MSI Creator A16 AI+ review: when a champion trips at the finish line

The MSI Creator A16 AI+ is an exceptionally powerful laptop with a specification list that makes you drool. Unfortunately, some incomprehensible port choices cause daily annoyance.

The MSI Creator A16 AI+ (€2,126 excl. VAT) is a powerful laptop tailored for creative professionals. MSI does almost everything right: the specifications are top-notch, the actual performance exceeds our expectations, the screen is well-calibrated, and the keyboard even includes a numeric keypad.

All the ingredients for a top device are present, so why does MSI choose the most unfortunate selection of ports we’ve ever seen on a laptop? The manufacturer not only provides too few connections for a workstation of this caliber, but the ports that are present are awkwardly placed and obstruct each other.

Let’s start with the bad news before we blow the trumpet.

Port debacle

The laptop has one USB 4/Thunderbolt port located on the right side. Want to connect the device to a USB-C monitor on the left? Tough luck, unless you have a very long cable. One USB-C port is also very little for a device aimed at creative professionals, who typically want to connect peripherals like external storage or a card reader.

That’s one thing. Worse is the placement of the power connection. It’s right next to one of the two USB-A ports, smack in the middle on the right. The result: when you place this laptop at an ergonomic distance for working and typing, the power cable is exactly in the way of an external mouse. That’s frustrating and incomprehensible: there’s a reason why a power connection is never in that spot on other laptops. For good measure, the 3.5-inch headphone jack is in the same spot, also in the way.

Left-handed users may rejoice: they won’t have this issue. On the left, we only find an HDMI connection and an extra USB-A port. One USB-C/Thunderbolt port is too few for a workstation of this caliber, and the placement is almost unforgivable. Want to use a dock? Make sure to place it on the right or buy an extra-long cable. Prefer to work on the device with an external mouse? Tough luck, that’s also annoying.

If the MSI Creator A16 AI+ were a bad laptop otherwise, we wouldn’t be so annoyed, and this review would be simply short. Unfortunately, all other aspects of this laptop are phenomenal, so you almost have to wonder if you can overlook the port frustration.

Screen and build quality

Let’s take a step back. The MSI Creator A16 AI+ is a 16-inch laptop equipped with a beautiful OLED screen with 2,560 x 1,600 pixels and thus a handy 16:10 ratio. The screen looks sharp and has well-adjusted colors. We measure an average deviation of DeltaE 3.5, which is above the mythical value of 2 that graphic professionals strive for, but the deviations remain within limits. Especially the display of red tones doesn’t quite match reality.

On the base of the laptop, we find a quality (illuminated) keyboard. The keys offer enough resistance for a luxurious typing experience. MSI also finds space for a compact numeric keypad. On a workstation of this size, such a feature is always an added value.

We have no complaints about the spacious and accurate touchpad. Clicking is physical and feels accurate.

Processor with stamina

Inside the MSI Creator A16 AI+, we find an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. It’s a powerful processor with twelve computing cores and a standard TDP of 28 watts. AMD combines four powerful Zen 5 cores on the chip with eight more efficient Zen 5c cores. In contrast to Intel’s P and E cores, all these cores have multithreading, giving you 24 threads. For a device where rendering is part of the task, that’s a significant advantage.

AMD claims a boost clock speed of 5.1 GHz with a base clock speed of 2 GHz. During our tests, we note a peak frequency of 4.7 GHz, which the chip then maintains. The high frequency of the performance cores remains even after ten minutes: hats off to the engineers who developed the cooling for this device.

It’s no surprise that the processor scores very high in benchmark tests. In terms of performance, workstations with Intel onboard can’t keep up with this chip. Note: under heavy workload, this laptop is also clearly audible.

Office work

The processor is not alone. 32 GB RAM and a high-performance SSD contribute to the performance. The SSD itself is not the fastest in our comparison, but all examples in the graph below are exceptionally performant.

The powerful hardware unsurprisingly ensures that this laptop performs strongly in office work.

Office is somewhat overkill for the MSI Creator A16 AI+, but you can rest assured that office tasks run smoothly.

Powerful GPU

MSI equips this laptop with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070. This mobile card has a lot to offer. The chip is primarily intended to support creative workloads but is also powerful enough for those who want to play a game during a break.

Where you place the emphasis is up to you. At the first startup of the Nvidia app, you can choose between the Game Ready drivers and the Studio drivers. The Studio drivers are more stable, receive fewer updates, and work best with professional applications, while the Game Ready drivers receive frequent updates to support the latest games.

In a somewhat business context, Studio is the right choice. Both drivers also support other workloads: it’s about optimization.

Regarding photo and video editing, this laptop performs very well. MSI’s specification choice ensures that the MSI Creator A16 AI+ supports creative workloads very well. It is noticeable that a truly professional card like the RTX 1000 in the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 is slightly more suitable for video editing.

In another price range, the HP Zbook Ultra G1a 14 also deserves mention. That device houses AMD’s phenomenal Ryzen Max+ Pro 395. That chip combines a CPU with an integrated GPU that is less powerful than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 but uses 128 GB of shared memory. That combination is ideal for many professional workloads.

As mentioned, playing a game is also possible, although that’s much less common with a purely professional Nvidia card. The MSI Creator A16 AI+ combines work and relaxation without too many compromises.

Forget about AI

MSI includes AI+ in the name of this device. Like all other laptops with AI in the name, it’s a bit silly. AMD’s chip has an NPU onboard, but with 50 TOPS, it doesn’t have enough computing power to be truly useful, except for details like background blurring in Teams.

The Nvidia GPU is much more suitable for AI applications, as shown by the limited test above in terms of computer vision. However, 8 GB of GPU memory is not enough for real AI workloads.

Unfortunately, this laptop is not compatible with our extensive AI test suite. It would show that today there is only one true AI laptop on the market, and that’s the aforementioned Zbook. Only that device can locally run AI workloads comparable to what you find in the cloud, thanks to the enormous amount of memory.

It’s telling that the HP Zbook Ultra G1a 14 doesn’t have the letters A and I in its name. The louder manufacturers shout AI, the more you can ignore the AI aspect. The only thing about this laptop that’s truly optimized for AI is the marketing material.

Battery

The MSI Creator A16 AI+ has a solid 99.9 Wh battery onboard. That’s the maximum size you can take on a plane. It’s no surprise that even with such a solid battery, the autonomy is limited. Given the powerful hardware, this is not a mobile device made for on-the-go use. The weight (2,082 grams) and the massive 240-watt power brick confirm that theory.

You won’t easily make it through a workday without a power outlet. Moreover, the laptop performs only a fraction of its potential when the charger is not connected. The CPU and GPU performance require adequate power supply.

Although the laptop doesn’t last long on a single charge, charging does take a while. In just under an hour, the tank is only half full again. That’s because the battery capacity is significantly higher than that of the other laptops in the comparison.

Resistant software

MSI equips this laptop with the MSI Center. It’s central control software for the device. Other MSI laptops also have the MSI Center onboard, and the tool mainly shows that MSI is a hardware manufacturer, not a software manufacturer. In summary: the initial installation lingers, initialization takes a long time, and the whole thing is much stiffer than, say, Lenovo Vantage.

Once in the software, you can access various functions such as hardware monitoring, an AI optimization function that offers little added value, and screen control functions. Things like the software for the RGB keyboard are modular and need to be updated separately in the software (which doesn’t work the first time either). It’s not disastrous, but still more hassle than necessary. MSI does earn points because there’s no real bloatware on the device.

Video and audio

The FHD webcam delivers decent results during video calls, and the sound quality is also good. When you need to dive into a digital meeting, this laptop handles it well. The camera has infrared onboard and thus supports Windows Hello. You can cover the lens with a slider at the top.

The speakers can provide quite a few decibels. So you can edit without external equipment or headphones, although you shouldn’t expect deep bass.

Verdict

The MSI Creator A16 AI+ is a powerful workstation with well-balanced hardware. The device has everything to appeal to a creative (semi)professional. For the recommended price of €2,126 excl. VAT, you really get something nice in your hands. As for the capabilities of this laptop, there’s no “”yes, but.”” Not only in terms of the internals but also with the keyboard and screen, MSI hits the nail on the head.

But those ports… We tested the laptop in various circumstances, and honesty compels us to say that we couldn’t get past the frustration ourselves. At our home office, we couldn’t connect this laptop due to the poorly positioned USB port, and at the dining table, the power cable was constantly in the way while editing a test video.

Is your screen on the left of the laptop, and do you never plan to work with a mouse? Then definitely buy this device: it will support your creative workflows excellently. In other cases, consider whether the port placement is a problem for you. Many lightweight office laptops are better equipped in terms of connections than this workstation.

MSI sends a heavyweight champion into the boxing ring but ties its boxing gloves together. The MSI Creator A16 AI+ is a thoughtful and powerful laptop hampered by some indefensible choices, and therefore misses out on the “Editor’s Choice” label.

Tested configuration: MSI Creator A16 AI+ A3XVGG-231NL – AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, 32 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD, glossy 16-inch OLED screen (2,560 x 1,600), Windows 11 Pro – €2,126 excl. VAT.