MSI Modern 13.3" F1MG-010US Platinum Gray

The Modern 13 F1MG-010US hits the 92nd percentile for portability at just 1.32kg. Everything else is a compromise: the 45% NTSC screen is mediocre, CPU performance lands at the 45th percentile, and the 46Wh battery is small. At $799 it's worth a look for basic tasks; at any higher price, skip it.

At 1.32kg, the MSI Modern 13 F1MG-010US lands in the 92nd percentile for portability, making it one of the lightest 13-inch laptops you can grab right now. That featherweight design, paired with a 1TB NVMe SSD (81st percentile for storage), gives it a real advantage for anyone constantly on the move. But the spec sheet starts to show cracks as soon as you look past the compact chassis: a 45% NTSC display that barely hits the median for screen quality, and a Core 7-150U processor that sits in the 45th percentile for CPU performance.

We see this as a classic case of trade-offs. The 16GB of DDR4 RAM is adequate for Office and browser tabs, but it's slower than the LPDDR5 you'll find in similarly priced ultrabooks, landing at the 38th percentile. The integrated Intel Graphics won't handle anything beyond streaming and light photo editing. If you need a machine that disappears in your bag and don't push it hard, the Modern 13 makes sense. If you expect more speed or color accuracy, you'll feel the compromises daily.

The Core 7-150U is a 10-core (2P+8E) chip with a 5.4 GHz max turbo, but on paper it's a 15W U-series part designed for low heat, not raw speed. In our database, it sits below the middle of the pack for CPU performance. Day-to-day use feels smooth for basic productivity, but load a heavy spreadsheet or a few Docker containers and you'll notice stuttering that a more powerful processor in the 75th percentile or higher would breeze through. The 16GB of DDR4 RAM doesn't help much either, there's a reason so many rivals have moved to faster, more efficient memory.

The real bright spot is the 1TB NVMe SSD. It's genuinely quick for this class, ranking in the 81st percentile for storage speeds. Boot times and app launches are snappy. But the integrated Intel Graphics are a known quantity: fine for video playback, but absolutely not for gaming. Our gaming score of 8.2 out of 100 says it all. For actual work, you'll be happy as long as your workflow doesn't involve 3D rendering or 4K video editing.

Pricing for the MSI Modern 13 F1MG-010US is genuinely wild. Some storefronts list it for a reasonable $799, while others somehow ask for $30,790. Ignore the latter. At $799, you're getting a featherweight with a generous 1TB SSD and Windows 11 Pro, which is a solid value for students or traveling office workers. Push past $900 and the deal falls apart quickly because you can find laptops with much better screens and faster CPUs for the same money. The value proposition is entirely tied to finding it at the low end.

Stack the Modern 13 against the Apple MacBook Pro M5 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro and you immediately see the gap. Those machines have gorgeous high-resolution, color-accurate screens and CPU/GPU combos that embarrass the Core 7-150U. But they also weigh more and cost significantly more. The Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 offers a far superior keyboard and build quality, while still being pretty portable. The Modern 13's sole ace is its weight, it's lighter than almost all of them, and if you prioritize that above everything else and stick to the $799 price, it has a niche. The ASUS ProArt PX13 brings a much better display if creative work matters, but again, more expensive. Ultimately, the MSI is the budget ultraportable that trades nearly everything for lightness.

The Modern 13 isn't for gamers (8.2/100 gaming score), creative pros who need color-accurate screens (45% NTSC, 50th percentile screen), or anyone who relies on long unplugged sessions (46Wh battery). If you push your CPU hard, the 45th percentile processor performance will frustrate you. Basically, if your workflow goes beyond email, documents, and web browsing, look at a ThinkPad or Galaxy Book instead.

We can only recommend the MSI Modern 13 F1MG-010US if you find it for around $799 and your needs are strictly ultraportable office work. That 92nd percentile compactness figure is real, and the 1TB SSD is a pleasant surprise. But the below-average screen, sluggish CPU for its class, and tiny battery mean anyone spending more should look at the competition. It's a data-backed “only at the right price” buy.