MSI Thin A15 vs MSI Thin 15 Comparison

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MSI Thin A15

15.6 inches | January 2024

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MSI Thin 15

15.6 inches | January 2024

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MSI Thin A15 vs MSI Thin 15 Comparison Overview

MSI Thin A15

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MSI Thin 15

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MSI Thin A15

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MSI Thin 15

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In this review, we will be comparing Thin A15 and Thin 15, two laptops by MSI. MSI Thin A15 was introduced to market in January 2024 and MSI Thin 15 was launched in January 2024. Both Thin A15 and Thin 15 were launched within the same month so we are expecting this to be a fair comparison regarding age and available technology level.

Click for Available Configurations of the Laptops

Thin A15 and Thin 15 are members of MSI's Thin series of laptops. Below you can find the latest models from this series.

MSI Thin Series History

	Release Date	Screen Size	Dimensions	Weight
MSI Thin 15	January 2024	15.6"	359 x 254 x 21.7 mm	1.86 kg (4.1 lbs)
MSI Thin A15	January 2024	15.6"	359 x 254 x 21.7 mm	1.86 kg (4.1 lbs)
MSI GF63 Thin	March 2021	15.6"	359 x 254 x 21.7 mm	1.86 kg (4.1 lbs)
MSI GF65 Thin	January 2021	15.6"	359 x 254 x 21.7 mm	1.86 kg (4.1 lbs)
MSI GF75 Thin	January 2021	17.3"	397 x 260 x 22-23.1 mm	2.3 kg (5.07 lbs)

Here is a brief look at the main features of MSI Thin A15 and MSI Thin 15 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

MSI Thin A15 Key Specs

Launched in January 2024
15.6" IPS LCD, 16:9 Aspect Ratio Display
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS
GPU: GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile 4GB
8GB Ram
359 x 254 x 21.7 mm (14.13 x 10 x 0.85 inches)
Weight: 1.86 kg (4.1 lbs)

MSI Thin 15 Key Specs

Launched in January 2024
15.6" IPS LCD, 16:9 Aspect Ratio Display
CPU: Intel Core i5 13420H
GPU: GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile 6GB
8GB Ram
359 x 254 x 21.7 mm (14.13 x 10 x 0.85 inches)
Weight: 1.86 kg (4.1 lbs)

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Thin A15 and Thin 15 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 Thin A15 over MSI Thin 15

CPU Fabrication Process	6 nm vs 10 nm	Newer Generation CPU
RAM Type	DDR5 vs DDR4	Faster RAM Type
RAM BUS	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) vs 1x PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x), 1x 2.5" SATA HDD	Faster RAM

Reasons to choose MSI Thin 15 over MSI Thin A15

GPU FLOPS	5.5 TFLOPS vs 5.1-6.1 TFLOPS

Common Strengths of MSI Thin 15 and MSI Thin A15

Launch Dates	January 2024 vs January 2024	Both laptops are recent models
Screen Coating	Matte vs Matte	Less reflections on the screen
Fast Charging Support	Yes vs Yes	Charge the battery in a shorter time
Upgradable RAM	Yes vs Yes	Option to increase the RAM size
RAM Type	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) vs 1x PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x), 1x 2.5" SATA HDD	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
HDMI Output	1x HDMI 2.1 vs 1x HDMI 2.1	Connect to External Displays via HDMI cable
VGA Output	No vs No	Connect to External Displays via VGA cable
Ethernet RJ45 Port	Yes vs Yes	Fast connection to Network via ethernet cable
Keyboard Backlight	Yes vs Yes	Easily see the keys under low light

Common Weaknesses of MSI Thin 15 and MSI Thin A15

Touchscreen Capability	No vs No	No Touchscreen Capability
HDR Support	No vs No	No HDR Support
Fingerprint Sensor	No vs No	No fingerprint login feature

MSI Thin A15 vs MSI Thin 15: Physical Specs Comparison

In this section, we will be comparing the physical specifications and body features of the MSI Thin A15 and the MSI Thin 15.

Physical Specs
Weight	1.86 kg (4.1 lbs)	1.86 kg (4.1 lbs)
Surface Area	912 cm2 (141.3 inches2)	912 cm2 (141.3 inches2)
Screen to Surface Ratio	~73.6%	~73.6%
Side Bezel Thickness	~6.8 mm	~6.8 mm
Weight per Inch of Screen	0.12 kg/inch	0.12 kg/inch
	0.264 lbs/inch	0.264 lbs/inch
Colors	Gray	Gray
Cover Opening Angle	180Â°	180Â°

Comparison of the MSI Thin A15 and the MSI Thin 15 External Dimensions

Weight

Weight Comparison

Displays size 15.0-15.9 inches

MSI Thin A15 1.86 kg

MSI Thin 15 1.86 kg

Min 0.99 kg

Average 1.94 kg

Max 3.32 kg

Thickness Comparison

Displays size 15.0-15.9 inches

MSI Thin A15 21.70 mm

MSI Thin 15 21.70 mm

Min 7.70 mm

Average 20.13 mm

Max 29.00 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 Thin A15 is 0.12 kg/inch.In comparison, this value for the MSI Thin 15 is 0.12 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 Thin A15 vs MSI Thin 15: Internals (CPU, GPU, RAM, Battery, SSD, etc.) Comparison

CPU Comparison

CPU Model	AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS	Intel Core i5 13420H Intel Core i7 13620H
Base Frequency	3.3 GHz	2.1 GHz
Turbo Frequency	4.55 GHz	4.6 GHz
Number of Cores	6	8 (4P + 4E)
Number of Threads	12	12
L3 Cache	16 MB	12 MB
Integrated GPU	Radeon 660M	Intel UHD Graphics (48EU)
CPU Fabrication Process	6 nm	10 nm
Geekbench 5 (Single)	1760	1702
Geekbench 5 (Multi)	7557	10952
Cinebench 23 (Single)	1552	1724
Cinebench 23 (Multi)	9562	12820

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 Thin A15 and MSI Thin 15.

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

Laptops with: AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS

Laptops with: Intel Core i5 13420H

GPU Comparison

GPU Model	GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile 4GB GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop 4GB GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop 6GB GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop 8GB	GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile 6GB GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile 6GB
Base Clock Frequency	1185 MHz	1065 MHz
Boost CLock Frequency	1477 MHz	1343 MHz
TGP (Total Graphics Power)	45 W	45 W
Nvidia Optimus	Yes, Advanced Optimus	Yes, Advanced Optimus
Type	Dedicated	Dedicated
FLOPS	5.1-6.1 TFLOPS	5.5 TFLOPS
Memory Size	4 GB	6 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR6
Memory Bus	64 bit	128 bit
Memory Speed	~14 Gbps	12 Gbps
Shading Units Cores	2048	2048
TMUs	64	64
ROPs	32	40

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 Thin A15 has a FLOPS value of 5.1-6.1 TFLOPS whereas the MSI Thin 15 ' has a FLOPS value of 5.5 TFLOPS. If graphical performance of the laptop is important for your use type, the MSI Thin 15 may be the better choice between these two setups.

RAM Comparison

RAM	8GB 16GB 32GB 64GB	8GB 16GB 32GB 64GB
Memory Bus	1x8 GB	1x8 GB
RAM Clock	5600 MHz	3200 MHz
RAM Type	DDR5	DDR4
Upgradable	Yes	Yes
Max RAM Size	64 GB	64 GB
Total Slots	2	2
Memory Bus	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)	1x PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x), 1x 2.5" SATA HDD

Both laptops, the Thin A15 and the Thin 15, come with similar RAM capacities of 8 GB, providing comparable performance in memory-intensive tasks.

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 Thin A15	MSI Thin 15
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	52.4 Wh	52.4 Wh
Battery Type	Li-Po	Li-Po
Replaceable	No	No
Fast Charging	Yes	Yes
Charging Port Position	Left	Left
Charge Power	120 W	120 W

Furthermore, both laptops have the same battery capacity of 52 Wh, ensuring comparable battery performance.

Battery Comparison

Displays size 15.0-15.9 inches

MSI Thin A15 52 Wh

MSI Thin 15 52 Wh

Min 36.00 Wh

Average 62.07 Wh

Max 100.00 Wh

STORAGE
Both laptops, the Thin A15 and the Thin 15 have similar max. storage capacities of 2 TB, allowing for ample space to store files and applications.

Storage Options	512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB	512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB
Upgradable	Yes	Yes
Total Slots	1	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 Thin A15 vs MSI Thin 15: Display Comparison

The display is an essential aspect to consider when comparing the MSI Thin A15 and MSI Thin 15 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. Both Thin A15 and Thin 15 screens have the same size of 15.6".The total usable screen area of the Thin A15 is 670cm² / 104inch² whereas the Thin 15's total usable screen area is 670cm² / 104inch².

PPI (Pixels per Inch)
Both Thin A15 and Thin 15 feature the same pixel density with 141 pixels per inch (PPI).

Screen PPI (Pixels Per Inch) Comparison

Displays size 15.0-15.9 inches

MSI Thin A15 141 ppi

MSI Thin 15 141 ppi

Min 100 PPI

Average 143 PPI

Max 294.00 PPI

Refresh Rate
Both Thin A15 and Thin 15 offer the same refresh rate of 144 Hz.

MSI Thin A15 vs MSI Thin 15 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
Both Thin A15 and Thin 15 feature 3x USB 3.2 USB-A ports.
Both Thin A15 and Thin 15 feature 1x USB 3.2 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
Neither Thin A15 nor Thin 15 has Thunderbolt port.

HDMI
Both Thin A15 and Thin 15 feature an HDMI port (1x HDMI 2.1) for connecting to external monitors.

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
Neither Thin A15 nor Thin 15 has an SD Card Reader.

Audio Jack
Both Thin A15 and Thin 15 are equipped with a 3.5mm Audio Jack, providing seamless connection to headphones and speakers.

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	v5.3
USB-A (latest: 3.2)	3x USB 3.2	3x USB 3.2
USB Type-C (latest: USB4 2.0)	1x USB 3.2	1x USB 3.2
Thunderbolt (latest: 5)	No	No
HDMI (latest: 2.1)	1x HDMI 2.1	1x HDMI 2.1
Display Port (latest: v2.0)	No	No
VGA	No	No
Fingerprint Sensor	No	No
Optical Drive	No	No
Audio Jack 3.5mm	Yes	Yes
Ethernet RJ45	Yes	Yes
SD CardReader	No	No
Proprietary Charging Port	Yes	Yes