MSI's X460, like Dell's XPS 14z, isn’t quite ultrabook grade when it comes to size and weight, but it’s not a long way off. For a 14in notebook that weighs just under 2kg, it delivers an awful lot of performance. Not too many notebooks offer Intel’s 2.2GHz quad-core Core i7-2670QM and certainly not at this weight. Couple it with 8GB of RAM and it cranked up our demanding Userbench Encode HD media-encoding benchmark to over 85, which is one of the fastest scores that we’ve seen from a notebook.
There’s no optical drive, but you get a fast 120GB Intel SSD along with a 500GB Western Digital hard drive. The 5,900mAh Lithium Ion battery lasted 4 hours 17 minutes in our testing, which is a great effort for a sub-2kg notebook. Peripheral ports are well-stocked, too, with two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, VGA and Ethernet included.
However, what worried us was the general build quality — there was flexing in the chassis base and right-hand side panels that didn’t meet up properly, leaving a gap. Dell’s XPS 14z feels sturdier, but its battery life is almost an hour less. Compared with an ultrabook, though, the X460 just doesn’t feel as sturdy, which is a pity because for its $1,549 price tag, there’s plenty to like about it. Provided you don’t bounce it around, the technology value here is excellent. It’s just a pity we don’t think the build and finish quite match that level.
