Inside MSI Modern 14 (C12M) – disassembly and upgrade options

Getting inside of this laptop is fairly easy, but you don’t have much to do there.

Check out all MSI Modern 14 (C12M) prices and configurations in our Specs System or read more in our In-Depth review.


1. Remove the bottom plate

There are 9 Phillips-head screws that you need to undo in order to access this laptop’s internals. After that, pry the bottom panel with a plastic tool, and lift it away from the chassis.


2. Battery

Our unit comes with the smaller 39Wh battery pack. It lasts for 9 hours of Web browsing, or 6 hours of video playback on a single charge. To take it out, undo the 5 Phillips-head screws that keep it in place, and unplug the connector from the motherboard.


3. Memory and storage

The memory here is soldered to the motherboard. You can get the device with a maximum of 16GB of DDR4 RAM, working at 3200MHz. Storage-wise, there is one M.2 PCIe x4 slot, which only supports Gen 3 drives.


4. Cooling system

As you can see, the cooling looks pretty impressive. It uses two heat pipes, a long heat sink, and a fan. Furthermore, the VRMs are cooled by a metal heat spreader.

Check out all MSI Modern 14 (C12M) prices and configurations in our Specs System or read more in our In-Depth review.

MSI Modern 14 (C11Mx / C12Mx) in-depth review

MSI is slowly becoming a powerful player in the everyday and business notebook market. Albeit it's known for its gaming series of devices, the company's push on the budget daily driver front can't be overlooked. We went as far as stating that the brand new Modern 15 may be one of the best daily drivers in terms of value.Today, our office is occupied by the 14-inch iteration of the Modern family. Like its larger cousin, it comes with Intel's 12th Gen processors. This includes three options coming from the Alder Lake-U family. The lack of P-series options doesn't mean that the laptop won't [...]

Pros

  • MicroSD card reader
  • A backlit keyboard with big keycaps, and a large touchpad
  • Doesn't use PWM for brightness adjustment (BOE NV140FHM-N4V (BOE08D7))
  • Has a good contrast ratio and comfortable viewing angles (BOE NV140FHM-N4V (BOE08D7))
  • Sleek design
  • Great cooling

Cons

  • 54% sRGB coverage (BOE NV140FHM-N4V (BOE08D7))
  • No Thunderbolt
  • Two out of three USB Type-As work at 2.0 speeds
  • Soldered memory
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