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Is the Wind as Hot as Other Mini-Notebooks?

June 3rd, 2008 by Meghan J. McDonough  

As we mentioned before, the mini-notebook craze could be even hotter than the proverbial egg on a summer sidewalk. Face it: hot notebooks hurt—especially during shorts season. No one wants a burn on their legs from a laptop, a keyboard that heats up your fingers, or a mini-notebook that might cause a hot tub–like effect. So, does the MSI Wind keep its cool compared to other mini-notebooks? Let’s find out.

Just like before, we whipped out our Raytek Mini Temp Non-Contact Thermometer Gun and took the temperature at three areas on the Wind: the underside, the keyboard between the G and H key, and the touchpad. In two out of our three testing areas, the Wind registered temperatures that were closer to our control notebook, a Dell Latitude D630 ($849.00), than to the other mini-notebooks.

The underside is where the Wind really shined. It registered a full 21 degrees cooler than the HP Mini-Note and 9 degrees cooler than the Eee PC 4G.

Once again, on keyboard temperature, the Wind was just a few degrees warmer than the Dell notebook and several degrees cooler than the rest of the minis, except for the cool-as-Fonzie CloudBook.

Finally, the touchpad is the only area where the Wind seemed to generate significant heat, although it still bested both Eee PCs. It seems that the Wind’s CPU is located beneath the touchpad, which would account for its toasty temperature.

More MSI Wind Coverage:

Complete MSI Wind Guide
 Comments (7 Responses) 

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7 Responses to “Is the Wind as Hot as Other Mini-Notebooks?”

  1. The King Says:
    June 3rd, 2008 at 11:13 pm

    For those who are temperature conscious and Mac owning. . .very cool freeware app (http://www.bresink.com/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html) and associated dashboard widget (http://www.bresink.com/products.html). I use the widget all the time so I know what’s going on when the noisy cooling fan kicks into high gear.

  2. Kasper Says:
    June 4th, 2008 at 12:37 am

    “It seems that the Wind’s CPU is located beneath the touchpad, which would account for its toasty temperature.”

    Afaik the TDP of the cpu is far lower then any of the possible chipset soultions that can be used in conjunction with the Atom.

    Seems like a great product, but the lack of cpu power is really going to be obvious when used as a portable movie player (mpg4 etc)
    I will probably wait for an updated revision with dual core, otherwise its spot on :)

  3. chi Says:
    June 12th, 2008 at 12:30 pm

    wow wind users are going to have some nice toasty fingers

  4. Anonymous Says:
    June 25th, 2008 at 11:53 am

    Is the wind fanless and passively cooled?

    I may have to wait for an MID with an 800mhz silverthorne and low heat poulsbo chipset to get a unit that’s significantly cool

  5. Swubird Says:
    July 17th, 2008 at 12:43 pm

    I am in the market for a mini notebook mostly for word processing on the road, in the car, etc. The Wind sounds like a good deal and a perfect fit for my anticipated use. However, I am not a computer genius and want to make sure that there is good, service available. How does one solve problems on the Wind should they arise?

  6. dflores Says:
    July 28th, 2008 at 4:29 am

    i would like to buy minilaptop. can you guys help me what brand hp, acer, asus, or msi..you will recommend thanks=)

  7. Anonymous Says:
    December 8th, 2008 at 5:49 am

    Swubird,

    MSI wind has a 1 year warranty and online support as well as a US office in Miami.

    dflores,

    MSI wind is pretty awesome. Make sure you get the 6-cell or buy a 6-cell battery

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