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G5
Company ProductName Specs











Katana 15
Company ProductName Specs











Advantages of the Gigabyte G5
  • Very good speakers
Advantages of the MSI Katana 15
  • Good for engineering and design
  • Good for gaming and AI
  • Good for software development

Key differences

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General Use

7.0
G5
Katana 15
7.5
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
246.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
258.0 nits
3.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
6.7/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.9/10
The MSI Katana 15 and Gigabyte G5 are both good for general use, though the MSI Katana 15 is somewhat better.

Gaming and AI

6.6
G5
Katana 15
7.6
5.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Katana 15 is good for gaming and AI, while the Gigabyte G5 is only fair.

Engineering and Design

6.9
G5
Katana 15
7.7
6.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.6/10
5.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI Katana 15 is good for engineering and design, while the Gigabyte G5 is only fair.

Software Development

6.3
G5
Katana 15
7.0
6.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The MSI Katana 15 is good for software development, while the Gigabyte G5 is only fair.

Screen Quality

6.8
G5
Katana 15
6.8
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
246.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
258.0 nits
The MSI Katana 15 has a better screen than the Gigabyte G5 for content creation, and software development.
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Key similarities

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Content Creation

7.0
G5
Katana 15
7.4
6.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Katana 15 and Gigabyte G5 are both good for content creation.

Battery

3.5 Hours
G5
Katana 15
4.0 Hours
The Gigabyte G5 has 3.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Katana 15 has 4 hours of battery life.

Portability

Fair
G5
Katana 15
Fair
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
4.8 lbs
WEIGHT
4.9 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The MSI Katana 15 and Gigabyte G5 both have only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.

Build Quality

7.2
G5
Katana 15
7.2
The Gigabyte G5 and MSI Katana 15 both have good build quality.

Cost

$950
G5
Katana 15
$949
Product imageProduct image

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

$1,200

$1,400

The Gigabyte G5 has a price of $950 and the MSI Katana 15 costs $949.

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How the Gigabyte G5 and the MSI Katana 15 compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Gigabyte G5MSI Katana 15
Gigabyte G5MSI Katana 15

GENERAL

Price
$950
$949
Release Date
January 1, 2022February 1, 2023
Overall Dimensions
14.2'' x 10.2'' x 1.09''14.1'' x 10.2'' x 0.98''
Weight
4.85 lbs4.96 lbs
Width
14.21"14.13"
Depth
10.15"10.2"

INTERNAL

Processor
Intel i5-11400HIntel i5-12450H
RAM
8 GB16 GB
DDR Memory Version
45
RAM Slots
22
Storage
512 GB1024 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
3.5 Hours4 Hours
Battery Capacity
49 Wh53.5 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
15.6"15.6"
Display Technology
IPSIPS
Resolution
1920 x 10801920 x 1080
Refresh Rate
144Hz144Hz
Display Brightness
246 nits258 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
7.2/107.2/10
Portability Score
6.7/106.9/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
YesYes
Premium Business Laptop
NoNo
Fan Noise Score
6.5/107/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
7.5/107.5/10
Speaker Quality Score
8/107.5/10
Webcam
720p720p
Fingerprint Reader
NoNo
Backlit Keyboard
YesYes
Number Pad
YesYes

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
33
USB-C ports
11
USB-C Charging
NoNo
Display Outputs
32
Thunderbolt Ports
00

Shopping

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Gigabyte G5

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Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam | April 2023
"The Gigabyte G5 KE is a midrange gaming laptop that checks most boxes. Gigabyte makes good use of the Core i5-12500H and RTX 3060 Laptop GPU combo, and we find no untoward issues with overall performance. The dual-fan quad-heatpipe cooling arrangement does well to ensure that the underlying hardware doesn't throttle under load. That being said, the display is below par when compared to 2023 standards, especially when competing devices."

MSI Katana 15

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Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Christian Hintze | March 2023
"The MSI Katana 15 B12 combines a Gen12 CPU with an RTX 4050, which is actually not a bad idea for a budget gamer. The CPU is anything but bad and the GPU in the Katana 15 proves to be significantly more efficient than last year's models. However, our main point of criticism for budget gamers is the price: while you can get budget laptops with RTX 3060 from around US$800, you pay a whole US$1,499.99 here! The efficiency advantages of the RTX 4050 do not justify this price premium."

Get a great deal on the Gigabyte G5 or the MSI Katana 15

About Gigabyte

Gigabyte is a Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer. While Gigabyte mainly focuses its business on desktop hardware, Gigabyte is known for its value-oriented G series laptops, thin and light Aero series, and performance-oriented Aorus series. Gigabyte laptops offer a strong value proposition to compete with mainstream alternatives.

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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Why trust us

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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.

By the numbers

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Laptops evaluated
48,640
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Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
125,295
Recommendations made
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About the laptop team

Joe Golden, Ph.D

CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Jason Lew

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.

Chandradeep Chowdhury

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.

Craig Russell

Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.

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