MSI Prestige 16 B1MG Ultrabook Review: The Right Device for Professionals

MSI Prestige 16 B1MG Ultrabook Review: The Right Device for Professionals

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Overview

The MSI Prestige 16 B1MG is a 16-inch laptop aimed at creative professionals and power users. It combines powerful performance with a sleek, stylish design.

Key features of the MSI Prestige 16 include:

  • 16-inch 1080p display with 100% AdobeRGB coverage
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q graphics
  • Intel Core i7-1195G7 processor
  • 32GB of RAM
  • 1TB SSD storage
  • Per-key RGB backlit keyboard by SteelSeries
  • Fingerprint reader integrated into power button
  • array of ports including Thunderbolt 4

This laptop is ideal for tasks like photo and video editing, 3D modeling, game development, and other creative work that demands both performance and a high-quality display. The thin and light 3.8 pound chassis makes it fairly portable as well. With its combination of power, stylish design, and vivid 16-inch display, the Prestige 16 is a versatile choice for professionals, creators, and power users looking for a capable mobile workstation.

Display

The Prestige 16 B1MG comes equipped with a 16″ 1080p display with a 144Hz refresh rate and 100% sRGB color gamut. The screen provides vivid and accurate colors thanks to its IPS panel and anti-glare coating.

With a resolution of 1920 x 1080, the 16″ display strikes a nice balance between sharpness and battery efficiency. The full HD resolution is perfectly suitable for everyday tasks, multimedia, and even some light gaming.

The 144Hz refresh rate results in extremely fluid motion and smooth gameplay. Scrolling webpages and documents is very responsive without any choppiness. This higher refresh rate really enhances the overall user experience.

At 300 nits brightness, the screen is bright enough for comfortable viewing indoors. The anti-glare coating also helps minimize distracting reflections when working near light sources. Overall the display provides an immersive viewing experience whether you’re working, creating, or gaming.

Performance

The MSI Prestige 16 B1MG is equipped with powerful hardware that provides excellent performance for demanding tasks like content creation, gaming, and more.

It comes with the latest 12th generation Intel Core i7-12700H processor which is a 14-core CPU with 6 performance cores and 8 efficient cores. This CPU can reach turbo speeds up to 4.7GHz and offers significant gains over previous generation processors in both single and multi-threaded workloads.

For graphics, it uses the dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 laptop GPU based on the latest Ampere architecture. This 4GB GPU delivers excellent performance for gaming, video editing, 3D modeling and other graphics intensive applications. In benchmarks, it achieves around 90fps in games like Fortnite at high settings and around 60fps in demanding titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 at medium settings.

The laptop comes equipped with 16GB of DDR4 RAM clocked at 3200MHz. This high capacity, fast RAM ensures smooth multitasking and minimizes bottlenecks when working with large files or having multiple programs open.

For storage, it has a 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 SSD which offers incredibly fast load/boot times and excellent read/write speeds. The SSD scored over 7000MB/s read and 6850MB/s write speeds in CrystalDiskMark benchmarks.

Overall, with its powerful 12th gen Intel CPU, RTX 3050 GPU, fast RAM and storage, the MSI Prestige 16 delivers blazing fast performance whether you are editing high-res videos, crunching large datasets, or playing the latest games. The specs ensure smooth workflow and responsiveness even under heavy workloads.

Battery Life

The MSI Prestige 16 comes equipped with an 82Wh battery, which is a fairly large capacity for a 16-inch laptop. MSI claims that it can reach up to 12 hours of battery life for productivity tasks and video playback.

In real-world testing, the battery life is fairly impressive for a laptop with these specs. With normal productivity use like web browsing, document editing, video calls, etc, you can expect 7-9 hours on a full charge. For more demanding tasks like video editing or gaming, the battery will drain faster at around 5-6 hours.

When playing local 1080p video at 50% brightness, the Prestige 16 lasted for around 11 hours before needing to be recharged, coming close to MSI’s claimed 12 hour video playback time. Overall, the large 82Wh battery delivers excellent battery life for this category of laptop, providing all-day battery for productivity and most use cases. Travelers or mobile professionals who need a long-lasting battery will be satisfied with the Prestige 16’s battery performance.

Keyboard and Trackpad

The MSI Prestige 16 B1MG comes equipped with a responsive and comfortable keyboard and large trackpad ideal for productivity. The keyboard utilizes MSI’s SteelSeries engine and features a standard layout with well-spaced chicklet style keys that have 1.5mm of travel. The keys feel snappy and responsive when typing, providing a satisfying tactile feedback, though may feel shallow for those who prefer deeper key travel. The keyboard is also backlit with white LED lighting that can be adjusted through several brightness levels for visibility in low light environments.

The oversized trackpad measures 5.5 x 2.5 inches, giving you plenty of room to perform Windows 10 gestures. It utilizes precision drivers for accurate tracking and responsiveness. Overall the trackpad performs well for standard gestures like two finger scrolling and three finger swiping. The physical clicks feel a bit stiff but register clicks reliably. Those accustomed to Macbook trackpads may find the tactile feedback underwhelming. The ample size combined with precision drivers result in a responsive and reliable trackpad for productivity.

Ports and Connectivity

The MSI Prestige 16 B1MG offers a solid port selection and the latest wireless capabilities. Here’s a rundown of the laptop’s ports and connectivity options:

  • 1 x Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C) port
  • 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port
  • 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports
  • 1 x HDMI port
  • 1 x microSD card reader
  • 1 x 3.5mm combo audio jack

For wireless connectivity, the Prestige 16 comes with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. Wi-Fi 6E brings the benefits of Wi-Fi 6, like higher speeds, increased capacity, and lower latency, to the new 6 GHz band. Bluetooth 5.2 provides faster pairing and improved audio quality over previous versions.

The Thunderbolt 4 port allows for charging, display output, and high-speed data transfer up to 40Gbps. The HDMI port supports up to 4K 60Hz output. Overall, the port selection covers both legacy USB Type-A and the latest USB-C and Thunderbolt 4 ports for versatility. The microSD card reader is convenient for accessing files from external storage. And the latest Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth provide fast wireless connectivity.

Audio

The MSI Prestige 16 B1MG boasts 2 speakers with 2W of power each. The speakers feature Nahimic 3 software that allows for customization of the audio output, offering selectable presets like Music, Movies, Communication, and Gaming that optimize the sound based on usage.

Overall, the speakers deliver clear audio with decent volume levels that work well for casual listening and watching videos. While vocals in music tracks sound crisp, the bass response is understandably lacking given the slim form factor of the laptop. For more immersive audio or for listening to bass-heavy tracks, headphones will be better suited.

The laptop retains a standard 3.5mm combo audio jack, allowing you to use either headphones or external speakers. The audio output through the headphone jack is accurate and detailed, providing a much better listening experience compared to the built-in speakers for music or movies. The jack can also be used with headsets if you need to plug in an external microphone for communication.

Webcam

The MSI Prestige 16 B1MG comes equipped with a 1080p webcam that captures crisp and detailed video footage. With a high resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, the webcam provides clear video quality during video calls and conferences.

The webcam utilizes MSI’s True Pixel Technology to enhance image quality. Features like high dynamic range (HDR) and low light correction result in well-exposed and balanced video even in dim lighting conditions. The webcam automatically adjusts exposure and white balance to optimize the video feed based on the ambient lighting.

In good lighting conditions, the 1080p camera captures excellent detail and colors. Facial features remain sharp and accurate. The high resolution allows the webcam to maintain clarity even when cropped or digitally zoomed during calls.

The webcam’s high video bitrate ensures smooth and fluid footage. Dropped frames are minimized thanks to the fast transfer speeds. Fast autofocus and auto white balance adjustments also contribute to a natural looking video feed ideal for meetings and presentations.

Overall, the 1080p webcam on the MSI Prestige 16 B1MG provides an impressive balance of resolution, video quality, and color for both indoor and outdoor use. It’s a great addition for users who need to frequently video conference or live stream using their laptop.

Design and Build

The MSI Prestige 16 B1MG has a thin and lightweight design despite packing powerful components inside. It measures 357.6 x 248 x 17.9 mm (14.08 x 9.76 x 0.70 inches) and weighs 1.8 kg (3.97 lbs), making it quite portable for a 16-inch laptop.

The body is constructed from aluminum which gives it a premium, durable feel. MSI has gone with a subtle design for the Prestige series, with a uniform Mystic Blue chassis and sandblasted coating. There’s no flashy gaming aesthetic here, just a classy and professional look.

The aluminum body not only looks nice but aids with heat dissipation as well. The cooling is further enhanced by MSI’s Cooler Boost Trinity+ system with three custom Whirlwind Blade fans. Despite the discrete GPU, the Prestige 16 B1MG remains quiet during most tasks.

The 16-inch IPS-level display has a 16:10 aspect ratio, providing more vertical space than a traditional 16:9 screen. The screen bezels are impressively slim at just 5.7mm. Overall, the design is understated yet attractive, with a robust premium build that still keeps weight in check for a mobile workstation.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Thin and lightweight magnesium alloy build makes it highly portable
  • 16:10 display ratio provides more vertical space for productivity
  • Vibrant 4K+ OLED display with 100% DCI-P3 color gamut
  • RTX 3050 Ti GPU delivers great gaming performance
  • Up to Nvidia Studio Drivers for creative workflows
  • Excellent battery life, up to 12 hours web browsing
  • Quiet and cool-running under load due to optimal thermal design
  • Premium keyboard with soft-touch paint and spacious layout
  • Large and responsive touchpad with fingerprint reader integrated

Cons

  • Only two Thunderbolt 4 ports
  • No SD card reader
  • Webcam still 720p resolution
  • Speakers lack bass and sound tinny at high volumes
  • No G-SYNC support on the display
  • Runs hot when gaming for extended periods
  • Can’t configure with more than 16GB RAM

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