MSI Keeps Nettops Alive with Wind Box DC100

Current attention may be diverted towards the ultrabook, but the nettop segment is not going by ignored, MSI having put together a certain item based on AMD's Fusion architecture.

Advanced Micro Devices may have taken years to finally deliver on its promises of CPUs with good integrated graphics, but now that the units are running around, they are definitely not slacking off.

In fact, the E-450, AMD's newest and strongest E-Series APU (accelerated processing unit) has just been spotted inside a new machine.

The machine in question is one of those things called nettops, small form factor desktop PCs with entry-level specs, usually.

Micro-Star International is the manufacturer of the Wind Box DC100, as the electronic is called, according to this report.

Available for pre-order in Europe at the price of 299 Euro, the newcomer has the processor backed up by 2 GB to 4 GB RAM (random access memory).

There is also a hard disk drive with a storage capacity of 320 GB, plus a 6-in-1 card reader, six USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and 5.1 channel audio, plus HDMI and D-Sub.

For those that want a reminder as to what the APU itself can do, the E-450 has two cores (Bobcat), each clocked at 1.65 GHz.

What's more, the same chip has the Radeon HD 6320 graphics on the same die.

All in all, the Wind Box DC100 has a power consumption of 40 W and measures 191.8 x 150.93 x 34.94 mm (the weight is of 830 grams).

Finally, MSI's latest invention is, quite unsurprisingly, loaded with the Microsoft Windows 7 Home premium 64-bit operating system.


Those who, for the sake of comparison, want to look at MSI's other AMD-based products might be interested in the MSI CR430 or the X370, though things like motherboards and tablets might also pique their interest.