MSI AIO AE1900-05SUS 18.5-Inch Touch Screen Desktop PC - White Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased the AE1900-05SUS for my 11 & 14 year old daughters. I was a little apprehensive given the very positive AND very negative reviews this system has received. I was even more nervous when the computer arrived with its factory seal broken (see previous review). However, after investing a good 4-5 hours into setting up the computer, I do appear to have a very nice system.
There are several things that could be improved with this system. First, the keyboard and mouse are passable but not great (keyboard keys are noisy). They also take up 2 of the 4 USB slots. I-Rocks makes a nice looking RF wireless keyboard/mouse combo that would go nicely with this system. Second, I opted for the faster processor/larger RAM version of the AE1900 which comes loaded with Vista. I am not a fan of Vista. Third, the MSI Wind Touch interface is nice, but I have not yet been able to figure out how to add additional programs/applications, which you are supposed to be able to do (I have not tried MSI support yet). Without this capability, the interface is not really useful. Fourth, the system does boot up slower than I am used to, although I am spoiled by my ASUS 1000H. Based on reviews that I've read, this could be partly due to Vista and partly due to the MSI Wind Touch interface. Fifth, many of the programs listed in this interface are trial versions requiring users to purchase licenses within the first month or two of use. There does not, however, appear to be bloatware. Finally, the DVD-RW drive works well, but does appear to be a little flimsy when opened.
There are several things about this system that are extremely nice. First, other than a little disk drive noise during boot-up, the system is extremely quiet. Second, other than the DVD-RW drive, the system is solidly built. Third, once calibrated the touchscreen works extremely well. Fourth, the screen looks incredible. Fifth, the system is light enough to move from room to room. Sixth, the webcam and facial recognition software work extremely well. Seventh, the system comes with 2 touchscreen keyboards. As mentioned in a previous review, one of these keyboards is rather small and requires use of a stylus. The keyboard that comes with the Soft-Stylus program is, however, big enough to use with ones fingers AND one can make the keyboard even larger. One would, however, need to install Windows 7 to have these keyboards automatically launched when text input is required. Personally, I find a normal keyboard to be more convenient. Finally, the system is fairly responsive even with Vista running. I did, however, change the power settings to maximize performance rather than maximize energy efficiency.
If I would have stopped at this point, I probably would have given the computer a 6.5 to 7 out of 10, consistent with a lot of the "expert" reviews one can find on the web (computershopper, i4u, etc.). I did, however, decide to spend a few extra hours downloading and installing additional software. Some of the software was recommended to prolong the battery life of netbooks (i.e., they have a smaller footprint and require less resources than alternatives). The VLC media player and the Foxit pdf reader fall into this category. Google's Chrome web-browser also falls into this category, but I loaded Mozilla Firefox instead, since: 1) my daughter's are more familiar with it and 2) Chrome is nice and fast, but not as stable as Firefox. I also loaded freeware that replaces some of the trial software installed on this system, most notably Open Office (one could also go with Oxygen Office) and the AVG antivirus program. Finally, I downloaded software which helps improve the overall user experience. This included GMABooster to improve graphics performance (risk of some instability), Google's Picasa 3 for photo editing, SRS Audio Sandbox to improve audio performance, and (as mentioned in a previous review) BumpTop. I was seriously considering loading Windows 7, but turning off the MSI Wind Touch interface and launching BumpTop makes this un-necessary (at least not until Windows 7 is officially released and supported). Once all these changes were made, I had a system that I would rate at least 8 out of 10. If removing the MSI Wind Touch interface from the startup menu noticeably reduces boot-up time, I might even give it a 9 out of 10. The BumpTop software is what makes it "sing", which is how a reviewer at techstauf4 described the system once he installed Windows 7. Windows Vista + the MSI Wind Touch interface appear to hold this system back. BumpTop and Windows 7 (according to techstauf4) appear to help demonstrate the system's capabilities.
FINAL ADDENDUM: I figured out how to modify the MSI Wind Touch interface, but it involves editing an XML file with NotePad and running the program as an administrator (i.e., it is not very user friendly). I also found an online article on 12 things that can be turned off in Vista to reduce boot times and improve performance (e.g., the sidebar and Aero). Boot times were still about 1.5 minutes. I was finally able to reduce boot times by: 1) inserting 4GB ReadyBoost enabled flash drive into one of the USB ports and 2) installing the $20 version of Advanced System Care which has the SmartDefrag, SmartRam, and GameBooster utilities which I do not believe come with the free version. After running the system analysis tool, SmartDefrag, and SmartRam, boot times dropped to about 1 minute. Use of GMABooster, the ReadyBoost flash drive, and either SmartRAM or GameBooster (game mode of latter turns off touchscreen) produced a system that flew through SIMS 2. With the AE1900-01SUS XP system, one would use FreeRAM XP Pro (which is free) rather than SmartRAM. The final cost of a system I would give 9 out of 10: $600 for AE1900-05SUS (cheap as $585 on web), $45-50 for I-Rocks RF wireless keyboard/mouse (not necessary), $20 for Advanced System care (highly recommended), $29 for SRS Audio Sandbox (a must), $29 for BumpTop (although less functional free version more advisable), $10 donation for GMABooster (although can use for free), and $0 for AVG antivirus, Ad-Adware spyware, CCleaner (not required with Advanced System Care), FoxIt Reader, Google Chrome browser, Firefox browser, VLC media player, Media Player Classic - HomeCinema, Picasa 3, Google Earth, Open Office, iTune, Videora converter for iPods, and Sumo Paint (online app). BumpTop, Google Earth, and Sumo Paint are all rather amazing when run on the AE1900's touchscreen. The downsides of BumpTop are: 1) I've had to reset it almost every time the system has gone into sleep mode and 2) it uses ~100 MB more RAM than the MSI Wind Touch interface. It is an amazing app though. Final time invested is probably at least 10 hours. I think it was worth it. (NOTE: BumpTop has turned out to be a little too unstable ... too msny resets. We are going to try RocketDock, which will give it even more of an iMac feel. FOLLOW UP: I created a new folder on the desktop called ShortCuts. I moved all desktop short-cuts into this folder and placed all programs frequently used on RocketDock. I then downloaded and installed Yahoo widgets, which I prefer to Vista sidebar gadgets. I used auto-hide for both widgets and RocketDock. I used 360desktop to enable each daughter to create a 360 degree panoramic desktop of their choice. The net result was a very nice and clean desktop with easy access to everything that one needs. All 3 apps are free, although panning within the 360desktop is not fully functional via touch. If you just want to plug-in the computer and go, then this is an OK computer. The $700 Lenovo A600 might be a better choice. It is more powerful, but does not have a touchscreen and is twice as heavy. If you invest some time into setting this computer up, it is really, really nice.)

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MSI AE1900 AIO TOUCH N330 WHIT

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