What is the fastest laptop under $1000 right now? The MSI Katana 15 with a Core i7-14650HX and RTX 5050
MSI's Katana 15 delivers i7-14650HX, RTX 5050, 16GB DDR5, and a 144Hz display in a sub-$1000 laptop
by https://www.techradar.com/uk/author/bryan-m-wolfe · TechRadarDeals By Bryan M Wolfe Published 2 July 2026
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We’ve covered the MSI Katana 15 across multiple generations, and our verdict on the line has been consistent: it’s a laptop that “delivers where it counts” for buyers who want genuine performance without paying flagship prices.
Right now, the 2025 MSI Katana 15 with the RTX 5050 is $999 at Walmart, and it makes a strong case for itself as one of the most accessible entry points into Nvidia’s latest Blackwell GPU generation.
The RTX 5050 is Nvidia’s entry-level Blackwell laptop GPU, and it’s the part of this machine’s spec sheet that needs the most honest explanation. It’s not in the same class as the RTX 5070 or 5080 in laptops that cost significantly more — but it does bring DLSS 4 support including Multi Frame Generation to the 'under $1000' category.
Today's fastest laptop deal
MSI Katana 15.6 inch 144Hz Gaming Laptop: $999 at Walmart
In our testing, the MSI Katana 15 always strikes the right balance of design, performance, and price - with some good specs including the high-performance Intel Core i7-14650HX. That's coupled with the fast 16GB DDR5, 512GB SSD, and Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5050 GPU with 8GB GDDR7.
The high-performance Intel Core i7-14650HX is a 16-core, 24-thread Raptor Lake Refresh chip with a 5.2GHz boost clock. It's a meaningfully more capable processor than the U-series or P-series chips found in consumer laptops at this price.
The 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD are the other two specs worth noting.
It's the fast 16GB DDR5, which is the right baseline — it comfortably handles multi-tasking, gaming, and general content creation tasks.
The 512GB SSD is fair at this price-point, although I'd recommend pairing it with an external drive or upgrading the internal SSD at some point.
The 144Hz FHD display is well-matched to the RTX 5050’s capabilities — the GPU can deliver 144 fps for scrubbing through editing timelines and less demanding gaming titles. And the panel will actually show those frames.
It's not the brightest, and it doesn't boast absolute color accuracy. So, it's not one for creative professionals, but if you're starting your content creator journey or just want a cheaper but snappy laptop, there's plenty to like here.
Right now, the MSI Katana 15 is the fastest laptop under $1000 you can get.
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