This business laptop doesn’t quite rival the 13-inch MacBook Pro, but is less than half the price
Available to preorder now
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Only a few days ago,Applelaunched the brand newMacBook Pro 13. It’s undoubtedly an impressive machine, but there exist a number of rival devices that can compete on both performance and price.
MSI Modern 14 laptop -$1461.79 at XoticPC (preorder)(roughly £1200/AU$2250)The Modern 14 isn’t worlds away from the new MacBook Pro 13 - and it’s certainly a lot kinder on the purse strings. It’s only available to preorder at the moment, but with a dedicated graphics card, 2TB SSD and Windows 10 Pro, this MSI machine could well be worth considering.
Well, at least to a certain extent, as Apple’s hardware is often customized and bespoke in nature. For example, it seems the MacBook Pro’sIntel1068NG7 processor is an Apple exclusive. It’s built on a newer 10nm manufacturing process, has the highest base frequency of any Intel laptop CPU and an Iris Plus graphics processor that can push4Kcontent at 120Hz.
If you’re not willing to fork out for the Apple device, however, you might be pleased to meet theMSIModern 14. MSI is not a household name, but has been around for more than 20 years and is well known for its motherboards and gaming laptops. The Modern 14, though, is abusiness laptopand is currently available to preorder.
Note, international customers may have to use a specialist parcel forwarding service if they want to take advantage of the deal.
At $1,461.79 (roughly £1200/AU$2250), it is less than half the price of the Apple device (which has a suggested retail price of $2,999) and boasts a comparable configuration.
The CPU is a slower Intel Core i7-10510U, but you do get a dedicated graphics card: theNvidiaGeforce MX330 with 2GB GDDR5. The machine also features a 2TB XPC M.2 NVMe SSD andWindows 10Pro, to highlight its business credentials.
Have you managed to get hold of a cheaper product with equivalent specifications, in stock and brand new? Let us know and we’ll tip our hat to you.
Now, how do the two compare? The MacBook Pro is heavier, has a higher resolution and a smaller screen (which means a better pixel density). Its memory is also almost 50% faster and it boasts a much larger battery (58Whr vs 50Whr).
The MSI Modern 14 doesn’t quite compete with Apple’s new device, but it’s not worlds away and could be a great choice for anyone after a high-performance business laptop.
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Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled inwebsite buildersandweb hostingwhen DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.
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