The 2021 MSI Stealth 15M A11UEK comes with an upgraded Intel Core i7-11375H Processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU. The rest of the laptop is near identical to its predecessor and is thin and lightweight at 16.15mm and 1.7 kg.
Our review unit is the A11UX variant. The display is a 15.6-inch IPS-level 1920×1080 144Hz panel. The new hardware offers good performance with the 4-core/8-thread Intel Core i7-11375H CPU, Nvidia RTX 3060 with 6GB GDDR6 VRAM, 16GB DDR4 3200MHz and a 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD.
The Stealth 15M offers plenty including support for Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort 1.4 and PD charging. There’s also an included MicroSD card slot. Wireless connectivity is powered by Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1.
Highlights:
- 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11375H processor
- GeForce GTX 3060 Max-Q
- Sleek and compact
- Up to 15.6″ Full HD (1920×1080), 144Hz refresh rate
- Support for DP/PD/Thunderbolt 4
Specifications
| CPU | Intel Core i7-11375H Processor 3.30 GHz (12M Cache, up to 5 GHz, 4 cores) |
| RAM | Up to DDR4-3200 Memory Type 2 Slots Number of SO-DIMM Slot Max 64GB Max Capacity |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU 6GB GDDR6 Up to 1357MHz Boost Clock, 65W Maximum Graphics Power with Dynamic Boost. |
| Storage | 1x M.2 SSD slot (NVMe PCIe Gen3) |
| Display | 15.6″ FHD (1920×1080), 144Hz, IPS-Level |
| Ports | 1x Type-C (USB / DP / Thunderbolt 4) with PD charging 1x Micro SD 1x (4K @ 60Hz) HDMI 2x Type-A USB3.2 Gen1 1x Type-C (USB3.2 Gen2 / DP) |
| Connectivity | 802.11 ax Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth v5.1 |
| Camera | HD type (30fps@720p) |
| Audio | Dual-speaker Harman Kardon-certified audio system |
| Battery | 52 Battery (Whr) 150W adapter |
| Dimensions | 358x248x16.15mm (WxDxH) Approx. 1.7 kg |
MSI Stealth 15M Specifications
Packaging
The MSI Stealth 15M arrives in a black and white cardboard box with a plastic carrying handle. Inside the packaging are:
- MSI Stealth 15M laptop
- 150W power adapter
- Manuals
Design & Build Quality
The MSI Stealth 15M A11UEK looks and feels premium with its all-aluminum chassis. The laptop comes two color options – Pure White and Carbon Gray. The logo is all-black, staying away from MSI’s traditional red, similar to the Pulse GL66. The hinges hold the lid firmly and the lid can be opened with a single hand without any issues. The 15” matte display has thin bezels and houses a HD webcam and microphones.
The MSI Stealth 15M A11UEK is equipped with a good set of ports on either side. The rear body features two large openings for cooling. At the base are wide ventilation grills. The chassis is quite rigid and feels solid.
With dimensions of 358x248x16.15mm and a weight of 1.7kg, the Stealth 15M A11UEK is quite portable and can be easily carried around in laptop bags and backpacks.
Ports
There are no connections at the back, all ports are on the right and left sides of the notebook. MSI Stealth 15M comes with quite a good number of ports.
On the left side are the ports for the power adapter, 1x card reader (microSD), 1x Type-A USB3.2 Gen1 and a headphone/mic combo jack.
On the right are 1x Type-C (USB / DP / Thunderbolt 4) with PD charging, 1x Type-C (USB3.2 Gen2 / DP),1x Type-A USB3.2 Gen1 and 1x (4K @ 60Hz) HDMI port.
For wireless connectivity, the Stealth 15M comes with a Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) wireless network card and Bluetooth 5.1.
Display
The FullHD (1920 x 1080) 15.6″ screen uses an IPS panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz. The display features thin bezels and on the top bezel is a 720p webcam capable of recording at 30 FPS. Although there is noise in poorly lit environments, the camera quality is generally good.
The screen displays good colors and the maximum brightness works for indoor use but difficult in bright outdoor environments. The viewing angles are glare-free and comfortable.
Keyboard & Trackpad
The MSI Stealth 15M has a single-zone RGB-backlit, chiclet-type keyboard without the numeric keypad. The keys are pretty large for a compact laptop. The arrow keys are full size too, with just the function keys smaller in size. The laptop has a standard size touchpad.
Coming to the touchpad, it’s easy to navigate, multi-touch gestures are recognized and handled properly.
Performance
In terms of performance, our test model is equipped with a 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11375H processor with 4 cores and 8 threads and a maximum clock frequency of 5GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics with 6GB GDDR6 VRAM and 16GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM which can be further upgraded to 64GB. For storage, there is 1TB of M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD onboard.
CPU
The Core i7-11375H comes with 4 cores, 8 threads and 12 MB of cache. It has base clock of 3.3Ghz at 35W and it can achieve a maximum boost of up to 5Ghz.
GPU
Graphics is powered by a dedicated NVIDIA RTX 3060 GPU for laptops so far with improved raytracing and tensor cores. Built on the 8 nm process, the RTX 3060 offers 6 GB GDDR6 graphics memory with a 192 Bit memory bus and based on the GA106 core with 3840 shaders at a frequency ranging from 817 MHz to 1500 MHz
With the new Ampere cards, there is no more Max-Q variant (the energy-efficient version specially designed for thin and portable laptops for longer battery time) but every OEM can choose to implement Max-Q technologies such as Dynamic Boost, Whisper mode etc. The same 3060 GPU can differ in performance on different laptops based on the thermal design offered.
RAM
The MSI Stealth 15M A11UEK is equipped with 16 GB of 3200MHz DDR4 RAM in dual channel in the SO-DIMM slots. It can be further upgraded to 64GB maximum.
STORAGE
Our review unit came with a 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD. However, depending on the region, there may be different SSDs. The SSD offers average performance at read speeds of up to 1,920MB per second and write of up to 1,968MB/s.
BENCHMARKS
In Cinebench R20 tests, the Intel Core i7- 11375H scored 531 in single core benchmark and 3,081 in multi-core benchmark. In PCMark 10 Benchmark, the MSI Stealth 15M A11UEK scored 5,947.
| Cinebench R20 single core | 584 |
| Cinebench R20 multi core | 2,340 |
| PCMark 10 Benchmark | 5,980 |
| 3DMark Time Spy | 6,230 |
| 3DMark Fire Strike | 13,490 |
GAMING
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 in combination with Intel Core i7-11800H provides a great gaming experience on FHD resolution at maximum quality settings in most games. It can run most modern games easily above 60fps on very high settings with zero stuttering or lagging.
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 78 |
| Dirt 5 | 74 |
| Far Cry 5 | 84 |
Temperature & Noise
In terms of cooling, MSI Stealth 15M A11UEK uses the most extensive version of the Cooler Boost 5 technology. There a total of 6 copper heatpipes that distribute the heat through the two fans. Two of the copper heat pipes focus on the CPU while four others on the GPU.
However, temperatures can get high on load and the laptop can get really warm when gaming. Fan noise is quiet on idle but audible even on slight load.
Upgradability
In terms of upgradability, there is one RAM SODIMM slot and a single M.2 PCIe Gen3 drive. You can upgrade the RAM to a total of 64GB in dual-channel.
Software
Most of the performance and display settings can be controlled via the MSI Dragon Center. The app lets you monitor and optimize your system performance, change user profiles, switch between display color modes, adjust charging preferences and more.
There is also Nahimic software for audio settings, the Killer Control Center for Wi-Fi management and the third-party app Overwolf for in-game overlays.
Battery & Audio
The MSI Stealth 15M A11UEK has a surprisingly small 52Whr battery for a gaming laptop. On a full charge, based on the usage and screen brightness, the laptop lasts about three to six hours. When browsing the internet, you can expect around four hours of battery time.
In terms of audio, there are 2x 2.5W speakers powered by Nahimic and is High-Res certified. The sound is of average quality and as with most gaming laptops, we recommend using a headset.
Verdict
The MSI Stealth 15M A11UEK is an affordable mid-range gaming laptop and comes packed with a 144Hz screen, good GPU and CPU options, plenty of ports and RAM upgradeability. This is a easy recommendation if you are looking for a solid 1080p gaming laptop that can play most modern games. Some of the drawbacks are the mediocre battery life, lack of SSD upgrade options and the average display.
