The MSI Katana 15 HX series offers a performance-level gaming laptop experience. While not pushing for top billing like the Titan 18 HX, it does provide a solid gaming experience at a much more budget-friendly price. Equipped with up to an Intel® Core™ i9-14900HX, RTX 5070 and 16GB of DDR5 RAM, the Katana 15 HX series aims to produce a consistent 60FPS gaming experience with the latest video game releases.
The Model provided for review, the Katana 15 HX (B14WFK), is the mid-tier release of the series. Sporting an Intel® Core™ i7-14650HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 8GB and 16GB of DDR5 RAM, this 15-inch gaming laptop carries MSI’s signature look and feel. Measuring 359 x 262 x 25.5mm and weighing 2.4 KG, the Katana 15 HX fits squarely in the midrange size category. Featuring a hard plastic casing, the chassis feels sturdy, though it lacks the premium feel of an aluminum finish. This is not to say that it doesn’t feel structurally sturdy. On the contrary, the Katana 15 HX is of solid construction and feels quite durable when held.
MSI has provided a fairly standard selection of I/O with the Katana 15 HX. The right side provides a standard audio combo jack, RJ45 port, a single USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C (DisplayPort and Power Delivery 3.0 compatible), a USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A and an HDMI 2.1 port for up to an 8K@60Hz display. The Left side rounds out the I/O wth two additional USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports and a barrel plug port for the AC/DC adaptor. My only critique here is the use of a barrel plug charger, which seems a bit antiquated by today’s standards.
The keyboard and touchpad are fairly straightforward hardware elements, with the former providing four-zone RGB lighting. The RGB lighting is similar to last year’s HP OMEN Transend, allowing for easy control of per-zone lighting through MSI Center. As for the touchpad, it bucks the trend of modern laptops, with a much smaller footprint. I’ve appreciated this design choice immensely, as one of my biggest frustrations with modern laptops is the constant bumping of the pad while typing. The smaller touchpad is also inset slightly, further reducing the chance of accidental bumps.
“…the Katana 15 HX is of solid construction and feels quite durable when held.”
As for audio, the Katana 15 HX comes with a fairly standard 2W speaker system. It provides decent audio, and while it doesn’t WOW the user with audio fidelity, it is both loud enough and clear enough for everyday use. As with all gaming laptops, I still recommend picking up a pair of good wireless headphones.
The Katana 15 HX comes equipped with a 15.6-inch QHD display with a 165Hz refresh rate, providing a solid visual experience. The IPS panel gets the job done, and while not a visually stunning as some higher-tier gaming laptops, it provides a clear, sharp visual experience. I’ve appreciated the focus on higher refresh rates during game testing, as it has consistently provided a smooth playing experience.
As for resolution, the Katana 15 HX is speced for 1440p (2560×1440), a traditional 16:9 aspect ratio. I was a bit surprised at this choice for the RTX 5060 model (a 5070 model is also available), considering that most consider this the 1080p GPU of choice. Upon initial testing, I was interested to see how it would stand up to 1440p benchmarking.
Overall, the Katana 15 HX performed better than I expected. Running the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmarks on Ultra settings, the 15 HX easily managed above 60FPS without frame generation or DLSS Balanced Presets enabled. This was also at its native 1440p display settings. Even with the Ray Tracing Ultra percent enabled at 1440p, the Katana 15 HX consistently managed above 40 FPS. With Frame Generation x 4 and DLSS performance enabled, the Katana could easily maintain an average of 167 FPS during testing.
Shifting from the bench to real-world testing, the Katana 15 HX provided consistently solid performance no matter the title. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, for example, easily saw above 60 FPS on high settings. Hogwarts Legacy, likewise, was its visually stunning self, and DOOM: The Dark Ages ran like a top without issue.
Much of this performance can be attributed to where we are in the life cycle of the RTX 50 series. Now that many of the features first introduced with this series, such as improved AI, higher TOPS counts, and much more efficient SLM, are being adopted by game developers, the result is much better performance in our mid-range gaming laptops. The RTX 5060 with 8GB of RAM is able to push further than previous generations, providing a 1440p gaming experience that rivals the previous generation’s 4070 series laptops.
This, of course, is further boosted thanks to the Intel® Core™ i7-14650HX, which provides plenty of additional processing power. The result is a hardware combo that makes portable gaming much more accessible to the average gamer. I appreciate this about the Katana 15 HX series. MSI seems to be targeting the average gamer with its release, providing a solid 1440p gaming experience without gamers needing to take out a small loan to afford it. This is hard to come by these days, and while desktop replacement laptops like the Titan are pretty to look at, for the average gamer, the Katana is a much more feasible option.
Cooling on the Katana 15 HX is an interesting affair. Leveraging their Cooler Boost 5 technology, MSI is using a standard bottom intake, rear exhaust system. What’s unique here is the inclusion of five heat pipes strategically placed between the CPU and GPU. Additionally, the diameter of each pipe has been enlarged to help increase cooling throughput.
The system works quite well, with heat quickly and efficiently being pulled away from hardware components. Even in use testing, the system was never warm near where your hands naturally rest while gaming. My only real critique of this system, and MSI’s cooling systems in general, is the overall fan noise.
“The MSI Katana 15 HX is a gaming workhorse.”
To clarify, it’s not jet engine loud, it’s simply louder than some other cooling systems I’ve tested. When set to extreme performance mode, for example, the fans run constantly and generate significant noise. Thankfully, a good pair of headphones resolves this issue for the gamer, but if you are chatting on Discord and don’t have headphones with any type of mic ANC or noise gate, expect your buddies to be able to hear the fans running in the background. It’s not a major issue as the cooling system is quite efficient; it’s simply a preference note.
Battery life is exactly what I would expect for a gaming laptop. The 4-cell, Li-Polymer battery is rated for 75Whr and when used in a standard gaming session will see 2-4 hours of performance (depending on power settings and titles). For productivity use (with power settings adjusted for longevity), I saw an average of 5-7 hours of use, depending on my workday. Bottom line: when gaming, I recommend plugging it in.
The MSI Katana 15 HX is a gaming workhorse. It consistently performs well at 1440p and has no issue taking on modern titles, providing a consistent 60FPS experience while still providing a visually pleasing experience. While it might lack some of the raw horsepower of more expensive laptops, the Katana 15 HX is trying to be something it’s not. Rather, it takes much more budget-friendly hardware and squeezes out every ounce of performance it can. The result is a much more budget-conscious gaming laptop that is far more accessible to the average gamer.
