MSI Summit E15 review

MSI Summit E15

The MSI MSI Summit E15 ranks as the #708 laptops globally, achieving a LibraScore of 66. Across all metrics, this product stands out most for its #364-ranked performance among 676 laptops. Consider the MSI Stealth 15M or MSI Pulse GL66, which offer higher scores while staying in the same price range.

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Key takeaways
The MSI Summit E15's performance is commendable, delivering great power and handling tasks smoothly overall always.
The MSI Summit E15's strongest aspect is its premium build quality, ensuring durability and sturdiness always.
The MSI Summit E15 features an exceptional 4K display with excellent color calibration and vibrant visuals overall.
The MSI Summit E15 features a lightweight aluminum chassis, advanced display, and convenient USB ports options available.

Is it Worth it?

The MSI Summit E15 is a commendable attempt to break into the business laptops market. Its build quality is fairly nice, with a solid aluminum chassis, and the 4K screen is impressive. Performance-wise, the Tiger Lake CPU paired with GTX 1650ti GPU delivers great power. However, it falls short in areas like trackpad design, speaker quality, and battery endurance. While not perfect, it's still a decent option for those seeking a premium business laptop. Whether or not it's worth it ultimately depends on your priorities and needs.

Build

The MSI Summit E15's build quality is its strongest aspect. The aluminium chassis with carbon finish contributes to a lightweight build, while the 180-degree hinge is sturdy and easy to open. The exhaust vents are strategically placed, blowing air directly towards the screen. The laptop meets MIL-STD-A10G standards, ensuring durability in harsh environments. Port selection is also satisfactory, with a good balance of Type-C, HDMI, USB-A, and microSD card reader ports. The device's build quality is undoubtedly premium, making it a great addition to any business or professional setting. Overall, the Summit E15's construction is well-designed and robust, justifying its position in the business laptop market. For a superior build, MSI Stealth 15M could be the right choice.

Display

The MSI Summit E15 boasts an impressive 15.6-inch 4K UHD non-touch anti-glare display. With 100% Adobe RGB color space and delta E less than 2, the screen offers excellent color calibration out of the box. Colors are vibrant and punchy, with no backlight bleeding issues. Viewing angles are also good, making it suitable for outdoor use on bright days. The display's brightness is not a concern, ensuring visibility in all lighting conditions. Overall, the Summit E15's 4K screen is a standout feature, offering stunning visuals that make it ideal for graphic design and video editing work. A better alternative might be MSI Stealth 15M, featuring a next-level display.

Performance

The MSI Summit E15's performance is commendable, with its Intel Tiger Lake Core i7 CPU and GTX 1650 Ti GPU delivering great power. The system boots up in under 8 seconds, and apps launch quickly. The PCIe 4.0 support enhances SSD read and write speeds, making it a significant upgrade over older laptops. In regular everyday tasks, the laptop performs well, with multitasking and gaming also handled smoothly. However, the cooling system gets warm during prolonged gaming sessions, and battery life is somewhat limited, lasting around 6 hours with a 4k screen. You may find MSI Stealth 15M a better fit, thanks to its superior performance.

Battery and Charging

The MSI Summit E15's battery life is somewhat disappointing, lasting around 6 hours with the 4K screen on. I experienced decent usage with browsing, editing documents, and light photo editing at 30% brightness. The charging time is about 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes via USB-C. Unfortunately, the bulky 90W power adapter may not be ideal for portability-focused users. While the battery life is relatively better on full HD variants, it still falls short of expectations, particularly given the laptop's premium features and price.

Connectivity

The MSI Summit E15 features a robust port selection with two Type-C ports (Thunderbolt 4), one HDMI, one microphone/headphone combo jack, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, and a micro SD card reader. The device also has a left frame housing for effortless connectivity on-the-go. MSI Stealth 15M might be a smarter choice, offering an upgraded connectivity.

Features

The MSI Summit E15 boasts an aluminum chassis with a carbon finish, providing a lightweight build. It features a 4k non-touch display with excellent color calibration, 100 Adobe RGB color space, and decent brightness. The laptop has two Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support, HDMI, and USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, along with an embedded fingerprint scanner and backlit keyboard. For an improved features, MSI Stealth 15M is worth considering.

Support and Maintenance

The MSI Summit E15 is a commendable attempt at breaking into the business laptops market. However, its performance is overshadowed by poor trackpad design, below-average speakers, and subpar battery life. To truly shine, MSI should focus on improving these crucial aspects. With some refinement, this laptop could become a top contender in the premium business market.

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