We already knew that it was possible to install Windows Vista on an MSI Wind. But why would anyone choose to load an operating system that takes up significantly more system resources on a tiny laptop with a relatively low powered CPU? Because you might just get more battery life and a more responsive PC, that’s why.
While Trusted Reviews found a MSI Wind running Vista to be a bit on the sluggish side, Notebook Review discovered that the notebook can handle Windows Vista quite well.
The trick is to find working LAN, WLAN, card reader, and Intel GMA 950 drivers. For the most part, it looks like the XP drivers MSI supplies will work. You also have to disable Vista features like Windows Update, System Restore, UAC, and scheduled hard drive defragmenting tasks in order to get a speed boost. But the upshot is that the reviewer found that the Wind scored higher on every benchmark when running Windows Vista than it had when running Windows XP.
The battery also lasted 2.5 hours instead of the 2 hours he was getting with Windows XP. This doesn’t surprise me. Windows Vista has significantly better power management than Windows XP, and the power settings are far more customizable. With CPU-intensive features disabled, I’d be surprised of the battery didn’t last longer under Vista.
So what do you think? Should MSI offer the option to order a Wind notebook running Windows Vista? Or should the brave few souls who want to install the OS just do it themselves?
[via Electric Pig]