MSI Katana GF76 11UX / Sword 17 A11U 17.3" Gaming Laptop (11th, 2021)

55% External
Keywords: entry-levelgamingintelipslaptopmsirtxtiger-lake

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Product Overview

MSI Katana GF76 is an entry-level 17.3-inch gaming laptop. It is also available in white as the Sword 17. They share the same characteristics with Pulse GL76 / Crosshair 17: the difference is that the Katana GF76 / Sword 17 have plastic chasses.
Like other 11th-gen Intel gaming laptops from MSI this year, the Katana GF76 / Sword 17 is powered by up to Core i7 Tiger Lake chips combined with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30-series graphics up to RTX 3060.
Unfortunately, as it is the case with Pulse GL76 / Crosshair 17, MSI has mised on the spec list, leaving the Katana GF76 / Sword 17 with just WiFi 6, USB 3.2 Gen1, and PCIe Gen3 and without any Thunderbolt port.
A difference (besides the chassis material) from the Pulse / Crosshair models is that the Katana / Sword versions are limited to a 144Hz FHD IPS display.
Alongside the new GF76, MSI also refreshed its entire gaming laptop lineup with the new Tiger Lake processors.

Ratings

What we found**

Pros
  • Matte IPS display
  • Good keyboard
  • Good system performance
  • Good battery life
Cons
  • Nothing in particular

What external reviewers found***

External score 55% (not directly comparable across industries)
Pros
  • Good gaming performance
  • Good battery life
  • Decent graphics performance
  • Fast CPU and GPU
Cons
  • Poor productivity performance
  • No Thunderbolt 3
  • Extremely loud fan
Read More

Price Comparison

Specifications

Sword 17Katana GF76

Connectivity

Ports1x USB-C 3.2 Gen1 + 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 + 1x USB 2.0 + 1x HDMI + 1x RJ45 (1Gbps) + 1x Audio combo
Wireless ConnectivityWiFi 6 + Bluetooth 5.2

Construction

Battery | Capacity53.5 Wh
Camera | FrontIR HD type (30fps@720p)
ColorsWhiteBlack
SpeakersStereo Speakers

Dimensions

Size | Depth273 mm
Size | Height25.2 mm
Size | Width398 mm
Weight2.3 kg

Display

Display Diagonal17.3 inch
Display TypeIPS
Refresh Rate144 Hz
ResolutionFHD (1920x1080)

Function

ChipsetIntel HM570
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4GB GDDR6, RTX 3050 Ti 4GB GDDR6, or RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6
Keyboard BacklightBacklight Keyboard (Single Color, Blue)Backlight Keyboard (Single-Color, Red)
Operating SystemWindows 10
ProcessorUp to 11th-gen Intel Core i7 Tiger Lake

Performance

Key Travel1.7 mm
Memory | Capacity2x slots, Max 64GB
Memory | TypeDDR4 3200 MHz
Power Supply150 or 180 W adapter
Storage2x NVMe M.2 PCIe Gen3

Production

Debut2021-05

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Launch Comparison
Clear List

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External Reviews

notebookcheck[1]

Reviewer score 54%
Reviewers from notebookcheck have found the following***:
MSI Katana GF76 doesn't show any weaknesses here yet, but it could eventually reach its limits in future and even more demanding games. All the games that we tested ran without issues and very smoothly at the maximum supported resolution of 1920x1080 pixels and the highest settings. The relatively loud stereo speakers are suitable when it comes to drowning out the noise generated by the fans. As in most laptops, however, bass is lacking.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Full HD resolution
  • Fast CPU and GPU
  • Good battery life
  • Decent graphics performance
Cons
  • No Thunderbolt 3

tomsguide[2]

Reviewer score 55%
Reviewers from tomsguide have found the following***:
MSI Katana GF76 can't play the latest games at maxed-out settings. It transferred 25 GB worth of files from a thumb drive at a rate of 651 Mbps. It's too hot to hold in your lap, since you'll need to keep it plugged in at all times.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Powerful CPU and GPU
  • Good gaming performance
  • Long battery life
Cons
  • Extremely loud fan
  • Poor productivity performance

User Reviews

Comments

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References

  1. ^ MSI Katana GF76 review: Gaming laptop with room for improvement. [notebookcheck]. https://www.notebookcheck.net/MSI-Katana-GF76-review-Gaming-laptop-with-room-for-improvement.548109.0.html. 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  2. ^ MSI Katana GF76 review. [tomsguide]. https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/msi-katana-gf76. 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2021-08-04.

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These key takeaways ("pros" and "cons") and summaries are identified from third-party reviews. They may differ from the original texts.

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