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MSI Modern 15: Two-minute review
Budget laptops like the MSI Modern 15 have to perform a delicate balancing act. They need to be able to deliver good performance and build quality whilst keeping the price as low as possible. Make too many compromises, and no matter how cheap the laptop is, it won’t be worth buying.
The best budget laptops make this balance seem easy, and while these might not be the most exciting devices, they are still essential – not all of us can afford premium laptops, but that doesn’t mean we have to put up with subpar performance.
Costing just £549 (this model is not yet available in the US or Australia), this laptop is super budget-friendly, making it a great option for those who aren’t looking to spend a lot.
However, as you’d expect for this price point, you’re making some sacrifices when picking up the MSI Modern 15. The battery life really lets this device down, coming in at just over a few hours, meaning you’ll have to lug your charger around with you when you want to take it on the go with you.
While we tested out the 16GB RAM edition of this laptop, which allowed us to multitask, if you pick up the cheapest edition, which features just 8GB of RAM, you might find that you can’t have multiple programs running at once. In 2025, 8GB of RAM really is the absolute minimum amount for a Windows 11 laptop.
However, the design is pretty good, and you can use the MSI Modern 15 to do a majority of simple productivity tasks. While it won’t be the very best laptop you can get in 2025, particularly lacking in terms of performance and battery capacity, for this price point you still get a sleek laptop.
MSI Modern 15 review: Price and availability
- How much does it cost? £549 (around $730 / AU$1,100)
- When is it available? Available now
- Where can you get it? Only available in UK
When compared to alternative laptops on the market, the MSI Modern 15 is definitely a more budget-friendly option.
Coming in at £549, this device is perfect for those who are looking for a cheap and cheerful option which gets the job done. You can pick up other budget options like the Acer Aspire 3 which is less than £500, however, the Acer comes with a very small 128GB SSD, whereas the MSI Modern 15 comes with 512GB of storage. You also get more ports with the MSI Modern 15.
Right now, the laptop is available in the UK. Older versions can be purchased worldwide, but this version should be rolling out across the world soon.
MSI Modern 15 review: Specs
There are currently two iterations of the MSI Modern 15, one featuring an i3 processor and one featuring an i7 processor, so you have an option for either more or less processing power based on your needs. Previous models of the MSI Modern 15 have featured AMD Ryzen CPUs, but the new F13M edition only comes with Intel options.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
MSI Modern 15 (base model) |
MSI Modern 15 (Core i7 model) |
|
Price |
£549 |
£729 |
|
CPU |
Intel Core i3-1315U |
Intel Core i7-1355U |
|
Graphics |
Intel Arc graphics |
Intel Arc graphics |
|
RAM |
8GB |
16GB |
|
Screen |
LCD, 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080, 60 Hz refresh rate |
LCD, 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080, 60 Hz refresh rate |
|
Storage |
512GB SSD |
512GB SSD |
|
Ports |
3x USB-A, 1x MicroSD Card reader, 1x HDMI, 1x Ethernet, 1x USB-C / DisplayPort |
3x USB-A, 1x MicroSD Card reader, 1x HDMI, 1x Ethernet, 1x USB-C / DisplayPort |
|
Wireless |
Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 |
Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 |
|
Camera |
HD Camera (30fps, 720p) |
HD Camera (30fps, 720p) |
|
Weight |
1.7kg |
1.7kg |
|
Dimensions |
35.89 x 23.59 x 1.99 cm |
35.89 x 23.59 x 1.99 cm |
The specifications cannot be mixed and matched, so if you want an i3 processor with 16GB of RAM, unfortunately isn’t an option. However, aside from the processor and RAM, the rest of the specs of the MSI Modern 15 editions are identical anyway.
MSI Modern 15 review: Design
- Very portable
- Fantastic design
- Good selection of ports
As you’d expect from a more budget-friendly machine, the MSI Modern 15 isn’t the lightest device on the market despite being described on the website as ultraportable.
Weighing in at a relatively hefty 1.7kg, this laptop can still be taken on the go with you, but doesn’t compare to more premium options like the Asus Zenbook A14, which comes in at under a kilogram.
This heft is also reflected in the measurements of the MSI Modern 15; while it’s not too thick to fit easily in a sleeve, it does come in at almost 2cm. If you like packing light, then this might not be the one for you.
You do get a really good array of ports on this laptop, however, which is perfect for those who plug a load of peripherals into their machine. There are three type-A USB ports, an Ethernet port, a USB-C port which can be used for charging or as a display port, as well as an HDMI port. You also get a microSD card reader.
In terms of aesthetics, you can pick up the MSI Modern 15 in either urban silver or platinum grey. Both are sleek and simple, but the grey edition is more uniform, with the keyboard of the laptop being black on both models, which matches better with the darker shell.
The chassis is made from metal rather than plastic like some lightweight alternatives, making for a more premium feel, but this does add to the overall weight of the laptop.
The keyboard was quite squishy and unsatisfying to use, but it gets the job done perfectly fine. You get a number pad at your disposal, something which I personally never find myself using, but for those who may need one, this is a great option as they are typically missing from laptops. However, I found that this made the device larger than it needed to be.
MSI Modern 15 review: Performance
- Decent performance for the price
- Struggles with more intensive workloads
- Mostly silent – except when watching videos
Benchmarks
These are the results of our benchmarking tests for the MSI Modern 15:
3DMark: Night Raid: 12,805; Fire Strike: 3,442; Time Spy: 1,308
GeekBench 6: 1,573 (single-core); 6,030 (multi-core)
CrossMark: Overall: 838; Productivity: 850; Creativity: 886; Responsiveness: 726
PCMark 10 Battery Life: 3hr 24 mins
TechRadar movie test: 4hr 12 mins
When using the MSI Modern 15, it worked perfectly fine. For £549, it was a great device, however you do get what you pay for in terms of performance, as you can’t really use this laptop for anything too intense.
While I wasn’t able to use the laptop for tasks like video rendering or animation, it was perfectly suitable for simple tasks, including web browsing, photo editing, and watching videos.
After being used to using more premium laptops recently, booting up the MSI Modern 15 did feel like a step down. The LCD 1080p screen was nothing special, but while it didn’t blow me away, it got the job done perfectly fine. However, I wouldn’t opt to watch videos or movies on this laptop if I had another option.
I did attempt to boot up Adobe Premiere Pro on this machine just to see if it would suffice, and it really didn’t do too well. While it initially worked, when importing too many files, the software began to crash and just wouldn’t reopen, so if you’re looking for a laptop to edit videos on, then I cannot recommend the MSI Modern 15.
I tried multitasking with multiple applications open at once on the MSI Modern 15, and it worked quite well. However, it’s worth noting that the model I tested featured 16GB of RAM rather than the 8GB the cheaper model has. It’s unlikely you could effectively multitask with just 8GB of RAM.
When using this laptop on the go, it did feel quite hefty and having to lug around the charger didn’t help. It did stay cool and quiet until I began to watch videos, and while it didn’t quite sound like a spaceship taking off, it was still relatively loud, which isn’t great when out and about, and can be distracting when watching movies.
MSI Modern 15 review: Battery life
The biggest downfall of the MSI Modern 15 is definitely the battery life. It managed less than three and a half hours in the PCMark 10 test and just over four hours on the TechRadar movie test, and I found the battery depleted very quickly when using the laptop on a day-to-day basis, even when doing the simplest of tasks.
Spending 20 minutes replying to emails, for example, brought the battery down to 90% which was quite disappointing. If you intend to take this laptop on the go with you, then you’d likely need to lug the charger along too.
Should I buy the MSI Modern 15?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Rating |
|---|---|---|
|
Price |
When compared to similarly-priced options, the MSI Modern 15 packs much better specs. |
5 / 5 |
|
Design |
Despite being quite heavy and large, the laptop is still sleek and portable. It certainly doesn’t look cheap. |
4 / 5 |
|
Performance |
With decent performance, the MSI Modern 15 will get the job done. However, it doesn’t excel in performance either, and multitasking is hit and miss. |
3 / 5 |
|
Battery life |
The biggest downfall of this device is the battery life, which only lasts a few hours on a full charge. |
1 / 5 |
|
Total Score |
Overall, this is a decent budget option but the battery life really lets this laptop down. |
3 / 5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
MSI Modern 15 review: Also consider
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Asus ROG Flow Z13 |
Razer Blade 14 (2024) |
MSI Katana 15 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Price |
$2,099 / £2,199 |
From $2,199.99 / £2,149.99 / AU$3,999 |
$999 (about £785 / AU$1,543) |
|
CPU |
AMD Ryzen AI MAX 390 12-Core Processor |
AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS |
Intel Core i7-13620H |
|
Graphics |
Integrated |
Nvidia RTX 4060 – RTX 4070 |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 – 4070 |
|
RAM |
32GB DDR5 |
16GB DDR5 – 32GB DDR5 |
16GB DDR5 – 32GB DDR5 |
|
Screen |
13.4-inch WQXGA IPS 180Hz 100% DCI-P3 Screen |
14-inch QHD+ 240Hz, 2560 x 1600p, up to 100% DCI-P3, Factory calibrated, Calman Verified |
15.6-inch FHD, IPS-Level 144Hz |
|
Storage |
1TB SSD |
1TB SSD |
1TB SSD |
|
Ports |
1x USB-A, 2x USB-C with DisplayPort, 1x HDMI, 1x 3.5mm Audio Jack, 1x MicroSD Card Reader |
2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A , 2 x USB4 Type-C Ports with Power Delivery and Display Port 1.4, Charging supported with 20V USB-C chargers with PD 3.0 (100W), 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x Power port, 1 x 3.5mm combo jack |
1x USB-C 3.2, 2x USB-A 3.2, 1x USB-A 2.0, HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm Combo-Jack |
|
Weight |
2.65lbs (1.20kg) |
4.05 lbs (1.84kg) |
4.96 lbs (2.25 kg) |
|
Dimensions |
11.81 x 8.03 x 0.51-inches (30 x 20.4 x 1.30cm) |
12.23 x 8.97 x 0.70 inches (310.7 x 228 x 17.99mm) |
14.13 x 10.20 x 0.98 inches (359 x 259 x 25mm) |
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
MSI Modern 15 |
Asus Zenbook A14 |
Asus Chromebook CM14 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Price |
£549 |
£1,099.99 |
£299 |
|
CPU |
Intel Core i3-1315U |
Snapdragon X X1 26 100 Processor |
MediaTek Kompanio 520 |
|
Graphics |
Intel Arc graphics |
Qualcomm Adreno GPU |
ARM Mali-G52 MC2 |
|
RAM |
8GB |
16GB LPDDR5X |
4GB |
|
Screen |
LCD, 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080, 60 Hz refresh rate |
14.0-inch, WUXGA (1920 x 1200) OLED 16:10 aspect ratio, LED Backlit, 0.2ms response time, 60Hz refresh rate, 400 nits |
14.0-inch FHD (1920 x 1080), 16:9 aspect ratio, non-touch screen |
|
Storage |
512GB SSD |
1TB SSD |
64GB eMMC |
|
Ports |
3x USB-A, 1x MicroSD Card reader, 1x HDMI, 1x Ethernet, 1x USB-C / DisplayPort |
1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 2x USB-C, 1x HDMI, 1x 3.5mm Audio Jack |
1x Type-A USB, 2x Type-C, 1x Micro SD, and 1x headset jack |
|
Wireless |
Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 |
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) (Dual band) 2*2 + Bluetooth 5.3 |
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) (Dual band) 2*2, Bluetooth 5.3 |
|
Camera |
HD Camera (30fps, 720p) |
FHD camera with IR function to support Windows Hello |
720p HD camera with privacy shutter |
|
Weight |
1.7kg |
0.98 kg |
1.45kg |
|
Dimensions |
35.89 x 23.59 x 1.99 cm |
31.07 x 21.39 x 1.34 ~ 1.59 cm (12.23 x 8.42 x 0.53in ~ 0.63in) |
12.78 x 8.93 x 0.72 inches (32.46 x 22.67 x 1.83cm) |
Here are some alternatives if the MSI Modern 15 doesn’t sound right for your needs:
How I tested the MSI Modern 15
- Tested for two weeks
- Used for work and for gaming
- Ran benchmarks
I spent two weeks using the MSI Modern 15 as my everyday laptop for work and leisure. I was sure to use the device for my typical work days, and then also watched videos, movies and browsed social media on it in the evenings.
I took it on the go with me to different locations where I needed to work to see how it would feel outside of my workstation. As well as using it every day, I also benchmarked the laptop using a range of different benchmarking software.
Read the full article here
