MSI’s Stealth laptops have lengthy been certainly one of my favourite gaming pocket book traces due to their mix of efficiency and portability. However final 12 months’s mannequin was a disappointment. After just a few years of sticking with the identical design, its chassis felt drained and refreshed specs did not deal with the system’s underlying points. However for 2023, MSI has given the Stealth a whole makeover together with a model new design, an non-obligatory 240Hz show, extra highly effective parts and never one however two sizes to select from. Heck, there are such a lot of additions MSI even modified the identify of all the sequence: The Stealth Studio. After utilizing one for the previous few weeks, I really feel like we may be wanting on the most improved gaming laptop computer of the 12 months.
Design
I have been testing the 14-inch model, however there’s additionally a bigger 16-inch mannequin, with each sizes sporting a slick magnesium aluminum exterior that is obtainable in two colours: pure white and star blue. Admittedly, the white mannequin is not very stealthy, however I do not care as a result of it appears incredible and it’s tremendous gentle. It weighs simply 3.75 kilos, which is sort of a full half pound lower than rivals just like the Alienware x14 R2.
Execs
- Putting design
- Light-weight and transportable
- Stable efficiency
- Vibrant 240Hz show
- Up-firing stereo audio system
Cons
- Runs scorching
- No SD card slot
- Decrease-res 720p webcam
Regardless of its small dimension you continue to get stable connectivity, together with three USB ports (one Kind-A and two Kind-C) and a full-size HDMI jack. However extra importantly, there are a ton of tiny options all through the system that present MSI’s consideration to element. On the vents in again, the grille spells out the identify of the system, form of such as you may get on a sports activities automobile. And in entrance, MSI has partnered with SteelSeries to ship attractive RGB lighting on its keyboard. MSI additionally added some small, up-firing stereo audio system in entrance, which give a pleasant improve in audio high quality from the earlier mannequin. You even get a bodily shutter for the webcam. Positive, it is just a bit plastic flap, however I am glad it is there.

Picture by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
My two small gripes are that the webcam is just 720p – come on MSI, it’s 2023 – and that the chin under the display screen appears a bit ungainly. Even if you happen to ignore how large it’s, I want MSI had gone with a hinge that minimize down on the hole between the show and deck, as a result of it may be form of a distraction to see the hind lights shining by means of whereas working or gaming.
Show
By default, the Stealth 14 Studio comes with a 1920 x 1200 165Hz IPS show, which is an efficient place to begin. Nevertheless, our evaluation unit has MSI’s upgraded 2560 x 1600 240Hz display screen and it is an actual deal with. In testing, I measured peak brightness simply shy of 450 nits which is sort of double what we bought from final 12 months’s machine. That makes it nice for enjoying all types of video games, and because of a shade gamut that covers one hundred pc of the DCI-P3 spectrum, it will probably pull double responsibility as a photograph or video enhancing workstation too.
Efficiency

Picture by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Packing an Intel Core i7-13700H chip, NVIDIA RTX 4060, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, the Stealth 14 Studio has greater than sufficient efficiency for just about any process. In video games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Returnal at 1080p and max settings, the Stealth Studio hit 67 and 78 fps respectively, which is definitely a contact larger than what I bought from a Razer Blade 18 with the identical GPU and an i9 chip.
That is fairly spectacular when you think about that the MSI’s smaller chassis means it has manner much less room inside to handle thermals. Even on artificial checks like PCMark 10, the Stealth Studio edged out the Blade 18 with a rating of 8,126 versus 7,236, regardless of the Razer costing over $1,000 greater than the MSI. This simply goes to point out that greater and costlier isn’t all the time higher.

Picture by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Recently, I have been enjoying loads of Diablo 4 which actually exhibits off the capabilities of the Stealth 14 Studio. You possibly can flip down the graphics to benefit from the display screen’s speedy refresh fee or allow all the sport’s bells and whistles whereas nonetheless staying properly above 60 fps.
The 2 small downsides to the Stealth 14 Studio’s efficiency are that it runs form of scorching and it tops out with an RTX 4070, which is comprehensible given its dimension. I attempted to recreation with it on my lap whereas watching TV, and belief me once I say that it will get actual toasty. So until you may have a lapboard, you are higher off sitting at a desk or desk.
Battery Life

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Coming from final 12 months’s mannequin that conked out after a bit of greater than 4 hours, MSI has delivered some notable features right here too. On our video rundown check, the Stealth 14 Studio lasted 5 hours and 19 minutes, which is up 25 p.c over final 12 months’s system. However what’s even higher is that it additionally beat out bigger rivals (with greater batteries) together with each the Blade 16 (5:01) and ASUS’ ROG Zephyrus M16 (4:38).
Wrap-up
The Stealth 14 Studio is an virtually full about-face for MSI’s thin-and-light gaming line. It is bought a putting new design, up to date internals and a handful of welcome quality-of-life upgrades – all in a chassis that is straightforward to hold round; I’ve already made a number of cross-country journeys with it and it hasn’t let me down but. In truth, the Stealth 14 Studio has principally every thing I search for in a fantastic all-rounder – properly, apart from possibly an OLED display screen or an SD card slot (although you do get one on the bigger 16-inch mannequin).

Picture by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
But when these aren’t deal breakers for you, MSI has delivered a system providing a surprising construct and stable efficiency for gaming or anything you may want. And with our upgraded mannequin at the moment going for $1,900 (or round $1,700 for the bottom mannequin), you are getting extra storage and a quicker CPU and GPU than a base Alienware x14 R2 for less than $150 extra. So, after a down 12 months, MSI has restored the Stealth – ahem the Stealth Studio – again to its former glory as a system that may do a little bit of every thing whereas wanting nice too.