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If you are looking for power and portability the MSI Stealth 16 Studio 16-inch gaming laptop is a great option. The hardware has been designed with gamers in mind, incorporating plenty of features into a very thin form factor. Many gaming laptops tend to be quite bulky with RGB components flickering everywhere. MSI has struck a great balance between subtle design and exceptional performance with the Stealth 16 Studio. It’s only 1.99KG which translates to 4.39 lbs., making it one of the lightest laptops in its class. The Stealth 16 is not only a powerhouse for gamers, but also a versatile machine for content creators and professionals. With a great display, excellent performance and plenty of gaming-centric features this laptop is ideal if you need power on the go. In this review, I’ll delve into the key features, performance, and my overall experience using the laptop.

Unboxing and setting up the MSI Stealth 16 Studio

The unboxing process is quick and simple, with everything you need in the box to get set up. In the package, you’ll find the laptop, power unit plus its cord, and a user manual. The laptop looks sharp straight out of the box with its Star Blue magnesium alloy finish. This model comes in grey and navy blue treatments. The build quality feels solid despite the thin form factor and is quite light.

The charging brick is large, adding around 1.5 pounds to the overall “on-the-go” package. The longest part of the setup was getting Windows 11 updated then I was off to the races.

Wide range of connectivity options on the Stealth 16 Studio

The Stealth 16 has a wide selection of modern input ports on both sides of the device. On the left side, you’ll find a 2.5-gigabit ethernet jack, HDMI 2.1 port, a MicroSD card slot and a USB type-C. On the opposite side, you’ll find a power connection port, Thunderbolt 4 USB-C input and 3.5mm audio jack.

Right from the unboxing and setup, I really liked the overall design and feel of the Stealth 16 hardware. It has a backlit keyboard with multi-colour zones and the touchpad is smooth. The keyboard is recessed a little flatter due to the slim design of the laptop but still feels great. Whether typing or gaming it was responsive and tactile enough that I wasn’t getting keystrokes not registering—even playing FPS games. SteelSeries teamed up with MSI for the keyboard design and it features “per-key RGB ambient lighting.” This lets you customize your experience from colourways to animation patterns. I like the inclusion of a shrunk-down “numpad”. It’s great for gaming and productivity. It’s also been sized in such a way that the central QWERTY keyboard keys remain large enough to type comfortably.

MSI Stealth 16 touchpad and fingerprint scanner

The Stealth 16 Studio has an extra large trackpad that has smart positioning for productivity and gaming. The glass touchpad offers a smooth and responsive-to-touch experience that was great for internet browsing, email and other multitasking. It is aligned to the centre of the keyboard, making it easier and more comfortable to use than offset trackpads. It also supports Windows multi-finger gesture controls so you can pinch to zoom and navigate. Along with this, it has a fingerprint scanner to the right of the touchpad for convenient and secure login.

Videoconference with the Stealth’s IR FHD camera

I’ve reviewed many webcams and laptop cameras, and I am happy to share the Stealth 16’s camera performs great. The built-in camera is capable of 1080p resolution at 30 fps and overall looks quite sharp. It also has an infrared camera for use with Windows Hello facial recognition system. It was effortless to log on and wake the laptop from sleep with just a glance. The Stealth 16 also has a physical webcam shutter for privacy, which is a great touch if you wanted the added extra layer of security.

Speaker system capability

The Stealth 16 Studio model features 6 speakers (2 woofers and 4 tweeters) that output great audio from a thin chassis. There are two upward facing near the laptop’s palm rests, two on the outside edges and the rest are across the bottom. The sound quality is quite good, especially considering the form factor, but I did find the sound “tinny” at times. In my testing, the audio highs were also quite sharp, and in comparison to the audio on my Macbook Pro the Stealth 16 leaves something to be desired. It still offers an audio experience that is good enough for most users on the go for most gaming and entertainment applications.

Display performance

The Stealth Studio sports a 16-inch FHD+, IPS-level display with a resolution of 1920 x 1200. When it comes to higher-end games’ refresh rate and resolution, the monitor performance is quite good. Unfortunately, the colour gamut is a little washed out. The Stealth 16 is marketed as a device for creative professionals, but it falls short in the colour accuracy department. The FHD+ (1920 x 1200) monitor has a 240 Hz refresh rate which is great for gaming. When compared to other pro series laptops the colours aren’t as punchy as I would like to see. That being said, it does offer a good contrast ratio and excellent performance in games, especially in first-person shooters the action remains smooth.

MSI Stealth 16 hardware specifications

The Stealth 16 Studio offers excellent performance in an ultra-slim form factor. At the centre of the hardware’s architecture is a 2.4GHz 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13620H processor and 32GB DDR5 memory. In terms of storage, the Stealth has a 1TB solid state drive offering plenty of space for games and more. The Studio 16 also packs 8GB dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card that can handle many of the AAA games at medium to high settings. If you’re looking for more seamless online gaming and HD streaming connections, the laptop features a hardwire GB LAN Ethernet input. If you opt for a wireless connection the Stealth has Intel’s Killer Wi-Fi 6E AX1675i, ensuring an ulta high-speed internet connection. The hardware also has Bluetooth 5.2 wireless connectivity for greater compatiblility with devices like mice, keyboards, headsets, and controllers.

Stealth 16 gaming performance

The Stealth 16 Studio really shines when it comes to gaming and media production. I tested the laptop with a few games like Fornite and Halo Infinite. It handled those titles requirments easily at 1080p resolution with high to ultra settings, playing smoothly without any stutter or major frame drops. The Stealth can handle a variety of AAA games at medium to high settings. The 240Hz refresh rate helps to keep gameplay smooth, particularly in titles like first-person shooters.

When playing games like Fortnite and Halo, I was able to get 4 hours out of the battery before needing to charge. While the colour accuracy may not be the best for creative professionals, like photographers, the display’s contrast ratio and performance in games is commendable. The Stealth 16 Studio provides an enjoyable gaming experience without compromising on portability, making it an ideal choice for gamers who need power on the go.

Final thoughts on the MSI Stealth 16 Studio

Overall, the MSI Stealth 16 Studio gaming laptop is a great option for those seeking a powerful and portable gaming machine. It has sleek design, impressive hardware specifications, and gaming-centric features make it a top contender in its class. Despite some minor drawbacks in the audio and display departments, the Stealth 16 offers a great gaming and creative workflow experience. If you’re looking for a laptop that balances power, portability, and performance, the MSI Stealth 16 Studio is a great piece of hardware that balances all of these features.

The MSI Stealth 16 Studio 16-inch Gaming Laptop is available now on bestbuy.ca along with a wide assortment of other gaming laptops.

Matthew Rondina
Matthew Rondina
Matthew has been involved in all things tech related since the start of the digital era. He shares his passion for technology in his day job as a teacher and via multiple media platforms. As a long-time veteran of the video game and tech industry, he's covered interactive entertainment and esports on the web, in video series, podcasts, and on international television. You can follow Matthew's tech-venture filled lifestyle on twitter, instagram @dapper_tux.
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480 COMMENTS

  2. The most important feature of this gaming laptop is the 240 HZ refresh rate which is important for fast gaming!

  3. Bluetooth 5.2 wireless connectivity for greater compatiblility with devices like mice, keyboards, headsets, and controllers., Nothing worse than trying to get everything hooked up to a new unit..

  4. The FHD+ (1920 x 1200) monitor with a 240 Hz refresh rate would make the biggest difference for me, since I would be doing a lot of gaming. Thanks for the chance to win this great laptop!

  5. The RTX 4060 8GB graphics card is what sets this laptop up to use the 240Hz refresh rate monitor properly, for many resource intensive games!

  6. The most important feature of this gaming laptop is the 240 HZ refresh rate which is important for fast games

  7. I would be looking to play Starfield so the fact that the Stealth can handle a variety of AAA games at medium to high settings is very exciting to me.

  8. I would definitely love the display performance on this model – the display on my current laptop is starting to have glitching lines a few years into laptop life.

  9. I must like that this has a 240hz monitor. The high refresh rate display is critical for fast paced games.

  12. The size of and stats of the display are fantastic. I am dyslexic and need the larger and more effective display. There are so many features of this machine, make me drool.

  15. The strong performance coupled with a slim form-factor is the most interesting prospect enabling both high-end gaming and productivity on the go.

  16. The 16 inch IPS display would be great! It would be the biggest laptop screen I’ve ever had! Would make everything: gaming, surfing, spreadsheets, so much better.

  17. The 32GB Ram and 8 GB graphics card. My computer is old and I have never had this much power so it would make a huge difference.

  18. The 8GB dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card would make the biggest difference to me. My current graphics card is like 12 years old or something and can’t play modern games.

  19. Bluetooth 5.2 wireless connectivity for greater compatiblility with devices like mice, keyboards, headsets, and controllers., Nothing worse than trying to get everything hooked up to a new unit..

  22. The amazing refresh rate of the laptop screen makes first person shooter games great to play.

  23. The feature mentioned in the article that would make the biggest difference in my life when I win this prize is the 2.4GHz 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13620H processor and 32GB DDR5 memory, so it is fast enough to run all my graphics and audio production apps as well as games!

  24. The feature mentioned in the article would make the biggest difference in my life if I win this prize would be the 240 Hz refresh rate. This would stop the jagged appearance of games that happens on my current 60Hz display!

  26. I love the Thunderbolt connectivity support as it allows you to easily transition from docked powerhouse to portable powerhouse. This makes a difference as I love to share gaming / content with my family and this laptop is a perfect candidate.

  30. The 1TB of storage and the fact that it is so lightweight. I’m kind of in love with the graphics card as well.

  31. My current laptop is super old and very slow so something new and fast would be amazing – and the fact that it is so lightweight is fantastic!

  33. Having a laptop with a wide range of connectivity options, such as “on the left side, you’ll find a 2.5-gigabit ethernet jack, HDMI 2.1 port, a MicroSD card slot and a USB type-C. On the opposite side, you’ll find a power connection port, Thunderbolt 4 USB-C input and 3.5mm audio jack.” would make the biggest difference in my life.

  35. The 8GB dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card, would make the biggest difference for me.

  36. The fact that it’s very light and not your regular bulky laptop would make a big difference to me

  37. The hardware specifications are what I love the most. I am most impressed with the 1TB solid state drive

  39. Its the MSI Stealth 16 touchpad and fingerprint scanne that would make the difference for me for ease of use and security.

    The Stealth 16 Studio has an extra large trackpad that has smart positioning for productivity and gaming. The glass touchpad offers a smooth and responsive-to-touch experience that was great for internet browsing, email and other multitasking. It is aligned to the centre of the keyboard, making it easier and more comfortable to use than offset trackpads. It also supports Windows multi-finger gesture controls so you can pinch to zoom and navigate. Along with this, it has a fingerprint scanner to the right of the touchpad for convenient and secure login.

  43. The MSI Stealth 16 hardware specifications would make the biggest difference because it would be replacing the ancient machine I am using.

  44. The gaming performance features of this system would make it a literal game-changer for portable computing 🙂

  45. I’d like to win this because of the 2.4GHz 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13620H processor and 32GB DDR5 memory… it’s a great machine!

  46. The hardware specifications are what I love the most. I am most impressed with the 1TB solid state drive. The graphicx and Ram blow me away. I can see my hubby and I making a schedule to use this baby.

  47. Bluetooth 5.2 wireless connectivity for greater compatiblility with devices like mice, keyboards, headsets, and controllers., Nothing worse than trying to get everything hooked up to a new unit..

  48. The biggest difference for me is the 2.4GHz 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13620H processor and 32GB DDR5 memory because my current laptop is too old to run an up to date operating system and software.

  49. The 32GB Ram and 8GB graphics card. I’ve spent most of my life working with computers which were underspec’d in this regard and it would be nice to have a machine that can handle anything I throw at it.

  50. I like the 240Hz refresh rate which would mean crisp buttery smooth framerates in fast paced games.

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