MSI GE76 Raider review: Alder Lake and RTX 3080 Ti dominate

msi ge76 raider review 02

MSI GE76 Raider

RRP $3,999.00

"The MSI GE76 Raider is an old-school gaming laptop with new-school PC parts."

benefits

  • Fantastic gaming performance

  • Super fast video editing

  • Many ports

  • 1080p webcam

  • MUX switch included

  • Good thermals

disadvantage

  • thick and heavy

  • Bad touchpad

  • Low battery life

The MSI GE76 Raider is a very conventional gaming laptop. It's bulky. it's fat It's not something you would take with you to work.

But beneath the surface, this gaming laptop offers a small taste of the next generation of gaming components, including the new Intel Core i9-12900HK and the Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti. These top-of-the-line PC parts show just how good PC gaming is in the year 2022 can be – despite some hurdles that this particular gaming laptop puts in their way.

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This gaming laptop has some high-end components inside, but you wouldn't recognize it from the outside. The latest version of the MSI GE76 Raider doesn't offer anything new on the outside. It's still a massive 17-inch laptop that weighs 6.4 pounds and is over an inch thick.

It's an old-school gaming laptop, even down to the aggressive vents and gamery design language. If you want something more modern and sleek, you'll have to go for the MSI GS66 Stealth, Razer Blade, or a number of other options.

My device comes in a toned down “Titanium Blue” color that is barely black. The screen is accented by angled edges on the lid and a beefy chin that sits beneath the 16:9 aspect ratio screen.

The soft glow of the light strip brings color to your desk.

But being fit and stylish isn't the motto of this laptop. Instead, it's all about practicality. Convenient ports, a big screen and, of course, unbridled power.

The only interesting thing, however, is the light bar on the front. Laying down on the keyboard deck and along the front, the soft glow of the light bar neatly splashes some color on your desk. It's fully customizable within the SteelSeries GG app, as is the per-key RGB keyboard. None of this is new in this year's model, but it's a nice touch nonetheless.

power

The MSI GE76 Raider has two brand new components inside: the Core i9-12900HK and the RTX 3080 Ti. Intel's latest flagship processor in particular brings a lot of expectations. With the recent rise of AMD, especially in the laptop space, even premium gaming laptops are offering the Ryzen 9 5900HX as an option.

We have a separate Alder Lake mobile review that details processor performance and even a breakdown of the new video editing improvements. Suffice it to say that Intel's new 14-core chip looks extremely impressive. As can be seen in the chart below, we see massive gains in both single-core and multi-core performance compared to the last-gen Ryzen 9 5900HX and Core i9-11950H. These are far better than a normal generation jump.

MSI GE76 Raider (Core i9-12900HK) Asus VivoBook Pro 16X (Ryzen 9 5900HX) HP ZBook Studio G8 (Core i9-11950H) MacBook Pro 16 (M1 Pro)
Cinebench R23 (single / multi) 1872 / 16388 1486 / 11478 1594 / 11788 1531/ 12343
Geekbench 5 (single / multi) 1855 / 13428 1544 / 8299 1637 / 9139 1773 / 12605
PC Mark 10 7691 6287 6432 n / A
Handbrake (lower is better) 72 seconds 90 seconds 89 seconds 95 seconds

Synthetic benchmarks aside, the MSI GE76 Raider is a powerful video editing engine. It's the highest-scoring Windows laptop in Pugetbench's Adobe Premiere Pro benchmark, and it even comes remarkably close to the M1 Max MacBook Pro. However, performance alone doesn't necessarily make the MSI GE76 Raider a great video editing machine – more on the display later. In terms of raw performance, it's way ahead of the competition.

Of course, gaming performance is what this laptop is designed for. The fantastic single-core performance also helps with gaming, which is fantastic. These are easily the best frame rates we've seen in our gaming tests on laptops. Of course, most of this improvement can be attributed to the new RTX 3080 Ti, but CPU-heavy games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Civilization VI will certainly benefit from the Core i9-12900HK as well.

MSI GE76 Raider (RTX 3080 Ti) Lenovo Legion 5 Pro (RTX 3070) MSI GS66 Stealth (RTX 3080) Asus ROG Strix G15 (RX6800M)
3DMark Time Spy 12421 9175 9097 10504
Fourteen days 143 fps 101 fps 140 fps 108 fps
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 93 fps 61 fps 70 fps 77 fps
Civilization VI 169 fps 114 fps 149 fps 150 fps
Battlefield V 152 fps 73 fps 117 fps 109 fps

MSI says it can deliver a total of 220 watts of power to the CPU and GPU, which is 25 watts ahead of other similar competitors.

As always, it's difficult to compare apples to apples to laptops. Interestingly, the GE76 Raider with the RTX 3080 Ti doesn't have that much of an advantage over the RTX 3080 machine in the more GPU-dependent games. Frame rates in Fortnite were quite similar to what was the case in Battlefield V. This could indicate that the CPU is wielding some weight.

I also tested the MSI GE76 Raider in Rise of the Tomb Raider to compare it directly to the MacBook Pro. In the game's built-in benchmark, it averaged 142 fps at the highest settings of 1080p. That's pretty good compared to the 84 fps (frames per second) I got while testing the M1 Max MacBook Pro.

All of these tests were run at 1080p with maximum graphics settings and Balanced performance settings. Confusingly, MSI comes with "Gaming Mode" turned on by default, which automatically switches to the very loud "Extreme Performance" setting when a game boots up. This maximizes fan speeds, but in the games I tested, switching between these performance profiles only impacts frame rates by a percentage point or two.

MSI also offers a discrete-only mode. The laptop ships in hybrid mode, also known as Nvidia Optimus, which activates the MUX switch. Discrete-only mode offers even better frame rates in GPU-bound games. For example, in Battlefield V, switching to Discrete Only mode resulted in a 9% increase in framerate. However, it shortens battery life drastically.

During the tests, the game mastered its thermals excellently. Both surface and internal temperatures remained cool throughout, and that's thanks to the "phase-changing" Liquid Metal Pad, which prevents crystallization of the thermal conductor. MSI says this delivers 10% better performance than its competitors. I can't prove that until I test other 12th Gen Intel laptops with the RTX 3080 Ti.

specifications and price

The exact model I checked is not currently for sale. According to MSI, it's worth around $4,000 and comes with the highest-end GPU and CPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and 2TB of storage.

However, the MSI GE76 Raider starts at just $1,599 for its base configuration. You still get one of Intel's new 12th Gen processors, the Core i7-12700H, but only an RTX 3060 for graphics. It also features a 1080p 144Hz screen, 16GB of DDR4 RAM and a TB SSD.

Prices increase dramatically from there, topping it off with the $4,199 4K 120Hz model.

In a way, that means the MSI GE76 chassis is built with mid-range design sensibilities, despite its ability to be configured up to $4,000+.

display

The MSI GE76 Raider uses a 1920 x 1080p resolution panel paired with a 360Hz refresh rate. These have become the go-to choice for super-fast 1080p gaming lately, but it's still not a great choice for the average gamer . Only in the lightest games can you achieve frame rates that exceed 300 fps. If you are not a professional CS:GO or Rocket League player, you may not be able to tell the difference.

So if you're spending thousands of dollars on a premium gaming laptop, I usually recommend a device with a 1440p resolution or QHD+, both of which are upgrade options for the MSI GE76 Raider. That's especially true for larger displays like this 17.3-inch panel. In fact, MSI charges the same price of $2,999 for a 1440p 240Hz model as for a 1080p 360Hz model.

It remains one of the few gaming laptops that gets the bump in to a 1080p webcam.

The higher resolution would also make sense outside of gaming, considering how fast the MSI GE76 Raider is in video and photo editing. But the low resolution and matte finish aren't ideal outside of gaming, and neither is the color saturation. 100% sRGB and 79% AdobeRGB is good for a gaming laptop but doesn't do justice to professional content creators.

As for the rest of the panel, the GE76 Raider gets the job done. Contrast is solid at 1000:1 and the screen is well calibrated with a Delta-E of 1.09. It tops out at 273 nits, which is a bit under the 300 mark that we like to see. It's not a big deal as the matte finish eliminates reflections and glare. Still, this is a laptop and you can move it from place to place in your house.

cam

There is also a 1080p webcam above the display. The GE76 Raider remains one of the few gaming laptops to make the jump from 720p to 1080p, and the quality is noticeably better.

Unfortunately, the GE76 Raider does not include biometric security. No IR camera or fingerprint reader.

ports and connectivity

The MSI GS76 Raider has ports on both sides of the chassis and along the back – and the options are pretty much anything you can think of. On the left side you have USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, USB-C 3.2 / DisplayPort and a headphone jack. On the right side you get two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 for accessories and a full-size SD card slot.

On the back you'll find USB-C Thunderbolt 4, Mini-DisplayPort (haven't seen one of those in a while), HDMI 2.1, Ethernet jack and power plug.

It also comes with a Killer Wi-Fi 6E card and Bluetooth 5.2 for wireless connectivity.

keyboard and touchpad

Both the keyboard and the touchpad were a disappointment. Being a gaming laptop is no excuse for feeling cheap. Let's not forget: this laptop costs well over $2,000 in most configurations.

The keyboard is full-size, which means it includes a number pad and full-size arrow keys. The layout is pleasant, but I found the keystrokes to be a bit too soft. They're squishy and feel imprecise, but I got used to them over a couple of days.

The per-key RGB backlighting is decent, though, and customization is done via the SteelSeries GG app.

The touchpad is where I have a bigger problem. It's not as big as that of the MSI GS66 Stealth and feels choppy. The click mechanism also feels too loose. With this laptop, you'll want to use a mouse most of the time. That's an obvious statement in gaming, but it's a nuisance in other work.

battery life

This laptop struggles with battery life. But that doesn't surprise anyone. Between the 17-inch screen and the power-hungry RTX 3080 Ti, I didn't expect to get much out of it.

Despite my lowered expectations, the MSI GE76 Raider still managed to disappoint in this regard. But three hours and 40 minutes? That's a shame. And that's just for simple web surfing. You can't safely spend much time away from the wall, and that limits this laptop's ability to serve as a work laptop.

It has a 99.9 watt-hour battery, which is the largest you can legally take on a plane. Unfortunately, even with the Nvidia Optimus turned on, you won't get more than a few hours. To be fair, other great gaming laptops like the HP Victus 16. For a gaming laptop with better battery life, check out the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, Razer Blade 15, or the MSI GS66 Stealth.

Our opinion

On the outside, the MSI GE76 Raider is a blast from the past. Inside, it's a glimpse into the future. These are some powerful components, and the result is incredibly good performance. While the MSI GE76 Raider isn't my favorite gaming laptop with this CPU and GPU duo, I can't deny how well it performs.

Are there alternatives?

Many of the latest gaming laptops in 2022 will use the same combination of graphics cards and processors. However, I haven't tested many of them. Laptops similar to the GE76 Raider include the Alienware m17, ROG Strix G17, Razer Blade 17, and many more.

How long it will take?

Gaming laptops typically last around four or five years. It may last longer if your usage is not that heavy. The MSI GE76 Raider should future-proof you for some generations of processors and graphics cards. Even the heaviest games play well on it and the build quality is solid.

MSI offers a one-year limited warranty on its laptops as standard, although that depends on the retailer you're picking it up from.

should you buy this

Yes, but be aware of what you're getting yourself into. This is a laptop that puts performance first and doesn't care about the subtleties.

Editor's Recommendations



MSI Summit E16 Flip Review: Stepping Up to Compete

MSI Summit E16 Flip sits on a table.

MSI Summit E16 Flip

RRP $ 2,299.00

"The MSI Summit E16 Flip is a decent laptop for content creators, if only it was a little cheaper."

advantages

  • Solid build quality

  • Attractive aesthetics

  • Strong productivity performance

  • Excellent IPS display with 120 Hz refresh rate

  • Very good keyboard

disadvantage

  • Too expensive

  • Battery life is mediocre

  • Small touchpad

I really liked the MSI Summit E13 Flip, especially the modern aesthetics, excellent battery life, and solid performance. It turned out that MSI can make an excellent productivity-oriented 2-in-1 convertible for the popular gaming laptops, even if the price was a bit steep.

MSI has a larger version of the device, the Summit E16 Flip, which not only expands the 16:10 display from 13.4 inches to 16 inches, but also adds a separate GPU via Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3050. It has a similar look and feel, but is more aimed at developers who can take advantage of the extra power of a GPU for applications that can use it, like Adobe's Creative Suite.

I tested the top-end Summit E16 Flip with a Core i7-1195G7 CPU and the RTX 3050, which has a retail price of $ 2,299. The three available models only differ in their RAM and storage, whereby the test device with 32 GB RAM and a 2 TB SSD is the top model. As with the 13-inch model, the Summit E16 Flip is a bit pricey – but I enjoyed the machine enough to justify the investment.

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Rear view of the MSI Summit E16 Flip.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Like its smaller brother, the Summit E16 Flip has a slim, completely black case with just a few rose gold accents in an MSI logo on the front and along the beveled edges on the lid and touchpad. The larger model doesn't have the cropped chassis and lid corners of the 13-inch model reminiscent of the HP Specter line, including the Specter x360 15, but the rose gold and black color scheme still hints at HP's machines .

The lines of the 2-in-1 are simpler, with a slightly angled edge along the back of the case and a steeply angled keyboard deck. It's an elegant overall look that is not overrated and is more eye-catching than the HP Envy x360 15, which is also available in black but has a deliberately minimalist design. As with the smaller version, MSI also notes the use of the golden ratio (1.68) when designing the dimensions of the laptop.

The display bezels of the 2-in-1 display aren't tiny at the top and bottom, so the overall dimensions of the Summit E16 Flip are a bit excessive. It's almost as wide as the Specter x360 15, but over an inch deeper thanks to the taller display and larger bezels. However, it's thinner at 0.67 inches and slightly heavier at 4.4 pounds compared to the Specter x360 15 at 0.79 inches and 4.23 pounds. The Summit E16 Flip is also deeper than the Envy x360 15 with its 16: 9 display, while again it's thinner and slightly heavier compared to the Envy’s 0.72 inches and 4.11 pounds.

MSI Summit E16 Flip folded back.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Overall, the Summit E16 Flip is a large convertible 2-in-1, but not unexpected considering it's a large and tall display. You won't want to hold it in your arm to ink, but that's typical of larger 2-in-1 devices.

The Summit E16 Flip is made from CNC machined aluminum, which fits its premium character. Accordingly, the entire chassis is torsion-resistant, without the lid (as shown on the 13-inch model), the keyboard deck or the case's underside sagging. It is slightly on par with the Specter x360 15 and is ahead of the Envy x360 15, which had a bit of keyboard flex.

The Summit E16 Flip is a very well made laptop. The hinge can be easily opened with one hand, which is unusual for convertible 2-in-1s, and holds the display in its four positions – clamshell, tent, media and tablet. It also supports the keyboard deck at an angle for a more comfortable typing experience and improved airflow.

On the left is a full-size HDMI port and two USB-Cs with Thunderbolt 4 (one of which is for charging).

Two USB-A 3.2 ports, a 3.5 mm audio jack and a microSD card reader on the right side of the MSI Summit e16 Flip.

Connectivity is a strength. On the left is a full-size HDMI port and two USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 ports (one of which is used for charging) and two USB-A 3.2 ports, a 3.5mm audio jack and a microSD card reader on the right.

Given the usefulness of this 2-in-1 for creatives, a full-size SD card reader would have been desirable. The latest in Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 offer fast wireless capabilities with the right router.

power

MSI Summit E16 Flip folded back in a tent fold.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

The Summit E16 Flip uses a 28-watt 4-core / 8-thread Intel Core i7-1195G7, which is a fast chip, but it's still intended for thin and light laptops rather than portable powerhouses. This is in contrast to the 45-watt Core i7-10750H with 6 cores and 12 threads in the HP Specter x360 15 and the 8-core / 16-thread AMD Ryzen 7 5700U in the HP Envy x360 15.

Then there are clamshell laptops like the Dell XPS 15 and MSI Creator Z16 that use the latest 8-core / 16-thread Core i7-11800H CPUs that are significantly faster – though it's not entirely fair, these portable ones Compare workstations with a Convertible 2. in 1. My performance expectations for the Summit E16 Flip have been lowered despite everything.

According to our benchmarks, the Summit E16 Flip's performance was strong for productive work, but mixed for creative endeavors. Note that MSI provides a utility to switch from "balanced" to "powerful" modes and this made a noticeable difference in some of these results, but not enough to warrant analysis. If you need a little more power, you can switch the 2-in-1 to overdrive.

The MSI Summit E16 Flip balances CPU and GPU performance very well.

The Summit E16 Flip performed well in Geekbench 5 and beat the Specter x360 15 in both the single and multi-core tests, but lost in the multi-core test against the blazingly fast AMD Ryzen 7 CPU in the Envy x360 15. In our Handbrake test, which converts a 420MB video to H.265, the MSI couldn't compete with any of our comparison devices except for the LG Gram 16, which uses a slower Core i7, but it wasn't much slower than the Specter x360 15. The same applies to Cinebench R23, another CPU-intensive benchmark. The Summit E16 Flip scores exceptionally well in the PCMark Complete test, and its values ​​for essentials, productivity and content creation are also good for the CPU class.

One surprising result was Pugetbench, which uses Adobe Premiere Pro to handle a number of demanding video editing tasks and can use both the CPU and GPU to speed up performance. Here the Summit E16 Flip achieved an excellent score of 552, which was significantly higher than all the others except for the Dell XPS 15 (which beat it) and the MSI Creator Z16 (which dominated this benchmark). MSI coordinated the CPU and the GPU excellently to achieve a good performance in this practical test.

The Summit E16 Flip is not the fastest notebook in the 15- and 16-inch class, but it is fast enough for a convertible 2-in-1. It's faster overall than the HP Specter x360 15, and while the HP Specter x360 16 was announced with a 35-watt H-series CPU, the details are sparse – it could be another solid competitor, but we won't know until we i have compared it. Either way, the Summit E16 Flip is a 2-in-1 device that can handle your demanding productivity tasks, but not handle demanding creative workflows that are CPU intensive.

Laptop Underdog bench 5 Cinebench R23 Budget bank Handbrake
(Seconds)
PCMark 10 3DMark time spy Fourteen days
(1080p epic)
Civilization VI (1080p Ultra)
MSI Summit E16 Flip (Core i7-1195G7) 1607/6096 1589/5344 552 175 5681 4138 52 fps 62 fps
HP Specter x360 15 (Core i7-10750H) 1237/5013 1102/5492 339 160 4676 2325 54 fps 60 fps
HP Envy x360 15 (AMD Ryzen7 5700U) 1198/6790 1258/8131 185 116 5419 902 20 fps N / A
Dell XPS 15 OLED 2021 (Core i7-11800H) 1544/7692 1513/9979 509 101 6024 4540 50 fps 73 fps
MSI Creator Z16 (Core i7-11800H) 1540/7625 1444/9615 738 103 6486 6322 59 fps (1200p) 92 fps
LG gram 16 (Core i7-1165G7) 1573/5454 1394/4137 N / A 213 4827 1390 13 fps n / A

The Summit E16 Flip is equipped with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 GPU, an entry-level graphics chip. It does well in the 3DMark Time Spy test, not too far behind the RTX 3050 Ti in the Dell XPS 15 and well ahead of the GTX 1650 Ti in the HP Specter x360 15. When testing the performance in some popular games, I found the Summit E16 Flip at 1080p or 1200p and moderate graphics settings a competent performer.

Fortnite reached 52 frames per second (fps) at 1200p and epic settings, behind the Specter x360 15 but ahead of the XPS 15 and competitive with the MSI Creator Z16 (with an RTX 3060). In Civilization VI, the Summit E16 Flip hit 62 fps at 1080p and ultra graphics, slightly ahead of the Specter x360 15 and behind the XPS 15 and Creator Z16, but not by much. MSI's 2-in-1 hit 43 fps at 1200p and high graphics, way behind the XPS 15 and Creator Z16, and it dropped from there as the resolution and graphics settings went up.

In Battlefield V, the Summit E16 Flip finally ran at 49 fps at 1200p and medium graphics, again clearly behind the XPS 15 and the Creator Z16, but still playable. Even at 1600p and ultra graphics, the Summit E16 Flip achieved 30 fps.

As long as you agree to the graphic quality limitation, you can play modern titles at 1080p or 1200p. It's not a gaming laptop, but it's not a bad entry-level device.

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Close up on the MSI Summit E16 flip display.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

I criticized the Summit E13 Flip for its poor calibration, with colors and gamma that were far away. I noticed this when I was doing my tests and before I pulled out my colorimeter. With the display of the Summit E16 Flip, which looked very bright, with dynamic and natural colors and deep blacks, there were no such problems. And the large 16-inch display has the productivity-friendly 16:10 aspect ratio with a sufficiently sharp QHD + resolution (2,560 x 1,600). I really enjoyed using the display while doing my tests.

I was not wrong with my impressions. According to my colorimeter, MSI picked an excellent IPS panel for the Summit E16 Flip and calibrated it much better. First, it was very bright at 482 nits, well above our 300 nit threshold. The colors were much wider than the average premium display at 89% of AdobeRGB (most displays are around 72%) and 100% of sRGB (with 95% close to average).

I discovered by accident that the display supports a refresh rate of 120 Hz.

The colors were also accurate with a Delta E of 1.12 (1.0 or less is considered excellent). The contrast of 1,140: 1 was above our threshold of 1,000: 1. This is much better than the IPS display of the HP Envy x360 15 with 270 nits, 71% Adobe RGB and 95% sRGB with an accuracy of 1.06 (slightly better) and a contrast ratio of 900: 1. Of course, the HP Specter x360 15 with its OLED display had even wider colors at 99% AdobeRGB and 100% sRGB, with an accuracy of 1.21 and an ink-black contrast ratio of 426,180: 1.

In an interesting twist, I discovered quite by accident that the display supports 120 Hz, although this is nowhere mentioned in the literature I received with the test device. I tried running Assassin's Creed Valhalla which wouldn't run properly and in the settings I noticed that the game was set to the non-native 60Hz by default.

Lo and behold, I could switch to 120 Hz if I wanted to. I checked the display settings and there it was, set to 120 Hz by default. I didn't notice anything prior to this discovery, but when I switched back and forth between 60Hz and 120Hz I found that things went a little smoother. So that's another plus point for the display, which MSI should advertise more prominently.

Close-up of the webcam of the MSI Summit E16 Flip.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Overall, the Summit E16 Flip's display is great for productive work, with more than wide and accurate colors and contrasts that make black text stand out on a white background. It's also good enough for developers who might want a slightly larger AdobeRGB color space but could certainly get their job done with this 2-in-1. It's an excellent display that justifies the Summit E16 Flip's higher price tag.

The sound was surprisingly quiet, even at maximum volume. The mids and highs were clear and comfortable, and there was even a hint of bass, but it just wasn't a lot of volume. It's good audio for Netflix and the like, but you should do this in a quiet setting. Headphones are needed when you need to drown out background noise.

Keyboard and touchpad

MSI Summit E16 Flip Keyboard and Pen.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Like the smaller model, the Summit E16 Flip also has an excellent keyboard. It has a lot of space and large keycaps, even if you tuck in the small numeric keypad on the right. The switches offered a lot of spring travel with 1.5 mm, a light touch and a snappy mechanism. My only complaint was that the floor movement was a little softer than I like, but that's nits. I would rate this keyboard at the top of the list with the best, including versions of the HP Specter and Dell XPS lines.

But I have a bone to pick with MSI. There's plenty of room on the palm rest for a huge touchpad – that's one of the advantages of a taller display. And yet a tiny, wide-format touchpad is built in, which leaves almost an inch of free space at the top and bottom.

Dell used this space with the XPS 15 and equipped one of the largest touchpads that you will find on a Windows computer. The E16 flip touchpad is fine for what it is, with a smooth surface, reliable support for Windows multitouch gestures thanks to Microsoft Precision touchpad support and firm but quiet buttons. But it's so tiny.

Tablet mode and stylus on the MSI Summit E16 Flip.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

MSI contains its active pen in the box and can be magnetically attached to the housing or cover of the Summit E16 Flip. It supports 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity with tilt and is charged via USB-C. Although the 16-inch 2-in-1 is quite unwieldy in tablet mode when you place it on a surface and use it for drawing or taking notes, the pen works admirably. The touch display also responded.

A fingerprint reader provides Windows Hello support on the palm rest. As with most fingerprint readers today, it was quick and reliable. MSI has also implemented some options to turn off the webcam for privacy reasons. You can either press a key on the keyboard or flip a physical switch to electronically turn off the webcam so that hackers can no longer take advantage of it.

I prefer this to the physical sliders and those other manufacturers use. HP developed the concept with its Specter x360 13 and Specter x360 15, but has since moved to physical covers that are controlled by keyboard keys.

Battery life

MSI Summit E16 Flip sits on a table.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

MSI put 82 watt hours of battery into the case of the Summit E16 Flip, which is close to the 83 watt hours of the HP Specter x360 15 and significantly more than the 51 watt hours of the Envy x360 15. I didn't have spectacular battery life with a large, high-resolution display expected.

What I got was longevity that may or may not last a day's work depending on the workload. In our web browsing test, the Summit E16 Flip lasted eight hours, which is below the 10 hours we'd like to see in this test. While the Specter x360 15 only lasted 6.2 hours with its OLED display, the Envy x360 15 lasted a more impressive 11 hours. That puts the result of the Summit E16 Flip into perspective.

In our video test, which repeats a local Full HD Avengers trailer, the Summit E16 Flip achieved 10.75 hours, an OK result compared to the Specter x360 15 with just 6.5 hours and the Envy x360 15 with 13 , 65 hours.

The battery life of the MSI Summit E16 Flip is only mediocre.

I also ran the Summit E16 Flip through the PCMark 10 Applications battery test where it reached nearly 8.5 hours. Again, that's less than the 10 hours we saw in this benchmark, which best approximates battery life to productivity. The Specter x360 15 was significantly lower with 5.5 hours and the Envy x360 15 was again significantly stronger with 12.5 hours. The Summit E16 Flip lasted 2.25 hours in the PCMark 10 gaming battery test, which is roughly average. This test seems to measure how hard a laptop is working on battery life, rather than reflecting total battery life.

Overall, the battery life of the Summit E16 Flip is only mediocre. As I said earlier, it may or may not get you through a full day of work, and I suspect it won't if your workflow is above average. Take your charger with you when you're on the go.

Our opinion

The MSI Summit E16 Flip is a nice-looking and well-built 2-in-1 convertible with an outstanding 16-inch 16:10 display. It's big and inconvenient like a tablet, but that's to be expected with such a large display. It's an admirable work machine for productivity and can handle entry-level creative tasks too. The keyboard is very good, but the touchpad is way too small given the space available.

MSI made one of the better large format 2-in-1 convertibles you can buy. If you're looking for a flexible machine that can handle serious jobs, the Summit E16 Flip should be on your list.

Are there alternatives?

The Specter x360 15 is a solid alternative, although it is getting on in years. Its 45 watt CPU and separate GPU perform well, and the OLED display is excellent. You will also save some money.

The new Specter x360 16 is likely to be another good alternative, although its 35-watt CPU is unlikely to offer much better performance. But you have an OLED display option and a display that is just as big and expansive. However, we don't know much about the machine, including the price.

Finally, if you don't need a 2-in-1, the Dell XPS 15 is a solid choice. It has an even better build quality, an even better display, and its performance is better for developers. They pay similar prices for the same configurations.

How long it will take?

The Summit E16 Flip is solidly built and should be productive for years. Its components are modern and cutting edge, including the fastest WiFi you can get, and it should keep up with Windows 10 – and Windows 11 – for as long as you need it. The one-year warranty remains disappointing at this price.

Should you buy it?

Yes sir. You'll love the looks and performance of the Summit E16 Flip – just be prepared to charge it.

Editor's recommendations



MSI Creator Z16 Review: Gamer Meets Creator

The MSI Creator Z16 open on a coffee table.

MSI Creator Z16 Laptop Review: Gamer Meets Creator

RRP $ 2,727.00

"The MSI Creator Z16 has its charms, but it can't quite beat its competitors when it matters."

advantages

  • High refresh rate screen

  • Excellent content creation performance

  • Clicky, comfortable keyboard

  • Thin, slim case

  • Not a bad slot machine

disadvantage

  • Small, thin touchpad

  • Very expensive

  • Mediocre battery life

Everyone wants to try the MacBook Pro. The Creator Z16 is MSI's attempt to take on the 16-inch model, and on paper it looks like a viable alternative.

It has the same high-resolution 16:10 screen and ultra-thin body. It's even priced similarly sky-high, with a launch configuration costing $ 2,549.

But the MSI Creator Z16 has to do whatever it takes to distract buyers from the MacBook Pro or even Windows competitors like the Dell XPS 17, Asus Vivobook Pro X16, or a host of others. The Creator Z16 has a unique set of features, but its appeal is likely to be limited to those with a unique interest in PC gaming and content creation.

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The closed lid of the MSI Creator Z16.

The MSI Creator Z16 is a strange bird. The inspiration from the MacBook Pro is of course in the foreground, be it the color "Space Gray", the rounded corners or even the 16-inch 16:10 display. But many of these features have become standard in a technology world that closely follows Apple's example.

What distinguishes the Creator Z16? Well, MSI is primarily known as a gaming company, and it shows. Despite its supposed target audience for the Creator Z16, MSI was unable to completely shake off these PC gaming trappings.

The most obvious element is the keyboard's RGB backlight, powered by SteelSeries. The per-key RGB backlight is an exclusive effect on gaming laptops and peripherals, and it's daunting to see it here. Sure, it isn't hard to turn it into static color, but it's weird to pay extra for something that most non-gamers don't want.

The other holdover from his gaming roots are the vents. I can appreciate good airflow in a system, but the Creator Z16's extra vents force other elements of the laptop into awkward places. The extensive row of vents above the keyboard pushes the touchpad down to be squat. Meanwhile, the ventilation openings on the side walls also push the ports further down in the device. That's not an inconvenience, but it makes for a cumbersome looking setup. Again, it's a common thing to see in a gaming laptop – just not a content creator laptop.

The MSI Creator Z16 opens in front of a window.

There are no doubt some who appreciate the light gaming influences of the Creator Z16. There are even advantages in terms of performance and display. But from an aesthetic point of view, MSI still needs to clean up a bit before the Creator Z16 is competitive.

However, MSI has managed to make the Creator Z16 impressively thin. It's only 0.64 inches thick, which is almost exactly the same as the 16-inch MacBook Pro. That makes it thinner than options like the Dell XPS 15 and ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4. It's also a bit heavier than all of those laptops at 5.07 pounds. There's enough extra weight to easily tell the difference when you're carrying it in a bag or just moving from room to room.

The side and top bezels are quite small, but the laptop has a sizeable lower chin, especially when compared to the Dell XPS 15. It's not all that extraordinary, but it certainly isn't the most cutting-edge laptop either.

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A close-up of the MSI Creator Z16's display.

The MSI Creator Z16 offers a 16-inch screen with a resolution of 2560 x 1600. This is a 16:10 format that corresponds exactly to the size and shape of the MacBook Pro 16-inch. This is no coincidence either.

However, the resolution is missing a bit. While the screen looks sharp enough for casual work for this screen size, you'll find that many of the Creator Z16's competitors use a higher resolution. The 16-inch MacBook Pro has a resolution of 3072 x 1920, while many Windows competitors offer a higher-resolution 4K display.

However, the MSI Creator Z16 has a few key features that give it the upper hand over the 16-inch MacBook Pro and a number of other laptops. First, it has a refresh rate of 120Hz. Yes, that's another holdover from MSI's gaming roots – and it helps give the Creator Z16 a more legitimate PC gaming experience.

But smoother animation is a boon for everything else you do as well. Whether it's moving the cursor or scrolling a web page, everything is improved with a higher refresh rate. We'll see this more in the future, especially with OLED panels, but so far it remains one of a kind that gives the Creator Z16 an interesting edge.

The second notable feature of this display is its touch capability. While it's pretty common in Windows laptops like the Dell XPS 15, the MacBook Pro 16-inch lacks it. I don't expect developers will rely on the touchscreen too much, but it's a nice addition for casual use.

In terms of image quality, the MSI Creator Z16 has a few different color modes that you can take advantage of. Content creators will be drawn to Display P3 mode. This produces the best color saturation and accuracy, which was impressive. With 100% sRGB, 91% AdobeRGB, and 93% P3, it's just as colorful as the MacBook Pro. The Delta-E of just 0.76 is a fantastically low average color error. All of this makes for the kind of display that professional color graders and photo editors will love.

The brightness and the contrast didn't tear me out of the water. The screen achieved 385 cd / m² and had a contrast ratio of 800: 1 at 100% brightness. OLED laptops such as the Samsung panels of the Asus Vivobook Pro 16X or Dell XPS 15 shine here.

Keyboard and touchpad

The keyboard and touchpad are mixed in the MSI Creator Z16. On the one hand, the keyboard offers a comfortable typing experience with large keycaps, clicking keys and a fairly standard layout. The full-size arrow keys are nice but can take a bit of getting used to.

A small curiosity in the layout is the lack of a function key on the left. Instead, MSI has opted for an enlarged control button. You still have a function key on the right side of the layout, but only as a half key shared with a second control key.

Keyboard and touchpad of the MSI Creator Z16.

As I mentioned in the design section, the keyboard has RGB backlighting per key, although the SteelSeries software isn't the most useful. For what it's worth, the indicator light on the Caps button on my test device didn't come on when I turned it on.

The touchpad is where my bigger problems are. It's both too small and poorly implemented. Due to the placement of the keyboard (see the Design section above for more information), the touchpad has been squeezed into a squat shape. This is one of the smaller touchpads you'd find on a laptop designed with the creative in mind. Most of the designs follow the MacBook Pro in that they feature an enlarged touchpad that leaves plenty of room.

However, the click of the touchpad is the most frustrating part. While tracking and gestures are fluid on the glass surface, the click mechanism is not well executed. It squeezes when you apply pressure and then requires a second squeeze to register a click, and I found the mechanism too loud and stiff. Although I got used to the faulty touchpad over weeks, going back to a MacBook Pro or XPS laptop felt heavenly.

If this were a gaming laptop, the importance of the touchpad is diminished. This is disappointing on a device where the touchpad is expected to be the primary input.

Ports

The side connections of the MSI Creator Z16.

The MSI Creator Z16 has a fairly limited number of ports. On the left you will find a USB-A 3.2 Gen2 port, Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, a headphone jack and an AC power adapter. On the right side you have access to another USB-A, USB-C and a micro SD card slot.

This is disappointing in several ways. There are two different approaches that competing laptops take. Laptops like the MacBook Pro 16-inch stick with only four Thunderbolt 4 ports, which provide the device with a lot of power, make a separate power supply unit superfluous and simplify set-up. The other option is to throw in the entire kitchen sink, including HDMI, USB-A, and SD card slots. The MSI Creator Z16 is somewhere in between. It doesn't include HDMI, requires an A / C adapter to provide full power to the device, and only has a micro SD card slot instead of a full size.

This will be an inconvenience for creatives who mainly work outside of the camera and are forced to use adapters and dongles when uploading raw content.

power

The MSI Creator Z16 has packed some powerful components in its thin case. MSI doesn't sell cheap configurations of the Creator Z16, which is not a bad thing. It's a high-end device for a professional audience. The starting configuration for $ 2,549 still gives you an Intel Core i7-11800H, an RTX 3060 (with up to 65 watts of graphics), 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of SSD storage. This basic configuration even comes with the same 1440p 120Hz screen.

My test unit was a slightly revamped model that increased the storage to 32GB and storage to 1TB, bringing the price up to $ 2,727 (you can buy it on Amazon starting at $ 2,599). If you want to spend more than three grand, you get it with an additional terabyte of memory and a higher clocked Core i9 processor.

What you get with the Creator Z16 is a very powerful (and expensive) laptop regardless of the exact configuration. In most benchmarks, it is in the same range as the XPS 15 and 17 and the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4.

Cinebench R23 (single / multiple) Handbrake (seconds) PCMark 10 Pugetbench Premiere Pro
MSI Creator Z16 (Core i7-11800H) 1444/9615 102 6486 738
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 (Core i7-11800H) 1519/10497 106 6251 432
Dell XPS 15 (Core i7-11800H) 1513/9979 103 6024 509
Dell XPS 17 (Core i7-11800H) 1525/10145 109 6209 692
Asus Vivobook Pro 16X (Ryzen 9 5900HX) 1486/11478 90 6486 6287

The video editing was an outstanding benchmark for the MSI Creator Z16 in my tests. In Pugetbench Premiere Pro, which tests everything from applying effects to exporting timelines, the Creator Z16 took home the prize for the high score, backed up by an incredible score on the video playback. Yes, that means it even beat the Dell XPS 17.

What's the secret? Well, I mentioned earlier the numerous vents in the case that could allow the system to push the components harder without overheating. The processor was able to sustain around 4.5 GHz throughout PCMark 10, with occasional bursts above 5.0 GHz. The internal temperatures never rose above 95 degrees Celsius during the test. That's hot, but it's pretty much what you see in similar systems.

The fans can get really loud. If you dare to change the fan settings to "Performance" you will see what I mean. That'll get you even higher scores than I listed above, but the fan speed is pretty unbearable. In the meantime, the Creator Z16 does an excellent job of keeping surface temperatures down while you don't do anything intense. Thanks again to the thermal, which includes three fans and five heat pipes.

The MSI Creator Z16 with Fortnite plays on the screen.

When playing games or video editing, the surface around the WASD keys can of course get quite hot.

The MSI Creator Z16 is also a good choice for someone who wants to do PC gaming on the side. The RTX 3060 is a powerful graphics card, and the 120 Hz refresh rate allows these higher frame rates to be used.

3DMark time spy Battlefield V Assassin's Creed Valhalla Civilization VI Fourteen days
MSI Creator Z16 (RTX 3060) 6322 102 fps 50 fps 92 fps 56 fps
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 (RTX 3060) 6691 106 fps 48 fps n / A 85 fps
Dell XPS 15 (RTX 3050 Ti) 4540 103 fps n / A 73 fps 50 fps
Dell XPS 17 (RTX 3060) 7039 109 fps n / A 104 fps 78 fps
Asus Vivobook Pro 16X (RTX 3050 Ti) 4601 90 fps n / A 68 fps 57 fps

The games listed above were tested at 1080p (or 1920 x 1200 for 16:10 laptops) at maximum graphics settings. The XPS 17 remains the fastest in the group for most games, aside from the great Fortnite performance of the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4. There are dozen of factors that affect a game's frame rate on a laptop, and the Creator Z16 resides in the middle and swaps hits with other laptops in this category. Thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate, you'll likely prefer to play in 1920 x 1200, which offers a much smoother gaming experience.

The fact that it can even handle difficult games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla at 50 frames per second (fps) is impressive.

Battery life

Inside the MSI Creator Z16 is a 90 watt hour battery. That sounds great, but it wasn't enough to make this laptop a battery life champion. Among other laptops in this category, all of which have high-resolution screens and RTX graphics cards, the Creator Z16 is one of the worst in terms of battery life.

The Creator Z16 can last up to over eight hours just watching a local video. With light surfing on the Internet, it is five hours and 20 minutes. In my actual workload, which consists of more multitasking and web applications, that drops to less than five hours. The ThinkPad X1 Extreme gets you two extra hours, while a Ryzen-based laptop like the Asus Vivobook Pro 16X gets an astonishing 16 hours on the same test.

Part of the problem with the Creator Z16 could be the higher refresh rate screen, which you can switch down to 60Hz for a little more juice.

Cameras and sensors

The keyboard deck of the MSI Creator Z16.

The MSI Creator Z16 has the standard set of cameras and sensors. A 720p webcam is located above the display. These kinds of bad cameras are typical of laptops – and have been for years. You can occasionally find a 1080p webcam in 2021 laptops like the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 or even MSI's own GE76 Raider gaming laptop.

Unfortunately, the Creator Z16 sticks to 720p and the results aren't impressive. In bright light, your video calls will appear faded to match your skin tone. There are strong artifacts and strange colors in lower lighting. It's not ideal if your daily work involves a lot of video calls. On the other hand, a laptop like the Dell XPS 15 isn't going to do you any better.

MSI also includes an IR camera for Windows Hello facial authentication. You can also log on to Windows using the fingerprint reader, which is located directly below the arrow keys. The placement is a little strange, but fingerprints are registered well.

Our opinion

The MSI Creator Z16 is the right laptop for a very specific person. If you're looking for a laptop for content creation but don't want to miss out on the PC gaming experience, the MSI Creator Z16 manages that balance better than most. The 120 Hz screen and the excellent performance make it shine in both worlds.

But with its lower resolution display, mediocre battery life, defective touchpad, and high price, its flaws are a few too many.

Are there alternatives?

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme, now in its fourth generation, is a great alternative with better configuration options (up to an RTX 3080 and Core i9) and a cheaper price.

The Dell XPS 15 and 17 are also good competitors. The XPS 15 isn't quite as powerful, but it has a design that I prefer and options for a 4K OLED screen.

I wouldn't recommend buying the current Intel-powered MacBook Pro 16-inch, but the rumored update to the M1X MacBook Pro is waiting in the wings and looks pretty impressive.

How long it will take?

The MSI Creator Z16 is an expensive laptop, so you should expect a lifespan of at least four or five years. The performance and components are all high end and should keep you productive for many years. The solid build quality should meanwhile hold up well.

MSI offers one year of accidental damage protection with a limit of one damage per laptop. If you want an extended warranty, you have to rely on what online retailers have to offer.

Should you buy it?

For most people, the answer is no. There are laptops out there that are better at focusing on content creation. The exception is for someone who wants a 120Hz screen without sacrificing content creation performance.

Editor's recommendations



MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo Review: A Nice 2-in-1, At a Price

MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo sits on the tabletop.

MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo

RRP $ 1,900.00

"The MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo does almost everything right – except for the price."

advantages

  • Modern and attractive aesthetics

  • Thin and light

  • Excellent keyboard and touchpad

  • Great battery life

  • Solid productivity performance

disadvantage

  • Lid is a bit flexible

  • Display is badly calibrated

  • Too expensive

When looking for a convertible 2-in-1 laptop, MSI might not be the first brand that comes to mind. It's best known for its gaming laptops, but the company makes several other lines of laptops aimed at general consumers and business users. For the latter, MSI offers the Summit line, including the new Summit E13 Flip Evo 2-in-1, which offers a 16:10 display and an extremely attractive design.

I tested the high-end configuration, which costs $ 1,900 and includes an 11th generation Intel Core i7-1185G7 and a 13.4-inch IPS display in a productivity-friendly 16:10 aspect ratio. It immediately convinced me with its aesthetics and left a clear impression of quality. At a higher total price and without cheap basic equipment, however, the attractiveness remains limited.

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My first impression of the Summit E13 Flip Evo was that it bears a clear resemblance to the HP Specter x360 14. At least that's the case with my Ink Black version; the impression is not as pronounced with the Pure White color scheme.

I say this because the Summit E13 Flip Evo has case and display corners that are cut off at angles similar to the Specter x360 14, and the various edges of the laptop (including around the touchpad) are a familiar rose gold color. It's easy to tell the difference between the laptops, but it seems that MSI has adopted some aesthetic concepts from HP.

This does not apply to functionality – unlike the HP, the MSI does not have a USB-C port, which is conveniently placed in a corner. Regardless of its inspiration, the Summit E13 Flip Evo is a beautiful laptop with modern lines and attractive colors that add up to an overall elegant design. MSI makes a lot of the golden ratio (1,618) used to proportion the laptop, and I can't fault its math.

What I can criticize, however, are the large display bezels, which detract from the otherwise modern look. They're bigger at the top and bottom than they could be, and that makes the 13.4-inch laptop with its 16:10 display a little deeper than necessary. It's only a fraction of an inch away from the Specter x360 14 with its larger and taller 13.5-inch 3: 2 display, though it's a bit thinner at 0.59 inches compared to the HP's 0.67 inches.

The MSI is only slightly heavier at 2.98 pounds than the HP at 2.95 pounds. It's larger in width and depth than the Dell XPS 13, which also uses a 13.4-inch 16:10 display, and the Dell is slightly thinner at 0.58-inches and lighter at 2.64-inches. Part of the added depth of the Summit E13 Flip Evo is due to the convertible 2-in-1 hinge, but even so, MSI could have made this laptop a smaller laptop with a little more attention to the bezels.

The construction of the Summit E13 Flip Evo is certainly top notch as it uses CNC machined aluminum to carve the lid and chassis from individual blocks of metal. The lid bends only slightly when you press it lightly and the LCD becomes distorted in the process. However, the bottom chassis and keyboard deck are solid and give the laptop a solid feel overall. Thanks to the lid, it's not as stiff as the HP Specter x360 14 or Dell XPS 13, but it is close. The hinge allows the lid to be opened with one hand, but it also makes it a little wobbly when you move the laptop.

At that price point, the Summit E13 Flip Evo is expensive in its $ 1,900 configuration. It's worth the premium given the high-end design of the laptop, but most users will likely be put off by the high-end price. The $ 1,600 configuration with 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD is cheaper and on par with the competition. The Specter x360 14, for example, currently costs $ 1,460 for the same configuration as the $ 1,600 Summit E13 Flip Evo, but with a Core i7-1165G7 versus the MSI Core i7-1185G7. So it's $ 140 cheaper, but it also has a smaller processor.

With an identical configuration, the Dell XPS 13 costs almost exactly the same price at $ 1,620. MSI is asking too much to upgrade to 32GB of RAM, which most users in this class won't need.

Connectivity is good for a very thin and light laptop, with a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port and two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports with Thunderbolt 4 on the left and a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port ( no Thunderbolt 4) with a 3.5mm audio jack and a hidden microSD card reader on the right. Wi-Fi 6E – the Summit E13 Flip Evo is the first laptop with the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard that supports an exclusive 6 GHz band – and Bluetooth 5.2 ensures wireless connectivity.

power

MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo easel, foldable, sitting on the tabletop.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

In the Summit E13 Flip Evo, MSI activates the full 28 watts of the 11th generation Intel Core i7-1185G7 and theoretically promises the best possible performance of the chip. However, according to our benchmarks, the 2-in-1 does not necessarily jump to the top among similarly configured laptops.

In Geekbench 5, the Summit E13 Flip Evo was in the midfield. MSI includes a utility to tune performance versus fan noise, and it made a modest difference in some tests. For example, the Geekbench score jumped to 1,519 single-core and 5,310 in performance mode. The utility also improved the laptop's Handbrake Score, which measures the time it takes to encode a 420MB video as H.265, from 207 to 178 seconds. Both values ​​are more competitive. The utility made less of a difference in Cinebench R23 and PCMark 10. In the last-mentioned benchmark, the notebook was in the midfield across all included tests, including Essentials (web browsing etc.), productivity (Office apps etc.), and Creation (video coding and more).

Overall, the Summit E13 Flip Evo was a fast laptop for its configuration, which included 32GB of RAM and a fast 1TB SSD, but it wasn't dominant among the Intel machines. As mentioned above, the $ 1,600 base configuration comes with 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB solid-state drive. A model with 8 GB of RAM and less storage is not offered, which puts it behind its competitors.

In any case, the MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo will be fast enough to keep up with demanding productivity workflows, but it won't please creative types who crave a laptop that can handle CPU-intensive tasks. For this you need an AMD Ryzen 5000 series chip, an M1 MacBook or a larger 45 watt Intel laptop.

Geekbench (single / multiple) Handbrake
(Seconds)
Cinebench R23 (single / multiple) PCMark 10 3DMark time spy
MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo
(Core i7-1185G7)
1352/4891 207 1360/4392 4872 1751
Dell XPS 13 (Core i7-1185G7) 1549/5431 204 1399/4585 n / A 1380
HP Specter x360 14 (Core i7-1165G7) 1214/4117 236 1389/3941 4728 1457
Lenovo Yoga 9i 14
(Core i7-1185G7)
1532/5415 207 1435/4409 4800 1648
Asus ZenBook 13 OLED
(Ryzen7 5800U)
1423/6758 124 1171/7824 6034 1342
MacBook Pro 13 (M1) 1707/7337 n / A 1487/7547 n / A n / A

Like all laptops with Intel's built-in Iris Xe graphics (and AMD machines with Radeon graphics), the Summit E13 Flip Evo doesn't pretend to be a gaming laptop.

Its 3DMark Time Spy Score is inconspicuous and it only managed 26 frames per second (fps) at 1080p high settings in Fortnite. With the Epic graphics switched on, this dropped to 19 fps.

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Close up on the MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo laptop screen.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

I love seeing so many new devices with larger displays, especially in different sizes and form factors. The Summit E13 Flip Evo is such a laptop with a 13.4-inch 16:10 display in Full HD + resolution (1,920 x 1,200). That's the only choice that's unfortunate – I'd love to see a higher resolution display option.

Subjectively, the display seemed to me well suited for productivity tasks, as it was very bright and with good contrast, so that black text popped out of the white background (as an author, this is one of my most important display attributes). The colors seemed fine when looking at the display alone, though I did notice that things were a little out of place in color compared to some of the other laptops I had lying around.

This is where my colorimeter came in. So the display has some good and some not so good features. As I said, the panel appeared to be bright, at 471 nits (well above our 300 nit threshold), and the contrast ratio was 950: 1 – just below our preferred ratio of 1,000: 1. The colors matched at 73% AdobeRGB and 97% sRGB the average of the premium laptop (not creative). All of this is good enough for a machine in the Summit E13 Flip Evo's class.

The color accuracy was not so great with a disappointing DeltaE of 3.94. That explains my subjective impression. Gamma (how light or dark an image or video is displayed compared to the original) was also extremely poor at 1.4. I usually don't mention gamma as most laptop displays measure the 2.2 standard. However, the MSI's display is way too bright, which I noticed again when using the laptop.

Close up on close up of the screen and bezels of the MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

It is possible that my device was poorly calibrated and could be repaired by anyone with the right tools – not many people have access to a colorimeter to do their own calibration. But it detracts from the experience of using the laptop including watching videos where the poor gamma has an impact. Creators will also find it too imprecise for their needs.

The sound was fine, with enough volume from the two down-facing speakers to enjoy a YouTube video without distortion when it was all the way up. The mids and highs were clear, but there was no bass. You will need a pair of headphones to enjoy Netflix and listen to music, but otherwise the sound quality is average for the class.

Keyboard and touchpad

Close-up of the trackpad and keyboard on the MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

The keyboard of the Summit E13 Flip Evo is characterized by excellent spacing and large keycaps with legible lettering and three useful levels of constant backlighting. The layout is standard for the most part and I was up to speed in no time. I enjoyed the 1.5mm of travel, especially considering the light switches that didn't cause fatigue. Floor motion was a bit soft, and I prefer the crisper HP Specter range of keyboards, but overall I found MSI's keyboard comfortable for longer tips sessions (like writing this review).

The touchpad was large and medium in size, but there is more room on the keyboard deck for a larger touchpad. It supports Microsoft's Precision touchpad drivers and responded well to Windows 10's multitouch gestures. The buttons were clicky and quiet, which is a nice combination. Apart from the fact that it would be a bit bigger, I have no complaints.

The active MSI pen is included in the scope of delivery and is attached magnetically to the lid or housing of the laptop. It supports 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt and is conveniently charged via USB-C. I found it to be as good a Windows Ink experience as any other modern 2-in-1 device I've used. The touch display also responded. An infrared camera and face recognition as well as a fingerprint reader on the palm rest offer Windows 10 Hello passwordless support. Both were quick and reliable.

Close up of the trackpad, keyboard, and fingerprint scanner on the MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Interestingly, MSI has built a switch on the side of the laptop to electronically turn off the webcam. This is the same mechanism that HP used in some older Specter 2-in-1s, such as the Specter x360 13 and Specter x360 15. HP has since moved on to placing a key on the keyboard that closes a physical shutter over the webcam , but it's interesting that this is something else that MSI apparently borrowed.

I prefer the electronic version because it turns off the webcam completely and doesn't let hackers take advantage of it. The keyboard also has a button to turn off the microphone, another welcome privacy feature.

Battery life

MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo sits on the tabletop.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

MSI packed 70 watt hours of battery into the Summit E13 Flip Evo, which is a lot for a 13-inch laptop. In combination with the Full HD + display, I expected a good battery life.

That's exactly what I saw, starting with our web browsing test, where the 2-in-1 lasted about 11 hours. This is a strong score that surpassed the seven hours of the HP Specter x360 14 (an OLED display was used in our test device, so that's not a really fair test) and the Dell XPS 13 Full HD + with around 8.5 hours. In our video looping test using a local Full HD Avengers trailer, the MSI achieved 16 hours, which is also a good value. The XPS 13 only lasted 12 hours, the Specter x360 14 was well behind with 10 hours.

I also ran the PCMark 10 Applications battery test which got the Summit E13 Flip Evo to reach 13.5 hours. The Specter x360 14 ran for nine hours and the XPS 13 for 10.75 hours in this test, which makes the MSI's score impressive. In the PCMark 10 gaming battery test, which stresses the CPU and GPU, the Summit E13 Flip Evo scores 2.5 hours better than many laptops – although this test seems to demonstrate how hard a laptop runs on battery power instead of directly testing battery life .

Ultimately, battery life is a strength of the Summit E13 Flip Evo. It runs all day, leaving some time for evening work or Netflix bingeing. You don't have to worry about taking your PSU with you unless you really put a load on the processors.

Our opinion

The MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo is a useful addition to the stable 13-inch convertible 2-in-1. It's fast, has a long battery life, and looks great. The lid is a bit flexible and a bit expensive in its high-end configuration, but I found it to be a comfortable laptop for real world use.

The problem is that there are a lot of competitors. The MSI is as good as most of them, just make sure you choose the right configuration to avoid spending too much.

Any alternatives?

The HP Specter x360 14 is a great alternative. It's not that fast (at least without activating the performance mode), but it has a spectacular 13.5-inch OLED display with a 3: 2 aspect ratio. It's almost as expensive as the MSI when configured with the OLED display, but it only comes with a maximum of 16GB of RAM compared to the Summit E13 Flip Evo's 32GB.

The Dell XPS 13 is another great option if you don't need a 2-in-1. It's just as fast, has good battery life, and is better built – there's a reason it tops several best-of lists.

How long it will take?

The Summit E13 Flip Evo is so well built that you don't have to worry about its longevity. In addition, it is future-proof equipped with modern components such as the fast Wi-Fi 6E. The one year warranty will always be disappointing.

Should you buy it?

Yes sir. You will love using the Summit E13 Flip Evo; Just be prepared to pay a few extra dollars if you go for the high-end version.

Editor's recommendations



MSI GS66 Stealth (2021) Review: 1440p Performance, Tested

msi gs66 stealth 1440p review 09

MSI GS66 Stealth (2021) Review: Peak 1440p Gaming

"The MSI GS66 Stealth brings faster, sharper 1440p gaming to laptops."

  • Incredible gaming performance

  • 1440p 240Hz gaming is an achievement

  • Solid design and build quality

  • Good choice of ports

  • Solid battery life

  • Runs hot

  • Dull keyboard and touchpad

Switching from 1080p to 1440p is not an easy task. Playing games at higher resolutions without sacrificing frame rates requires a massive increase in graphical performance. This is exactly what the new mobile Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU is designed for.

The MSI GS66 Stealth is one of the first gaming laptops to support not only these new graphics, but also a 1440p 240Hz display. Lightning fast updates and high resolutions? Sign me up.

This is a sneak peek as the updated GS66 Stealth has not yet been launched in North America. But even without a confirmed price, my time with the updated GS66 Stealth got me excited for the potential of 1440p gaming laptops.

display

Internally, the display is the biggest change to the MSI GS66 Stealth this year. There is now the option for an IPS screen with a resolution of 2560 x 1440, measured diagonally at 15.6 inches. While 1440p screens are still a rarity on laptops, this is even more true of gaming laptops. The main reason, of course, is that the older GPUs were never capable of moving as many pixels around at frame rates fast enough to please gamers. A refresh rate above 60 Hz would never have made sense.

The MSI GS66 Stealth handles 1440p excellently in most games. 240 Hz is a bit over the top, but much more versatile than the 300 Hz 1080p models.

Since this is a new panel, I also wanted to test the image quality and make sure MSI wasn't cutting corners. There have been some surprises to say the least.

The color saturation is the real shock. With 100% sRGB and 98% AdobeRGB, this panel is significantly more colorful than your average 1080p gaming screen. Without the poor color accuracy, this would be a good photo and video editing machine. However, with a Delta E of 6.67, it is better calibrated for bold and bright colors in games than for precise color corrections.

I wish it was a little brighter which would help with the contrast as well. With 291 nits of brightness and a contrast ratio of 870: 1, it is a bit behind competitors like the Razer Blade.

Game performance

A faster screen is great, but without components to use it, it's useless. The GS66 Stealth has the Intel Core i7-10875H processor and the Nvidia RTX 3080 as well as 32 GB RAM and a 512 GB SSD. How does this deal with the promise of 1440p games? Let's just say there wasn't a title in our series of test games that I preferred to play in 1080p.

I saw some great results testing the game in the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark. The system achieved 9,907 points, which is a solid 18% ahead of the previous year's model with the RTX 2080 Super. This goes far beyond a normal increase in performance compared to the previous year. It was also only 8% behind the desktop version of the RTX 2070 Super that I tested in 2020. This is because the mobile RTX 3080 is technically the same GPU as the desktop RTX 3070.

At 1440p, it even beats the desktop RTX 2070 Super in some games.

I tested the game Battlefield V Next up, the GS66 Stealth impressed again, especially at higher resolutions. In this game, last year's model has already surpassed the Razer Blade. Now an average of 94 frames per second (fps) is displayed with 1440p Ultra settings or 126 fps with Medium. At 1440p, it even outperforms the desktop RTX 2070 Super – and keep in mind that this is a 215-watt desktop graphics card that costs $ 500 alone. This comparison did not apply to all games, especially CPU-bound games like Civilization VI. But Battlefield V was a notable high point for the GS66 Stealth.

The advantage in Fortnite wasn't that big, at least not compared to the desktop RTX 2070 Super. But take that comparison out of the equation for a moment and enjoy the glory of 1440p games at well over 60 fps. The MSI GS66 Stealth achieved an average of 81 fps in Epic settings and 115 fps in high with 100% 3D rendering. If you lower the resolution to 1080p, you get an additional 30 to 60 fps. Regardless, you never have to settle for less than 60 fps.

That was true of all of the games I tested, with the exception of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. With the in-game benchmark, Valhalla reached a top speed of 55 fps in Epic 1440p. The gameplay still looked smooth, but it barely fell below the 60 fps threshold. But in a game more known for immersive worlds and storytelling, I still preferred to prefer the sharper experience of playing in 1440p.

During long gaming sessions, surface temperatures remain manageable, resulting in a more comfortable gaming experience than on laptops like the Razer Blade. In contrast to this laptop, the MSI GS66 Stealth keeps the palm rests and keyboard cool even under less load. On the other hand, like the Zephyrus G14, the MSI GS66 Stealth always runs with a slight hum.

Ray tracing performance

Much has been said about the ray tracing capabilities of this new RTX 3080 graphic, but the performance loss is still too high in the two games I tried. Fortnite has a number of robust ray tracing features, including global lighting and shadows, each with different levels of detail. Unfortunately, despite the low setting, the game struggled to get smooth frame rates.

Heavy ray tracing effects aren't ready for prime time on gaming laptops just yet.

Of course, I also tried ray tracing along with DLSS, Nvidia's upscaling feature, to improve frame rates. DLSS helps a lot, even though I couldn't achieve the average frame rate over 60 fps even in performance mode. That was tested at 1080p Epic settings. In 1440p the situation is even worse.

I also wanted to try some ray tracing that was a little more subtle. Battlefield V was one of the first games to announce support for ray tracing and DLSS, and the effect isn't nearly as pronounced as it is in Fortnite. The MSI GS66 Stealth did a bit better here, but reaching 60 fps at 1080p Ultra was still unattainable without resorting to lower graphics settings. Story-driven or exploration games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Minecraft are slightly better suited for this performance compromise, but even there, strong ray-traced effects on gaming laptops aren't ready for prime time.

Creative achievement

The MSI GS66 Stealth uses a thoroughly boring, but satisfactory 10th generation Intel processor. The Core i7-10870H has eight cores and 16 threads with a boost clock rate of 5.0 GHz. Of course, the chip usually runs closer to its base clock of 2.2 GHz, except for burst workloads. As a gaming processor, it's more than capable and happy to leave the heavy lifting to Nvidia. However, this is a slightly slower processor than the Core i7-10875H used in the previous GS66 Stealth I tested in 2020.

Despite the high clock rates, the system doesn't look good in single-core benchmarks. In Cinebench R23, almost all 25-watt Tiger Lake processors beat the GS66 Stealth and show how inefficient the old 14 nm processors from Intel are in comparison. This discrepancy was even shown in PCMark 10's Essentials test, which rates simple tasks such as surfing the Internet, video conferencing and word processing. Even these smaller and more efficient laptops – like the Razer Book 13 or the HP Specter x360 14 – outperform it.

The GS66 Stealth makes up for it in multi-core tests, scoring 6,133 in Cinebench R23 and 6,140 in Geekbench 5. You can thank the eight cores for that. The additional cores also mean this laptop does well on multithreaded tasks like content creation. The CPU-only video encoding performance in Handbrake is good, but does not get any advantage over previous iterations of the laptop. Laptops like the Dell XPS 17 or Ryzen-based system are even faster in this test.

If you really want to edit or stream video on the MSI GS66 Stealth, the performance of the RTX 3080 can save the day. The 7,949 points are a great score on the PCMark 10 Creation test, a big step up from what was possible with older gaming laptops.

Like many of its competitors, the GS66 Stealth is running hot.

Like many of its competitors, the GS66 Stealth is running hot. It's not uncommon for 97 degrees Celsius to be reached on cranking, resulting in an inevitable thermal throttling. If you want to avoid this problem, consider opting for a bulkier chassis with better airflow.

Fortunately, this isn't a huge problem in most games as the processor shares more of the available power with the GPU.

design

The MSI GS66 Stealth was an early adopter of the thin-and-light gaming laptop trend. When the design first hit the market, the 4.6 pound weight and 0.71 inch thickness were revolutionary. In 2021, it's a little more common. The Razer Blade is a bit lighter, as is the Asus ROG Zephyrus G15. There are now new ultra-thin gaming laptops such as the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 or the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE, which are the maximum for the RTX 3060.

The look of the laptop itself doesn't attract too much attention. It's a black aluminum plate with very few flourishes. Even the dragon logo on the lid is only visible when light is reflected from it.

However, MSI has cut a few more vents in the case than in the Razer Blade. There are some on either side of the laptop as well as on the top. That makes for a slightly less elegant appearance, although it certainly helps to keep temperatures lower.

The touchpad and keyboard are some of my least favorite aspects of the laptop. In an attempt to maximize the size of the touchpad, MSI made it significantly wider than normal. I would normally welcome this attempt. But, like in the past, it is unsettling when most of your palms are resting on the touchpad. I have encountered the problem of accidental touchpad clicks more than once.

The keyboard has some usability problems for me too. The layout is abnormal and changes the default positioning of the Fn, Ctrl, Atl, and Windows keys. Fiddling with the keyboard is never fun, and I've done that quite a bit here.

The buttons themselves are fine, but the action is a bit sloppy. The keystrokes lack the precise speed that many modern keyboards have assumed, although this style is still common on gaming laptops.

As for the ports, the MSI GS66 Stealth throws in the sink. These include HDMI 2.0, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (Thunderbolt 4), USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 and three USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports. The Thunderbolt 4 port can be used for both display input and charging. However, while you're playing, you'll want to take advantage of the full power of the old-school keg plug. The laptop even manages to push in an RJ45 Ethernet socket.

Unfortunately, the bandwidth of HDMI 2.0 is limited to 144 Hz at 1440p. So if you are planning on docking with a gaming monitor, this is something to consider. Currently there are very few monitors and laptops that support HDMI 2.1, which increases this bandwidth significantly.

Battery life

I never go into a gaming laptop review with high expectations for battery life. However, the MSI GS66 Stealth always had the best battery life of any gaming laptop I have ever tested. The introduction of a higher resolution screen made me fear that he might lose that crown.

Instead, the opposite happened. This year's model improved battery life in both tests, despite having the same 99 watt hour battery. With local video playback, the system lasted just under eight hours, which is almost an hour and a half longer than the previous model. That also beats the Razer Blade by half an hour.

For a more realistic workflow, I used a macro to automate light web browsing. In this test, the GS66 Stealth stayed alive for seven hours and 12 minutes, once again overtaking both last year's model and the Razer Blade. That easily makes it the 15-inch gaming laptop with the best battery life.

Laptops without powerful discrete graphics cards naturally have a much better battery life. However, I'm encouraged these high refresh rate 1440p screens don't take an even bigger toll.

Our opinion

There is no doubt that 1440p is the future of laptop gaming. More than ray tracing, higher fidelity makes every game you play look sharper, smoother, and more immersive. The MSI GS66 Stealth is finally a gaming laptop that can run at 1440p at reasonable frame rates. It might not be my favorite gaming laptop design, but the combination of a super fast, high resolution screen and great gaming performance makes it one of the best gaming laptops you can buy.

The price remains the last important piece of information in evaluating this laptop. I will update this review once pricing is confirmed.

Are there alternatives?

Few gaming laptops have announced 1440p models, and only the Razer Blade 15 matches the MSI in refresh rate. The right configuration of the Razer Blade costs $ 2,900. So, you can expect the MSI model to be just a few hundred dollars below if it follows historical pricing patterns.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 combines its 1440p screen with a Ryzen processor and its refresh rate is limited to 165 Hz. Based on the games I tested, 165Hz is very fast when playing in 1440p. This means 1080p gaming is a little more limited, but it's likely fast enough for everyone but the most serious competitive gamers. At $ 2,500, the Zephyrus G15 may be a bit cheaper than the MSI GS66 Stealth.

How long it will take?

As with most laptops, you can expect the MSI GS66 Stealth to last four to five years. The high-end graphics card and the higher-resolution screen are future-proof, as are the Thunderbolt 4 ports. The lack of HDMI 2.1 is the only flaw in this regard.

Should you buy it?

Yes. As one of the few laptops with a 1440p screen and a refresh rate of 240 Hz, it offers one of the best gaming experiences you can get with a laptop.

Editor's recommendations




MSI Prestige 14 Evo Review: Tiger Lake Stretches Its Legs

msi prestige 14 evo review 01

"The MSI Prestige 14 Evo is a thin and light ultrabook with impressive performance."

  • Impressive performance

  • Solid build quality

  • Good battery life

  • Attractive design

  • The keyboard and touchpad are not precise enough

  • Dim the display

MSI is best known for its gaming equipment, but the company has repeatedly tried to go beyond its specialty. Like brands like Razer, MSI wants to use its gaming reputation to expand to more mainstream laptops.

The Prestige 14 Evo is the latest – and perhaps most ambitious – attempt at doing this. MSI worked closely with Intel on the 11th generation of Tiger Lake processors and the new Evo certification (hence the name).

My test device has an 11th generation Intel Core i7-1185G7, the fastest Tiger Lake CPU, as well as 16 GB of RAM and a 1 TB solid-state drive (SSD). The 14-inch laptop is priced at $ 1,199, a low price for such a high-end configuration. Some retailers even sell it for just $ 950. But is it enough to convince myself that MSI has a future beyond gaming?

design

Let's get "cheap" questions out of the way. The Prestige 14 Evo is made of aluminum and feels solid all around. That is, with the exception of the display, which has a certain flex when pressure is applied. Both the keyboard deck and the bottom of the case feel robust and leave an overall impression of solid workmanship. It's still half a step behind Lenovo and Asus in the 14-inch class and Dell and HP if you're looking for 13-inch alternatives. The Prestige 14 Evo doesn't feel "cheap", but it could certainly benefit from a firmer lid.

It's also an attractive device with three color options: Carbon Gray, Rose Pink, and Pure White. I received the Carbon Gray version which has a darker silhouette. Despite the beveled edges, it is a conservatively designed laptop without any gloss. Even the MSI logo is a dark shade on the lid and it's easy to miss if you're not looking at exactly the right angle. The lines are clean and elegant, with a sharp taper on the bottom from back to front.

There is no bling at all.

I will notice that the Carbon Gray surface is a fingerprint magnet and it's not that easy to remove stains.

The display hinge lifts the back of the case off the desk nicely and offers plenty of space underneath to allow air to move and noises to come out of the two-floor speakers. The Asus ZenBook UX425EA is similar, although Asus adds some flair with concentric rings engraved in the lid.

The Prestige 14 Evo is thin and light for a 14-inch, 0.63-inch, 2.85-pound laptop, though it's neither the thinnest nor the lightest you can get in this class of machine. The ZenBook 14 is 0.54 inches and weighs 2.58 pounds, while the Acer Swift 5 is another 14-inch notebook from Tiger Lake that is even lighter at 2.31 pounds. The thickness of 0.59 inches is between the MSI and the Asus.

Each of these machines has small bezels with a screen-to-body ratio of around 90% and therefore has a modern appearance when the lid is open. Speaking of the lid, the Prestige 14 Evo's hinge is well constructed and only needs one hand to open while it resists the wobbling.

Connectivity is a bit of light for the class. There are two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left and a single USB-A 2.0 port (oddly enough) for a microSD card reader and a 3.5mm audio jack on the right.

As with the Acer Swift 5, you often get an HDMI 2.0 port, which is missing here. However, the wireless connectivity is cutting edge with both Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1.

performance

The MSI Prestige 14 Evo is one of the fastest laptops in its class that I have tested. That sounds impressive on the surface, but it's also the first laptop I've tested with the Core i7-1185G7. I'm still learning what to expect from the latest generation of processors from Intel, but one thing is certain: the MSI Prestige 14 Evo impressed me.

The first test I ran was PCMark 10, which I ran on a handful of newer laptops with Intel 10th and 11th generation CPUs. The Prestige 14 Evo achieved the second highest value in this group with 4866 and only lost to the Lenovo Yoga 9i with the 45 watt Core i7-10750H CPU with six cores and 5173.

The MSI Prestige 14 Evo is one of the fastest laptops in its class.

The Prestige 14 Evo was faster than any other Tiger Lake notebook we tested by a good margin. Interestingly, the Porsche Design Acer Book RS with its surprisingly fast Core i5-1135G7 was Tiger Lake's closest competitor. Looking at each element of the PCMark 10 Complete test, the Prestige 14 Evo was particularly productive (spreadsheet and word processing) and creation (photo editing, video playback and playback, and video editing), while lagging behind some other laptops in the Only category Essentials (starting the app, video conferencing, surfing the Internet).

These results make the MSI a relatively faster laptop for more demanding tasks than basic computing. So if your main focus is to browse the web and spend time zooming, you don't need the power of the MSI.

In our handbrake test, which encodes a 420 MB video at H.265, the Prestige 14 Evo took just under two and 45 minutes, a fast score that surpasses any other U-series CPU. You need to look at laptops like the Lenovo Yoga 9i for faster results on Intel laptops (AMD Ryzen 4000 series laptops are a bit faster too). However, if you're looking for a laptop with a Tiger Lake CPU, the Prestige 14 Evo is the fastest you can find right now.

The same was true for Cinebench R23, where the Prestige 14 Evo achieved a strong 1,513 points in the single core score (after the Apple Mac Mini with the new Apple M1 chipset) and 5,789 points in the multi-core test. I'll repeat myself here: the Prestige 14 Evo is the fastest U-series CPU we've tested, and it's not really close. MSI did an excellent job of setting the CPU and managing the thermals so that the Prestige 14 Evo is the best example of Tiger Lake's potential.

Given the Intel Iris Xe graphics provided by the Tiger Lake platform, we should also briefly touch on gaming. These integrated graphics have so far offered an almost discrete low-end graphics performance and are well above the previous integrated graphics from Intel.

The Prestige 14 Evo even masters Fortnite surprisingly well. (/

Given MSI's experience with gaming laptops, the Prestige 14 Evo didn't seem as strong in graphics performance as its processor at first glance. In the synthetic 3DMark Time Spy benchmark, it achieved a rather low value of 1,465 behind the Porsche Design Acer Book RS with 1,504 and the Acer Swift 5 with 1,686. It managed to beat the anemic value of the Asus ZenBook 14 UX425EA of 1,281.

However, I also ran Fortnite to test a real world game that would fit in with the capabilities of the Intel Iris Xe graphics performance. It handles it surprisingly well. The Prestige 14 Evo managed 42 frames per second (fps) at 1080p and high graphics, which in turn outperforms any other Tiger Lake laptop. The fastest so far, the Intel reference laptop, ran at 34 fps. The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 with an Nvidia GeForce MX350 achieved 37 fps. At Epic Graphics, the Prestige 14 Evo was 28 fps, the reference laptop 29 fps and the Lenovo 24 fps.

At least in a game like Fortnite, the MSI doesn't do justice to its low 3DMark score. And a game like Fortnite is definitely on the verge of what you'd want to play on a Tiger Lake laptop.

display

MSI was smart enough to equip the Prestige 14 Evo with a 1 watt IPS display with low power consumption and 1080p. This selection should help balance the fast CPU in terms of battery life, as we'll discuss later in the review.

It comes in a 16: 9 aspect ratio, which feels a bit dated at this point. Dell, HP, and Lenovo have started turning to higher displays in their premium laptops that offer either 16:10 or 3: 2. In comparison, 16: 9 feels stocky, especially with the large lower bezel.

According to my colorimeter, this is an average display for a premium laptop with only one obvious weakness. In fact, "glare" is the wrong word because while the display does well on other metrics, its brightness is only 228 nits. This is well below the 300-nit threshold we love to see on premium displays, and it may be too dark for many brightly-lit offices.

The color range of the display is 97% of sRGB and 73% of AdobeRGB. Most other premium laptops can be found here. Some brands like Dell and Lenovo offer 4K displays with much larger gamuts (up to 100% of sRGB and AdobeRGB). Creative users who need lots of color will want to check out these brands.

The display of the Prestige 14 Evo scored quite well in terms of color accuracy with 1.3, whereby 1.0 and less are indistinguishable to the human eye and are the standard for excellent displays. Finally, the contrast ratio was 940: 1, just below the 1000: 1 we like to see on premium laptops.

Compare this display to the very good ones on the Acer Swift 5 and Asus ZenBook 14 UX425EA and you will find that brightness is the only differentiator – albeit an important one. Note that the Lenovo Yoga 7i, in contrast, was an outlier, only scoring 690: 1 and making for a muted panel.

Overall, if you're not in an overly bright environment, you'll love this display for productivity work and Netflix. However, if you turn up the ambient lighting, you will be disappointed. If you work in bright environments, the MSI can be a problem for you.

Keyboard and touchpad

The keyboard of the Prestige 14 Evo is in the typical island style with spacious key caps, comfortable key spacing and a lot of spring travel. My only complaint is that the switches were a little soft which made them feel light but without a precise floor effect. This reduced my accuracy and speed as I wasn't quite so sure that I had registered the correct keystroke.

I found the keyboard just one step behind my favorites, the HP Specter line of keyboards, Dell's latest XPS 13, and the best of them, Apple's Magic Keyboard on the latest MacBooks. But it's not so blatant that the average person would disapprove of the typing experience.

The problems with the touchpad are a bit more noticeable. It's pretty wide, although not as big as I'd like it to be. I also found it too deep in terms of key movement. You really need to learn to register a click. While that click is one of the quieter ones you'll experience, the touchpad could be streamlined for me.

However, the touchpad is a Microsoft Precision version, which means that it responds well to Windows 10's multi-touch gestures. My device was not equipped with a touch display and a touch version is not offered. I regularly use Touch for scrolling long web pages and the like, and I missed it here.

MSI chose to place the fingerprint reader, which supports passwordless Windows 10 Hello login, in the upper left corner of the touchpad. This is my least favorite place for a fingerprint reader and worse than placing it directly on the power button (like on the Dell XPS 13) or at least a separate area on the keyboard deck. Still, it worked well and signed me up quickly and without a lot of fuss.

Battery life

MSI equipped the Prestige 14 Evo with just 52 watt hours of battery life, which is a bit sparse for a 14-inch laptop with such a powerful CPU. Part of Intel's Evo certification is the ability to achieve nine or more hours of battery life for typical tasks. From my testing, the Prestige 14 Evo will likely do this – hardly.

First, I ran our web browsing test, which iterated over a number of popular websites. It gives a fair estimate of light productivity consumption, and the Prestige 14 Evo lasted about 7.25 hours. This is a below average duration for the class. The ZenBook 14 UX425EA lasts 10 hours and the Acer Swift 5 a less impressive eight hours.

Switch to the PCMark 10 Applications score, which provides a more direct comparison with productivity longevity, and the Prestige 14 Eve did a significantly better job at almost 10.5 hours. This is a new test for us so we don't have that many computers to compare it to. However, this value is only 22 minutes behind the Dell XPS 13 9310, the longest-lasting we tested and the laptop outperforms the older XPS 13 7390 with a 10th generation Core i7. Combine these two and the MSI can take the nine hours required for Evo certification.

I also ran the PCMark 10 gaming battery test which put a strain on the CPU and GPU. It replaces the Basemark web benchmark test that we ran in the past and that cannot be completed on Tiger Lake laptops. The Prestige 14 Evo took a little over 1.5 hours on the lower end of our limited database. The Acer Swift 5 lasted just under two hours, while the XPS 13 9310 was strong with almost four hours in this test.

Finally, I used our video test grinding a Full HD Avengers trailer and the Prestige 14 Evo took a little over 16 hours to complete. This is a strong score that surpasses the XPS 13 9310, Acer Swift 5, and ZenBook 14 UX425EA – largely thanks to the low-power display that MSI selected for the machine.

Ultimately, the Prestige 14 Evo gives you a full day of work unless you hit the CPU and GPU. And it will likely meet the Evo certification requirements of nine hours of typical use.

Our opinion

The MSI Prestige 14 Evo is the fastest Intel U-Series notebook we tested and outperforms any other example by a lot. It competes more strongly with the latest offerings from AMD than the rest of the class while offering decent battery life.

You won't indulge the build quality of the Prestige 14 Evo either, because for $ 1,199 you get a very well configured laptop with just one slightly flexible display that you can complain about. The laptop's biggest weakness is its display brightness, but it's a competitor everywhere else.

Are there alternatives?

The Asus ZenBook 14 UX425EA is a viable alternative to the MSI. Keep it in Performance mode and it'll stay in close proximity to the much faster Prestige 14 Eve, but you have to deal with louder fans. It's a bit more solid than the MSI, with an HDMI port and a better display. You spend about $ 100 more on the Asus and get the slightly slower Core i7-1165G7.

The Acer Swift 5 is another solid alternative to the Prestige 14 Evo. It's the next fastest Tiger Lake laptop, and it's about $ 100 more expensive too, while also sporting the slower Core i7. The Swift 5 is also lighter than the MSI and the display is brighter.

If you like the idea of ​​a 2-in-1 then the HP Specter x360 13 is a great choice. It can also be outfitted with Tiger Lake, although we haven't had a chance to test the latest version yet, and features a stunning OLED display that will blow the Prestige 14 Evo's display away. You'll spend a little more on the same configuration, but you'll get a wonder that's a little smaller than the MSI.

Finally, the Dell XPS 13 remains one of the best laptops out there and should always be considered. The Tiger Lake update shows what may already be the perfect laptop. As you spend more on the XPS 13 and give up some of the MSI's performance, you get a great design to go with it.

How long it will take?

The Prestige 14 Evo is so well built you don't have to worry about years of downtime, and it's built with components designed to keep Windows 10 running for just as long. You only get a one year warranty, but this is industry standard.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The MSI Prestige 14 Evo is the fastest ultrabook you can buy, and it's a great choice in the 14-inch laptop class.

Editor's recommendations




MSI GS66 Stealth Review: Thin and Light Gaming Laptop

msi gs66 stealth review 05

"The MSI GS66 Stealth offers excellent gaming performance and a slim profile at an affordable price."

  • Great gaming performance

  • Ultra-fast refresh rate of 300 Hz

  • Good keyboard and touchpad

  • Pleasant surface temperatures

  • The screen is a little dark

  • Questionable build quality

The Razer Blade has always had a serious competitor. It's not Alienware, Predator, or ROG. These brands all make great gaming laptops themselves, but none that want to do exactly what the Blade does.

Razer's most direct rival comes from a smaller company (at least here in the United States). I'm talking about the MSI GS66 Stealth. It has a similar size, almost identical specifications, and most importantly, the same minimalist design principles. There are no protruding angles or stereotypical clichés here.

MSI has further developed its approach to overcoming the Razer Blade, and its latest model, the GS66 Stealth, appears to meet all the criteria. Did it hit the Razer Blade in its own game?

design

MSI GS66 stealth review

There is a fine line between simple and boring. Brands like Razer or Apple can spice up their look with a little elegance. The MSI GS66 Stealth tries to do the same subtle trick. It avoids the bombastic style of other gaming laptops, but isn't quite as sophisticated as laptops like the Razer Blade. Even some ROG Zephyrus laptops look more uniform.

It is not a bad looking laptop. It's just a little bit boring.

MSI even took the design back from last year's GS65 Stealth and removed the golden highlights that played the racing stripe theme. Outside the RGB keyboard, it is now colorless and corresponds to the black aluminum standard housing. Unfortunately, there are still vents on the sides and top of the keyboard deck, stickers on the palm rests, and large hinges. It is not a bad looking laptop. It's just a little bit boring.

Fortunately, MSI has fixed some build quality issues. Earlier models were equally thin and light, but felt flexible and cheap. It's no longer a flexible piece of plastic, although the lid still feels a bit shaky. Even when closed, the lid of my device can close flat due to its curvature.

For a laptop that's only 4.6 pounds and 0.71 inches thick, that's important. It's still not as well built as the similarly sized Razer Blade that remains the king in this department.

Keyboard and touchpad

MSI GS66 stealth review

The keyboard and touchpad fit this topic. It is a large, comfortable keyboard with a set of springy keys that are suitable for both typing and playing.

However, there are quirks in the keyboard layout. The function key is only on the right side, probably in close proximity to the full-size arrow keys, which also serve as controls for volume and screen brightness. Oddly enough, however, it's only half the size of a normal key. This is a bad decision for a commonly used key.

I was really surprised by the quality of the touchpad.

The keyboard has RGB backlighting, which is required for gaming laptops these days. You can customize the keys, resulting in fun designs that are all provided by Steelseries. However, the backlight is not as bright and even as with the Razer Blade.

The touchpad is wider than in previous models. In contrast to the larger MSI GS75 Stealth, this does not disturb your palms when typing. However, due to the large vents above the keyboard, it is shorter than I know it. The good news is that the touchpad is well tracked and the click mechanism is quiet and precise. The quality surprised me.

The MSI GS66 Stealth contains a 720p webcam above the display and an IR camera for Windows Hello face recognition.

Ports

MSI GS66 stealth review

The MSI GS66 Stealth offers numerous options for port connections. On the left side you get USB-A, HDMI, Thunderbolt 3 and a power connector.

On the right side, the GS66 Stealth offers two additional USB-A ports, an additional USB-C port, an Ethernet socket and a headphone socket. That's all you need to connect multiple accessories, output to an external monitor, and even hard-wire your internet connection.

The lack of a full-size SD card slot is a failure for creatives who may want to use this laptop as a photo or video editing device. The slot has made a comeback on the new Razer Blade and Dell XPS 15. With the MSI GS66 Stealth you have to use a dongle.

The positioning of these ports is a bit annoying. Due to the side ventilation slots, the openings were pressed down towards the palm rests. As it turns out, your mouse is usually right there.

The MSI GS66 Stealth supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 connectivity via Intel and Bluetooth 5.1

Gaming performance

MSI GS66 stealth review

Like the Predator Triton 500 or the Razer Blade, the MSI GS66 Stealth not only has an Nvidia RTX 2080 Super Max-Q graphics card, but also a screen with a refresh rate of 300 Hz. The combination of the two means a strong GPU Performance and a screen that never limits the number of visible frames per second. The MSI model also offers screens with refresh rates of 240 Hz or 144 Hz when combined with slower GPUs like the RTX 2070 Super or the RTX 2060.

However, my decorated test device was a top performer. Take Battlefield V for example. The MSI GS66 Stealth processes the game at 97 frames per second (FPS) with settings at Ultra and 133 frames per second at medium. It's neck and neck with the Razer Blade here, surpassing it by 11 fps even in the medium settings.

The GS66 Stealth plays Fortnite wonderfully smoothly and makes optimal use of its 300 Hz screen.

The Razer Blade, Predator Triton 500 and MSI GS66 Stealth were also in a dead heat in Assassin's Creed Odyssey. The MSI GS66 Stealth played at 56 fps, just a few frames behind its two competitors.

The GS66 Stealth plays blows again and plays Fortnite wonderfully smoothly, making better use of its 300 Hz screen. It reached a whopping 121 fps with Epic settings, again 11 fps ahead of the Razer Blade.

And in case you are wondering, there are some titles that can actually take advantage of the extra headroom for the frame rate that the 300 Hz screen offers. The Rocket League, for example, can easily play up to 250 fps.

All of these games were played with the system's native 1080p resolution, although you will likely get adequate frame rates even when connected to an external 1440p gaming monitor.

Performance in content creation

As with the Razer Blade, many people will be tempted to use the MSI GS66 Stealth not just for gaming – thanks to its portability and its nondescript design.

MSI offers processor options up to the Intel Core i9-10980HK, but my device came with the Core i7-10875H. This is the first choice for high-end gaming laptops with eight cores and 16 threads. This also makes it a strong laptop for content creation, especially in applications that can use the powerful discrete GPU.

MSI GS66 stealth review

The GS66 Stealth scores better than the Razer Blade in Geekbench 5, but they're equally good at real-life professors. For CPU-bound applications like Handbrake it binds the Razer Blade and loses to the Dell XPS 15. Of course laptops like the Dell G5 SE with AMD Ryzen 4000 or Dell XPS 17 blow it out of the water.

A better example is the popular video editing application Adobe Premiere Pro. The MSI GS66 Stealth rendered a 4K two-minute clip for ProRes 422 in just seven minutes and 20 seconds. This is almost the same performance as the Razer Blade. Thanks to their more powerful GPUs, both laptops beat the Dell XPS 15 by around 16%. However, none of them is comparable to the powerful Dell XPS 17.

MSI pumps up all RTX Super models with 32 GB RAM and at least 512 GB SSD. You can also choose a downgraded 16 GB RAM, RTX 2060 and a 6-core Core i7-10750H.

The system does a solid job and keeps the surface temperatures cool even when playing. That's a problem I had with the Razer Blade, which stays warm even when surfing the web lightly. The cooling is better regulated here, which leads to more pleasant surface temperatures. The disadvantages are of course the additional ventilation slots and the fan noise. The fans always turn even when idle.

display

MSI GS66 stealth review

The matte 1080p screen is great for gaming thanks to its response time of 3 milliseconds and refresh rate of 300 Hz. Playing is fast and smooth.

It can only be serviced for other activities. The screen is initially a maximum of 262 nits. That's 15% less than the Razer Blade and below the 300-nit level that I expect from premium laptops. The matte finish helps mitigate reflections, but I would have preferred a brighter screen here.

Fortunately, it's a well-calibrated screen with accurate colors. The color gamut is not as large as many creatives would like it to be, but it corresponds to the 1080p Razer Blade in this regard. MSI offers a 4K panel, which can be more attractive for non-gaming tasks.

The speakers are disappointing. They are pointing up, although MSI has decided to put them on the palm rest again, which remains a strange choice. In any case, they are confused and have no bass.

Battery life

MSI GS66 stealth review

The MSI GS66 Stealth is step by step in several areas, but not ahead of many of its competitors. An exception to this rule is the battery life, where it is preferred. However, I don't think it can compete with non-gaming laptops.

It still only manages about five and 40 minutes on a single charge – and with little stress when surfing the Internet. You can't work away from the wall for too long without worrying about battery life. The Dell XPS 15 lasts a few hours longer in the same test despite its 4K display on a single charge.

Nevertheless, the MSI GS66 Stealth lasts 40 minutes longer than the Razer Blade and hours longer than G-Sync laptops like the Predator Triton 500th hour size.

The Razer Blade beat the MSI in our lightest battery test, in which a local video clip is repeated until the laptop dies. The blade lasted seven hours and 22 minutes, an hour longer than the MSI GS66 Stealth.

However, the battery life of gaming laptops is increasing, and this is the new crop of AMD Ryzen 4000 gaming laptops. The GPU is not as powerful, but the ROG Zephyrus G14 is only a few centimeters behind the MSI GS66 Stealth when surfing the Internet and has taken a whopping 10 hours in video looping.

Our opinion

The MSI GS66 Stealth faces a tough battle. The sophistication of the Razer Blade is lacking, and it's not as affordable as the Acer Predator Triton 500. However, its benefits don't go unnoticed. The cooling is impressive and the gaming performance is fantastic.

It's not twice as good as the Razer Blade for work, but as an ultra-portable gaming laptop, the MSI GS66 Stealth is an argument in itself.

Are there alternatives?

The Razer Blade offers excellent build quality, a better display and a classier look. However, it is a few hundred dollars more expensive.

The Predator Triton 500 isn't as elegant as the MSI GS66 Stealth, but it's a little cheaper and even has a G-Sync screen.

If you're considering the cheaper Nvidia RTX 2060 version of the MSI GS66 Stealth, the ROG Zephyrus G14 is a great alternative.

How long it will take?

The MSI GS66 Stealth should last four to five years as long as you take care of it. The build quality can be somewhat sensitive in places. So be careful with the lid.

MSI provides a standard one-year warranty on all laptops.

Should you buy it

Yes. If the Razer Blade is a bit too expensive and you still want an elegant gaming laptop, the MSI GS66 Stealth is a good option.

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