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日本MSI Sword 17 (A12UD) review – does the low price justify the compromises?
Verdict
As an affordable gaming notebook, the Sword 17 (A12UD) has some shortcomings, which are expected. Some of them are disappointing – like the short battery life (only 4 hours of light use at once). Others are surprisingly negligible – all plastic feels good to the touch, and frankly doesn’t compromise the structural integrity of the device.
MSI Sword 17 (A12UD)’s IPS panel has a Full HD resolution, comfortable viewing angles, and a good contrast ratio. The display doesn’t use PWM for brightness adjustment, but unfortunately – covers only 53% of the sRGB color gamut. It is good that it has a 144Hz refresh rate, but we measured a rather slow pixel response time.
However, there is one feature that could have been better without the need of spending more money – the keyboard. While its key travel is decently long, the feedback is too soft for comfortable typing and gaming.
On the bright side, the cooling is quite capable. Well, that’s true only when you use the CoolerBoost option, which not only blows the heat away but also your eardrums. Plus, the upgrade options are on point – two SODIMM memory slots(albeit for DDR4 RAM), and one M.2 PCIe x4 Gen 4 slot for storage.
Again, unfortunately, there is very little insulation between the motherboard and the keyboard, which leads to excessive heat in the center part of the keyboard. Add to that the lack of an SD card reader, and the neutered USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, and you can easily be disappointed.
The good thing is that the Sword 17 (A12UD) supports Gigabit Ethernet connectivity. So, if you are into gaming, but you don’t have a huge budget for the best on the market, the Sword 17 (A12UD) will surely have popped on your radar. However, the Nitro 5 (AN517-55) is arguably a better option.
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/msi-sword-17-a12ud/
Pros
- Competitively priced
- Two SODIMM slots, and one M.2 PCIe x4 slot
- Rigid structure
- No PWM (AUO B173HAN04.9 (AUO978F))
- 144Hz refresh rate (AUO B173HAN04.9 (AUO978F))
Cons
- 53% sRGB coverage (AUO B173HAN04.9 (AUO978F))
- Slow pixel response times (AUO B173HAN04.9 (AUO978F))
- No SD card reader and limited USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 1)
- Short battery life
- Keyboard gets quite warm during gaming
How much would you sell me the motherboard of that MSI Sword 17. Mine seems to be dead.