MSI Katana 17 (B12V) review – affordable notebook with a MUX switch
Temperatures and comfort, Battery Life
Max CPU load
In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.
Average P-core frequency; Average E-core frequency; CPU temp.; Package Power
| Intel Core i7-12650H (45W TDP) | 0:02 – 0:10 sec | 0:15 – 0:30 sec | 10:00 – 15:00 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSI Katana 17 (B12V) | 3.84 GHz @ 2.97 GHz @ 84°C @ 112W | 3.67 GHz @ 2.85 GHz @ 86°C @ 98W | 3.44 GHz @ 2.68 GHz @ 79°C @ 85W |
| MSI Cyborg 15 (A12V) | 3.40 GHz @ 2.69 GHz @ 66°C @ 78W | 3.39 GHz @ 2.73 GHz @ 75°C @ 78W | 2.82 GHz @ 2.37 GHz @ 76°C @ 55W |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i (16″, 2022) | 3.53 GHz @ 2.96 GHz @ 72°C @ 102W | 3.46 GHz @ 2.93 GHz @ 77°C @ 98W | 3.01 GHz @ 2.57 GHz @ 63°C @ 70W |
| Acer Swift 3 OLED (SF314-71) | 3.17 GHz @ 2.69 GHz @ 89°C @ 79W | 2.66 GHz @ 2.45 GHz @ 94°C @ 56W | 2.09 GHz @ 1.98 GHz @ 85°C @ 35W |
| ASUS TUF Dash F15 FX517 | 3.03 GHz @ 2.67 GHz @ 67°C @ 72W | 3.06 GHz @ 2.68 GHz @ 75°C @ 72W | 2.30 GHz @ 2.25 GHz @ 69°C @ 45W |
The MSI Katana 17 (B12V) handles the Core i7-12650H like a real champion. Its P-core clock speed doesn’t get lower than 3.44 GHz even after 15 minutes of stress testing, which is fantastic.
Real-life gaming
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 | GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 2 min) | GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 30 min) |
|---|---|---|
| MSI Katana 17 (B12V) | 2246 MHz @ 74°C @ 83W | 2273 MHz @ 73°C @ 84W |
| Acer Predator Helios 16 (PH16-71) | 2550 MHz @ 68°C @ 98W | 2550 MHz @ 68°C @ 98W |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 (16″, 2023) | 2625 MHz @ 70°C @ 100W | 2625 MHz @ 74°C @ 99W |
In terms of graphics, this device gets close to, but can’t really match the Predator Helios 16, and the Legion Pro 5. However, at this clock speed and temperature, you are pretty much immune to any game lagging.
Gaming comfort
Thankfully, the notebook remains not too loud during the gaming test. Also, the maximum temperature we’ve recorded on the keyboard is just above 40°C.
Battery
Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. Here, the 53.5Wh battery pack lasts for 6 hours and 26 minutes of Web browsing, or 5 hours of video playback.
Brightness: 180 nits; Display Mode: SDR
Time to Full Discharge: Higher is Better
In order to simulate real-life conditions, we used our own script for automatic web browsing through over 70 websites.
Author: Alex Iliev
Author: eng. Kroum NikolovHead of Engineering at LaptopMedia.com, inventor and innovator with 40+ years of experience in electronics and high technology.
![[August 2026] Best-Selling Laptop Brands on Amazon Japan – Apple Dominates Market Share and Revenue Led by Strong Unit Sales](https://laptopmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/CO.JP-Best-Brands-1-400x225.jpg)
![[August 2026] Best-Selling Laptop Brands on Amazon USA – Apple Dominates Market Revenue and Volume Despite Lower Model Diversity](https://laptopmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/COM-Best-Brands-1-400x225.jpg)
![[August 2026] Amazon Germany: Top 8 Best-Selling Gaming Laptops – Acer Dominates the Market as the Premium Nitro V 17 AI Takes the #1 Spot](https://laptopmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Best-Selling-Gaming-Laptops-DE-Top-10-1-400x225.jpg)
![[August 2026] Best-Selling Laptop Brands on Amazon France – Apple Dominates Revenue Despite Lenovo and HP Leading in Catalog Breadth and Volume](https://laptopmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/FR-Best-Brands-1-400x225.jpg)
![[August 2026] Amazon Italy: Top 10 Best-Selling Laptops – Apple MacBook Neo Claims the Crown as Budget and Mid-Range Windows Machines Dominate Volume](https://laptopmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Best-Selling-Laptops-IT-Top-10-400x225.jpg)
Où se procurer le support de fixation pour un second SSD ? Merci
Il faut en faire la demande auprès du support MSI ils appellent ça un kit upgrade for SSD
Je l’ai créé moi-même avec une plaque d’alu 1mm coupée à la bonne taille, percée et SSD vissé dessus. Car la fixation du SSD arrive entre 2 trous vides et le support MSI ne répond pas par rapport à ce 2ème port SSD inutilisable en l’état.