Notebookcheck Logo

MSI Prestige 15 A10SC Laptop Review: One of the Best Dell XPS 15 Alternatives

Prestigious. Low-power Intel with low-power Nvidia work great together for anyone interested in a high-performance ultra-thin laptop. If MSI can address the throttling, then the Prestige 15 can give other popular 15.6-inch Ultrabooks from Dell, HP, and Asus a run for the money.

What would happen if the Dell XPS 15 shipped with an Intel U-series CPU instead of an Intel H-series? The MSI Prestige 15 can be best described as a lighter and more power-efficient XPS 15 alternative while offering faster graphics options than most other Ultrabooks via its GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q GPU. Unlike the professional MSI W workstation series or the more well-known MSI gaming G Series, the high-end MSI Prestige series targets traditional office users who want higher graphics power in a lighter form factor.

The Prestige 15 system we have today is the top-end SKU equipped with Intel's brand new hexa-core Comet Lake-U Core i7-10710U CPU, the uncommon GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q GPU, 4K UHD IPS display, 32 GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 1 TB SSD for a retail price of $1800 USD. A lesser SKU with half the storage space, half the RAM, and an FHD display can also be found for $1400. Note that the smaller 14-inch Prestige 14 comes with the same CPU and GPU options as the Prestige 15 despite their size differences.

Direct competitors to the Prestige 15 include most high-end 15-inch multimedia laptops like the Asus ZenBook 15 UX534, Dell XPS 15, Lenovo IdeaPad S740, Apple MacBook Pro 15, and the Microsoft Surface Book or Surface Laptop series.

More MSI reviews:

MSI Prestige 15 A10SC (Prestige 15 Series)
Processor
Intel Core i7-10710U 6 x 1.1 - 4.7 GHz, Comet Lake-U
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q - 4 GB VRAM, Core: 1020 MHz, Memory: 1751 MHz, GDDR5, 431.84, Optimus
Memory
32 GB 
, Samsung DDR4-2666, 10-10-10-28, Dual-Channel
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 3840 x 2160 pixel 282 PPI, Sharp LQ156D1JW42, IPS, SHP14A1, glossy: no
Mainboard
Intel Comet Lake-U PCH-LP Premium
Storage
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR, 1024 GB 
Soundcard
Intel Comet Lake PCH-LP - cAVS
Connections
4 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 2 USB 3.1 Gen2, 2 USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20Gbps, 2 Thunderbolt, 1 HDMI, 2 DisplayPort, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm combo, Card Reader: MicroSD, 1 Fingerprint Reader
Networking
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/ax = Wi-Fi 6/), Bluetooth 5
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 16 x 366 x 234 ( = 0.63 x 14.41 x 9.21 in)
Battery
82 Wh Lithium-Polymer
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: 720p
Primary Camera: 0.9 MPix
Additional features
Speakers: 2x 2 W, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: yes, USB to RJ-45 dongle, MSI True Color, Creator Center, Driver and App Center, 12 Months Warranty
Weight
1.65 kg ( = 58.2 oz / 3.64 pounds), Power Supply: 390 g ( = 13.76 oz / 0.86 pounds)
Price
1800 USD
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Rating
Date
Model
Weight
Height
Size
Resolution
Best Price
85.2 %
11/2019
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
i7-10710U, GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
1.7 kg16 mm15.60"3840x2160
82.9 %
10/2019
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
R5 3580U, Vega 9
1.5 kg14.7 mm15.00"2496x1664
86.6 %
07/2019
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
i7-8565U, GeForce MX250
1.9 kg19.95 mm15.60"1920x1080
83.1 %
09/2019
Asus ZenBook 15 UX534FT-DB77
i7-8565U, GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
1.7 kg18.9 mm15.60"1920x1080
86.3 %
09/2019
Dell XPS 15 7590 i5 iGPU FHD
i5-9300H, UHD Graphics 630
1.9 kg17 mm15.60"1920x1080

Case - More Streamlined than a Gaming G Series

Unlike the MSI P65 Creator which is essentially an MSI GS65 in a coat of white paint, the Prestige 15 is an original chassis design that caters more towards office users and professionals. It exchanges the gaudy and gamer-y features of the GS65 for a more straight-forward and agreeable look complete with smooth matte aluminum surfaces and chrome-cut edges and corners.

While the sleek and sexy visuals are arguably on par with the HP Spectre x360 15, Asus ZenBook 15, or Dell XPS 15, the rigidity of the chassis is a few steps down. Surfaces feel thinner and not as firm as on any of the aforementioned alternatives. Attempting to twist the base or lid from their edges, for example, results in more noticeable warping. The small hinges also have us a bit concerned about their longevity when compared to the stiffer hinges of the HP or Dell equivalent.

The MSI system is about 100 g to 200 g lighter than most other 15-inch multimedia laptops including the popular XPS 15, MacBook Pro 15, ZenBook 15, and the HP Spectre x360 15. The most noticeable drawback to the lighter weight is the more flexible chassis mentioned earlier; the Prestige 15 is more prone to warping and flexing than its competitors.

Aluminum chassis is lighter and grayer in color than the chassis for the MSI GS series
Aluminum chassis is lighter and grayer in color than the chassis for the MSI GS series
Small dual hinges open up to 180 degrees. Hinges are very different than the ones on the Prestige 14
Small dual hinges open up to 180 degrees. Hinges are very different than the ones on the Prestige 14
MSI proudly advertises 4K UHD resolution, full AdobeRGB coverage, and a deltaE of less than 2
MSI proudly advertises 4K UHD resolution, full AdobeRGB coverage, and a deltaE of less than 2
No fingerprint-power button combo. Fingerprints accumulate quickly from top to bottom
No fingerprint-power button combo. Fingerprints accumulate quickly from top to bottom
Chrome-cut edges and corners around the lid for visual flair
Chrome-cut edges and corners around the lid for visual flair
Both USB Type-A ports are positioned together
Both USB Type-A ports are positioned together
370 mm / 14.6 inch 252 mm / 9.92 inch 18.3 mm / 0.72 inch 1.8 kg3.92 lbs365.8 mm / 14.4 inch 248 mm / 9.76 inch 19.95 mm / 0.785 inch 1.9 kg4.19 lbs366 mm / 14.4 inch 234 mm / 9.21 inch 16 mm / 0.63 inch 1.7 kg3.64 lbs359 mm / 14.1 inch 236 mm / 9.29 inch 22 mm / 0.866 inch 1.9 kg4.27 lbs357 mm / 14.1 inch 247 mm / 9.72 inch 18 mm / 0.709 inch 1.9 kg4.19 lbs357 mm / 14.1 inch 235.3 mm / 9.26 inch 16.82 mm / 0.662 inch 2 kg4.37 lbs339.5 mm / 13.4 inch 244 mm / 9.61 inch 14.7 mm / 0.579 inch 1.5 kg3.4 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

Connectivity - Port Positioning Could be Better

All ports on the Prestige 14 can be found here on the Prestige 15 but with the addition of an HDMI port. It's a bit disappointing to find no Kensington lock while port positioning could have been better as there are no USB Type-A ports along the left edge.

Front: No connectivity
Front: No connectivity
Right: MicroSD reader, 2x USB 3.2 Gen. 1 Type-A
Right: MicroSD reader, 2x USB 3.2 Gen. 1 Type-A
Rear: No connectivity
Rear: No connectivity
Left: 2x USB Type-C + Thunderbolt 3, HDMI 1.4, 3.5 mm combo audio
Left: 2x USB Type-C + Thunderbolt 3, HDMI 1.4, 3.5 mm combo audio

SD Card Reader

Users will have to make do with a spring-loaded MicroSD reader instead of the full-size SD readers as found on the MSI GS series. Transfer rates are still fast at almost 200 MB/s with our UHS-II test card.

Spring-loaded MicroSD reader
Spring-loaded MicroSD reader
SD Card Reader
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)
Dell Latitude 5500
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II)
181 MB/s +21%
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
166.2 MB/s +12%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II)
149 MB/s
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II)
76.3 MB/s -49%
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)
Dell Latitude 5500
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II)
195.2 MB/s +1%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II)
192.5 MB/s
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
190.7 MB/s -1%
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II)
84.1 MB/s -56%

Communication

The Intel AX200 comes standard for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 connectivity. We didn't experience any wireless issues during our time with the unit.

Removable WLAN module
Removable WLAN module
Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200
1374 (720min - 1484max) MBit/s
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
661 MBit/s -52%
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
Intel Cannon Lake-H/S CNVi: WiFi
650 (629min - 713max) MBit/s -53%
Dell Latitude 5500
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
634 MBit/s -54%
HP EliteBook 755 G5 3UN79EA
Intel 8265 Tri-Band WiFi (Oak Peak) Network Adapter
564 MBit/s -59%
iperf3 receive AX12
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200
1291 (1212min - 1379max) MBit/s
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
653 MBit/s -49%
Dell Latitude 5500
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
624 MBit/s -52%
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
Intel Cannon Lake-H/S CNVi: WiFi
490 (376min - 596max) MBit/s -62%
HP EliteBook 755 G5 3UN79EA
Intel 8265 Tri-Band WiFi (Oak Peak) Network Adapter
355 MBit/s -73%

Maintenance - Still Requires Tearing a Factory Seal Sticker

The bottom panel is secured by 11 Philips screws with one hidden underneath a "Factory Seal" sticker. Servicing is relatively easy as owners will get direct access to both RAM slots, both storage bays, the WLAN module, and the internal battery.

Accessories and Warranty

Included extras are a faux leather sleeve and a USB Type-C dock with 2x USB Type-A ports, full-size SD reader, MicroSD reader, RJ-45 port, and a Micro-USB power port. It's definitely cool to see these accessories in the retail box as most other OEMs never include anything outside of the usual AC adapter.

The standard one-year limited warranty applies.

Input Devices - Shallow and Spongy

Keyboard

Key size and layout are similar to the GS65 with a few visual differences. The font on the Prestige 15 keys is slightly different while the Power button is now on the corner not unlike on some Asus VivoBook laptops. Though we appreciate that the keyboard feels roomy to type on, key feedback is lighter than we would like. The keys on the XPS 15 or Spectre x360 15 feel crisper and more satisfying than on the MSI. Users accustomed to the generally shallow and light keys of most Ultrabooks should feel right at home with the keyboard on the Prestige 15.

Touchpad

The clickpad (14 x 6.5 cm) is the same as it appears on the GS65 9SG. Its wide surface area makes it more comfortable for multi-touch inputs than most other laptops. Because it's so wide, however, expect some accidental inputs every once in a while since palm rejection is not perfect. The integrated mouse keys are soft in feedback, shallow in travel, and relatively quiet. Dedicated mouse keys would have provided both better accuracy and feedback.

Single-zone white backlight with three level of illumination
Single-zone white backlight with three level of illumination
Full-size Arrow keys. Clatter is relatively quiet since feedback is light
Full-size Arrow keys. Clatter is relatively quiet since feedback is light
Keyboard layout has a lot in common with the MSI GS65
Keyboard layout has a lot in common with the MSI GS65
Fingerprint reader on the top left corner of the clickpad
Fingerprint reader on the top left corner of the clickpad

Display - Well-calibrated from the get-go

MSI offers FHD and 4K UHD options for its Prestige 15. Our specific test unit comes equipped with a 4K UHD Sharp LQ156D1JW42 IPS panel that can be found on no other laptop in our database. The more general Sharp LQ156D1, however, can be found on the Lenovo ThinkPad P50 and Dell XPS 15 9570 which exhibit similar contrast ratio and color space characteristics as our MSI unit.

Display quality is excellent with colors that pop and only a minor level of graininess despite the matte overlay. Its backlight in particular is on par with the backlight on the XPS 15 which is brighter than on most other Ultrabooks. The biggest drawback of the display is its slow black-white and gray-gray response times for more noticeable ghosting.

No edge-to-edge glass options
No edge-to-edge glass options
Narrow bezels rival the Dell XPS 15
Narrow bezels rival the Dell XPS 15
Slight-moderate uneven backlight bleeding along the corners
Slight-moderate uneven backlight bleeding along the corners
Matte subpixel array
Matte subpixel array
MSI True Color
MSI True Color
462.1
cd/m²
471
cd/m²
454.9
cd/m²
432.2
cd/m²
464.5
cd/m²
431.2
cd/m²
432.9
cd/m²
469.7
cd/m²
441.3
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Sharp LQ156D1JW42 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 471 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 451.1 cd/m² Minimum: 24 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 92 %
Center on Battery: 464.5 cd/m²
Contrast: 929:1 (Black: 0.5 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.36 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5, calibrated: 3.42
ΔE Greyscale 1.3 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
98.3% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
84.8% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
96.2% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
98.3% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
82% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.14
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
Sharp LQ156D1JW42, IPS, 15.60, 3840x2160
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
Sharp LQ150P1JX51, IPS, 15.00, 2496x1664
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
AU Optronics AUO41EB, IPS, 15.60, 3840x2160
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
Sharp SHP148D / LQ156D1, IGZO, 15.60, 3840x2160
Dell Latitude 5500
LGD05FF 156WFD, IPS, 15.60, 1920x1080
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
LP156WFC-SPD1, aSi IPS LED, 15.60, 1920x1080
Display
-17%
2%
-9%
-52%
-51%
Display P3 Coverage
82
66.9
-18%
84.4
3%
76.5
-7%
38.07
-54%
38.79
-53%
sRGB Coverage
98.3
99.3
1%
100
2%
98.4
0%
57.3
-42%
58.3
-41%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
96.2
63.7
-34%
98.5
2%
76.4
-21%
39.33
-59%
40.11
-58%
Response Times
5%
20%
-19%
34%
36%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
60 ?(29.2, 30.8)
47.2 ?(23.2, 24)
21%
51 ?(24, 27)
15%
48 ?(24.4, 23.6)
20%
37.6 ?(19.6, 18)
37%
37.2 ?(19.2, 18)
38%
Response Time Black / White *
41.2 ?(22.8, 18.4)
36.8 ?(20.4, 16.4)
11%
31 ?(18, 13)
25%
33.6 ?(19.6, 14)
18%
28.4 ?(17.2, 11.2)
31%
27.2 ?(17.2, 10)
34%
PWM Frequency
26040 ?(24)
21370 ?(51)
-18%
1000
-96%
Screen
4%
-31%
-16%
-39%
-43%
Brightness middle
464.5
416.9
-10%
445
-4%
451.7
-3%
234
-50%
276
-41%
Brightness
451
389
-14%
462
2%
440
-2%
229
-49%
262
-42%
Brightness Distribution
92
86
-7%
83
-10%
90
-2%
93
1%
88
-4%
Black Level *
0.5
0.4
20%
0.5
-0%
0.4
20%
0.23
54%
0.23
54%
Contrast
929
1042
12%
890
-4%
1129
22%
1017
9%
1200
29%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
3.36
2.75
18%
4.75
-41%
3.11
7%
5.2
-55%
5.6
-67%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
7.06
6.64
6%
7.79
-10%
8.62
-22%
14.7
-108%
16.4
-132%
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated *
3.42
0.71
79%
3.07
10%
4.6
-35%
4.7
-37%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
1.3
1.8
-38%
4.49
-245%
3.7
-185%
2.5
-92%
3
-131%
Gamma
2.14 103%
2.09 105%
2.49 88%
2.11 104%
2.44 90%
2.18 101%
CCT
6596 99%
6646 98%
7374 88%
6492 100%
6649 98%
7075 92%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
84.8
63.4
-25%
87
3%
69
-19%
36.2
-57%
36.9
-56%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
98.3
99.4
1%
100
2%
98
0%
57
-42%
58.1
-41%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
-3% / 0%
-3% / -17%
-15% / -15%
-19% / -32%
-19% / -34%

* ... smaller is better

Color space is nearly identical to the P65 Creator and wider than on most sub-4K laptops including the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15. MSI claims full AdobeRGB coverage which we can confirm with our own independent measurements.

vs. sRGB
vs. sRGB
vs. AdobeRGB
vs. AdobeRGB

MSI advertises a DeltaE value of under 2 — a bold claim when most laptop displays struggle to be accurate out of the box. Thankfully, our own measurements can indeed confirm grayscale and color saturation deltaE values of just 1.3 and 1.57, respectively. An end-user calibration will not be necessary even though colors could still be slightly more accurate when at lower saturation levels.

Grayscale before calibration
Grayscale before calibration
Saturation Sweeps before calibration
Saturation Sweeps before calibration
ColorChecker before calibration
ColorChecker before calibration
Grayscale after calibration
Grayscale after calibration
Saturation Sweeps after calibration
Saturation Sweeps after calibration
ColorChecker after calibration
ColorChecker after calibration

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
41.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 22.8 ms rise
↘ 18.4 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 97 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
60 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 29.2 ms rise
↘ 30.8 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 95 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 26040 Hz ≤ 24 % brightness setting

The display backlight flickers at 26040 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 24 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.

The frequency of 26040 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Outdoor visibility is as good as on the P65 Creator since brightness is almost the same between them. The display is much brighter than the display on the ThinkPad T590 and most cheaper Ultrabooks. Viewing angles are wide as one would expect from an IPS panel.

Outdoors under sunlight
Outdoors under sunlight
Outdoors under shade
Outdoors under shade
Outdoors under sunlight
Outdoors under sunlight
Wide IPS viewing angles
Wide IPS viewing angles

Performance - MSI's first ULV Hexa-core Laptop

Despite being relatively thin and carrying an Intel U series CPU, the Prestige 15 is still targeting high-performance users with its hexa-core Core i7-10710U CPU and discrete GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q graphics to replace the last generation quad-core Core i7-8565U and GeForce GTX 1050, respectively. There are no Core i3/i5 or integrated GPU options for now.

Nvidia Optimus comes standard for automatic graphics switching to the UHD Graphics 620. LatencyMon shows no DPC latency issues even when wireless is enabled unlike on the XPS 15.

Processor

CineBench results are impressive as raw multi-thread scores are neck-to-neck with both the quad-core Core i7-8750H and Core i7-9750H. Performance sustainability is also excellent as shown by our CineBench R15 Multi-Thread loop test below especially when compared to what we observed on the Dell XPS 13 7390 with the same hexa-core CPU. Users can expect about 30 to 35 percent faster performance than the Core i7-1065G7, Core i5-8300H, and Core i5-9300H or about 60 percent faster performance than the Core i7-8565U.

Nonetheless, the excellent CineBench scores may be misleading. Our Prime95 Stress Test will show that clock rates may bounce and throttle wildly when the CPU is subjected to uninterrupted 100 percent utilization.

See our dedicated page on the Core i7-10710U for more technical information and benchmark comparisons.

CineBench R15
CineBench R15
CineBench R20
CineBench R20
060120180240300360420480540600660720780840900960102010801140Tooltip
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, i7-10710U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR; CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø1087 (1011.3-1125.11)
Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR; CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø1024 (1016.29-1117.57)
Alienware m15 P79F GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G; CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø1123 (1106.07-1188.78)
Lenovo ThinkPad P53s-20N6001NGE Quadro P520, i7-8565U, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW256G8; CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø624 (521.26-694.16)
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 15 Turing
Intel Core i7-9700K
203 Points +6%
Alienware m17 P37E
Intel Core i9-8950HK
191 Points 0%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
Intel Core i7-10710U
191 Points
MSI GE75 9SG
Intel Core i9-9880H
189 Points -1%
Lenovo ThinkPad P53s-20N6001NGE
Intel Core i7-8565U
178 Points -7%
Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz
Intel Core i7-9750H
175 Points -8%
Average Intel Core i7-10710U
  (138 - 194, n=8)
174.9 Points -8%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7
Intel Core i7-1065G7
174 Points -9%
Dell G3 3590
Intel Core i5-9300H
172 Points -10%
Lenovo Legion Y730-15ICH i5-8300H
Intel Core i5-8300H
166 Points -13%
Dell Inspiron 15 5000 5585
AMD Ryzen 7 3700U
135 Points -29%
CPU Multi 64Bit
MSI GE75 9SG
Intel Core i9-9880H
1721 Points +56%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 15 Turing
Intel Core i7-9700K
1465 Points +33%
Alienware m17 P37E
Intel Core i9-8950HK
1238 Points +12%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
Intel Core i7-10710U
1103 Points
Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz
Intel Core i7-9750H
1094 Points -1%
Average Intel Core i7-10710U
  (513 - 1113, n=8)
957 Points -13%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7
Intel Core i7-1065G7
830 Points -25%
Lenovo Legion Y730-15ICH i5-8300H
Intel Core i5-8300H
821 Points -26%
Dell G3 3590
Intel Core i5-9300H
790 Points -28%
Lenovo ThinkPad P53s-20N6001NGE
Intel Core i7-8565U
686 (568.11min - 688.08max) Points -38%
Dell Inspiron 15 5000 5585
AMD Ryzen 7 3700U
672 Points -39%
Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit
Average Intel Core i7-10710U
  (2.07 - 2.19, n=3)
2.15 Points
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7
Intel Core i7-1065G7
2.13 Points
Lenovo ThinkPad P53s-20N6001NGE
Intel Core i7-8565U
2.12 Points
MSI GE75 9SG
Intel Core i9-9880H
2.11 Points
Dell Inspiron 15 5000 5585
AMD Ryzen 7 3700U
1.52 Points
CPU Multi 64Bit
MSI GE75 9SG
Intel Core i9-9880H
18.94 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10710U
  (10.9 - 12.3, n=3)
11.7 Points
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7
Intel Core i7-1065G7
9.37 Points
Dell Inspiron 15 5000 5585
AMD Ryzen 7 3700U
7.56 Points
Lenovo ThinkPad P53s-20N6001NGE
Intel Core i7-8565U
7.07 Points
Cinebench R10
Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 15 Turing
Intel Core i7-9700K
42677 Points
MSI GE75 9SG
Intel Core i9-9880H
42456 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10710U
  (31463 - 31824, n=2)
31644 Points
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7
Intel Core i7-1065G7
26481 Points
Lenovo ThinkPad P53s-20N6001NGE
Intel Core i7-8565U
21140 Points
Rendering Single 32Bit
Lenovo ThinkPad P53s-20N6001NGE
Intel Core i7-8565U
7756 Points
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 15 Turing
Intel Core i7-9700K
7682 Points
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7
Intel Core i7-1065G7
7260 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10710U
  (6599 - 7345, n=2)
6972 Points
MSI GE75 9SG
Intel Core i9-9880H
6967 Points
wPrime 2.10 - 1024m
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7
Intel Core i7-1065G7
232.9 s *
Average Intel Core i7-10710U
  (171.1 - 177.4, n=2)
174.3 s *
MSI GE75 9SG
Intel Core i9-9880H
118.7 s *

* ... smaller is better

Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
191 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
1103 Points
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
91.3 fps
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
99.6 %
Help

System Performance

PCMark results are excellent and higher than your typical quad-core ULV business laptop including the Lenovo ThinkPad T590 or Microsoft's latest Surface Laptop 3 15. We experienced no software or hardware issues during our time with the test unit. However, we recommend that owners become familiar with the pre-loaded MSI applications like Creator Center, True Color, and the Driver and App Center where core features and settings unique to the Prestige 15 can all be found.

PCMark 10 Standard
PCMark 10 Standard
PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 10
Score
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i9-9880H, 2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0)
5211 Points +4%
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
Quadro P2000, E-2176M, SK hynix PC400 512 GB
5072 Points +1%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, i7-10710U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
5009 Points
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
GeForce MX250, i7-8565U, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV512G
4547 Points -9%
Dell Latitude 5500
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8665U, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV1T02
4515 Points -10%
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
Vega 9, R5 3580U, SK hynix BC501 HFM256GDGTNG
4056 Points -19%
Essentials
Dell Latitude 5500
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8665U, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV1T02
9790 Points +8%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, i7-10710U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
9048 Points
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i9-9880H, 2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0)
8961 Points -1%
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
GeForce MX250, i7-8565U, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV512G
8929 Points -1%
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
Quadro P2000, E-2176M, SK hynix PC400 512 GB
8479 Points -6%
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
Vega 9, R5 3580U, SK hynix BC501 HFM256GDGTNG
7861 Points -13%
Productivity
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
GeForce MX250, i7-8565U, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV512G
7443 Points +9%
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
Quadro P2000, E-2176M, SK hynix PC400 512 GB
7281 Points +7%
Dell Latitude 5500
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8665U, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV1T02
7281 Points +7%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, i7-10710U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
6832 Points
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
Vega 9, R5 3580U, SK hynix BC501 HFM256GDGTNG
6102 Points -11%
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i9-9880H, 2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0)
5986 Points -12%
Digital Content Creation
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i9-9880H, 2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0)
7161 Points +30%
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
Quadro P2000, E-2176M, SK hynix PC400 512 GB
5736 Points +4%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, i7-10710U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
5520 Points
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
GeForce MX250, i7-8565U, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV512G
3841 Points -30%
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
Vega 9, R5 3580U, SK hynix BC501 HFM256GDGTNG
3778 Points -32%
Dell Latitude 5500
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8665U, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV1T02
3506 Points -36%
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
Dell Latitude 5500
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8665U, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV1T02
3959 Points +12%
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
GeForce MX250, i7-8565U, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV512G
3885 Points +10%
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
Quadro P2000, E-2176M, SK hynix PC400 512 GB
3831 Points +8%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, i7-10710U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
3546 Points
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i9-9880H, 2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0)
3505 Points -1%
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
Vega 9, R5 3580U, SK hynix BC501 HFM256GDGTNG
3348 Points -6%
Work Score Accelerated v2
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
GeForce MX250, i7-8565U, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV512G
5225 Points +17%
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
Quadro P2000, E-2176M, SK hynix PC400 512 GB
4666 Points +4%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, i7-10710U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
4483 Points
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i9-9880H, 2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0)
4482 Points 0%
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
Vega 9, R5 3580U, SK hynix BC501 HFM256GDGTNG
4246 Points -5%
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
3546 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
4483 points
PCMark 10 Score
5009 points
Help

Storage Devices - Dual M.2 Options

Two internal M.2 2280 slots are available. While our particular unit comes with a 1 TB Samsung SSD PM981, it's likely that resellers will include SSDs from other manufacturers. Sequential read and write speeds hover around 1300 MB/s eac according to AS SSD to be slower than the 512 GB Toshiba XG6.

See our table of SSDs and HDDs for more benchmark comparisons.

Occupied M.2 slot
Occupied M.2 slot
Secondary slot sits adjacent to the WLAN module
Secondary slot sits adjacent to the WLAN module
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
SK hynix BC501 HFM256GDGTNG
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV512G
Dell Latitude 5500
Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV1T02
HP EliteBook 755 G5 3UN79EA
Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
SK hynix PC400 512 GB
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0)
AS SSD
-52%
13%
2%
-149%
-18%
20%
Seq Read
1274
1122
-12%
2551
100%
1287
1%
1810
42%
2169
70%
2860
124%
Seq Write
1395
514
-63%
2376
70%
1280
-8%
261.4
-81%
1022
-27%
2604
87%
4K Read
50.3
34.98
-30%
52.7
5%
49.57
-1%
24.38
-52%
38.43
-24%
45.15
-10%
4K Write
119.8
96.8
-19%
153
28%
158
32%
5.77
-95%
92.8
-23%
100.2
-16%
4K-64 Read
1599
492
-69%
1406
-12%
1043
-35%
528
-67%
970
-39%
1428
-11%
4K-64 Write
1455
339.9
-77%
1439
-1%
1415
-3%
90.7
-94%
926
-36%
1401
-4%
Access Time Read *
0.044
0.056
-27%
0.067
-52%
0.039
11%
0.2
-355%
0.073
-66%
0.049
-11%
Access Time Write *
0.092
0.11
-20%
0.027
71%
0.027
71%
0.748
-713%
0.053
42%
0.037
60%
Score Read
1777
639
-64%
1714
-4%
1221
-31%
733
-59%
1226
-31%
1759
-1%
Score Write
1714
488
-72%
1829
7%
1701
-1%
123
-93%
1121
-35%
1762
3%
Score Total
4411
1434
-67%
4418
0%
3558
-19%
1157
-74%
2922
-34%
4411
0%
Copy ISO MB/s
2830
828
-71%
2625
-7%
Copy Program MB/s
609
200.5
-67%
495.9
-19%
Copy Game MB/s
1424
387.4
-73%
1384
-3%

* ... smaller is better

Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
CDM 5/6 Read Seq Q32T1: 1758 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write Seq Q32T1: 1706 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Read 4K Q32T1: 499.7 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write 4K Q32T1: 442.7 MB/s
CDM 5 Read Seq: 976 MB/s
CDM 5 Write Seq: 981 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Read 4K: 47.3 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write 4K: 150.8 MB/s

GPU Performance - Gaming Ready

While the GeForce 1650 Max-Q is an uncommon GPU, we would love to see it on more laptops. 3DMark benchmarks place it just 15 percent behind the "proper" desktop GTX 1650 or about 15 to 50 percent faster than the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti. Nvidia Turing is optimized for DX12 titles meaning that you'll see more of a performance boost over the older GTX 1050 Ti when running newer DX12 games. Note that this is the same GPU that ships with the recent Razer Blade Stealth.

Cloud Gate scores are low likely due to the ULV CPU. Most other laptops with GeForce GTX or Max-Q graphics tend to ship with Intel H-class CPUs instead.

3DMark 11
3DMark 11
Time Spy
Time Spy
Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate
Fire Strike
Fire Strike
Fire Strike Ultra
Fire Strike Ultra
 
3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Lenovo Legion Y740-17IRH
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-9750H
99060 Points +348%
Razer Blade 15 GTX 1660 Ti
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H
98452 Points +345%
Asus FX503VM-EH73
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
80542 Points +264%
MSI GT72S-6QEG16SR421BW
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK
61392 Points +178%
Acer Nitro 5 AN515-54-78TL
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, i7-9750H
60638 Points +174%
Gainward GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (Desktop), R7 2700X
50549 Points +129%
HP Pavilion Gaming 15-cx0003ng
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-8750H
46618 Points +111%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
  (21759 - 53981, n=12)
39625 Points +79%
Lenovo Yoga 730-15IKB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8550U
26144 Points +18%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, i7-10710U
22113 Points
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Lenovo Legion Y740-17IRH
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-9750H
15700 Points +102%
Razer Blade 15 GTX 1660 Ti
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H
14753 Points +90%
Asus FX503VM-EH73
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
11483 Points +48%
MSI GT72S-6QEG16SR421BW
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK
9537 Points +23%
Acer Nitro 5 AN515-54-78TL
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, i7-9750H
9361 Points +20%
Gainward GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (Desktop), R7 2700X
9195 Points +18%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
  (6985 - 8618, n=12)
7853 Points +1%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, i7-10710U
7774 Points
HP Pavilion Gaming 15-cx0003ng
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-8750H
6792 Points -13%
Lenovo Yoga 730-15IKB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8550U
5965 Points -23%
2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics
Lenovo Legion Y740-17IRH
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-9750H
6011 Points +99%
Razer Blade 15 GTX 1660 Ti
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H
5335 Points +76%
Asus FX503VM-EH73
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
3572 Points +18%
Gainward GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (Desktop), R7 2700X
3492 Points +15%
Acer Nitro 5 AN515-54-78TL
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, i7-9750H
3477 Points +15%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, i7-10710U
3028 Points
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
  (2836 - 3238, n=10)
2998 Points -1%
MSI GT72S-6QEG16SR421BW
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK
2805 Points -7%
HP Pavilion Gaming 15-cx0003ng
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-8750H
1990 Points -34%
Lenovo Yoga 730-15IKB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8550U
1416 Points -53%
3DMark 11
1280x720 Performance GPU
Lenovo Legion Y740-17IRH
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-9750H
19971 Points +73%
Razer Blade 15 GTX 1660 Ti
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H
19329 Points +67%
Asus FX503VM-EH73
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
14550 Points +26%
Gainward GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (Desktop), R7 2700X
13759 Points +19%
MSI GT72S-6QEG16SR421BW
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK
12193 Points +6%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, i7-10710U
11542 Points
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
  (10248 - 12259, n=14)
11171 Points -3%
HP Pavilion Gaming 15-cx0003ng
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-8750H
8304 Points -28%
Lenovo Yoga 730-15IKB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8550U
6935 Points -40%
1280x720 Performance Combined
Lenovo Legion Y740-17IRH
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-9750H
12518 Points +21%
Gainward GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (Desktop), R7 2700X
11707 Points +13%
Razer Blade 15 GTX 1660 Ti
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H
11416 Points +10%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, i7-10710U
10350 Points
MSI GT72S-6QEG16SR421BW
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6820HK
9459 Points -9%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
  (6409 - 10846, n=13)
8690 Points -16%
HP Pavilion Gaming 15-cx0003ng
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-8750H
7763 Points -25%
Asus FX503VM-EH73
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
7696 Points -26%
Lenovo Yoga 730-15IKB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8550U
4446 Points -57%
3DMark 11 Performance
11613 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
17802 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
7103 points
3DMark Time Spy Score
3282 points
Help

Gaming Performance

The latest titles can run at native 1080p and 30+ FPS with most settings on High to Ultra — not bad for a laptop with an ULV CPU and a Max-Q GPU. Reaching a stable 60 FPS can still be tough outside of undemanding titles like Rocket League, Overwatch, LoL, or Fortnite.

See our dedicated page on the GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q for more gaming benchmark comparisons.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider
1280x720 Lowest Preset
MSI GE75 9SG
Intel Core i9-9880H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile
146 fps +29%
Gainward GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (Desktop)
132 fps +17%
Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
132 fps +17%
Lenovo Legion Y740-17IRH
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile
120 fps +6%
Alienware m15 P79F
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
119 fps +5%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
  (92 - 151, n=5)
115.6 fps +2%
Razer Blade 15 GTX 1660 Ti
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile
115 fps +2%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
Intel Core i7-10710U, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
113 fps
Dell G3 3590
Intel Core i5-9300H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile
102 fps -10%
Asus GL753VD
Intel Core i7-7700HQ, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile
71 (48min) fps -37%
Asus TUF FX705GE-EW096T
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
63 fps -44%
Dell Inspiron 15 5000 5585
AMD Ryzen 7 3700U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 10
38 fps -66%
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
AMD Ryzen 5 3580U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 9
29 fps -74%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7
Intel Core i7-1065G7, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU)
27 fps -76%
1920x1080 Highest Preset AA:T
MSI GE75 9SG
Intel Core i9-9880H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile
109 fps +211%
Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
105 fps +200%
Alienware m15 P79F
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
84 fps +140%
Lenovo Legion Y740-17IRH
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile
78 fps +123%
Razer Blade 15 GTX 1660 Ti
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile
67 fps +91%
Gainward GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (Desktop)
44 fps +26%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
  (33 - 45, n=6)
37.7 fps +8%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
Intel Core i7-10710U, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
35 fps
Asus TUF FX705GE-EW096T
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
31 fps -11%
Asus GL753VD
Intel Core i7-7700HQ, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile
26 (3min) fps -26%
Rocket League
1280x720 Performance
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
Intel Xeon E-2176M, NVIDIA Quadro P2000
249 fps +27%
Dell G3 3590
Intel Core i5-9300H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile
247 fps +26%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
  (196 - 249, n=4)
227 fps +16%
Lenovo Yoga 730-15IKB
Intel Core i7-8550U, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile
217.4 fps +11%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
Intel Core i7-10710U, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
196 fps
Dell Inspiron 15 5000 5585
AMD Ryzen 7 3700U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 10
119.7 fps -39%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7
Intel Core i7-1065G7, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU)
114 fps -42%
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
AMD Ryzen 5 3580U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 9
100.7 fps -49%
1920x1080 High Quality AA:High FX
Asus FX503VM-EH73
Intel Core i7-7700HQ, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile
145 fps +65%
Dell G3 3590
Intel Core i5-9300H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile
137.2 fps +56%
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
Intel Xeon E-2176M, NVIDIA Quadro P2000
110 fps +25%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
  (86.5 - 145.6, n=5)
109.8 fps +25%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
Intel Core i7-10710U, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
88 fps
Lenovo Yoga 730-15IKB
Intel Core i7-8550U, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile
74.7 fps -15%
Dell Inspiron 15 5000 5585
AMD Ryzen 7 3700U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 10
38.9 fps -56%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7
Intel Core i7-1065G7, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU)
33.8 fps -62%
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
AMD Ryzen 5 3580U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 9
30.4 fps -65%
The Witcher 3
1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 15 Turing
Intel Core i7-9700K, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile
331.2 fps +113%
Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
325 fps +109%
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
Intel Core i9-9880H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
295.7 fps +90%
MSI GE75 9SG
Intel Core i9-9880H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile
289.7 fps +86%
Lenovo Legion Y740-17IRH
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile
282.4 fps +82%
Alienware m17 P37E
Intel Core i9-8950HK, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
277.6 fps +79%
Alienware m15 P79F
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
261.8 fps +68%
Razer Blade 15 GTX 1660 Ti
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile
247.6 fps +59%
Gainward GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (Desktop)
208 (190min - 229max) fps +34%
Dell G3 3590
Intel Core i5-9300H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile
175.1 fps +13%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
  (137.5 - 196, n=10)
158 fps +2%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
Intel Core i7-10710U, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
155.4 fps
Lenovo Legion Y730-15ICH i5-8300H
Intel Core i5-8300H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
142.2 fps -8%
Asus TUF FX705GE-EW096T
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
132.7 fps -15%
HP Pavilion Gaming 15-cx0003ng
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
116 fps -25%
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
Intel Xeon E-2176M, NVIDIA Quadro P2000
103 fps -34%
Lenovo ThinkPad P53s-20N6001NGE
Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA Quadro P520
59.4 fps -62%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7
Intel Core i7-1065G7, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU)
54.9 fps -65%
Dell Inspiron 15 5000 5585
AMD Ryzen 7 3700U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 10
53.8 fps -65%
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250
49.9 fps -68%
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
AMD Ryzen 5 3580U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 9
41.9 fps -73%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz
Intel Core m3-6Y30, Intel HD Graphics 515
7.4 fps -95%
1366x768 Medium Graphics & Postprocessing
Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
258.7 fps +175%
MSI GE75 9SG
Intel Core i9-9880H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile
250.1 fps +166%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 15 Turing
Intel Core i7-9700K, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile
223.1 fps +137%
Alienware m17 P37E
Intel Core i9-8950HK, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
221.1 fps +135%
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
Intel Core i9-9880H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
205.8 fps +119%
Alienware m15 P79F
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
200.6 fps +113%
Lenovo Legion Y740-17IRH
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile
198.4 fps +111%
Razer Blade 15 GTX 1660 Ti
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile
169.7 fps +80%
Gainward GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (Desktop)
136 (124min - 146max) fps +45%
Dell G3 3590
Intel Core i5-9300H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile
115.8 fps +23%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
  (83.2 - 119.8, n=9)
96.5 fps +3%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
Intel Core i7-10710U, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
94.1 fps
Lenovo Legion Y730-15ICH i5-8300H
Intel Core i5-8300H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
91.5 fps -3%
Asus TUF FX705GE-EW096T
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
82 fps -13%
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
Intel Xeon E-2176M, NVIDIA Quadro P2000
71 fps -25%
HP Pavilion Gaming 15-cx0003ng
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
69.7 fps -26%
Lenovo ThinkPad P53s-20N6001NGE
Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA Quadro P520
51.8 fps -45%
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250
35.8 fps -62%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7
Intel Core i7-1065G7, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU)
34.4 fps -63%
1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off)
Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
179.9 fps +228%
MSI GE75 9SG
Intel Core i9-9880H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile
173 fps +216%
Alienware m17 P37E
Intel Core i9-8950HK, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
138.2 fps +152%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 15 Turing
Intel Core i7-9700K, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile
128.4 fps +134%
Alienware m15 P79F
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
123.8 fps +126%
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
Intel Core i9-9880H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
116.5 fps +113%
Lenovo Legion Y740-17IRH
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile
114.6 fps +109%
Razer Blade 15 GTX 1660 Ti
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile
97.5 fps +78%
Gainward GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (Desktop)
77 (67min - 82max) fps +41%
Dell G3 3590
Intel Core i5-9300H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile
65.9 fps +20%
Acer Nitro 5 AN515-54-78TL
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile
61.4 fps +12%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
Intel Core i7-10710U, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
54.8 fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
  (41.5 - 65.1, n=11)
52.6 fps -4%
Lenovo Legion Y730-15ICH i5-8300H
Intel Core i5-8300H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
51.9 fps -5%
Asus TUF FX705GE-EW096T
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
46.1 fps -16%
HP Pavilion Gaming 15-cx0003ng
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
40 fps -27%
Lenovo ThinkPad P53s-20N6001NGE
Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA Quadro P520
33.53 fps -39%
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
Intel Xeon E-2176M, NVIDIA Quadro P2000
33 fps -40%
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250
21 fps -62%
Dell Inspiron 15 5000 5585
AMD Ryzen 7 3700U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 10
18.8 fps -66%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7
Intel Core i7-1065G7, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU)
17 fps -69%
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
AMD Ryzen 5 3580U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 9
13.3 fps -76%
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+)
MSI GE75 9SG
Intel Core i9-9880H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile
95.3 fps +209%
Razer Blade Pro 17 4K UHD 120 Hz
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
92.7 fps +201%
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
Intel Core i9-9880H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
80.8 fps +162%
Alienware m17 P37E
Intel Core i9-8950HK, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
75.7 fps +146%
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 15 Turing
Intel Core i7-9700K, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile
73 (60min) fps +137%
Alienware m15 P79F
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
64.4 fps +109%
Lenovo Legion Y740-17IRH
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile
58.4 fps +90%
Razer Blade 15 GTX 1660 Ti
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile
51.6 fps +68%
Gainward GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (Desktop)
43 (37min - 47max) fps +40%
Asus FX503VM-EH73
Intel Core i7-7700HQ, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile
37 fps +20%
Dell G3 3590
Intel Core i5-9300H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile
36.2 fps +18%
Acer Nitro 5 AN515-54-78TL
Intel Core i7-9750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile
35.6 fps +16%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
  (27.5 - 36.5, n=11)
31 fps +1%
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
Intel Core i7-10710U, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
30.8 fps
Lenovo Legion Y730-15ICH i5-8300H
Intel Core i5-8300H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
27.9 fps -9%
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
Intel Xeon E-2176M, NVIDIA Quadro P2000
26 fps -16%
Asus TUF FX705GE-EW096T
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
25.8 fps -16%
HP Pavilion Gaming 15-cx0003ng
Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
23.1 fps -25%
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250
12.6 fps -59%
Dell Inspiron 15 5000 5585
AMD Ryzen 7 3700U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 10
11.5 fps -63%
Lenovo ThinkPad P53s-20N6001NGE
Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA Quadro P520
11.08 fps -64%
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
AMD Ryzen 5 3580U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 9
8.1 fps -74%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7
Intel Core i7-1065G7, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU)
7.8 fps -75%
0510152025303540455055Tooltip
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, i7-10710U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR: Ø51.9 (46-56)
low med. high ultra
BioShock Infinite (2013) 296.3 215.1 188.4 77
The Witcher 3 (2015) 155.4 94.1 54.8 30.8
Rocket League (2017) 196 128.2 88
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) 113 51 42 35

Emissions

System Noise - Audible, but Quiet

The cooling solution consists of two asymmetric fans (~40 mm + ~50 mm) and three heat pipes. The fans are never truly idle even when set to Silent mode, but the noise is barely noticeable when under most ambient conditions anyway. We're able to record a noise of just 30.2 dB(A) against a background of 29.3 dB(A) when idling or desktop or browsing the web.

Fan noise remains surprisingly quiet when under heavier browsing or streaming loads. Running 3DMark 06, for example, results in a fan noise of just 31.5 dB(A) compared to 40.9 dB(A) on the more powerful MSI P65. Expect a steady noise level of about 37 dB(A) when gaming to be quieter than most dedicated gaming laptops. At worst, we're able to record a noise level of 47 dB(A) when running both Prime95 and FurMark simultaneously.

We can notice no electronic noise or coil whine from our test unit.

Smaller ~40 mm fan nearest the CPU
Smaller ~40 mm fan nearest the CPU
Larger ~50 mm fan nearest the GPU
Larger ~50 mm fan nearest the GPU
Two DDR4 SODIMM slots
Two DDR4 SODIMM slots
CPU and GPU temperatures are warmer than expected when under load
CPU and GPU temperatures are warmer than expected when under load
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, i7-10710U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
Vega 9, R5 3580U, SK hynix BC501 HFM256GDGTNG
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i9-9880H, 2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0)
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
GeForce MX250, i7-8565U, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV512G
Dell Latitude 5500
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8665U, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV1T02
HP EliteBook 755 G5 3UN79EA
Vega 10, R7 2700U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
Quadro P2000, E-2176M, SK hynix PC400 512 GB
Noise
6%
-9%
4%
9%
0%
-7%
off / environment *
29.3
28
4%
30.2
-3%
29.4
-0%
28.8
2%
30.5
-4%
28.4
3%
Idle Minimum *
30.1
28
7%
32.8
-9%
29.3
3%
28.8
4%
30.5
-1%
28.4
6%
Idle Average *
30.2
28
7%
32.8
-9%
29.3
3%
28.8
5%
30.5
-1%
28.4
6%
Idle Maximum *
30.2
28
7%
33.6
-11%
31.8
-5%
28.8
5%
30.5
-1%
28.4
6%
Load Average *
31.5
29.2
7%
40.9
-30%
33.5
-6%
30.3
4%
37.5
-19%
46.5
-48%
Witcher 3 ultra *
37
39
-5%
33.5
9%
46.5
-26%
Load Maximum *
47
41.4
12%
42.7
9%
35.8
24%
32.6
31%
35
26%
46.5
1%

* ... smaller is better

Noise Level

Idle
30.1 / 30.2 / 30.2 dB(A)
Load
31.5 / 47 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Audix TM1, Arta (15 cm distance)   environment noise: 29.3 dB(A)

Temperature

Surface temperatures peak at about 31 C toward the center of the laptop during low or idling loads. When gaming or running high loads, surfaces can become as warm as 55 C to 60 C as shown by our temperature maps below. These hot spots are thankfully above the first row of keyboard keys where users are unlikely to touch.

Rear exhaust
Rear exhaust
AC adapter after running Witcher 3 for one hour
AC adapter after running Witcher 3 for one hour
Max. Load
 49.2 °C
121 F
56 °C
133 F
50.6 °C
123 F
 
 45.4 °C
114 F
51.8 °C
125 F
38 °C
100 F
 
 34.6 °C
94 F
31.4 °C
89 F
31 °C
88 F
 
Maximum: 56 °C = 133 F
Average: 43.1 °C = 110 F
49.4 °C
121 F
60.6 °C
141 F
38.8 °C
102 F
33.6 °C
92 F
49.6 °C
121 F
41.8 °C
107 F
30.8 °C
87 F
34.8 °C
95 F
36 °C
97 F
Maximum: 60.6 °C = 141 F
Average: 41.7 °C = 107 F
Power Supply (max.)  54 °C = 129 F | Room Temperature 20 °C = 68 F | Fluke 62 Mini IR Thermometer
(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 43.1 °C / 110 F, compared to the average of 31.2 °C / 88 F for the devices in the class Multimedia.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 56 °C / 133 F, compared to the average of 36.9 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21.1 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 60.6 °C / 141 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.2 °C / 81 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(-) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 39.4 °C / 103 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (34.6 °C / 94.3 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (-5.8 °C / -10.5 F).
System idle (top)
System idle (top)
System idle (bottom)
System idle (bottom)
Witcher 3 stress (top)
Witcher 3 stress (top)
Witcher 3 stress (bottom)
Witcher 3 stress (bottom)
Maximum stress (top)
Maximum stress (top)
Maximum stress (bottom)
Maximum stress (bottom)

Stress Test - Strange Throttling Behavior

We stress the laptop to identify for any potential throttling or stability issues. When running Prime95, CPU clock rates can be observed running at up to 3.6 GHz for the first few seconds until core temperature reaches 92 C. Thereafter, clock rates drop to the 3.0 to 3.2 GHz range in order to maintain a core temperature in the 90 C to 95 C range. After about 4.5 minutes, however, clock rate and temperature will fluctuate between 0.8 and 3.3 GHz and 67 C and 95 C, respectively. This throttling behavior is strange because it does not occur during the CineBench stress test above and yet it occurs here on Prime95 even after repeat runs. We'll re-confirm our throttling observations with a second Prestige 15 unit soon.

Running Witcher 3 results in stable CPU and GPU temperatures of 85 C and 80 C, respectively, which is warmer than what we observed on the more powerful XPS 15 7590 when under similar conditions. The CPU and GPU may be low-power processors, but their running temperatures are anything but.

Running on battery power will limit performance. A Fire Strike run on batteries returns Physics and Graphics scores of 8865 and 7323 points, respectively, compared to 15892 and 7774 points when on mains.

System idle
System idle
Witcher 3 stress
Witcher 3 stress
Prime95 stress
Prime95 stress
Prime95+FurMark stress
Prime95+FurMark stress
CPU Clock (GHz) GPU Clock (MHz) Average CPU Temperature (°C) Average GPU Temperature (°C)
System Idle -- -- 35 35
Prime95 Stress 0.8 - 3.3 67 - 95 56
Prime95 + FurMark Stress 2.2 1185 85 77
Witcher 3 Stress 3.9 1680 85 80

Speakers

Audio quality is decent with just average bass reproduction to be good enough for conference calls but lacking for multimedia playback. Louder volume settings will cause the palm rests to vibrate slightly to the touch.

Stereo 2 W speakers near front corners
Stereo 2 W speakers near front corners
broad pink noise graph shows a steady roll off beginning at about 1k Hz
broad pink noise graph shows a steady roll off beginning at about 1k Hz
dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs204145.32549.850.43149.751.24045.4465040.945.16338.245.88038.245.610036.945.912537.247.216036.549.220034.951.72503453.931532.858.840032.461.850032.16363030.967.28003073100029.467.3125029.570.4160028.968.4200028.371250027.769.731502767.1400026.565500026.664630026.566.8800026.265.31000026.161.11250025.960.91600025.955SPL40.980.1N4.248median 29.4median 64Delta2.96.435.335.132.931.831.83236.535.132.428.93328.936.328.848.32761.52752.924.860.92462.822.763.32269.521.267.82174.82075.919.472.718.97117.770.117.86917.671.817.668.117.671.417.673.717.670.417.571.617.671.617.669.617.459.717.583.630.662.51.5median 69.6median 17.84.72.4hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseMSI Prestige 15 A10SCApple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz
Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC audio analysis

(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (80.1 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 12.8% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (6.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.6% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (10% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.4% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (6.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (20.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 63% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 28% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 47% of all tested devices were better, 9% similar, 45% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 11.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (14.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (10.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 5% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 93% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 3% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 96% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Energy Management

Power Consumption

Idling on desktop will demand anywhere between 6 W and 20 W depending on the brightness level and power profile to be not unlike what we discovered on the P65 Creator. The more interesting results come when running higher loads like gaming. Idling on Witcher 3 consumes just 74 W compared to 94 W on the Dell G3 3590 gaming laptop with GTX 1650 graphics or 124 W on the Lenovo Legion Y7000 with GTX 1060 graphics. The performance-per-Watt is impressive for a laptop that pairs an ULV CPU with a Max-Q GPU.

When running Prime95, consumption spikes to 90 W for the first few minutes as shown by our graph below. After a while, however, consumption would cycle between 40 W and 90 W instead of steadily decreasing like on most other laptops. This undesirable behavior matches our Prime95 Stress Test observations above where clock rates would cycle between 1.1 GHz and 3.3 GHz.

At most, we're able to record a consumption of 92 W when running both Prime95 and FurMark simultaneously from the small-medium (~13 x 6 x 2.8 cm) 90 W AC adapter. Keep in mind that recharging will grind to a halt when running high loads simultaneously.

Prime95 initiated at 10s mark. Consumption spikes to 90 W for the first 4 minutes before alternating between 40 W and 90 W
Prime95 initiated at 10s mark. Consumption spikes to 90 W for the first 4 minutes before alternating between 40 W and 90 W
Prime95+FurMark initiated at 10s mark. Consumption remains relatively constant
Prime95+FurMark initiated at 10s mark. Consumption remains relatively constant
3DMark 06 stress
3DMark 06 stress
Witcher 3 stress
Witcher 3 stress
Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.79 / 1.5 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 6.1 / 13.2 / 19.2 Watt
Load midlight 75 / 89.7 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
i7-10710U, GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR, IPS, 3840x2160, 15.60
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
R5 3580U, Vega 9, SK hynix BC501 HFM256GDGTNG, IPS, 2496x1664, 15.00
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
i7-8565U, GeForce MX250, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV512G, aSi IPS LED, 1920x1080, 15.60
Dell Latitude 5500
i7-8665U, UHD Graphics 620, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV1T02, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
HP EliteBook 755 G5 3UN79EA
R7 2700U, Vega 10, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
i9-9880H, GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, 2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0), IPS, 3840x2160, 15.60
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
E-2176M, Quadro P2000, SK hynix PC400 512 GB, IGZO, 3840x2160, 15.60
Power Consumption
46%
29%
40%
33%
-53%
-24%
Idle Minimum *
6.1
3.3
46%
4.1
33%
4.4
28%
5
18%
9.4
-54%
9.8
-61%
Idle Average *
13.2
7.1
46%
8.3
37%
6.9
48%
10.6
20%
17.4
-32%
16.8
-27%
Idle Maximum *
19.2
7.2
62%
11.8
39%
7.7
60%
12.9
33%
19.6
-2%
16.9
12%
Load Average *
75
44.8
40%
61.6
18%
43.6
42%
40.6
46%
103
-37%
102.3
-36%
Witcher 3 ultra *
74
45.1
39%
54.4
26%
76.5
-3%
Load Maximum *
89.7
53
41%
69.4
23%
69.1
23%
46.6
48%
216
-141%
114.5
-28%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life - Versatile USB Type-C Charger

90 W USB Type-C charger
90 W USB Type-C charger

Battery capacity is identical to the P65 Creator at 82 Wh. Runtimes are longer than what we recorded on the P65 since the latter utilizes more powerful components.  Users can expect about 7.5 hours of real-world WLAN use when running on battery power.

Recharging from empty to full capacity takes about 1.5 hours when under low or undemanding processing loads.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
19h 07min
WiFi Websurfing
7h 36min
Load (maximum brightness)
2h 05min
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC
i7-10710U, GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, 82 Wh
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 Ryzen 5 3580U
R5 3580U, Vega 9, 45 Wh
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE
i7-8565U, GeForce MX250, 57 Wh
Dell Latitude 5500
i7-8665U, UHD Graphics 620, 68 Wh
HP EliteBook 755 G5 3UN79EA
R7 2700U, Vega 10, 56 Wh
MSI P65 Creator 9SF-657
i9-9880H, GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, 82 Wh
Dell Precision 5530 Xeon E-2176M
E-2176M, Quadro P2000, 97 Wh
Battery Runtime
0%
53%
61%
-17%
-40%
-5%
Reader / Idle
1147
1121
-2%
715
-38%
577
-50%
991
-14%
WiFi v1.3
456
546
20%
628
38%
736
61%
499
9%
357
-22%
501
10%
Load
125
102
-18%
209
67%
99
-21%
65
-48%
110
-12%

Pros

+ included USB Type-C docking station and faux leather sleeve
+ excellent 4K UHD matte display; deltaE <2 out of the box
+ Easy serviceability; 2x M.2 2280 + 2x SODIMM
+ relatively quiet under low-medium loads
+ universal USB Type-C charger
+ lightweight and sleek design
+ great gaming performance
+ wide clickpad surface area
+ respectable battery life
+ no DPC latency issues
+ 2x Thunderbolt 3
+ Wi-Fi 6 standard

Cons

- slow black-white response times; noticeable ghosting
- no Kensington Lock or integrated full-size SD reader
- high CPU and GPU temperatures when under load
- CPU throttling when under 100 percent utilization
- servicing requires tearing a factory seal sticker
- base and lid could be more rigid
- key feedback could be stronger
- no Windows Hello or IR camera
- no HDMI 2.0; HDMI 1.4 only
- fans will never idle
- spongy clickpad

Verdict - Awesome with a Few Nicks

MSI Prestige 15 A10SC. Test model provided by MSI
MSI Prestige 15 A10SC. Test model provided by MSI

(November 14, 2019 update: We're unable to reproduce the CPU throttling behavior on a second Prestige 15 unit. Clock rates and core temperature would stabilize at 2.8 GHz and 95 C, respectively, on the second unit. Core temperatures are nonetheless higher than we would like when under such high loads. We recommend keeping your system up to date through the MSI Drivers and App Center and keeping an eye on the CPU temperature if running it at 100 percent utilization.)

The Prestige 15 is proof that MSI can do more than just gaming products. It's arguably just as visually appealing as the XPS 15, ZenBook 15, or Spectre x360 15 while being lighter and generally more versatile for travel because of its USB Type-C charger. The hexa-core Comet Lake-U CPU works very well as an alternative to quad-core Coffee Lake-H provided that the programs you run can fully exploit the six physical cores available. Meanwhile, the 4K UHD display is brighter and more accurate out of the box than what most 15.6-inch Ultrabooks have to offer including the aforementioned Asus and HP. Fan noise is less likely to pulse during higher loads as well when compared to Ultrabooks with more demanding Intel H-series processors.

There's still a lot that MSI can do to make the Prestige 15 even better. The lack of both a Kensington Lock and IR camera, for example, are strange omissions on a high-end office laptop. The case could be made more rigid as it doesn't feel as strong as the flagships from Dell or HP. CPU throttling when under 100 percent utilization could be handled better. Even though the system uses both an ULV Intel CPU and Max-Q Nvidia GPU, core temperatures are still very warm when under load. keyboard and clickpad feedback in particular could be crisper and less spongy.

The MSI Prestige 15 strikes an excellent balance between weight, display quality, CPU performance, GPU performance, and port options. Chassis rigidity, keyboard and clickpad feedback, CPU throttling, and some missing security features could hopefully be addressed on future revisions.

MSI Prestige 15 A10SC - 11/14/2019 v7
Allen Ngo

Chassis
79 / 98 → 80%
Keyboard
76%
Pointing Device
89%
Connectivity
63 / 80 → 79%
Weight
67 / 20-72 → 91%
Battery
77 / 95 → 81%
Display
89%
Games Performance
82 / 90 → 92%
Application Performance
86 / 90 → 96%
Temperature
79%
Noise
88 / 95 → 92%
Audio
82%
Camera
35 / 85 → 41%
Average
76%
85%
Multimedia - Weighted Average

Pricecompare

Read all 41 comments / answer
static version load dynamic
Loading Comments
Comment on this article
Please share our article, every link counts!
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > MSI Prestige 15 A10SC Laptop Review: One of the Best Dell XPS 15 Alternatives
Allen Ngo, 2019-11-12 (Update: 2019-12-16)