[Specs and Info] MSI Pulse 15 and Pulse 17 (B13Vx) – MSI is stepping up to the plate

LaptopMedia.com Highlights [Specs and Info] MSI Pulse 15 and Pulse 17 (B13Vx) - MSI is stepping up to the plate

From: Severin Kolakov 21 January 2023 / 14:00 | 0

While MSI’s budget and entry-level gaming laptops still utilize last year’s Alder Lake processors, the mid-range segment, including the Vector and Pulse series, has moved to Raptor Lake. Today we’ll be covering Pulse 15 and 17, and seeing how well they plan to implement the newly available components.

We’ll also be discussing cooling and power limits since the midrange market is full of impressive laptops, including the Legion Legion 5, Acer Nitro, as well as the ASUS TUF series, which all strive to capture a bigger chunk of the consumer base as possible.

Today we’re giving you a quick overview of the MSI Pulse 15 (B13Vx) and the Pulse 17 (B13Vx).

Full Specs: MSI Pulse 15 (B13Vx) / MSI Pulse 17 (B13Vx)

MSI Pulse 15 (B13Vx) configurations:

#CommissionsEarned

MSI Pulse 15

Processor: Intel Core i7-13700H
VideoCard: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (Laptop, 140W)
RAM: 16GB RAM
STORAGE: 1000GB SSD

Detailed review

$1178^.16

MSI Pulse 15

Processor: Intel Core i7-13620H
VideoCard: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (Laptop, 140W)
RAM: 16GB RAM
STORAGE: 1000GB SSD

Detailed review

$1349^.99

MSI Pulse 15

Processor: Intel Core i7-13700H
VideoCard: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (Laptop, 140W)
RAM: 32GB RAM
STORAGE: 1000GB SSD

Detailed review

$1449^.99

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MSI Pulse 17 (B13Vx) configurations:

#CommissionsEarned

MSI Pulse 17

Processor: Intel Core i7-13620H
VideoCard: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (Laptop, 140W)
RAM: 32GB RAM
STORAGE: 1000GB SSD

$1519^.99

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Design

MSI reuses the same chassis from last year, however, we now have a new lid design, with bold (and big) vertical MSI lettering and a black MSI Dragon logo in the middle. Last year, the lid of the Pulse series was made from aluminum, so we expect to see the same here. Overall, the two-tone Grey/Black finish looks decent, especially with the scoop on the lid. With some gaming laptops becoming sleeker, they are becoming largely acceptable in office settings, and from the looks of it, the Pulse devices might be one of them.

	Weight	Height
MSI Pulse 15 (B13Vx)	2.30 kg	26.9 mm
MSI Pulse 17 (B13Vx)	2.70 kg	27.2 mm

Display

The Pulse 15 offers two displays, either a Full HD IPS panel with a 360Hz refresh rate, which is for those esports enthusiasts, while a QHD IPS 240Hz panel is also available, which is probably going to be the more mainstream option, as the new ADA 40-series graphics should definitely be able to handle QHD gaming. The Pulse 17 has a more modest Full HD 144Hz IPS option, which is sad, as the QHD panel would be a perfect fit with the larger 17.3-inch form factor.

Specifications and features

Both laptops are powered by the Core i7-13700H, a 14-core chip with 6 P-cores and 8 E-cores. For graphics, you can pick between the RTX 4060 and the RTX 4070, with a 140W power limit. If the Pulse can sustain these wattages, you can certainly expect great performance. Cooling the laptop is left to a setup with 5 heat pipes and two fans. Most of the pipes are concentrated on the GPU, which is a wise choice.

Lastly, the I/O of the Pulse laptops come with one USB 2.0 port, which we advise you to leave for a mouse, two more Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) ports, as well as one UBS Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, which also can be used as a DisplayPort. You also get a separate HDMI 2.1 port, which supports up to an 8K 60Hz signal or a 4K 120Hz signal, a LAN port, and a 3.5 mm audio jack.