Sure, the 512GB SSD, chunky bezels, and mediocre webcam remind you this is an entry-level machine, but MSI has cut its corners smartly. If you’re happy to tweak graphics settings in newer AAA titles, the Cyborg 15 delivers strong value as an affordable, stylish gateway into PC gaming with the RTX 5050 and silky-smooth 144Hz display.
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Design
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Display
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Performance
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Features
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Value
Picking up a gaming laptop in South Africa can be a scary and often confusing thing. Every brand wants to grab your attention and keep it, with some, MSI included, even throwing ‘AI’ into the name to make that happen. That’s not a knock against the hardware — which actually proved quite resilient in the face of a tough market.
Focus on the ‘Cyborg’ bit of the name, and you should come right here. Loaded with an RTX 5050 and a 15.6in display that we wouldn’t mind looking at some more, there’s plenty to keep you busy with your backlog, though not quite so much that you’ll be able to keep up with the latest hits. Not without some major concessions, anyway. That seems fair, considering this is MSI’s entry-level gamer, meant to entice newbies with its R24,000 price.
Looks the part
MSI has done a bit of tinkering to keep that price where it currently is, and not just with the internals. On the outside, the Cyborg 15 looks the part, keeping it premium where it matters most: the lid. It’s a cold metal shell up top, but transitions down to a plastic body from the bottom up. It’s a pretty bare affair from the outside, with a single MSI logo hidden under fingerprints. These can be wiped away easily enough, but to what end?
The solution is to simply get used to it, or make room for a microfibre cloth in your bag. That should be fine. The Cyborg 15 is on the larger side thanks to its 15.6in display, but keeps the weight to a comfortable 2.1kg. Inside is where the Cyborg shines brightest, fully living up to its name with a futuristic sci-fi look we loved.
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Looking past the generous touchpad and keyboard, it’s certainly an interesting design. Some may not vibe with MSI’s ‘Translucent Black’ paint job that offers a small peek at the internals, but we reckon the target market won’t mind. There weren’t any construction hiccups to write home about, with the plastic body feeling right at home in this price range. It didn’t come in handy for us, but the Cyborg 15’s screen can be pushed almost entirely flat.
If your only source of vitamin D is the RGB from your setup, the Cyborg 15 will help you get your fix. The keyboard is pleasantly comfortable, with our eyes immediately being drawn to the see-through WASD keys. You won’t have to sacrifice a numpad with MSI’s entry-level gamer, but the minuscule arrow keys were a bit of a drag to use.
You’ll make more friends with the Cyborg 15’s right-hand side, where the power hole and other important ports lie. We’re talking an HDMI 2.1 port, 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C USB port, 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A USB port, and a 3.5mm audio jack to round it out. The laptop’s left side is home to a Kensington lock, a couple of vents, and an Ethernet port.
Hit ’em where it hertz
Our review model shipped with a fairly standard 15.6in FHD (1,920 x 1,080) IPS display, though a QHD model does exist. Not in South Africa, from what we can see, but it’s out there. Saffas will have to make do with the FHD one if they’re a) in desperate need of a laptop now, or b) looking to keep the price down. That’s one way to do it.
Before you can take in the display’s qualities, your eyes will be drawn toward those fat bezels. It’s less egregious on the left- and right-hand sides, but the top and bottom bezels are particularly noticeable. The top, at least, is housing the Cyborg’s 720p webcam that we pray will never have to sit through a Zoom meeting for its sake.
Even if the Cyborg won’t churn out glorious 4K visuals, it tries to make up for it with a 144Hz refresh rate. The display didn’t get much opportunity to really stretch its legs in that regard across our library — except for Rocket League — where it lived up to the spec sheet without complaint. Pro gamers on a budget can’t ask for much more.
Stands up to the test
Now for the bit that you’re shelling out most of that R24,000 for — the internals. The Cyborg 15 may look like a slouch when it’s put alongside something more premium, so… don’t do that. Gaze at it from a budget gamer’s perspective, and the RTX 5050 (with 8GB VRAM), Intel Core 7 240H, and 16GB DDR5 RAM feel right at home.
Even if this is aimed more at gamers than anyone else, creators can get away with running some of the beefier software out there with minimal issues. Still, it’s the Steam library that took preference here, which performed admirably even when presented with some of the tougher-to-run (if old) games like The Witcher 3.
For a library as packed with random indies as ours, though, it’s smooth sailing as far as the eye can see. While the GPU can handle the graphics of something more taxing, you’ll need to be realistic about your in-game settings to get the most out of the display’s 144Hz refresh rate. Again, we managed to get Rocket League up to scratch without everything devolving into a blocky mess, anyway, while holding onto a high, stable refresh rate.
Show me the numbers (CPU):
- Geekbench 6 (Single Core): 2,421 (avg)
- Geekbench 6 (Multi-core): 10,102 (avg)
- Cinebench 24 (Single Core): 105 (avg)
- Cinebench 24 (Multi-core): 743 (avg)
Show me the numbers (GPU):
- 3DMark Steel Nomad: 1,648 (avg)
There is room for improvement, however, particularly if you are using this as a gamer or editor rather than a day-to-day notebook. The 512GB NVMe Gen4 SSD is fine, but it won’t be long before it’s packed like a tin of sardines. The same goes for the 16GB physical memory under the hood — we wouldn’t say no to more. That’s easier said than done, but give it a bit of after-market love, and the Cyborg 15 will become a more competent all-rounder.
MSI Cyborg 15 AI (B2RWEKG) verdict
The MSI Cyborg 15 AI (B2RWEKG) isn’t trying to reinvent the gaming laptop, and that’s probably for the best. Instead, MSI has focused on building an affordable machine that ‘gets’ its audience. At R24,000, you aren’t exactly getting top-notch performance or a chassis that’ll embarrass more-premium ultrabooks, but you are getting a competent RTX 5050-powered laptop that can chew through esports titles, indies, and a fair chunk of modern AAA games — provided you’re willing to fiddle with the settings menu every now and then.
It’s not without some concession. That 512GB is going to fill up alarmingly fast in 2026, the webcam feels like a bit of an afterthought, and the bezels aren’t doing MSI’s gamer any favours. But MSI has cut corners in all the right places to keep the price competitive without gutting the whole experience. Throw in the comfortable keyboard, flashy cyberpunk-inspired design, and a 144Hz display that punches above its station, and the Cyborg 15 starts to make a lot of sense for first-time PC gamers.
