A powerful gaming laptop in a plain brown (okay, black) wrapper
The MSI Katana 15 is one of the company’s new value-oriented gaming laptops, starting at a low $999, though our step-up test unit comes to $1,599. The machine sports an unexciting design only slightly decorated by simple RGB lighting. While the screen smoothly displays games at a 144Hz refresh rate, it’s not a looker. The real value of this laptop is in its internal hardware, with powerful components that give it an edge against rivals like the Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 7 or the HP Omen 16 when it comes to gaming performance. The Katana 15 is an exciting option if you’re looking to get the latest-generation hardware for a lower price than the flagship machines we’ve seen so far, earning it an earnest recommendation.One Hilt, So Many Edges
As I said, the MSI Katana 15 (model B13VGK-484US) isn’t a visual standout, staying true to its budget trappings. The laptop is almost entirely covered in black plastic with a few carbon-fiber stylings around the edges. Some of the plastic is made to look like metal sheets, but it’s not convincing. The whole thing is a bit of a chunk, weighing 4.96 pounds and measuring almost an inch thick (0.98 by 14.1 by 10.2 inches).
Its width is typical of 15.6-inch laptops, but it’s on the tall side because it has sizable bezels above and below the screen. The base feels fairly sturdy, and the four rubber feet on the bottom provide a solid grip on a desk or table, though the display hinge wiggles a bit.
MSI made room for a shrunken numeric keypad next to the keyboard. Unfortunately, it had to move the mathematical operation keys from their usual places, requiring some readjusting to learn. The company also made the curious decision to not offset the cursor arrow keys, which are tucked tightly between the main keyboard and number pad, but instead shrink them. That design decision, I found, not only didn’t help me avoid accidentally hitting the wrong keys but also made them that much harder to use when I did find them. The RGB keyboard backlighting might have helped if it was per-key customizable, but it uses a simpler four-zone lighting system.
The Katana 15 has a considerable and confusing array of available configurations, mixing 12th and 13th Generation Intel Core processors and Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs. CPU choices range from the Core i5-12450H to the Core i9-13900H, and graphics options span from the RTX 4050 to RTX 4070. Curiously, the lowest CPU option isn’t paired with the lowest GPU option.
All configurations come with 16GB or 32GB of DDR5 memory running at 4,000MHz on 12th Gen systems and 5,200MHz on 13th Gen models. Almost all include a 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe solid-state drive, though one model gets only a 512GB drive. MSI identifies the different models with tricky codes; B13V indicates 13th Gen Intel and Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 series components, while B13U indicates 13th Gen Intel and GeForce RTX 30 or 20 series. The B12V designation refers to 12th Gen Intel and RTX 40 series, and B12U to 12th Gen Intel and RTX 30 or 20 series.
Every Katana 15 comes with the same mediocre display: a 15.6-inch screen that MSI calls “IPS-level,” meaning it offers viewing angles roughly on par with an IPS panel. Full HD (1,920-by-1,080-pixel) resolution on a panel this size is sufficient for clarity in fine details and presents the GPU with less of a challenge when gaming on the go. The display has a 144Hz refresh rate for smoother gameplay, though no variable-refresh-rate or sync technology is included. Overall, the display can be viewed as something of an afterthought; it’s useful for getting work done and occasional gaming sessions, but gamers who want the best experience the hardware is capable of should prioritize using an external monitor at home.
With neither a fingerprint reader nor face recognition webcam, the MSI Katana 15 has no biometrics for Windows Hello; you’ll be typing an old-fashioned password or PIN to unlock it or perhaps using a USB key. The webcam is a simple 720p unit, and while it presents a soft picture it’s not too bad even in dim lighting.
MSI does an okay job with port selection, putting one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port on each side of the laptop plus a retro USB 2.0 port on the left side. The right flank holds a USB-C port, but it’s disappointingly not Thunderbolt-capable, merely another USB 3.2 Gen 1 option (though it does work with a DisplayPort monitor adapter as a video-out). You’ll find an HDMI 2.1 port capable of 4K/120Hz or 8K/60Hz output, a Gigabit Ethernet jack, and a headset jack on the right side as well.
Knowing that the Katana 15 falls on the budget side among gaming laptops, it was a pleasant surprise to see a relatively premium Wi-Fi 6 adapter with 2×2 MIMO. Downloading game files for benchmarking was a snap over a Wi-Fi 6 connection to my fiber internet.Using the MSI Katana 15 (2023): The Hands-On Experience
Given the cheap build of the laptop, I didn’t have high expectations for the keyboard, but MSI surprised me here: The keys have little wiggle to them, provide decent travel, and are delightfully snappy.
