MSI's Windbox media center nettop spotted
updated 10:55 am EST, Fri November 28, 2008
MSI Windbox Spotted
MSI is planning to join ASUS in the nettop field by taking a different approach, the company has confirmed through a French unveiling covered by Journal du Geek. The Windbox is deliberately given a slim, subtle black enclosure that MSI says is meant to be used for home theater PC duty; a VESA mount on one side lets it attach directly to the back of most HDTVs. The company also renders it noise-free by using passive heatsinks to cool the inside instead of fans.
The specifications rest at the high end of the nettop range with a 1.6GHz single-core Atom, 1GB of memory, 802.11g Wi-Fi, a 160GB hard drive and Windows XP. Higher-end units will carry 2GB of memory and 250GB hard drives, though these would likely require Windows Vista to meet with Microsoft's current limitations on nettops.
A starter Windbox is due to cost €200 ($258) when it ships in early 2009. US pricing will likely be similar but hasn't been mentioned.
