MSI puts power and portability from gaming systems into laptops for creatives

Computer manufacturer MSI has a reputation for making some of the best laptops for video games. With the release of two new systems, the Taiwanese company is expanding out of the gamer space and into consumer computing.

In a briefing at a downtown Vancouver hotel in early November, senior sales manager Stephen Lin explained that two new systems, the PS42 and the P65, have the power and portability of the company’s gaming laptops in a design that is more professional and suited to creatives.

Consumers, said Lin, were telling MSI that they appreciated the high-performance components—like faster processors and better graphics cards—that are typical in gaming systems. But some customers weren’t comfortable carrying a laptop designed for gamers into business meetings.

The new Creator Series models are brushed aluminum, and MSI’s dragon logo, blood red on the gaming laptops, is rendered in a stylish silver. Powerful enough to be true desktop replacements, the PS42 and P65 have full-sized keyboards, fingerprint sensors in the track pad, and a wide array of ports, including multiple USB 3.1, USB-C, HDMI, and SD-card.

The Taiwanese company, which got its start creating motherboards for computers in the 1990s, benefits from owning the production facilities the components come from, Lin said.

By dramatically shrinking the bezel around the screens, MSI was able to get a 14-inch display in a 13-inch chassis with the PS42. The P65 has a 15.6-inch display in a 14-inch chassis.

The SRGB display in the P65 can be controlled with the included True Color software, which enables adjustments to colour saturation, contrast, and brightness.

The displays are not touch screen, however, nor do the new laptops come in convertible or 2-in-1 models. Lin said MSI’s consumer research found that customers were not interested in that feature.

The new MSI laptops are available now. The PS42 is priced from $1,299 to $1,599, depending on configuration, while the P65 Creator is priced from $2,399 to $3,499.

Until the end of 2018, any purchase of a MSI Creator laptop comes with a $400 software package.