In the past, I wrote about the thin line between creative and gaming laptops, and there is no better modern example than the MSI Creator A16 AI+ Laptop. Powered by AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 graphics, the Creator A16 embraces both the creator and the gamer in one sleek design. How does it fair when it comes to design workloads? Well, let’s take a look.
Design
Sporting a sleek, magnesium aluminum chassis that is both stylish and sophisticated, the Creator demands attention. When I lifted the screen portion up, I was met with multicolored keys that slowly flickered across the keyboard. Through MSI Center, their pre-programed modification software, I was able to transform the colorful keyboard into a solid cool blue, ringing the Creator back into a more professional motif.
The Creator is, by all means, a powerful machine within a rock-solid form factor, albeit a bit large and heavy. Weighing 4.6 lb and measuring 14 x 10.24 x 0.79”, the Creator stands as a large device but balances that robustness with raw power, enhanced cooling, and a ton of I/O. At the bottom of the Creator, you’ll find a perforated vent which gives you a glimpse of the dual fan system, which pulls air in and shoots it out the back and sides.
As for your ports, the Creator offers a single USB4 port, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, an HDMI 2.1 video output, a 3.5mm combo audio jack, and a single 2.5 Gb Ethernet LAN port. Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 wireless technologies are built in, allowing me to use wireless networking to quickly download all the necessary testing software as well as a few games to give this device the full rundown.
Performance
Equipped with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 10-core processor, 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and a 1TB SSD, the Creator was able to manage a wide range of tasks with blazing fast speeds. When tested in Cinebench 2024, the Ryzen AI 9 managed to score an average of 984 points in multi-core performance and 111 points in single-core performance. This places the CPU above average in rendering rankings, while not in the top percentile in performance, it is still really good for those who are experienced with design software and rendering light animations or graphics. If you’re using any sort of AI system such as Microsoft’s Copilot+ assistant, the Ryzen AI 9 can easily handle those tasks when prompted thanks to the 50 TOPS rated NPU.
The matte 16” In-Plane Switching LCD panel has a 16:10 aspect ratio which gives you a bit more screen real estate with a native 2560 x 1600 resolution and 240 Hz refresh rate. This is backed by the dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card which leverages 8GB of GDDR6 memory to deliver great performance whether you are designing or gaming. With DLSS technology, things get really interesting here.
Cinebench scores rank the GPU at 10,000 points which is impressive for a device of this caliber. I also ran a couple of tests using 3D Mark giving us a rating of 5188 in Port Royal’s real-time ray tracing test with 251 frames per second with Sampler Feedback on. Testing non-ray tracing workloads, Steel Nomad scored a 2021 and ran at 20 frames per second. In conclusion, the Creator maintains that level of performance that places it in the above average tier. When it comes to design and gaming, we have to dig into the nuance a bit.
For the Designer and Gaming Enthusiast
Hardware wise, the Creator can easily run programs like Adobe Photoshop and Premiere as well as other video editing software like DaVinci Resolve. Thanks to the Ryzen AI 9 and dedicated RTX 4060 graphics, the Creator can handle modeling software like Blender and Unreal Engine. Granted, the more resource-demanding your creations will be, the more bogged down the Creator becomes.
For the gaming enthusiasts out there, the Creator can run a surprising number of demanding titles. Using the built-in benchmarking software found within Cyberpunk 2077, I found the game ran at an average frame rate of 72.4 fps at the “ultra” preset without ray tracing and with NVIDIA DLSS. Turning ray tracing on gave me an average frame rate of 59 fps, which is surprisingly good for a graphics card of this level. I also tested the Creator using Forza Horizon 5, which was able to run the game at 60 fps at high settings with ray tracing set to medium, which takes up 45% of all GPU resources. With DLSS enabled, we saw Forza maintain 60 fps with a drop in used resources, going as low as 18% in “performance” mode. Graphically, the Creator delivers on a level that surprised me.
Additional Findings
The Creator is more than just a large powerhouse of a laptop. MSI paid attention to the finer details in ways that allow creators and gaming enthusiasts to enjoy their favorite media while also delivering several nice-to-have features. MSI’s True Color software enables the screen to switch between multiple display modes including sRGB, Adobe RGB, DCI P3, Display P3, and more, allowing designers and editors to optimize colorization for greater accuracy.
The typical security features like a fingerprint sensor and privacy shutter for the onboard 1080p webcam are also great additions. You also get a Kensington lock slot so you can secure the Creator using various cable locking mechanisms. Not to mention the dual 2W speakers and quad 2W woofers, which deliver pretty great sound with that deep thumping bass.
My qualms with the device are few. The lack of an SD card slot is slightly disappointing as it would be great for those who want to quickly edit photos directly from a camera or external capture device. Above the keyboard seems to be another vent of sorts which gets very hot under heavy loads which could also create an uncomfortable scenario. Also, the enlarged touchpad is nice to use, requires some decent force to push down, and it feels oddly placed because of the inclusion of a number pad; so, there is a bit of a give and take going on here.
Conclusion
After several hours of using the Creator and playing around with all the bells and whistles while stressing the system out trying to optimize various software applications, I must admit that I really like this laptop. The Creator might be a large and somewhat cumbersome device, but the form factor makes complete sense when you consider what is under the hood. If you’re an imaginative creator yourself who sees themselves as an advanced user, this is the right device for you. It manages to strike that balance between work and play at a price point that seems absolutely reasonable.
So, if you’re thinking about checking out the MSI Creator A16 AI+ laptop for yourself, make sure you hit the link. Feel free to leave a comment or question below and we’ll do our best to get back to you as soon as possible!
0 Comments