The MSI Katana 15 B8VF-448US is a solid 1080p gaming laptop that’s more reachable than competing RTX 4060-powered laptops. While it’s neither the flashiest nor the most powerful laptop you can buy right now; it still makes a statement as the first gaming laptop. And, it delivers where it counts, especially for those not quite ready to shell out $2,000 on a machine that can play the latest AAA titles at the highest settings possible.
So, if you’re on a limited budget, the MSI Katana A15 AI is among the best midrange gaming laptops to consider. There are a few compromises here and there, including a subdued design and battery life, but the MSI B8VF-448US as a package provides a good quality gaming experience.
After all, even the best gaming machines strike a balance between design, performance, and price; the MSI Katana A15 does just that to reach an affordable price point.
MSI Katana A15 Specs
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 7-8845HS
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060
- Memory: 32GB RAM
- Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD
- Display: 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080, 144Hz, IPS
- Wireless: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
- Battery: 54 watt-hours
- Weight: 5.95 pounds
Design & Features
The design of the MSI Katana A15 leans heavily toward simplicity with a gaming-centric aesthetic. Featuring a black, angular chassis and red accents, the laptop maintains MSI’s signature look, although it feels less premium compared to higher-end models.
The build is primarily plastic, which helps keep the laptop lightweight (approximately 2.25 kg). However, this choice results in some flex, especially in the keyboard deck and the lid. This may not inspire confidence for users accustomed to more rigid builds.
The MSI Katana A15 AI is equipped with a full-sized keyboard, complete with a numpad. The key travel is decent, and the RGB backlighting, though not customizable for individual keys, adds a gamer-friendly touch.
Finally, the MSI Katana A15 has a good port selection. Two of the three USB-A ports (one on each side) support USB 3.2 Gen 1 data transfer speed of up to 5Gbps, while the third one (on the left) supports USB 2.0 data transfer speed (up to 480Mbps). The USB-C also supports USB 3.2 Gen 1 data transfer speed as well as DisplayPort 1.4. The Ethernet port has a max speed of 1Gbps.
Display
While a 144Hz refresh rate screen is great for gaming, that comes at the cost of color and brightness. The B8VF-448US panel hits a maximum of 250 nits and covers about 65% of the standard RGB color gamut – that’s fine for a budget laptop, but for the price, this is a little underwhelming.
With a little more money, you can upgrade to a Quad HD panel and full sRGB range coverage or a 2K panel with full P3 color coverage. For this review, we have the 144Hz, 1920 x 1080 panel, and it performs as expected, but it offers a disappointing experience compared to other laptops in its price range, like the Asus ROG Strix G16.
The display is adequate for most gamers but falls short for users seeking vibrant visuals or professional-grade accuracy. We can’t say the 144Hz is worse, but we believe at this price, you can do better.
Performance
The MSI Katana B8VF-448US is an inexpensive gaming laptop, but it doesn’t make a lot of compromises to achieve this price. AMD’s Ryzen 7-8845HS is a good example, paired with Nvidia’s RTX 4060 graphics card, 32GB RAM, and 1TB NVMe SSD storage. Most gaming laptops at this price point use the Core i7-13700H, which features 14 cores and a maximum Turbo Boost of 5 GHz.
Gaming performance is impressive, with the Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics card delivering solid frame rates at 1080p. Running Cyberpunk 2077 on Ultra graphics settings at 1200p results in an average frame rate of 77 frames per second (fps). Enabling ray tracing cuts the framerate in half, but 38 fps still isn’t bad considering the price. Using DLSS 3.0 makes the frame rate jump to 109 fps without ray tracing and 78 fps with ray tracing enabled.
Aside from Cyberpunk 2077, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is yet another game that’s unforgiving to graphics cards. With settings set to high, the game plays at an average of 79 FPS. When playing older titles like Metro Exodus Enhanced and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the Katana A15 averages 74 FPS on high settings and 82 FPS on medium settings, respectively.
Overall, this laptop will run older games and eSports titles at the native resolution with everything maxed out, but with newer and upcoming games, you’re going to need to either reduce detail settings, forget ray tracing, use DLSS in Performance mode, or drop down to 1080p. Sometimes, you may need to do two or more of the above.
Gaming laptops tend to struggle with battery life, and the B8VF-448US is no exception. It lasts slightly more than four hours, which isn’t terrible but still not enough to manage a full workday or a cross-country flight. In that case, you’ll want to pack the power brick.
MSI Katana A15 B8VF-448US Review: Verdict
If you’re not looking to spend a lot of money on a gaming laptop or just need a capable 1080p gaming laptop, you can go ahead and buy the MSI Katana A15 B8VF-448US. This gaming machine has substantial power and an affordable price to match. Even if its design isn’t the most alluring, it’s not flimsy or frail, meaning it has poor cooling.
A similarly configured Lenovo Legion or Acer Predator Helios will provide a better all-around experience, but it’s hard to ignore the price/performance ratio MSI brings into this machine. For that, the MSI Katana A15 B8VF-448US makes for a great machine that we can recommend … if you can look past the few shortcomings.
Recommended Configuration
MSI Katana A15 AI 15.6” 144Hz FHD Gaming Laptop: Ryzen 7-8845HS, NVIDIA Geforce RTX 4060, 32GB DDR5, 1TB NVMe SSD, Cooler Boost 5, Win 11: Black B8VF-448US
$999.99 in stock
4 used from $786.44
The Review
MSI Katana A15 B8VF-448US
The MSI Katana A15 B8VF-448US strikes a balance between price and performance, making it an excellent choice for mid-range gamers looking to play 1080p games at high settings without spending too much.
PROS
- Solid 1080p gaming performance
- Good speakers
- Excellent value
CONS
- Short battery life
- Mediocre display
Review Breakdown
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ARS SCORE
