MSI's $240 Desktop Powered By Dual-Core Intel AtomMSI's $240 Desktop Powered By Dual-Core Intel Atom

Micro-Star International this week introduced a dual-core, barebones mini-desktop for $240.

The Wind NetTop D130 is equipped with an Intel Atom 330 dual-core processor and 2 GB of DDR2 memory. The system runs on 35 watts of power, which is less than the average light bulb.

The desktop comes with a DVD burner and can connect to a digital TV for playing movies. The computer supports stereo surround sound.

The D130 is MSI's first dual-core NetTop. The company also makes the NetTop 100, which is powered by an Atom 230 1.6-GHz processor and 945GC chipset.

The systems are roughly 12 inches by 9.5 inches by 2.5 inches and sport one VGA port and six USB ports. There is also a mini-PCI express slot for a Wi-Fi card or TV tuner card.

MSI introduced the D130 on Thursday. The desktop, which is about the size of DVD player, is the company's latest product in the low end of the consumer PC market, where MSI sells its Wind mini-laptop. While PC sales overall have plummeted in the economic downturn, low-cost mini-laptops have been the one exception.

Shipments of the so-called netbooks reached 5 million units worldwide in the fourth quarter of last year, bringing the total for the year to about 10 million units, which accounted for 7% of overall PC shipments, according to IDC. Nevertheless, PC shipments overall fell for the first time in six years, dropping 0.4% year to year and 2.5% from the third quarter.