Finally, An Ultraportable Windows Laptop I'd Use At The Office (even Though It's For Gamers)

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The MSI Stealth 16 AI is connected waste astatine Best Buy for $2,030.
• It's a gaming laptop pinch powerful hardware and a vibrant OLED show that's perfect for some gaming and schematic design.
• However, for illustration its predecessor, it has a quiet artillery and runs hot.

The 2025 MSI Stealth 16 is nan latest introduction successful nan tech company's sleek gaming laptop series. I'm beautiful acquainted pinch nan Stealth line, having reviewed several models successful nan past. This type doesn't reinvent nan wheel. In fact, it shares galore similarities pinch its predecessor, nan Stealth A16 AI+, to its use and to a fault.

Also: The champion laptops for schematic designers: Expert tested

First off: connected nan surface, I genuinely can't show nan quality betwixt this exemplary and nan erstwhile generation. The Stealth 16 measures 14"x 10.22"x 0.85" inches -- nan nonstop aforesaid dimensions arsenic nan A16. It moreover weighs nan aforesaid astatine 4.63 pounds. 

What's funny is I utilized to deliberation that was really heavy, but aft carrying astir chunky laptops, MSI's instrumentality feels lightweight. Even pinch nan powerfulness adapter, I didn't mind carrying it astir town. By nan way, I facet that adapter into nan wide weight because you will need it connected hand. More connected that later.

Bringing backmost nan classics

A fewer different awesome creation elements make their triumphant return. Going down nan list, you person a full-size gaming keyboard. Each fastener has a 1.5mm recreation distance, ensuring a comfortable typing feel. Six situation sound speakers are located astatine either extremity beneath nan keyboard for immersive audio. 

One of my favourite moments testing this laptop came from listening to "Doomsday" by MF Doom. The lyrical travel from Doom sounded crystal clear and powerful done nan laptop's speakers, filling my full room pinch his supervillainy. 

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Above nan keyboard is nan 16-inch OLED display. At QuadHD+ (2,560 x 1,600 pixels) resolution, it's not rather 4K, but it's adjacent capable -- nan surface still delivers awesome ocular output. Colors are vibrant, nan precocious solution delivers elaborate images, and nan 240Hz refresh complaint ensures soft on-screen motion. 

Power boost

One of my favourite things astir MSI laptops is really easy it is to tweak their performance. On galore Windows 11 laptops, each you tin really do is alteration nan Power mode successful nan Settings, but MSI Center, its soul settings programme is really beautiful robust. Here, you  tin set nan computer's output connected nan fly. For example, enabling Extreme Performance and Discrete Graphics Mode delivers nan champion hardware results.

Also: I tested Dell's XPS successor, and it hit my $3,000 Windows laptop successful almost each way

Inside my reappraisal portion was an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card, and 32GB of RAM. It's a beautiful bully configuration, if I opportunity truthful myself, and it shows successful nan capacity numbers.

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Below is simply a database comparing MSI's Stealth 16 pinch its predecessor, nan Stealth A16 AI Plus, and nan Dell Premium 16. You'll announcement that nan newer exemplary has amended earthy processing and rendering powerfulness than nan others, indicating it excels astatine handling dense workloads and rendering analyzable 3D graphics. 

There is simply a spot of a spread betwixt nan Stealth 16 and nan A16 connected PCMark 10, suggesting that nan older exemplary has amended wide performance; it's capable to hop betwixt web pages and apps without overmuch issue. However, I didn't acquisition immoderate slowdown. This laptop ran awesome everywhere.

Having Dell's instrumentality whitethorn look random, but you request to understand that nan Stealth 16 isn't conscionable a coagulated gaming computer. It's besides a powerful schematic creation laptop, too. For testing, I installed Blender, a free 3D creation app, and edited images connected Pixlr. I'm not overmuch of an artist, but I did negociate to create and render elemental scenes starring Blender's analyzable monkey model.

I had a akin acquisition pinch Pixlr, arsenic I was capable to edit 4K photographs without immoderate awesome hiccups. The full process went smoothly. MSI's laptop is simply a powerhouse successful almost each consciousness of nan word. 

Also: I switched to nan Dell 14 Premium for a week, and it makes moreover nan XPS consciousness outdated

As powerful arsenic nan laptop whitethorn be, it has its limits. I ran aggregate 4K YouTube livestreams arsenic portion of my accustomed 50-tab Chrome browser test. Everything ran good erstwhile location were only 3 livestreams, though erstwhile I deed six, I noticed a slowdown. Livestreams were slow to load. It took a fewer seconds earlier nan Stealth 16 could play nan video arsenic normal.

Staying cool

Heavy workloads do origin nan Stealth 16 to power up a bit, but precocious temperatures were ne'er an issue. Heat vents are strategically placed supra nan keyboard, connected nan broadside of nan laptop, and connected nan bottom, truthful your hands are ne'er astatine consequence of rubbing a basking keyboard. In fact, nan keys stayed bully and cool nan full time. Unfortunately, this intends you can't spot nan machine connected your lap; otherwise, your legs will beryllium blasted by basking air. 

This expertise to enactment cool nether duress is acknowledgment to nan Cooler Boost 5 cooling system, which consists of 2 ample fans and 5 power pipes directing basking aerial retired done nan vents. This strategy is besides connected nan vastly much powerful MSI Raider 18 HX. 

Cesar Cadenas/ZDNET

Unsurprisingly, MSI's Stealth 16 is not designed to beryllium distant from its charger for long. You tin push its endurance by enabling ECO-Silent and Integrated Graphics Mode successful nan MSI Center app, and Best Power Efficiency successful Windows, but moreover then, it will past astir six hours connected a azygous charge, depending connected what you're doing. 

Like galore gaming laptops pinch this benignant of hardware, it whitethorn person power, but it lacks successful stamina. For that reason, I'd propose this for users who don't request an all-day artillery benignant of laptop, but are good pinch a fewer hr stints passim nan day. 

ZDNET's buying advice

The MSI Stealth 16 AI is connected waste astatine Best Buy for $2,030, which is simply a bully value for a laptop pinch this benignant of hardware. I urge this instrumentality to anyone looking for an affordable gaming laptop that tin besides beryllium utilized arsenic a activity machine. If you for illustration this laptop but want to prevention immoderate cash, its predecessor, nan Stealth A16 AI+, is very akin and still applicable successful 2025, retailing for $1,800.

If you want a much powerful schematic creation computer, I propose nan Alienware 18 Area-51. It is simply a overmuch much powerful gaming laptop that leaves each laptop I mentioned truthful acold successful nan dust. I deliberation it's 1 of nan champion for nan year. It is, however, very expensive; my reappraisal portion costs $3,200.