ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The MSI Katana 15 HX B14W is on sale for $999.
- It is a powerful midrange laptop computer housing the most recent GPU from Nvidia.
- Nonetheless, the gaming expertise is hampered by the unimpressive show.
extra shopping for selections
15-inch laptops occupy an attention-grabbing spot on the earth of PCs: they don’t seem to be as compact as 14-inch laptops, however they don’t seem to be as cumbersome as 16-inch machines, both. Nonetheless, customers appear to desire the opposite two sizes, which is a disgrace as a result of computer systems of this dimension ship a balanced expertise: a very good quantity of immersion with out being too cumbersome.
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That is the place the MSI Katana 15 HX B14W is available in. At a look, the Katana appears like a run-of-the-mill gaming laptop computer. But it surely’s distinctive in a wide range of methods, specifically that it’s a 15-inch midrange gaming laptop computer housing next-gen {hardware}.
Blocky design
The very first thing you will discover with MSI’s Katana 15 HX is its heft. It measures 14.13 x 10.21 x 1 inches and weighs 5.3 kilos. A lot of its thick body is accentuated with geometric shapes that make the laptop computer seem cumbersome. I do not assume the machine can deal with loads of roughhousing, however it’s robust sufficient to resist the bumps that include touring.
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On the underside half of the laptop computer is a 4-Zone RGB full-size keyboard with translucent WASD keys. Every cap has a journey distance of 1.7mm, permitting for lighter key presses and good analog suggestions. Under is a touchpad that MSI says is 31% bigger than the earlier era. Collectively, the Katana 15’s keyboard and touchpad make for a good pair. Nothing groundbreaking, however they handle to ship an interesting expertise.
I used to be given the low-end configuration for testing. I do know this as a result of, in line with an organization consultant, there are two variations of the laptop computer, one in every of which has a Full HD (1920 x 1080), 144Hz show that helps simply 45% of the NTSC shade gamut. Consequently, colours had been tremendous boring. It made video games like “Spyro Reignited Trilogy”, a title identified for its pastel array, look washed out. The saving grace is that 144Hz is a strong refresh price. It ensured Spyro’s animations ran easily.
The opposite configuration has a a lot better Quad HD (2560 x 1440), 165Hz show that helps all the PCI-P3 shade area, so outputs are extra vibrant. I am admittedly conflicted on how one can really feel in regards to the bezels across the glass. On one hand, I am not a fan of the thick body encroaching on the display screen. However on the identical time, I understand that they defend the show, and thinner bezels would give the display screen a bizarre facet ratio.
What we’re right here for
Gaming is the place the MSI Katana 15 actually shines. Underneath the hood is an Intel Core i7-14650HX processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 graphics card with 8GB of GDDR7 VRAM, plus 16GB of RAM. In comparison with different modern fashions, this can be a fairly light-weight configuration, so it might battle to run sure video games at their highest graphical settings.
For instance, I had some bother enjoying Monster Hunter Wilds with high-resolution textures enabled. However in case you’re keen to decrease the settings a bit, you will not have any bother enjoying your favorites.
I additionally had an incredible expertise enjoying Hole Knight: Silksong. The 144Hz refresh price let me see enemy assaults as they rolled in. And in case you’ve paid consideration to latest complaints, having a very good body price is a should as a result of Silksong does not pull any punches.
As a lot enjoyable as I had, I could not recover from the boring show. I used to be in a position to get my combos out in fashion in King of Fighters 15, however the sheer lack of shade actually dampened the expertise.
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Contained in the MSI Katana 15 is the corporate’s Cooler Increase 5, which retains inside temperatures low and expels warmth by means of the vents positioned on the left, rear, and backside sides. When you peek by means of the underside vent, you possibly can even see the copper pipes. Cooler Increase 5 does an incredible job holding the laptop computer’s floor cool even when inside temperatures attain 120 levels Celsius. Nonetheless, this does imply the followers are actually loud — loud sufficient to roll over the sport’s audio.
For a gaming laptop computer, its battery life is respectable. Utilizing the MSI Heart app, I adjusted the laptop computer’s output to give attention to longevity, and I used to be in a position to recover from 5 hours out of the Katana 15 earlier than tapping out.
Chopping by means of work
Exterior of gaming, the Katana 15HX is a strong laptop computer for artistic work, as modifying software program specifically advantages enormously from the {hardware}. For testing, I edited a number of high-resolution pictures in Photoshop. The method went clean as may be with the laptop computer dealing with a number of layers, results, filters, and file exports with none slowdown.
I then hopped over to Figma to see how properly it may deal with creating posters. Once more, it did nice because the {hardware} allowed me to regulate effective particulars like typography in addition to draw on my tasks with out lag, making certain that the ultimate design got here collectively seamlessly.
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When you plan to make use of MSI’s laptop computer for work, I strongly suggest paying additional for the Quad HD model. The boring show on the bottom mannequin holds it again a lot that I am unable to actually see the Katana 15 excel in different areas exterior of gaming and informal utilization. That being mentioned, you might at all times join it to a high-quality exterior monitor.
Above is a desk showcasing benchmark outcomes of the MSI Katana 15 in opposition to different alike fashions. You will discover that it boasts spectacular numbers, acting at an analogous stage to the others, even outperforming them in sure areas. What’s significantly notable is the truth that it is considerably cheaper.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The MSI Katana 15 HX B14W usually retails for $1,200; nevertheless, on the time of this writing, it is at present on sale at Walmart for $999. The retailer can also be offering three free provide offers with buy, together with a free four-month subscription to Apple Music.
At $1,000, I can wholeheartedly suggest this laptop computer, regardless of the problems I had with it. It excels at being a well-performing, midrange gaming machine that makes some trade-offs for its approachable value, however efficiency is correct the place it must be.