MSI Wind U123 and ASUS 1000HE Show Netbook Evolution
by Wesley Fink on July 17, 2009 12:02 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
Battery Life Comparison
To provide the best perspective on battery life we tested with representative ASUS models from the original ASUS PC 4G to the ASUS 1000HA. ASUS was extremely helpful in providing netbooks to more clearly demonstrate the improving battery life on netbooks. Battery tests were run for the ASUS 1000HE and the MSI Wind U123 and test results were added to the base charts.
| Netbook Battery Testing Results | |||
| Model | Specified Battery Life | Wh Power | Tested Battery Life |
| Asus 1000HE | 9.5 hrs | 62.6 | 5:54 |
| MSI Wind (U123) | ? | 86.6 | 8:27 |
| Asus 1000HA | 7 hrs | 62.6 | 4:41 |
| Asus PC 901 | 8 hrs | 62.6 | 4:37 |
| Asus PC 4G | 2.8 hrs | 38.5 | 2:10 |
The first ASUS netbook, the Eee PC 4G had a specified battery life of just 2.8 hours. This compares to the current ASUS 1000HE with a specified battery life of 9.5 hours - certainly a dramatic improvement. Our more demanding battery life testing showed the original ASUS Eee PC 4G with a battery life of 2 hours 10 minutes with improvement in the 1000HE results to 5 hours 54 minutes. However, the MSI Wind U123 is clearly the battery performance king among netbooks tested in this roundup. The Wind U123 turned in a benchmark-leading 8 hours 27 minutes of battery life while constantly connected by Wireless LAN to a website with flash content on every page.
With netbook architectures so very similar in recent designs the most revealing specification is the Wh (watt hours) battery rating. The voltage and mAh ratings were converted to Wh and the advantage for the 9-cell MSI Wind U123 is almost 40% compared to the Wh rating for the 6-cell ASUS 1000HE.
Our first thought was that the extra power trade-off in the Wind U123 must be increased weight, but that is not the case. The 9-cell Wind U123 weighs almost the same as the ASUS 1000HE. This makes the MSI an even more impressive performer in the battery life derby.
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JackPack - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
Will AnandTech consider updating this article with the 1005HA Premium/Value?Honestly, this article feels a little outdated given the 1000HE is EOL.
Wesley Fink - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
We mentioned in the article that the 1005HA was replacing the 1000HE, which might make the 1005HE a bigger bargain as it is closed out. We have received a 1005HA in the lab for testing.Wesley Fink - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
I think I created a new Asus model in the reply. The model that may see close-out pricing is the 1000HE.goinginstyle - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
Is there any reason why wireless tests were not run or performance not even mentioned. I have to depend on a wireless connection and without a DVD drive, it is really important to know how well the wireless setup works and if there are any compatibility problems hooking into a router.Maybe it was on the hands on pages but my eyes hurt after looking at the background colors on the pics. It could just be me but red and pink just seems out of character around here.
Both units have what appears to be nice webcams and once again no mention on how well they work and the quality or if still pictures are a choice. Is the wireless connection or even the machine fast enough to handle skype video?
I know these units are not built for gaming but can you run WoW or Company of Heroes on them and how well do they run the multitude of flash games, especially the card games.
How good is the video quality on the VGA port and do the drivers offer support for widescreen formats or just 4:3. I guess I am frustrated as I am looking for a netbook and need more information than the asus, acer, hp, or msi websites provide.
The battery tests were really good but what happens if i buy a usb DVD drive and rip a movie to the hard drive. Will the msi have enough juice to play a couple of movies on a plane ride. Maybe I need to spend more and get a 14" notebook but i was hoping to save some money here.
Wesley Fink - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
We found no issues at all connecting any of the 5 netbooks tested by wireless for our battery tests. All found the connection to our wireless router and held onto to it for the 2 to 8.5 hours until the battery was depleted. Testing wireless was not the point of the battery test, but it is some evidence of wireless stability.We do intend to add wireless connectivity testing to future netbook reviews. We are currently looking at several potential test methods.
TotalLamer - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
With netbooks getting larger, more capable, and more expensive... at what point does a netbook cease being a netbook, and simply becoming a notebook?nafhan - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
I think hardware plays a big part in what defines a netbook. That said, I wouldn't pay more than $400 for a netbook.It would be nice if they would release a netbook based around a dual core atom processor (the 330). I'd gladly sacrifice a couple hours of battery life on the MSI lappy for an extra core.
The0ne - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
Definitely not over $400 as you could always find laptop deals for around the same price. For the same price the lack of CPU power is a huge drawback.Wesley Fink - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
That is a very interesting suggestion. As I mentioned in the article we used an exterior monitor for the PCMark05 testing since a minimum 1024x768 was required to even run PCMark05. I was very surprised at how different the netbooks were in their output to the external monitor.As you say some are very clean and some are quite ragged. We will try to find a way to include VGA port output in future netbook testing.
sprockkets - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
Would like to see the HP mini 2140 though.