MSI Debuts Intel-powered CX480

Taiwanese notebook manufacturer Micro-Star International (MSI) kicks off the summer with its brightly colored release, the 14-inch CX480.

Designed as a lightweight version of the venerable CX640, the CX480 closely follows the larger laptop’s aesthetics and choice of bright colors, but holds a few aces of its own up its sleeve. The new model is MSI’s first laptop to boast Nvidia’s GeForce GT 520M graphics card, with a whopping 1GB of dedicated DD3 memory.

Bringing the visual output to life is a 14-inch screen with 1366 x 768 resolution. The display has a nifty ambient light sensor, similar to those found on smartphones. It automatically adjusts the screen’s backlight according to the 16 preprogrammed brightness levels, depending on the ambient light available.

Underneath the brightly hued hood is a choice of Intel’s Core i3-2310M, or the faster and beefier Core i5-2410M processor. This can be complemented by up to 8GB of 1333MHz DDR memory.

To round all this juice-hungry firepower, MSI included a very practical feature – a battery charge indicator located next to the power button. This allows users to monitor how much operating time they have left on the 6-cell 4400 mAh battery. Four green LEDs signify a full charge, and switch off one by one as the battery drains. The last LED will start flashing once you hit the 10 percent mark.

The company says the battery is good for up to 8.5 hours of continuous usage, although it depends on what applications are running. A one-hour charge can replenish 80 percent of battery power, perfect for users on the go.

Connectivity-wise, the CX480 supports Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0. and Gigabit Ethernet. It has two USB 2.0  and one 3.0 ports, two audio jacks, HDMI, and D-sub. Rounding out the whole notebook package are a memory card reader, optical drive, and webcam in the lid. All told, the CX480 has more peripherals than most of the current releases on the market.

Of course, all these extras means the laptop has to pay a penalty when it comes to weight. The CX480 is a bit chunky at 2.2 kg, and is ideal for those who value functionalities over ergonomics or portability. The laptop will be available in black, white and blue when it hits the market.