MSI is known for making powerful gaming laptops and this year, it launched MSI Raider 18 HX series with peak hardware. It made us wonder whether it’s a laptop or it’s a full-blown desktop replacement with enough power to melt asphalt. We recently received the top-of-the-line variant of the MSI Raider 18 HX series (A14VIG) – priced at Rs 4,49,990 – and here’s what we liked about it few minutes after firing it up.
Design and display
The MSI Raider 18 HX series (A14VIG) looks an absolute beast. Its huge and heavy, garnished with LEDs and RGB lighting, and a sports a futuristic design. Weighing at around 3.6kg (without the power brick), it is somewhat uncomfortable to hold it with one hand and too tiring to even carry it in a backpack.
As for the display, it’s glorious. The laptop sports an 18-inch Mini-LED UHD+ (3840x2400 pixels) display that delivers stunning visuals with deep blacks and brightness. The 120Hz refresh rate is a bit disappointing at this price point.
The specs are insane: Intel Core i9 - 14900HX processor paired with 64GB RAM and 2TB SSD. This system is supported by Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card to take things to the next level. Other models come with lower capacity RAM, storage and comparatively less powerful versions of the graphics card.
It seems like MSI crammed a gaming PC into a laptop chassis. There’s a full-sized keyboard and the keys have good travel, but its off-center position makes for awkward trackpad interactions. Speaking of which, the trackpad is decent, but we’ll probably want a gaming mouse anyway.
What we think
The MSI Raider 18 HX is a powerhouse with a hefty price tag to match. It's heavy and power-hungry and we have high hopes, given the top-of-the-line hardware that is crammed into an 18-inch chassis. The display looks good, keyboard is satisfactory and, surely, it does look in a strong position to satisfy the needs of a modern gamer with overall package.
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