MSI Creator 15 Laptop Review: A bright 4K display for Content Creators

The MSI Creator 15 is a very high-quality device with good workmanship. The notebook appears to be very robust and fulfills the MIL-STD-810G requirements in terms of durability and reliability according to the manufacturer. Our test unit did not produce any creaking noises or have uneven gap dimensions. The display opens up to 180° and is held tight by the hinges. 

At 1.9 kg the Creator 15 is one of the lightest models in our test field. Its dimensions are very compact as well, although our competitors are even smaller, in particular in terms of depth. 

The MSI Creator 15 offers the standard port selection, although the fact that there is only one USB Type A port means that users will need to work with adapters. These can also be used in combination with the USB Type C port while the Thunderbolt 3 can be used for a variety of applications. The ventilation holes at either side mean that the ports are pushed toward the front, which means you might have some cables in the way, depending on what you use the ports for.

The SD card reader in the MSI Creator 15 reaches very good speeds of 222 MB/s when copying and 217 MB/s when writing data in combination with our reference card Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II.

When connecting via our reference router Netgear Nighthawk AX12, the MSI Creator 15 reaches an average 1437 MBit/s when receiving and 1497 MBit/s when sending data. This result places it at the top of our comparison field. The device is equipped with a GigabitLAN port for cable-based data transfer.

As with most current notebooks, the MSI Creator 15's webcam records images with a low 0.9 MP. Image content appears blurry even in good lighting and colors are lighter than they should be.

The Creator 15 comes with a 230-Watt AC adapter. Buyers can purchase additional accessories such as a physical mouse, keyboards and more from the MSI website.

MSI provides buyers of the Creator 15 with a 24 month warranty which can be extended for an additional charge.

Keyboard

The keyboard of the MSI Creator 15 has large keys and a significant pressure point. This makes for comfortable typing. Even the arrow keys and delete, insert and position keys are normally sized. The only thing that takes a bit of getting used to is the horizontally divided enter key.

The three-tier backlighting enables users to light up the keys in dark surroundings. The light doesn't dazzle and illuminates the keys evenly, ensuring readability of the lettering. This, by the way, is easy to read even when the backlight is turned off.

MSI has directed its Creator 15 at users who are looking for a performative laptop for demanding applications. Performance largely depends on the selected hardware, which puts our test configuration in a promising position.

The following benchmarks were completed in the performance mode "high performance".

MSI has equipped its Creator 15 with an Intel processor of the 10th generation. The octa-core Intel Core i7-10875H can work up to 16 threads simultaneously and clocks at between 2.3 and 5.1 GHz. The cooling system plays a major role in defining how long these high clock rates can be kept up. Our CineBench R15 long duration test shows that the performance of the MSI notebook does drop by about 10 percent under continuous load, but that the notebook's average performance is still better than that of other notebooks that are equipped with this CPU. The individual benchmarks' results are average. 

The results of the PCMark 10 system performance benchmark confirm our expectations of the MSI Creator 15. The results are slightly above average compared to the other notebooks tested with this hardware. The notebook runs smoothly at all times during everyday use without any micro freezes or similar issues. Programs start up smoothly and files and folders open quickly as well. 

Find out what performance other notebooks can offer in our CPU benchmark list.  

MSI has equipped our test unit with two 1-TB SSDs from Western Digital which are configured as RAID. They reach good reading and writing speeds that can compete with comparable storage devices. The Creator 15 is positioned in the center field in terms of storage performance compared to today's comparison devices.

Find out what performance to expect from other storage devices in our HDD / SSD benchmark list.  

MSI has a variety of Nvidia GPUs available for the Creator 15. They range from the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q all the way to the RTX 2080 Super Max-Q. Our test unit is equipped with a Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q. According to the 3DMark benchmarks, its performance is slightly below average for notebooks equipped with this graphics card.  

Find out what performance other GPUS have to offer in our GPU benchmark list.

Nvidia's GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q is very suitable for gaming. Even current games can be displayed at high graphics settings and 60 fps in FullHD resolution. In 4K or UHD resolution, the performance strongly depends on the individual game. For example, we were able to play Doom Eternal at 55 fps while Far Cry 5 only managed 33 fps.

Find out what performance to expect from our Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q with other titles in our GPU gaming list.

Our continuous load test with The Witcher 3 showed that users can expect to have long gaming sessions without any limitations.

The temperatures on the inside of the notebook increased to up to 93 °C during our one-hour stress test. The clock rates dropped below the base clock rate shortly, but then increased to an average of 3.7 GHz. Users do not have to expect any limitations coming from high temperatures even under continuous load.