ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The MSI Katana 15 HX B14W is on sale for $999.
- It is a formidable midrange laptop computer housing the newest GPU from Nvidia.
- Nonetheless, the gaming expertise is hampered by the unimpressive show.
extra shopping for selections
15-inch laptops occupy an fascinating 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, shoppers appear to want the opposite two sizes, which is a disgrace as a result of computer systems of this measurement ship a balanced expertise: an excellent 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 seems like a run-of-the-mill gaming laptop computer. But it surely’s distinctive in a wide range of methods, particularly 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 suppose the machine can deal with loads of roughhousing, however it’s powerful 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 a fascinating expertise.
I used to be given the low-end configuration for testing. I do know this as a result of, in response to an organization consultant, there are two variations of the laptop computer, considered one of which has a Full HD (1920 x 1080), 144Hz show that helps simply 45% of the NTSC coloration gamut. Because of this, colours have been tremendous uninteresting. 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 stable refresh fee. It ensured Spyro’s animations ran easily.
The opposite configuration has a significantly better Quad HD (2560 x 1440), 165Hz show that helps your entire PCI-P3 coloration area, so outputs are extra vibrant. I am admittedly conflicted on find out how to really feel concerning the bezels across the glass. On one hand, I am not a fan of the thick body encroaching on the display. However on the identical time, I understand that they defend the show, and thinner bezels would give the display a bizarre side 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, it is a fairly light-weight configuration, so it could battle to run sure video games at their highest graphical settings.
For instance, I had some bother taking part in Monster Hunter Wilds with high-resolution textures enabled. However for those who’re prepared to decrease the settings a bit, you will not have any bother taking part in your favorites.
I additionally had a terrific expertise taking part in Hole Knight: Silksong. The 144Hz refresh fee let me see enemy assaults as they rolled in. And for those who’ve paid consideration to latest complaints, having an excellent body fee 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 uninteresting show. I used to be capable of get my combos out in type in King of Fighters 15, however the sheer lack of coloration actually dampened the expertise.
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Contained in the MSI Katana 15 is the corporate’s Cooler Enhance 5, which retains inner temperatures low and expels warmth by the vents situated on the left, rear, and backside sides. If you happen to peek by the underside vent, you’ll be able to even see the copper pipes. Cooler Enhance 5 does a terrific job preserving the laptop computer’s floor cool even when inner 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 first rate. Utilizing the MSI Heart app, I adjusted the laptop computer’s output to concentrate on longevity, and I used to be capable of recover from 5 hours out of the Katana 15 earlier than tapping out.
Reducing by work
Outdoors of gaming, the Katana 15HX is a stable laptop computer for inventive work, as enhancing software program specifically advantages drastically from the {hardware}. For testing, I edited a number of high-resolution pictures in Photoshop. The method went easy as might 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 effectively it may deal with creating posters. Once more, it did nice for the reason that {hardware} allowed me to regulate positive particulars like typography in addition to draw on my initiatives with out lag, making certain that the ultimate design got here collectively seamlessly.
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If you happen to plan to make use of MSI’s laptop computer for work, I strongly suggest paying further for the Quad HD model. The uninteresting show on the bottom mannequin holds it again a lot that I can not actually see the Katana 15 excel in different areas exterior of gaming and informal utilization. That being mentioned, you can 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 the same 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; nonetheless, on the time of this writing, it is at the moment on sale at Walmart for $999. The retailer can 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 worth, however efficiency is true the place it must be.
