MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XWIG
Specifications
Primary Camera: 2 MPix
Price comparison
Average of 7 scores (from 9 reviews)
Reviews for the MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XWIG
Source: Zdnet.com
According to MSI, prices for the Raider 18 HX start at $3,319. My review unit's configuration is available at B&H Photo Video for $4,499. As expensive as it may be, it's absolutely worth it. This laptop will provide you with years of excellent performance and a top-notch user experience, even superior to many desktops.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/07/2025
Source: Laptop Mag
If you’ve got the money to spend, the MSI Raider 18 HX AI is a gaming laptop worthy of the term “desktop replacement.” The Raider has strong general performance, fluid gaming performance, a bright MiniLED display, a comfortable keyboard, powerful audio, and more ports than you’re likely to need, even with a multi-monitor setup. It’s just expensive. The entry-level Raider costs $3,699. Granted, you aren’t getting entry-level specs with that laptop, which can help offset the sheer magnitude of the price tag. But if you want similar performance, with a bit more portability and a more affordable price tag, you may be better off with the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16, which features similar specs for significantly less money. If you’ve got the cash to spare and portability is your key requirement, then the Razer Blade 16 (2025) is the way to go.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/02/2025
Rating: Total score: 90%
Source: PC World
The MSI Raider 18 HX AI is a hardware showcase. It has an Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX that sets new records in several benchmarks, and an Nvidia RTX 5080 GPU with performance close to RTX 4090, and a pair of PCIe 5.0 solid state drives that hit blistering read speeds of just over 13,000 MB/s. It also has a bright Mini-LED display. These advantages come alongside practical downsides. The Raider 18 is heavy, and the battery doesn’t last long. I wasn’t a fan of the keyboard or touchpad, either. The MSI Raider 18 HX is a decent value. That might be hard to believe given the laptop’s nearly $4,500 MSRP, but if you take a tour through Newegg or Best Buy product listings, you’ll find most comparable 18-inch systems with RTX 50-series graphics have less RAM, smaller solid state drives, and often a less capable version of the Intel Core Ultra 9 processor.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/15/2025
Rating: Total score: 80%
Foreign Reviews
Source: PC Welt
DE→ENSingle Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/21/2025
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Gamestar
DE→ENSingle Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/07/2025
Rating: Total score: 90%
Source: Profesional Review
ES→ENSingle Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 04/09/2025
Rating: Total score: 91% price: 79% performance: 96% display: 99% mobility: 75% workmanship: 93%
Source: Tweakers
NL→ENPositive: Powerful processor; 64GB RAM; 4T SSD storage; high performance. Negative: Average display; mediocre design; high price.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 05/07/2025
Source: Clubic
FR→ENSingle Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 05/01/2025
Rating: Total score: 80% performance: 90% display: 90% mobility: 50% workmanship: 70%
Source: ITHardware.pl
PL→ENSingle Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 04/11/2025
Rating: Total score: 85% performance: 100%
Comment
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop: A fast graphics card from the Blackwell family for laptops that is based on the GB203 chip and uses 8,192 shaders and 16 GB GDDR7 graphics memory (256-bit graphics bus).
These graphics cards are able to play the latest and most demanding games in high resolutions and full detail settings with enabled Anti-Aliasing.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
Ultra 9 285HX: Mobile high-end CPU for gaming notebooks based on the Arrow Lake architecture. Offers 24 cores consisting of 8 fast performance cores with up to 5.5 GHz and 16 smaller efficiency cores with up to 4.6 GHz clock speed. The CPU can access 40 MB L2 cache and 36 MB L3 cache and is specified with a TDP of 55 watts. The SoC integrates a small dedicated NPU called AI Boost with 13 TOPS (Int8) and optionally supports vPro Enterprise.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
18.00": This display size is a standard format for desktop replacements (DTR). The DTR laptops are heavier to carry, need more power, but texts are easy to read and high resolutions are no problem. DTR are mainly intended for stationary desk use, where weight and energy hunger don't matter. In return, you enjoy the advantages of high resolutions (more details, better legibility).» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.
3.6 kg:
Only a few laptops are in this weight class because the mobility is rather limited due to the high weight.
MSI: Micro-Star International (MSI) was founded in 1986 in Taiwan. MSI is especially known as a manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards for PCs, but also offers computer accessories, complete systems, motherboards, graphics cards, laptops, desktop PCs, monitors and other components. However, the Microstar brand name in Germany belongs to the Medion company. MSI is known for its gaming products and has developed a wide range of gaming laptops and desktop PCs. The company is also active in workstations, servers and industrial automation. MSI has offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
85.14%: This is an above-average rating. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that about one fifth of all tested models receive a better rating.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.
