MSI makes damned good laptops for the price. I'd say the closest bet would be Origin, which is more expensive, but their customer support is outstanding. Falcon is obviously the pick of the litter, but they are way out of budget.
That laptop you linked, currently, offers a free upgrade to a 120gb SSD; just by clicking it in the specification section. If you can get by with what's left on a 120 after the OS installation, it's a good buy. An extra $26 will get you a 240, which is more realistic if you intend to install any games, save tons of pictures, or handle video.
You'll get a bit less and more with Origin, in various areas. I'd call them and run through your requirements before buying anything else. Live on the wild side and call them at some crazy hour to get a feel for what you're buying into. The EON15-X 9-Series would be the closest bet, and gives you an M.2 OS drive as well as an M.2 mass storage drive; always a good setup to run a separate OS drive. The GPU isn't as good, but it's no slouch. Their support is pretty much the best.
Can't go wrong with the MSI; I'd certainly never turn my nose up at them, but Origin will be a much better buying and support experience, depending upon where you want your money to go.
Nothing at all wrong with a Surface Book, either. I've got a Pro 4 and I love it. The Book is sweet as hell, but it's going to burst your price cap in a hurry if you want similar specifications. I'd say it's out of the contest from that perspective. It's not aimed in the same direction, either.
So, call Origin. If you don't like what you hear, stick with MSI. They're both good builders; just different. One focuses more on the kitchen sink approach, and the other on a what you need approach. Service and support will be dramatically different experiences, as well.
I'm not bashing on MSI. I know several people with them, and like I said, I'd never turn one down. It's a great choice if you want the absolute best bang for your buck in a quality machine. There's also the sound issue. If you want your laptop to sound as good as possible... MSI is pretty much the beans in that department. The Dynaudio partnership was a hole in one.
Cheers,
Kennith
