15-inch laptops occupy an attention-grabbing spot on the planet of PCs: they are not as compact as 14-inch laptops, however they are not as cumbersome as 16-inch machines, both. Nonetheless, customers appear to choose the opposite two sizes, which is a disgrace as a result of computer systems of this dimension ship a balanced expertise: an excellent quantity of immersion with out being too cumbersome.
That is the place the MSI Katana 15 HX B14W is available in. At a look, the Katana seems to be like a run-of-the-mill gaming laptop computer. However it’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 may 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 a number of roughhousing, however it’s robust sufficient to face up to the bumps that include touring.
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. Beneath 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 among which has a Full HD (1920 x 1080), 144Hz show that helps simply 45% of the NTSC coloration gamut. Consequently, 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 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 the complete PCI-P3 coloration house, so outputs are extra vibrant. I am admittedly conflicted on tips on how to 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 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 up to date fashions, this can be a fairly light-weight configuration, so it could wrestle to run sure video games at their highest graphical settings.
For instance, I had some hassle taking part in Monster Hunter Wilds with high-resolution textures enabled. However should you’re keen to decrease the settings a bit, you will not have any hassle taking part in your favorites.
I additionally had an incredible expertise taking part in Hole Knight: Silksong. The 144Hz refresh price let me see enemy assaults as they rolled in. And should you’ve paid consideration to current complaints, having an excellent 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 uninteresting show. I used to be capable of get my combos out in fashion in King of Fighters 15, however the sheer lack of coloration actually dampened the expertise.
Contained in the MSI Katana 15 is the corporate’s Cooler Enhance 5, which retains inner temperatures low and expels warmth via the vents positioned on the left, rear, and backside sides. In case you peek via the underside vent, you possibly can even see the copper pipes. Cooler Enhance 5 does an incredible job conserving the laptop computer’s floor cool even when inner temperatures attain 120 levels Celsius. Nevertheless, 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 Middle app, I adjusted the laptop computer’s output to deal with longevity, and I used to be capable of recover from 5 hours out of the Katana 15 earlier than tapping out.
Slicing via work
Outdoors of gaming, the Katana 15HX is a strong laptop computer for artistic work, as modifying software program particularly advantages tremendously from the {hardware}. For testing, I edited a number of high-resolution pictures in Photoshop. The method went easy as could 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 nicely it might deal with creating posters. Once more, it did nice because the {hardware} allowed me to regulate superb particulars like typography in addition to draw on my tasks with out lag, making certain that the ultimate design got here collectively seamlessly.
In case you plan to make use of MSI’s laptop computer for work, I strongly suggest paying additional for the Quad HD model. The uninteresting show on the bottom mannequin holds it again a lot that I am unable to actually see the Katana 15 excel in different areas outdoors of gaming and informal utilization. That being mentioned, you would at all times join it to a high-quality exterior monitor.
Above is a desk showcasing benchmark outcomes of the MSI Katana 15 towards different alike fashions. You will discover that it boasts spectacular numbers, acting at an analogous degree to the others, even outperforming them in sure areas. What’s notably 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 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 correct the place it ought to be.
