I Tested MSI’s $999 Gaming Laptop and Liked Its 1080p Performance but Little Else

If you happen to’re sure and decided to spend lower than $1,000 on a gaming laptop computer, and also you need one with a GPU from Nvidia’s newest GeForce RTX 50 collection, then amongst your restricted choices is the MSI Katana 15 HX. This 15.6-inch laptop computer options RTX 5050 graphics and is frequently discounted to $999 at Walmart. It proved to be a robust general performer, particularly for its value, together with strong 1080p body charges. Whereas I used to be impressed with its efficiency, I discovered it arduous to miss a few of its shortcomings. 

As quickly as I pulled it out of the field, I used to be shocked by the majority and heft of the laptop computer. It is almost a pound heavier than the Acer Nitro V 16S AI, which has a bigger (and extra trendy) 16-inch, 16:10 show. The Katana 15 HX’s show is an old-school 15.6-inch, 16:9 panel, and as quickly as I powered it on, I used to be greeted with a dim picture — and that was with brightness already turned all the best way up. Different price range touches embrace a 512GB SSD that I rapidly crammed to capability after putting in solely a handful of video games and a fuzzy 720p webcam that is sorely outdated.

The Katana 15 HX delivers on the highest precedence of any gaming laptop computer, offering good 3D efficiency for the worth. However you do not have to look very far for very lengthy to search out its limitations. None are deal breakers, nevertheless, and if in case you have solely $1,000 to spend on a gaming laptop computer and don’t desire one with previous-gen graphics, then the Katana 15 HX definitely matches the invoice. For about $300 extra, nevertheless, the Acer Nitro V 16S AI or Lenovo Legion 5i every presents a extra well-rounded bundle.

MSI sells just a few mounted configurations of the Katana 15 HX B14W. I examined the entry-level mannequin, which is offered at Walmart for $1,200 however is frequently on sale for $999. It options an Intel Core i7-14650HX and RTX 5050 graphics, together with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. The show is a 15.6-inch IPS LCD with a 1,920×1,080-pixel decision and a 144Hz refresh price. 

Additionally at Walmart is a $1,499 model that bumps you as much as an RTX 5070 GPU, 1TB SSD and a higher-resolution (2,560×1,440 pixels) and sooner (165Hz) show.

The MSI Katana 15 HX B14W begins at £1,399 in the UK and AU$2,199 in Australia. 

MSI Katana 15 HX B14W efficiency

With its 14th-gen Core i7 CPU that has 16 cores and 24 threads and RTX 5050 GPU with 8GB of devoted video reminiscence and set at its max TDP of 155 watts, the Katana 15 HX B14W offers glorious bang to your buck. It dealt with our software benchmarks with out breaking a sweat, and on the assessments that basically matter — our 3D gaming benchmarks — it managed to maintain tempo with a pair of pricier price range gaming fashions, the Acer Nitro V 16S AI and Lenovo Legion 5i, that characteristic RTX 5060 graphics.

The Katana 15 HX B14W produced glorious 1080p body charges on our Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Guardians of the Galaxy benchmarks and truly outpaced the Acer Nitro V 16S AI, whose RTX 5060 is extra succesful than the Katana’s RTX 5060 however set at a decrease TDP of 85 watts, which limits its efficiency.

The Katana 15 HX B14W excelled on our F1 24 benchmark, hitting a median of 104 frames per second at 1080p with the Extremely Top quality setting. That was higher than the Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 (82fps) and Acer Nitro V 16S AI (74fps). 

The Katana 15 HX B14W fell behind these two opponents on our Murderer’s Creed: Shadows benchmark, every of which managed to exceed 60fps at 1080p with Excessive settings. The Katana averaged solely 53fps with the identical settings. However, you’ve got bought a few choices to get clean 1080p gameplay with Shadows on the Katana 15 HX. After I dropped the standard setting to Medium, I averaged 65fps. The opposite transfer is to make use of AI upscaling, and with DLSS enabled, I used to be capable of common 66fps on the highest Extremely Excessive setting. 

Maintaining thermals in verify is a problem for any gaming laptop computer, and the Katana 15 HX B14W with its full-wattage RTX 5050 GPU definitely depends on its two cooling followers. Beneath regular load, the followers kicked in solely sometimes, however they had been a near-constant presence throughout video games. They get fairly loud, however an excellent pair of headphones will let you largely ignore them.

Battery life is never spectacular on a gaming laptop computer, with the give attention to energy over effectivity. The Katana 15 HX B14W lasted a bit of over 6 hours on our YouTube streaming battery drain check, which is not nice however about an hour longer than we bought with final 12 months’s MSI Cyborg 15.

Price range touches abound

The Katana 15 HX’s power is the efficiency it offers for the worth. The place it falls brief is within the design and options departments. 

I wasn’t shocked to search out an all-plastic design, given the low value, however I used to be bowled over by the heft of the system. It is thick at over an inch (extra once you embrace the chunky rubber toes on which it rests) and suggestions the scales at greater than 5.5 kilos, which is heavy for a laptop computer of this dimension. The Lenovo Legion 5i has a barely smaller 15.1-inch show and is greater than a pound lighter at 4.3 kilos. And even with a bigger 16-inch show, the Acer Nitro V 16S AI is sort of a pound lighter than the Katana 15 HX.

One other space the place the Katana 15 HX reveals its price range standing is the show. MSI outfitted it with a 15.6-inch, 16:9 show that feels behind the instances, as most laptops have moved to a taller 16:10 panel. It suffices for 1080p gaming, and the 144Hz refresh retains issues wanting clean. The general image seems a bit muted, nevertheless, due to the show’s restricted brightness. I measured peak brightness with a Spyder X Elite colorimeter at solely 280 nits. Although not unusual on cheaper laptops, I look for no less than 300 nits and actually prefer to be nearer to 400 nits. The Acer Nitro V 16S AI and Lenovo Legion 5i had been every significantly brighter. The Nitro V hit 443 nits, and the Legion 5i’s OLED panel achieved a peak of 518 nits. Mainly, in the event you want a greater show, you may want to connect the Katana’s HDMI output to an exterior one or purchase a unique laptop computer.

The webcam is one other decidedly price range contact on the Katana 15 HX. Whereas most laptops in 2025 provide at the least a 1080p digital camera, you are caught with a fuzzy 720p cam right here. It produces a grainy picture and lacks an IR sensor that will allow you to use facial recognition to make use of with Home windows Whats up. And with out a fingerprint reader, the Katana 15 HX is totally devoid of biometrics for simple, safe logins.

Three different price range objects to report:

• The two-watt stereo audio system produce underwhelming sound; use headphones as a substitute, ideally with lively noise cancellation to neutralize the fan noise. 
• The 512GB SSD can refill quick after putting in simply a few video games. There is no room for an additional drive, however you possibly can simply swap it out for a larger-capacity SSD down the street.
• There are not any Thunderbolt 4 ports; the quickest you get is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Kind-C port that gives solely 10Gbps velocity.

Let’s finish with a constructive: The keyboard is not horrible. It feels roomy, and the keys provide shallow journey however with sufficient of a satisfying snap when pressed or mashed to be serviceable. And also you get four-zone RGB LED lighting when many price range gaming laptops provide solely a single zone. With 4 brightness ranges for the RGB lighting, you possibly can dial within the impact to match the ambient lighting of your gaming setup. Ten keys — the WASD keys, 4 arrow keys, spacebar and energy button — provide translucent or partially translucent keycaps to let extra coloration shine by way of. 

Lastly, regardless of the presence of a quantity pad, you get 4 full-size arrow keys, that are a necessity on a gaming laptop computer. Three keys had been shortened, nevertheless, to accommodate the 4 arrow keys and numpad — the right-Shift, Copilot and Operate keys — and I want they had been dropped down away from the opposite keys to make them simpler to find by contact. 

Is the MSI Katana 15 HX B14W an excellent price range gaming laptop computer?

In order for you one of the best body charges for the bottom value, then it is a strong choose. However you may must dwell with some price range touches, the worst of which is the dim show. If you happen to can lengthen your gaming laptop computer price range from $1,000 to round $1,300, then the Acer Nitro V 16S AI or Lenovo Legion 5i offers a brighter show, lighter design, higher-resolution webcam and bump to RTX 5060 graphics together with double the RAM and storage.