Pros: Very high quality build - no creaking or flexing at all. The hinges hold the screen firmly in place. Absolutely the best machine out there under $2000. I would even say that you'd have to go as high as $2500 to compare, and at that you'd end up with a 12 lb bohemoth that requires a wheeled bag to take anywhere. Very light weight for its size. Intel P processor. Very low battery draw. The Eco button makes it extremely easy to adjust the settings for any usage. No extraneous software. The only two things that I had to uninstall to make a "clean" machine out of the box were the 60 day trials of Norton Internet Security and Microsoft Office. The other laptop manufacturers could learn a thing or two here. Outstanding sound quality. The speakers produce rich, clear sounds through the entire range of volume settings. No tinny sounds or distortion at higher volumes. The surround effect is even somewhat impressive when watching Blu-Rays. Very quiet. I can barely hear the

Cons: The keyboard will take a bit of getting used to. The main trouble I have is hitting the up arrow every time I reach for the right shift key. Still, it's survivable. The DVD playing software included is a bit dated and will not play the newer BD movies. Not really MSI's fault, but it means having to purchase additional software right off the bat in order to use my machine to its fullest. Mouse buttons are very loud. Again, not a deal breaker, but if you're trying to not disturb the ones around you it can be rather annoying. The MSI website is a nightmare to navigate. Very poorly laid out and difficult to find answers to your questions. Other forums online offer much better advice and links to updates. Just be careful with them, and understand that you may have to wade through 15 pages of ways to hack (read "destroy") your new laptop before you find the answer to your question.

Overall Review: I saw that this is being replaced by the -220US with the 2.0Ghz Quad-Core processor for the same price. Very cool, but I'm glad I got it with the 2.53 Dual-core. Most programs today cannot use the four processors and so it just cuts your speed down to 2.0 with the added bonus of draining twice as much power (45w vs. 25w) The other specs are exactly the same. Bottom line: If you're looking for a quality laptop that will last you several years and has the hardware to make it worth keeping that long, this is it! If you want an astounding amount of bang for your buck, this is it! If you're not at all tech savvy and just want to surf the web and write reports, go somewhere else. This takes a little tweaking out of the box to get it to do what you want, but it seems to reward that extra little bit of work in spades. I'm usually the king of "buyer's remorse", but I have absolutely no regrets about this purchase.