MSI Stealth 18 HX 280 W AC adapter reaches almost 70 C to be one of the warmest we've seen

AC adapters for laptops become warm to the touch especially as power output and density increase. Gaming laptops in particular can have very warm AC adapters such as the ones for the Lenovo Legion 7 16 and Alienware 16X Aurora reaching 48 C and 46 C, respectively. One model, however, takes the cake for being significantly warmer than the vast majority of AC adapters out there.

The 280 W AC adapter for the recent MSI Stealth 18 HX can reach almost 70 C when gaming to be over 20 C warmer (!) than average. Even the 330 W adapter for the Razer Blade 18 reaches "only" 47 C under similar conditions. The unusually high surface temperature can be attributed to the portable AC adapter design (~16.5 x 7.5 x 2.5 cm) and the fact that the Stealth 18 HX regularly demands over 270 W when gaming. In other words, the 280 W AC adapter is frequently stressed to its limits through typical usage scenarios.

Although not inherently dangerous, the high surface temperature means users should be more careful when placing the adapter near objects or other cables. A crowded mess of wires, for example, might pose a hazard around the Stealth 18 adapter.

Users can check out our full review on the Stealth 18 HX to learn more about the gaming system and its unique traits.