MSI Thin 15.6" Review

The MSI Thin laptop is a storage and multitasking monster with 64GB RAM and a 4TB SSD, but its older RTX 3050 holds it back from being a true gaming champion.

CPU Intel Core i5 13420H
RAM 64 GB
Storage 4 TB
Screen 15.6" 1920x1080
GPU NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
OS Windows 11 Home
Weight 1.9 kg
MSI Thin 15.6" laptop
61 Overall Score

Overview

This MSI Thin is a weird one. It's got a massive 64GB of RAM and a huge 4TB SSD, which is awesome, but then it pairs that with a last-gen RTX 3050 and a pretty basic screen. The one thing to know? This is a productivity beast that can handle some light gaming on the side, but don't buy it expecting a top-tier gaming experience. It's built for multitasking and storage hoarders first.

Performance

The performance story is a real mixed bag. That RTX 3050 lands in the 68th percentile, which is fine for older games or eSports titles at medium settings, but it's the clear bottleneck here. The real surprise is how much RAM and storage you get for the price. 64GB of DDR4 and a 4TB SSD are in the 94th and 97th percentiles, respectively. That means you can have a hundred Chrome tabs open while editing photos and never slow down.

Performance Percentiles

CPU 56.9
GPU 74.2
RAM 95.6
Ports 93.6
Screen 27.3
Portability 45.5
Storage 97.6
Reliability 55.8
Social Proof 2.6

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • An insane amount of RAM and storage for the money. 98th
  • Incredibly portable for the specs, weighing under 4.1 lbs. 96th
  • Great port selection with four USB-A ports. 94th
  • Solid build quality for a thin-and-light gaming laptop. 74th

Cons

  • The RTX 3050 is dated and holds back gaming performance. 3th
  • The 1080p screen is a major weak spot, ranking in the bottom 16%. 27th
  • The Intel 13420H CPU is only average, sitting in the 43rd percentile.
  • Battery life is a complete unknown and likely not great.

Specifications

Full Specifications

Processor

CPU Intel Core i5 13420H
Cores 8
Frequency 2.1 GHz
L3 Cache 12 MB

Graphics

GPU RTX 3050
Type discrete
VRAM 4 GB
VRAM Type GDDR6

Memory & Storage

RAM 64 GB
RAM Generation DDR4
Storage 4 TB
Storage Type SSD

Display

Size 15.6"
Resolution 1920 (Full HD)

Connectivity

USB Ports 4
Wi-Fi WiFi 6

Physical

Weight 1.9 kg / 4.1 lbs
OS Windows 11 Home

Value & Pricing

At $1629, the value is all about that RAM and storage. If you need to run virtual machines, edit huge video files, or just never want to worry about space, this is a compelling deal. If you're mainly a gamer, you can get much better GPU performance for the same cash.

Price History

$1,610 $1,620 $1,630 $1,640 $1,650 Feb 18Mar 21 $1,629

vs Competition

Compared to something like the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, you're trading raw gaming power (its RTX 4080) for insane multitasking headroom. The Legion will run circles around this MSI in games but costs more and gives you less storage. Against an Apple MacBook Pro, you're getting way more ports and upgradeable storage for less money, but you lose out on battery life, screen quality, and the seamless Apple ecosystem. For a creator on a budget who needs space, this MSI makes a case. For a pure gamer, the Legion or even an ASUS ROG Zephyrus with a better GPU is the move.

Spec MSI Thin 15.6" Apple MacBook Pro Apple 14" MacBook Pro (M5, Silver) ASUS ROG Zephyrus ASUS - ROG Zephyrus G14 14" 3K OLED 120Hz Gaming Lenovo Yoga Lenovo - Yoga Slim 9i - Copilot+ PC - 14" 4K 120Hz Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro Samsung - Galaxy Book5 Pro - Copilot+ PC - 14" 3K Microsoft Surface Laptop Microsoft - Surface Laptop - 13.8" 2K Touchscreen
CPU Intel Core i5 13420H Apple M5 AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series Intel Core Ultra 7 258V Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-64-100
RAM (GB) 64 32 32 32 32 32
Storage (GB) 4096 4096 2000 1000 1000 1000
Screen 15.6" 1920x1080 14.2" 3024x1964 14" 2880x1800 14" 3840x2400 14" 2880x1800 13.8" 2304x1536
GPU NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Apple (10-Core) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Intel Arc Graphics Intel Arc Graphics Qualcomm X1
OS Windows 11 Home macOS Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Home
Weight (kg) 1.9 1.5 1.6 1.2 1.2 1.3
Battery (Wh) - 72 - 75 - -
Compare Compare Compare Compare Compare
Product CpuGpuRamPortScreenCompactStorageReliabilitySocial Proof
MSI Thin 15.6" 56.974.295.693.627.345.597.655.82.6
Apple MacBook Pro 14" Compare 82.920.677.490.696.973.498.694.899.4
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 14" 3K Compare 90.690.994.396.894.175.291.655.897.4
Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i 14" Compare 65.766.694.690.699.984.772.375.690.3
Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro Galaxy Book5 Pro 14" 3K Compare 6966.686.990.693.584.972.375.696.5
Microsoft Surface Laptop 13.8" 2K Touchscreen Compare 95.14286.994.781.28772.375.697.4

Verdict

This is a niche recommendation. Buy the MSI Thin if your workflow demands tons of RAM and storage above all else, and you only do casual gaming. It's a fantastic mobile workstation for the price. For everyone else, especially gamers prioritizing frame rates or screen quality, look at competitors with better GPUs and displays. This laptop is great at what it's built for, but it's not built for everything.