MSI Stealth 16 Studio vs Microsoft Surface Pro 9 Comparison

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MSI Stealth 16 Studio

16 inches | January 2023

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Microsoft Surface Pro 9

13 inches | October 2022

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MSI Stealth 16 Studio vs Microsoft Surface Pro 9 Comparison Overview

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In this review, we will be comparing Stealth 16 Studio and Surface Pro 9, two laptops from MSI and Microsoft. MSI Stealth 16 Studio was introduced to market in January 2023 and Microsoft Surface Pro 9 was launched in October 2022. There is only 3 months difference between Stealth 16 Studio and Surface Pro 9 so we are expecting this to be a fair comparison regarding age and technology level.

Click for Available Configurations of the Laptops

Here is a brief look at the main features of MSI Stealth 16 Studio and Microsoft Surface Pro 9 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

MSI Stealth 16 Studio Key Specs

Launched in January 2023
16.0" IPS LCD, 16:10 Aspect Ratio Display
CPU: Intel Core i7 13620H
GPU: GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile 6GB
16GB Ram
355.8 x 259.7 x 19.95 mm (14.01 x 10.22 x 0.79 inches)
Weight: 1.99 kg (4.39 lbs)

Microsoft Surface Pro 9 Key Specs

Launched in October 2022
13.0" Touchscreen - IPS LCD, 3:2 Aspect Ratio Display
CPU: Intel Core i5 1235U
GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (80EU)
8GB Ram
287 x 209 x 9.3 mm (11.3 x 8.23 x 0.37 inches)
Weight: 0.87 kg (1.92 lbs)

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Stealth 16 Studio and Surface Pro 9 compares and decide which one is better for you.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Reasons to choose MSI Stealth 16 Studio over Microsoft Surface Pro 9

Side Bezel Thickness	5.6 mm vs 6.2 mm	0.6 mm thinner bezels
Display Size	16 inches vs 13 inches	Larger Screen Estate
Refresh Rate	144 Hz vs 120 Hz	Smoother media experience
Screen Type	Matte vs Glossy	potentially less reflections on screen
GPU Fabrication Process	4 nm vs 10 nm	Newer Generation GPU
GPU FLOPS	8.6 TFLOPS vs 1.41 TFLOPS	Dedicated GPU unit
GPU Type	Dedicated vs Integrated	More RAM Options
Upgradable RAM	Yes vs No	More advanced Bluetooth connectivity
Bluetooth	v5.3 vs v5.1	Easy login with fingerprint
Fingerprint Sensor	Yes vs No	Connect to external monitors directly via HDMI cable
HDMI Port	1x HDMI 2.1 vs No	Connects to the local network via Ethernet RJ45
Ethernet RJ45 Port	Yes vs No	Read & Write SD Cards with the built-in reader
SD Card Reader	Yes vs No	Fast way to input numbers
Numeric Pad	Yes vs No

Reasons to choose Microsoft Surface Pro 9 over MSI Stealth 16 Studio

Weight	0.87 kg vs 1.99 kg	1.12 kg lighter
Screen-to-Body Ratio	~83.9% vs ~80.3%	Larger screen area ratio
Screen PPI	266 ppi vs 142 ppi	More pixels per inch
Touch Screen	Yes vs No	Interact with your fingers
Screen Resolution	2880 x 1920 pixels vs 1920 x 1200 pixels	Higher pixel count screen
Charging Port Position	Left, Right vs Right	Flexible cable positions
Dolby Atmos Speakers	Yes vs No	3D Surround Sound Support
USB-C Port Type	v4.0 vs v3.2	Faster USB-C connection
Avg. MSRP Price	$1200-1600 vs $2000-2400	Lower Price (*may change depending on config, seller, location, and time)

Common Strengths of Microsoft Surface Pro 9 and MSI Stealth 16 Studio

Launch Dates	January 2023 vs October 2022	Both laptops are recent models
Fast Charging Support	Yes vs Yes	Charge the battery in a shorter time
USB Power Delivery	Yes vs Yes	Charging via USB port gives flexibility
RAM Type	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) vs PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)	Fast RAM type
Upgradable Storage	Yes vs Yes	Option to increase the Storage size
SSD Type	NVMe vs NVMe	Faster Data Transfers
Wi-Fi Standard	v6E vs v6E	Fast and Reliable Wi-Fi Connections
Thunderbolt Port	v4 vs v4	Fast data and power transfer via Thunderbolt Port
VGA Output	No vs No	Connect to External Displays via VGA cable
Keyboard Backlight	Yes vs Yes	Easily see the keys under low light

MSI Stealth 16 Studio vs Microsoft Surface Pro 9: Physical Specs Comparison

In this section, we will be comparing the physical specifications and body features of the MSI Stealth 16 Studio and the Microsoft Surface Pro 9.

Physical Specs
Weight	1.99 kg (4.39 lbs)	0.87 kg (1.92 lbs)
Surface Area	924 cm2 (143.2 inches2)	600 cm2 (93 inches2)
Screen to Surface Ratio	~80.3%	~83.9%
Side Bezel Thickness	~5.6 mm	~6.2 mm
Weight per Inch of Screen	0.12 kg/inch	0.07 kg/inch
	0.264 lbs/inch	0.154 lbs/inch
Colors	Blue	Black, Silver, Blue, Green

Comparison of the MSI Stealth 16 Studio and the Microsoft Surface Pro 9 External Dimensions

Weight

Stealth 16 Studio weighs 1.99 kg (4.39 lbs), whereas the Surface Pro 9 weighs 0.87 kg (1.92 lbs). There is a notable difference in weight between these two laptops. However, it's important to consider that comparing their weights directly may not provide a complete picture since they also have different display sizes.

Weight Comparison

MSI Stealth 16 Studio 1.99 kg

Avg: 16.0-16.9" 2.08 kg

Microsoft Surface Pro 9 0.87 kg

Avg: 13.0-13.9" 1.22 kg

Thickness Comparison

MSI Stealth 16 Studio 19.95 mm

Avg: 16.0-16.9" 20.33 mm

Microsoft Surface Pro 9 11.30 mm

Avg: 13.0-13.9" 15.32 mm

Another value that we use for comparing the weights of the laptops is the Weight per Inch of Screen, which is calculated by dividing the total weight of the model with its usable diagonal screen size. This value for the MSI Stealth 16 Studio is 0.12 kg/inch.In comparison, this value for the Microsoft Surface Pro 9 is 0.07 kg/inch.Here are some of the best performing laptops in this area:

Microsoft Surface Go 4: 0.05 kg/inch
LG Gram SuperSlim 15.6 2023: 0.06 kg/inch
Asus ProArt PZ13 HT5306: 0.06 kg/inch
Asus Zenbook A14 UX3407: 0.06 kg/inch
Microsoft Surface Pro 12: 0.06 kg/inch
Dell Latitude 7330: 0.07 kg/inch
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 2: 0.07 kg/inch
LG Gram 14 2022: 0.07 kg/inch

MSI Stealth 16 Studio vs Microsoft Surface Pro 9: Internals (CPU, GPU, RAM, Battery, SSD, etc.) Comparison

CPU Comparison

CPU Model	Intel Core i7 13620H Intel Core i7 13700H Intel Core i9 13900H	Intel Core i5 1235U Intel Core i7 1255U
Base Frequency	2.4 GHz	1.3 GHz
Turbo Frequency	4.9 GHz	4.4 GHz
Number of Cores	10	10
Number of Threads	16	12
L3 Cache	24 MB	12 MB
Integrated GPU	Intel UHD Graphics (64EU)	Intel Iris Xe Graphics (80EU)
CPU Fabrication Process	10 nm	10 nm
Geekbench 5 (Single)	1796	1580
Geekbench 5 (Multi)	11376	6333
Cinebench 23 (Single)	1816	1654
Cinebench 23 (Multi)	15497	6618

Above you can see the CPU options and the CineBench and GeekBench test scores for both laptops, which gives an idea about what kind of performance difference you may experience between the MSI Stealth 16 Studio and Microsoft Surface Pro 9.

You may also read reviews of latest laptops with the same CPUs and compare them:

Laptops with: Intel Core i7 13620H

Laptops with: Intel Core i5 1235U

GPU Comparison

GPU Model	GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile 6GB GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile 8GB GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile 8GB	Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (80EU)
Base Clock Frequency	1455 MHz	300 MHz
Boost CLock Frequency	1755 MHz	1100 MHz
TGP (Total Graphics Power)	50 W	15 W
Nvidia Optimus	MUX
Type	Dedicated	Integrated
FLOPS	8.986 TFLOPS	1,408 GFLOPS
Memory Size	6 GB	System Shared
Memory Type	GDDR6	System Shared
Memory Bus	96 bit	System Shared
Memory Speed	2000 MHz 16 Gbps effective	System Shared
Shading Units Cores	2560	640
TMUs	80	40
ROPs	48	20

GPU is as critical as the CPU for graphic heavy applications and the table above gives a picture of how the two GPU compares. FLOPS is a measure of a GPU's performance based on the number of floating-point arithmetic calculations that the processor can perform within a second. MSI Stealth 16 Studio has a FLOPS value of 8.6 TFLOPS whereas the Microsoft Surface Pro 9 ' has a FLOPS value of 1.41 TFLOPS. If graphical performance of the laptop is important for your use type, the MSI Stealth 16 Studio may be the better choice between these two setups.

RAM Comparison

RAM	16GB 32GB 64GB	8GB 16GB 32GB
Memory Bus	2x8 GB	2x4 GB
RAM Clock	5200 MHz	5200 MHz
RAM Type	DDR5	LPDDR5
Upgradable	Yes	No
Max RAM Size	64 GB
Total Slots	2
Memory Bus	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)

With a larger RAM capacity of 16 GB, the Stealth 16 Studio offers an advantage for multitasking and resource-intensive applications compared to the Surface Pro 9's RAM capacity of 8 GB.

LOCAL LLM Compatibility Evaluation

This quick guide shows what types of large language models (LLMs) each of these laptops could support, based on their respective hardware specifications. It's meant to help you compare their suitability for running AI models locally.

LLM Category	MSI Stealth 16 Studio	Microsoft Surface Pro 9
Small Models(1-3B):Examples: Phi-2, Qwen-1.8B	✔ Run smoothly.	✔ Run smoothly.
Medium Models(7-8B):Examples: Mistral-7B, Qwen-7B	✖ Not supported.	✖ Not supported.
Large Models(13-30B):Examples: Mixtral, Qwen-14B	✖ Not supported.	✖ Not supported.
Extra-Large Models(65B+):Examples: LLaMA2-70B, Qwen1.5-72B	✖ Not supported on most systems. Requires high-end GPU or advanced setup.	✖ Not supported on most systems. Requires high-end GPU or advanced setup.

Note: Optimized (e.g., 4-bit) models may run on limited hardware. Performance depends on runtime and setup.

📌 MoE Models: Some models like Mixtral 8x7B and Qwen3-30B-A3B use a Mixture of Experts (MoE) design, activating only part of the model during inference. This means they can often run efficiently on laptops with 12–16 GB of VRAM when quantized.

BATTERY

BATTERY	99.9 Wh	47.7 Wh
Battery Type	Li-Po	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Fast Charging	Yes	No
USB Power Delivery	Yes	Yes
Charging Port Position	Right	Left, Right
Charge Power	240 W	39 W
Full Charging Time	3:00 hr	1:30 hr

Moreover, the Stealth 16 Studio boasts a larger battery capacity of 100 Wh, offering extended usage time compared to the Surface Pro 9's48 Wh.

Battery Comparison

MSI Stealth 16 Studio 100 Wh

Avg: 16.0-16.9" 73.72 Wh

Microsoft Surface Pro 9 48 Wh

Avg: 13.0-13.9" 52.97 Wh

STORAGE
With a larger storage capacity up to 2 TB, the Stealth 16 Studio provides more space for storing files and applications compared to the Surface Pro 9's max. storage capacity of 1 TB.

Storage Options	512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB	128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB
Upgradable	Yes	Yes
Total Slots	2	1
Storage type	SSD (M2)	SSD (M2)
NVMe	Yes	Yes

If your budget allows, we recommend opting for the largest possible disk size, considering the potential increase in storage capacity needs in the future. However, please keep in mind the question 'What will the laptop be used for?' when making this decision. Of course, you can later upgrade the hard disk capacity by getting a larger disk. However, if your laptop has only one disk slot, it may not be as straightforward as a RAM upgrade, where you simply add or replace a module, as moving or cloning files to a new disk may be necessary.

MSI Stealth 16 Studio vs Microsoft Surface Pro 9: Display Comparison

The display is an essential aspect to consider when comparing the MSI Stealth 16 Studio and Microsoft Surface Pro 9 since its is the component that you interact the most and significantly impact the experience.

Screen Area and Dimensions

Now let's look at the comparison of the actual display areas of both laptops below, keeping the bezels around the screens out of the equation. Stealth 16 Studio has a display size of 16.0".On the other hand, Surface Pro 9 has a smaller 13.0" display.The total usable screen area of the Stealth 16 Studio is 742cm² / 115inch² whereas the Surface Pro 9's total usable screen area is 503cm² / 78inch².

PPI (Pixels per Inch)
Additionally, the Surface Pro 9 features a higher pixel density with 266 pixels per inch (PPI), ensuring sharper image details.

Screen PPI (Pixels Per Inch) Comparison

MSI Stealth 16 Studio 142 PPI

Avg: 16.0-16.9" 167 PPI

Microsoft Surface Pro 9 266 PPI

Avg: 13.0-13.9" 186 PPI

Refresh Rate
The Stealth 16 Studio offers a higher refresh rate of 144 Hz, resulting in smoother motion and improved visual experience.

MSI Stealth 16 Studio vs Microsoft Surface Pro 9 Connectivity Comparison

In terms of connectivity,

Wifi
Both laptops offer the same Wi-Fi standard (v6E), ensuring fast and reliable wireless connections.

Below, you'll find a Wi-Fi Versions Table, along with their release dates and speeds, to provide a brief overview of its development.

Wi-Fi Versions and Speeds

Standard	Speed	Release Date	Network	Frequency Bands (GHz)
Wi-Fi 7	up to 40 Gbps (5 GB/s)	2023	802.11be	2.4, 5, 6
Wi-Fi 6E	up to 9.6 Gbps (1.2 GB/s)	2020	802.11ax	2.4, 5, 6
Wi-Fi 6	up to 9.6 Gbps (1.2 GB/s)	2019	802.11ax	2.4, 5
Wi-Fi 5	up to 6.93 Gbps (866.25 MB/s)	2014	802.11ac	2.4, 5
Wi-Fi 4	up to 600 Mbps (75 MB/s)	2009	802.11n	2.4, 5

* Please note that the provided transfer rates are maximum theoretical values, and real-life performance may vary based on environmental factors.

USB
Stealth 16 Studio is equipped with 1x USB 3.2 USB-A ports. Surface Pro 9 does not have USB-A ports.
Both Stealth 16 Studio and Surface Pro 9 have USB Type-C ports. Stealth 16 Studio has 2x USB 3.2 USB Type-C ports, while Surface Pro 9 has 2x USB 4.0 USB Type-C ports.

Below, you'll find a table of USB ports, along with their release dates and speeds.
To mitigate the confusion caused by generation names, the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) suggests using marketing names like USB 5Gbps, USB 10Gbps, and so forth, based on their respective transfer rates.

USB Type and Speeds

USB Type	Version	Speed	Date	Other Features/Explanations
USB4	Gen 4 (2.0)	80 Gbps	2022	Also known as USB 80Gbps
USB4	Gen 3×2	40 Gbps	2019	Also known as USB 40Gbps
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 2x2	20 Gbps	2019	Double the data transfer rates of Gen 2
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 2	10 Gbps	2017	Previously known as USB 3.1
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 1	5 Gbps	2017	Previously known as USB 3.0
USB 3.1	3.1 Gen 2	10 Gbps	2013	Faster data transfer rates
USB 3.0	3.1 Gen 1	5 Gbps	2010	SuperSpeed USB, improved data transfer rates
USB 2.0	2.0	480 Mbps	2000	High-speed data transfer
USB 1.0	1.0	1.5 Mbps	1996	Original USB standard

Thunderbolt
Both Stealth 16 Studio and Surface Pro 9 are equipped with Thunderbolt 4 ports.

HDMI
Stealth 16 Studio features an HDMI port (1x HDMI 2.1) for connecting to external monitors. Surface Pro 9 does not have an HDMI port.

Below, you'll find a comparison table detailing different HDMI versions, including their bandwidth, color depth, maximum resolution, and release dates. This information can be helpful in understanding the capabilities of each HDMI version and choosing the most suitable one for your needs.

HDMI Comparison Table

HDMI Version	Maximum Resolution	Bandwidth (Gbps)	Color Depth (bits)	Release Date
HDMI 2.1-2.1b	7680 x 4320 *(8K)* @ 60p 3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 120p	48.0	48	2017
HDMI 2.0-2.0b	3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 60p	18.0	48	2013
HDMI 1.4-1.4b	3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 30p	10.2	48	2009
HDMI 1.3-1.3a	2560 x 1440 @ 60p	10.2	48	2006
HDMI 1.0-1.2a	1920 x 1200 @ 60p	4.95	24	2002

* Please note that the provided resolution values represent the maximum supported resolution, and actual display quality may depend on other factors such as source content and connected devices.

SD Card Reader
Stealth 16 Studio is equipped with an SD Card Reader for easy access to memory cards. Surface Pro 9 does not have an SD Card Reader.

Audio Jack
Stealth 16 Studio is equipped with a 3.5mm Audio Jack, allowing seamless connection to headphones and speakers. Surface Pro 9 does not have a 3.5mm Audio Jack.

To summarize the connectivity and ports details, please refer to the table below to see them listed.

Connectivity and Ports
WiFi Standard (latest: v7)	v6E	v6E
Bluetooth (latest: v5.4)	v5.3	v5.1
USB-A (latest: 3.2)	1x USB 3.2	No
USB Type-C (latest: USB4 2.0)	2x USB 3.2	2x USB 4.0
Thunderbolt (latest: 5)	Thunderbolt 4	Thunderbolt 4
HDMI (latest: 2.1)	1x HDMI 2.1	No
Display Port (latest: v2.0)	No	No
VGA	No	No
Fingerprint Sensor	Yes	No
Optical Drive	No	No
Audio Jack 3.5mm	Yes	No
Ethernet RJ45	Yes	No
SD CardReader	Yes	No
Proprietary Charging Port	Yes	Yes