The Perfect 14" Gaming Laptop Doesn't Exi...

The perfect 14” gaming laptop doesn’t exi.. wait a minute… I see something new on our desk, let me go and grab that. Okay, let’s rephrase. The perfect 14” gaming laptop does exist and it’s this, right here. The brand new MSI Stealth 14 Studio and wow, are you going to love it.

First up, it’s a 14” laptop complete with a QHD 16:10 display that’s capable of 240Hz, you get a great keyboard and touchpad with all that RGB goodness and despite the compact form factor, a decent amount of ports. With the Intel Core i7-13700H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, this laptop CAN game. Apex Legends all maxed out? No problem. Cyberpunk 2077 on High settings, no problem either. Best of all, it’s surprisingly affordable.

14" Is The Sweet Spot, Really.

Now, there is an ongoing trend with gaming laptops nowadays and it's the fact that they are just getting bigger and bigger. Right now, 15.6” is getting succeeded by the 16” and the 17.3” is getting succeeded by the 18”. And thanks to NVIDIA, the laptops are also getting thicker as well.

Oh and before we forget, thanks to MSI for sponsoring this video. We really appreciate it. But of course, we aren’t forgetting you guys as well.

Anyways, back to our topic. This is where the 14” form factor comes in. It’s the perfect balance between size and portability while not sacrificing too much on performance. Here’s the MSI Stealth 14 Studio with us today for an example. The compact form factor makes it really easy to slip it in any decently-sized bag and with just a weight of 1.7kg or 3.74lbs, it’s not going to break your back either.

240Hz Display

You might think that a 14” panel is a tad too small but honestly, it really isn’t, especially not so with 16:10 being the new norm. The Stealth 14 Studio also sports a great IPS panel with a resolution of 2,560 x 1600 running at 240Hz and it covers 100% DCI-P3. Perfect not just for gaming but perhaps even a little bit of content creation.

But the main thing that’ll probably catch your eye with this laptop is the brand new design that MSI is touting. It is downright beautiful in our opinion, especially in this Pure White colourway. Now truth to be told, it isn’t Pure White as you can see but more of a monochromatic blend. In our opinion however, it looks even better with the two tone design. You’ll also get a splash of RGB with the per-key RGB keyboard as well as accent lighting on the rear exhaust vents which spell out the word Stealth. A really nice touch.

Now there is an option for Star Blue if that’s more your fancy but we’ll definitely recommend this Pure White colourway just a tad bit more. As for ports, you’ll be plenty covered as well. We’re talking one Type-C Thunderbolt 4 port, 1 Type-C USB 3.2 Gen2 port with support for DisplayPort and Power Delivery, one Type-A USB 3.2 Gen2 and one HDMI 2.1 port. In addition, there is support for WiFi 6E as well as Bluetooth 5.3.

One thing that did surprise us were the speakers. The quality itself isn’t too shabby at all but more so than that, it would be the position of the speakers. They are located on the bottom lip but are actually facing upwards. In effect, they do sound better than other gaming laptops with speakers firing towards the sides or the bottom.

RTX 4060 Is No Slouch

So we’ve established that this is a great looking 14” gaming laptop but what about performance? Let’s talk about that.

As mentioned, the Stealth 14 Studio has pretty capable specs and to top that off, MSI has included a MUX switch which you can easily toggle via MSI Center. Goes without saying that we did exactly that and all our testings were done on the performance profile and running off that RTX 4060 Laptop GPU.

Starting with CS:GO, performance is splendid as it should be. We’re talking extremely high frame rates at native resolution, making full use of that 240Hz panel. Next, we have Apex Legends and this is much more demanding for sure but the Stealth 14 Studio is still able to dish out impressive performance. You’re going to be well-covered for ranked matches. Cyberpunk 2077 is where things do get a little tough but as long as you keep the settings reasonable, it is going to be a really enjoyable experience. Best of all, you can also make use of DLSS 3 frame generation thanks to the RTX 4060. Modern Warfare 2 is yet another popular FPS that’s incredibly fun right now and performance is stellar here on the Ultra preset. Again, you can also make use of DLSS for even added performance. Lastly we have Witcher 3 Next-Gen. We’re looking at really great frame rates and at native resolution, no less. DLSS 3 frame generation makes it even better. Do go easy on ray-tracing still however. Just like Cyberpunk 2077, it does take quite a toll.

Surprise, no surprise. It’s a 14” gaming laptop with great gaming performance. But gaming is not all there is to this laptop. There’s a reason why MSI puts the Studio moniker in the name and that’s because this laptop is actually NVIDIA Studio certified. That means you’ll be able to download Studio drivers and be assured of the best performance and compatibility with your go to softwares for content creation. Which, this laptop is fully capable of as well.

A Great Price

But now the most important factor. Price.

The Stealth 14 Studio will retail for S$3,099, which yes, it ain’t the most affordable out there but for what you’re getting with this laptop, we do feel it is perfectly reasonable and in line with the competition. While 16” and even 18” gaming laptops are getting more and more popular. The 14” is honestly where it’s at. This is the true portable form factor and with the MSI Stealth 14 Studio, you aren’t losing out in performance at all.

If we could only choose one gaming laptop to use for the next few years, this is going to be at the top of our list.