The ASUS Vivobook 15 is indeed less expensive and could be sufficient for general use, with satisfactory performance for everyday tasks like browsing and office applications. However, if you're looking for a laptop that has higher performance for engineering tasks, 3D work, machine learning, gaming, and that can handle more intensive applications, the MSI Katana 17 would be the better but more costly choice. It has a larger screen, better graphics, and is expected to be more powerful overall. Keep in mind, the larger size of the Katana makes it less portable, and it's also heavier, possibly affecting its battery life negatively when compared to the ASUS. The added cost reflects the enhancements in functions and capabilities. 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 ASUS Vivobook 15
Good portability
Good battery life
Advantages of the MSI Katana 17
Good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Good for software development
Good for content creation
Good speakers
Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.5/10
7.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
256.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
3.0 Hours
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
7.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.2/10
The MSI Katana 17 is good for general use, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
5.9/10
7.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Katana 17 is good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is poor.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
6.1/10
8.4/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Katana 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
6.4/10
7.8/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Katana 17 is good for content creation, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is only fair.
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
6.5/10
7.5/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The MSI Katana 17 is good for software development, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is only fair.
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.
Screen Quality
6.3/10
6.9/10
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
256.0 nits
The MSI Katana 17 has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook 15 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
Considering the Asus Vivobook 15, the screen's adequate resolution and brightness make it suitable for everyday tasks like browsing and video streaming, yet its limited color range might not suffice for color-critical engineering and design work. The MSI Katana 17's screen, with better overall quality, offers more vivid and accurate colors which benefit general use and professional design tasks; however, both laptops fall short for gaming and 3D applications due to their lower refresh rates, which can result in less smooth visuals in fast-paced scenes or while working on motion graphics.
Battery
6.0 Hours
3.0 Hours
The ASUS Vivobook 15 has 6 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
Good
Fair
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
3.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.7 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The ASUS Vivobook 15 has good portability, while the MSI Katana 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$530
$1,367
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The ASUS Vivobook 15 has a price of $530 and the MSI Katana 17 costs $1,367.
"The Asus VivoBook 15 is a quiet office notebook with a strong screen. However, the VivoBook 15 still has room for improvement. Office and internet applications as well as simple games do not pose any major challenges for the VivoBook - this is ensured by the built-in combination of Ryzen 7 5700U APU and 16 GB of RAM. Heat and noise emissions are acceptable. But, the laptop has weaknesses that should not be present at this level: lack of keyboard lighting, a slow memory card reader, no fast USB-C port (USB 3.2 Gen 2 or Thunderbolt 4) with Power Delivery and DisplayPort. Battery runtimes can only be described as average."
"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 ASUS Vivobook 15 or the MSI Katana 17
About ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
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.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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