MSI GF76 12UGS-616FR Katana, Creative Gaming Laptop 17″ 144Hz RTX 3070 Ti Alder Lake – LaptopSpirit

Our take on the MSI GF76 12UGS-616FR Katana

Large format gaming laptop with black design MSI GF76 12UGS-616FR Katana The universal, Intel Core i7-12650H Alder Lake-H hybrid processor and high-end NVIDIA Ampere GeForce RTX 3070 Ti ray-tracing graphics card, which accelerates processing like 16 Performance GB RAM, can support the latest games. Equipped with a 17-inch IPS Full HD anti-glare display with a 144Hz frequency that improves fluidity in games, this Windows 11 gaming and creative multitasking laptop benefits from enhanced responsiveness with fast SSD storage, an RGB backlit keyboard, but also Wi-Fi ax and USB-C connectivity.

MSI GF76 12UGS-616FR Katana Specifications

MSI GF76 12UGS-616FR Katana vs the competition

The MSI GF76 12UGS-616FR Katana is currently available on Cdiscount and is positioned as one of the only cards in its category to offer a new graphics card as powerful as the processor (Alder Lake).

If this MSI GF76 12UEK-083FR Katana doesn’t meet all your criteria, you can find other configurations for gaming on a similar budget in our gaming laptop. Choose the model with the most powerful graphics card for the same budget, it will have the biggest impact on performance.

MSI GF76 12UGS-616FR Katana chassis, connectors, screen

With its black design with angular lines and red touches, this versatile laptop has a relatively sober gamer look, cooled by Cooler Boost 5 technology via 2 fans, 6 heat pipes and air outlets for gamers and creatives.

This creative gaming laptop has 1 USB-C (but not Thunderbolt!), Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi ax modules (Newer and more efficient than Wi-Fi ac) for remote wireless communication and connectivity, useful HDMI video output to easily connect it to a TV or monitor, such as Ethernet and audio ports, or even 2 USB 3.0 (USB 2.0 compatible) up to 10 times faster than 3 USB guarantees transfers. USB 2.0 if USB 3.0 devices are connected.

With the help of SteelSeries, the chiclet keyboard, designed according to the habits of gamers, can be backlit, which is very practical to understand the keys better in the dark.

Gamers will appreciate that the display accepts a higher refresh rate of 144Hz than the standard 60Hz, which improves fluidity in games. The screen also displays more faithful than average colors with significant vertical and horizontal viewing angles thanks to sRGB and IPS specifications. With its 16:9 aspect ratio and Full HD resolution, the screen is also very good for displaying videos and a wider range of High Definition content. Thanks to its anti-reflective treatment, the screen provides better visibility in a bright environment (for example, outdoors) than a glossy screen, and is more comfortable for the eyes during prolonged use.

Performance, MSI GF76 12UGS-616FR Katana autonomy

The MSI GF76 12UGS-616FR Katana is for those looking for a powerful, creatively oriented laptop for versatile 17-inch gaming.

Featuring a dedicated high-end NVIDIA Ampere graphics card, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti with ray tracing, this creative gaming laptop can handle the latest games in good detail.

In fact, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti ray tracing is enabled/disabled automatically and in real-time with Optimus technology. It is asked to perform graphics processing that is considered too heavy for the Intel Iris Xe graphics solution.

Iris Xe integrated directly into the processor, like the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, allows you to view photos and videos, as well as play simple titles. Iris Xe offers the advantage of low power consumption that promotes autonomy.
This is not the strong point of this computer as it is about 4 hours in light use.

In any case, in addition to gamers, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti will be of interest to creators. Because it speeds up work under software that uses multicore functions, such as Premiere/Photoshop or Sony Vegas.

The Iris Xe takes its place here with an Intel Alder Lake-H hybrid processor Core i7-12650H paired with 16GB of RAM to support the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti in games and provide overall power capable of attracting demanding users.

Creatives will especially appreciate getting faster processing with this core compared to the classic Quad/Hexa/Octo Core and 8 GB DDR4, the difference is especially noticeable in areas that require CPU and RAM resources using multi-cores, and therefore Alder Lake-H’s 10 hybrid core. This is, for example, in the case of video editing, 3D rendering or photo editing.

On the storage side, there’s an SSD, which clearly improves responsiveness and fluidity on a day-to-day basis compared to a simple hard drive.
For example, thanks to SSD, we get faster access to online gaming cards and faster game/software launch, as well as start-ups/stops and multimedia processing.

It should be said that an SSD is faster than a hard drive, but at the same time it is more energy efficient, more shock resistant and quieter.
With a capacity of 512 GB, the SSD offers the capacity of a hard disk standard. That’s why we appreciate the ability to add a second SSD via the free M.2 slot. If you’re short on space, you can obviously use an external storage device, such as a USB-C / USB 3.0 device, to take advantage of fast transfers.

Finally, when pushed hard (e.g. games, treatments), this versatile multimedia creator gaming laptop is audible and heated.

If it is necessary to maintain the temperature, a ventilated stand can be used (Don’t forget to check the measurements carefully!).