MSI Modern MSI Modern 15 H B13M 15.6" FHD Laptop, Intel Core Review

It's a CPU monster in a mediocre body. Buy this only if you need an i9 and 32GB of RAM on a budget, and you're willing to accept terrible graphics and a bad screen.

The MSI Modern 15 is a weird laptop. It's got a desktop-class Intel Core i9 processor and 32GB of RAM stuffed into a thin-and-light chassis, but it's paired with basic integrated graphics and a mediocre screen. The one thing to know? This is a pure productivity machine for people who need raw CPU power and lots of memory, and absolutely nothing else. It's like putting a race car engine in a commuter sedan.

The performance story is a tale of two halves. That i9-13900H is genuinely fast, ranking well above average for a laptop CPU. It chews through code compilation, data analysis, and heavy multitasking. The 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD are also strong points. The big surprise, and not a good one, is how everything else falls flat. The Intel Iris Xe graphics are a major weak spot, ranking in the bottom quarter of all laptops. Gaming is basically off the table, and even light creative work will feel sluggish. The screen is also underwhelming, with a dim, low-color-gamut panel that's a real letdown at this price.

At $999, the value proposition is shaky. You're paying for a top-shelf CPU and a lot of RAM, but you're getting bargain-bin graphics and a subpar screen. If your workflow is 100% CPU-bound, it's a decent deal. For anyone else, it's a compromise that's hard to justify.

This sits in a strange spot. The Apple MacBook Pro with an M-series chip will run circles around it in efficiency and screen quality, but costs more. The ASUS ProArt PX13 offers a stunning OLED screen and a dedicated RTX GPU for creative work, also at a higher price. The most direct competitor might be a Lenovo ThinkPad or a Dell XPS 13 Plus configured with similar RAM and storage, which would likely offer better build quality and screens, but might also cost more for the same CPU power. This MSI wins on raw specs for the dollar, but loses everywhere else.

If you're looking for a well-rounded daily driver for school or work, this isn't it. The bad screen alone is a dealbreaker. Go get a MacBook Air, a Framework Laptop, or a higher-end ASUS Zenbook instead. Also, gamers should look literally anywhere else.

We can only recommend the MSI Modern 15 to a very specific user: a developer or data scientist who needs maximum CPU threads and RAM for local work, doesn't care about screen quality, will never game, and plans to keep it plugged in at a desk. For that person, it's a capable workhorse. For literally everyone else, from students to general professionals, there are better-balanced laptops that don't make such severe compromises.