The MSI Prestige 14 is creator focused ultrabook. You’re getting Intel’s new 10th Gen Core i7-10710U paired with Nvidia’s Geforce MX250 (2GB) graphics. It comes in a petite package that makes it a very excellent option if portability is your top priority. In terms of performance expectations, it can only go so far in terms of the typical creators’s workflow of 2020.
Sleek Design Focus
At first glance, you can definitely see that the Prestige 14 oozes minimalism, with the back of the laptop just having the infamous dragon logo lasered on. I absolutely adored the form factor and weight of the device. The 1.29 kg weight makes it easy to carry with one hand, and the options for a good notebook sleeve are endless.
Simplicity is the focus here, with its stealth grey color scheme encased all over. I found myself appreciating the Prestige 14 as a light creator’s notebook that I could carry around discreetly and get things done wherever I went. I also appreciated that the hinge raises up when you lift the lid up, creating a little gap for air to be blown out for better passive cooling.
Although I barely flex my devices all the way down, you’re definitely able to work the Prestige 14’s hinges all the way down, and I believe there are certain people who would find that useful. Too bad it’s no touchscreen, otherwise the flex would have a bit more use.
The matte layer on the display does a decent job keeping glare at bay at most common viewing angles, with consistent colors all across the board.
Good Variety and Number of Ports
For it’s size, it’s nice to see that the Prestige 14 had enough ports to keep me from bringing out an additional dongle, as my initial expectations were, that an ultrabook this size would only have about 2-3 ports at max.
I was really glad to see both USB 2.0 Type-A and Thunderbolt3 compatible USB Type-C’s to be in the mix. The Prestige 14 is charged via USB-C, and a 90W charger is included in the package. The Type-C end of the cable is a little longer than average, so you will see some open room between the cable and charging port. This actually irks me as it wiggles a little. Thankfully, I do have alternative cables and chargers on standby that do not have this issue, and these supporting accessories are abundant in I.T stores everywhere.
There’s a cute little microSD slot as well, in case you needed to offload some media from your devices. If you wanted a regular SD card slot, this is when you’ll probably need an extra dongle or dedicated memory card reader on standby. There’s no HDMI port as well, but you can simply just connect to an external display via USB Type-C (or, again, a dongle).
Cosy Keyboard, Extra Wide Touchpad
For a 14-incher, the Prestige 14 comes with a compact sized backlit (white only) keyboard that’s comfortable to type on. I found it easy to register a keystroke without having much force and it didn’t feel exhausting, even though i’ve been typing non-stop for an hour straight.
The glass touchpad would take some time to get familiar with, and when you do, it’s useful. You’re getting a lot of real estate for your fingers to reach things faster on your desktop, but if you’re a cumbersome person, you may find yourself getting into situations where you’re getting unintentional clicks, especially when you’re using the laptop while lying down on a sofa or bed. As for me, I just plugin my Logitech MX Master 3 mouse and jump straight to business.
Usage and Battery Life
Based on my given specs, I knew what I would be using this Prestige 14 for. Photoshop, Office, Lightroom and entertainment. I spent my hours just creating graphics, answering emails and documents. It was a pleasant day-to-day experience, especially knowing I leave my house with a smaller backpack and just a few accessories to run my full nomadic day. Things were speedy thanks to the single 16GB RAM stick that’s removable, taking just seconds to boot and run up Photoshop for a few adjustments.
The 512GB SSD is a good roomy size to start off with, but my grip is that it’s the only slot you have. You want to upgrade, go ahead. You just have to reinstall Windows 10 again. I suggest just having an external drive handy, and that’s not a weird thing to have in 2020.
The Prestige 14 needed juice again after 4-ish hours of continuous use on a single charge, and that was just pretty average for me, but since it charges fast and my loadout was light, it was easy to forgive. You may attempt to undervolt to get some extra hours out, but that’s simply up to you (you should).
Who’s It For?
It’s definitely for the creators of today, who have the sole understanding that this laptop is for light and breezy work only. I had used it as such and it had satisfied those needs with its consistent performance and portability. Students, startups, social media managers and writers should shortlist the Prestige 14 with a vote of confidence. It looks and works well for that kind of crowd. The asking price is RM 4,899 and could be justified by those who are looking for a good balance between performance and portability.
As for my take, I’d say this premium-priced lightweight can potentially make people’s work lives a little easier, and it starts with being easy to carry around and working on quickly. Oh, and extra points to style as most of my smaller backpacks match the color scheme of the Prestige 14.
