The Cheapest 14” Gaming Laptop? MSI Cyborg 14 Review

MSI’s Cyborg 14 is a lower end budget friendly 14” gaming laptop compared to the competition. But a lower price means compromises have to be made, which is why I bought one to test out in this review!

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MSI Cyborg 14 (2024) Review Timestamps:
0:00 A Budget Friendly 14” Gaming Laptop?
0:29 Video Sponsor - Ugreen
1:12 Design & Build Quality
1:55 Size & Weight
2:14 Laptop Specs
2:31 Keyboard, Lighting & Touchpad
3:08 Ports & Display Output Confusion
4:22 Getting Inside & Internals
4:43 Wi-Fi & SSD Speed
4:59 Great Upgrade Options!
5:29 Speakers & Latencymon
5:46 Battery Size & Power Saving Features
6:05 Battery Life Comparison
6:27 Cooling Design & Performance Modes
7:14 Thermal Testing - Temperatures / Clock Speed / TDP
8:31 Game Performance in Different Modes
8:49 CPU Performance vs Others (On & Off Battery) in Cinebench
9:30 Does it Feel Hot - Keyboard Temperatures
10:04 Is it Loud - Fan Noise
10:41 The Screen is Where Budget Laptops Fail…
10:52 Screen Color, Brightness, Contrast & Bleed
11:21 Screen Response Time & Latency
12:04 MUX Switch?
12:23 Camera & Microphone Test
12:34 3 Game Comparison at 1080p
14:04 3DMark & Content Creation
14:18 Advanced BIOS - Harder to Access
14:53 Linux Support
15:10 Pricing, Availability & Laptop Deals
16:00 Is MSI Cyborg 14 Worth It?
17:31 A Better 14” Option if you Have More $$$

Disclosure: Purchases made through store links above may provide some compensation to Jarrod'sTech.

[killuazoldyck]

Titan : *getting 4 fans
Cyborg : "1, take it or leave it"

[meowritz]

Really cool to see these 14" gaming laptops come back from the dead, remember Alienware used to make 13 and even 11 inch gaming laptops in 2010-2012, very interesting time

[SkullTrooper-kbhm]

A budget MSI gaming laptop with one fan being enough for cooling? Never thought this day would ever come true.

[archnemesis.]

After watching your videos for 5 years, never really owned a gaming laptop but your channel really made me want one and now after years collecting money, I finally bought an Alienware X16 2023 as my first ever gaming laptop. Thanks to your channel, I knew what to look out for and what to get. Keep up the good work Jarrod!

[thomasparkes]

Jarrod this is unrelated but thanks to your guidance I was able to buy a 2023 LOQ 15. Absolutely in love with this first gaming laptop of mine. Thank you for your through, high-effort, quality information!

[Legitti]

Nice to see Legion Pro 7i still on the charts, loving mine ❤

[cinri]

Man if only the usb-c can be used to charge the laptop I will definitely buy this. Having 14inch portable device but without option to use portable charger is a deal breaker for me. Thanks for the review Jarrod!

[Alex-sxfj]

I’ve said this before but I want to show my appreciation again for the effort you put into subtitles, it makes watching the video much smoother for me. Amazing review also, love watching you!

[cameronbosch]

3:49 Sounds like HDMI 2.0b, not 2.1...

[Arkan_Fadhila]

I never expect this laptop will get decent enough screen and right thermal control to accomodate single fan design. You can be mad at me but i'll consider this one for my next laptop, especially if MSI Indonesia price this thing right.

[hmooduto]

That single fan is a dealbreaker for me, every other gaming laptops have at least two fans while msi's gf and cyborg series only have one. Msi should stop doing this stupid design.

[DkKOfficial]

Good to see that you included the content creation tests!

[vncube]

The Cyborg 14 mostly cuts the right corners and its cheapness resulted in *more* features than much more expensive 14" gaming laptops (replaceable RAM, ethernet port at the back). A Core Ultra or Ryzen version would've been the cherry on top with the much needed battery life and performance.

[mcslender]

I hope you will consider the 2024 MSI Stealth 14 next. I'm curious about the new OLED panel and the potential extra battery life from the Intel Core Ultra CPU

[jackbenrock]

Watched this video a couple of times, now my cyborg 14 is on its way! I really appreciate for making this video.

[theodorelauren]

I just love the fact that he mentions temperature while docked. I dont remember other reviewers mentioning that.

[saturnotaku]

I don't mind where MSI cut corners here EXCEPT for the lack of USB-C charging. That's a deal-breaker as far as I'm concerned.

[nicklasjorgensen]

Hi! In Sweden this MSI Cyborg is around 1000 dollar right now, perfect for studies and light gaming. A Asus G14 is 2200 dollars here with 4060. So it depends on your wallet and needs. Could anyone tell me is it quiet when doing easy tasks, like words? Greetings from Sweden, thx for hard work and good content.

[okkymahardika]

14" gaming monitor with still ethernet port, finally

[joelconolly]

Comprises are minimal even for it's size and price. Major ones include small batteries and single fans while minor includes smaller batteries and probably build but it's fine. I think it's a great yet powerful 14 inch device without breaking the bank. It's probably the most affordable yet portable gaming laptops we had in years that isn't 15"/16" and Razer slim