MSI Modern 15 A11M-050XFR Specs and Details

Features of MSI Modern 15 A11M-050XFR

Chassis, connectors, screen of the MSI Modern 15 A11M-050XFR

The MSI Modern 15 A11M-050XFR is therefore part of an elegant and compact office vision intended for nomads. Indeed, if the manufacturer is better known for its gaming machines, it has been able to infiltrate the hotly contested ultrabook market and offer powerful solutions in a quality case for ultra mobility. With a weight of 1.6 kg , it also benefits from a format (356 x 233 mm) and fineness (16.9 mm) optimized for traveling without being noticed.

The MSI Modern A11M-050XFR takes place in a robust brushed aluminum frame which adjoins the screen with a very thin frame (occupancy rate of 80% screen / case). Note that the case meets the military resistance standard MIL-STD-810G for foolproof strength (extreme heat, shock, fall, humidity, altitude, exposure to the sun). Note also its backlit keyboard in white on four levels that makes typing in the dark easier.

Another thing to know about the case, it opens quite easily and gives access to the components that can be upgraded without too much difficulty . The two RAM slots are accessible (up to 64 GB, 3200 Mhz), as are two M.2 bays for storage.

As is the trend, MSI has chosen to surround the screen of its Modern 15 with thin borders while keeping the webcam in its usual place. The impression of immersion is important, especially as the IPS panel is bright and visible from all angles. As for the panel, the dense Full HD definition (1920 x 1080 px) allows you to view High Definition content in the best conditions and to modulate the display. Another good point, it benefits from an anti- reflective treatmentwhich brings its share of comfort on the move. Note that the screen flips 180 degrees to lay it flat and for example, easily share your work with those around you and that it covers a color space close to 100% sRGB for precise image processing.

Let\’s finish this tour of the chassis with the connectivity which, despite the compact format of the ultrabook, brings together everything you need in standard formats. There are no less than two USB 3.2 ports, a versatile USB 4 Type-C Thunderbolt 4 port, an HDMI output, a microSD card reader, as well as a mini-jack combo socket. On the other hand, the webcam does not support Windows Hello facial recognition and it seems that MSI has removed the fingerprint reader from its 15-inch, therefore offering no biometric authentication option. Note that the wireless modules are entrusted to Wifi AC and Bluetooth 5.0. We expected more from 802.11 AX WiFi on this new range, too bad.

Performance, battery life of the MSI Modern 15 A11M-050XFR

The MSI Modern 15 A11M-050XFR is powered by an 11th Generation Core i7-1165G7 Quad Core processorTiger Lake (late 2020). This processor brings some interesting advancements, starting with a higher TDP. Thus, our HP’s Core i7-1165G7 displays a TDP of 28W where its predecessors, the Core i7-1065G7 and Core i7-10510U are satisfied with a TDP of 15W, despite the low consumption. This results from an increase in performance visible on advanced software (Lightroom, Capture One Pro, Davinci Resolve, 7Zip, etc.), a little less on basic daily tasks (Office, surfing the Web, streaming …) . We hear, these tasks in question are perfectly taken care of by the Envy, but when it comes to missions that only commit very few resources, the difference between the generations is not noticeable. Opposite, the RAM provides 8 GB RAM, a total sufficient for a comfortable multitasking which is now considered to be the minimum. Note that the RAM is scalable up to 64 GB if you want to add more later.

Even more interesting, the integrated Iris Xe graphics chipgives a multimedia / versatile profile to the ultrabook. Thanks to it, Intel is back in the race against AMD but also and above all against small NVIDIA graphics cards such as the GeForce MX250 or the GeForce MX350. The performances of the Iris Plus G7 of the Gen10 (Ice Lake) are exceeded by a good length. So, with the Iris Xe, you should be able to play many games at 1080p under good conditions and work on fairly graphics-intensive tasks (Lightroom) without delay. Another benefit of having a faster graphics chip integrated into the processor is that it simplifies the design of the ventilation system and therefore causes less noise and heat than in a configuration with a dedicated graphics card.

For its part, the storage is entrusted to a 512 GB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD which will bring a welcome dose of responsiveness to the system. Compared to a standard mechanical hard drive, is is quieter, more robust and energy efficient, and allows Windows to achieve remarkable smoothness with short load times and zero latency execution. What’s more, its capacity is nothing short of ridiculous and can accommodate a good chunk of your game library although some may not find it sufficient. Here again, it is possible to upgrade the storage in place thanks to the two M.2 ports available inside.

A word about battery life now. The 52Whr battery installed in the Modern 15 A11M is logically capable of providing about 8 hours of battery life in Web browsing via Wifi, enough to work serenely for a day (without stressing the CPU or GPU).

Finally, note that this ultrabook is supplied with FreeDos, a utility that does not allow optimal use of all its capacities. It will therefore be necessary to install a complete operating system such as Linux or Windows to take advantage of a perfectly functional environment.