MSI Katana 15 Laptop Review (2023)

[@TheProductCritiques]

Fantastic review! The MSI Katana 15 gaming laptop with its 144Hz FHD display looks like a powerful gaming machine. Your detailed insights and performance tests have given me a clear picture of what this laptop is capable of. As someone in the market for a gaming laptop, this one has definitely caught my attention. Thanks for sharing your expertise and showcasing this gaming powerhouse!

[@abdulgafoor8586]

mahn you are straightforward with everything i kinda like that keep up the good work bro loved it

[@saltyshackles5227]

Thank you for covering fan speed and noise.

[@skpz7335]

Super clean video! You deserve way more views However there is bit of noise with your mic

[@virtuoso1505]

You have the best reviews on youtube! Love your thoroughness and the fact that you get straight to the point. Also appreciate your chill talking volume. Decided to pick up this laptop, but with a 4060. One thing that always concerns me is CPU temperatures, so I was very happy to see that it stayed below 90 deg. Thanks so much and keep up the awesome reviews!

[@PrinzessinMaki]

Got the 13620h 4070 Version for 1200€, besides the screen in really happy with the Laptop. Great CPU/GPU with good cooling, only downside is Both Seem to be voltagelocked

[@PeterOliver]

250nits brightness is downright unusable in a bright environment. Pretty terrible trend of low screen brightness in these $1k+ but low end gaming laptops.

[@Hubwood]

The price is too high. They started at the same price range with the 3050s series 2 years ago. Now you can get it for 800-900

[@killerra]

@@Hubwood The 3050 Ti ASUS TUF I bought in August of 2021 launched at CES of that year for $1299, but was $899 8 months later when I got it. The 4050 laptops will drop in the same manner. Given how huge of a performance leap the 4050 is over the 3050/3050 Ti, it will be a great but when it's cheaper.

[@shikikanaz4624]

@@Hubwood is that in euros? in australia you can get the cheapest one for 2099

[@Hubwood]

@@shikikanaz4624 yes. Europe. Gigabyte g5 is one of the cheapest rtx 3050 laptops. Often started at 750 euros which equals to 1200 australian dollars.

[@Hubwood]

Quick look just showed me you can get an MSI Katana with 3050 for 1400 at catch.com

[@Tuxedo512]

It was on sale for 899 usd at microcenter, seems pretty good except for the terrible battery life and the sub par touch pad.

[@mann1zzle]

Yep still available at that price. That’s what landed me on this video. I’m considering this or the Dell G16 7620.

[@rodneyamidon271]

Looking to buy this at Microcenter this weekend. Any other suggestions for comparable devices?

[@Qwnntm]

Yep buying mine from microcenter this weekend, crazy performance for that price point

[@Mathews69]

Just bought the MSI Katana 15 B12VGK 672AU 15.6" 144Hz 12th Gen i7 12650H RTX4070 16GB DDR5 Win 11 for only A$2199 on sale... only issue I have had so far, is the M.2 expansion for second SSD (NVMe), requires a mounting kit you have to order direct from MSI and have shipped (which only took two days after contacting them).

[@butterfly3737]

How it it going so far, gaming? Temps?

[@entopticmedia]

@@butterfly3737 it will have it's first real run this weekend doing live generative visuals for a festival (VJing)... stay tuned :)

[@kysierkevin]

​@@entopticmediahow is this laptop now? I am thinking of getting one

[@fsx0567]

best gaming counsel ~ disconnect display and mount it on the back of tv

[@mc-fine]

I haven't been able to find response time on these cheaper 144hz MSI laptops. Seeing them now for $1000-1200 in the US

[@Not_a_lier]

I have the B13V on custom performance settings (BIOS) and I get 1hr of battery life. (if you are wondering why, my cpu isn't reacting positively with c-states or energy turbo boost setting on the BIOS.

[@saeedsajjadian6724]

please help me. I want to buy it. Do you prefer cyborg or this?

[@paulharris8257]

Getting one of these for 600, seend like the vest you can currently get for the price point.

[@yxngaress8212]

I have a question I’ve just bought this laptop and I’ve noticed my fps drops is there anything specific drives I need to instal other than ge force?

[@simonpvp]

Processor: Intel Core i9-13900H(14-core 5.4Ghz) RAM: 16GB DDR5 RAM (16GB x1) Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB GDDR6 (105W MUX) Storage: 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD Connectivity: 802.11 ax Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth v5.2 Ports: 1x HDMI 2.1 (8K @ 60Hz / 4K @ 120Hz) Display: 15.6″ QHD 165Hz(2560 * 1440) Operating System: WINDOWS 11 HOME Weight: 2.25Kg how about this one?

[@mix2517]

Thank you, man. In Russia MSI GF76 Katana 17 B12VEK-267XRU (17.3", i7-12650H, RAM 16gb, SSD 512gb, RTX 4050 (85w ???), NO OS) cost 1560$. With Windows 11 Home cost 1690$.

[@samgoff5289]

That is awful price 😅

[@ccmeow6366]

i got it for 800 thats not bad

[@endlesspie49]

I was looking at this laptop recently and find it pretty interesting, i just have one question. Do you know if it possible to upgrade the memory ram? I saw that this particular model tends to have 16GB of ram of ddr5 most of the time. But i am curious to see if it is possible to expanded it to say, 32 gb of ddr5 or even up to 64 gb of ddr5 on the best case.

[@Hubwood]

Yes and yes 😊

[@endlesspie49]

@@Hubwood thank you!

[@ishaqgt946]

I miss msi leopard series

[@carlosbenitez5717]

same price as g14 2021 , which one should i get?

[@Gamersdontlookup]

Do you know if the low one percent lows and frame pacing have been fixed?

[@mortenborg]

Can the USB-C port be used for monitor? In other words, can it be connected to an USB-C monitor with USB accessories and power?

[@rebinfarhan7300]

Bro which one should I Buy Which one do you prefer? This- MSI KATANA 15 SPECS-- Intel core 7 12th gen 12650H 16GB/1TB SSD Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 6GB GRAPHICS Windows 11 home 144 HZ DISPLAY OR THIS-- ASUS TUF Gaming F15 with 90WHr Battery Intel H-Series Intel Core i7 12th Gen 12700H - (16 GB/1 TB SSD/Windows 11 Home/4 GB Graphics/ NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti/144 Hz/95 TGP) FX577ZE-HN072WS Gaming Laptop (15.6 Inch, Jaeger Gray, 2.20 Kg, With MS Office) Can you please tell me which is better and which is best for gaming ?

[@rebinfarhan7300]

In your opinion?

[@Hubwood]

Defenitely the Katana due to its better GPU.

[@rebinfarhan7300]

@@Hubwood can I ask you one more thing? What is the battery backup of katana?

[@luktheduk68]

What do you think now that the laptop goes for $900 or less? Do you think the battery is bad, even for working on battery? I won't game on battery, but using Microsoft Word and Excel and stuff, yes.

[@Hubwood]

That will work, but not too long. Maybe 3-4 hours

[@xfghkhjfsejid]

Do you think it would run Diablo IV? EDIT: I got it and it deffo can with raytracing on also.

[@Hubwood]

Yes of course. That will work perfectly fine.

[@xfghkhjfsejid]

@@Hubwood Thank you for replying.

[@UgurFeyzullah]

Hey man im really confused about two Laptop. One Katana 15 with i7-12650H | 2x8GB RAM | 512GB SSD | RTX 4070 8 GB | . Another is katana 17 with Core i7-13620H | 2x8GB RAM | 1 TB SSD | RTX 4060 8 GB |. Both same Price. Which one should I choose ?

[@Hubwood]

Take the one with the 4070 then!

[@briando2724]

Is this or the lenovo loq 15, which one is better?

[@---tv7960]

In Russia this laptops starts at 1800$ Laptop with rtx 4060 a little higher than 2000$ I’ve preordered with 4060 and i think it’ll incredible graphics to compare with my gtx1650

[@aditya_saha]

get a better pc for lower cost

[@---tv7960]

@@aditya_saha Yes, u are right but I live in student residence and there is very little place.

[@amogus1479]

For 2000 you can probably get a rtx 3070 laptop (i don't live in Russia) like Lenovo legion or Asus Rog strix g15

[@---tv7960]

@@amogus1479 Lenovo legion with rtx 3070 costs about 2700$ in Russia. Its all because sanctions

[@me_dimko]

@@---tv7960 that sucks, I got mine Lenovo Legion 5 Pro with rtx3070 about a year ago for 1450€ which I do not regret this deal at all since now it is like 1699€ just with 32GB ram instead of mine 16GB.

[@xloco15]

Between this katana the model with 4060 and Gigabyte G5 KF-E3ES313SD or Gigabyte Aorus 15 9KF-E3ES383SD, all at the same price, which one to choose?

[@Hubwood]

Not the G5. Aorus or Katana. Depends on you taste / connections

[@arturotorres3207]

Hi there, I'm a software developer and this is about 1200 usd. I don't care much about gaming but I need a computer with a good CPU to build/bundle apps and run device simulators. Is this decent? EDIT: Quick clarification, the one I'm looking at has a 4070, a i7 13620H, 16gb ram and 1TB ssd

[@Hubwood]

It should be okay, but if you don't game you could look for a laptop with even better cpu and no dedicated GPU for the same price...

[@xfghkhjfsejid]

Do you think it would run Diablo IV?

[@kawaiipotato8091]

i got my msi katana 17 with a rtx 4060 i7 16gb ram for 1580Eu :D luckyyy

[@ademjarrar1544]

How is the laptop?

[@subieguy4567]

I got the same but I’ve had the laptop freeze and crash about 3 times already idk why though i wasn’t playing any highly graphical games

[@randadam2291]

Hello will you recommend this one to buy it or lenovo legion slime 7 ??

[@Hubwood]

The Legion!

[@randadam2291]

@@Hubwood and which’s better between this two models…i’m about to buy one of this can you recommend it i will use it for architecture programs..i will be happy if you tell me 1- buy legion slim 7:Silm 7 16IRH8, Intel Core i9-13900H, SSD 1TB, RAM 32GB, RTX 4070 8GB, 16.0 WQXGA 240hZ IPS 2-legion 5 pro core i7-13700H,SSD 1TB, RAM 32GB RRTX 4070 8GB, 16 WQXGA 165hZ IPS

[@Hubwood]

The Legion 7 slim defenitely. The i9 will help!

[@randadam2291]

@@Hubwood okay thanks alot

[@sirsong7003]

what apps were you using to detect hardware watt usage and all that fps on the screen?

[@Hubwood]

MSI afterburner with RTSS. I have a quick tutorial in my channel. Search for hubwood osd msi afterburner

[@cloaxsl]

Anyone with this laptop know how to go into advanced bios settings? No code online is working for me

[@SurujAkon-z4c]

FHD 144Hz, Intel i7-12650H, Nvidia RTX 4050 6GB GDDR6, RAM 16GB DDR5 4800MHz .. Vs FHD 144Hz, Intel i7-12700H, Nvidia RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6, RAM 16GB DDR4 3200MHz, Both are msi katana..

[@astarastar8937]

Hello, I don't know how in your video your laptop never exceeds 70 degrees when mine is constantly at 90/97 degrees. I have MSI KATANA B12VFK I7 12650H / RTX 4060

[@Hubwood]

Room Temperature was 21°C when Testing. I also use a Laptop stand which lifts up the laptop a bit.

[@Spartinus]

@@Hubwood these factors are very important , everyone should look for them before blaming the software or hardware

[@tadeusz_kristin]

Is that a good laptop for editing videos?

[@Hubwood]

Yeah, I don't see why it wouldn't be. Should be perfectly fine even for 4k material. (which would force you to get a bigger Harddrive/SSD or an external drive at some point, but still..)

[@nyxoyzbruh3625]

Pls enlighten me how did you get those tempatures without fps harm

[@Hubwood]

Laptop stand and 20C room temperature (German winter)

[@nyxoyzbruh3625]

@@Hubwood that makes sense thnx

[@Hubwood]

@@rikki4326 I wasn't even using the fans of the laptop stand. So basically any stand that lifts up the laptop a bit for fresh air would do. That already decreases the temps by 2-5 degrees on many laptops.

[@malworm25]

sir can i use your laptop clips for growing my youtube channel sir i will credit to you in the description please reply sir...

[@moneyforlife._]

Sir sir sir sid

[@oppaimon9834]

Is it better than Alpha 15 ?

[@krisyflynt9211]

Would this model run cod mobile smooth ? MSI Katana 15 Intel Core i7-13620H 16 GB ram 1 TB SSD NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB 144 Hz refresh rate

[@Hubwood]

Yes!

[@Hardivh]

The input lag on this monitor is massive right?

[@Fearless-bc6kg]

In India this laptop starts at 1300$ and this model is $1700

[@joeghaoui1229]

same in my country, they are selling 3050ti fr 1200 here

[@aditya_saha]

india has 20% import tax

[@Fearless-bc6kg]

@Adi yes but still those r $ 500-700 more

[@gj__]

Their pricing is just ridiculous nobody will buy it msi definitely has to get it around 75k to 85k inr in order to sell it

[@amogus1479]

That's insane what is msi thinking 🤣 If you want to game then for this price you can many good laptops like Lenovo legion 5 with 3060 or msi delta 15 advantage edition with Rx6700m which come with better display and cost less also have better battery life and better performance

[@scpalpha-1438]

Can this laptop play ready or not and insurgency sandstorm?

[@Hubwood]

YES! Absolutely! And in a perfect way aswell!

[@cliffli798]

why still use alder lake in 2023?

[@DaveSpen]

Does this laptop have n-key rollover?

[@OpheliaDrownedd]

I was thinking of getting this laptop as my first gaming computer. It is currently priced at 1,110 euro in my country for the 15 inch one. I am looking for something budget friendly as I have a tight budget. Do you think I should look elsewhere? I mainly game at home with headphones so the dimness doesnt bother me so much, and I have next to no knowledge about computers, so I dont think I would be able to assemble my own regular PC, this is why I am looking for a laptop. Do you have any reccomendations or advice at this price range?

[@Hubwood]

Well for 1100 it starts to make more sense ;) Me personally would prefer a Lenovo Legion, an Asus TUF A15, A16 or A17 or the Acer nitro 16, but if these aren't in your price range then we'll, yes I guess this could be a start. But if you're not using it mobile I would advise to get a desktop pc instead. You can get those ore build aswell and you'll get more performance for the same money or pay less money for the same performance.

[@OpheliaDrownedd]

@@Hubwood Ah thank you for such a fast reply! I will look into them. I usually game in bed, so thats why i wanted to get a laptop, but if I would go for a PC, which ones would you reccomend? Also, thank you for the reccomendations! I dont have any gaming or computer savy friends to ask about this so your adice is very helpfull!

[@Hubwood]

@@OpheliaDrownedd For a Desktop I would try to get a pre built PC with an RTX 3060 and an i5 + 16GB Ram for example. Or an RTX 3070 or RX 7600/RX7700 if you can find some...

[@OpheliaDrownedd]

@@Hubwood I will look into it! I checked out the laptops, would you consider the Lenovo Legion 5 any good? The Pro 7 is very expensive almost 2,300 Euro which I cannot afford now unfortunately. Also, do you have a prefference between Intel Core and AMD Ryzen? Is one better than the other or it doesnt matter as long as you get the right one. Thank you!

[@Hubwood]

@@OpheliaDrownedd the Lenovo legion 5 is always a good laptop indeed. I don't have a preference between amd or Intel. Usually amd is a bit cheaper though.

[@nielsdaemen]

2:01 Why are laptops so much more expensive in europe?

[@Hubwood]

Because the average income is higher in some countries, means they're trying to sell them with a bigger profit margin...

[@nielsdaemen]

@@Hubwood I thought it was all import fees. If I order a laptop from the US to the Netherlands I have to pay 21% VAT on top of the price in the USA, that already includes ~8% sales tax

[@snakegmao]

@@nielsdaemen you are right

[@MrZyphR]

This laptop is $1599 aud. Which makes it 600 cheaper than everything else.

[@BigWadzBigJocks]

Do you think this is a good value laptop?

[@letigidou8660]

I dont understand how yours was 75 degrees on Cinebench. Mine immediately shoots up to 96 degrees and this is on cooler boost option in msi center and I'm also using a cooling pad. Ten minute run also produced only 14557. The only thing that worked like yours was the P/E clocks stabilizing at 3791 and 2993 mhz. In games I see people with 3500-4000 mine is at 2600-2900.

[@Hubwood]

Sounds like a faulty core... 😕

[@hornmanath4215]

Bro u need a better camera because your face kinda blur and u pretty much done, everything else is very professional and some stuff u can learn as time go on

[@Hubwood]

I had camera/lens issues this time. Fixed it ;)

[@WTF_EDITZ_200K]

Which msi laptop is good for gaming??

[@Gabrialhajji]

How to drop the temperatures for the gpu and cpu... and decrease the throttling ... Thanks in advance 👍

[@LCJammer]

msi only good models to get is gp, ge and gt. their lower budget models always suck.

[@brucebanner6737]

How is 1,000 low budget 😂

[@manyord7089]

aw i wish you opened the laptop to see upgradability.

[@Hubwood]

YOu can add another M.2 and easily swap the RAM :)

[@Likitu264]

What do you think about the katana 15 with a 4060 that microcenter is selling for 1000 USD?

[@Hubwood]

1000? That seems like good price actually!

[@Likitu264]

@@Hubwood Yeah! the only issue is that the ssd is 512gb and it has last gen i7, i was about to get the Asus G14 from best buy for the same price until I saw the MSI at micro center. Havent decided which one to get tho XD

[@NamTran-xc2ip]

@@Likitu264 12th and 13th gen doesnt differ that much, go for msi

[@Likitu264]

@@NamTran-xc2ip shiet, micro center just took another 100 from the price

[@delusionalweb7870]

Which is the game at 2:41?

[@Hubwood]

That's not a game. Thats a spyder X pro to clabirate the monitor and measure the color accuracy and brightness of the display.

[@Harami69666]

How bad is the laptop screen 😅

[@Hubwood]

It's not particularly bad. It's just a bit too dark. As a regular user you wouldn't notice the color accuracy anyways...

[@joeghaoui1229]

Its not bad for gaming

[@sarasaccone9869]

Hi, can you change individual key colors or you can set only color for the entire zone?

[@Hubwood]

Not individually. Only the 4 zones can be set individually.

[@mekura]

@@Hubwood how do you do this? tried steelseries, dragon doesnt work. the mystic light also no option, at least for me

[@Hubwood]

@@mekura with the official msi app for this laptop.

[@samerbouez]

Not sure how you come up with 1700 euros for 1300usd... it's like 1200 euros.

[@Hubwood]

Prices changed. The video is 6 month old ;)

[@samerbouez]

@@Hubwood on March 3rd when you published the video, the conversion rate was 1.06, so it's 1226 euros, not 1700. I think maybe you confused euros with AUD or CAD. No big deal. Cheers and thanks for the valuable info!

[@Hubwood]

@@samerbouez the problem is: if a laptop costs 1000 Dollars, it usually costs about 1300 euros. That depends on the country you live in and the manufacturer. They usually add quite a big amount for selling stuff outside the US. It's almost never 1:1. The USA usually have one of the cheapest laptop markets world wide.

[@samerbouez]

@@Hubwood wow that's crazy. I see your point now. I was debating on getting the MSI Katana 15 with the i7-13620H 4070 or the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 with the i7-13700HX and same GPU, I just went with the Acer. Do you think I made the right choice?

[@Hubwood]

@@samerbouezIn my opinion that's a clear yes!

[@rameesaliyousuf6219]

I need 50 nits display with 24hz and rtx 4090 with Intel Pentium 1st gen and 2 w battery and weights 30kg with a price tage of 1usd

[@leonardo227]

It's ok for 1200€?

[@Hubwood]

Not really, no...

[@leonardo227]

@@Hubwood But a lot of people said that is good for 1200€. Model: MSI Katana 15 B12VEK i7-12650H RTX 4050. Is still good?

[@leonardo227]

idc screen bc i already have a good monitor

[@Hubwood]

@@leonardo227 i Think 1200 is too much for a Katana with a RTX 4050. Of course it always depends on your country and what other laptops cost. But in europe you should be able to get better laptops for 1200 right now.

[@leonardo227]

@@Hubwood Could you tell me some? I live in Italy. Thanks.

[@SerCommander]

Subjective opinion - that CPU performance is way too excessive and power hungry. Most users, even in gaming, will do well with something like 5800u Uh, euro is pricier than USD. Maybe it's the high taxes of tje specific country?

[@Hubwood]

Euro is always more expensive than dollar. That's basically fraud 😬

[@tesiro143]

u look so good papi :3

[@Hubwood]

🤭

[@walenitosbanditos]

CS go FPS?

[@2010andreyu]

I just bought this laptop and i have like crazy temps 80 + cpu and 80 + in a game like fivem it is normal?

[@Hubwood]

I had more like 62 on the GPU and 75 on the CPU. Whats your room temperature? Did you try to lift the laptop a bit from the table so it could get fresh air? With a book or a laptop stand? But don't block the air vents.

[@2010andreyu]

The laptop is staying on a marble table So it s pretty cold, also the room is pretty cold. I just buyed it this morning and now Im looking to refund it.

[@Hubwood]

@@2010andreyu which Fan Mode / performance mode are you using?

[@2010andreyu]

@@Hubwood i did not Download Any application to put fans on a mode, what would you recommend? Its just default now

[@Hubwood]

@@2010andreyu to download the msi app which allows you to change it and see if that solves the issue

[@nielsdaemen]

For that price you're better of getting a 3070

[@einstien2409]

2100 Euros for the RTX 4050? Nah.

[@warhamburger40k81]

4060 basic trash costs 2500$ here :(

[@joeghaoui1229]

Get a 3070 at this point for less😂 samenin my country, they sell a 3050ti for 1300

[@kuheylan27]

MSI laptops looks so cheap 🤮🤮

[@makingtechfriendlyindia]

First comment suckers

[@sasquatchcrew]

nice

[@estor9676]

dislike for atomic heart

[@behelit77]

Why?

[@X-Rounder]

Have you ever heard axioo pongo 760 gaming laptop ?