About the MSI Modern 15

A view of a shut MSI Modern 15 (2023) in black from above with its accessories laid out next to it. — The MSI Modern 15 has a great 13th gen Intel Core processor, but its RAM is anything but modern.

The MSI Modern 15 is a 15.6-inch productivity laptop with a 13th generation Intel Core processor, DDR4-3200MHz memory modules, and a 1080p display. You can choose between an Intel Core i5, i7, and i9 processor as well as between 512 to 1TB of NVMe SSD storage and 16 to 32 GB of installed memory. MSRP varies between $749 and $999, but the cheapest model has gone on sale as low as $549.

Price as configured: $999
Processor: Intel Core i9-13900H (14-core CPU at 5.4GHz, 6 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores)
Graphics: Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics
Memory: 32GB DDR4-3200 (2 x 16GB) memory
Storage: WD_Black SN770 NVMe M.2 2280 1TB SSD
Display: 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080p, 60Hz, 259 nits max (measured), 45% NTSC (rated), 39.6% DCI-P3 (measured), 55.9% sRGB (measured)
Webcam: 720p webcam
Ports: 3 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port, 1 x 3.5mm headphone/microphone jack, 1 x HDMI 2.1 port, 1 x microSD port
Connectivity: Intel WiFi 6E AX211 (2x2), Bluetooth 5.3
Battery: 53Whr battery
Weight: 4.18 pounds
Dimensions: 14.13" x 9.49" x 0.78"
Warranty: 1-year limited warranty

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What we like

Keyboard and trackpad are comfortable to use

A hand rests on the track pad of the MSI Modern 15 (2023) laptop. — The tactile experience is comfortable, if not spectacular.

A lot of laptops favor smaller tenkeyless layouts over full-size QWERTY keyboards, but there are times when a numpad or extra macro keys speed up spreadsheet cleanup or busy programs like Photoshop. The MSI Modern 15 keeps a numpad in the keyboard layout, and manages to fit it in without making the keyboard feel cramped.

Due to some mushiness, pressing the actual keys isn’t a mind-blowing experience, but there’s enough feedback and tactileness to at least be comfortable for extended typing sessions.

The trackpad gives an experience similar to the Modern 15’s keyboard: good, but not outstanding. It’s a large trackpad (about 5-inches diagonal), and the surface is smooth and responsive. Multi-track gestures are consistently recognized. The plastic surface is a bit of a fingerprint magnet, but it doesn’t affect the texture of the trackpad or its functionality.

Powerful multi-core processor even with its limitations

Close-up of the Intel Core, Intel Iris, and HDMI stickers on the keyboard of the MSI Modern 15 (2023). — There's sufficient power in the MSI Modern 15, especially for single-core tasks.

The MSI Modern 15’s Intel Core i9-13900H is a beast of a processor, with 14 cores that can run up to 5.4GHz on machines that can give it the 115 watts it demands. However, the MSI Modern 15 is capped at 90 watts, so it can’t actually use the Core i9-13900H to its full potential. For most productivity tasks, though, there’s still more than enough performance to work with.

Running our Blender and Cinebench benchmarks was no sweat for the Modern 15. It scored in the 6th percentile for Cinebench R24’s multicore performance test, putting it in 4th place of the dozens of laptops we’ve tested. Its performance in Geekbench 6 and our Blender render test was more modest, scoring in the 28th percentile for both.

Its single-core performance was impressive, with Geekbench 6 scores that put it on par with the Apple MacBook Pro 14 M2 Pro. It also bested our previously best-scoring Windows laptop for productivity, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i. For single core tasks like web browsing, the Modern 15 excels.

The chassis is easy to work with

A person types on the keyboard of the MSI Modern 15 (2023) in black. — Tinkering is made easy with the laptop's relatively accessible chassis.

While the Modern 15 is not as user serviceable as something like the Framework 13, the bottom of its chassis is secured with Philips screws, and the memory modules are discrete from the processor (the Modern 15 supports up to two 32GB SO-DIMM memory modules). Similarly, you can replace the included NVMe SSD storage card with any standard M.2 2280 NVMe SSD card.

To get more performance out of the MSI Modern 15, the included DDR4 memory should be upgraded to DDR5. The Intel Core i9-13900H can support DDR5 up to a speed of 5200MT/s, which is significantly faster than the included DDR4 3200MT/s memory modules in the Modern 15. This all comes at an extra cost of money and time, of course, as the Modern 15 doesn’t have a configuration that includes DDR5.

What we don’t like

The display is a disappointment

Close-up view of the bottom right corner of the MSI Modern 15 (2023) display next to a blue Reviewed checkmark. — The display falls short on brightness and color accuracy.

If you need a laptop with accurate colors and high pixel density, this ain’t it. The 1080p 15.6-inch display is only rated for 45% of the NTSC color spectrum. When we tested the display, it covered 60% of the sRGB color spectrum and 40% of the DCI-P3 color spectrum (which is broader than the sRGB spectrum and similar to the NTSC spectrum).

A peak brightness of 259 nits is just as much of a disappointment as its color gamut. 259 nits is just bright enough to feel comfortable in a well lit office, but sitting against a window or under harsher lighting conditions will make it hard to see what’s on screen. These days, most productivity laptops average about 400 nits of brightness, with the brightest among them—the MacBook Pro 14 M2 Pro—going up to almost a thousand nits. In our testing, the Modern 15 is brighter than only 4 out of over 60 laptops.

Although budget laptops aren’t known for their cutting-edge displays, many laptops under $1,000 do include panels with at least 100% sRGB coverage and 2K resolution, such as the Acer Swift X 14 and HP Dragonfly Pro. Others, like the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED, take it a step further with a gorgeous OLED display that produces perfect black at full screen brightness, delivering excellent contrast.

In a market of laptops that constantly outcompete each other with the latest QLED and OLED technologies and capabilities, a muddy and dim 1080p panel feels like a thing of the past.

Battery life is on the short side

This laptop has about five hours of battery life, which is not the most convenient.

With five hours of battery life, the MSI Modern 15 may not be the most practical laptop to lug around if your days are long and the outlets are scant. However, it’s not an egregiously small battery life for its power. With the power-hungry Intel Core i9-13900H processor, it’s not unusual for other laptops with batteries larger than the MSI Modern 15’s 53Whr battery, such as the Origin Eon 14S, to clock in with about the same battery life or less.

Processor is held back by dated memory and 90W power draw

The Intel Core i9-13900H, with a base power draw of 45 watts, is too power hungry for a laptop that’s meant for frequent travel. A high-efficiency, lower-power processor like the Intel Core i7-1360P would provide most of the processing capabilities of the Modern 15, and its base power draw is 28 watts with a max power draw of 64 watts (a much more appropriate demand in relation to a 90 watt power supply).

The Modern 15 is a great example of why more power doesn’t necessarily make for a better laptop. With DDR4 memory and a 90W maximum power draw, the laptop can’t even come close to using its Core i9-13900H at its peak performance. Laptops with the Core i9-13900H and similar processors are more often found in gaming laptops equipped with massive 200+ watt power adapters and DDR5 memory.

If MSI changed just the processor to something like the Core i7-1360P, the minimal performance drop would be comparable to the currently underpowered Core i9-13900H, plus the laptop would gain quite a bit of battery life from its modestly-sized 53 watt-hour battery (less power draw means more battery life).

Should you buy the MSI Modern 15 Laptop?

No, its outdated display and underpowered processor hold it back

Front, perfectly symmetrical view of a shut MSI Modern 15 (2023) laptop. — The Modern 15 has potential thanks to its powerful processor, but is limited by its display and power capabilities.

Although the $999 Modern 15’s Intel Core i9-13900H processor is impressive on its own, the rest of the laptop holds it back. Its power adapter draws less power than the processor can handle, and the DDR4 modules limit the processor’s memory transfer speeds well below what they could be. If you’re willing to get your hands dirty (and spend a bit extra for the sticks), you can squeeze out a bit more performance with a DIY memory upgrade. But overall, the Modern 15 is still a middling laptop with no standout features.

There are a few laptops under $1,000 with more power draw for better performance or with a better display.The Acer Nitro 5, Acer Swift X 14, and Asus Zenbook 14X OLED laptops push out just as much performance, include faster DDR5 memory, and have better displays and battery life.

Even on sale, it’s tough to recommend the MSI Modern 15 with those other options that surpass its performance, display, or battery life. Choose two, and you’ll be able to find a comparably priced laptop that surpasses the MSI Modern 15 in both aspects. Hopefully, the next iteration of the Modern 15 will usher in current-generation memory modules and higher-resolution displays with better color reproduction.

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The MSI Modern 15 is anything but modern