MSI Summit E16 Flip evaluation: A strong laptop computer for material developers

At a glimpse

Expert’s Rating

Pros

• Large screen in compact chassis
• Strong application and multimedia efficiency
• 1080 p IR web cam

Cons

• Too huge and heavy for basic tablet usage
• Competing designs include OLED screens
• Get loud under heavy loads

Our Verdict

The MSI Summit E16 Flip is a roomy 16- inch 2-in-1 tailored towards material developers with the current Intel silicon and RTX graphics.

Best Prices Today: MSI Summit E16 Flip

MSI made its name with video gaming laptop computers and desktops however has actually broadened to where it now provides a range of organization laptop computers. The Summit series sits at the top of its 3 company laptop computer lines and uses high-end functions not readily available on the Prestige and Modern designs. The Summit E16 Flip is the most recent addition to the Summit series. It’s a 2-in-1 convertible laptop computer with a roomy 16- inch screen powered by a 12 th-gen Intel Core i7 processor and GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics.

As a laptop computer, the big, high-resolution screen provides material developers space to work and its 165 Hz revitalize rate lets you meddle some video gaming after hours. As a tablet, the Summit E16 supplies a big canvas on which digital artists can write, draw, and sketch with the consisted of active pen. It’s less of a fit as a general-use tablet, nevertheless, due to the fact that it’s a bit too huge and heavy to hold one-handed. With its high-end hardware, substantial display screen, and high cost, the E16 Flip is a specialized 2-in-1 for innovative specialists instead of company executives trying to find a flexible system that can be utilized similarly as a laptop computer and tablet.

MSI Summit E16 Flip requirements and functions

Our MSI Summit E16 Flip (design A12 UDT-006) is costing $1,999 at Amazon and Newegg and includes the following specifications:

• CPU: Intel Core i7-1260 P
• Memory: 32 GB
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti @ 40 Watt TGP
• Storage: 1TB PCIe NVMe M. 2 SSD
• Display: 16.0 inch,16: 10, 2560 x 1600 resolution with 165 Hz revitalize rate
• Webcam: 1080 p with kill switch
• Connectivity: Left side: 2 x USB-C (with Thunderbolt 4), HDMI 2.1. Side: 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, microSD card reader, combination audio jack.
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
• Biometrics: IR facial acknowledgment, finger print reader
• Battery capability: 82 Watt-hours
• Dimensions: 14.12 x 10.15 x 0.70 inches
• Measured weight: 4.35 pounds (laptop computer), 0.79 pounds (a/c adapter)
• Price: $1,999

The standard MSI Summit E16 Flip design is presently costing $1,699 and includes the exact same Core i7 CPU as our test system, however drops you down to 16 GB of RAM, a 512 GB SSD, and RTX 3050 graphics. The middle setup expenses $1,899 for the Core i7 part, 16 GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and RTX 3050 Ti graphics. All 3 designs are based upon the 16- inch, 2560 ×1600 touch screen and include Windows 11 Pro.

Better laptop than tablet

A 16- inch 16: 10 display screen is a popular choice amongst laptop computers tailored towards material development and for great factor: it offers adequate screen property without getting too unwieldy. It’s much easier to continue your commute or down to your regional coffeehouse than a troublesome 17.3- inch 16:9 laptop computer. A 16- inch 16: 10 laptop computer can be more compact and lighter, in reality, than a 15.6- inch 16:9 laptop computer. The Summit E16 Flip is among a variety of current examples of a 16- inch material production laptop computer with a squarer 16: 10 element ratio. It follows the Asus VivoBook Pro 16 X OLED and the HP Spectre x36016, and the Dell XPS 17 can be consisted of in this group however is an inch bigger with a 17- inch 16: 10 display screen.

The Flip’s screen is not just huge, however it’s likewise brilliant. It’s ranked for 500 nits of brightness, and we determined it to be a little brighter than that. Its 2560 x 1600 resolution produces a crisp image and one that we discovered produced precise colors. It covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color range. The Asus VivoBook Pro 16 X OLED and the HP Spectre x36016 each function a 4K display screen, however the 2560 x 1600 resolution supplies adequate pixel density on a 16- inch display screen that we aren’t yearning for a greater resolution on the Flip.

What we are left desiring is an OLED panel that both the Asus VivoBook Pro 16 X OLED and the HP Spectre x36016 have. An OLED panel boasts unrivaled contrast with real black. The Flip’s contrast ratio is good, however it can’t match that of an OLED display screen.

IDG/ Matthew Elliott

MSI consists of an active pen with the Summit E16 Flip however provides no put on the system where you can stow it. The pen attaches magnetically to the left side of the laptop computer, which assists keep things arranged on your desk however is less helpful than a garaged pen would be throughout transit. The big display screen makes the system uncomfortable to manage in tablet mode; the system is too huge and heavy to deal with one-handed. Digital artists, nevertheless, will value the big canvas. While it’s too huge for easy note-taking, it’s a fantastic suitable for material production.

The Flip might not be the very best suitable for all tablet-related ventures, however it will serve you well as a laptop computer. The spacious screen offers you the required area for multitasking and managing several windows, and the laptop computer stays remarkably thin and relatively light. It’s just 0.7 inches thick and weighs an affordable 4.35 pounds. That’s light enough to handle a day-to-day commute and on par with other 16- inch 16: 10 laptop computers we’ve examined just recently. By contrast the Asus VivoBook Pro 16 X OLED weighs 4.30 pounds, and the HP Spectre x36016 weighs 4.45 pounds.

While it’s not as large as a video gaming laptop computer, it can definitely seem like one when its cooling fans accelerated. Throughout basic Windows usage, the Flip runs in near silence, however it can get rather loud when its fans are spinning at optimal speed throughout extensive graphics jobs.

IDG/ Matthew Elliott

The Summit E16 Flip is light enough to require to the workplace every day and likewise looks the part. The laptop computer includes an all-metal, corporate-black chassis with very little accessory. There is an MSI logo design on the cover and another on the bottom bezel listed below the display screen, however both are black and mix in with the remainder of the monochrome appearance. The keyboard and touchpad are both black, and the only little chrome to be discovered is the narrow border framing the touchpad.

Webcam goes to 1080 p

A 16- inch 16: 10 laptop computer is a tweener in regards to consisting of a numpad; some designs like the Asus VivoBook Pro 16 X OLED include it and others like the HP Spectre x36016 do not. The Flip suits a numpad and does so without putting the capture on the keyboard itself. The keyboard feels comfy with the ideal Ctrl, Fn and Shift secrets the only secrets reduced as an outcome of the addition of the numpad. You do get 4, full-sized arrow secrets, which typically get the half-height treatment with the existence of a numpad.

IDG/ Matthew Elliott

The secrets themselves feel soft with shallow travel. I would have chosen a snappier action when typing however took pleasure in the company keyboard deck that had no tip of flex. I likewise liked the three-level keyboard backlighting; it let me keep the lighting at the best level in a range of dark environments.

The touchpad is roomy and responsive. It properly tape-recorded my swipes and mousing gestures, and its click action is neither too mushy nor too firm.

Secure logins are essential for any laptop computer and especially so on a company maker, and the Summit E16 Flip does not dissatisfy by supplying an IR web cam and a finger print reader. The IR web cam lets you utilize your face to visit through Windows Hello. And the web cam boasts a 1080 p resolution that will make you look clearer on video calls than a 720 p web cam. There’s no physical shutter for the web cam, however there is a turn on the system’s left edge that eliminates the power to the cam to safeguard your personal privacy.

The laptop computer’s speakers are underwhelming. They do not get extremely loud and sound tinny with absolutely nothing in the method of bass reaction. They’ll be sufficient for video calls and YouTube, however you’ll desire earphones for music playback.

IDG/ Matthew Elliott

IDG/ Matthew Elliott

A set of USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 assistance emphasize the Summit E16 Flip’s connection. It likewise includes 2 USB Type A ports on the ideal side for linking a mouse and older USB gadgets without requiring a dongle. The addition of a microSD card slot is likewise a valued addition.

MSI Summit E16 Flip efficiency

Our MSI Summit E16 Flip includes an Intel Core i7-1260 P processor, 32 GB of RAM, RTX 3050 Ti graphics, and a 1TB SSD. The Core i7-1260 P belongs to Intel’s Alder Lake-P series that is the chipmaker’s brand-new mainstream offering that offers efficiency while still enabling thin-and-light styles. These are 28- watt chips with Intel’s brand-new hybrid architecture with efficiency and performance cores. The Core i7-1260 P has 4 efficiency cores, 8 performance cores, and an overall of 16 processing threads.

Because we examine more video gaming laptop computers than content-creation laptop computers, we have actually drawn in some video gaming systems to utilize as contrasts for the Flip. All function lower-end GeForce RTX graphics, either a RTX 3050, 3050 Ti or 3060 GPU. You’ll see a mix of 11 th- and 12 th-gen Intel chips in addition to 2 AMD-based systems. The MSI Katana GF66 and Katana GF76 are the other 2 laptop computers with 12 th-gen Alder Lake chips with the Flip.

Our very first criteria is PCMark 10, which determines efficiency on daily computing work consisting of workplace performance jobs, web surfing, and video chats. The 2 MSI Katana laptop computers led the pack, and the Dell XPS 17 snuck in ahead of the Summit E16 Flip although it utilizes a previous-generation CPU. Still, a rating above 6,000 is exceptional and shows the Flip is overqualified as a performance device.

IDG/ Matthew Elliott

Our HandBrake criteria evaluates how a laptop computer has the ability to manage squashing CPU loads over a prolonged duration– in this case, transcoding a 30 GB MKV file to a format appropriate for Android tablets utilizing HandBrake, the totally free video encoding energy. The Flip squashed the competitors on HandBrake and even edged the set of MSI Kanata laptop computers that include a higher-powered, less effective 12 th-gen Core i7 chip.

IDG/ Matthew Elliott

Next up is Cinebench, another CPU-intensive test however one that renders a complicated 2D scene over a brief amount of time. The Flip succeeded, however the 2 MSI Katanas had the ability to surpass it on the multi-threaded test.

IDG/ Matthew Elliott

IDG/ Matthew Elliott

Even though it’s tailored more towards content development and media modifying than 3D video gaming, the Flip succeeded on 3DMark’s Time Spy criteria. It took 3rd location behind the RTX 3060- based Dell XPS 17 and the higher-end of the 2 MSI Katana laptop computers.

IDG/ Matthew Elliott

Although it’s not a video gaming laptop computer, we wished to see how the Flip may do as an after-hours video gaming maker and ran 2 of our 3D video gaming criteria, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Metro Exodus It kipped down a playable 64 fps when running the older Rise of the Tomb Raider video game at 1080 p on Very High presets. On the more requiring Metro Exodus, it handled just 21 fps, however the RTX 3060- based Dell XPS 17 didn’t fare better.

IDG/ Matthew Elliott

IDG/ Matthew Elliott

To check the battery life, we loop a 4K video utilizing Windows 11’s Movies & & television app, with the laptop computer set to Airplane mode and earbuds plugged in. We set the screen brightness at a fairly brilliant 250 nits to 260 nits, which is a great brightness for enjoying a motion picture in a workplace with the lights on. With its big, high-resolution screen, the Flip lasted simply over 9 hours, which may get you through a workday on a single charge however not by enough that you might leave the battery charger in your home.

IDG/ Matthew Elliott

Alas, it’s OLED-less

As much as we enjoy the extensive 16- inch 16: 10 screen in laptop computer mode, we warn you from lumping the MSI Summit E16 Flip in with the remainder of the 2-in-1 company convertible crowd. We’ve seen smaller sized convertibles like the Lenovo Yoga 9i and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio that supply less screen realty however higher flexibility due to the fact that they feel more natural in tablet mode. The Summit E16 Flip, on the other hand, is a convertible that transforms in between a luxuriously big laptop computer and content-creation tablet for drawing or sketching or otherwise utilizing a particular graphics program. You will not wish to browse Windows or search the Web in tablet mode on the Flip with any excellent frequency.

As a laptop computer, the Flip is remarkably thin and relatively portable, provided the size of its screen. The display screen is huge and intense with a high resolution, however the HP Spectre x36016 convertible and the Asus VivoBook Pro 16 X laptop computer are comparable 16- inch 16: 10 designs around the very same cost that dish out an OLED display screen, which is a function we ‘d think of is greater on any imaginative pro’s dream list for their next laptop computer. We hope MSI provides OLED goodness with the next upgrade to the Flip.