MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo Convertible Review: A Timeless Design
Known for its wide range of gaming laptops, MSI has been branching out to other categories as of late with its mobile workstations and Core U-powered Ultrabooks like the Modern and Prestige series. The latest is the high-end Summit series targeting prosumers willing to pay a bit extra for a more luxurious design and user experience. MSI announced a handful of models late last year including the 13.4-inch Summit E13 Flip, 14-inch Summit B14 and E14, and 15.6-inch Summit B15 and E15.
The model we'll be looking at here is the Summit E13 Flip convertible retailing for about $1600 to $1900 USD depending on the storage and RAM configuration. All SKUs at the moment otherwise come with the same Core i7-1185G7 CPU and 16:10 1200p IPS touchscreen. Direct competitors include other high-end convertible subnotebooks like the Dell XPS 13 9310 2-in-1, Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga, Asus ZenBook Flip S, or the HP Spectre x360 13 or Spectre x360 14.
More MSI reviews:
potential competitors in comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86.9 % v7 (old) | 04 / 2021 | MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT i7-1185G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.4 kg | 14.9 mm | 13.40" | 1920x1200 | |
| 86.3 % v7 (old) | 10 / 2019 | Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7 i7-1065G7, Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU) | 1.3 kg | 13 mm | 13.40" | 1920x1200 | |
| 89.4 % v7 (old) | 12 / 2020 | HP Spectre x360 14t-ea000 i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.3 kg | 17.2 mm | 13.50" | 1920x1280 | |
| 87.8 % v7 (old) | 03 / 2021 | Huawei MateBook X Pro 2021 i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.3 kg | 14.6 mm | 13.90" | 3000x2000 | |
| 87.3 % v7 (old) | 04 / 2021 | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE i7-1160G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.2 kg | 11.5 mm | 13.50" | 2256x1504 | |
| 84.1 % v7 (old) | 01 / 2021 | Asus Zenbook 14 UX435EG i7-1165G7, GeForce MX450 | 1.3 kg | 16.9 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 |
Case
The matte ash-colored surfaces and bronze-colored trims contrast the light gray Modern and Prestige series from MSI. In fact, the overall aesthetic and colors are very close to what HP offers through its Spectre series. Even the sharp, italicized MSI logo on the outer lid and rear "diamond-cut" corners look a lot like the latest Spectre laptops. This isn't a snub at MSI or anything as we're simply sharing our initial observations of the Summit design.
Base rigidity is excellent with only minimal warping and no creaking when twisting its corners or pressing down on the keyboard center. The lid, however, flexes a bit more than on the Dell XPS 13 or HP Spectre x360 13 for a slightly weaker impression. The hinges are our least favorite aspect of the Summit E13 Flip as they feel weak especially once you go past 140 degrees. The lid tends to teeter when adjusting angles as well.
As nice as it may look, the Summit E13 Flip isn't the smallest in its category. The system is still larger in length and width than both the XPS 13 2-in-1 and Spectre x360 14 even though the latter offers a slightly larger 13.5-inch display. It's also a bit heavier by about 100 g or even 200 g when compared to the Lenovo X1 Titanium Yoga. This isn't to say that the MSI isn't lightweight or portable, but there are certainly better options available in this regard.
Connectivity
Port options are respectable for the category as there are more options here than on the HP Spectre x360 14 or Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1. Most notably, the system comes with three USB-C ports for compatibility with multiple adapters. Note that Power Delivery and DisplayPort are only compatible on the USB-C ports along the left edge while the USB-C port on the right edge supports neither.
A bizarre feature of the MSI laptop is that it has two camera kill switches: one on the keyboard and one along the right edge. It would have been simpler to just have one kill switch to avoid fumbling around with two different switches.
SD Card Reader
Unlike on most other laptops, accessing the MicroSD reader on the Summit E13 Flip requires a SIM pick to be somewhat of a hassle. Transfer rates are also slower than expected at less than half that of the Spectre x360 14 or XPS 13.
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| HP Spectre x360 14t-ea000 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 32GB) | |
| Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Asus Zenbook 14 UX435EG (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| HP Spectre x360 14t-ea000 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 32GB) | |
| Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Asus Zenbook 14 UX435EG (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
Communication
The system ships with the newer Intel AX210 instead of the AX200/201 for Wi-Fi 6E compatibility. Even so, transfer rates are slower than expected when connected to our Netgear RAX200 test router even after multiple retests.
Killer USB-C Ethernet Adapter - Upgrade to a stable connection
Despite advances in wireless networking, Ethernet is still the top choice for gamers and power users. The Killer 2.5G Ethernet to USB-C Adapter enables seamless Ethernet connectivity with full 2.5 Gbps throughput. It also brings the best of Killer technologies including the much acclaimed Killer Prioritization Engine, GameFast, Extreme Mode, and Intelligence Engine that ensure your favorite game or app gets the bandwidth and priority it deserves. For laptops already equipped with a Killer wireless card, Killer DoubleShot Pro offers bandwidth doubling and fine-grained control over network packets passing through each connection.
In our testing, the Killer 2.5G Ethernet Adapter lived up to the advertised speeds consistently throughout testing. You can read more about performance comparison with other USB Ethernet Adapters in our article.
The Killer 2.5G Ethernet to USB-C adapter can be purchased on Amazon for US$ 49.99
Webcam
Maintenance
The bottom panel is secured by just four Philips screws. However, keep in mind that a 'factory seal' sticker must be broken and that the two rear screws are hidden underneath the rubber feet. Thus, it's more difficult to service the Summit E13 Flip when compared to most other laptops from MSI.
Only the single M.2 2280 slot is upgradeable since both RAM and WLAN are soldered.
Accessories and Warranty
The packaging includes an active MSI pen and protective carrying sleeve alongside the usual paperwork. A cleaning cloth is not included.
The standard one-year limited warranty applies with additional protection if ordered from Xotic PC.
Input Devices
Keyboard
Key layout is brand new for the Summit series. The full-size directional keys, PgUp, PgDn, and Delete keys on the Prestige 14, for example, are now much smaller on the Summit E13 Flip. The Ctrl key is also squished with the "\" key which makes it annoying to use.
Travel is shallow and key feedback is on the light side when compared to the firmer and deeper keys of the HP Spectre. MSI isn't offering anything particularly innovative or special in this regard as the typing experience here is comparable to mid-range Ultrabooks like the Asus VivoBook.
Touchpad
The wide clickpad is slightly larger than the clickpad on the HP Spectre x360 13 (~12 x 6 cm vs. 11.1 x 5.6 cm). Its surface is completely smooth and textureless with just a bit of sticking when gliding at slower speeds. Cursor control feels more responsive than on most other subnotebooks due to the native 120 Hz refresh rate of the display.
The integrated mouse buttons have moderate feedback and relatively quiet clatter when pressed. Though there's nothing particularly wrong about the way the mouse buttons have been implemented, we personally would have preferred firmer and louder feedback for more satisfying clicks.
Display
The screen is bright at over 500 nits with both excellent contrast and colors that rival the 13.4-inch touchscreen of the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1. In fact, both laptops are using very similar Sharp panels (LQ134N1JW53 vs. LQ134N1) which would explain their similar innate characteristics.
The big differentiating factor between the MSI and most other subnotebooks like the Dell XPS 13 is its 120 Hz native refresh rate for ultra-smooth movements. Black-white and gray-gray response times, however, are unfortunately much slower as a consequence for more noticeable ghosting.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 91 %
Center on Battery: 551.3 cd/m²
Contrast: 1490:1 (Black: 0.37 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 1.45 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.91, calibrated: 1.7
ΔE Greyscale 1.3 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
99% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
65% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
70.6% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
98.8% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
69.8% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.14
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT Sharp LQ134N1JW53, IPS, 13.4", 1920x1200 | Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7 Sharp LQ134N1, IPS, 13.4", 1920x1200 | HP Spectre x360 14t-ea000 LG Philips LGD0663, IPS, 13.5", 1920x1280 | Huawei MateBook X Pro 2021 TIANMA XM, IPS, 13.9", 3000x2000 | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE LPM135M467, IPS, 13.5", 2256x1504 | Asus Zenbook 14 UX435EG Au Optronics B140HAN03.2, IPS, 14", 1920x1080 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 0% | -4% | -6% | -11% | ||
| Display P3 Coverage | 69.8 | 69.9 0% | 65.8 -6% | 64.9 -7% | 60.9 -13% | |
| sRGB Coverage | 98.8 | 99.2 0% | 98.2 -1% | 94.4 -4% | 90.4 -9% | |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 70.6 | 71.5 1% | 67.9 -4% | 66.3 -6% | 62.3 -12% | |
| Response Times | 30% | 7% | 41% | 31% | 38% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 64 ? | 47.6 ? 26% | 62 ? 3% | 37.6 ? 41% | 53.6 ? 16% | 39 ? 39% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 44 ? | 29.2 ? 34% | 39.6 ? 10% | 26.4 ? 40% | 24 ? 45% | 28 ? 36% |
| PWM Frequency | 2500 ? | |||||
| Screen | -15% | -26% | -4% | -17% | -85% | |
| Brightness middle | 551.3 | 549.8 0% | 443.5 -20% | 502 -9% | 466 -15% | 323 -41% |
| Brightness | 517 | 520 1% | 394 -24% | 474 -8% | 454 -12% | 313 -39% |
| Brightness Distribution | 91 | 86 -5% | 78 -14% | 89 -2% | 94 3% | 80 -12% |
| Black Level * | 0.37 | 0.39 -5% | 0.17 54% | 0.33 11% | 0.23 38% | 0.36 3% |
| Contrast | 1490 | 1410 -5% | 2609 75% | 1521 2% | 2026 36% | 897 -40% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 1.45 | 2.12 -46% | 2.7 -86% | 1.35 7% | 2.1 -45% | 4.86 -235% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 2.86 | 3.66 -28% | 4.36 -52% | 3.67 -28% | 4.5 -57% | 7.52 -163% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 1.7 | 1.37 19% | 2.61 -54% | 1.2 29% | 3.64 -114% | |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 1.3 | 2.6 -100% | 3.4 -162% | 1.7 -31% | 2.7 -108% | 4.83 -272% |
| Gamma | 2.14 103% | 2.3 96% | 2.09 105% | 2.24 98% | 2.08 106% | 2.64 83% |
| CCT | 6580 99% | 6884 94% | 6144 106% | 6440 101% | 6210 105% | 7405 88% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 65 | 65.4 1% | 62.1 -4% | 61.1 -6% | 61.1 -6% | 57.5 -12% |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 99 | 99.7 1% | 98.5 -1% | 94.3 -5% | 94.9 -4% | 90.3 -9% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 5% /
-7% | -8% /
-18% | 10% /
2% | 7% /
-9% | -19% /
-56% |
* ... smaller is better
Color space covers all of sRGB and not any larger much like on most other high-end Ultrabooks. OLED would have offered even deeper colors approaching DCI-P3, but such a panel option is not available on the MSI.
X-Rite colorimeter measurements show a well-calibrated display out of the box with average DeltaE grayscale and ColorChecker values of just 1.3 and 1.45, respectively. An end-user calibrated is not necessary.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 44 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 22 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 22 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. » 98 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (20.9 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 64 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 30.8 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 33.2 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 97 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (32.8 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8705 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Glare is unavoidable if working outdoors because of the glossy overlay and bright or overcast days will still wash out the screen. Fortunately, the screen is bright enough to mitigate much of the glare when working under shade. Outdoor visibility is most similar to the XPS 13 2-in-1 as both have similar maximum brightness and contrast levels.
Performance
All SKUs at the moment come with the 11th gen Core i7-1185G7 CPU with no other options. It would have been great to see a Core i7-1165G7 configuration for users who might not be interested in vPro. The performance difference between a Core i7-1165G7 and i7-1185G7 is also minimal at best.
Iris Xe graphics comes standard on all SKUs with no discrete options. Our unit was set to High Performance mode via MSI Center prior to running all performance benchmarks below. We recommend owners become familiar with MSI Center as key system settings are toggled here.
Processor
CPU performance is excellent with better Turbo Boost sustainability than many other subnotebooks with the same Tiger Lake-U CPU. For example, the latest Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 and Huawei MateBook X Pro are roughly 13 percent and 25 percent slower, respectively, after accounting for performance throttling on all systems. The competing Ryzen 7 4700U is still the faster processor in multi-threaded loads while being slower in single-threaded applications.
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R15: CPU Single 64Bit | CPU Multi 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 -mmt1 | 7z b 4
Geekbench 5.5: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| Cinebench R23 / Multi Core | |
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 14 G2 ITL 20VD008WGE | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1185G7 (3610 - 6383, n=24) | |
| Huawei MateBook X Pro 2021 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Cinebench R23 / Single Core | |
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1185G7 (1251 - 1532, n=24) | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 14 G2 ITL 20VD008WGE | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Huawei MateBook X Pro 2021 | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TM420IA | |
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT | |
| HP Envy x360 13-ay0010nr | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 14 G2 ITL 20VD008WGE | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1185G7 (5.02 - 8.13, n=27) | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
| Huawei MateBook X Pro 2021 | |
| Asus Zenbook S UX393JA | |
| Samsung Galaxy Book Flex 13.3 | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
| Samsung Galaxy Book Flex 13.3 | |
| Asus Zenbook S UX393JA | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 14 G2 ITL 20VD008WGE | |
| HP Envy x360 13-ay0010nr | |
| Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TM420IA | |
| Huawei MateBook X Pro 2021 | |
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1185G7 (0.55 - 0.615, n=27) | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 ITL | |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
| PCMark 10 Score | 4746 points | |
Help | ||
DPC Latency
LatencyMon reveals DPC latency issues when opening multiple tabs on our homepage. 4K UHD video playback would also result in 4 dropped frames during our minute-long test video.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT | |
| HP Spectre x360 14t-ea000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE | |
| Huawei MateBook X Pro 2021 | |
| Asus Zenbook 14 UX435EG | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
The Summit E13 Flip is one of the few in its size category at the moment to come with a PCIe 4.0 M.2 slot to support speeds of up to two times the typical PCIe 3.0 NVMe drive. Our test unit comes with the same 1 TB Phison PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD as found on the larger Summit E15. This is a mid-range PCIe 4.0 SSD as transfer rates top out at around 5000 MB/s compared to almost 7000 MB/s with the Samsung PM9A1.
Strangely, there is a ramp up time before transfer rates can reach their full potential when running DiskSpd in a loop as shown by the graph below. Our results differ from the aforementioned Summit E15 even after multiple retests.
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT Phison 1TB SM2801T24GKBB4S-E162 | Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7 Toshiba BG4 KBG40ZPZ512G | HP Spectre x360 14t-ea000 Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ | Huawei MateBook X Pro 2021 Samsung PM981a MZVLB1T0HBLR | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE Toshiba BG4 KBG40ZNT512G | Asus Zenbook 14 UX435EG Samsung PM981a MZVLB1T0HBLR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS SSD | -144% | -16% | 7% | -45% | 10% | |
| Seq Read | 3789 | 1801 -52% | 2188 -42% | 2794 -26% | 1898 -50% | 2861 -24% |
| Seq Write | 2257 | 1125 -50% | 1320 -42% | 2385 6% | 1065 -53% | 2837 26% |
| 4K Read | 54.2 | 39.7 -27% | 53.5 -1% | 60.7 12% | 58 7% | 60.3 11% |
| 4K Write | 78.7 | 67 -15% | 123.7 57% | 180.8 130% | 200.7 155% | 164.2 109% |
| 4K-64 Read | 1330 | 1253 -6% | 1010 -24% | 1768 33% | 580 -56% | 1598 20% |
| 4K-64 Write | 2038 | 209 -90% | 1808 -11% | 1800 -12% | 779 -62% | 1572 -23% |
| Access Time Read * | 0.042 | 0.069 -64% | 0.055 -31% | 0.037 12% | 0.052 -24% | 0.046 -10% |
| Access Time Write * | 0.04 | 0.625 -1463% | 0.076 -90% | 0.073 -83% | 0.16 -300% | 0.021 47% |
| Score Read | 1763 | 1472 -17% | 1282 -27% | 2108 20% | 828 -53% | 1945 10% |
| Score Write | 2343 | 388 -83% | 2063 -12% | 2219 -5% | 1087 -54% | 2020 -14% |
| Score Total | 4938 | 2583 -48% | 3970 -20% | 5392 9% | 2316 -53% | 4966 1% |
| Copy ISO MB/s | 2270 | 1293 -43% | 1644 -28% | 2065 -9% | 1659 -27% | 2414 6% |
| Copy Program MB/s | 670 | 560 -16% | 920 37% | 734 10% | 519 -23% | 575 -14% |
| Copy Game MB/s | 1525 | 927 -39% | 1725 13% | 1629 7% | 872 -43% | 1408 -8% |
| CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | -43% | -28% | -13% | -30% | -5% | |
| Write 4K | 311.1 | 106.7 -66% | 82.2 -74% | 197.5 -37% | 226.6 -27% | 211.8 -32% |
| Read 4K | 56.6 | 49.94 -12% | 45.7 -19% | 52.9 -7% | 62.8 11% | 50.1 -11% |
| Write Seq | 2397 | 1223 -49% | 2000 -17% | 2174 -9% | 1296 -46% | 2938 23% |
| Read Seq | 2277 | 1801 -21% | 2206 -3% | 2156 -5% | 1445 -37% | 2639 16% |
| Write 4K Q32T1 | 803 | 325.3 -59% | 451.2 -44% | 632 -21% | 545 -32% | 656 -18% |
| Read 4K Q32T1 | 849 | 551 -35% | 351 -59% | 694 -18% | 687 -19% | 723 -15% |
| Write Seq Q32T1 | 2410 | 1224 -49% | 2982 24% | 3017 25% | 1483 -38% | 3022 25% |
| Read Seq Q32T1 | 4954 | 2350 -53% | 3529 -29% | 3561 -28% | 2334 -53% | 3561 -28% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -94% /
-107% | -22% /
-20% | -3% /
0% | -38% /
-40% | 3% /
4% |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
Raw graphics performance is excellent as 3DMark results are consistently at least 10 percent higher than the average Iris Xe 96 EUs in our database. This advantage translates well to real-world games where average frame rates are able to edge out most other Core i7 Tiger Lake-U laptops. We suspect that the 32 GB of RAM may be partly responsible here as that is two times more than what Ultrabooks typically come with. Users upgrading from the UHD Graphics 620 or even the Iris Plus G7 will see noticeable gains.
Gaming is possible, but fast-moving games like Overwatch or Rocket League should be avoided on the main screen due to heavy ghosting.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 7330 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 20169 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 5055 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 1783 points | |
Help | ||