MSI, which previously only had gaming equipment, has in recent years expanded its business into computers for creative professionals. Just like Acer, for example, they have found that, among other things, graphic designers have bought gaming computers with the sole purpose of using the powerful hardware for “serious” purposes.
–
–
MSI Creator Z17 is a successor to The Creator Z16 that we tested last year. And it is MSI’s top model for creative use. A computer where the engineers seem to have been given free rein to build a laptop for demanding graphics and 3D design.
The first impression is “howl”! The shell is milled from a single piece of metal and seems almost unreasonably thin. In fact, the computer is almost two cm thick, but thanks to the screen size of 17 inches in 16:10 format, the computer appears thinner than it really is. The shell is otherwise completely rigid and torsionally rigid. Which is needed in a computer that will be taken to lots of meetings and presentations for many years. It is also certified according to the MIL-STD-810G standard, which is used by the US military.
Buttons and sounds from Denmark
In a 17-inch computer, there is room for a full-size keyboard. And for a numeric keypad next to it. As usual, the keys are supplied by Danish Steelseries – and are individually RGB illuminated. Which is not really needed at all in a machine that is not built for gaming. But it looks festive. The sound is fine-tuned by Dynaudio, which is also an MSI specialty.
There are the ports that should be there. Specifically, two USB-C ports that double as DisplayPort, an HDMI 2.1 output, and a single old-fashioned USB-A port. Quite enough, but I have a bit of a hard time understanding why the location isn’t used to provide even greater choices. There is also an SD card reader. A real one, not just for microSD.
Why not 4K?
MSI Creator 17 is primarily intended for creative users in the graphics industry. For example graphic artists and 3D designers. Illustrators can also join in thanks to the ability to use a pressure-sensitive pen on the screen. Therefore, the screen must be large and stylish. And that’s it.
The image surface takes up pretty much the entire lid, with only a narrow frame around it, and since the screen has the increasingly popular and taller 16:10 format, there isn’t much space left under the image either.
The screen is in QHD+ resolution (2560 x 1600 pixels). When the computer is to be used professionally for graphic tasks, the screen must be correct. Therefore, it goes without saying that it covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color space. The screen is also Calman-verified, which confirms that the image is color correct from the moment you take the computer out of the box.
A bit unusual is that the screen has a refresh rate of a whopping 165 Hz. The image is rock solid and looks like it was painted on the screen. But such a high speed is not really necessary for graphic work. But thanks to a graphics card in the heavyweight class, the MSI Creator Z17 can handle even the most demanding games.
When I tested the MSI Creator Z16 last year, I commented that the screen could have benefited from OLED and 4K resolution. But that would have meant a higher price. Z17 is however, so much more expensive that one should be able to expect an even better screen.
From the very top shelf
Most computers we test have compromises to bring the price down to a reasonable level. There are not very many such compromises in the MSI Creator Z17. The processor is an Intel Core i9-12900H. So a 12th generation processor from Intel’s fastest series. It is a 14-core processor with 20 threads and a working speed of 2.9 GHz. Much faster computers than that cannot be made for civilian use at the moment.
The same applies to the graphics card, which is an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 with 8 GB of video RAM. The graphics card is intended for games in the heavyweight class, but since professional programs from, for example, Adobe also use the graphics processor to speed up the calculations, it also makes sense in a work situation. As any graphic designer can attest – before he or she puts the computer in the bag and takes it home for some “evening work”.
There is plenty of working memory and storage space in the Creator Z17: 32 GB RAM and 2 TB SSD.
Benchmarks
With such heavy hardware, everything is set up for really high performance. And you really get that too. All the benchmark tests are really fancy. A GeekBench score of 12,253 points multicore and 1,762 singlecore is among the best we’ve measured. And a PCMark 10 score of 6,906 shows that the Creator Z17 is made for more difficult tasks than word processing.
With a GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card on board, one can expect performance at the highest level n. And this is also reflected in a 3DMark TimeSpy score of 9,531. But it’s honestly not quite exceptional. In fact, it’s slightly lower than what we got from the half as expensive one Shark 7G15-70TI, which we tested recently. It is, on the other hand, an old-fashioned gaming computer and not a top-of-the-line creative workstation. Although the graphics card and the processor are blissfully unaware of that.
The battery test ends as it usually does for computers with powerful processors and graphics cards. So it ends quickly. While PCMark’s battery test isn’t nearly as demanding as graphics programs, or games for that matter, it only takes two hours and 20 minutes before the battery drains.
Creative competition
In the price range that the MSI Creator Z17 is in, the competitors are few – but armed to the teeth. For example, you can choose pretty much which one MacBook Pro you want without paying more. Or a purely gaming computer that Alienware X17 R2, which is faster in every way. However, none of them have a touch screen in QHD+ resolution.
Conclusion
The MSI Creator Z17 is a natural upgrade of the concept from last year’s Z16 model. It has more of everything, and most of it comes from the top shelves of chipmakers. When you choose the best processor Intel has to offer and the fastest graphics card, as well as copious amounts of RAM and SSD storage, and pack it all into a super-thin, lightweight shell, it’s inevitable that the price will be high. MSI Creator Z17 costs an insane amount of money, but compared to similar computers for creative work, it is no worse than normal. And if you are a skilled and highly paid graphic designer, the investment will quickly pay off in the form of time savings and extra production. But given that the massive hardware doesn’t quite translate to record-breaking performance, it would still have taken a 4K OLED display for me to consider considering the Z17 as a best buy.
–
