The MSI Katana 17, being significantly less expensive, is a solid choice for general use and gaming on a budget, offering good performance with an RTX 4060 and a mid-range processor, suitable for most tasks. However, if your work involves intensive engineering, 3D modeling, or machine learning, or you're an enthusiast gamer seeking top-tier performance, the MSI Titan GT77 with its powerful RTX 4080 graphics card and high-end processor will provide a substantial boost, albeit at a higher cost. Keep in mind the Titan's weight may affect portability if you need to move around frequently. Both have large screens, but Titan's higher resolution is better for visual tasks. 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 MSI Katana 17
The MSI Katana 17 has no clear advantages over the MSI Titan GT77.
Advantages of the MSI Titan GT77
Very good for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Best in class for gaming and AI
Excellent for software development
Excellent for content creation
Best in class overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Best in class keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.9/10
8.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
256.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
602.0 nits
3.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
6.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.5/10
The MSI Titan GT77 is very good for general use, while the MSI Katana 17 is good.
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
7.9/10
10.0/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The MSI Titan GT77 is best in class for gaming and AI, while the MSI Katana 17 is good.
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
8.4/10
10.0/10
8.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
32.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
The MSI Titan GT77 is best in class for engineering and design, while the MSI Katana 17 is very good.
The MSI Katana 17, with its solid processor, sizeable RAM, and capable GPU, offers good performance for engineering and design, yet it's the screen quality and lower specs compared to MSI Titan GT77 that place it as very good instead of best. In contrast, the MSI Titan GT77 brings forward a significantly more powerful CPU and GPU, double the RAM, a higher-resolution Mini LED display, resulting in top-tier engineering and design performance, but it is less portable due to increased weight and size.
Content Creation
7.8/10
9.1/10
8.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
32.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The MSI Titan GT77 is excellent 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
7.5/10
9.1/10
8.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
32.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
The MSI Titan GT77 is excellent for software development, while the MSI Katana 17 is good.
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
6.9/10
9.7/10
17.3in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
256.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
602.0 nits
The MSI Titan GT77 has a better screen than the MSI Katana 17 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The MSI Katana 17's panel, despite its resolution and brightness, offers only a fair experience for engineering and design due to limited color range coverage, making it less ideal for tasks that require precise color accuracy. On the other hand, the MSI Titan GT77, with its superior color gamut, excels in displaying vibrant and accurate colors, a crucial factor for engineering and design work, while also offering a high-resolution bright display that enhances the experience for general use. However, both models are less suited for gaming and 3D applications since they fall short on delivering high refresh rates, which are essential for smooth motion and gameplay.
Battery
3.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The MSI Katana 17 has 3 hours of battery life. The MSI Titan GT77 has 5 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
Fair
Poor
17.3in
SIZE
17.3in
5.7 lbs
WEIGHT
7.2 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The MSI Katana 17 has only fair portability, while the MSI Titan GT77 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.2/10
8.5/10
The MSI Titan GT77 has very good build quality, while the MSI Katana 17 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,367
$6,975
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The MSI Katana 17 has a price of $1,367 and the MSI Titan GT77 costs $6,975.
"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."
"The MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V is the utimate gaming laptop with RTX 4090 & Core i9-13950HX. The new MSI Titan GT77 will most likely only reach a very small group of users due to the high price, but it is still an impressive showcase of what is possible. The high-end gamer combines the best components you can currently get in almost every regard and it is a very good overall package, which does not have to hide behind full-fledged desktop systems."
Get a great deal on the MSI Katana 17 or the MSI Titan GT77
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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