MSI Stealth 14 AI Studio review
The MSI MSI Stealth 14 AI Studio ranks as the #38 laptops globally, achieving a LibraScore of 82. Across all metrics, this product stands out most for its #63-ranked performance among 656 laptops. Consider the MSI Stealth 14 Studio or Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i, which offer higher scores while staying in the same price range.
Is it Worth it?
The MSI Stealth 14 AI Studio is a well-rounded package for its price range. It offers high performance for creators and gamers at a competitive price point. The laptop's design is sleek, with a navy blue color and RGB strip, although some may find the "AI" branding excessive. The magnesium alloy chassis is sturdy and light, but plastic parts feel cheap in some areas. Battery life is a major letdown, barely lasting 4 hours in our test. However, the laptop excels in performance, beating most games with ease. Upgradability is also a highlight, with upgradable RAM slots and an M.2 SSD. At around $1,200 for the RTX 460 model, it's a great value for its price range, making it worth considering despite its drawbacks.
Build
The MSI Stealth 14 AI Studio's build is a mixed bag. The magnesium alloy chassis makes it light yet sturdy, but some plastic parts, such as the bottom, feel cheap. The laptop is thin and has minimal flex in the deck and keyboard. However, the MSI bar across the top with the word "AI" feels like a design misstep. The RGB strip at the back adds a touch of style, but can be turned off to make the laptop less noticeable. Overall, the build quality is decent, but not exceptional for a premium product. You might prefer MSI Stealth 14 Studio, designed with an upgraded build for a better experience.
Display
The MSI Stealth 14 AI Studio's display is its crowning jewel. It boasts an OLED panel with vibrant colors, perfect blacks, and 100% DCI-P3 color accuracy. This makes it a joy to watch videos or edit photos on. The screen also has a high refresh rate of 120Hz, which is great for gaming. Unfortunately, the display lacks an anti-reflective layer, making it prone to glare in bright environments. However, its sturdy hinge and minimal display wobble make up for this shortcoming. Overall, the Stealth 14's display is one of the best on a laptop, even if it does have some limitations. For a superior display, MSI Prestige 14 could be the right choice.
Performance
The MSI Stealth 14 AI Studio delivers high performance for creators and gamers at an affordable price. My model, featuring the RTX 4060 GPU, performs well in Cinebench R23 and Time Spy, despite having a last-gen Intel chip. In games, it competes with top 14-inch laptops, crushing most titles easily. The RTX 470 model should perform around 15-20% faster, making it a genuinely fast laptop. However, battery life is disappointing, lasting only around 4 hours in ideal conditions, and likely half that in real-world use. Overall, the Stealth 14's performance makes it a strong contender in the mid-range gaming laptop space, despite some drawbacks. A better alternative might be MSI Stealth 14 Studio, featuring a next-level performance.
Battery and Charging
The MSI Stealth 14 AI Studio's battery life is a significant letdown, lasting only around 4 hours in our test, which is significantly below average. Even in Super Battery mode, the laptop failed to deliver better results. This poor performance is likely to be a major concern for users who need a laptop that can last throughout the day. Charging speed is decent, but not exceptional.
Connectivity
The MSI Stealth 14 AI Studio offers decent connectivity options, with a USB-A port, two USB-C ports, an HDMI output, and a Micro SD card reader. However, it lacks an extra USB-A port and features a generic power brick that uses a barrel connector. If you’re after a better connectivity, Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 could be the ideal option.
Features
The MSI Stealth 14 AI Studio boasts a magnesium alloy chassis, making it light yet sturdy. The navy blue color with RGB strip at the back is attractive, though the "AI" branding may be a trend to watch out for. The laptop has a decent port selection and supports USBC charging. The OLED display features perfect blacks, high refresh rate, and 100% DCI-P3 color accuracy, but lacks an anti-reflective layer. MSI Prestige 14 might be a smarter choice, offering an upgraded features.
Support and Maintenance
The MSI Stealth 14 AI Studio offers decent support with the MSI Center app providing performance settings and lightly tweakable profiles. The laptop's maintenance is upgrade-friendly, allowing for upgradable M.2 SSDs, Wi-Fi cards, and RAM slots. However, battery life is a significant drawback.
Pros
1. The laptop has a gorgeous keyboard with per-key RGB backlight, making it customizable and fun to type on.The keyboard requires just enough force to press down, but is still clicky and nice to use.The laptop's speakers are very good, with plenty of bass and clear sound. They may not get super loud, but they're some of the best speakers I've heard on a laptop so far.The MSI Center app is well-designed and has almost no bloat in it, providing a simple interface for performance settings.The laptop performs really well in games, competing with top 14-inch laptops despite having a last-gen Intel chip. It's genuinely fast and would be even faster with the RTX 470 model.The laptop's price is very competitive, starting at around $1,000-$1,200 for the RTX 460 model.
Cons
1. The design of the laptop may not live up to expectations, especially when it comes to build quality - it doesn't feel like a tank like some laptops do.The screen on the laptop is very reflective, which can be frustrating when trying to use it in bright environments.Battery life on this laptop is absolutely horrible. It barely lasts 4 hours even with perfect conditions and real-world usage might get you half of that.The fans may turn on randomly during load, getting pretty loud but that's a bit normal for gaming laptops.The CPU gets really hot, reaching 100°C a lot of times which is pretty normal for the Intel Ultra chips though.Battery life is not good, even with 'super battery mode' and might be an issue with my specific unit.
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