MSI Katana GF66

Overview

If you're looking to grab the best internals for the lowest price, take a look at the MSI Katana GF66. For the price, you get a machine with the capable RTX 3060, Intel's Core i7-11800H, a 144Hz FHD screen, 16GB of DDR4, and a 512GB SSD. At this price, you're missing out on bells and whistles like per-key RGB lighting and top notch build quality, but you do get an IPS display with a 3ms response time, Wi-Fi 6, USB-C connectivity, and thin bezels.

Best Laptops 2023

Chosen by our editors as one of the best products in its category.

TechSpot Metascore

Based on 6 expert reviews

Excellent:

0
Good:

3
Average:

0
Bad:

3

8.6

User Score

Based on 138 reviews
as rated by users

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Last revision on March 29, 2023

Reviewers Liked

144Hz display
Includes an RTX 3060
Fast SSD
Excellent price
Good gaming keyboard

Reviewers Didn't Like

Display isn't overly bright or colorful
Middling CPU performance
Few connections (no Thunderbolt)
Small trackpad

Direct Competitors and Related Products

Our editors hand-pick these products using a variety of criteria: they can be direct competitors targeting the same market segment or can be similar devices in terms of size, performance, or features.

Expert reviews and ratings

By DigitWeek on August 04, 2022 78

MSI Katana GF66 (12UD-436) is a decent gaming laptop with good performance, is affordably priced, but is outperformed by other laptops with the same or lower price. And, there are some compromises made to keep it as affordable as possible.

By Wired on June 24, 2022 50

Nevertheless, it is the gaming laptops that do opt for non-RTX cards that seem likely worthy of the attention of those who value, well, value in 2022. You may have to sacrifice some performance, but if you’re after a portable vehicle for your higher-refresh-rate PC games, that also beats buying a gaming PC and monitor combination for cost, it’s still the way to go. But, with the MSI Katana GF66 and its $1,000-plus pricing alongside poor battery life, the necessary compromises feel too hard to swallow.

By LaptopMedia on June 13, 2022 60

At the end of the day, is it better to go for a less premium notebook that has more powerful hardware, or you should get a device that has a better execution and feature package, but a less capable CPU and GPU? Well, this is pretty much the same as with cars. You should go for the one that makes more sense to you. If you are solely playing games – go for the less expensive unit that has better hardware. However, you have to be on the lookout for devices like the Katana GF66 (12Ux), which state a 105W TGP of their RTX 3070 Ti but only manage to extract 88W out of it.

By KitGuru on June 09, 2022 60

If playing games is your core concern and you don’t really care for slim bezels or fancy laptop materials, the MSI Katana GF66 12UE was a solid, budget-friendly option at the previous price of £1099. But at £1399, the hardware and design are not up to the standard of competition from the likes of Acer, ASUS, Gigabyte, and Lenovo.

By NotebookCheck on June 01, 2022 80

The MSI Katana GF66 12UGS is a laptop with a balanced price-performance ratio, delivering a fairly affordable entry into the top class of mobile gaming.

By PCMag on December 27, 2021 80

MSI's Katana GF66 is a well-priced, well-rounded budget gaming laptop that cuts competing models down to size.

MSI Katana GF66

Overview

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Price: $1,095

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Expert reviews and ratings