MSI Sword 15 review

MSI Sword 15 (2021): the straightforward workhorse of the fleet

The MSI Sword 15 is a 2021 15-inch gaming laptop pairing a Core i5-11400H with a GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile 4 GB and 64 GB of RAM, listed at $590. Five years old, it posts the fleet's plainest sheet — and that is its character: class-median graphics, top-band photo and office indices, pro-tier memory, and a balanced verdict with no specialty pretensions.

Overall performance reads 79.84 (high band) and light office lands top-band at 91.91. Tested fit checks clear recommended bars for Overwatch, Grand Theft Auto V, and Rainbow Six Siege, with Photoshop and Visual Studio Code passing minimum. The GPU score of 78.49 sits exactly on the class median — the center, held.

Where it holds up well

Photo design is the strongest absolute axis at 96 (top band), with light office at 91.91 (top) beside it. The 64 GB of RAM matches the pro-tier class median, gaming reads 74 (high), and value lands at 81.95 (high) — the standard capability-per-dollar reading of well-chosen 2021 silicon. Overall performance at 79.84 (high) completes a sheet with no task-axis weakness.

For a buyer who wants exactly the class-standard experience at the floor price, the Sword delivers without frills or gaps.

Where it asks for compromise

Battery capacity is the flagged weakness: 53.5 Wh against a 71 Wh class median (-24.6 percent), the standard endurance cost of the fleet. Portability reads 32.5 (low), the 15-inch gaming chassis tax, and the RTX 3050's 4 GB allotment sets the texture ceiling below the 6 GB configurations. A footnote for the balanced verdict: the strongest absolute axis is photo design at 96, while portability at 32.5 is the sheet's low band.

Five years of platform age apply as with the whole 2021 club.

Price and depreciation

No depreciation anchor survives for this listing, so no two-year projection is offered. The class rate for this vintage is 13.44 percent per year. At $590 the machine prices with its fleet — its position is the no-frills center, and the 81.95 value index says the price is right for it.

Alternatives to consider

The GL66 Pulse at the same $590 posts a near-identical sheet — the within-fleet duplicate. The Bravo 15 leads the value reading (91.7) with a smaller GPU and an AMD six-core. The GF65 Thin offers lightness; the GE66 Raider adds the 99.9 Wh battery. This machine's case is simplicity itself: the standard sheet at the standard floor price.

Bottom line

The MSI Sword 15 delivers top-band photo design (96) and office (91.91), a class-median GPU score (78.49), 64 GB of RAM, and a high 81.95 value reading at $590. Compromises: a 53.5 Wh battery (-24.6 percent) and a 32.5 portability index — the low band against which the balanced verdict reads.

For the no-drama workhorse position, it is exactly that. Specialty buyers have named alternatives in the same club.