16-inch WXGA display that uses the 16:9 aspect ratio and it has a maximum resolution of 1,366 x 768. The configuration itself is based on the Intel HM55 chipset and uses an Intel Core i5-430M processor. This chip is backed by 4GB DDR3, a hard disk drive with a maximum capacity of 320GB and, most importantly, the ATI Radeon HD 5730 graphics card with 1GB DDR3 VRAM.
The connectivity and I/O options of the mobile PC include 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, three USB 2.0 ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, a super multi optical drive, an eSATA port and audio connectors. Basically, the laptop is designed to bring mobility to a device type meant for the enjoyment of new games and 3D graphics.
“The new GE600 is a powerful mobile gaming station that delivers everything a gamer needs to emerge from battle victorious in a lightweight affordable package,” Andy Tung, vice president of sales, MSI North America, said.
The notebook's chassis is made of a durable, glossy black, scratch-resistant material with a sand accented interior and it has illuminated, touch-sensitive hotkeys. The product also boasts a chiclet keyboard, a wide touchpad and the Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit OS. As for pricing and availability, the mobile PC is already selling through Newegg, priced at $899.99.