MSI Prestige 15 laptop review: Dazzling 4K image quality, solid performance – NotebookCheck.net Reviews

The MSI Prestige 15 A12UD-093 seems made for graphically demanding tasks. Its 4K display with AdobeRGB delivers detailed imagery with the most lifelike colors possible, so that high-quality digital photographs can be viewed, modified and optimized without the need for an external monitor. An Intel Alder Lake processor from the “P” series, an i7-1280P in this case, provides enough computing power for all tasks. Graphically intensive tasks are handled by the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti.

At the same time, MSI has made sure that the typical problems associated with an overly powerful configuration with a separate graphics chip do not occur. Power consumption has been limited, which results in long battery runtimes, minimal fan noise and limited heating. Quiet and concentrated work takes precedence over pure performance values. 

In addition to the model under review, there are also other variants that only offer a Full HD display with a smaller color space. In this case, an external monitor would indeed be necessary for professional image editing. Furthermore, the weaker and even more economical Intel Core i5-1240P can be chosen in place of the i7-1280P.

Regarding content creation, media editing and more, competition is fierce. The Acer Swift X SFX16 with the Intel Arc A370M, the Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED or the Schenker Vision 14 all deliver either lesser or greater performance values, but also aim to offer quick video and image editing. 

Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

      Asus VivoBook Pro 16X OLED N7600PC-L2026X       Acer Swift X SFX16-52G-77RX       MSI Prestige 15 A12UD-093       Lenovo ThinkBook 15 G3 ACL 21A400B2GE       Dell XPS 15 9520 RTX 3050 Ti {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_332421’).checked = false;document.querySelectorAll(‘#showDeviceSize_331702’).forEach(element => {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_331702’).checked = false;document.querySelectorAll(‘#showDeviceSize_331678’).forEach(element => {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_331678’).checked = false;document.querySelectorAll(‘#showDeviceSize_333588’).forEach(element => {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_333588’).checked = false;document.querySelectorAll(‘#showDeviceSize_329584’).forEach(element => {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_329584’).checked = false;return false;” title=”hide all”>❌

The webcam of the MSI Prestige 15 is not very impressive: merely HD quality, which does not work well during video calls, is actually too little for a multimedia notebook. On the other hand, recognition in low light is convincing. Even the glow of the display is sufficient so that the laptop can be used for video telephony at any time.

The two microphones do not compensate for the weak video quality. Voices sound tinny, and what is said can only be understood when speaking directly in front of the laptop.

At least facial recognition with infrared works reliably. Overall, the webcam is usable, but the resolution and the microphones meet the minimum requirements only.

Although there is no Kensington lock for securing the device at the desk or workplace, at least the login can be made secure via facial recognition and the fingerprint sensor.

Somewhat unusual is the position of the sensor in the touchpad, but its generous design ensures that this does not leave a negative impression during use. Left-handed users may view this differently, however. The build and operation scored very well in our functional tests. The technology appears to be significantly more robust than many keyboard-inbuilt fingerprint sensors.

Facial recognition on the Prestige 15 also ran free of error. Regardless of lighting conditions, the infrared camera recognized the user correctly.

The MSI laptop was easy to open. Only seven Phillips screws have to be loosened in order to detach the baseplate with little effort. Unfortunately, the middle screw is covered with a seal. After contacting MSI, we were assured that breaking the seal does not void the warranty. Nevertheless, this may have a deterrent effect on some users.

Otherwise, a look inside reveals a well thought-out internal design. Only the battery is screwed in. The WLAN module can also be swapped if necessary.

Moreover, expanding the storage space is designed to be completely straightforward, which makes the seal even less comprehensible. In addition to the already installed SSD, an additional SSD can be inserted into a second M.2 slot in the standard 2280 format. This makes perfect sense for video editing.

Only the RAM is permanently soldered. At most, this could prove problematic in the notebook variant with 16 GB at some point in the future. The 32 GB configuration, on the other hand, should be completely sufficient in the long run.

The clearly recognizable lettering and, above all, the familiar size and standardized spacing save any getting used to. Typing on the keyboard of the MSI Prestige 15 is fast and precise. It is neither particularly loud nor very quiet.

Key resistance is well dosed and should also be well suited for long periods of work. However, a little more than just 1 mm travel would have been desirable, especially with intensive use.

The backlighting also leaves no room for criticism. Three different brightness levels are available, and no irregularities were observed. In addition, the illuminated frame of every single key ensures excellent orientation in dark environments.

The touchpad also leaves a positive impression overall. Inputs with one or more fingers are implemented precisely. The glass surface feels very good, and the covered keys in the lower area also function smoothly.

We couldn’t see any real advantage in the particularly wide design at first glance, especially since the fingerprint sensor is also installed here. The length of only 65 mm, on the other hand, seems a bit tight. Here, one quickly glides beyond the touchpad.

The display values clearly indicate that MSI is very serious about positioning itself as a creator laptop. At a diagonal of 15.6 inches, the 4K resolution ensures an extremely high pixel density. Individual pixels are not discernible, even at close range. Alternatively, a Full HD display can be used, which unfortunately performs a little worse in terms of color reproduction.

The contrast is impressive and is supported by a very low black value, among other things. Brightness is slightly above average at an average of 420 cd/m², which does not decrease in battery mode.

We observed minimal screen bleeding at the bottom edge. However, this only occurs during full screen brightness, a completely black picture and long exposure times. This also should not be visible to the naked eye. Response times are acceptable for a multimedia laptop. Flickering was not detected at various brightness levels.

However, 4K resolution on an area that is hardly larger than a DIN A4 sheet does not seem really practical. Windows recommends a magnification of 250%, which seems realistic. Even 200% makes reading on the screen difficult. A full-size display makes working on the Prestige 15 almost impossible. Moreover, very few are likely be able to tell the difference whether the displayed image is in FullHD or 4K because the details are simply too small.

In any case, the display is made for photo editing. But your own eyes may have trouble recognizing this level of detail. Connecting an adequate monitor in combination with a built-in Full HD screen seems more practical.

* … smaller is better

MSI promises 100% coverage of the AdobeRGB color space on the Prestige 15. Rather, it bluntly states that this should typically be the case. The measured 94% is a little off-target, but is still suitable for displaying and editing photos at a high level.

The display is much worse at covering the DCI-P3 color space, which is often used for video content and has larger green and yellow ranges. This is not surprising, since the focus is on image editing.

The specified factory calibration is slightly off the mark in our review sample with a maximum DeltaE of 2. To be fair, color deviations are only perceptible from a value of 3, so the average value remains well below that.

Accordingly, the screen of the Prestige 15 will display almost lifelike colors without any further adjustments.

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Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.

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To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession – a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.

Texts are legible outdoors and even in direct sunlight. On the other hand, you should look for a shady spot for colorful screen content, otherwise color reproduction will suffer.

Overall, the brightness allows the Prestige 15 to be used outdoors, even if only just.

As usual, IPS panels should ensure almost perfect viewing angle stability, but this is not the case with the Prestige 15. Colors and brightness remain unchanged only up to about 30 degrees. Beyond that, a brownish discoloration can be seen, especially on black surfaces.

We suspect an interference effect due to the high pixel density, as can be seen in double slit experiments. Another point that speaks in favor of the models with Full HD screens.

Help

The Prestige 15 is not suitable for real-time audio and video editing. It has the highest latency in the field of competitors.

The kernel mode driver framework is mainly responsible for this. An adjustment of the driver configuration, updates and more may remedy the problem.

The Micron SSD achieves more than 6,000 MB/s in sequential reading. This rate also remains stable over longer periods of time, which speaks for the adequate cooling of the hardware.

This means that the PCIe 4.0 interface can be used well with the M.2 SSD. However, the other rates are not quite on par with the best hard drives. But this does not have any negative effects for a fast, albeit not outstanding creator notebook.

On the other hand, the size of 1 TB is fitting. Raw data, whether videos or images, take up a lot of space. So the second SSD slot makes sense, which is easily accessible regardless of the seal.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti is not the most solid recommendation for gaming, even when free of limitations. Here it is limited to a maximum of 40 watts in the MSI Prestige 15, which further reduces performance in continuous operation. In theory at least, operation of up to 80 watts is possible.

This is of course not necessary here. Like the processor, the graphics chip is only intended to provide powerful performance bursts to accelerate program processes. This succeeds very convincingly in comparison to a GeForce MX450. On the other hand, the Intel Arc A370M, which is actually somewhat weaker on average in our measurements, is able to outperform the throttled RTX 3050 Ti.

This limited power consumption ensures that there is no drop in performance even under sustained load. Even in battery mode, graphics performance remains at approximately the same level. This decision seems only logical, as multimedia notebooks shouldn’t take longer for image editing just because there isn’t a power outlet nearby.

However, the fact that the best performance rates are achieved in battery mode could be due to the MSI Center Pro software not being configured correctly. The system then receives more power than with the power adapter connected.

More GPU benchmarks can be found here.