MSI Creator Z16 evaluation: skinny isn’t the whole lot

MSI’s Creator Z16 is one in all a brand new cadre of “creator” laptops which were popping up from firms which might be historically gaming-oriented over the previous two years. They are inclined to take the types of specs that you just would possibly see in a gaming laptop computer and cram them right into a thinner chassis that appears extra like one thing one would possibly convey right into a boardroom.

While you would actually use the Z16 for gaming — it has an RTX 3060 discrete GPU and a heavy-duty “Cooler Boost” cooling system — it additionally has a extra delicate look than even probably the most subdued of MSI’s gaming laptops, with a silvery-gray end, a barely seen dragon emblem, and MacBook-esque rounded corners. There’s a 16:10 QHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh charge (my much-preferred side ratio for productiveness units). It ships with Windows 10 Pro. And the video conferencing options — the audio system, particularly — are a stable improve from what I usually anticipate to see on a gaming laptop computer. The system would make a improbable multimedia machine.

Unfortunately, it’s not priced like a multimedia machine — it’s priced like a workstation. That makes it a typically effective laptop computer that’s in a little bit of an odd spot price-wise. It’s under the value of the main laptops on this zone. My check unit (the cheapest one listed on MSI’s site, although I’ve discovered a couple of cheaper SKUs floating round different retailers) has a Core i7-11800H, a GeForce RTX 3060 GPU, a 2560 x 1600 contact show, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage for $2,599.99 (at the moment listed at $2,349.99 for what MSI claims is a restricted time).

A comparable Dell XPS 17 (with a bigger screen, but lower resolution) has the same MSRP, and a 16-inch MacBook Pro with comparable RAM and storage is $500 extra at $3,099. But the Z16 is actually nonetheless an costly laptop computer — a Gigabyte Aero 15 with the identical specs goes for a couple of hundred much less at Walmart (although it’s offered on the market as of this writing — there’s a 16GB model at Best Buy for $1,899 which you would simply improve). And it comes with some flaws which might be uncharacteristic of a laptop computer of that worth caliber. While I can see this product having an viewers, those that can afford to spend extra completely ought to.

The very first thing to pay attention to: this laptop computer is loud. The Z16’s followers bought going the moment I fired up Cinebench, and so they trucked alongside all through your entire benchmark run. The noise wasn’t audible from the subsequent room over, however it was actually loud sufficient to be distracting as I labored on the identical desk.

MSI has made an enormous deal of the brand new cooling system, which is claimed to include “the world’s thinnest 0.11mm sharp-edged fan blade.” These followers didn’t appear fairly capable of deal with the ability of those specs, even with the High Performance profile (which optimizes the Z16’s energy limits and cooling habits for heavy workloads) chosen in MSI’s management heart. (This management heart, by the way in which, has been a lot smoother to make use of than iterations I’ve had to make use of on earlier MSI laptops, so props to MSI for that.) The Z16’s 30-minute Cinebench rating was decrease than the 10-minute Cinebench rating, and the CPU was very persistently hitting 95 levels Celsius all through the benchmark. Basically, this wasn’t a MacBook situation the place the Z16 took no matter we threw at it with no sweat — it was working onerous.

That warmth wasn’t as a lot of an issue on our real-world Premiere Pro 4K export check, which the Z16 accomplished in three minutes and 9 seconds. That’s a aggressive rating and quicker than nearly each Windows laptop computer I’ve ever examined. But the Z16 solely bought a 769 on the Puget Systems benchmark for Premiere Pro, which assessments stay playback and export efficiency. The Aero 15 beat that handily.

Temperatures have been extra manageable through the Geekbench suite, and notably, the Compute benchmark, which leverages the GPU greater than the CPU. Geekbench Compute, curiously, was additionally the one check that the MacBook Pro fashions didn’t blow the Z16 out of the water on.

Overall, whereas the Z16 isn’t completely topping its class, you’re getting some actual graphics energy — and positively greater than you’ll anticipate from a thinner and lighter big-screen system. It looks as if a compelling bundle — however that’s earlier than we speak about battery life.

The battery life is unhealthy. Even on the Z16’s Battery Saver profile and with the keyboard backlighting and the GPU turned off, I used to be nonetheless getting beneath 5 hours of steady work at medium brightness — near 4 and a half hours on common. And my workload isn’t something near what this pc is able to — I used to be principally leaping round between a dozen-ish Chrome tabs and working occasional Zoom calls overtop. You ought to actually anticipate much less if you happen to’re doing something extra demanding on battery.

The Z16 simply isn’t sensible as a transportable laptop computer with this battery capability. We wouldn’t essentially anticipate a laptop computer on this class to final all day, however this result’s disappointing even large-screened opponents. I commonly bought between seven and eight hours out of the final Dell XPS 17 I reviewed. And, after all, even the extra highly effective 16-inch MacBook Pros final no less than twice as lengthy. We’re now not in an period the place hefty energy means chopping hours off a tool’s battery life, even for skinny and light-weight merchandise.

Performance apart, the Z16 is mostly a well-built and nice-looking system. It’s pretty skinny, at simply 0.63 inches thick. It’s sturdy with a snug end — a step above most MSI units I’ve reviewed earlier than in terms of construct high quality. The show, particularly, is beautiful, and the 120Hz refresh charge makes scrolling a really easy expertise. Details are crisp — I had no drawback sifting by way of a batch of photographs for some gentle enhancing. I additionally admire that there’s a row of helpful scorching keys on the correct aspect of the keyboard, which is barely extra handy to achieve than the operate row.

But the largest nice shock, to me, was the audio system. There are 4 of them, and so they sound nice, simply reaching the amount of an honest exterior speaker. I might hear each the bass notes and quieter midrange tones that I don’t normally hear from laptop computer audio. Did you understand there’s some cute, delicate concord within the first refrain of Harry Styles’ Falling? I didn’t till I heard it on the Creator Z16 for the primary time.

These options, once more, make the Z16 a stable machine for productiveness and leisure. But they is probably not as necessary to the Z16’s target market as a few of its glitches. And there are a couple of dings which might be shocking to see in a tool at this worth level.

For one, whereas the port choice must be effective for common use (two Thunderbolt 4, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, one microSD reader, and a headphone jack, along with a DC-in for the barrel charger), there’s no HDMI. This could also be inconvenient for people who want sure exterior shows or tablets for his or her work — which is no less than a piece of the Z16’s skilled target market.

I additionally had a horrible time with the keyboard on my unit. The spacebar would now and again not register my proper thumb’s faucet — my colleagues can attest that I used to be continually sending Slack messages with lacking areas. MSI didn’t have a substitute unit obtainable to ship me however says it’s not a problem they’ve heard about earlier than. Still, the truth that I obtained a unit with this concern makes me barely nervous in regards to the sturdiness of the keys.

There’s additionally no 4K display choice. There are some upgradeability hassles as nicely — teardowns have shown that the RAM is a complete capsule to get to because of the placement of the motherboard. And — most frustratingly to me — there’s bloatware. I used to be getting antivirus nagware popups as quickly as I opened this factor, and I needed to shut all my tabs and reboot the unit to be able to uninstall it. I complain after I see this sort of factor on $1,000 units. It is unacceptable for MSI to be transport $2,600 laptops with crapware preinstalled on them — it’s the equal of Hulu shoving adverts on people who find themselves shelling out for his or her highest subscription tier. While this gained’t influence your expertise long-term if you happen to uninstall it instantly, it leaves a bitter style in my mouth nonetheless.

Ultimately, the strongest argument in favor of shopping for the Creator Z16 is the ability it packs into such a skinny and enticing chassis. Many workstations of this measurement, together with the Aero 15 and the XPS 17, are noticeably thicker — and the MacBook, which is equally skinny, can also be considerably dearer.

But I’m unsure that argument is kind of sturdy sufficient. The battery life, particularly, is a big compromise for anybody who would possibly need to use this away from their desk for an prolonged time frame. And given the variety of different considerations I’ve with this system, that are actually uncharacteristic in such a premium tier, I feel most people who find themselves wed to this worth level and don’t thoughts unhealthy battery life may have a greater time with the Aero, which we’d anticipate to ship related efficiency, however with a a lot better port choice and higher reparability (albeit in a clunkier chassis) for even much less cash. Those who’re in search of a general-purpose multimedia machine and don’t fairly want the Z16’s energy can anticipate higher battery life and a extra premium expertise from the XPS 17. And people who can afford to spend extra money will get a large enchancment on all fronts from the MacBook Pro. That doesn’t make this a nasty system, however it does imply it’s principally geared in the direction of folks for whom thinness is the highest precedence.