MSI Raider GE68 HX 13VF laptop review: A complete design change
The GE68HX directly succeeds last year's GE67HX with both refreshed internals and a new chassis design. Aside from the expected 13th gen Raptor Lake-HX CPUs and Nvidia Ada Lovelace GPUs to replace the older 12th gen Alder Lake-HX and Ampere options, the newer model also offers a larger 16:10 16-inch screen size up from the declining 16:9 15.6-inch aspect ratio.
Our unit in review is the base configuration with the Core i7-13950HX, 140 W GeForce RTX 4060, and 1080p 144 Hz IPS display retailing for about $1700 USD or $1300 if on sale. Higher-end SKUs include the Core i9-13980HX, RTX 4090, and 1440p 240 Hz display for over $3500.
Competitors to the GE68HX include other high-end 16-inch gaming laptops like the HP Omen 16, Alienware m16 R1, Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8, or the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16.
More MSI reviews:
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86.9 % v7 (old) | 09 / 2023 | MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU | 2.7 kg | 27.9 mm | 16.00" | 1900x1200 | |
| 87.7 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2022 | MSI GE67 HX 12UGS i7-12800HX, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU | 2.5 kg | 23.4 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 86.6 % v7 (old) | 09 / 2023 | HP Omen 16-xf0376ng R7 7840HS, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU | 2.4 kg | 23.5 mm | 16.10" | 1920x1080 | |
| 89.2 % v7 (old) | 08 / 2023 | Alienware m16 R1 AMD R9 7845HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU | 3.1 kg | 25.4 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | |
| 90 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2023 | Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 i9-13900H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU | 2.1 kg | 19.9 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | |
| 89.4 % v7 (old) | 03 / 2023 | Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X i9-13900H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | 2.3 kg | 22.9 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 |
Case — Bigger Than Before
The chassis can be best described as a smaller version of the 17-inch Raider GE78HX. The LED pixel bar upfront replaces the continuous lighting on last year's model while the rear is now more stylized with gold, red, and glossy trims. One of MSI's goals this year was to create more visually interesting laptop designs instead of the increasingly common jet-black and minimalist aesthetic. The manufacturer has succeeded in this regard as the GE68HX design is certainly unmistakable and very different from other gaming laptops from competitors.
Chassis rigidity is excellent despite all the curves and pieces that make up the non-unibody skeleton. Applying pressure down the keyboard center or attempting to twist the corners would result in very little flexing and no audible creaking. We especially appreciate the larger and sturdier hinges when compared to last year's GE67HX for a better sense of longevity.
The new model is both bigger and heavier than the outgoing GE67HX by noticeable margins as shown by our size comparison chart below. In fact, the GE68HX is one of the larger and heavier 16-inch gaming laptops available.
Connectivity
Port options have changed slightly from last year's GE67HX. Whereas the GE67HX would have 3x USB-A ports and 2x USB-C ports, the GE68HX ships with 2x USB-A ports and 3x USB-C ports. All three USB-C ports support Displayport, but only the one along the left edge is compatible with Thunderbolt 4.
Strangely, MSI has opted to drop the Kensington lock on this year's design. There is no mini-DisplayPort either unlike on the Alienware m16 R1.
SD Card Reader
The integrated SD card reader is a little slow for what is supposed to be an upper-midrange gaming model. Transferring 1 GB of pictures from our UHS-II test card to desktop would take a little over 12 seconds while the same test on the Alienware m16 R1 would be over 2x faster.
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Communication
An Intel AX211 comes standard for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 support. We experienced no connectivity issues when paired to our AXE11000 6 GHz test network.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
Webcam
While the 2 MP quality hasn't changed, there are still a couple of differences surrounding the webcam. The shutter, for example, is now a physical slider next to the lens instead of an electronic switch on the keyboard. And secondly, an IR sensor is now built in for Hello support.
Maintenance
Unfortunately, MSI laptops are becoming more difficult to service nowadays. The bottom panel is secured by 13 Phillips screws one of which is behind an anti-tamper sticker to discourage end-user servicing. The main problem is that the plastic hooks along the edges of the panel are angled and tightly latched to the base especially along the rear. These hooks are difficult to detach and even more difficult to reinstall.
Users have direct access to two M.2 2280 storage bays, two DDR5 SODIMM slots, and the WLAN module and battery once inside.
Accessories And Warranty
The retail box included a cleaning cloth in addition to the AC adapter and paperwork. A one-year limited manufacturer warranty applies if purchased in the US.
Input Devices — Larger Clickpad And New Numpad
Keyboard
MSI has revamped the keyboard layout when compared to the GE67HX. There is now an integrated numpad while the Ctrl and Fn keys are no longer awkwardly squished together. Unfortunately, the arrow keys have been reduced in size to make room for the new numpad.
Key feedback is otherwise excellent with firm and uniform feedback between the main QWERTY keys. The Space and Enter keys in particular are noticeably louder for a more satisfying feel.
Touchpad
Clickpad size has increased significantly from just 10.5 x 6.5 cm on the GE67HX to 13 x 8.3 cm on the GE68HX. Glide is very smooth and responsive and with almost no sticking even when moving at slower speeds. Clicking is also satisfactory, but feedback is not perfectly uniform as it feels clickier when pressing down the center whereas the bottom corners feel spongier.
Display — Poor Colors
The Raider GE68HX ships with two different panel options. Our specific review unit comes with the bolded option below:
- 2560 x 1600, 240 Hz, 100% DCI-P3, 3 ms, IPS
- 1920 x 1200, 144 Hz, 60% sRGB, 11 ms, IPS
The cheaper 144 Hz option is not recommended due to its narrower color coverage and slower response times for more noticeable ghosting. The shallower colors are hard to overlook even if you don't do much graphics editing. This panel is more fit for cheaper gaming laptops like the MSI Pulse 17 where narrow color ranges are common.
G-Sync is notably absent on all current configurations of the GE68HX.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 93 %
Center on Battery: 300.9 cd/m²
Contrast: 971:1 (Black: 0.31 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.6 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.91, calibrated: 2.04
ΔE Greyscale 3.3 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
43% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
62.2% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
41.6% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.09
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF Chi Mei N160JME-GTK, IPS, 1900x1200, 16" | MSI GE67 HX 12UGS Samsung ATNA562P02-0, OLED, 1920x1080, 15.6" | HP Omen 16-xf0376ng BOE0B81, IPS, 1920x1080, 16.1" | Alienware m16 R1 AMD BOE NE16NZ4, IPS, 2560x1600, 16" | Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 CSOT T3 MNG007DA2-3, IPS, 2560x1600, 16" | Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X BOE0B74 (NE160QDM-NM4, IPS, 2560x1600, 16" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 64% | 67% | 102% | 66% | 103% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 41.6 | 71.7 72% | 72.1 73% | 98.6 137% | 70.4 69% | 99.33 139% |
| sRGB Coverage | 62.2 | 89.7 44% | 99.6 60% | 99.9 61% | 99.4 60% | 99.9 61% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 43 | 75.2 75% | 72.3 68% | 88.9 107% | 72.5 69% | 90.01 109% |
| Response Times | 99% | 50% | 67% | 47% | -108% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 17.3 ? | 0.25 ? 99% | 12.3 ? 29% | 5.1 ? 71% | 12 ? 31% | 50.8 ? -194% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 24.2 ? | 0.4 ? 98% | 7.2 ? 70% | 9 ? 63% | 8.9 ? 63% | 29.6 ? -22% |
| PWM Frequency | 480.4 ? | 12000 | ||||
| Screen | 17% | 10% | 10% | 34% | 297% | |
| Brightness middle | 300.9 | 356.1 18% | 350 16% | 329 9% | 474.6 58% | 634 111% |
| Brightness | 302 | 358 19% | 338 12% | 317 5% | 445 47% | 627 108% |
| Brightness Distribution | 93 | 99 6% | 91 -2% | 89 -4% | 86 -8% | 92 -1% |
| Black Level * | 0.31 | 0.35 -13% | 0.32 -3% | 0.39 -26% | 0.03 90% | |
| Contrast | 971 | 1000 3% | 1028 6% | 1217 25% | 21133 2076% | |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.6 | 4.83 -5% | 3.29 28% | 3.71 19% | 2.12 54% | 0.89 81% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 17.6 | 7.94 55% | 8.47 52% | 7.23 59% | 4.73 73% | 1.79 90% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 2.04 | 2.23 -9% | 2.82 -38% | 0.57 72% | 0.91 55% | |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3.3 | 3.1 6% | 3.2 3% | 2.2 33% | 2.8 15% | 1.13 66% |
| Gamma | 2.09 105% | 2.2 100% | 2.131 103% | 2.3 96% | 2.22 99% | 2.47 89% |
| CCT | 7151 91% | 5938 109% | 6317 103% | 6270 104% | 6542 99% | 6497 100% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 60% /
44% | 42% /
28% | 60% /
38% | 49% /
43% | 97% /
198% |
* ... smaller is better
The display does not come pre-calibrated, but average color accuracy isn't bad all things considered. Calibrating the panel ourselves with an X-Rite colorimeter would improve average grayscale and color DeltaE values from 3.3 and 4.6 to just 2 and 2.04, respectively. Colors would still become increasingly inaccurate at higher saturation levels no matter how much you calibrate it due to the limited color space of the panel. Blue is perhaps the worst offender as it would appear slightly Violet instead. Our ICM profile is available above to download for free.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 24.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 10.6 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 12.6 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 53 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (20.9 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 17.3 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 9.4 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 7.9 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 28 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32.8 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8705 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
The 300-nit maximum brightness is typical of most gaming laptops. Direct sunlight should be avoided or else colors become washed out. For better outdoor visibility, users may want to consider the Zephyrus M16 and its 2x brighter display instead.
Performance — Impressive Year-Over-Year Boost
Testing Conditions
We set Windows to Performance mode and MSI Center to both Extreme Performance mode and dGPU mode prior to running the benchmarks below. MSI Center is the control hub for system updates, vitals, power profiles, GPU modes, and more. However, RGB settings are handled by a separate app called SteelSeries GG.
Cooler Boost is a submenu setting within Extreme Performance mode. Enabling it will run the internals fans at their maximum RPMs no matter the onscreen load.
The RTX 4060 configuration supports MUX but not Advanced Optimus meaning a reboot is required when switching between dGPU, MSHybrid, and iGPU modes.
Processor
CPU performance and clock rate stability are excellent with results that are 5 to 10 percent faster than the average Core i9-13950HX in our database or almost 2x faster than the Core i7-13700H commonly found on most other gaming laptops. This is one of the fastest mobile CPUs in the market at the moment and it competes with the Zen 4 Ryzen 9 7945HX for the top three spots.
Upgrading to the pricier Core i9-13980HX option is only expected to boost performance by about 5 percent based on our time with the Alienware m18 R1. The benefits are so marginal that we recommend sticking with the Core i9-13950HX to save a few hundred dollars.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
| Performance Rating | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX (18131 - 28957, n=7) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX (102591 - 144303, n=7) | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX (4981 - 7093, n=7) | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX (131931 - 140103, n=7) | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX (12381 - 17057, n=7) | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX (46539 - 71038, n=7) | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX (99981 - 204491, n=7) | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX (1472 - 2069, n=7) | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX (9787 - 15573, n=7) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX (40233 - 50864, n=7) | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
System Performance
PCMark benchmarks are comparable to other 16-inch gaming laptops like the Alienware m16 R1 or Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 by just a few percentage points. We experienced no wake-from-sleep issues or other notable problems with our test unit during testing.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU () | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU () | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU () | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU () | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| CrossMark / Overall | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU () | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU () | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU () | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU () | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 8281 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX (61938 - 78494, n=7) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX (62368 - 86207, n=7) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX (59501 - 80441, n=7) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Average Intel Core i9-13950HX (84.4 - 99.5, n=7) | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
LatencyMon reveals DPC issues when opening multiple browser tabs of our homepage. 4K video playback at 60 FPS is imperfect with 4 dropped frames recorded during a 60-second window.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
Our unit ships with the cheaper 1 TB Samsung PM9B1 instead of the pricier Samsung PM9A1 likely to save on costs. The PM9B1 is almost half as fast with maximum sequential read rates of around 3600 MB/s compared to ~7000 MB/s on the PM9A1. SSD performance is stable nonetheless with no throttling.
| Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
| MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 16 Gen 8 | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VY-NM042X | |
| HP Omen 16-xf0376ng | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF -11! | |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
Our RTX 4060 performs well with results that are just slightly above the average gaming laptop in our database equipped with the same GPU. Upgrading to the RTX 4070, 4080, or 4090 is expected to boost performance by 10 to 20 percent, 60 to 80 percent, and 80 to 100 percent, respectively, over the RTX 4060. The performance gap is widest between the RTX 4070 and 4080.
Annoyingly, MSI has programmed MSI Center to automatically switch to Extreme Performance mode whenever it detects that 3DMark is running and there is unfortunately no easy way to disable this. We find this frustrating as it takes control away from the end user. The automatic switching would not occur when running games.
Enabling Cooler Boost does not appear to significantly impact CPU or GPU performance as shown by our Fire Strike results below. Thus, the feature is not vital for maximum performance and it's only recommended if cooler running temperatures are desired.
| Power Profile | Fire Strike Graphics | Fire Strike Physics | Combined Score |
| Extreme Performance mode (Cooler Boost on) | 27127 | 41525 | 11480 |
| Extreme Performance mode (Cooler Boost off) | 27183 (0%) | 41254 (-1%) | 10278 (-10%) |
| Battery Power | 19528 (-28%) | 18623 (-55%) | 5986 (-48%) |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 31914 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 24416 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 11240 points | |
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