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7.2 / 10
SCORE MSI Katana 15 HX B14W $999 at Walmart Pros Strong performance for the price
Roomy keyboard with four-zone RGB lighting Cons Dim display
Thick and heavy chassis
512GB SSD fills up fast
Grainy 720p webcam
No biometrics or Thunderbolt 4
If you're bound and determined to spend less than $1,000 on a gaming laptop, and you want one with a GPU from Nvidia's latest GeForce RTX 50 series, then among your limited options is the MSI Katana 15 HX. This 15.6-inch laptop features RTX 5050 graphics and is regularly discounted to $999 at Walmart. It proved to be a strong overall performer, especially for its price, including solid 1080p frame rates. While I was impressed with its performance, I found it hard to overlook some of its shortcomings.
As soon as I pulled it out of the box, I was surprised by the bulk and heft of the laptop. It's nearly a pound heavier than the Acer Nitro V 16S AI, which has a larger (and more modern) 16-inch, 16:10 display. The Katana 15 HX's display is an old-school 15.6-inch, 16:9 panel, and as soon as I powered it on, I was greeted with a dim image -- and that was with brightness already turned all the way up. Other budget touches include a 512GB SSD that I quickly filled to capacity after installing only a handful of games and a fuzzy 720p webcam that's sorely outdated.
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