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Updated January 12, 2024·
When choosing between the Acer Swift Edge 16 and the MSI Katana 17, consider that the Acer is generally less expensive and may be more suitable for everyday tasks and enhanced portability due to its likely smaller and lighter form factor. On the other hand, the MSI, while typically more costly, could provide better performance for gaming, 3D applications, and engineering software because larger laptops often have more powerful components and better heat dissipation. However, the MSI may be less portable, and may have shorter battery life, which could be inconvenient if you need to work on the go. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Acer Swift Edge 16
- Very good for content creation
- Very good overall display quality
- Very good portability
- Good battery life
Advantages of the MSI Katana 17
- Good for gaming and AI
- Good speakers
- Good keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.7
7.9
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Katana 17 is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift Edge 16 is only fair.
The MSI Katana 17 edges out the Acer Swift Edge 16 in gaming and 3D tasks primarily due to its Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU which is more advanced than the Acer's AMD Radeon 780M, delivering higher performance especially significant in graphical tasks.
Screen Quality
8.8
6.9
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
383.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
256.0 nits
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has a better screen than the MSI Katana 17 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 provides a crisp and bright display with high resolution ideal for browsing, video streaming, and document editing which is why it excels for general use; its wide color gamuts ensure accurate color representation, a crucial factor for engineering and design tasks. However, the screen’s lower refresh rate could limit the smoothness in fast-paced gaming and 3D rendering scenarios. Meanwhile, the MSI Katana 17's adequate resolution and acceptable brightness allow for a good general-use experience, and while it's serviceable for engineering and design, it falls short due to less coverage of professional color spaces and suffers in gaming and 3D applications due to a modest refresh rate.
Battery
7.0 Hours
3.0 Hours
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has 7 hours of battery life. The MSI Katana 17 has 3 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Very Good
Fair
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.7 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has very good portability, while the MSI Katana 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$820
$1,367
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has a price of $820 and the MSI Katana 17 costs $1,367.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.9
7.9
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
383.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
256.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
3.0 Hours
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
8.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.2/10
The Acer Swift Edge 16 and MSI Katana 17 are both good for general use.
The Acer Swift Edge 16, with its OLED screen and high resolution, excels in display quality, makes it lightweight and portable with good battery life, suitable for general uses like web browsing and media consumption. On the other hand, the MSI Katana 17 offers superior multitasking and resource-intensive task management with its higher RAM and advanced CPU, but it trades off with lower portability due to its larger size and heavier weight.
Engineering and Design
8.1
8.4
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Katana 17 and Acer Swift Edge 16 are both very good for engineering and design.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is seen as suitable for engineering and design due to its high-resolution OLED screen and ample CPU and GPU power for visual tasks, but with less RAM than the MSI Katana 17, it might not handle multitasking as well. On the other hand, the MSI Katana 17, equipped with a more powerful GPU and double the RAM, excels in engineering and design tasks that require intense computing and graphic power; however, its larger size and weight may reduce its portability compared to the sleeker Acer Swift Edge 16.
Content Creation
8.1
7.8
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Acer Swift Edge 16 to be very good for content creation, while the MSI Katana 17 is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.9
7.5
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Acer Swift Edge 16 and MSI Katana 17 are both good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Build Quality
7.2
7.2
The Acer Swift Edge 16 and MSI Katana 17 both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the Acer Swift Edge 16 and the MSI Katana 17 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Swift Edge 16 | MSI Katana 17 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$820 | $1,367 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | May 1, 2023 | May 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.1'' x 9.7'' x 0.51'' | 15.7'' x 10.8'' x 0.99'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 2.73 lbs | 5.73 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.08" | 15.67" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.68" | 10.75" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 7840U | Intel i7-13620H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 32 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 1024 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 7 Hours | 3 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 54 Wh | 53.5 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 16" | 17.3" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | OLED | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 3200 x 2000 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 120Hz | 144Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 383 nits | 256 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.2/10 | 7.2/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 8.9/10 | 6.2/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 8/10 | 7/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 6.8/10 | 7.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 7.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Ports | |||
Thunderbolt Ports | 0 | 0 | |
Shopping
Acer Swift Edge 16
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Dig into reviews and images
PCWorld
Matthew S. Smith | October 2023
"The Acer Swift Edge 16 is a solid super thin-and-light that pairs a large, gorgeous 16-inch display with portable design that rivals the weight of LG’s superlight Gram 16. Remarkably, Acer achieves this at a lower price point without sacrificing performance. Boring design and disappointing battery life hold the laptop back from stardom, but its rivals frequently suffer in these areas, too. That makes the Swift Edge 16 an alluring value pick."
MSI Katana 17
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Benjamin Herzig | February 2023
"The MSI Katana 17 B13V laptop impressed us in its main area of competency - gaming. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 ensures high-performance levels which can compete with the previous generation's RTX 3070 Ti. In addition to the speedy GPU, the MSI comes with a 144 Hz display as well as an RGB keyboard and provides a very good typing experience. Despite the power at hand, the laptop remains comparatively cool."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift Edge 16 or the MSI Katana 17
About Acer
Acer is a prominent Taiwanese electronics brand which makes a wide range of laptops, with multiple product lines catering to personal use, gaming, and business use. They are renowned for having exceptional value for money, as they frequently offer good specifications at a lower price than other manufacturers.
About MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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