MSI Wind Top AE2020 review

MSI's Wind Top brand brings to mind Atom processors and tiny price tags, but the AE2020 is more powerful than you might expect. It differs from most touchscreen PCs we've seen recently in its combination of an Intel Pentium Dual-Core processor and Nvidia's Ion chipset. In our benchmarks it scored a perfectly healthy 1.34, which is more than enough to handle demanding applications.

That Ion chipset uses GeForce 9400M graphics, which are powerful enough to serve a media purpose – the MSI played back our high definition test files flawlessly. There's not really enough power for gaming, though, as its score of 23fps in our low-quality Crysis benchmark attests; you’ll have to stick to older titles with reduced quality settings to achieve playable frame rates.

The chassis belies the low price, too. The glossy black exterior is augmented with a clear plastic surround and faux leather strip, and there’s a good selection of ports and sockets, with eSATA joining the usual USB and Gigabit Ethernet. The included peripherals are comfortable, too.

The 20in 1,600 x 900 panel, however, is distinctly average. Although it offers rich, bright colours, the resistive touchscreen layer creates an off-putting mottled effect which is especially visible on lighter colours, and we also noticed a touch of backlight bleed at the bottom and sides.

In real-world use it was also too sensitive. This was particularly evident in MSI's own front-end, a 3D carousel that features shortcuts to major applications; we found we accidentally launched tools when scrolling. And, despite this proprietary front-end, every shortcut leads to a Windows application, with no sign of any tools designed by MSI. Also disappointing were the speakers, which are tinny, lack volume and made music and movies almost unlistenable.

It's a shame, because on paper the AE2020 looks a tempting proposition, with good looks and decent performance to go with a low price. Unfortunately for MSI, the reality just doesn't match up enough to pull our wallets from our pockets.

Author: Mike Jennings