Gaming laptops have come a long way in recent years. They may not match desktops in terms of overall performance, but they are many times the features of much larger machines that are difficult to carry in a backpack. The same applies to the MSI Katana 17, the model we tested.
The latest generation of Katana can be considered the best gaming laptops on the market, offering good performance, a wide range of technologies and a reasonable price. This year, this combination is even slightly better, but we would be ahead of it.
We got a version of the Katana 17 B13V with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card from the Ada Lovelace generation. It is complemented by the Intel Core i7-13620H processor, which offers 6 powerful cores and 4 economical ones. Inside we also find a new 5200 MHz DDR5 RAM divided into two slots for maximum speed. There’s also a 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen 4.0 SSD or WiFi 6.
The laptop falls into the category of larger 17-inch devices. The Full HD IPS screen offers a refresh rate of 144Hz. Of course, you can find laptops with higher resolutions and higher refresh rates on the market, but there are other factors to consider besides price. Higher resolutions will result in shorter battery life, you’ll have to reduce the detail (or adjust the resolution) in games, and you won’t have to deal with 17-inch Full HD Windows upscaling at all. As a result, said 144 Hz is a much better experience than, for example, QHD at 60 Hz. In this case, MSI made the right choice.
The hardware tour continues on the sides, where we find a solid amount of ports. There are three USB-A, one fast USB-C with DisplayPort support, a new HDMI 2.1, a combo jack, an Ethernet jack, and a power jack. When it comes to connectors, you won’t miss anything for sure, and the only criticism will be that MSI moves more ports to the left or back of the laptop next time. For most users, the mouse and cables are on the right.
As for the keyboard, MSI has improved it compared to last year’s generation. Now you can customize the RGB lighting in four zones. You can choose different effects and colors. You can also easily install your own using the app.
The digital block and standard large arrows will delight. Keystrokes are crisp and deep enough for laptops. MSI has maintained high standards here for many years, especially when compared to other mid-range models.
The overall design can be described as “invisible”. The black exterior is neat, and you can take the laptop on a cable or to the office. MSI has focused more on practical details that can only be found up close. For example, the base under the touchpad is slightly cut out, which makes it easier to open the laptop with one hand. The edges are rounded, so they do not cut, and the keyboard is slightly recessed into the case.
Enough talk about design, how about performance? The combination of a 13th generation Intel Core processor and the new Nvidia RTX 40 graphics series does a lot more than you think. In particular, in the laptop we can find the RTX 4060, i.e. the mid-range graphics card from Nvidia. But Ada Lovelace brings one new thing that you won’t try with the latest generation. Specifically, this concerns the generation of images in games in the DLSS 3 format.
We tested this feature on the FPS hog Cyberpunk 2077. The game ran on a laptop with ultra ray tracing settings, which might seem overkill for a mid-range laptop. But the opposite is also true. With DLSS 2.0 enabled (i.e. no new frame generation) you get a smooth image at around 60 frames per second. But when you turn on DLSS, the pictures go to completely different places. The problem wasn’t getting 90 fps at those high settings. Also, there were no dips during more demanding scenes.
This year’s Katana also offers a MUX switch. This is a hardware switch between video cards. Typically, your laptop has two of them, which, for example, increases endurance. But when playing, you want to enjoy the maximum FPS, and not fiddle with the settings and make sure that the game runs on powerful dedicated graphics. The MUX Switch takes care of that, plus it can give you a few extra frames per second. A feature known from more expensive slot machines has finally made its way to cheaper models.
The overall performance is really decent considering the mid-range graphics. You can run almost any competitive game at 144fps, perfect for a 144Hz refresh rate screen. Even more demanding medium to high detail titles reach over 60 frames per second.
MSI hasn’t forgotten about cooling either. The new cooling system uses six heat pipes and two fans. The heatsinks extend to the CPU and GPU, so cooling is effective even if you’re only using the CPU, for example.
MSI’s new Katana is a success again this year. The improvements are small, but all the more important. An example would be not only better performance, a properly sized display, or improved cooling, but also such a thing as a power supply. Its compact size is reminiscent of ultrabook sources. Traveling with this gaming laptop will be very easy.
MSI Katana 17 B13V is available in retail stores with RTX 4060, Intel Core i7-13620H, 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD. Priced around 43,000 crowns, this is a great slot machine that will keep you playing the latest games for years to come.
Source : Zing
