MSI Katana 15
MSI Katana 15
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GENERAL USE: Good—7.5/10
GAMING/AI: Good—7.6/10
ENG/DESIGN: Good—7.7/10
SOFTWARE DEV: Good—7.0/10
CONTENT CREATION: Good—7.4/10
PORTABILITY: Fair—6.9/10
BATTERY: Fair—6.0/10
OVERALL SCREEN QUALITY: Fair—6.7/10
OVERALL PERFORMANCE: Good—7.8/10
SIZE: 15.6"
The MSI Katana 15 offers a lower mid-range price point and is equipped with ample storage and memory, making it capable for general and gaming use. It has a mid-tier Intel i5 processor and a Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU that allow for hardware ray tracing and DLSS, providing solid performance for 3D rendering and intensive gaming. The 15.6-inch IPS display gives you a full HD resolution at a high refresh rate, enhancing fast motion visuals, but it's not a touchscreen. Its contrast and color range are decent though it may not be the best for color-sensitive work. The build includes a backlit keyboard with a number pad, Ethernet, and USB-C ports, but not Thunderbolt. It's fairly portable and offers around 4 hours of battery life under typical usage. Overall, this laptop balances performance for both general use and gaming but may not excel in battery life or the highest color accuracy for professional creative work. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Evaluation
Pros
- Good general and engineering performance
- Decent portability for a gaming laptop
- Reasonable keyboard and speaker quality
Cons
- Moderate battery life at just four hours
- Limited screen color range
- Not the lightest at nearly five pounds
Ratings by Category
Gaming & AI:4.3
The MSI Katana 15 is good for gaming and 3D due to its Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics card which delivers strong rendering performance for gaming and 3D applications, and a screen refresh rate of 144Hz which provides smooth motion for fast-paced action and detailed visual work.
Engineering & Design:4.3
The MSI Katana 15 is equipped with a powerful main processor, sufficient RAM, and a dedicated GPU, all of which are crucial for demanding engineering and design tasks. Its display offers high resolution and color accuracy, which are essential for detailed visual work.
General Use:4.2
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.
The most important factors in this score include CPU performance, amount of RAM, screen quality, storage, and battery life.
Keyboard quality, speaker quality, low fan noise, heat management, and to a lesser extent webcam quality are all moderately important factors for this score.
Content Creation:4.2
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, and video editing work.
In addition to a strong emphasis on overall performance, this score also places very high importance on screen quality. Heat management, storage, keyboard and speaker quality are also incorporated, with fan noise rounding out this score.
Keyboard Quality:4.2
The Keyboard Quality score is based on the PerfectRec experts’ assessment of tactile feedback, typing comfort, keyboard reliability and typing noise.
Build Quality:4.1
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, chassis rigidity, and overall reliability.
Our assessment of build quality includes many details that are difficult to quantify.
Our laptop experts use their best judgment to produce the final score.
Software Development:4.0
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software development.
In addition to a strong emphasis on overall performance, this score also places very high importance on screen quality. Heat management, storage, keyboard and speaker quality are also incorporated, with fan noise rounding out this score.
General Use Screen Quality:4.0
The general use screen score is based on the screen technology, contrast ratio, resolution, brightness, color gamut and color accuracy. This score does not take into account specialized display features for specific use cases, such as high refresh rate for gaming.
Operating Noise:4.0
PerfectRec’s Operating Noise Score is based on fan noise measurements. Laptops with a fanless design, such as Macbooks, receive the maximum score.
Portability:3.9
PerfectRec’s portability rating takes into account the volume and thickness of the laptop as well as its weight.
Battery Life:3.0
PerfectRec’s Battery Life rating is based on hours of battery life in typical usage scenarios.
Full Specs
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
| Price | $949 | ||
Release Date | February 1, 2023 | ||
Overall Dimensions | 14.1'' x 10.2'' x 0.98'' | ||
Weight | 4.96 lbs | ||
Width | 14.13" | ||
Depth | 10.2" | ||
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | Intel i5-12450H | ||
RAM | 16 GB | ||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | ||
RAM Slots | 2 | ||
Storage | 1024 GB | ||
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | 4 Hours | ||
Battery Capacity | 53.5 Wh | ||
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | ||
Display Technology | IPS | ||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | ||
Refresh Rate | 144Hz | ||
Display Brightness | 258 nits | ||
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score  | 7.2/10 | ||
Portability Score | 6.9/10 | ||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | ||
Premium Business Laptop | No | ||
Fan Noise Score | 7/10 | ||
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | 7.5/10 | ||
Speaker Quality Score | 7.5/10 | ||
Webcam | 720p | ||
Fingerprint Reader | No | ||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | ||
Number Pad | Yes | ||
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | 3 | ||
USB-C ports | 1 | ||
USB-C Charging | No | ||
Display Outputs | 2 | ||
Thunderbolt Ports | 0 | ||
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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."
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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.
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