MSI Katana 17 B12VFK

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Reviews for the MSI Katana 17 B12VFK

[REVIEW] MSI Katana 17 (B12V) - MSI is fighting for the budget crown
Source: Laptop Media
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 09/13/2023

MSI Katana 17 (B12V) review – affordable notebook with a MUX switch
Source: Laptop Media
As a gaming notebook in 2023, the Katana 17 (B12V) is fairly competitively priced. It offers wide configuration options based on capable GPUs from NVIDIA’s RTX 4000 roster. It’s worth mentioning that its RTX 4060 didn’t manage to fill its 105W TGP limit, but it ran pretty close with 85W detected by GPU-Z during full load. For all performance-based tests, we used the Extreme Performance preset through the MSI Center. Interestingly, there is a function that allows the use of a battery-saving display mode, which runs the screen at 60Hz. As a result, the device offers 6 hours and 30 minutes of Web browsing, or 5 hours and 30 minutes of video playback – about 50% better than the MSI Sword 17 (A12V), which lacks this function. MSI Katana 17 (B12V)’s IPS panel has a Full HD resolution, comfortable viewing angles, and good contrast. Unfortunately, it covers only 51% of the sRGB color gamut, and has slow pixel response times, despite the 144Hz refresh rate. On the bright side, the panel doesn’t use PWM for brightness adjustment.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 05/26/2023

How to open MSI Katana 17 (B12V) - disassembly and upgrade options
Source: Laptop Media
Support, online available, Very Short, Date: 05/26/2023

Comment

NVIDIA NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU: High-end graphics card for laptops based on the Ada Lovelace architecture. Offers 8 GB GDDR6 (128 Bit) and is configurable with a TGP of 35 - 115W (+ Dynamic Boost). 

These graphics cards are able to play the latest and most demanding games in high resolutions and full detail settings with enabled Anti-Aliasing.

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.

i7-12650H: Alder Lake based mobile CPU with 6 performance cores and 4 efficient cores. The performance cores offer hyper threading, leading to 16 threads that can be processed. The CPU clocks from 1.7 to 4.7 GHz and supports vPro.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.

17.30": This display size is a standard format for desktop replacements (DTR). The DTR laptops are heavier to carry, need more power, but texts are easy to read and high resolutions are no problem. DTR are mainly intended for stationary desk use, where weight and energy hunger don't matter. In return, you enjoy the advantages of high resolutions (more details, better legibility).» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.

2.6 kg:

With this weight, a laptop is rather heavier than average. Devices in this range shine more with screen size and performance than with mobility.

MSI: Micro-Star International (MSI) was founded in 1986 in Taiwan. MSI is especially known as a manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards for PCs, but also offers computer accessories, complete systems, motherboards, graphics cards, laptops, desktop PCs, monitors and other components. However, the Microstar brand name in Germany belongs to the Medion company. MSI is known for its gaming products and has developed a wide range of gaming laptops and desktop PCs. The company is also active in workstations, servers and industrial automation. MSI has offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.

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