Home Automation Domotica Forum Europe, Bwired Forum

MSI gave me a demo model of the new WIndbox to test for domotica use.
Many of you have been able to see it on the Domotica dinner evening but for the others a small description.

http://global.msi.eu/index.php?func=pro ... od_no=1721

The MSI is a small metal box intended for industrial use. It contains the usual Intel Atom single core with a (Toshiba 5400rpm 160gig) hardisk and 1 gig internal memory.
This exactly the same as the ASUS EEE box.

What is different?
Due to the metal housing being used for cooling, this device is fanless! It also feels a bit more solid.

Of course I can still hear the harddisk but that can be easily swapped for an SSD. THe housing can be opened with a (a lot off) little screws. Then the harddisk removed with one single screw.
While the box is open, you might plug in some extra memory in the empty slot. With enough memory you might be able to disable the page file and 'save' your SSD from many read/write cycles.

During normal use the box hardly warms up and the power use is around 10 watts.
My one is attached to a touch screen, running XP pro and HStouch. It seems a really nice combination. During install it needs some extra drivers but they are delivered on CD for WinXP and Vista (Both 32 and 64 bits)

The chipset is also advertised as being able to support DirectX 9 but that doesn't seem relevant for Domotica use.

I am also not really convinced about the port layout: There is a front side with the on/off switch but next to it is are USB ports and the powersupply connector. Meaning the plug is always sticking out on that side. On the back you will find VGA, audio and USB but also the card reader. It doesn't make sense to me but I guess its the price you pay for a small formfactor.

The cons:
Since it is an industrial device, it will come without an OS.
It is a bit more expensive than the EEEbox, about 50 euro's more.
Strange layout of the ports, card reader and on/of switch.
At the moment they are difficult to order. (but I got some offered today)

Pro's:
Small and good looking
Easy to mount with the adapterplate
Very quiet
Low power consumption.
Very strong housing.

Good driver support for many OS types.
Easy to install/replace parts inside.

Here is a picture of the inside:

I thought the Atom didn't run 64 bit code?

I am not sure about that, but I only saw intel drivers for X64 on the CD.
Who wants to run X64 on a low memory, low power device anyway?

If the processor is able to run 64 bit code (without emulation), I would imagine it is better to run 64 bit code. Not only because I would expect it to be faster but also because I would expect it to be more power efficient.

BTW: if I understand the description in the link (in the opening post) correctly, the thing supports at max 1 Gig of memory, is that correct?

yes officially 1gig but there is an empty slot on board as you can see. I haven't had time to plug a module in but will certainly try.
I know there is a deal with Microsoft about the max memory (1gig) that can be used on Atom boxes/netbooks for their Windows Xp home license, not sure if that is hardware locked too.

It comes without OS, so I would not expect any MS imposed limits. Sounds like a HW limitation to me.

OK I took the change and opened the box with the 100.000 little screws Added a new 1 gig DDR2 memory dimm and restarted. It boots up even faster and yes, system shows 1.99Gb physical memory.

Cool. Strange that they put up-to-1Gig in their specs then. Maybe their marketing department was on holiday? [:)]

Which OS are you running on it?

WinXp Pro SP3 at the moment. Will try Windows 7 in X86 en X64 with SSD when my other ones arrive.

Zebrafilm,

What touchscreen do you use?

Vega 10" on Windbox and ASUS TOP in the livingroom. Vega is cheapo screen, mechanical weak and plastic but works fine. Touchscreen has good 'feel' an works with a seperate driver via USB poort. You can find a lot on this forum. Link to webshop: http://stores.ebay.de/vegashop-n-e-t_W0 ... %26otn%3D4

Today I have also tried Windows 7 beta on the little machine. It installs fine and doesn't need a single driver. (Windows XP needs a whole bunch of them when installing).
Even my touchscreen driver worked fine but my toucscreen itself seems to have too low specs to display a picture. Although 800x600 is supported and I selected the lowest refresh rate and bitdepth, it still complains about an invalid signal. On a normal monitor it runs happily with HStouch. Startup time for WinXP Sp3 is 33 seconds, Win7 needs 56s second to present the desktop.
Poweruse seems a little higher with Win7 but both issues might change with the final release. ITs clear that Win7 will run prefectly on Atom boxes.
X64 is not supported/running on them.

Then some more News from MSI. It seems there are some Windboxes popping up in online shops but I also heared that one dealer placed a serious order, which means in a few weeks there should be plenty.

MSI is also going to launch a consumer version WindBox DE100: http://images.hardware.info/News/cebit-day2-19.jpg and many more Atom boxes this year.

a few answers from MSI on my questions:
Q: Why does the data sheet says max 1 gig memory, when there is a working slot on the mb?
A: It should work fine because the chipset supports it but we don't support it if you get problems.

Q: Why is the Windbox more expensive then the ASUSbox?
A: THis is an industrial box and MSI might be a little more selective on the quality of the components.

My ones should arrive soon and I would like to thank MSI and XS2 for letting me test their demo Winbox.