The benefits of Magnesium Aluminum alloy laptop chassis
Laptops
A thin, light yet robust chassis is the ultimate goal for laptop owners. Now, with the advance of metallurgy, the dream has been turned into reality.
▲ MSI Prestige 13 Evo uses MgAl and weights only 990g
The new MSI Prestige 13 Evo, Stealth 14 Studio, and Stealth 16 Studio use Magnesium Aluminum (MgAl) as the material of their chassis for reduced weight and better rigidity, plus one extra benefit – fingerprint proof.
▲ Stealth 14 Studio with MgAl
▲ Stealth 16 Studio with MgAl
The Prestige 13 Evo raised the bar of thin and light laptop, as its weight is less than 1kg – only 990 grams, thanks to the MgAl chassis and the engineering effort of reducing weight from other components as well. The high-performance gaming laptop Stealth 14 Studio and Stealth 16 Studio also weigh only 1.7 and 1.99 kg respectively.
How was the weight reduction achieved by using the special material? In contrast to the common aluminum chassis, the alloy used is an aero-industrial level alloy - AZ91D, a mix of two metals - Magnesium and Aluminum - widely adopted on auto and aero industries for its light yet strong characteristic. The followings are how it performs compared to pure aluminum.
▲ Machine parts made by MgAl
Thin and light:
The density of aluminum is 2.7 g/cm³, whereas the density of AZ91D MgAl is 1.81 g/cm³, that means if both are made into the same chassis design, the one made by MgAl will be 33% lighter.
Stronger tensile strength:
The tensile strength means the maximum load that a material can support without fracture when being stretched, divided by the original cross-sectional area of the material. The MgAl has the tensile strength of 230 MPa whereas the pure aluminum has only 90 MPa. As a result, the MgAl is 155% stronger than aluminum.
Weight
Tensile strength
MgAl (AZ91D)
Lighter (1.81 g/cm³)
Stronger (230 MPa)
Pure Aluminum
Light (2.7 g/cm³)
Strong (90 MPa)
Fingerprint-proof:
Additionally, the coating of MgAl chassis of Prestige 13 Evo, Stealth 14 Studio, and Stealth 16 Studio gives it a premium matte finish while also preventing leaving stain and fingerprints during everyday use.
To learn more features about the MSI laptops that uses MgAl, please visit the following website:
Prestige 13 Evo A13M: https://www.msi.com/Business-Productivity/Prestige-13-Evo-A13MX
Prestige 13 Evo A12M: https://www.msi.com/Business-Productivity/Prestige-13-Evo-A12MX
Stealth 16 Studio: https://www.msi.com/Laptop/Stealth-16-Studio-A13VX
Stealth 14 Studio: https://www.msi.com/Laptop/Stealth-14-Studio-A13VX
Prestige 13 Evo A13M: https://www.msi.com/Business-Productivity/Prestige-13-Evo-A13MX
Prestige 13 Evo A12M: https://www.msi.com/Business-Productivity/Prestige-13-Evo-A12MX
Stealth 16 Studio: https://www.msi.com/Laptop/Stealth-16-Studio-A13VX
Stealth 14 Studio: https://www.msi.com/Laptop/Stealth-14-Studio-A13VX
