MSI’s new Alpha 15 gaming laptop uses AMD’s latest Radeon RX 5500M graphics, but just
how well does this actually perform in games? I’ve tested 21 games at all setting levels
and also compared the Alpha 15 against other gaming laptops to see what the differences
are.
I’ve got the A3DDK version of the Alpha 15, so there’s an AMD Ryzen 7 3750H CPU,
the new Radeon RX 5500M graphics, 16gb of memory in dual channel, and a 1080p 144Hz
screen with FreeSync. It’s also available with 240Hz screen, or a cheaper A3DD model
with small changes, you can find updated prices to both linked in the description.
The MSI Dragon Center software allows us to set different performance profiles. I’ve
tested with the highest extreme performance mode and the fan set to max speed for best
performance.
We’ll only be covering gaming performance in this video, so if you’re new to the channel,
you'll definitely want to get subscribed for the upcoming thermal testing, full review
and future comparisons against Nvidia based laptops. Let’s start out by going through
all games at all setting levels, then afterwards we’ll see how the Alpha 15 compares with
some other laptops.
Red Dead Redemption 2 was tested using the game’s built in benchmark, as Gamer’s
Nexus found that overall it provides a pretty fair representation of actual game play. Unfortunately
it wasn’t possible to test with all settings maxed out at ultra due to the 4GB VRAM limit
of the 5500M, however medium settings was only just below 60 FPS.
Battlefield 5 was tested in campaign mode, and it was playing well with the high setting
preset which was able to average above 60 FPS, with low settings just able to surpass
100 FPS, so definitely a playable experience.
Control was playing ok with medium settings, however I think it still looks pretty good
with the low setting preset, and this was performing significantly better, where the
1% low result was well above the average FPS from medium settings.
Borderlands 3 was tested using the game’s built in benchmark tool, and the top two settings
were performing pretty poorly compared to the other levels due to the 4GB VRAM limitation
of the 5500M, however medium settings was still able to average above 60 FPS.
Apex Legends was tested with either all settings at maximum, or all settings on the lowest
possible values, as it doesn’t have predefined setting presets. It still played well at max
settings, with above 60 FPS for the 1% low, however for a competitive first person shooter
like this I’d stick to lower settings to get the frame rate up.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider was tested with the built in benchmark, and the results were
alright with the magic 60 FPS average being hit even with the high setting preset, but
we’ll take a look at how this laptop compares with others in this game shortly.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was also tested with the benchmark tool. Higher settings in this
test performed poorly due to the 4GB VRAM limit of the 5500M, but also due to the Ryzen
CPU, as I’ve had higher 1% low performance from a 1650 i7 combination.
Far Cry New Dawn was tested with the built in benchmark. I’ve found this to be more
of a CPU heavy game, so the frame rates are down a little compared to some Intel based
laptops with lower powered 1650 graphics.
Fortnite was tested with the replay feature, and medium settings was needed if we wanted
to get a frame rate closer to the refresh rate of the display, however epic settings
was still playing fairly with over 60 FPS even for the 1% low.
Overwatch is another well optimized game and was tested in the practice range. Although
it was still very playable at maximum settings, low settings was able to surpass 200 FPS which
could potentially make the 240Hz screen upgrade option more useful.
Dota 2 was tested playing in the middle lane, and as a primarily CPU heavy game the results
are likely more restricted by the Ryzen 7 3750H than the 5500M. That said over 100 FPS
at ultra settings is still extremely playable without issue.
CS:GO was tested using the Ulletical FPS benchmark, and is another that seems to depend more on
the CPU power than the GPU. The results are about 50 to 100 FPS lower than an Intel based
laptop with similar GPU power, but again still playable without issue.
Rainbow Six Siege was tested with the built in benchmark. This test generally scores quite
well on modern gaming laptops, so seeing almost 100 FPS at ultra settings was no surprise,
with much higher possible at lower settings.
Metro Exodus was tested using the built in benchmark, most parts of the game perform
a fair bit better than this, so don’t take these results as a good indication of what
to expect throughout the entire game, it’s more of a worst case.
The Division 2 was also tested with the built in benchmark, and high settings were needed
to maintain above 60 FPS, however low settings was still capable of easily passing 100 FPS.
PUBG was tested using the replay feature, and ultra settings was still able to run over
60 FPS in my test, again higher than 100 FPS with the lowest settings with fair 1% low
result, so it’s actually running fairly well.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was tested with the built in benchmark, and as a test that’s
quite heavy on the CPU compared to other games the lower frame rates here are expected as
a result of the 3750H, but to be fair this game doesn’t need mega high FPS to enjoy.
Watch Dogs 2 is a resource heavy game, and I can play it fine with a stable 30 FPS, however
once we go to high settings or above here the 1% low drops like a brick as the game
starts stuttering quite a bit and becomes unplayable, but it was fine at medium and
low.
The Witcher 3 on the other hand was fairly playable with ultra settings, but the frame
rate improvement by stepping down to high settings for a 32% higher average FPS seems
worthwhile to me, given it still looks quite good but now even the 1% low is close to 60
FPS.
F1 2019 was tested using the game’s benchmark tool, and is similar in that regard, where
there’s a larger improvement stepping down just one setting level from maximum. Despite
that, 60 FPS averages were still possible at ultra high, however 100 plus was achieved
at any other setting.
Strange Brigade was tested with Vulkan, again with the built in benchmark. This test doesn’t
really need high end specs to perform well, so above 60 FPS at ultra settings was no surprise.
Let’s also take a look at how this config of the MSI Alpha 15 compares with other laptops,
use these results as a rough guide only as they were tested at different times with different
drivers.
In Battlefield 5 I’ve got the Alpha 15 highlighted in red near similarly performing machines.
We can see that it’s easily ahead of Nvidia’s 1650 graphics as expected, however it’s
coming in below all of the 1660 Ti laptops that I’ve tested so far, even the 1660 Ti
Max-Q models. The ASUS GA502DU just above it should be somewhat comparable, as both
laptops have the same Ryzen CPU with the key difference being the GPU.
These are the results from Far Cry 5 with ultra settings in the built in benchmark.
Again the Alpha 15 with 5500M graphics is placing in between the Nvidia GTX 1650 and
1660 Ti Max-Q graphics. To be fair though I've found this to be more of a CPU bound
test, which probably explains why the Aorus 5 with i7 isn’t too far behind, with slightly
better 1% low performance.
These are the results from Shadow of the Tomb raider with the built in benchmark at highest
settings. The performance is again somewhere between the 1650 and 1660 Ti laptops, similar
to what we saw in the last couple of games, but I’m planning on comparing these three
GPUs in a future video in more than 15 games, so make sure you’re subscribed for that
one.
Overall the gaming performance from the MSI Alpha 15 was definitely acceptable, for the
most part the 5500M is comfortably beating Nvidia’s 1650 and offering a playable experience
in modern games with fair settings. This is nice to see, I’ve shown that the 1660 Ti
is almost 50% faster than the 1650 on average, so there’s a big gap between the two. Now
that AMD are filling this with the 5500M you can bet Nvidia will probably put out something
too.
The Ryzen 7 3750H is holding it back a bit in some instances, but it really depends on
the game. As I’ve shown in the past, even a last generation Intel i5-8300H CPU can comfortably
beat the 3750H. Games like CS:GO and Dota are obviously behind due to the lower CPU
power, but in most others the 5500M is doing pretty well, I’ll be interested to get my
hands on a laptop that pairs it with an Intel CPU, or otherwise when AMD release Zen2 mobile
CPUs next year.
I found it interesting that the Alpha 15 is available with 240Hz screen, considering even
at minimum settings only one game, Overwatch, was able to surpass 200 FPS averages. Based
on this unless you’re planning at playing below 1080p I don’t think it’s worth paying
extra for 240Hz with the 5500M.
As a 1650 competitor, the 5500M is looking decent, both even have 4GB of VRAM so there
are similar limitations in regards to using higher setting levels. In the end it will
come down to price differences, and as there aren’t many 5500M laptops out yet we should
probably wait for some more before drawing a conclusion. At the moment though the Alpha
15 is looking a little pricey when we consider that the Helios 300 with 1660 Ti can go on
sale for $999 USD.
Let me know what you thought of the gaming performance from the MSI Alpha 15 gaming laptop
down in the comments, I’ll test out thermals in depth in an upcoming video and the full
review is still to come, so if you’re new to the channel consider getting subscribed
for those as well as future tech videos like this one.