MSI Titan 18 HX review: This high-spec gaming laptop delivers killer frame rates

That is simply out of this world. There’s no method round it, the MSI Titan 18 HX is the PC gaming equal of taking a fully-fledged $5K desktop and attempting to cram it down right into a small, technically moveable type issue. That does include some main caveats, for certain, nevertheless it principally delivers on that promise. It takes the most effective of the gaming PC world and provides it to you on the transfer, tied to a mechanical keyboard and an 18-inch display screen.

Let me be clear although, it isn’t low-cost. There are numerous specs of this MSI machine obtainable, all of them with barely various DDR5 and SSD setups, however they’re all costly. In reality, the mannequin I examined is definitely the most affordable of the lot, with a paltry (not likely) 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. The very best spec you should purchase is available in at a whopping $9,250, and contains 24TB of PCIe storage and 192GB of DDR5 reminiscence (admittedly from HIDevolution). That’s simply mind-boggling. Finest gaming laptop computer up to now? From a technical standpoint, presumably.

For those who’re contemplating this laptop computer, you’ll have severely deep pockets and a singular set of necessities. This isn’t in your common Joe, and it’s additionally not going to be extra highly effective than the highest-spec, fully-fledged desktop PC. No, this laptop computer is for an on-the-go video editor, 3D modeler, or gamer who calls for the most effective of the most effective. With out exception. It’s not about battery life, effectivity, or portability; it’s about completely pure brute drive if you want it.

MSI is not any stranger to constructing affluent laptops. In reality, I examined the MSI Stealth 16 earlier this yr, which has a really comparable ethos, albeit in a extra professional-esque spec. That gave me a very helpful perception into MSI’s considering when it got here to constructing this juggernaut. In reality, it’s given me a useful perspective when testing it too.

I’ve spent the previous couple of weeks placing the Titan 18 HX by its paces, testing it in all method of eventualities. I even took it on trip to evaluate its portability, and naturally, ran it by the tried and trusted benchmark suite to essentially see the way it held up in distinction to a few of our laptops on check this yr. The actual query is, although, can this machine exchange your desktop? Let’s discover out.

Specs

MSI Titan 18 HX specs:

In contrast to what we noticed in MSI’s Stealth 16 A1V, the Titan 18 HX has opted to ditch Intel’s Extremely Core sequence chips in favor of a CPU with much more grunt, specifically Intel’s Core i9 14900HX. It’s a little bit of a monster in relation to laptop computer processors, because it’s successfully not far off what you’d discover on the full-sized desktop model.

You continue to get the 24-core setup, with 8 P-Cores and 16 E-Cores cores, full with Hyper-Threading as nicely, bringing the whole variety of threads as much as 32 (eight extra threads for the efficiency variants). In any other case, clock speeds are impressively tight, with the HX topping out at 5.8GHz versus the 14900K’s 6GHz.

In contrast to the desktop Core i9 14900K, this cell CPU has a most TDP of 157W, slightly than 253W, so it received’t be hitting that prime clock pace as usually, however that is nonetheless a severely highly effective laptop computer CPU.

MSI pairs this CPU with 32GB, 64GB, and even 128GB of DDR5 RAM, although it’s sadly clocked at 4,000MT/s as commonplace. Moreover, the spec additionally features a 2TB Samsung PM9A1 PCIe 4.0 SSD as nicely right here, which needs to be loads quick sufficient for almost all of your gaming and workload wants.

Remarkably, nonetheless, this laptop computer additionally has capability for a PCIe 5.0 drive, in addition to one extra M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD, supplying you with loads of storage at a later date. The US variant has that additional 4.0 slot stuffed as commonplace, however that is the primary time I’ve seen a laptop computer with a 5.0 M.2 slot in it – these drives can get sizzling.

As for the graphics portion of this beast, that’s all sorted with the inclusion of a cell RTX 4090 16GB GPU. It’s by far the quickest laptop computer GPU you may get proper now. Nevertheless, do keep in mind that this isn’t fairly as potent as its desktop counterpart, and is extra akin to a desktop RTX 4080.

Nonetheless, should you’re trying to recreation at 4K on the transfer, that is the most effective GPU you should purchase proper now. Just like the CPU, although, it does want important cooling, with the CPU and GPU collectively outputting as much as 270W after they’re each operating at peak load.

Options

And why do you want that tremendous highly effective graphics card? For the display screen, after all. We’re speaking 18 inches of three,840 x 2,400 mini-LED IPS magnificence, refreshing at 120Hz. That’s fairly the decision, and it’s backed by a severe refresh price. That provides you barely extra pixels than a normal 4K display screen, and it seems to be extremely sharp on this 18-inch show.

Textual content seems to be immaculate, and that refresh price makes it buttery clean to make use of, no matter whether or not you’re taking part in a recreation or not. For context, there are 11% extra pixels right here than what you’d in any other case have in a standard 16:9 facet ratio. The result’s a show that isn’t fairly as sharp because the one in MSI’s Stealth 16 (similar display screen tech however in a 16-inch type issue). Tixel density for the Titan lands at simply 252ppi vs the Stealth’s 283ppi, however truthfully, you’re unlikely to note that distinction, and the additional display screen dimension may be very a lot welcome on this desktop substitute.

Colours are excellent too, with some severe depth to them, significantly when it comes to the brighter tones. Darker shades had been equally on level too, and I couldn’t establish any sizzling spots or bleeds. The picture isn’t fairly as contrast-rich as you get on an OLED panel, nor as fast as a few of the greatest available on the market proper now, however that mini-LED backlight actually makes HDR content material pop.

Okay, in order that’s the good things out of the way in which, now it’s time for the marginally extra controversial components, specifically the keyboard. It’s a tough one, because it’s a totally mechanical setup produced by Steelseries and powered by Cherry switches. From a purely tactile sensation, it’s pretty; it’s a clicky swap, you’ll be able to really feel the actuation beneath fairly clearly, and the keys are simple sufficient to press.

That stated, it additionally encompasses a full-sized numpad, and Steelseries has adjusted the format fairly aggressively to accommodate all of it into the  laptop computer shell, and it takes some time to get used to it. It is a useful addition should you repeatedly enter information into spreadsheets in your laptop computer, although – you simply have to get used to the format.

The actual difficulty, nonetheless, lies within the switches themselves. Particularly, they rattle and clang simply far an excessive amount of for a $5,000 laptop computer. There’s a rattle, and you’ll hear the springs beneath, implying that there’s not a lot in the way in which of dampening occurring.

In the meantime, the trackpad is baked into the whole backside half of the laptop computer, however you continue to solely get entry to a single sq. of it. It’s backlit with a mildly unpleasant crimson LED and genuinely seems to be considerably unhappy. The actual fact there’s no edge to really feel on additionally it is massively disconcerting. and customarily results in numerous confusion, even when casually perusing webpages as your mouse pointer all of a sudden stops responding.

On the plus aspect, you get a formidable arsenal of connections, with twin USB-A ports, a USB-C port, an HDMI out, a micro-SD Card slot, a headphone jack, 2.5G ethernet, Bluetooth 5.4, the works.

Design

As with the Stealth 16, one of many largest drawbacks of the Titan is the design. Amazingly, for a $5,000 laptop computer, there’s a complete heap of plastic components littered all through the design. It’s not fully plastic; a few of the chassis is metallic, but components such because the display screen bezel, that odd trackpad, the underside of the chassis, and the rear vent location, are plastic.

I get it, there’s the load to think about (and it already weighs a ton). however aesthetically it’s leaning far an excessive amount of into that old-school basic late 2000s gamer ethos, and it simply feels slightly cheesy consequently, which is a disgrace because the spec doesn’t signify that styling.

It’s not all disappointment and plastic accents, although; there’s some respectable capability to improve, with a number of M.2 slots and swappable SODIMM reminiscence as nicely. MSI will promote you a spec that racks as much as 128GB of DDR5 and 8TB of storage, however you’ll be able to transcend that with sure third-party producers as nicely, although doing so will bump up the value additional.

However earlier than we wrap up our design part, I wish to talk about cooling. First up, the temperatures are superb, regardless of the hot-running elements. Efficiency on the entire throughout my testing was additionally fantastically constant. CPU efficiency was up there with a few of the greatest desktop PCs I’ve seen, each in CPU grunt and gaming efficiency as nicely. Over a number of runs, all of it ran very easily all-in-all.

The unhealthy information, nonetheless, is fan noise, and oh boy, is it loud, to the purpose the place I used to be getting complaints from downstairs due to it. For those who’re gaming with this laptop computer, or placing any severe load onto it, these followers are going to ramp up, and the noise turns into nearly insupportable.

If anybody’s working in shut neighborhood to you, they’ll be grabbing their headphones and ramping up the amount, that’s for certain. That’s an issue, an enormous one, and principally unsurprising too, significantly given the hot-running CPU. Mix that with an RTX 4090 and the choice to stay a few of the greatest PCIe 5.0 SSDs in right here as nicely (that are recognized for operating toasty), and nicely, you’re simply not going to have a great time. Will the Titan preserve all that equipment cool? Sure. Will it assault your ears because it does it? Additionally sure.

Benchmarks

Now we come to benchmarking – how did the chunky 18-inch Titan do with all of its amped-up {hardware} and screaming followers? The quick reply is that it’s severely spectacular. Cinebench 2024 noticed a multi-core rating of 1,777 and a single rating of 127. These are the very best outcomes we’ve ever seen from a gaming laptop computer, and it even beats the Razer Blade 16, which makes use of the identical Core i9 14900HX CPU.

Equally, the CPU Profile in 3D Mark delivered some superior outcomes, touchdown 13.7K on this check, which beats practically each different laptop computer I’ve examined by an element of two. If CPU workloads are your bread and butter, and also you want a laptop computer that may deal with, for instance, video encoding, in addition to gaming, then the Titan is completely dominant in that enviornment.

Leap into gaming, and the outcomes are equally robust. I ran two units of benchmarks, one at 1080p and the opposite on the Titan’s native decision. The thought is that the 1080p stats give us some comparable figures based mostly on {hardware} alone, whereas the native res figures inform us should you can actually play video games on the full decision of this laptop computer’s 18-inch display screen.

I’m very glad to say that the Titan bucks the latest pattern of laptops that may’t deal with gaming at their native decision. Cyberpunk 2077 with DLSS and AI body technology managed a formidable common of 59fps at 3,8×0 x 2,400 utilizing the Extremely ray tracing preset, for instance, which is a unbelievable consequence for a laptop computer.

Equally, Complete Struggle: Warhammer 3 clocked in a modern 56fps common on the similar decision, which is completely playable. F1 23 (with out DLSS) solely averaged 35fps, however that’s nonetheless significantly better than another laptop computer we’ve examined at this decision – you’ll get a smoother body price should you drop a few of the settings.

Examine that to the Stealth 16, which averaged simply 35fps in Cyberpunk, 29fps in F1 23, and 35fps in Complete Struggle. The 14900HX CPU is doing a substantial quantity of lifting, that’s for certain, and the Titan’s capacity to maintain it cool regardless of the decibels is actually serving to raise up these body charges. Likewise, the 1080p scores had been nicely above the 100fps mark, with Cyberpunk touchdown an superior 166fps with DLSS and AI body technology on.

Battery

Battery life was at all times going to be difficult with this quantity of energy, and though the Titan 18 HX is likely to be a chunky unit, its battery remains to be restricted to a 99.9WHr capability. That’s regardless of the likes of the Stealth 16 AI equally that includes a 99.9WHr unit, however in a smaller type issue and comparable {hardware}.

Each laptop computer we evaluation goes by two battery benchmarks to essentially get a really feel for the way it will function beneath lab situations (I additionally do some anecdotal day-to-day testing on the aspect as nicely). The primary is PC Mark 10’s gaming battery benchmark, after which the opposite is the trendy workplace benchmark, each with the display screen brightness set to 50%.

For the gaming check, MSI’s Titan 18 HX lasted simply 81 minutes, going from 100 to three% in that timeframe. That’s not terrifyingly unhealthy; the Lenovo Legion Slim 5, with a far lesser spec, failed at simply 53 minutes, and the Alienware M16 R2 equally tapped out at 51 minutes.

Fashionable Workplace, nonetheless, landed at simply 187 minutes, lasting for simply three hours earlier than it wanted charging up once more. That’s by far the worst workplace battery consequence I’ve seen all yr, with the second closest being the Razer Blade 16 (2024) at 218 minutes. The Stealth positively has the sting by comparability.

Value

The MSI Titan 18 HX value is $5,399 for a mannequin with a Core i9 14900HX CPU and cell RTX 4090 GPU, and that spec additionally contains an enormous 128GB of RAM and a 4TB SSD. On the floor, the spec nearly justifies the fee. The sheer energy of the equipment MSI’s managed to pack into this machine is excellent. You get a top-tier GPU, an outlandish CPU, wild storage capacities, and an exceptional display screen.

The issue, nonetheless, comes within the implementation. The chassis is only a bit underwhelming, the followers are obscenely loud, the battery life is massively disappointing, and it feels extra like a laptop computer from ten years in the past than a 2024 mannequin.

Mix that with the actual fact you might take this value and chuck it right into a devoted desktop that would carry out simply as nicely, if not higher, full with a monitor and set of peripherals, and the Titan 18 HX begins to appear to be an extremely area of interest product.

Verdict

The MSI Titan 18 HX is an intriguing prospect. For those who’re an avid gamer who additionally moonlights as a video editor as you bounce from gig to gig touring throughout your nation, then there are good causes to think about this laptop computer. It packs in an exceptional quantity of energy, it’s extremely customizable, and delivers in nearly each space in relation to pure efficiency.

That stated, whereas it drives these super-fast body charges and fast render occasions, it lags behind massively when it comes to construct high quality and total refinement, which actually harms the general enchantment, significantly in relation to noise output.

For those who don’t really want a conveyable machine, I’d look to purchase the most effective gaming PCs in your desktop as an alternative, and should you don’t really want all that energy, you’ll be able to nonetheless get a equally succesful gaming laptop computer for a lot much less cash. MSI’s personal Raider line affords a mannequin with this GPU and CPU combo, for instance, however with a much more snug price ticket. Is that this the final word gaming laptop computer? Form of; simply be sure you have earplugs.