MSI’s new laptops have 12th-gen Intel, 165Hz refresh rates

MSI announced a series of updated business- and productivity-focused laptops featuring the latest 12th-gen Intel Core processors. 

The updated laptops come in three series: The Summit, Prestige, and Modern lines. The Summit marks the most premium options, featuring up to 165Hz refresh rates, discrete RTX 3050 Ti graphics, and 32GB of RAM.

Meanwhile, the Prestige covers the midrange options, and the Modern series has the most affordable devices, starting at $699.

The Summit series includes the Summit E14 Flip Evo and Summit E14 Evo, Summit E13 Flip Evo and Summit E16 Flip, and Summit E16 Flip Evo — for a total of 13 different configurations.

The Summit Flip models come with a 2-in-1 design, allowing you to benefit from both laptop and tablet forms. The Flip models also come with an included MSI Pen to use as a stylus.

The 16:10 touchscreen displays range between 13.4-inches and 16-inches and have resolutions between FHD+ and QHD+, with refresh rates ranging up to 165Hz. That would make these the fastest displays we’ve ever seen on laptops that aren’t made explicitly for gaming.

All the Summit laptops includes the new P-series Intel chips, either the Core i5-1240P or the Core i7-1260P. The larger 16-inch models include options for either the Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti or Nvidia RTX 3050, while the other Summit series laptops include only Intel Iris Xe graphics.

The Summit series laptops are the only offers that have a 1080p webcam, while the others are stuck on 720p.

The Prestige series, meanwhile, includes the Prestige 14 Evo, the Prestige 14, and the Prestige 15. The displays include 14-inch FHD options, and 15.6-inch FHD and UHD options with slightly varying color gamuts. Unlike the Summit options, these laptops use an old-school 16:9 aspect ratio, as do the Modern series laptops.

Similarly, the Prestige 14 also features discrete GPU options of either the Nvidia RTX 3050 or Nvidia GTX 1650. The Prestige 15 even features up to the Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti, not unlike the Dell XPS 15. All new Prestige models also include the same Intel P-series chips as the Summit laptops.

The Prestige 14 and Prestige 14 Evo will be available in Carbon Gray and Bluestone color options, and the Prestige 15 in Carbon Gray and Urban Silver Color options.

Both the Summit and Prestige series includes models with Intel Evo platform certification, ensuring the devices are lightweight, have fast touch response, and enjoy long battery life. These models are also set apart by options for Nvidia-powered discrete graphics for some extra performance.

Last is the Modern series, which includes the cheapest of the new laptops and is the only one to use Intel’s new lower-powered U-series chips, the Core i3-1215U, Core i5-1235U, and Core i7-1255U. The Modern series includes the Modern 15 and Modern 14, and are said to feature trendy designs inspired by French illustrator Lorraine Sorlet.

All options are 1080p resolution, have some thick bezels, and include an HDMI port, unlike the Prestige models.

The Summit laptops start at $1,399, the Prestige models start at $929, and the Modern series starts at $699.

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