ZoomPhoto 1 of 1MSI
MSI Katana 15 HX B14W
MSI's budget 15.6-inch gaming laptop pairs a Core i7-14650HX with an RTX 5050 in its $999 base configuration, with RTX 5060 and 5070 versions above it. In review testing it gave solid 1080p gaming frame rates, but the 144 Hz FHD panel was dim and washed out.
Pros
- Solid 1080p gaming performance from the RTX 5050 at a $999 starting price
- 75Wh battery that lasted just over six hours in a mixed web, video and OpenGL test on the base configuration
- Upgradeable: two SO-DIMM slots and a replaceable NVMe SSD
- Full port selection: three USB-A 10Gbps, USB-C with DisplayPort, HDMI 2.1 and Gigabit Ethernet
- Full-size keyboard with numpad, four-zone RGB lighting and 1.7mm key travel
Cons
- Dim, washed-out FHD panel (about 257 nits and roughly 69% sRGB coverage measured)
- 720p webcam and no fingerprint reader or IR camera
- All-plastic chassis, and the keyboard can get hot
- Aging 14th-gen CPU; Geekbench 6 scores only slightly above the previous-generation Katana
Below average
Computed from specs & benchmarks via our public methodology.
Full specifications
Everything we track for the MSI Katana 15 HX B14W
Display
- Screen size
- 15.6 ″
- Panel type
- IPS
- Resolution
- 1920x1080
- Refresh rate
- 144 Hz
- Peak brightness
- 257 nits
Performance
- Processor
- Intel Core i7-14650HX
- Graphics
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Laptop
- RAM
- 16 GB
- RAM type
- DDR5-5600 (2x SO-DIMM)
- Storage
- 512 GB
- Storage type
- PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD
Benchmarks
- Geekbench 6 (single)
- 2,786Top 45%
- Geekbench 6 (multi)
- 13,048Bottom 47%
Battery
- Capacity
- 75 Wh
- Charging
- 240 W
Design
- Weight
- 2.4 kg
- Thickness
- 25.5 mm
- Material
- Plastic
Connectivity
- Ports
- 3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (DisplayPort, PD 3.0), HDMI 2.1, RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm combo jack
- Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi 6E
- Bluetooth
- 5.3
- Webcam
- 720p HD
- Biometrics
- None
Software
- Operating system
- Windows 11 Home
Quick answers
Is the MSI Katana 15 HX B14W good in 2026?
The MSI Katana 15 HX B14W earns an Inno Score of 45.1/100 (“Below average”) based on its specs and benchmark results. MSI's budget 15.6-inch gaming laptop pairs a Core i7-14650HX with an RTX 5050 in its $999 base configuration, with RTX 5060 and 5070 versions above it. In review testing it gave solid 1080p gaming frame rates, but the 144 Hz FHD panel was dim and washed out.
What are the key specs of the MSI Katana 15 HX B14W?
Processor: Intel Core i7-14650HX · RAM: 16 GB · Screen size: 15.6 ″ · Weight: 2.4 kg
What are the closest alternatives to the MSI Katana 15 HX B14W?
Its closest rivals on InnoReviews are ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (2024), Dell Inspiron 16 Plus (2024), HP OmniBook 5 16 (2025) — open the comparison pages for a spec-by-spec breakdown.
