REVIEW: MSi Prestige 14 A10SC

For the gamer and productive one, all in a small package

MSi continues to roll out  more of its good stuff - and you could add it to your Christmas wish list (attention to all gamers, of course). The company's back with one of its latest laptops - just in time for the holiday season - the Prestige 14 A10SC. And while MSi retains its signature and simple build on the outside, you can never let it fool you, because what's inside will once again make you give it a very close look.
We have another sleek aluminium finish from MSi here; I'm genuinely torn between metal and black builds on laptops, but it all depends on how it's presented. In the Prestige 14's case, it's a refined design (as in previous MSi devices we've reviewed). The ports around it are similar to the PS42 8RB - two each of USB-A and C, card reader and HDMI. The keyboard is also standard MSi - as we've seen in the past two devices we featured - which is okay to type with.
Ditto for its trackpad, which can be a bit sensitive to your gestures and taps. There's also a fingerprint scanner on the upper-left part of the trackpad that recognises your 'print in a snap.
MSi promises military-grade durability for the Prestige 14; it is MIL-STD-810G-certified, meaning, it can withstand knocks, pressure and other stresses that you may deal with.
It comes with a 14-inch display that is big enough to enjoy any content; gamers, however, would appreciate something bigger. Despite the size, the quality of the screen more than makes up for it, because it's cool and crisp, with its brightness not an issue for your eyes. Inside, it has a good mix of specs.
The Prestige 14 is powered by a 10th-generation Intel i7 Core processor, up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. That's a very decent spec sheet and it shows in its performance. Apps went smoothly as expected and gaming, in particular, wasn't a problem. It does heat up a bit at certain times, but it's not at an alarming level and pipes down rather quickly.
We did our standard one-hour YouTube-at-full-brightness test twice, once each in high-performance and battery-saver. The results are middling - the device lost 12 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively. MSi pegs this laptop to last up to 10 hours, and it did last me the whole day - though I was reaching out for its charger as soon as the sun went down.
Bear in mind, that, as always, the more hardware-intensive stuff you run, the shorter it'll be; I played, then watched videos for an extended period of time, and it didn't even make it through till mid-afternoon.

AND SO.
Another good deal from MSi, which once again uses its tried-and-tested formula on the Prestige 14. Some may balk at the price, given that there are some similarly-specked laptops that can shave off a good amount of dirhams. But do remember that MSi is well-known for its gaming exploits; blending productivity with pleasure is one of its key selling points, which may well justify that price tag.

THE LOWDOWN
Processor: 10th-gen Intel i7 6-core U-Processor
Display: 14" 4K UHD, Adobe RGB
RAM: Up to 16GB LPDDR3
Storage: Up to 1TB SSD
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650, Max-Q
Platform: Windows 10 Home/Pro
Web camera: IR HD type (HD @ 30fps)
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0
I/O: USB-A (2), USB-C Thunderbolt 3 (2), card reader, HDMI, 3.5mm audio
Biometrics: Fingerprint, Windows Hello
Battery: Up to 10h
Price: Dh5,699
Pros: Sleek build, good screen, smooth performance
Cons: A bit expensive, trackpad can be over-sensitive, battery drains faster than expected
Author's Rating: 3.5/5
alvin@khaleejtimes.com

• Hard Drive