MSI have a strong grip on the tech market when it comes to its high-end products that never fail to impress, despite hefty price tags often attached to them. The company's new range of laptops going into 2023 have promised MSI's continuing success in the industry and the Stealth 16 Studio A13VF is no exception. In fact, it's one of the more impressive laptops I've had the pleasure of using in recent memory, be it for gaming, business or general personal use.

Disclaimer: This review is based on a pre-retail unit. Final retail unit findings may differ.

Before we dive into the review, here are the specs and basic features you can expect from MSI's Stealth 16 Studio lineup:

Up to 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900H processor

Windows 11 Home / Windows 11 Pro

(MSI recommends Windows 11 Pro for business.)

GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU 8GB GDDR6

NVIDIA GeForce RTX Studio Laptop

The Discrete Graphics mode squeezes the GPU performance to the extreme level
Magnesium-Aluminum Alloy Chassis

16" UHD+(3840 x 2400), 16:10, 120Hz Refresh Rate, 100% DCI-P3 (Typ.), IPS-level panel (Optional)

16" QHD+(2560 x 1600), 16:10, 240Hz Refresh Rate, 100% DCI-P3 (Typ.), IPS-level panel (Optional)

1.99kg & 19.95mm (est.)

6-Speaker Sound System by Dynaudio

Cooler Boost 5 with 2 Fans + 5 Pipes

IR FHD webcam with Webcam Shutter

Per-Key RGB SteelSeries Keyboard

99.9Whr Battery

I received the MSI Stealth 16 Studio's pure white model to review and it's absolutely gorgeous. Sure, the sleek white design kind of undermines the "Stealth" part of the name but it always caught the attention of visitors and has no problem standing out in a crowd. The durable magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis and two-tone blend of crisp white with gold accentuating MSI's logo on the case sounds flashy on paper but the beautiful design ensures that it looks stunning while also remaining kind of low-key on your desk. It's also just a solidly built laptop with a premium attraction factor to it.



On that note, the Stealth 16 Studio is remarkably light as well, coming in at 1.99kg with a 19.95mm ultra-slim frame. Given all of its bells and whistles beneath the surface (we'll get to that in a bit), MSI is becoming exceptionally proficient at designing powerful laptops that are easy on the eyes and light in your hands. The ports on the side of the Stealth 16 Studio contain USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A and Type-C ports, a microSD card reader, DC-in, an audio jack, HDMI 2.1 and the Thunderbolt 4 port for PD Charging support.

MSI is becoming exceptionally proficient at designing powerful laptops that are easy on the eyes and light in your hands.

Once you boot up the laptop, you're immediately greeted with the swirling vortex of RGB lighting on the keyboard (yes, you can adjust it or go for a less extravagant welcome). If anything, its lighting is certainly inviting and kind of mesmerising, though I'm sure it would stand out more on the black models. Small vents dot the sides of the touchpad and above the keys, giving it this almost futuristic/industrial look and feel when combined with the sturdy steel texture holding it all together.



The laptop utilises a 16:10 display to capture that 'Golden Ratio' 1.618 sweet spot and the terrific quality is noticeable right away. Boasting a QHD+ 240 Hz refresh rate, the display is magnificent and takes on a life of its own while gaming. Colours pop and flow thanks to the high refresh rate for buttery smooth visuals whether working, gaming or general usage.

Using the laptop is where I think Stealth earns its name. I'm generally a bit fussy about the noises my laptops make when typing or gaming but in the case of the Stealth 16 Studio, I barely heard a peep. Typing on the keyboard is light to the touch and wonderfully silent. Even the space bar - which is notorious for its loud clacks on most products - didn't assault my ears after every word. Stealth also extends to the core of the laptop itself, utilising quiet fans that efficiently cools the laptop under stress.



Under the hood is where mileage may vary depending on your personal preferences. The Stealth 16 Studio A13VF comes with an Intel Core i7 processor equipped so it's not top-of-the-range, though there are options to go bigger with other (presumably pricier) models. For gaming, it sports a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB GDDR6 which will satisfy most gamers since it has no problem keeping with up modern games, though it just falls of short being the best possible hardware you can get in other, more lavish options on the market. That's worth keeping in mind.

Typing on the keyboard is light to the touch and wonderfully silent.

I ended up thoroughly impressed with a feature in the Stealth 16 Studio that I genuinely did not expect to love: the speakers. Equipped with Dynaudio's world-class sound, the laptop comes with six speakers (2 speakers, 4 woofers) layered on the front, side and back for a pretty stellar surround sound experience. Despite the plethora of speakers, it still kind of faded away when I paired it up with other, more boisterous laptops but the surround sound is definitely something that can be worked on because it's fantastically immersive with its current offering.



If you're planning on using the Stealth 16 Studio for work purposes other than gaming, you're sorted too. The IR FHD type webcam boasts 30fps at 1080p and to be honest, I have yet to hear arguments about the video quality of online meetings lacking higher framerates and resolutions unless you're watching Phil Spencer's background shelves for clues. Windows 11 Home is readily available though it's recommended that you upgrade to Windows 11 Pro for business purposes.

As is expected for the 40 series, the GeForce RTX 4060 shouldn't give you trouble playing most games on the market today.

When it comes to performance, I put the Stealth 16 Studio through the ringer with a few games and benchmark tests via Cinebench. It's fully optimised for high FPS in games and across my tests with Cyberpunk 2077, God of War, Halo Infinite and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, it had no problem hitting 60FPS and above relatively easily on max settings. At 1080p, Halo Infinite hit 102fps while most games hovered around 80-90fps. Bumped up to 2160p 4K, most games balanced at around the 60-70fps mark. God of War on 1080p Ultra averaged 60fps but battled to hit a truly consistent framerate when under pressure, but that was the only notable outlier. As is expected for the 40 series, the GeForce RTX 4060 shouldn't give you trouble playing most games on the market today.



The fan noise was exceptionally quiet while gaming, largely thanks to MSI's Cooler Boost 5 boasting two fans and five heat pipes evenly distributing the cooling of both the CPU and GPU. One thing that I did notice after extensive hours of playing games is that, despite the cooling power, the laptop would moderately heat up but not noticeable enough to make a massive fuss about like other brand laptops boasting similar specs. For the most part, the fans are quiet and the cooling is fantastic.

Finally, there's the cost of it all. According to MSI, you'll be able to pick up the MSI Stealth 16 Studio starting at R55,999. That would absolutely put a dent in your wallet but when stacked up against similarly specced options on the market and for all it boasts, it's not outrageously expensive. MSI has always championed its products as being more affordable options than other brands and it's good to see that's not much of an issue here. Of course, this entirely depends on if you're willing to splurge on a reliable gaming laptop where a PC build may also suffice.



Finally there's the storage. The review unit I received only had a 512GB SSD which is on the fairly lower end, however MSI confirmed that normal configurations of the Stealth that users will be able to buy at retailers will be around 1TB to 2TB by default and will have the opportunity to be upgraded if wanted as the Stealth has 2x M.2 SSD slots.

In the end, The MSI Stealth 16 Studio A13VF impressed me where it matters the most. It's a strikingly gorgeous gaming laptop (I'd highly recommend you go for the Pure White model for the cleaner aesthetic), boasting great performance that's just a notch below the high-end juggernauts on the market. However, this is offset by a reasonable price point and thanks to the power beneath the hood, you'll be able to comfortably play new games without stress. If you can only have style over substance and vice versa, it seems like MSI has found a way to make them one and the same.