Review of the MSI Stealth 14 Studio

The MSI Stealth 14 Studio is a versatile laptop, ideally designed for gaming while offering remarkable compactness at only 1.7 kg and 19 mm thick. It features a powerful Intel Core i7 processor from the latest generation and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 40, ensuring a smooth experience for both gaming and creative tasks. The A13VG model stands out with its 14-inch QHD+ screen at 240 Hz, providing exceptional image quality. Powered by a 13th-generation Intel Core i7 processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card, it promises high-level gaming performance.

Presentation

The MSI Stealth 14 Studio is a compact laptop equipped with top-notch components. Firstly, there is a 14-inch display with 2560 x 1600 pixels and a 16:10 aspect ratio. The refresh rate is 240 Hz. The Intel Core i7-13700H processor is accompanied by 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD, while the graphics are handled by a GeForce RTX 4050, 4060, or 4070 with a power envelope of 90 W. This is a less powerful version compared to the ones typically found in large gaming PCs, which can reach up to 140 W.

Also Read: Review Of the MSI Cyborg 15 A12V (Core I7 12th Gen, RTX 4060) Laptop

The MSI Stealth 14 Studio equipped with the GeForce RTX 4050 is available for $1199. Our test model with the GeForce RTX 4070 is priced at $1299.

Technical Specification of MSI Stealth 14 Studio

Construction

The chassis of the MSI Stealth 14 Studio is made of a magnesium-aluminum alloy, painted in a midnight blue for our test version, and has a coating that limits fingerprints. This high-end chassis houses a screen that can open up to 180 degrees, with a thickness of less than 2 cm despite the use of gaming-oriented components. And of course, when it comes to gaming, RGB lighting is a must, and MSI doesn’t disappoint with a backlit “STEALTH” located between the two rear vents. An emblem with the MSI dragon sits on the lid but remains relatively discreet.

Opening the laptop reveals a 14-inch matte finish display with relatively thin bezels. The black keyboard on midnight blue has RGB backlighting as well. The Steelseries GG software allows you to customize each key, and the most determined users can spend hours creating profiles and effects to suit their preferences.

The typing experience provided by the keyboard is typical of a dome-style model. The key travel is sufficient, and the keystrokes are accurately registered. The touchpad is of adequate size despite the available space. Windows gestures are perfectly recognized, and the clicks do not require too much pressure.

Connectivity and Ports

The connectivity is kept essential with a Thunderbolt 4 port and a USB-C port that support up to 100 W charging. These are complemented by an HDMI 2.1 port and another USB-A port, useful for connecting a mouse or dongle.

Wireless connectivity is handled by an Intel Killer AX1650i chip for Wi-Fi 6E up to 2400 Mb/s and Bluetooth 5.3. However, the Windows Hello-compatible webcam is equipped with a 720p sensor, which provides a somewhat blurry image even under decent lighting conditions.

For cooling, MSI has equipped the Stealth 14 Studio with a vapor chamber covering the processor and GPU. Two heat pipes transfer the dissipated heat to four radiators, with two fans responsible for expelling the hot air. During our gaming session in Turbo mode, the Stealth 14 Studio showed significant signs of heating. Near the hinge, it reached nearly 53.5°C, and the WASD keys were not spared with about 43°C measured on the W key. Such temperatures can be uncomfortable during long gaming sessions.

The noise levels are more restrained, with 33.7 dB in battery mode, 35.4 dB in silent mode, 38.7 dB in balanced mode, and 48 dB in turbo mode. The manufacturer has clearly prioritized a silent behavior at the expense of temperatures. Despite this choice, we did not observe any GPU or CPU throttling in balanced and turbo modes.

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Access to the components is achieved after removing eight cross-head screws. Removing the cover is not problematic. Inside, the battery, Wi-Fi card, SSD, and RAM are easily replaceable. MSI claims a repairability score of 6.7/10, which is relatively low despite the repair possibilities.

Performance of MSI Stealth 14 Studio

The MSI Stealth 14 Studio provided by MSI for our test is equipped with an Intel Core i7-13700H processor (14C/20T) accompanied by 32 GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1 TB SSD. In practice, the processor averages 3.27 GHz with a maximum of 4.85 GHz in turbo mode, with an average power consumption of 56 W and a peak of 114 W during our encoding test.

Equipped with its Core i7-13700H, the Stealth 14 Studio obtains a performance score of 163, placing it between the Ryzen 7 7735HS of the Asus TUF A15 and the Core i7-12700H of the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro. Its performance is more than sufficient for gaming under good conditions, as well as for video editing and photo retouching. It also outperforms the Samsung Book3 Ultra, where the Core i9-13900H feels constrained (157).

The manufacturer opted for the Samsung PM9A1 SSD, which turns out to be a rebranded 980 Pro for integrators. Its speeds are top-notch with 7 GB/s in read and 5.3 GB/s in write. We did not notice any slowdowns during the transfer of our video rushes.

Games

The graphics performance of the Stealth 14 Studio is ensured by an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, with a power limit of 90 W. 8 GB of video memory accompanies the GPU for its tasks.

The integrated RTX 4070 achieves a performance score of 216. It logically sits just behind the GeForce RTX 4060 at 140 W of the Asus TUF A15. This is not surprising since the difference between an RTX 4060 and a 4070, both with 140 W, is not very significant. The difference with the RTX 3070 at 95 W of the 2022 Asus TUF A15, however, is significant, with a 40% additional performance advantage for the RTX 4070 at 90 W.

In games, limiting ourselves to a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, the MSI Stealth 14 Studio achieves 100 fps in many of the games in our panel. If you want to play in the native resolution of the screen (2560 x 1600 pixels), you’ll need to activate DLSS, or even use frame generation allowed by the GeForce RTX 40 series to avoid putting too much strain on the frame rate.

It’s worth noting that in the Stealth 14 Studio, the GeForce RTX 4070 is not solely dedicated to gaming. This configuration is also aimed at content creators, who will see their rendering time drastically reduced thanks to the GPU. According to our tests, rendering in Blender takes 4.7 times less time, and 3.2 times less in Photoshop.

Screen

MSI equipped its Stealth 14 Studio with an IPS panel displaying 2560 x 1600 pixels and capable of reaching 240 Hz. These specifications are ideal on paper for gamers, but they can also be suitable for content creators if color accuracy is maintained.

Under our probe, the screen in sRGB mode displays a delta E of 2.3, below the threshold of 3 beyond which the eye can detect color deviations. The color temperature is 7096, a slightly elevated value that can be corrected in the MSI True Color software (in the taskbar) by lowering it by two notches to get closer to the 6500 K standard.

The contrast is 1099:1, a typical value for an IPS panel and far from the perfection of OLED or mini-LED displays. The maximum brightness is 456 cd/m², a high value that brings this machine close to the best laptops. For comparison, the MacBook Air 15 is just above 500 cd/m². This good brightness is coupled with low reflectance of the panel and its matte treatment, with only 23.1% of reflected light, allowing for proper work outdoors.

Finally, a crucial point for gamers seeking responsiveness, the panel’s ghosting has been measured at 8 ms, a value very close to the best (7 ms), at least for laptops.

Audio

The audio setup of the Stealth 14 Studio is provided by four speakers: two under the chassis and two on each side of the touchpad. Upon listening, the output is slightly more qualitative than what we usually hear. However, the ensemble still lacks bass with a concentration on mid-tones and a slightly metallic sound. It falls short of the Apple MacBook Air, for example.

If you want the most natural sound possible, you’ll need to go into the Nahimic software and select the Music preset while setting all enhancements to zero: bass, treble, and voice clarity.

The headphone output has good characteristics; distortion is very low, and the dynamic range is high. However, the output level remains a bit low for driving high-impedance headphones.

MSI Stealth 14 Studio Size and Battery

The MSI Stealth 14 Studio boasts very compact dimensions: 31.5 x 24.6 cm with a height of 1.9 cm. It will easily slip into any backpack, and its weight of 1.7 kg should not be a hindrance to mobility, quite the opposite. However, the 240 W charger (730 g) is a bit oversized. It will be possible to do without it by using the USB-C Power Delivery port and an appropriate charger.

Battery is the weak point of the MSI Stealth 14 Studio. In our usual protocol (Netflix on Chrome with the screen set to 200 cd/m²), it lasted a little over 4 hours. This result is all the more disappointing considering that with its 72 Wh battery, the Stealth 14 Studio offers a configuration very similar to the Samsung Book3 Ultra, which lasts nearly 9 hours and 40 minutes.

Pros and Cons of MSI Stealth 14 Studio

Pros

Compact form.

Responsive and well-calibrated screen.

Bright display.

Performance.

Cons

Too low autonomy.

Heat dissipation.

720p webcam.

Also Read: MSI Stealth 15M – Slim Gaming Laptop Review

MSI Stealth 14 Studio Review Conclusion

The MSI Stealth 14 Studio is a compact and particularly powerful laptop for the mobile gamer or content creator in search of mobility. The balanced processor/graphics card combo allows for gaming or creative tasks under good conditions. Moreover, the screen is responsive, bright, and versatile. However, the overall experience is impacted by significant heating, but more importantly, by an autonomy that is far too low for a portable device.