MSI X-Slim X340 gets dissected
By Donald Melanson 
posted April 25th 2009 12:16AM
posted April 25th 2009 12:16AM
They're still pretty hard to come by 'round these parts, but it looks like the folks at UMPC Fever have managed to track down one of MSI's shiny new X-Slim X340 ultraportables and, like any good citizen of the internet, they've promptly gone and ripped it apart. As you might expect, there aren't exactly a ton of surprises, but it looks like anyone hoping to do a quick and easy 3G upgrade is out of luck, unless, as SlashGear points out, they're willing to ditch the built-in WiFi to free up a PCI-E slot. Hit up the read link below for the complete, not always pretty breakdown.
[Via Slash Gear]
[Via Slash Gear]
That is one ugly engineering job inside. I'm not expecting everything to be as artful designed inside like a Mac, but a bunch of tape across the MoBo is just going to far.
+1
Agreed. Word for word. There seems to be so much wasted space around the edges. This is an engineering disaster.
Agreed, about the tape. Seriously, what?
But the extra space might be to help keep it (and your lap) cool.
tapes not a huge deal, but i would have moved in the front and right edges and made the sides more boxy, like the Voodoo Envy133.
Hey, if the tape works well and is what makes the laptop affordable, I wouldn't complain too much. Kinda makes the whole unibody idea a joke. :p
Damn whats with all that empty space, they could have made it like an inch smaller on all sides. O and when they hell did tape become common in laptops? The first time that things gets hot sticky crap is gonna get all over that board and case.
Empty space helps with cooling. You want the parts to breathe.
Wow, compared to Apple's engineering that looks like a bunch of parts fell off a truck and got tangled up together. Pretty fragile and inefficient looking.
What kind of tape is that?
That's not tape, those are the fingernails of the slave-workers who made the laptop.
Looks like a three year old when a little crazy w/ the tape.
That's like a gorgeous blonde with huge tits that has 3 cancers inside of her body.
Butter-face laptop.
I was going to say well because it is cheap you can't expect to much, but since it really is not that cheap I think it is kind of a bust. MSI really should have put more time into this. Kind of a fail. :(
Try again MSI. Sorry you fail.
Seriously? That thing looks like something Macgyver would have thrown together in 2 minutes.
Which is why it's so awesome. Throw a transparent body on it and you have a slick piece of post-apocalyptic technology. It'd also have a strong hacker/cyberpunk vibe.
i hope it wont overheat and melt the taping... and then hopefully, not setting the tape (looks like masking tape) on fire.
maybe this isn't the final version
For the price, and engineering, I would buy the early '09 Macbook that Apple sells for $1K. The MSI is just an expensive netbook as far as specs go.
Donald, it would have been OK if you took a shot at the innards looking like crap. Because they do. It looks like these were assembled in a cigarette-smoke filled sweatshop. TAPE? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Yup this is msi, the msi wind has a few pieces of tape inside as well.
My Thinkpads have all had some tape, too. Get this, it actually keeps the cables out of the airflow path, and keeps them from rattling. Down with MSI, and Lenovo, too!
@msalivar:
My pre unibody Macbook Pro has tape inside too actually. The only difference is it's not freaking masking tape from the dollar store.
Yeah, because you can tell from the photograph that this is masking tape, and not something more specialized.
MSI better be after that target demographic that are all non-readers of Engadget or other tech news. Cus after that, I think I'll pass.
L O L
Not everybody has access to a monocoque manufacturing process. And yes, this is what it looks like.
Maybe a competing company opened it up and put the tape everywhere to drive away tech savvy people like us.
So if the weather gets hot and you accidentally drop this, all the pieces will come unglued. Laptops held together by tape, that's just going too far with cutting costs.
MSi takes FIRST PLACE at the 5th Grade Science Fair! CONGRATS MSi !!!
the inside of a unibody macbook/macbook pro looks so much better
The engineering job on this piece of shit = ULTIMATE FAIL
There is a reason why macs cost more you know.
what a botched up piece of filth.
apple FTW
So ... you quite like it.
That explains the cheap.
Not saying it's not worth it though. Tape doesn't hurt the performance (so long as it sticks)
So, apart from the tape, is anything wrong?
omg guys get over the fact that it has tape in it. obviously its a great laptop if all you can moan about is the fact that they used a few bits of tape to hold wires down.
also, if you had one, how often would you be opening it up and going OH NOES LOOK AT THE TAPE
you really need to learn to actually praise things instead of always being negative. i know its easy to just point and lol on the internets, but this is a cheap really slim laptop that looks pretty awesome. FYI most laptops i have opened up use tape in some way shape or form. and whoever asked if it would set on fire or become unstuck when the laptop gets hot has obviously never heard of product testing. its like asking if the wheels will fall off a car when it drives.
/rant
+1
+2
May god, what a mess inside. This aint got nothing on an MacBook Air! That looks sweet outside and in!
Sticky back plastic anyone?
I think the X320 shuold have XP Pro SP3 instead of Vista. I think more people will choose the X-slim 340 over the 320. And honestly, don't those folks at MSI know how to assemble an ultraportable? They sould be ashamed of using tape! I'm gonna choose between the X340 and the HP Pavilion dv2z. Why? Cause they're the cheapest ultraportables around.
Ah, mob mentality at it's best. One person says OMG tape and everyone else piles on. As others have pointed out, the tape is for the wires; it's not actually fixing the parts to the chasis. And whoever mentioned fire, seriously? I mean seriously? Do you have any inkling of an idea just how many electronic devices in your home have tape in them? You don't see them burning up all the time. Hell, go look beneath the dash in your car if you wanna see tape and electronics all strewn together.
It works. and it didn´t waste time and money on a useless aluminnum unibody design => engineering succes! thats efficiency people.
You don't need a laptop to look awsome on the inside just because some guy at apple thought it was a good selling point. don't be stupid and buy the things you really need and like. besides, if the macbook air's unibody design is so spectacular, how do you explain the cracks in the hinges? msi engineers are the real deal, not those stupid designers apple has.
Stupid designs apple has???????
I think you are the stupid one.
All of apples designs are beautifully designed
I do know that that kind of tape is the kind that can withstand high temperatures before melting. In addition, I have never seen a computer that doesn't have a little tape here and there (my MacBook Pro included), and yes, it is to keep wires down and out of the way, etc, etc.
I think the issue is that, tape aside, it looks mangled and haphazardly put together. Perhaps, whether you are changing/upgrading a part, or just drop it the wrong way, something is going to loosen or knock against something else in an improper way, causing problems. If you look at the MacBook Air or the Dell Adamo, they basically look like artwork inside. It's kind of a pride thing...attention to details. That's just my take, but what do I know?
reson it looks a little odd is the small parts and components on left and right side. AS said before apple wont have stuff like this.. why? cos they pay the money to have all these parts intergrated into one. making it look all nite... which is good though of course it affects the price of the product when it comes to sale..
Yes you can look at msi and think theres wasted space. but before it was open everyone was praising its slimness for price... well they managed to put in small components and still have space which is great.
and i guess front of it with the 1inch of space will be for cooling as u can see the vents for cooling and its where it gets too thin to put anything
How does this laptop compare to ASUS eee 1008?
we could make an episode of "Modern Marvels" "Engineering Disasters" for the history channel :P
but don't complain unless you provide a solution.....
"it looks like anyone hoping to do a quick and easy 3G upgrade is out of luck"
You're right, those USB 3G dongles are just SOO HARD to plug in.
so, ummmm, i am guessing that'sthe gyno-fan assembly with the copper heat disipation rod serving as a probe for door number two.......how about you?
tomo
All that tape and extra space is necessary for cooling, if you want it more compact i'm pretty sure you'd have a laptop that is constantly overheated. Pretty sure any company that comes out with a new line that is highly anticipated will spend a lot in R&D to make sure everything is efficient and built the best in can be with the price range its in. Feel free to drop $1000 more on a MB air for some less tape. I do agree though, looking at that is kind of depressing.
I think that this is a pre-production model and their laptops no longer look this messed up on the inside.