MSI says the Stealth 15M is arguably the thinnest gaming laptop

See, there’s nothing wrong with it big, beastly 17-inch gaming monsters, but for my money, I like a gaming notebook that can balance performance and portability, and the MSI Stealth 15M has just taken that principle to a whole new level.

With an all-aluminum construction just 16mm thick (0.62in) and weighing 3.7lbs, the Stealth 15M is actually thinner and lighter than a Dell XPS 15 (0.71 inch and 4 pounds). More importantly, despite its slim dimensions, the Stealth 15M still has enough space and thermal capacity to support an Intel Core i7-11375H CPU and an Nvidia RTX 3060 Max-Q GPU as standard.

In fact compared to the base model of Razer’s updated Blade 15 starting at $ 1,700, a base $ 1,400 Stealth 15M from MSI has a newer 11th Gen Intel CPU. The Blade trustss on a 10th generation chip. They have comparable 15.6-inch 144Hz LCD screens, and the same 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD, but the MSI comes first $ 400 less. So not alone is the Stealth 15M super thin, but it will also be a very good deal (unless you want the white version that costs a little extra).

However, the good stuff doesn’t stop there because On the Stealth 15M, MSI has added the Cooler Boost 5 thermal solution with six heat pipes and even thinner fans to maximize heat transfer and control temperature in such a thin chassis.

Performance-wise, MSI says it supports Nvidia’s Dynamic Boost 2.0 technology to balance CPU and GPU loads and improve overall system efficiency, in addition to Nvidia Reflex, who tries then analyze and optimize input latency between the system and peripherals such as your mouse and keyboard.

And when it comes to connectivity, in addition to support for Wi-Fi 6, the Stealth 15M also offers a healthy selection of ports, including two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, two USB-C ports (one of which supports Thunderbolt 3. ), a full-size HDMI port, and even a built-in microSD card reader. Additionally, while the Stealth 15M has an old-school barrel-style power connector, MSI says the system can also be charged via USB-C in no time, but if you’re doing something intense like playing a game, the laptop battery will. still drain slowly due to the slower charging speeds available via USB.

For 2021, MSI is even paying attention to the little things, as on the Stealth 15M and other recently updated MSI laptops, MSI has upgraded its webcams from 720p to full HD, which means a long-standing complaint from many users. And as you’d expect from an MSI laptop, the Stealth 15M comes with the standard suite of bonus features such as Nahimic Audio, MSI’s Dragon Control Center and a full RGB backlit keyboard.

With CES going virtual this year, I haven’t had a chance to see the Stealth 15M in person, but between the specs and features, I think MSI really nailed the sweet spot between power and portability. That said, the one area where the Stealth 15M seems to fall a bit short of competing systems like the Razer Blade 15 is the lack of certain configuration options. That’s because while you can increase the amount of RAM or storage and choose between black and white paint jobs, you can’t choose between other views options or GPUs, meaning 144Hz full HD display and RTX 3060 GPU locked in any configuration.

Fortunately, if you want a more powerful gaming laptop MSI has plenty of options, including new and updated laptops such as GE77 Raider or GP Leopard systems, available in both 15 and 17 models with up to RTX 3070 or 3080 graphics.

The new Stealth 15m and a number of other new MSI laptops such as the GP Leopard and GE Raider are now available for pre-order and shipments are expected to arrive in the coming weeks.

If you want to see more new gadgets and devices from CES 2021, click here to read our full coverage.