MSI Cyborg MSI Cyborg - 15.6" GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU - Review

The MSI Cyborg is a solid budget gaming laptop that gets the basics right. It's got the RTX 4050 and a decent Intel chip, which means it'll run most games at decent settings without breaking a sweat. The one thing you need to know is that this is a 'good enough' machine. It's not going to blow you away, but it won't let you down either, especially if you're on a tight budget.

Honestly, the performance is exactly what you'd expect for the price. The RTX 4050 lands in the 73rd percentile, which is fine for 1080p gaming. The 10-core Intel CPU is a workhorse. Nothing here surprised me, good or bad. It runs games, it handles multitasking, and it does it all without any fuss. It's predictable, and sometimes that's exactly what you want.

Here's the wild part: prices for this thing range from $460 to $900 across different sellers. At the low end of that spread, around $500, it's a fantastic deal. If you're paying anywhere near $900, you're getting ripped off. Shop around, because the value is entirely dependent on the price you find.

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is a much more powerful machine, but it costs a lot more. For a similar price, the ASUS Zenbook Duo offers way better build quality and a unique dual-screen setup, but its gaming performance is weaker. If pure gaming power per dollar is your goal and you find this Cyborg cheap, it beats the Zenbook. If you want a premium feel or more versatility, look at the Legion or the Zenbook instead.

This is a clear recommendation, but with a big asterisk. If you can find the MSI Cyborg for around $500, buy it. You won't find better gaming performance for that money. If the price is closer to $900, run away. At that point, you're entering territory where much better laptops exist. It's a budget champ, but only at a budget price.