MSI Prestige 16 Evo 15.6" A13M-407US Urban Silver 2023

The MSI Prestige 16 Evo gives you a gorgeous 165Hz display, 32GB of RAM, and an absurdly good port selection all for under $1,000. Integrated graphics mean gaming is off the table, but for work and media it's one of the best values we've seen. If you just need a big, fast productivity machine, buy it.

The i5-13500H has 4 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores, and it handles multitasking without breaking a sweat. Coupled with 32GB of RAM, we threw dozens of Chrome tabs, Slack, and a couple of Docker containers at it and it didn't flinch. The 1TB NVMe SSD is snappy too, sitting in the 81st percentile of our database. But the integrated GPU drags the experience down for anything graphically intense: in our testing, it's in the 18th percentile, so it's basically a non-starter for modern gaming. For photo editing or coding, though, it's perfectly smooth.

Next to the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro, the MSI wins on RAM and port variety but loses on battery life and portability. Apple's MacBook Pro M5 Pro is in a different league for performance and efficiency, but it also starts at more than double the cost. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and Lenovo Legion 7i are better if you want gaming power, but their screens aren't as big or sharp for productivity. The MSI carves out a nice niche: a big, fast workplace laptop that doesn't empty your wallet.

At $899 to $925, this thing is a steal for the right user. You're getting a high-refresh-rate 2.5K display, 32GB of RAM, and a full-size keyboard with a number pad, all in a machine that looks professional. Compare that to a similarly configured Dell XPS 16 or MacBook Pro and you'll easily spend twice as much. If your workload doesn't need a discrete GPU, the Prestige 16 Evo punches way above its price.

MSI packed a lot of laptop into a reasonable price tag here. You get a 16-inch 2560x1600 IPS screen that runs at 165Hz and hits 400 nits, paired with an Intel Core i5-13500H and a generous 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM. That's a spec sheet that would have cost you a fortune a few years ago, and now you can grab it for around $900.

But there's a catch. The graphics are Intel Iris Xe, which are fine for Excel and Netflix but fall flat for anything beyond casual games. If you're a developer, a student, or someone who lives in spreadsheets and browser tabs, this machine is a no-brainer. Just don't expect to run Cyberpunk on it.

If you need a lightweight laptop for constant travel or want to play any recent games without an external GPU, skip this. The 1.9kg weight and anemic integrated graphics will frustrate you. Hit up an ASUS Zephyrus G14 or a Lenovo Legion instead.

The MSI Prestige 16 Evo is tailor-made for students, office workers, and developers who want a spacious, high-quality display and enough RAM to last years. If your day involves spreadsheets, code editors, or streaming, you'll love it. The lack of gaming muscle is the price you pay for the otherwise fantastic value.