MSI has been actively targeting content creators with its laptops as of recently, so it's only fitting that this week the company introduced its Modern 15 notebook, aimed at the entry-level content creation market. Powered by Intel’s 10th Generation Core (Comet Lake) processor and NVIDIA’s GeForce MX330 discrete graphics chip, the Modern 15 mobile PC promises to offer decent performance as well as a relatively low weight in a reasonably priced package.

The MSI Modern 15 laptop currently exists in only one configuration (A10RAS-061JP) which is powered by Intel’s quad-core Core i7-10510U ‘Comet Lake-U’ processor. This is accompanied by 16 GB of dual-channel DDR4 memory, a 512 GB M.2 NVMe SSD, and NVIDIA’s GeForce MX330 graphics chip with 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM. According to MSI, the CPU and the GPU are cooled via MSI’s Cooler Boost 3 cooling system, which uses two fans and three thick heat pipes. Within MSI's laptop lineup, this places the Modern 15 at essentially a tier below their Prestige series notebooks, giving up features such as hex-core CPUs and GeForce GTX graphics in exchange for a lower price.

As far as connectivity is concerned, MSI’s Modern 15 is equipped with a Wi-Fi 5 + Bluetooth 6 adapter, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port (with DP Alt mode support), three USB Type-A connectors (one USB 3.2 Gen 1, two USB 3.2 Gen 2), an HDMI output, a 3.5-mm audio connector for headsets, and a microSD card reader. When it comes to multimedia capabilities, MSI’s Modern 15 laptops are equipped with a webcam with IR sensors, stereo speakers, and a microphone array.

The Modern 15 system comes in a black or silver chassis with brushed aluminum elements that is 15.9 mm thick. The enclosure accommodates a 15.6-inch Full-HD panel, but because of thin bezels, the dimensions of the chassis are close to those of traditional 14-inch notebooks. As for weight, the Modern 15 weighs 1.6 kilograms.

MSI says that the laptop will last for nine hours on one charge (according to JEITA 2.0), which is good enough for a laptop that is more likely to be used as a semi-fixed (and frequently plugged in) device to begin with.

Specifications of MSI's Modern 15 Laptop
  A10RAS-061JP
LCD Diagonal 15.6-inch
Resolution 1920×1080
Brightness ?
Contrast Ratio ?
Color Gamut -
Touch Support -
Protective Glass -
CPU  Intel Core i7-10510U (Comet Lake-U)
Graphics Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
Discrete NVIDIA GeForce MX330 with 2 GB GDDR5
RAM 16 GB dual-channel DDR4
Storage SSD 1 × 5120 GB M.2 NVMe SSD
Card Reader MicroSD Card reader
Wireless Wi-Fi 5 + Bluetooth 5.0
USB Type-C 1 × USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C
Type-A 1 × USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A
2 × USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A
Thunderbolt -
Cameras Front HD webcam with IR sensors
Other I/O Microphone, 2 stereo speakers, audio jack
Battery 9 hours
Dimensions Width 35.7 cm | 14.05 inches
  Depth 23.4 cm | 9.2 inches
  Thickness 1.59 cm | 0.63 inches
Weight 1.60 kilograms | 3.52 pounds
Launch Price Japan: ¥165,000

MSI intends to start selling the Modern 15 laptop in Japan on February 27, with a price of ¥165,000. It is unclear at this time whether the company intends to bring the product to Europe or the US.

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Source: MSI Japan (via Hermitage Akihabara)

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  • LiviuTM - Friday, February 21, 2020 - link

    Wow, 5120 GB SSD..
  • EliteRetard - Friday, February 21, 2020 - link

    That's around $1,500

    Far to expensive when much more powerful options like the XPS 15 exist in this price range.

    Most of the laptops I see with similar specs (considering last gen too) retail/ed around $800 and could be found on sale as low as $600.
  • stephenbrooks - Friday, February 21, 2020 - link

    Yes, how do they describe $1500 as "inexpensive"? (To me, $1000-1200 is "full price", $800 is "mid-range", $600 is "inexpensive".)
  • t.s - Friday, February 21, 2020 - link

    Anandtech categorization:
    1. Garbage: $200 - $799
    2. Cheap: $800 - $1.499
    3. Inexpensive: $1.500 - $2.499
    4. Normal: $2.500 - $4.999
    5. Expensive: $5.000 - $9.999
    6. Pricey: > $10.000
  • sonny73n - Saturday, February 22, 2020 - link

    They didn’t even bother to convert 165,000 Japanese Yen to dollars for us. Before I did the conversion myself on Google, I thought the “inexpensive” 165K Yen is somewhere around $900.
  • s.yu - Sunday, February 23, 2020 - link

    The reference is ¥100 for $1, it rarely floats over 20% off in either direction, so you get the general idea.
  • Dug - Friday, February 21, 2020 - link

    I want to see Paint bench marked on this. #1 Content creator program.
  • Cliff34 - Friday, February 21, 2020 - link

    Excel is the #1 content creator program.
  • nicolaim - Friday, February 21, 2020 - link

    Low resolution screen, only one USB-C port, no Thunderbolt, no full-size SD card reader, no SSD larger than 512 GB: fail.
  • s.yu - Sunday, February 23, 2020 - link

    We all know that, this barely passes off as an overpriced multimedia machine, the question is why the author didn't note that.

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