PowerPro P 15:3 (MSI MS-1651) Review

by Kevin O'Brien

The PowerPro P 15:3 (MSI MS-1651) is a compact gaming notebook that packs a big punch with a slim 15.4" form factor. This notebook offers an NVIDA 9600M GT graphics card, optional Blu-ray drive, HDMI out, and all the other bells and whistles that you would want from a multimedia powerhouse. With a sleek and stylish brushed aluminum finish and a starting configuration price of $1,299, should this notebook be on your list of computers to check out? Read this review and find out.

Our MSI MS-1651 configuration:

• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P9500 (2.53GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 6MB L2 cache)
• NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT with 512MB of GDDR3 discrete video memory
• 15.4" WSXGA Matte Display (1680 x 1050 max. resolution)
• Genuine Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit) SP1
• 4GB (4096MB) DDR2 800MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 x 2048MB modules)
• 250GB 7200rpm Serial ATA hard drive
• 8x Multi-Format Dual Layer DVDRW
• Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Web Cam
• 6-cell 10.8v 4800mAh battery, 90w power supply
• 3-Year Warranty with Next Business Day shipping paid both ways when purchased as the Power Pro P 15:3 via PowerNotebooks website

Build and Design

The design of this notebook is very nice, with a cool looking silver on black appearance. The screen lid and keyboard palmrest is made up of brushed aluminum, which even includes the touchpad buttons. The media buttons are flush mounted on a matte plastic panel that is entirely touch sensitive except for the main power button. The overall look is very stylish for a gaming notebook, and has nothing too out of the ordinary compared to the lengths some manufacturers go with exotic colors and LEDs.

Build quality is above average with excellent fit and finish. The palmrest is very rigid, helped in part by the top layer of brushed aluminum no doubt. The same rigid surface is also found on the screen lid which feels very solid and gives a great deal of protection to the LCD under it. While I normally don't enjoy all latchless notebooks because of how weak the tension to keep the notebook closed is, MSI incorporates strong magnets to assist with locking the lid down. You really need to wedge your finger between the lid and palmrest to open it up easily.

One of my more OCD concerns with notebooks is fingerprints and smudges and my first thought was this notebook should hold up pretty well since it doesn't have a glossy surface. It turns out that the brushed aluminum finish is a magnet for smudges, as all of the little grooves easily pickup the oils on your finger and make the surface appear darker than the surrounding bits. Some of these spots end up being more difficult to wipe off than those found on glossy notebooks. If you are the type who likes to keep a notebook really clean, it would be keen to have a small bottle of cleaner and a wipe stored in your laptop case... well that or wear gloves.

Display

The MSI MS-1651 has a WSXGA+ matte display which is very pleasing on the eyes, but not the brightest screen we have come across. The matte finish is very smooth which doesn't cause much sparkle on solid colors displays on the screen, such as a white background while surfing the web. Viewing angles are better than average, with a broad sweet spot vertically before colors start to invert. Horizontal viewing angles stay true even while moving to steep angles looking in from the edge of the panel. The overall brightness of the panel is less than other gaming notebooks we have reviewed, leaving a bit to be desired in a bright office setting. Colors appear are clear and vibrant, but not as oversaturated as what you might find on a notebook that has a glossy panel.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard has a fullsize layout, which isn't always found on a 15.4" notebook. While the addition of the number pad is nice, the primary section of the keyboard ends up feeling cramped. The standard direction pad is slimmed down, the rightside shift key is the size of a normal letter, and the symbols such as "." And "/" are abnormally small. The typing surface feels solid when you press firmly on the keyboard, but it has a 1-2mm gap between the keyboard and underlying structure that makes the thing bounce when typed on. The individual key action is smooth with quiet feedback.

The touchpad is pretty large coming in at roughly 3" wide and 2" tall. Sensitivity is great at default settings, and the Synaptics settings give you a wide range of adjustment if you want a heavier or lighter touch. The touchpad buttons felt awkward to use, needing more pressure than most touchpad buttons to click. The design is such that the buttons are made up from the same surface as the palmrest, with a cutout to shape the button and let it move independent of the surrounding surface. You end up needing  more weight behind your click, and the click itself is hard with shallow feedback.