MSI Prestige 13 Evo (2023) Review
A good screen short of laptop greatness
Verdict
The MSI Prestige 13 Evo is a laptop with bags of potential. There’s little wrong with this productivity device, with impressive performance, a joyous keyboard and long battery life. But a sub-par screen and a price that doesn’t quite match up are holding it back from true greatness.
Pros
- Strong productivity performance
- Extremely thin and light
- Fans rarely get instrusively loud
- Great keyboard
Cons
- Sub-par display
- High price
- Poor webcam
Availability
- UKRRP: £1499.99
- USARRP: $1499
Key Features
- 13th Gen Intel chipAvailable with up to a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 processor
- Up to 16-hours battery lifeMSI touts up to 16-hours of battery life from its 75Wh cell
- Thin and lightWeighs in a 990g and just 13.9mm thin
Introduction
MSI isn’t typically mentioned in the conversation when high-end productivity laptops are the topic of choice. The MSI Prestige 13 Evo earns its place, even if its overall quality prevents it from topping the key competition.
The Prestige 16 (2023) was a show-stealer at Computex 2023 this year, offering a glimpse into the future of Windows laptops. But, the MSI Prestige 13 Evo is worth your attention too.
It has to compete against strong rivals like the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro, MacBook Air M2 (2022) and a bunch more, so the task is tough. Another poignant point of comparison for this laptop is the excellent Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED (2022). This MSI device greatly resembles the Asus flagship, but comes with some product-defining differences.
Design and Keyboard
- Impressively sleek
- Lacks a high-quality feel
- Poor webcam
The look of the MSI Prestige 13 Evo (2023) is either understated or boring, depending on your taste. I fall more on the side of the former, with the inoffensive design offering a sleek impression overall. Far more than its visuals, it’s the low weight and small size of this device that will grab your attention.
At just 0.99g, as well as coming in at 299 x 210 x 16.9mm, this laptop will positively disappear into most commuter bags. If you’re regularly on the move at home or at work, then this is an ideal device for lugging around.
I’ve had no issues with the body of this device getting scuffed, but it doesn’t feel high quality, with its magnesium-alloy chassis giving off a plasticky vibe. However, the MSI stickers on the back of my review sample didn’t hold up, with the very central portion coming detached after brushing up against my bag – a mishap that doesn’t scream “£1000-plus laptop.”
What is, undoubtedly, high quality is the typing experience. The frame of this device is very similar to the Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED (2022) and that laptop, expectedly with its thin design, can only offer so much travel. However, it’s by no means bad, with our review calling it “fantastic”. Well, the MSI Prestige 13 Evo tops it. In Tardis-like fashion, it manages to offer more travel than you’d expect and it’s delightful.
The keypress is slightly let down by the size of the keys, which aren’t the biggest. Something else that isn’t the biggest is the trackpad. Smaller laptops have boosted trackpad sizes recently, increasing expectations. The MSI Prestige 13 Evo hasn’t kept pace, but it isn’t obscenely small either. It’s acceptably clicky, with decent travel.
The port selection is strong, despite the Prestige 13 laptop’s diminutive size. You’ll find 2x Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB-A, 1x Micro SD, 1x HDMI 2.1 and a headphone jack.
Those who would regularly use this laptop for Zoom meetings and the like, and care about their webcam quality, should look elsewhere. At 1080p, the detail is perfectly fine but it struggles with colour and mixed lighting conditions.
Display and Sound
- Disappointing Full HD panel
- Passable audio
The 13.3-inch LCD screen of the MSI Prestige 13 Evo really isn’t up to standard for a £1000-plus laptop, especially with devices like the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro and Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED (2022) offering stunningly inviting panels at a similar price.
The colour coverage is mediocre at 99% sRGB, 79% Adobe RGB and 80% DCI-P3. The lack of quality with this 13-inch FHD+ IPS display is stark when watching videos, where it’s muddy and underwhelming. It’s the key flaw of this device. If the MSI Prestige 13 Evo had an OLED or Mini LED option, or MSI produced a similar laptop with a better screen, it’d be one of the very best on the market. Alas, that isn’t the case.
It isn’t all bad though, as you do get a productivity-friendly 16:10 aspect ratio and the brightness is surprisingly strong at 471 nits, making this an ideal laptop for those who regularly work outside or in awkward lighting.
Like much of this device, the speakers defy its unassuming size. You won’t be using this as a replacement party speaker and, on top of the poor display, the audio doesn’t make this a device for watching that movie you’re excited to see. But, the audio is perfectly fine for meetings, the odd video and some music, though it won’t be an enriching experience. The sound is fairly accurate and can get quite loud without inviting much distortion, but it offers a small and vague soundstage.
Performance
- Ideal for demanding productivity use
- Fans remain calm
The MSI Prestige 13 Evo is an impressive performer. My review model dons the Intel Core i7-1360P chip, 16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD. For its intended productivity use, there wasn’t much I couldn’t throw at it.
You’ll be venturing above 20-25 tabs before a suggestion of performance slowdown creeps in. Even more impressively, the thermal management has to be applauded here, with the fans staying quiet until things get extremely intensive. And, when they do, the sound isn’t distracting and this isn’t a device that never feels concerningly warm.
I’m currently testing the new 2023 model of the Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED alongside this, a device very similar in its look, and this praise can not be extended to that device in my experience thus far. MSI has worked wonders.
My real-world experience is backed up by our benchmarking tests too, with the MSI laptop edging ahead of most key rivals across Geekbench 5 single and multi core testing as well as in PCMark 10.
The MSI Prestige 13 Evo has strong SSD speeds to boot, coming in at 6697.39MB/s read and 4937.79MB/s. Like the rest of its testing scores, these see the MSI edging ahead more rivals in the storage speed department too.
Battery Life
- Impressive 12-hour battery life
- 65W charger bundled in
The MSI Prestige 13 Evo has excellent battery life. Another surprising coup for a device so remarkably thin and light. It doesn’t quite match up to MSI’s touted 16-hours but, in general productivity use, I did manage to close in on the 12-hours of battery life that our PCMark 10 benchmark reported.
On a more intensive work day, you can expect to comfortably get through the day, with some left over to check your emails in the morning and, maybe, reach your morning Zoom meeting.
For charging, there is a pleasingly powerful 65W charger bundled in. You can expect to go from 0 to 100% in not too much over an hour.
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Should you buy it?
You value extreme portability, long battery life and timid fan noise
The highlights of MSI Prestige 13 Evo are its strong performance, achieved without intrusive fan noise, and a battery life that’ll get you plenty beyond a day of work. It’s stunningly portable too.
Avoid if you want a good display and a decent webcam
This MSI machine shows a lot of promise but the screen is a massive low point, especially at over £1000. The webcam is also an unreliable annoyance.
Final Thoughts
The MSI Prestige 13 Evo (2023) is one of the most exciting productivity laptops so far this year, but that might be because it shows what MSI is capable of rather than staking its claim as one of the best laptops with a thin-and-light design.
If MSI could stick an OLED in this machine and fix the webcam woes, there is nothing standing in its way. It has some of the best productivity performance among its rivals and dodges fan noises better than most. Battery life is impressive too.
However, with a starting price in line with higher quality competition, at $1499/£1499, it falls short of being one of the best around. Those looking for a similar lightweight experience without the frustrating flaws on show here should opt for the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro, Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED (2022) and MacBook Air M2 (2022). Alternatively, you can check out our best laptop and best ultrabook lists for even more options.
How we test
Every laptop we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to gauge key things including build quality, performance, screen quality and battery life.
These include formal synthetic benchmarks, scripted tests and a series of real-world checks.
We used as our main laptop for at least a week.
Tested the performance via both benchmark tests and real-world use.
We tested the screen with a colorimeter and real-world use.
We tested the battery with a benchmark test and real-world use.
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FAQs
The MSI Prestige 13 Evo is a laptop intended for productivity use, but the Intel P-series chips do enable some light gaming in low-demand titles.
The Intel Core i7-1360P in the MSI Prestige 13 Evo is a 28W chip.
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Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
