MSI Katana 15 B13V Review | Geek Lifestyle

Is the MSI Katana 15 B13V still a worthy buy in 2025?

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Recently, we got to try out the MSI Katana 15 B13V, a laptop that, while not exactly new, is still a promising option for gamers, especially those looking for more of a desktop replacement that won’t break the bank.

To kick off 2025, MSI unveiled its RTX 50 series-powered laptops, and while these are the latest laptops, they come with more premium prices. As such, we’re taking a look at the MSI Katana 15, a gaming laptop that was released way back in 2023. Yes, this laptop is nearly two years old, but it’s still available in the market with a decent price tag.

Specifically, the unit we tested is powered by an RTX 4060 GPU and an Intel Core i7-13620H. Plus, it has a 1080p screen and a 1TB SSD. With these specs, is the Katana 15 still a worthy option in 2025? Here’s our review.

Geek-sthetic

To start, let’s first take a look at its design. The MSI Katana 15 B13V might not be what you’d expect from an MSI gaming laptop when you first look at it from the back. That’s because it has a subtle design, with its cover being completely black. Yes, even the MSI logo has no other colors, making it a sleek-looking device.

Of course, there are some design flourishes here like the two lines on the top half of the cover, along with the angular cooling vents on the bottom of the laptop. These additions give the laptop a more gamer-style look. If you ask us, we quite like the look of the laptop as it has a bit of edge, though it can still look quite professional in an office setting.

While the laptop has some subtle looks from the back, the MSI Katana 16 is more eye-catching when viewed from the front. This is thanks to its keyboard with 4-zone RGB lighting. These keyboard lights look eye-catching, but you can turn them off if you don’t want your laptop to draw too much attention when you’re outside.

Speaking of the front, the laptop’s display looks quite nice design-wise, as it has slim side bezels. There is a bit of a noticeable chin here (where the MSI logo is), though the overall look is still good overall.

Interestingly, the MSI Katana 15 has a lay-flat design – a feature that we mostly see in more portable, productivity-focused laptops. This is nice to have if you’re planning to use the laptop for work, specifically for collaboration (though that’s admittedly a niche use case). The lay-flat design also highlights the bottom half of the laptop which is rather chunky, especially when compared to MSI’s newer models.

For I/O, the MSI Katana 15 packs 3 USB Type-A ports, as well as a Type-C port and an HDMI 2.1 port. While an extra Type-C port would’ve been nice, it’s good to have three USB Type-A ports, especially for connecting peripherals. Plus, the HDMI 2.1 port is welcome, especially if you’re planning to connect a 4K display (like a newer TV).

Binge Watching Factor

For the display, MSI went with a 15.6inch FHD (1920×1080) IPS-level screen with a 144Hz refresh rate. Even though it’s not an OLED panel, the MSI Katana 15 B13V’s screen should still be fine for binge-watching movies and shows. Sure, the colors aren’t as vibrant as an OLED, but it does have decent colors, plus it gets quite bright, even if you’re in a well-lit room or outdoors.

Also worth noting is that the laptop has a 16:9 aspect ratio screen. Increasingly, we’re seeing gaming laptop brands switch to 16:10 displays for the latest models. While the 16:10 aspect ratio is better for productivity, 16:9 should be a tad better for watching movies, especially those in widescreen as you get less letterboxing.

Sound Trip

So, what about sound quality? Well, the MSI Katana 15 B13V has pretty nice onboard audio. Unlike some gaming laptops that don’t get particularly loud, the Katana 15 is decently loud at max volume. Of course, the audio quality here is fine, but not exactly the best for a proper movie-watching or gaming session. Plus, the fans can drown the volume out a bit when playing more demanding games.

Thus, we recommend using headphones or external speakers with this laptop. Thankfully, this laptop packs a 3.5mm headphone jack. It is worth noting that the laptop comes with Nahimic audio which, while good for the speakers, isn’t the best with some headphones. Specifically, the various audio effects help a bit for onboard audio as turning them off can make the audio too quiet, but we recommend turning this off if you’re using headphones.

Pro Gaming Controls

As for its keyboard, the Katana 15 has a full-size keyboard with a number pad on the right side. Having a number pad is a nice touch, especially as it’s helpful for productivity (such as calculations or typing up many numbers for a spreadsheet). For typing, the keyboard is also quite comfortable to type on as the keys are spaced well and aren’t too small. When it comes to tactile feel though, the keyboard is just fine. While I wouldn’t call the keys mushy, the feel of pressing the buttons may not be a satisfying as other gaming laptops. This shouldn’t be a dealbreaker though as we found no other issues with the keyboard.

When it comes to gaming, we also have no complaints here as the keys are responsive. We also like the highlighted WASD keys as they make it a tad easier to get to a proper position, especially when playing with the RGB lights off.

Speaking of RGB, the four-zone RGB lighting of the keyboard is customizable via the MSI Center app. It may not be per-key RGB, but the four-zone lights are a nice touch as you can set custom light effects, or simply choose a solid color.

Gaming Prowess

Now, let’s talk gaming. As mentioned above, the Katana 15 B13V is powered by an Intel Core i7-13620H CPU and an RTX 4060 8GB GPU. These are complemented by 16GB of RAM, along with a 1TB SSD.

Having 16GB of RAM as standard is great, especially as there are still gaming laptops that only have 8GB of RAM, necessitating an upgrade ASAP. Sure, 16GB of RAM may not be that high now, but it should still be good for 1080p gaming.

We expected the Katana 15 to run popular games with no issues at its display’s 1080p resolution. In our tests, this proved to be the case.

Here are the results we got from our gaming test, ranging from the average FPS on multiplayer titles to triple-A games. Note that in our test, we turned off DLSS to see how well games run natively at 1080p.

As you can see in the results above, the MSI Katana 15 has plenty of performance for both esports titles and triple-A games at 1080p, even at the High or the Highest graphics settings. For instance, Dota 2 ran at 103 FPS on average, while most of the other triple-A titles we tested also getting over 100 FPS on average at the High settings. Given that DLSS is off, you should get higher framerates if you turn it on. Plus, the results also mean there’s enough performance to take advantage of the laptop’s 144Hz display.

The only exceptions are Control and Marvel Rivals. Even though it’s not the newest game, Control can still be demanding for some laptops, so it’s nice to see the Katana 15 have enough power to run it, all while having pretty good 1% low numbers.

Finally, there’s Marvel Rivals which ran at 70FPS on average on High with DLSS off. This is still plenty playable, though for a smoother gameplay experience, you may want to turn DLSS on as you can get around 90FPS on the High graphics setting, plus you’ll get better 1% low numbers. These results make sense given that the game is made on Unreal Engine 5.

Meanwhile, here are the 3DMark and PCMark 10 benchmark numbers.

The PCMark 10 score is interesting as it indicates that the Katana 15 should work well for content creation. This makes sense considering that a Intel Core i7-13620H CPU and RTX 4060 8GB GPU combo should have enough power for video editing, and even some 3D work.

Gaming and synthetic performance benchmarks are great and all, but what about the actual gaming experience? Well, the Katana 15 does not disappoint as it’s a reliable laptop for gaming, even when you’re playing for hours. This is thanks in large part to the laptop’s design.

As we’ve noted above, the laptop is a bit on the chunky side. Even though it’s not the best for portability, the Katana 15 is well-designed from a cooling standpoint. Even when playing games in a room with no A/C (in the Philippine warm season mind you), the Katana 15 did not overheat. Its keyboard also didn’t become warm which is great for longer play sessions.

Everyday Reliability 

Since the laptop has pretty good gaming capabilities, it should come as no surprise that it’s also a reliable partner for everyday use and productivity. While testing the laptop, we had no issues with all the programs you’ll need on a daily basis, and it has enough power for content creation.

So, if you’re looking for an all-in-one content creation and productivity partner solution for your home, the Katana 15 is a worthy option. We say for home as, while this is a laptop you can bring with you while on the go, you’ll need to bring the charger everywhere as well.

That’s because this laptop’s battery life is not the best. After playing a 2-hour movie at 50% brightness and volume, the laptop only had around 10% battery life remaining. Note that this was on the Balanced power setting and with the keyboard backlight turned on. It’s possible that the rather low battery life is because the unit that we tested has been used before, but this still points to the fact that battery life won’t be the best with this laptop.

Given this, the MSI Katana 15 seems to be more suited as a desktop replacement, meaning this won’t be ideal for working in cafes or in places with no easy access to power outlets.

Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict

The Katana 15 B13V is not the newest laptop in the market, but it still packs good performance for 1080p gaming, and it has enough power to be a great content creation partner. Plus, it has a pretty nice display, various connectivity options, and great cooling.

Based on our time with the Katana 15 B13V, we can recommend it as an option for users who want more of a desktop replacement laptop for gaming and productivity, all while spending well below PHP 100k. At its price tag of just a bit over PHP 70k, its performance should make it worth considering even in 2025.

MSI Katana 15 B13V specs:

  • Processor: Intel Core i7-13620H
  • Installed Memory: 16GB
  • Operating System: Windows 11 Home
  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB GDDR6
  • Storage: 1TB SSD
  • Display: 15.6inch FHD (1920×1080), 144Hz, IPS-Level
  • Ports:
    • 1x Type-C (USB3.2 Gen1 / DP)
    • 2x Type-A USB3.2 Gen1
    • 1x Type-A USB2.0
    • 1x HDMI 2.1 (8K @ 60Hz / 4K @ 120Hz)
    • 1x RJ45 Battery: 3-Cell 39.3/53.8 Battery (Whr)
  • Price: PHP 71,995