Skip to main content

MSI’s Creator Z16 is finally the MacBook Pro competitor we’ve been waiting for

Image used with permission by copyright holder

MSI has announced a new laptop in its Creator line, the Z16 — and it is unabashedly a MacBook Pro alternative. It’s a 16-inch creator-focused laptop with a silver chassis, black keys, and aluminum unibody chassis. It even matches the screen size (16-inch), resolution (2500 x 1600), and aspect ratio (16:10) with the MacBook Pro 16-inch.

But there’s also quite a lot about the Creator Z16 that might make it an attractive alternative to the 16-inch MacBook Pro.

First off, that 16-inch panel has a 120Hz refresh rate. Higher refresh rates have been exclusive to gaming laptops so far, and a feature Apple has resisted bring to its Macs. The higher refresh rate’s most obvious application is gaming, but it’s also a quality-of-life feature that makes simple tasks like scrolling and animation much smoother.

It also offers a wider selection of ports, including USB-A, two Thunderbolt 4, and a Micro SD card slot.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The MSI Creator Z16 looks like it has the performance chops to match the design. It has been updated with the new 11th-generation Intel H-series processors, which are eight-core, 45-watt processors. They’re akin to what the current MacBook Pro 16-inch currently uses, though they should be a bit faster with the optimizations Intel has made over the past couple of years. MSI is offering either the Core i7-11800H or the Core i9-11900H.

The MSI Creator Z16 also comes with an Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics card with the new Nvidia Studio drivers. We’ve seen some impressive results from these graphics cards in gaming laptops in the past few months, but now Nvidia has brought them to professional laptops with a focus on content creators. With Dynamic Boost turned on, they can be delivered up to 60 watts of power. If you rely on Adobe Premiere Pro, these new graphics and drivers should be a boon to your workflow.

Will they outperform the current AMD Radeon options in the MacBook Pro 16-inch though? Or, more importantly, the M1X or M2 that eventually come its successor? We’ll have to wait and see. We’re also seeing this update come to popular options such as the Dell XPS 17.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

MSI will have two configurations for sale. Both models come with 32GB of RAM, with the possibility of expanding yourself up to 64GB. The $2,599 configuration comes with 1TB of NVMe SSD storage, while the $2,999 model has 2TB of storage.

Beyond performance, the Creator Z16 features thin bezels, a touchscreen, and the ability to open the screen completely flat at 180 degrees. It even includes per-key RGB backlighting, a rather unique feature for a non-gaming laptop.

The Creator Z16 is 0.64 inches thick and weighs around 5.07 pounds.

MSI

The Creator Z16 is only the tip of the iceberg for new laptops from MSI. The company has also announced updates to its wide range of gaming laptops, bumping nearly every model up to Intel’s 11th-gen chips. The 17-inch GS76 Stealth has been updated to match the all-black design of the GS66 Stealth, while the chunkier GE76 Raider now offers up to the Core i9 and 1440p 240Hz displays.

MSI also highlighted its new cheaper gaming laptops, the Pulse GL66 and Katana GF. These designs support the new RTX 3050 Ti and RTX 3050 graphics, as well as Intel’s 11th-gen processors. MSI even offers a stark white version of the GF, known as the Sword series.

The new devices will be available in starting June.

Editors' Recommendations

Luke Larsen
Senior Editor, Computing
Luke Larsen is the Senior editor of computing, managing all content covering laptops, monitors, PC hardware, Macs, and more.
MacBook Pro 16 vs. MacBook Pro 13: Is bigger always better?
Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro

The MacBook Pro is a beautiful, premium Apple computer and is one of the best laptops you can buy today. With its updated keyboard, special touch controls, and solid build, now is a great time to invest in a MacBook Pro if you were previously skeptical.

In this comparison, we pit the 13-inch model against its bigger 16-inch sibling. Their differences aren't quite so wide as seen in years past, although the introduction of Apple's new M1 chip makes the contest a bit more interesting. If you weren't sure about which version to get, this comparison aims to help you decide.
Design

Read more
Razer Book 13, a new productivity laptop, aimed at taking on the Dell XPS 13
razer launches book 13

The Razer Book 13 is Razer's new productivity-first laptop. Coming later in November and starting at $1,200, the new laptop takes on Dell's XPS 13 and promises high performance, productivity, and Razer's traditional design.

Not to be confused with the Razer Blade Stealth 13, the Razer Book 13 is a new product line for the company. It keeps Razer's familiar, quality design but, with productivity in mind, beefs up the internals with Intel's latest 11th-generation Tiger Lake processors.

Read more
Save $300 on the 16-inch MacBook Pro in latest (early) Prime Day deal
The 16-inch MacBook Pro, with the cover opened and the screen showing an image of an island.

Discounts on Apple products are few and far between, which is why it's a good idea to look at Prime Day deals if you're in the market for a new MacBook. Right now at Amazon, the new Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro
(16GB RAM, 512GB Storage) is reduced from $2,399 to $2,099 with free one-day shipping. That's a $300 savings. We saw a similar deal in July, but this sale matches the lowest price we've seen since the 16-inch MacBook Pro was released in November 2019. Only refurbished models have ever been discounted deeper than $300. You can also save $400 on the 1TB model, which comes with the Intel Core i9 processor.
Buy Now

In addition to providing 16GB of RAM, the 512GB MacBook Pro has a ninth-generation six-core Intel Core i7 processor, a gorgeous 16-inch retina display with True Tone technology, and an AMD Radeon 5300M graphics card with 6DDR6 memory, which will support almost any game on the market. Audiophiles will delight in the MacBook Pro's six-speaker system with force-canceling woofers and studio-quality mics as well. And travelers or folks on-the-go can count on a whopping 11 hours of battery life from this laptop.

Read more