NbC: MSI Wind U115 Hybrid Review
July 27, 2009 at 9:23 am
Battery Life
The MSI Wind U115 netbook comes with a 6-cell lithium ion battery. MSI clams that the battery should last for around 12 hours when using the U115 in Eco Hybrid Storage mode. Given all the claims we had seen regarding the U115’s battery performance, we were very keen to run our extensive battery tests to find out just how long it can really last for.
The 6-cell Li-ion battery is rated at 58Whr (5200mAh).
Battery life is one of the most critical considerations to make when choosing a netbook. As with our previous reviews, we avoid using synthetic battery tests to determine battery life. Apps, such as Battery Eater, are designed to determine the extreme points of battery performance and we just feel that they are not representative of what the netbook will be used for. We also feel that they are of limited use to our readers, who want real-world examples of what the netbook is capable of.
We have used a number of different scenario tests to determine what kind of battery life to expect from the MSI Wind U115 Hybrid. For the sake of completeness, we ran two battery tests for the U115, with and without the HDD disabled.
Airplane
We replicate an environment where one may want to watch video throughout an airplane journey. For this test we turned off both Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the webcam. Screen brightness was set to 62.5 percent (given the dark environment) and audio was set to 50 percent. We also plugged in a pair of headphones (noise cancelling Sennheiser PXC 250’s) to make the test as authentic as possible. We then looped an AVI video file continuously on full screen until the battery died.
Result: In this scenario, we found that the battery lasted for 453 minutes when the HDD is used, completely outperforming the Asus Eee PC 1000HE and Samsung N120. Enabling ECO mode, brought even greater life, with the battery lasting 527 minutes. The result is even mode impressive considering the fact that we had to use an USB stick to play the video file, given the lack of storage space on the SDD.
Business
For this test, we simulated the likely setting one would use if using the netbook on the move for business. We had Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the webcam all switched on. The screen was set to 50 percent brightness and audio at 50 percent. To make sure the Wi-Fi was being used, we also opened the Opera browser and set a couple of web pages to refresh every 30 seconds.
Result: Under this scenario, the battery lasted for 423 minutes, 12 minutes behind the Asus Eee PC 1000HE. However, with the ECO mode switched on, it completely outclassed the competition at 615 minutes of battery life.
Coffee Shop
Here we replicated an environment where you might surf the net or watch YouTube whilst having a coffee. For this test we turned on Wi-Fi (and left Bluetooth and webcam off). Screen brightness was 100 percent whilst audio was at 50 percent. We streamed a YouTube video on an endless loop until the battery died.
Result: As you can imagine, this particular test really stressed the CPU. On average CPU usage was between 80-85 percent. It is no surprise to therefore see that the battery lasted the shortest time under this test at 293 minutes. For some reason, this came below both the Eee PC 1000HE and Samsung N120. However, with ECO mode on, the MSI took the lead again at 367 minutes.
Jukebox
This particular test involved streaming music over a wireless network. Audio was set to 75 percent, whilst brightness was set to 25 percent. Wi-Fi was switched on, but Bluetooth and the webcam were switched off. An album was looped until the battery died.
Result: The MSI Wind U115 lasted for 463 minutes, coming behind the Eee PC 1000HE at 524 minutes. Switching the ECO mode on gave a battery life of 528 minutes, taking a marginal lead over the 1000HE. It is worth pointing out that the 1000HE battery test for this scenario was run on ‘Power Saving Mode’, which skews the result somewhat as the CPU is underclocked. Going forward, we will be completing battery tests at native CPU speeds, so we will try to re-test this particular test on the 1000HE (once we can get hold of the netbook again!)
Summary
There is no question that from looking at these tests, the MSI Wind U115 is the new champion when it comes to battery life. Even without disabling the HDD and entering ECO mode, the U115 has some of the best battery life out there, especially considering it’s up against some esteemed battery life heavyweights in the form of the Asus Eee PC 1000HE and Samsung N120.
But once you do enter that ECO mode, the Wind U115 obliterates the competition. Hitting over 10 hours in the business battery test, highlights just how long you can last on the road and gives new meaning to ‘all day computing’. We really do wish that MSI provided an SSD drive that had more storage space than the 8GB included. This means you wouldn’t have to consider moving files backwards and forwards and that you could use the ECO mode almost exclusively. As it stands, the ECO mode will mostly be used for browsing the internet, which seems like a missed opportunity.
August 22nd, 2009 3:58 PM
I will appreciate to know where i can shop this amazing netbook.
I am writing from Nigeria and the good battery life will make huge business sense here.
Best regards.
Chidi