One of the best things about trade shows is seeing products in person, and perhaps playing around with a game or two.

But sometimes we get a peek behind the curtain.

At Computex in Taipei this week, Laptop Mag was able to do some brief benchmarking of an Nvidia RTX 5070 gaming laptop. While the RTX 5070 launched alongside the RTX 5080 and 5090 back in March, we haven’t gotten any review units in with Nvidia’s mid-range GPU.

So, MSI kindly offered up some time with the Crosshair 18 HX, a more budget-friendly MSI gaming rig, featuring an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU and an Nvidia RTX 5070 GPU.

Here’s what we learned.

MSI Crosshair 18 HX benchmarks

MSI provided us with a few benchmarks, including the 3DMark suite and a handful of games, such as Black Myth: Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

While my former lab tester heart would have loved to skip the show floor and run the Crosshair through its paces on all available benchmarks, we didn’t have a whole day to dedicate to benchmarking. So I stuck to 3DMark Time Spy and Cyberpunk 2077.

The Crosshair 18 HX scored a respectable 13,974 on Time Spy.

As for Cyberpunk 2077, I decided to do a few test runs:

• One at our lab test settings (Ray-Tracing: Ultra preset, with DLSS/FSR off)
• One on the Ultra setting with Ray-Tracing off
• One Ray-Tracing: Ultra with DLSS 4 set to Balanced and with Frame Generation enabled

Obviously, we had a massive frame-rate delta between all three runs. At our lab settings, the RTX 5070's pure silicon power scraped by at 1600p with just 16.65 fps.

With Ray Tracing turned off, the Crosshair’s performance jumped up to 58.63.

Finally, leveraging all the power of the RTX 5070’s software support on the Ray-Tracing: Ultra preset at 1600p, the Crosshair benchmarked at 203.91fps.

RTX 5070 compared to RTX 5080

Compared to the RTX 5080 GPU in the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16, the Crosshair 18 HX obviously scores lower in benchmarks, but not by a lot.

We opted for the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 as the RTX 5080 comparison unit here. Both the Crosshair 18 and Aorus Master 16 feature Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPUs, which helps rule out any CPU differences in the benchmarking.

To get an idea of the generation-over-generation performance, we went with the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16, which features a similar Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor and RTX 4070 laptop GPU.

As you can see below, the RTX 5070 does have some impressive gen-on-gen uplift in 3DMark, but benchmarks about the same as the RTX 4070 in Cyberpunk 2077.

3DMark isn’t quite as demanding of a benchmark, which can explain some of the difference. However, these are just two of the tests our lab runs on all gaming laptops. We currently test with 6 different 3DMark benchmarks and more than 10 games.

Will the RTX 5070 be the most popular laptop GPU this gen?

We'll have to wait until we can bring a system into our testing lab to get a clearer picture of the RTX 5070’s performance.

But for an early look, the Crosshair’s 5070 performance looks promising.

The 18-inch Intel Core Ultra 9 RTX 5070 version is expected to retail at $1,699. That’s a promising amount of power for your dollar, which could make the RTX 5070 the most popular laptop GPU of this generation.

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You can do a lot of things with $300. You can fill up your gas tank a few times. Or buy groceries for your family. Or treat yourself and get some new headphones.

Right now, the four-star MSI Prestige 16 AI laptop is just about $300 off (OK, $290) in a limited-time sale at Newegg. It's a laptop we know to have muscular performance, a spacious display, and a full-size keyboard.

In their review of the Prestige 16, contributing writer Stevie Bonifield writes that "when it comes to basic work-related tasks, the MSI Prestige A16 AI+ has a few things going for it.

"The built-in webcam is surprisingly good, perfect for anyone who frequently attends video meetings. The full-size keyboard is also a major plus, great for anyone who does data entry. Lastly, the sharp, vivid 16-inch display not only looks pretty but offers space for multiple windows and gets bright enough for viewing in brightly lit office spaces.

Today's best deals on the MSI Prestige 16 AI laptop

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When shopping for the best gaming laptops, the expectation is that when it comes to GPUs, bigger is better. An Nvidia RTX 5090 GPU should consistently outperform an RTX 5080. That’s just how the CUDA cores crumble.

But now and again, we get a system that proves the exception to the rule.

In this case, we’re talking about the MSI Raider 18 HX AI, which features the powerful combo of an Nvidia RTX 5080 GPU and an Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX processor.

Due to the Raider’s ability to leverage up to 260 Watts of power for its CPU and GPU, it easily overpowered the RTX 5090 in the Razer Blade 16 (2025) and HP Omen Max 16.

Confused? Let me explain.

More laptop equals more power and better cooling

One of the benefits of an 18-inch desktop replacement gaming laptop is that its size gives it room for a proper cooling system that can leverage as much power as possible to the CPU and GPU, which gets you the kind of performance that justifies ditching your desktop PC for a laptop instead.

The trade-off is that you don’t expect it to be portable. So if it’s more than an inch thick and weighs almost 8 pounds, we don't recommend commuting daily with it.

But returning to the advantages, we ran the MSI Raider 18 HX, Razer Blade 16 (2025), and HP Omen Max 16 through multiple game benchmarks spanning the gamut of optimized performance, older titles, and GPU-melting new releases.

When it comes to 1080p gaming performance, the MSI Raider’s RTX 5080 GPU displayed a significant performance lead over both RTX 5090 systems.

The Raider took a full 33-frame lead on the Blade 16 in Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, and a 28 fps lead on the Omen Max 16 in Black Myth: Wukong using Cinematic graphics preset.

In fact, on most of the 14 games that we use for graphics testing, the Raider’s RTX 5080 outperformed both RTX 5090 laptops at 1080p resolution. The exceptions include Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, Dirt 5, and Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition at the Extreme graphics preset.

But for notoriously intensive games like Black Myth: Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Red Dead Redemption II, the Raider once again surpassed its 5090 counterparts.

1080p performance isn’t the whole story

Of course, that’s just FHD performance. At the native resolution of the three laptops, the RTX 5090 tended to do far better. Of course, the Raider’s max resolution is 3840 x 2400, while the Omen Max 16 and Blade 16 cap out at 2560 x 1600p. But we’ll use the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 as a stand-in for the Raider.

The Aorus features a 1600p display, an RTX 5080 GPU, and a similar Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor. While they’re not identical CPUs, and the Raider includes more system memory, their 1080p benchmarks are in the same ballpark.

With that said, the RTX 5090 takes the lead over the lower-spec GPU when it comes to higher resolution.

We’ve seen CPU bottleneck issues with Nvidia’s high-end cards over the last few generations of gaming laptops, where performance throttles at 1080p due to the communication between the CPU and GPU when rendering frames. Some of that is clearly at work here with the 1080p performance.

However, even at a higher 1600p resolution, the RTX 5080 is still competitive. The Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 was just about as fast as both RTX 5090 laptops on Assassin’s Creed: Mirage and Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, and that trend holds even with Black Myth: Wukong and Cyberpunk 2077.

The only games where we saw a significant performance gap between the RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 were Dirt 5 and Far Cry 6.

On Dirt 5, both 5090 laptops outperformed the Gigabyte by at least 55 fps. But on Far Cry 6, the RTX 5080 in the Gigabyte outperformed both RTX 5090 laptops by 9-19 fps.

But portability is key for many laptop owners

It’s time to choose between power and portability.

If you want the ultimate gaming experience, you’ll need a desktop replacement like the RTX 5090 version of the MSI Raider 18 HX. (It’s just $900 more than the RTX 5080 model.)

But if you want all that power while trying not to break your back, get a portable gaming laptop like the Razer Blade 16 (2025). That laptop is just 0.59 inches thick and weighs just over 4 pounds.

Now, if you’re capping your budget at exactly $4,499, you can choose between the portable Razer Blade 16 (2025) with an RTX 5090 or the mighty MSI Raider 18 HX AI with an RTX 5080.

The Blade 16 (2025) offers a slight edge in 1600p performance on some games, but at 1080p, it’s less powerful.

Or you can go for the Raider, which is more powerful at lower resolutions and has an 18-inch, 3849 x 2400, MiniLED display. After all, with Nvidia’s DLSS 4 super sampling and frame generation technology, you can get a fantastic 4K gaming experience with the Raider.

So, unless you’ve got to haul your gaming rig to a weekly LAN party, the Raider gets you more power for your dollar and an overall better gaming experience.

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Desktop replacement gaming laptops can be a difficult category to categorize, as they’re often as expensive as they are powerful. But the MSI Raider might make all that power worth it.

MSI’s new Raider 18 HX AI features a powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 GPU with 16GB of VRAM, which offers the gaming performance you might expect from such a high-end spec. Its 18-inch MiniLED display is bright and vivid, its 6-speaker sound system is powerful with high-quality audio, and its keyboard is bouncy and comfortable to type on. It’s also got more ports than I know what to do with.

Unfortunately, the Raider costs more than a month’s rent in New York City, has the fans to heat an NYC apartment, and does not have enough battery life to survive long once you step outside the door. Not that we recommend commuting with an 18-inch gaming laptop.

But is the MSI Raider 18 HX AI powerful enough to replace your desktop? Has MSI delivered one of the best gaming laptops of this generation? Let’s find out.

MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Specs and benchmarks

MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Price and configurations

Powerful gaming laptops command premium prices, and the MSI Raider is no different.

Starting at a whopping $3,699, the MSI Raider 18 HX AI features an Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 with 16GB VRAM, 64GB of system memory, a 2TB SSD, and an 18-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz IPS display. While this is a staggeringly high price tag for a starting configuration, you are getting an incredibly powerful machine with the base model, so it's money well spent. If you can run down to your local Micro Center, this configuration is currently on sale for $700 off.

Our $4,499 review model has the same CPU, GPU, and memory combination, but opts for a dual 2TB SSD storage configuration and has an upgraded, 18-inch, 3840 x 2400, 120Hz MiniLED display.

You can upgrade the Raider’s graphics card to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 with 24GB VRAM for an additional $800. The entry RTX 5090 configuration features the base 2560 x 1600p, 240Hz IPS panel and costs $4,499. Upgrading to the 3840 x 2400, 120Hz MiniLED panel with the RTX 5090 will set you back an astounding $5,389.

While these prices are high, they’re also not out of pocket. All of the RTX 50-series laptops so far have been pricey. The Razer Blade 16 (2025) with an RTX 5090 costs $4,499. The Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 costs $3,099 for an RTX 5080, and the HP Omen 16 Max costs $4,299 for an RTX 5090. Unlike these other 50-series laptops, the MSI Raider is an 18-inch desktop replacement that comes with upgrades to memory and storage, even at its base $3,699 price.

So the Raider is expensive, but it justifies that price tag.

MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Design

The MSI Raider 18 HX AI features a similar chassis to the 2024 model, still in that Core Black colorway with a minimalist RGB light strip below the keyboard deck and a backlit MSI logo on the cover panel.

The keyboard deck is relatively simple, with some speaker and thermal vents along the outside and an optional fingerprint scanner, so you can focus on what’s important: the customizable RGB lighting.

But my favorite detail of this particular MSI chassis is the alternating red and black vent covers along the rear and sides of the chassis, which add a nice bit of contrast to the hefty design. MSI has a similar aesthetic going on the Titan, though those contrasting details are blue on the flagship desktop replacement.

As for size, calling the Raider “large and in charge” is perhaps underselling it. The Raider measures 15.91 x 12.11 x 0.94~1.26 inches and weighs 7.8 pounds. It is a beast of a machine.

Despite owning multiple large computer backpacks, I don’t own a single one that is large enough to handle the Raider’s sheer size. Granted, the Raider isn’t intended for heavy commuting, but if you plan to take it with you to the occasional LAN party, you might want to invest in one of the best laptop backpacks to make sure you can haul the Raider without needing to realign your spine.

The new design makes the Raider less portable than the other Nvidia 50-series laptops we’ve seen so far, though it is comparable to last year’s MSI Titan 18 HX:

• Razer Blade 16 (2025): 13.98 x 9.86 x 0.59~0.69, 4.6 pounds
• Gigabyte Aorus Master 16: 14.05 x 10 x 0.91~1.18 inches, 5.5 pounds
• MSI Titan 18 HX (2024): 15.9 x 12.1 x 1.3 inches, 7.9 pounds

MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Ports

MSI has packed more ports than I know what to do with on the Raider’s chassis. Befitting a desktop-replacement laptop, this port array should have just about everything you need to connect all your game accessories:

• 2x Thunderbolt 5 (DisplayPort, Power Delivery 3.1)
• 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
• 1x HDMI 2.1
• 1x RJ45 ethernet
• 1x audio combo jack
• 1x SD Express card reader
• 1x Kensington security lock

This should be enough ports for most gamers, but streamers may still want to invest in one of the best laptop docking stations or USB-C hubs to connect additional monitors, a professional webcam, a studio microphone, and a stream deck in addition to any gaming accessories.

MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Battery life

Gaming laptop battery life is traditionally not very good, as most gaming laptops are built with power-intensive CPUs and discrete GPUs. There have been a few notable exceptions, but the Raider 18 HX AI is a 260W (watt) system, designed as a desktop replacement laptop. So it’s not really built for operating on battery power.

Which explains its truly abysmal web surfing and gaming battery life. The Raider lasted just 2 hours and 33 minutes on the Laptop Mag web surfing test. But if you do need to use the Raider unplugged, it gets enough battery life to send a few last-minute emails before you need to hunt down an outlet.

Thanks to Nvidia’s investment in its BatteryBoost tech, the Raider lasts a bit longer than you’d expect while gaming. The Raider 18 HX managed to survive for 1 hour and 46 minutes on the PCMark 10 gaming battery test, which is more competitive compared to other 50-series laptops like the Razer Blade 16 (2025) and Gigabyte Aorus Master 16.

MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Display

Our review unit featured an 18-inch, 3840 x 2400, 120Hz matte miniLED display panel, so naturally, it looked amazing whether I was streaming video or playing games.

I typically like testing gaming monitors with Avowed these days, as the game’s opening zone presents a wide color palette, and I was not disappointed with the Raider’s display quality at all. The corals along the shipwrecked beach of Fort Northreach were simply stunning in how bright and crisply detailed they appeared against the stormy gray skies and weather-beaten wood of the wrecked ship in the background.

MiniLED displays have better contrast and better HDR performance than standard LED/LCD panels, with higher brightness than most OLEDs. And the Raider is no exception. With a peak brightness average of 668 nits and an 83.1% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut, the Raider is nearly glare-proof and more than vibrant enough for a satisfying gaming experience.

The Raider also supports HDR, with an HDR peak brightness of 793 nits. So if you’re playing a game with HDR support, or streaming HDR video, you’ll get a nice bit of added brightness when needed, but without risk of burning out your retinas.

For a premium desktop replacement laptop like the Raider, the miniLED panel is more than just a utility feature; it’s a key selling point. And MSI did a fantastic job sourcing a bright, vibrant panel.

MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Keyboard and touchpad

MSI has kept the Raider’s keyboard deck relatively minimalist, with a few vents for the onboard audio and additional thermal control, so most of the massive 18-inch laptop’s deck is left open for a full-size keyboard with a numpad and a large touchpad.

MSI does offer an optional fingerprint reader, which is on the right-hand side of the deck, below the numpad. While it is floating on its own, it's in a pretty unobtrusive location that you can easily avoid if you don’t plan on using the fingerprint scanner for added security. The keyboard itself features per-key RGB lighting, and was designed by SteelSeries. So it has a solid amount of bounce, and the keys are nicely spaced to avoid accidental mistypes. The keys are quiet but have a good amount of key travel, so your fingers won’t bottom out while frantically typing directions in your raid chat.

On the 10fastfingers.com advanced typing test, I averaged 88 words per minute (WPM) on the Raider’s SteelSeries keyboard, which is identical to my average on the Apple MacBook Pro 14.

MSI has centered the touchpad on the keyboard deck rather than on the space bar, which I prefer. However, the touchpad is large, measuring 5.4 x 3.4 inches. So, if you prefer your touchpad to be below the space bar, there’s more than enough overlap between the two. The touchpad features a matte feel with just enough resistance for fine control. The top half of the touchpad is clickable but requires a bit more effort to click than the bottom half, which I’m not super fond of. However, I rarely click the top half of a touchpad, so I didn’t notice it much in my day-to-day use of the Raider.

MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Audio

MSI packed a 6-speaker sound system in the Raider, with 2 woofers and 4 tweeters, with top-firing audio output to ensure you get powerful volume and full quality.

Typically, I don’t expect a lot from gaming laptop sound systems, as so much else needs to fit into the chassis, and most gamers will opt for a pair of the best headphones or sound systems rather than rely on the built-in audio.

So, I was pleasantly surprised by the Raider’s sheer volume and high audio fidelity while taking part in the Blossom Dance event in Monster Hunter Wilds. As part of the event, Capcom included an in-game performance of the “Song of the Beginning,” which originally debuted with Monster Hunter 2. The gentle ballad features delicate vocals and a rich orchestral accompaniment, which can be difficult to hear on a laptop sound system, but the Raider’s six-speaker array had no problem keeping up, making each note hit with the right amount of power.

In fact, the Raider’s audio was actually too powerful when I spun up Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail. FFXIV’s default volume tends to be on the loud side, but even with the Raider’s speakers at 36%, I could easily hear the game over the sound of the Raider’s fans. The Raider’s cooling system is on the noisy side, which just makes the audio power even more impressive.

MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Gaming and graphics

The MSI Raider hits a max operating power of 260W thanks to MSI’s OverBoost Ultra technology. While this does mean the Raider has atrocious battery life, its gaming performance is uncompromising.

In terms of raw silicon power, the Raider was easily hitting over 100 frames per second at 1080p on most games, though more difficult titles like Black Myth: Wukong and Cyberpunk 2077 did give the Raider a bit more trouble.

With the Raider’s RTX 5080 GPU, you can also enable software upscaling like DLSS 4 and frame generation, which can offer a smoother experience with poorly optimized games like Avowed and Monster Hunter Wilds.

With DLSS 4 enabled at max 2400p resolution and High settings, I was easily able to keep a stable 47 fps in Monster Hunter Wilds. That rate jumped up to 70 fps with frame generation enabled, which is a pretty significant increase in playability. Though I will say, even at 47 fps, I was able to keep up with Wilds’ tempered monsters with minimal difficulty.

I saw similar improvements in Avowed, going from 77 fps at 2400p on High settings with only DLSS 4 to 115 fps with frame generation also toggled on. Without either, the game was hitting about 46 fps in terms of just pure Silicon performance.

Lastly, I used the Raider to take on my Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail dailies, and was able to average 80 fps with the Raider at 2400p and High (Desktop) settings without any supersampling. Dropping the graphics down to High (Laptop) saw those frame rates cap at about 110 fps, generally staying in the ballpark of 95 fps during gameplay.

Of course, you can get higher frame rates by dropping your game resolution down to 1600p or 1200p. But if I have an 18-inch desktop replacement laptop with a panel that hits 2400p, I’m going to do my best to game in 4K. Otherwise, why have such a nice display?

MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Performance and heat

As for all-around performance, the Raider’s Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX is the top-of-the-line Intel mobile chip for this generation. Boasting desktop-quality performance, the 285HX has outperformed most other chipsets this generation, with the sole exception of the Apple M4 Pro.

As for my hands-on testing, nothing I threw at the Raider made the fans kick on. From e-mail and spreadsheet management to Photoshop object selection, the Raider 18 handled it all with ease.

The Raider is powerful enough to handle any photo or video editing you might need, with a 5% increase in single-core performance over the previous generation and a 25% increase in multi-core performance. The Raider came just 1,000 points shy of matching the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro)’s Geekbench 6 multicore record.

MSI claims the Raider 18 HX can achieve a Cinebench R23 multicore average of 40,000. Our own internal testing achieved a peak multicore score of 39,414. While that is about 600 points off, it’s a performance difference of less than 2%. That’s well within the standard variation for Cinebench. Of course, to get that kind of performance out of the Raider, you need to set the fans to Extreme Performance in MSI Center, which kicks them up to an incredibly loud volume.

Of course, that fan noise does help reduce the heat output of the powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX/RTX 5080 combo. We did observe the Raider hit a high temperature of 115.3 degrees Fahrenheit on the F10 key while gaming, but that kind of heat is to be expected. The center of the keyboard and touchpad remained on the tolerable side, falling under 90 degrees.

MSI Raider 18 HX AI: AI features

MSI opted to use Intel’s Core Ultra 9 200HX chipset in the Raider series, so while the CPU does have a small NPU built-in, it doesn’t meet the threshold for Microsoft’s Copilot+ suite of AI features. However, with an Intel chipset you do get access to Intel’s AI Playground. You also get access to Nvidia’s various RTX AI features like ChatRTX and RTX Remix for modding older games.

MSI didn’t load much AI software onto the Raider, so your best built-in AI feature on the laptop is MSI Center’s AI Engine hardware performance scaling, which will switch between the iGPU or discrete graphics card as needed, for increased power efficiency.

MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Webcam

The MSI Raider 18 HX AI features a 1080p IR webcam, so it's ideal for Windows Hello sign in, and can handle the occasional video call or virtual meeting.

Because the Raider’s webcam is an IR camera, its color sensors are a bit distorted. The feed appears washed out, giving everything something of a halo effect. The feed is also on the grainy side, with a tendency to drop a pink cast over skin tones.

If you’re going to use the Raider for a lot of video calls or streaming, we’d recommend using one of our best webcams instead.

MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Software and warranty

The Raider 18 HX comes with Windows 11 Home, which includes a number of standard Windows apps already installed, like Microsoft Copilot, Office 365, and the Xbox App. MSI has included the MSI Center app to control your power profiles and settings, MSI App Player, and MSI True Color for display tweaks.

While the number of pre-installed Windows applications is constantly growing, MSI added only three applications to the Raider, so it’s not exactly bloatware. You have more software to contend with from Microsoft, Intel, and Nvidia.

The Raider includes a 1-year limited service warranty.

Bottom line

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. After all, the Blade 16 is ultra-lightweight and sports a powerful GPU, up to the Nvidia RTX 5090.

If you’re still set on the 18-inch desktop replacement category but don’t have unlimited funds, you could always look for the Raider’s base configuration at your nearest Micro Center, as it’s currently discounted at $700.

The previous MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo arrived in late 2023 and remained one of our favorite Mac competitors through 2024. One of Intel’s first AI PCs, the Prestige 16, was an early success story for Intel’s Core Ultra 100 series family.

With the release of Intel’s new Arrow Lake-H mobile chipsets, MSI has a new version of the Prestige 16, which offers even better battery life and performance than the 2023 model. Paired with a bright, vivid display, satisfying keyboard, and solid graphics performance, the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM) is a worthy overhaul.

However, I'm disappointed in MSI's design choices for the 2025 chassis, which makes the laptop feel flimsy despite its magnesium case. MSI also put both Thunderbolt 4 ports and the one USB Type-A port on the back of the 16-inch chassis, which puts many of the most used ports in the most inaccessible location.

But are the power and battery life improvements enough to help the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo snag a spot on our best AI PCs list? Or perhaps our best business laptops page?

Unfortunately, the Prestige 16 AI Evo does not have an MSRP at press time, so we are unable to score this review. We will update this hands-on to a fully scored review once pricing is available.

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM) Specs and benchmarks

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM): Price and configurations

MSI lists multiple configurations for the Prestige 16 AI Evo, with the starting model featuring an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H (Arrow Lake) processor, Intel Arc integrated graphics, and a 16-inch, 3840 x 2400 OLED screen.

Our review model was a higher-end spec with an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H processor, Intel Arc 140T integrated graphics, 32GB of memory, 1TB of SSD storage, and a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600 IPS display.

MSI has not published pricing for any models of the Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM) as of press time.

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM): Design

The magnesium chassis on the Prestige 16 AI Evo is a nondescript “Stellar Grey,” which is an understated color ideal for professional users. It’s a great choice for a laptop that’s designed to blend in with only MSI’s minimalist business logo on the top cover in a shiny chrome inlay to add a bit more interest to the clamshell lid.

The Prestige 16’s design hasn’t changed too much from the 2023 model, as MSI kept the port array and off-center touchpad from the original model with the same magnesium chassis. My only issue with the design is the build quality. While the Prestige 16 has a minimalist magnesium chassis, it’s too thick to feel as much give in the body as I do while carrying the Prestige around. While not a huge issue, it makes the Prestige feel less premium than some of its competitors.

The Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM) measures 14.11 x 10.01 x 0.66-0.74 inches and weighs 3.3-3.4 pounds, depending on your configuration. Our Intel Core Ultra 9 model did have a thicker chassis, however, it's still pretty light, even when compared to some thinner competitors:

• MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (2023): 14.11 x 10.01 x 0.66 inches, 3.3 pounds
• HP EliteBook Ultra G1q: 12.31 x 8.79 x 0.44 inches, 2.9 pounds
• Asus ZenBook S16 (UM5606): 13.92 x 9.57 x 0.47~0.51 inches, 3.3 pounds
• Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2024, M4): 14 x 9.77 x 0.66 inches, 4.7 pounds

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM): Ports

It would be tough to run out of ports on the Prestige 16 unless you have an incredibly port-hungry workstation setup. The Prestige 16 AI Evo features:

• 2x Thunderbolt 4 (with power delivery, DisplayPort 1.4)
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
• 1x HDMI 2.1
• 1x RJ45 ethernet port
• 1x Audio combo jack
• 1x SD card reader
• 1x Kensington lock slot

However, the two Thunderbolt 4 ports, USB Type-A port, and HDMI port are all on the back of the laptop. So, if you do decide to pick up the Prestige 16, we recommend investing in one of the best laptop docking stations or USB-C hubs so you aren’t constantly reaching around the back of the Prestige to change out an accessory or two.

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM): Battery life

The Prestige features an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H Arrow Lake processor, which is more powerful than its Lunar Lake counterpart, but the Prestige still has an impressive degree of power efficiency from its Intel CPU and 99Whr (watt-hour) battery combo.

I was able to go through a full workday on the Prestige with its display set to max brightness, with at least 10 Chrome tabs open, and Photoshop running in the background, and still have a decent chunk of battery life left at the end of the day. While I wouldn’t be able to go two full work days on a single charge, I wasn’t worried about finding an outlet halfway through the day. While I wasn’t able to personally test the Prestige out on a flight, I can’t see any reason why I’d be worried about running out of battery while working on a flight between New York and California.

MSI isn’t setting any battery life records with the Prestige 16 AI Evo, but it did last an impressive 15 hours and 20 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery test. This is almost two full hours more battery life than the 2023 Intel Meteor Lake version of the Prestige 16, and it’s more than enough to get you through an overtime shift entirely unplugged.

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM): Security and durability

Security is often one of the most important factors when considering a business laptop. And MSI has not skimped on the security of the Prestige 16. The Prestige features a fingerprint scanner, a webcam shutter, a discrete trusted platform module (TPM) 2.0 security chip, a firmware trusted platform module 2.0, and a Kensington lock slot.

MSI also offers secure sign-in via Windows Hello for an added layer of protection for your data, and you can use the proximity sensors for Smart Guard to keep your files private for your eyes only.

And if you’re more worried about durability, the Prestige 16 has been tested to withstand extremely high and low temperatures, low-pressure environments, shock, dust, and moisture to meet the MIL-STD-810H standards.

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM): Display

Our Prestige 16 review unit features a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, glossy IPS display panel. The bright, vibrant IPS panel made even the bland trailer for the upcoming MCU flick The Fantastic Four: First Steps look almost watchable.

While the trailer is shot with an intentionally muted color palette, there’s still a wide range of capture variance in the lighting when watching the trailer on the Prestige’s slick display. The sheer number of shades of beige the Prestige captures in the 1960s-style trailer is impressive. Unfortunately, not even the Prestige can make the awful CGI used for Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s The Thing look any less like bad AI.

In our lab tests, the Prestige 16 measured 115.6% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut with a peak average brightness of 418 nits. So it’s a bright, vibrant panel that shouldn’t have too much issue with glare.

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM): Keyboard and touchpad

We loved the chicklet keyboard on the Prestige 16 when we reviewed the Meteor Lake version in 2023, and MSI has kept the keyboard relatively unchanged. It still has a satisfying bounce and solid spacing between each key and still features a numeric pad.

On the 10fastfingers.com Advanced typing test, I averaged 86 words per minute (WPM) on the Prestige 16, which is just below the 88WPM average I maintain on my MacBook Pro 14.

Having the touchpad centered below the spacebar makes sense from a design perspective, but it does take some getting used to because the whole keyboard is shifted a bit to the left to fit the numpad. Luckily, the touchpad is large enough to compensate for the learning curve, and it’s got a silky smooth surface that feels fantastic under your fingers.

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM): Audio

Business laptops aren’t exactly known for having stellar audio quality, but with the rise of virtual meetings, having good speakers on a business laptop is more necessary than ever. The Prestige 16 AI Evo has bottom-firing speakers which does mean you aren’t going to get the same quality as you would from top-firing speakers, but the dual-speaker system gets a pretty solid amount of volume.

I put the Prestige’s speakers to the test with some classic German industrial metal, blasting Rammstein’s “Radio” at full volume. While there is a little bit of extra distortion from the speakers being embedded in a laptop chassis, Til Lindemann’s vocals were crisp, and the bass didn’t get lost in the background. The Prestige was also able to fully fill a large room with sound, so you shouldn’t have any trouble hearing your coworkers on a video call.

But while the Prestige’s speakers pack solid quality and impressive volume, we’d still recommend a set of the best headphones to keep the peace with everyone who sits near you at the office.

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM): Performance and heat

MSI has loaded the Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM) with an Intel Arrow Lake H-series processor, which offers better performance and power efficiency over the previous Meteor Lake generation. Our review model featured an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H chipset, so I had high expectations for the Prestige’s performance.

I handled my day-to-day work with ease thanks to the Prestige, which included 20 research Chrome tabs, Photoshop, YouTube videos, and games running and downloading in the background. That performance was pretty consistent, with only a minor drop when on battery power. So, it’s easy to juggle emails, spreadsheets, video conferences, and creative applications without hitting any bottlenecks.

In our lab benchmarks, the Prestige 16 AI Evo offered performance that was well above its AMD and Qualcomm competition, offering a Geekbench 6.3 multicore score of 17,385. Intel claims up to 20% increase in multicore performance with the Intel Core Ultra 200H series compared to the previous generation. Our 2023 Prestige 16 unit did feature an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, so we saw gains of closer to 30% generation to generation, but the Core Ultra 9 has a higher turbo frequency than the Core Ultra 7 155H, which accounts for some of the 30% increase.

The Prestige 16 was also just 31% behind the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro, 2024), and 15% ahead of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M4, 2024). So the Prestige 16 packs some serious power.

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM): Gaming and graphics

The Prestige is a mainstream business laptop, not a gaming device. But it does have enough graphic power to handle some casual gaming if you need to unwind after a long day of meetings and conference calls.

As the type of person described as an MMO hermit, I value decent gaming performance on any laptop because I know my own weaknesses. I booted up my MMO of choice, Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, to put the Prestige to the test against my daily gaming habits, including a 24-player raid, and the Prestige holds its own against the display-melting boss and magic-user ability effects. Set to 1080p on the Standard (Laptop) graphics preset, the Prestige maintained a solid 50-60 frames per second without issue.

Of course, most business users will stress the Prestige’s iGPU with AI features or graphics rendering rather than gaming. The Prestige generated text-to-image prompts in Photoshop and Intel AI Playground within seconds.

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM): AI features

MSI opted for Intel’s Arrow Lake-H chipset for the Prestige 16, so it does feature an Intel AI Boost NPU, though the Neural Processor on Arrow Lake is much smaller than its Lunar Lake counterpart. Because of that, the Prestige doesn’t make the cut for Microsoft’s Copilot+ rating. However, you do still get some Windows Copilot AI features like basic Windows Studio Effects, including background effects like background blur.

The Prestige does get some AI features in MSI Center; you also get multiple AI hardware optimization features like Intelligent modes like Intelligent Meeting, Intelligent Entertainment, and Intelligent Work to better optimize your performance and efficiency settings to get the best out of your MSI laptop. But MSI Center S on the Summit 13 also offers additional AI features like AI Noise Cancellation, Smart Brightness, and Studio Effects for the built-in webcam and microphone.

Since the Prestige has an Intel AI PC chipset onboard, it also gets access to Intel’s open-source AI platform, Intel AI Playground, which lets you use Intel’s AI models, import your own LLM models, or install ComfyUI and Llama on installation.

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM): Webcam

The Prestige 16 AI Evo sports an FHD IR webcam that is sufficient for web calls and virtual meetings, but it is more of a security and necessity feature than a high-end webcam. The raw camera feed offers decent color fidelity without much color bleed, even with my blue hair. It simply suffers from a bit of graininess, particularly at full-screen.

If you plan to use the laptop for video calls or presentations regularly, we recommend using one of our best webcams instead.

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM): Software and warranty

The Prestige ships with Windows 11 Home or Windows 11 Pro, depending on your spec, which includes standard Microsoft applications like Copilot, Microsoft 365, Windows Media Player, OneNote, and Microsoft Teams. The Prestige also comes with Intel applications like Intel Graphics Command Center, the Killer Performance Driver Suite, and Killer Intelligence Center.

You also get the MSI Center S pre-installed as well so you can customize your performance settings, monitor your hardware usage, and enable AI features like “Smart Screen” settings. While this is not a clean Windows 11 Pro installation, MSI doesn’t load a lot of proprietary software to the Prestige, so you don’t need to worry about bloatware.

MSI has covered the Prestige with a 3-year limited warranty, including a 1-year Global warranty.

Bottom line

The Prestige 16 AI Evo (B1MG) in 2023 was an immediate favorite of the Laptop Mag staff. The Arrow Lake-H processor update adds additional performance, gaming potential, and battery life value to an already great package.

Ultimately the 2025 version of the Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HM) is a solid hardware refresh. Unfortunately, it still keeps some of the design flaws of the previous model, as it is built on the same chassis, with the same keyboard, and off-center touchpad. As long as MSI keeps a similar pricing scheme, the Prestige 16 (B2HM) will once again be an incredible value.

Maybe you (I) should stay clear of the MSI Claw 8 AI+ because you (I) don't want to be caught at 4 a.m. grinding for seasonal loot.

I got my hands on the MSI Claw 8 AI+ in December, and I have to say, the Claw made a solid comeback with this second generation. MSI reworked the joysticks, triggers, and bumpers to address complaints from the original Claw handheld. Also, the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V "Lunar Lake" processor provides solid performance and battery efficiency, with strong Intel Arc 140V graphics.

My biggest struggle with the Claw 8 is not build quality or performance. No, the struggle is restraining myself from becoming a total MMO hermit and not speaking to actual humans.

Am I to become hermit?

You know the meme about gamers needing to go outside and touch grass? Yeah, that's me with a gaming handheld that can smoothly run Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail. The endgame RPG grind is real, and all the downtime I could use to meet my weekly caps was appreciated. By me, anyway.

My family, who had to deal with my antisocial behavior over the Holidays, were less than pleased.

And even when I wasn't elbow-deep in a Final Fantasy grind session, I was trying to progress my Baldur's Gate 3 Dark Urge run. This did not help with being sociable, because immersive D&D RPGs don't make great dinner conversation when talking to lawyers and bankers.

My own wretched behavior is the primary reason I haven't purchased a Claw 8 AI+ A2VM or Claw 7 AI+ A2VM for myself. But for the less depraved, hear me out.

If you're not at risk of being a hermit, keep reading

Gaming handhelds have been around for generations, starting with the Merlin in 1978. The gaming handheld experience was perfected by the 1989 Nintendo GameBoy and 1990 Sega GameGear.

While gaming PCs and home consoles offer better graphics and performance, gamers love the ability to game anywhere. And who could blame them?

I started my life as a gamer with the GameBoy Color while waiting at doctor's offices and surviving long drives and flights. So the handheld form factor is incredibly nostalgic. But handheld game consoles haven't kept up with the modern gaming market, which is where handheld gaming PCs come in.

The Claw 8 AI+ leverages Intel's new Lunar Lake mobile processor and integrated Arc 140V graphics to provide a smooth gaming experience held back only by the Windows 11 operating system. The Claw 8 offers frame rates of 30 fps or higher on demanding games like Black Myth: Wukong and Cyberpunk 2077 even without Intel's XeSS frame-generation technology. It's the first Intel handheld that could give the Asus ROG Ally X a run for its money.

The Claw 8 AI+'s high price point and weight were my primary concerns while reviewing the handheld. At $899, the Claw 8 AI+ was more expensive than the other gaming handhelds on the market. And at 1.75 pounds, it was also on the heavy end with only the Lenovo Legion Go being a heftier handheld.

Recent handheld announcements, like the Lenovo Legion Go 2 concept and Acer Nitro Blaze 11, have made me reconsider. The Legion Go 2 and Nitro Blaze 11 weigh over 2 pounds, and the Blaze 11 is expected to retail for $1,099. We also expect a higher price for the Legion Go 2, as the Legion Go S (Windows 11 version) will retail for $799.

If not for my predilections for the grind, I would jump at the MSI Claw 8 AI+.

Outlook

My personal attachment to massive RPGs and lack of impulse control aside, the Claw 8 AI+ is a fantastic choice for a gaming handheld if you're in the market. If you'd rather bet on AMD over Intel, the Asus ROG Ally X is hard to beat.

If you want to casually play a few games on a flight or during your commute, handheld gaming PCs are a great choice. You run into a few additional snags if you prefer to play online games like an MMO, but even then you can just turn your phone into a mobile hotspot.

But if you've got no good sense of a gaming life balance, it may be best to avoid handheld gaming PCs entirely. Unless avoiding your family is the point, in which case, I highly recommend it.

More from Laptop Mag

• MSI reveals two new AI-powered handheld gaming PCs starting at $799
• "It's night and day.": AMD's Adam Kozak explains the game-changing differences between its Ryzen Z2 handheld gaming PC chips
• Lenovo Legion Go vs Lenovo Legion Go 2: How much better is the upcoming handheld?

I’ve always associated MSI with Intel chips, because every MSI gaming laptop I’ve reviewed has come with one. It had nothing to do with what was available at the time for me to review, either; Taiwan-based MSI has long partnered with Intel for processors.

Even when MSI started using chips from AMD — the Intel competitor less than two miles away in Santa Clara, California in its gaming laptops — many of MSI laptops still only came with an Intel option.

But this year at CES in Las Vegas, an AMD chip was listed on nearly every one of the little display cards that sat next to new MSI laptops.

This was a huge departure from what MSI has done in the past — and maybe a sign that Intel may be up for a fight if it wants to continue its domination of the mobile gaming space.

MSI reps tell Laptop Mag via email it still considers Intel “the leader in the professional industry,” but now that AMD has expanded its mobile chip catalog, MSI wanted to give more options to different types of users.

The popular AMD Ryzen X3D processor, which can produce higher frame rates and smoother game play for demanding AAA games, is one example of an AMD chip that MSI wanted to utilize in its laptops.

“The X3D solution largely benefits gamers, so we brought the technology to our gaming flagship Raider series.”

MSI went beyond its Raider laptop series this year at CES, announcing the following new configurations (in addition to Intel options):

• AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D for the Raider
• AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX for the Vector
• AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 for the Pulse
• AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX for the Crosshair

Of course, none of those AMD Ryzen chips were around at CES last year. MSI debuted new Raider, Vector, Pulse, and Crosshair gaming laptops with Intel 14th-gen or Core Ultra processors — though the company released an AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D version of its Raider gaming laptop later in 2024.

Still, the AMD Ryzen 8000 series existed last year, yet MSI did not include that configuration in its Crosshair gaming laptop or any of its higher-tier gaming options. Its nostalgic '90s budget Cyborg launched with only an Intel option last year, but this year it will feature up to an AMD Ryzen 7 260 chip.

The new Katana gaming laptop is listed with either an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS option or the new Intel Arrow Lake processor this year at CES, too. The Stealth is also getting a boost to an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (up from the Ryzen AI 9 365 version Laptop reviewed in November 2024).

The only gaming laptop without an AMD option is the Titan 18 HX Dragon Edition Norse Myth. As MSI tells Laptop Mag, the Dragon Edition is a special edition laptop that will be available in limited quantities.

AMD in MSI laptops is a huge win for gamers

This many AMD configurations is a huge win for gamers. Anyone who might have wanted an MSI gaming laptop but opted not to buy one because it didn’t come with an AMD chip can now include MSI in their decision process. From high-end to budget options, there’s a configuration for almost anyone. There’s no shortage of choices. But it also feels like there is a rift between gaming laptop makers and Intel, one that perhaps has been growing for a while, and we’re just now starting to see its width.

Between AMD making significant leaps in mobile gaming and Intel tripping over hurdles (remember the great 14nm saga of 2021?), a tug-of-war between the two chipmakers has been playing out in yearly laptop announcements. My own memories stretch back to MSI’s budget-priced Bravo 15 (2020), but the company has been working with AMD since before it released that laptop — yet it’s been slower to adopt a full slate of AMD-powered products, as we’ve seen from past announcements.

Now that MSI has gone the whole hog with AMD configurations, it will be the company to watch once gaming laptop reviews start flowing — not just for the quality of those products, but how they compare to their Intel counterparts.

For me, one of the biggest selling points of a 2-in-1 laptop is if it comes with a stylus.

If a laptop does come bundled with a stylus, I’ll pick that one over the competition, but it can’t be just any stylus. I make a half-closed fist when I write, so if there are protruding buttons near the tip, I can’t assign actions to them unless I want to rewrite what I accidentally erase constantly.

That brings me to MSI’s gorgeous black, gold-trimmed 2-in-1 Summit laptop. When it debuted, it didn’t come with a stylus that made me say, “Here’s my credit card; now I own you.” But at CES this month, I noticed a stylus attached to the Summit, and it wasn’t just any stylus — it was the MSI Pen 2.

Two years ago, at CES, MSI introduced its Pen 2, a dual stylus and pencil with a graphite tip that can be used to write on a laptop screen. I write as much on my laptop as one might use Post-It notes, so as I tested it out, I couldn’t hide my enthusiasm — especially since the action buttons were flush with the pen’s surface. The only problem was that the Pen 2 only shipped with MSI’s Creator Z17 HX Studio and CreatorPro Z17 HX Studio laptops. It wasn’t available separately or with another MSI laptop.

Thankfully, the lack of the Pen 2 with the impressive MSI Summit laptop ended in September 2024. At IFA Berlin, the Tawain-based firm announced it would include its Pen 2 with the Summit 13 AI+ Evo, a 13" 2-in-1 laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V "Lunar Lake" processor.

Fast-forward to CES 2025: I’m standing before a slightly different Summit 13. This one has an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H "Arrow Lake" processor, but I'm really gawking at what's on the outside: An MSI Pen 2 that is magnetically attached to the left of the keyboard.

Anyone with a touchscreen laptop that supports MPP 2.6 (Microsoft Pen Protocol) should be able to use the Pen 2, regardless of whether they have an MSI laptop.

At $130, the MSI Pen 2 is not cheap, but the accessories a company bundles (or doesn’t bundle) with its 2-in-1 laptops can be the final factor in whether to purchase it.

The "Arrow Lake-powered MSI Summit Evo 13 is due out by March 31, 2025, but MSI tells Laptop Mag it has not settled on a price.

When it comes to nostalgia-fueled trends, ‘90s tech doesn’t make me feel as aware of my mortality as a pair of parachute pants might. It’s a pleasant reminder of all the cool see-through gadgets I had as a kid, like my N64 controller or Monkey Giga Pet. It’s also a reminder of how far laptop designs have come in the last 20-plus years, particularly budget gaming laptops.

Us ‘90s kids are all grown up with our own budgets and ready to spend it on a souped-up gaming laptop. In addition to that, a new generation is understandably fascinated with tech before their time, so there’s no reason for budget gaming laptops to look as dull and ugly as they used to.

MSI seems to understand the nostalgia that connects two generations of tech-natives with its Cyborg line of budget gaming laptops. It first announced a refreshed, 14-inch Cyborg at CES 2024, which had translucent panels around its ports and underside. The year before, it was a 15-inch Cyborg. The best part is the price for each — they are among the lowest in the entire MSI gaming laptop catalog. Today, these laptops are still some of the best-looking, cheapest ones you can find — most recently at $900 or less over the holidays. (B&H Photo still has it on sale for $829!)

MSI added a 17-inch Cyborg to its lineup this year, featuring a different translucent see-through panel above the keyboard that also runs along the sides of the deck and continues under nearly all the keys.

An MSI rep tells Laptop Mag these very ‘90s design choices were made to help the 14”, 15”, and 17” Cyborg laptops stand out. The W, A, S, and D keys are also translucent, a trend that first caught on with higher-end gaming laptops and has made its way to the Cyborg line.

All three of MSI’s Cyborg models come with reasonable specs: a 13th-gen Intel Core i7, up to 32GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, and a 1200p 144Hz IPS display. There’s no word on a release date or price for the 17-inch model, but I expect it will be over $1,000, given the prices of the smaller models.

I’m also glad black gaming laptops with rounded corners that were somehow still sharp have largely disappeared. (If only parachute pants would fade back into the 90s where they belong.) MSI’s Cyborg looks much more unique and refined than some of its other budget — even mid-range — gaming laptops. Take the MSI Katana: when I recently saw it on display at CES, it still had an overly chunky, matte chassis that was obviously made of plastic. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a plastic chassis, but it has to have the refined shape of a more expensive machine to feel not so, well, budget-y.

The Katana’s keyboard was still slightly depressed into the chassis, and the trackpad still looked small and out of proportion to the laptop's overall size. In contrast, MSI’s Cyborg looks more expensive than it is. The keyboard is flush with the top of the bottom chassis. The outer edges form clean, straight lines instead of tapering off at various points to make it look more aggressive. Instead of making the Katana’s top bezel thicker to avoid a webcam notch, MSI gave the Cyborg a notch and made the rest thinner.

With these differences between its budget and mid-range laptops, I can’t help but feel like MSI flipped the script on what we’ve come to expect design-wise from gaming laptops. Some of that could be due to recent advancements in hardware architecture. Still, I hope MSI continues this trend — you better believe I’ll one day give into my childhood nostalgia and buy a budget gaming laptop with translucent panels.

In the world of tech, the event that kickstarts the year is often the one that defines it, and that honor annually falls to CES (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) — an exhibition hailed as everything from the world's largest gadget show to the most powerful tech event in the world.

The Laptop Mag team reported directly from Las Vegas, Nevada for the duration of the show's January 7 to January 10 span. It's from here that we captured the computing reveals in consumer tech.

Welcome to Laptop Mag's CES 2025 special issue, offering you a recap of all of the highlights from Las Vegas, Nevada, and a showcase of our hand-picked Laptop Laurel winners across 25 categories.

CES 2025: Laptop Laurels

Throughout this year's showcase, we awarded products that truly stand out from the crowd with our Laptop Laurels — Laptop Mag's very own seal of approval for the best tech on show at CES 2025. Check out the winners below.

CES 2025: News recap

Laptop Mag's combined know-how covers a wide range of tech expertise, from laptops to mobile, processors, artificial intelligence, and more. Thanks to their reporting, our on-the-ground team was able to bring all of the breaking news, hands-on reviews, and consumer tech highlights from CES 2025 to our readers.

This year's outbound team included Laptop Mag Editor-in-Chief Nick Lucchesi, Managing Editor Sean Riley, Senior News Editor James Pero, Staff Writer Madeline Ricchiuto, and Contributing Writer Joanna Nelius.

To say we were displeased by the original MSI Claw would be an understatement. We had high hopes for the first Intel-powered gaming handheld, but it provided poor game performance, terrible bumpers, a high heat threshold, software issues, and disappointing battery life.

MSI and Intel have returned this holiday season with the Claw 8 AI+. And while the name of this handheld gaming PC is truly terrible, the handheld is a pleasant surprise. Intel worked hard to make the Core Ultra 200V “Lunar Lake” series a proper gaming chip with quality driver updates, improved super sampling, and ray tracing. MSI has updated the joysticks and bumpers on the Claw 8 AI+ to make them clickier and more satisfying and improved the thermals on the Claw 8 AI+ with a new Cooler Boost Hyper Flow system.

So, has the Claw 8 AI+ redeemed MSI? And can this comeback kid oust the Asus ROG Ally X to rank among our best gaming laptops for under $1,500 or best gaming handhelds?

MSI Claw 8 AI+: Specs and benchmarks

MSI Claw 8 AI+: Price and configurations

Right now, there is only one configuration for the Claw 8 AI+ (A2VM), and that is our $899 review model. This edition of the Claw features an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V “Lunar Lake” processor, Intel Arc 140V integrated graphics, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and an 8-inch (1920 x 1200) 120Hz IPS touchscreen display. You can pick up the 8-inch MSI Claw at Best Buy and the MSI Store.

You could also opt for the revamped 7-inch handheld, the MSI Claw 7 AI+ (A2VM), which features the same Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor and integrated Intel Arc 140V graphics, 32GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, and a 7-inch 120Hz IPS display. That model retails for $799 and is available through Amazon.

Both second-gen Claw models are on the pricier side, but we have seen price hikes on other second-generation gaming handhelds. The Steam Deck OLED is significantly pricier than its LED counterpart, and the Asus ROG Ally X jumped in price by $150. Considering the state of inflation, the Claw 8 AI+ being $899 isn’t much of a surprise, though it is a more serious investment.

MSI Claw 8 AI+: Design

The Claw 8’s handgrips are large enough to fit well in your hands and are nicely arrayed so you can hit all the buttons you need. The handgrips get larger near your palms, mirroring a modern game controller, which is an upgrade on some of the less comfortable handheld designs we’ve seen, like the original Asus ROG Ally. We appreciated the ergonomics on the original Claw, and it seems MSI hasn’t changed that formula too much with the second iteration of the handheld.

As for the thermals and durability, MSI has added an intraflow thermal design for better cooling with fewer air vents on the top and rear sides of the handheld. The joysticks and triggers still use a Hall-Effect design for increased durability and accuracy, but the implementation feels a lot sturdier than the original Claw. The triggers on the Claw 8 AI+ have a little bit of weight and resistance to them as well, offering a much more satisfying click. The triggers and bumpers also click throughout the entire length of the button, so you no longer have any dead space at the edges of the handheld.

The Claw 8 AI+ isn’t the largest or heaviest handheld gaming PC. That title belongs to the Lenovo Legion Go. But it’s certainly large and in charge, measuring 11.77 x 4.96 x 0.94 inches and weighing 1.75 pounds. This is a pretty significant size and weight when compared to most other handheld gaming PCs like:

• Asus ROG Ally X: 11 x 4.4 x 1~1.5 inches, 1.5 pounds
• Steam Deck OLED: 11.73 x 4.6 x 1.93 inches, 1.4 pounds
• Lenovo Legion Go: 8.27 x 5.15 x 0.79 inches, 1.88 pounds
• MSI Claw (A1M): 11.6 x 4.6 x 0.85 inches, 1.48 pounds

MSI Claw 8 AI+: Ports

MSI updated the Claw’s port array with the Claw 8 AI+, offering additional ports to make your gaming experience smoother. The Claw 8’s full array includes:

• 2x Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C
• 1x microSD Card reader
• 1x 3.5mm headphone/mic jack

Because the Claw is a handheld, that should be all you need to connect a headset, expand your storage, and still charge the Claw 8 at the same time.

But if you plan to use the Claw 8 AI+ to power your home office, we’d recommend investing in one of the best laptop docking stations or USB-C hubs so you can connect a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

MSI Claw 8 AI+: Battery life

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ comes with three different user scenario power modes, AI Engine mode is the default, while Endurance mode is designed to give you the absolute best battery life, or you can opt for Manual mode. The latter allows you to set the TDP at 30W, 17W, or 8W power. While gaming on the Claw 8 AI+, I typically ran games at the 30W manual TDP or AI Engine mode. I did notice I could get a bit more of my daily MMO grind in while running on AI Engine mode, though the performance wasn’t as slick as at 30W power, which makes sense. I averaged about 2 hours of game time in Final Fantasy XIV at 30W and got roughly another 30 minutes when using AI Engine mode.

We benchmarked the Claw 8 AI+ at the 30W power mode, and that included our initial battery life benchmarks. At the full 30W power, we got a PCMark 10 battery life run of 2 hours and 22 minutes. On the default AI Engine Mode, we got a PCMark 10 battery life run of 3 hours and 6 minutes. Because we generally test handhelds in their default power modes, that 3:06 battery time is the one we’re using for comparison, which makes the Claw 8 AI+ the longest-lived handheld gaming PC we’ve tested so far.

MSI claims the Claw 8 AI+ offers over 4 hours of gaming time with the Endurance mode, so we did check that as well. On the PCMark 10 gaming battery test, with the display set to 150 nits, the Claw lasted 4 hours and 21 minutes.

You will take a hit to performance while running in Endurance mode, but if you’re just playing a low-intensity indie game or you don't need a competitive framerate, it's perfect for on-the-go gaming.

MSI Claw 8 AI+: Display

The Claw 8 features an 8-inch, 120Hz (1920 x 1200) IPS touchscreen display. This glossy IPS display is honestly impressive. The Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail endgame hub city Solution Nine looked as vibrant as I’ve ever seen, with solid differentiation in the neon pink and cotton-candy blue in the simulated lights of the cyberpunk city.

Baldur’s Gate III looked similarly lush, with deep contrast, high detail quality, and a stunning amount of color in the Act One zone of the game. The Emerald Grove had a nice array of greens between the lush plant life and the neon-green hints of Druid magic, indicating a solid degree of color accuracy in the display. Sure, we’ve seen creator-level gaming laptops with a greater deal of vibrancy and color accuracy, but the Claw 8 AI+ display delivers impressive quality for an 8-inch display panel on a handheld gaming PC.

The Claw 8 AI+ is also bright enough to cut through screen glare, even with a glossy IPS display. We have tested brighter gaming handhelds, with the Steam Deck OLED hitting an average peak brightness of 597 nits, over 100 nits brighter than the Claw 8 AI+ (473 nits). However, all of these handhelds are bright enough to game on the go.

The Claw 8 AI+’s touchscreen also functions as expected, with a fairly accurate read of taps and gestures. However, you may want to increase your display zoom when in Windows 11 desktop to give yourself easier touch targets to tap.

MSI Claw 8 AI+: Audio

The DTS dual speaker array on the Claw 8 AI+ is top-firing, coming from the speaker vents just below the display on the front of the handheld. MSI also packed noise-cancelling technology into the Claw 8 AI+, making its speakers more impactful. This helps with audio volume and clarity, so you can enjoy hearing the sweet instrumentals of Baldur’s Gate III or feel the thrill of the grind with the Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers battle theme “rencounter”.

I cranked up the audio on the Claw 8 AI + while doing fate grinding in the older Shadowbringers zones to level my Pictomancer, and I was not disappointed by the volume and clarity. Between the screaming metal-style guitar riffs and the battle cry vocals, the Shadowbringers battle theme has rarely sounded better from such small speakers.

Of course, if you want an immersive gaming experience with studio-quality sound, I’d recommend connecting a set of the best headphones to the Claw 8 rather than using the built-in speakers.

MSI Claw 8 AI+: Gaming and graphics

Like all other Windows-based gaming handhelds, you need to use the Windows 11 desktop to download and install your games for the first time. Once you’ve got the games on the Claw 8 AI+, you can bypass Windows almost entirely by launching games from the MSI Center M interface, which is a nice workaround for my least favorite aspect of handheld gaming PCs. Which is to say, Windows itself.

As for gaming performance, the integrated Intel Arc 140V graphics chip inside the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V “Lunar Lake” processor puts out some impressive graphics quality and smooth framerates. While your optimized settings will differ based on the game, you can get some solid performance at 30W power with even the highest graphics presets at 1080p, though dropping down to medium will get you smoother framerates.

With Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail at the Standard (Laptop) graphics settings at 1080p resolution, I averaged 40-50fps on most content. While not the smoothest experience, it let me handle end-game trials and dungeons without any stuttering or sudden frame drops. In Bladur’s Gate III, I enjoyed a smooth experience at High graphics presets at 1080p or 1200p resolution, but Medium settings were a little more reliable.

Even Cyberpunk 2077 was playable thanks to a careful application of Intel’s XeSS super sampling technology and downgrading the graphics to the Medium preset. When we benchmarked the game, we ran it at Ultra settings, without any software assistance, which accounts for the difference in playability. But our lab got Black Myth: Wukong going at 30fps on Medium settings, which is pretty good for that rigorous game benchmark. In fact, in our lab testing, the Claw 8 had consistently better framerates than all of its competition, including a 5-7 fps lead on the Asus ROG Ally X across most games.

MSI Claw 8 AI+: Performance and heat

While I wouldn’t use the Claw 8 AI+ as a mini PC, it has the performance to handle any web browsing, email managing, or spreadsheet manipulation you need. With an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V “Lunar Lake” processor, it doesn’t have the most powerful multi-thread performance in a mobile CPU, but it is more than most people need and can handle even more demanding applications like Photoshop.

While the Asus ROG Ally X has a lead on the Claw 8 AI+ in terms of raw CPU power with a higher Geekbench 6 score (11,255), but the Claw 8 (10,917) is more than twice as powerful as the Steam Deck OLED (4,542) and has a nearly 11% lead on the Legion Go (9,857) and 7% increase over the original Claw A1M (10,209).

The Claw 8 AI+ also has a speedy SSD, which makes downloading massive game files less of a pain. On our office’s high-speed internet connection, I got Baldur’s Gate III up and running in about 90 minutes.

As for heat management, MSI’s intraflow Cooler Boost Hyper Flow system did keep the system relatively cool. I kept the Claw balanced on a knee through long gaming sessions without any discomfort. In our lab’s heat testing, the handheld hit a high temperature of 96.6 degrees Fahrenheit while looping the Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition benchmark on the Extreme preset. While this is above the Laptop Mag comfort threshold of 95 degrees, it’s 8 degrees cooler than the original Claw A1M and over 10 degrees cooler than the Lenovo Legion Go. While we stress heat concerns on laptops, this is even more critical on handheld gaming PCs as the expectation is that you are holding it at all times.

MSI Claw 8 AI+: AI features

MSI markets the Claw 8 AI+ as a Copilot+ mini-PC. With an Intel Lunar Lake chip under the hood, that’s not as absurd a claim as it might have been with the original handheld. While I have no desire to dock a handheld gaming PC and turn it into a workstation, I know of people who have replaced a laptop or desktop computer with a handheld.

The Claw 8 AI+ comes with the standard Copilot+ offerings, including Microsoft CoCreate and Live Captions. As an Intel Lunar Lake machine, you can also access Intel’s AI Playground features to expand your AI offerings. While I am not sold on Copilot+ AI just yet, early AI adopters who are also handheld gaming PC enthusiasts might find this more of a selling point.

MSI Claw 8 AI+: Software and warranty

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ comes with Windows 11 pre-installed, which includes the usual applications like a trial of Microsoft Office 365, the Xbox app for PC, and Copilot.

MSI Center M in pre-installed on the Claw 8 AI+ to help control your performance settings. MSI Center M also launches your games, letting you skip the Windows desktop once your games are installed.

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ comes with a 1-year limited warranty for parts and labor.

Bottom line

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ is an incredible improvement over the original Claw A1M. The rebuilt Claw has slick gaming performance, impressive battery life, a stunning display, improved thermals, great ergonomics, improved triggers, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and 32GB of system memory to support it all. Plus, it’s far more stable than the original Claw, which suffered from numerous optimization issues with its Intel Meteor Lake processor.

However, the Claw 8 AI+ is the most expensive of the mainstream handheld gaming PCs, costing $899 for the 8-inch model, and $799 for the smaller Claw 7 AI+ A2VM. However, the recently revamped Asus ROG Ally X is $799 for the 1TB model, which makes the Claw pricing seem reasonable since the Ally is a 7-inch handheld. The Claw 7 AI+ A2VM has less storage space, with only a 512GB SSD, however, the Claw 8 AI+ and Claw 7 AI+ both feature a new Intel processor and 32GB of memory, which accounts for some of the price differences. The Ally X uses the Ryzen Z1 Extreme from June 2023, which is just a slight rework of the Ryzen Z1 released in May of 2023. So, the Claw 8 AI+ has considerably newer hardware.

The Claw 8 is also a bit heavy, at 1.75 pounds. But it stays cool enough that you can balance the Claw on your lap or a knee without too much of an issue. So that can offset some of the weight from your wrists.

Personally, if I were to get one of these handheld PCs for myself, I’d probably opt for the Claw 7 A2VM because it’s a bit smaller and easier to carry, and I’d just slot in a 1TB microSD card to expand my storage and call it a day. But the Claw 8 does have the slick 8-inch display, which can make playing games with expansive HUDs a bit easier since you’ve got extra screen space to take up with ability hotbars, group chat windows, minimaps, and enmity lists. So, if you are primarily an MMO player like me, perhaps the Claw 8 is the correct choice.

Black Friday is here, and we don't just mean Black Friday week, we mean the proper day is here, meaning the best deals and discounts are available for those in need of the latest and greatest tech, alongside our best Black Friday laptop deals.

Some deals include the MSI Cyborg 14 for $749 at Best Buy, which brings it down by $350 from its original price. It features a solid RTX 4060 graphics card, Intel Core i7-13620H processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. It's a great pick if you're in the market for a laptop that won't break the bank, but still has enough power to handle most games.

Otherwise, if you don't particularly care about breaking the bank and just want something ultra-powerful, look no further than the phenomenal MSI Stealth 18 for $2,297 at Amazon, which is built with an Intel Core Ultra 9-185H processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 graphics card, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage. Simply put, it's an absolute beast with some of the best hardware you can get, and you won't be disappointed by its performance when gaming.

Best Black Friday MSI gaming laptop deals

MSI's follow-up to the Claw handheld, the Claw 8 AI Plus, has a lot to live up to — and we might be able to put it to the test sooner than expected.

Based on a CES 2025 Innovation Awards listing found by VideoCardz, the Claw 8 AI Plus may launch at the CES tradeshow in early January 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Claw underperformed and was a disappointment compared to its stiff competition, such as the Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and Steam Deck. While Valve has updated the Steam Deck with an OLED variant, and Asus has refreshed the ROG Ally in the Ally X, the Claw 8 AI plus is the first proper "sequel" handheld.

So what can we expect from the Claw 8, and how likely is it to launch at CES next year?

What do we expect from the Claw 8 AI Plus?

Based on what we know so far, the Claw 8 AI Plus will feature an Intel Lunar Lake chipset with integrated Intel Arc graphics, 16GB of RAM, an 8-inch 120Hz FHD+ (1,920 x 1,200) display, a larger 80Whr battery, 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports, a microSD card slot, and an audio combo jack.

Based on our hands-on time with the Claw 8 AI Plus at IFA Berlin in September, we noticed improved joysticks with a smoother and sturdier feel, improved Hall Effect switches with better tactile feedback, and adjusted paddle placement.

While Intel's Meteor Lake also features integrated Arc graphics, the Arc iGPU in the Lunar Lake chipset shows impressive gaming performance on Medium settings and at 1080p resolution. That performance does degrade at higher graphics settings and resolutions, but it is enough to make us hopeful for how Lunar Lake gaming handhelds like the Claw 8 AI Plus.

How likely is a CES 2025 launch?

We heard rumors of the Claw 8 AI Plus before its official unveiling at Computex Taipei in June, where MSI showcased the handheld under a glass box on the show floor at the TaiNex convention center. The Claw 8 AI Plus was also featured at the MSI booth during IFA Berlin in September, where media and fans could get hands-on with the handheld gaming PC for the first time.

The initial MSI Claw was officially announced at CES 2024, though units were shipped to buyers and media in March. So if the Claw 8 AI Plus releases around CES 2025, it would make a 10-month turnaround for MSI. Of course, MSI could launch the handheld at the show while the Claw 8 AI would ship in March, a full year after the original Claw launch.

Outlook

Based on how final the IFA Berlin build of the Claw 8 AI Plus feels, a CES launch seems likely. However, that doesn't mean we can get our hands on the Claw 8 AI right after the tradeshow.

We have a lot of reason to be wary of the Claw 8 AI Plus, but we also have plenty of reason to be hopeful. The Claw 8 AI Plus has a larger screen and a larger battery, with better joysticks and updated Hall Effect switches, which would help make up for some of the issues we had with the Claw 7. Intel's Lunar Lake integrated GPU feels stronger overall than the Arc iGPU in MSI's initial handheld.

But as always, we'll have to wait until we can spend some quality time with the Claw 8 AI Plus to be sure.

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The MSI Stealth series is among my favorites in the gaming laptop space. However, if you’re looking toward the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ as a great new entry in the lineup, you might want to think twice.

The MSI Stealth A16 AI+ features a wonderful keyboard and touchpad experience with long battery life (when gaming), all packed into a sleek design. That’s really all it has, though. Its performance and display are both decent, don’t get me wrong. But is it worth $2,000? No, I cannot recommend this as one of the best gaming laptops.

If MSI shaved $500 off that price tag, you should consider it. But let me get specific about why the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ landed the way it did.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Specs and benchmarks

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Price and configurations

The MSI Stealth A16 AI+ that I reviewed costs $1,999 and is outfitted with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor with integrated Radeon 880M graphics, a dedicated Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 8GB GPU, 32GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, and a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz display.

This is the only model currently available in the US. However, there’s an Intel equivalent that costs the same; it comes with an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor and a 16-inch, 1920 x 1200, 165Hz display.

If you’re looking for something more with your budget, check out the best cheap gaming laptops.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Design

For better or worse, MSI has not changed its design philosophy in years. To its credit, the Stealth series typically features sleek, svelte profiles. With this mesmerizing, black sand-blasted aluminum hood, the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ is no different. Then there’s the black MSI shield stamped just above the center. The hinge sports a Stealth logo across a reflective surface. The design errs on the side of bland, but the materials and style make it feel premium at the very least (except for the way it attracts fingerprints like a magnet).

The interior is more of the same — all black. Surrounding the deck are a stylish trio of vents, while the keyboard sits in a subtle depression on the chassis. Meanwhile, the bezels around the display are remarkably slim, but there’s enough room on top for a webcam and a privacy shutter. To the right of the touchpad is a fingerprint reader, too, which we don’t see on many gaming laptops.

At 4.6 pounds and 14 x 10.22 x 0.85 inches, the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ finds itself on the thicker side against its competitors, which is usually not the case for Stealth series laptops. Here’s how it stacks up to the competitors:

• Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9: 5.1 pounds, 14.08 x 10.33 x 0.69 inches
• Asus ROG Zephyrus G16: 4.08 pounds, 13.94 x 9.69 x 0.59~0.65 inches
• Alienware m16 R2: 5.75 pounds, 14.33 x 9.81 x 0.93 inches

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Ports

There aren’t many ports included with the MSI Stealth A16 AI+. It would’ve been nice to see an additional USB Type-C port. Asking for a Mini DisplayPort is a stretch, but VR users would be thankful. Here are the ports included:

• 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen2
• 1x USB-C USB 4 w/ DisplayPort & USB Power Delivery 3.0
• 1x HDMI 2.1
• 1x headphone jack
• 1x RJ45 Ethernet (2.5G)
• 1x security lock slot
• 1x power jack

Need more ports? Check out our best USB Type-C hubs and best laptop docking stations pages.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Battery life

I’m pleased to report that the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ offers notable battery life. Not only that but its battery life while gaming is the most impressive I’ve seen in quite some time.

On the Laptop Mag battery test, which tasks the laptop to continuously surf the web over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ lasted 5 hours and 41 minutes. On the PCMark 10 gaming battery life test, it lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes.

It outpaced most of its competition in terms of gaming. On the standard testing, it soared past the Legion 7i. And while it barely lost to the m16 R2, it fell nearly 4 hours behind the Zephyrus G16.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Display

Whether I drove through the jungles of Far Cry 6 or watched the latest trailers for upcoming projects, I found the MSI Stealth A16 AI+’s 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz display to be underwhelming for its price. It’s relatively bright, but the color lacked the depth I desire from a laptop of this caliber. It is colorful, but not $2K colorful

When scouting out an enemy checkpoint in Far Cry 6, the blue building that my targets hovered around looked distinct and contrasted well against the surrounding greenery in the bright sunlight. However, it didn’t exhibit the rich vividness I hoped for. And the balance of brightness and contrast didn’t work well when I entered a darker space to grab Alejandro. Yet, the high-refresh enables a smoother visual experience on lower graphical settings.

I watched the teaser trailer for Secret Level, and it confirmed our testing, which determined that there is a subtle vignette surrounding the display. This is pretty frustrating when watching all kinds of content. Darker scenes suffer the most; it feels like the real estate of the display shrinks to a fraction of the size. Despite that, the color diversity was reasonable, with Sifu’s dojo showcasing bright reds and warm beige colors.

Here's where the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ lands against its competitors according to our display benchmarks:

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Keyboard and touchpad

You can thank peripheral manufacturer SteelSeries for the epic keyboard resting on the MSI Stealth A16 AI+’s deck. My fingers bounced across the keys with little effort.

I typed out 82 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test, which is around my 81-wpm average. The spacing between and the height of the keys helped elevate my typing speed.

The 3.2 x 5.3-inch touchpad is surprisingly smooth and offers a pleasant clicker. It's not too often that I find a high-quality touchpad in a gaming laptop. They're usually sacrificed since you'd need to use a discrete gaming mouse to play properly.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Audio

The best way to describe the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ is noisy. I know, let me explain. The audio prioritizes the wrong sounds, bringing background noise to the foreground and vice versa.

I jumped into Far Cry 6, and the speaker announcement blared across the speaker, practically muting my gunfire and footsteps. It sounded harsh and hollow. The dialogue between Anton and Diego was sharp on the highs and muted on the lows, creating a chaotic sound that was both loud and hard to hear at the same time.

I listened to my latest obsession, “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” by Creepy Nuts, and immediately noticed the percussion getting snuffed by the bass-less speakers. The vocals lacked the richness I’d expected, and some of the synths were completely lost in the background.

There’s the Nahimic audio app, but I didn’t hear a radical difference between the presets, which include Music, Movie, Communication, Gaming, and Smart.

Do yourself a favor and just get one of the best gaming headsets.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Gaming and graphics

Stuffed into the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ is an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU with 8GB of VRAM. I shot my way through a warehouse in Far Cry 6 at 63 frames per second on Ultra, 1600p.

I stealthy weaved my way toward the next puzzle in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and after cutting down a few baddies at 58 fps on Ultra, 1600p settings, I got to focus on the titular activity.

Unfortunately, the Stealth falls behind its competitors multiple times in terms of frames per second. This is especially disappointing considering its price. However, the Stealth can get you through most games just fine.

Here's how it stacks up against its competitors:

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Performance and heat

The MSI Stealth A16 AI+ sports the latest AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor with 32GB of RAM. It's hyped up on new AI technology, but is it just that? Hype.

I journeyed through a couple dozen Google Chrome tabs and a handful of YouTube videos without issue. I booted up Spotify and Far Cry 6 pretty easily. When I tabbed out of the game, I could navigate to wikis and tutorials without any slowdown.

While it may not be noticeable right away, you’ll likely see some longer load times in your games if you play with the Stealth long enough. That’s due to the Stealth’s slow 1TB SSD.

The MSI Stealth A16 AI+ also gets pretty spicy under the hood when gaming, so don’t try to put this thing in your lap.

Here's how the Stealth handles its competitors:

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: AI features

AI is here and it’s here to confuse you (not really, but that’s what happened). The MSI Stealth A16 AI+ features the latest AMD Ryzen AI 9 365. So while it’s not marketed as a Copilot+ PC, it does offer Copilot features. It can natively run AI-driven tasks, and it benefits from specially branded AI features.

One of those features is the MSI AI Engine. This is designed to provide real-time optimized performance adjustments based on usage context. That’s fancy speak for, likely, being able to switch between dedicated and integrated graphics depending on whether you’re gaming or not. There’s also an audio portion; I tested it and didn’t hear any major differences.

Outside of MSI’s app, you get Copilot features like Recall. A controversial setting that logs the history of your entire PC. Just like when you dig through your browser history, you can dig through your PC history to see what you were doing a few days ago. Now, it’s just a little alarming because that’s a whole lot of data being cataloged, and while Microsoft claims it’s stored locally, I’m not exactly putting my faith in a multi-billion dollar corporation.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Webcam

The 1080p shooter in the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ isn’t as terrible as most laptop webcams, but it’s not great.

It reproduced strong colors in my background, including the vibrant My Hero Academia poster and my pink cat gaming chair. The balance in contrast is also solid, as the light above me and the window behind me didn’t wash out the surrounding area. There are a few sections of the blinds that were whited out, but that’s fine.

However, the webcam falters in terms of overall quality. There’s so much grain in the photo that my hair looks like a hazy mess and you can barely see the freckles on my face, which are dark and numerous.

Essentially, you should try out one of the best webcams.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Software and warranty

With the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ comes the MSI Center app. Here, you’ll have access to hardware monitoring, which provides information on the CPU, GPU, SSD, and RAM usage. You can also access performance settings, which cover Extreme Performance, Balanced, Silent, Super Battery, and the aforementioned MSI AI Engine.

The MSI Stealth A16 AI+ offers a one-year limited warranty.

Bottom line

I can’t say I’m a big fan of the MSI Stealth A16 AI+. Yes, it offers a comfortable keyboard and touchpad experience. I even like that it supports long gaming battery life, all packed into a svelte chassis. However, it falls short on performance and with its display. Both are respectable, but they can’t justify the Stealth’s $2K price.

For the same price, you can buy the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9, which supports a brighter and more colorful display, a faster SSD, and much stronger overall performance.

Overall, the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ is a decent gaming laptop, but it’s one that you should wait to get on a severe discount ($500 at minimum).

October may not be the new start of Black Friday, but it certainly is chock full of early sales across all retailers. And now Target joins in the fun with a slew of laptop deals ranging from low-end models to attractive gaming laptops.

One model in particular that caught our attention: The MSI Thin GF63 gaming laptop, now on sale for $999. That's a $200 savings over its regular $1,199 price.

This mid-range model achieves its price by balancing its components. Inside sits a 12th-generation Intel Core i7-12650H processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD.

While a 12th-gen Core i7 isn't the latest and greatest from Intel, with the RTX 4060 graphics, it should still be enough to power through casual games and e-sports, and it should even be able to handle some more premium AAA games.

By comparison, Best Buy has two other variants of the MSI Thin GF63, both less expensive than Target's configuration highlighted above and both make even more compromises to achieve their lower prices.

Of those, the MSI Thin GF63 there is on sale for $499 (down from $699), but it only has an Intel Core i5-12450h processor and Nvidia GeForce 2060 graphics. Another GF63 config ($899 at Best Buy) has a 13th-generation Core i5 CPU, but only has Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics.

We've spotted a bunch of great laptop deals this month, and we will continue to update that list with more Black Friday-level deals before that annual sales event rolls around in November.

Today's best MSI Thin GF63 deal

An updated integrated graphics card is one of the major overhauls coming with Intel's new Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" processors. While most laptops using the new processor aren't optimized for gaming, handheld gaming PCs like the Asus ROG Ally X and MSI Claw 8 AI+ lean heavily on how well the iGPU can handle games.

We've talked a lot about Lunar Lake since the official launch ahead of IFA Berlin earlier this month, between hardware architecture breakdowns, gaming demos, battery life speculation, and benchmark previews, but we haven't done a dedicated deep-dive into the new processor's iGPU and how that might change the handheld gaming market.

Right now the MSI Claw 8AI+ is the only upcoming handheld gaming PC using the new Intel chips, as most other handheld gaming PCs have opted for either the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme or Ryzen 7 8840 processors. The original MSI Claw used Intel's previous AI chipset architecture, the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H or Intel Core Ultra 7 155H "Meteor Lake" processors. The Claw 8 AI+ not only upgrades the handheld's display and battery sizes, it also jumps to the new Intel hardware, including the new Xe2 integrated Arc graphics processor.

Between the hardware and software improvements to the new integrated Arc graphics chip on the Lunar Lake processors, the benchmarks we watched Intel perform, and the hands-on experience we were able to get at IFA, we're more positive than ever about the future of handheld gaming on Intel processors.

Xe2 GPU and XeSS

Intel has integrated a new Arc GPU inside the Lunar Lake Core Ultra 200V processors. The integrated GPU in the Core Ultra 200V chips features eight next-gen Xe2 cores, eight ray-tracing units, 8MB of cache, and XMX (Xe Matrix eXtensions) architecture for AI throughput. So the integrated Xe2 Arc GPU offers better graphics, real-time ray tracing, and AI-based upscaling.

The Xe2 GPU provides 31% faster graphics than the iGPU inside the Intel Core i7 155H chip. Intel calculated that metric by benchmarking 45 games on Medium settings at 1080p resolution, with the machines set to the "Best Performance" profile in Windows power settings.

Intel has also updated its XeSS super-sampling support to a library of over 120 games, with more optimizations still incoming. Intel claims that enabling XeSS on Lunar Lake can offer up to 60% faster gaming compared to Meteor Lake.

Based on the hardware and software gaming improvements, gaming on the new Core Ultra 200V series chips will be far smoother and shinier than on the Intel Core Ultra 100 series.

Benchmarks and first impressions

We haven't gotten a chance to benchmark any gaming handhelds running the Intel Lunar Lake chipset, but we can make some inferences from the benchmarks we do have. And we did get some hands-on gaming time with the MSI Claw 8 AI+ at IFA, which left us feeling pretty positive about the handheld overall thanks to multiple hardware improvements and a satisfying gaming experience.

Compared to AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite laptops running F1 2024 and F1 2022 on Medium settings at 1080p resolution, the Intel Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" demo system left both competitors in the dust. One of our biggest complaints with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite system was its pitiful gaming experience, especially since Qualcomm spent so much time talking up how well you could game on Snapdragon with the new processors. However, AMD did manage to impress us with the gaming experience on the Ryzen AI 300 Zenbook S 16. So if Lunar Lake can outperform the latest AMD integrated graphics card, that can only mean good things for the state of the Xe2 GPU.

We also got a benchmark preview at IFA, which kicked back some pretty impressive gaming numbers. On Medium presets at 1080p resolution, the Intel Core Ultra 200V systems provided respectable frame rates on Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Cyberpunk 2077. Clocking in with 74 fps on Tomb Raider and 60 fps on Cyberpunk, that's enough performance to put even some low-end discrete graphics cards to shame.

We also went hands-on with the upcoming MSI Claw 8 AI+, and it left us feeling excited about how improved the handheld felt while playing a bit of Hi-Fi Rush. After playing around with the handheld at IFA, Laptop Mag contributing writer Stevie Bonifield commented, "The MSI Claw 8 AI+ makes a positive first impression, one that gives me hope it could live up to the promises of the original, and maybe even exceed them."

Outlook

If Intel's Core Ultra 200V processors and Xe2 integrated graphics cards can get performance close to what we've seen so far in the benchmarks and demos, we could see an Intel-based handheld gaming PC like the MSI Claw 8 AI+ outperform its AMD rivals.

Obviously, we'll have to wait a bit for the MSI Claw 8 AI+ to end up in our hands and run through our lab benchmarks and hands-on testing, but things do look pretty optimistic for MSI's second handheld. And if the Claw 8 AI+ does well, we could see more handheld gaming PCs powered by Intel processors. If that happens, we will see a shake-up in the handheld PC market, as it is currently dominated by the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally.

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MSI first announced the Summit business laptop series in 2020 to expand the company's non-gaming laptop offerings. Between the Prestige, Modern, and Summit series MSI has three different offerings in the consumer, business, and productivity sector.

Much like the Prestige lineup, MSI is updating the Summit series with the new Intel Lunar Lake and AMD Ryzen AI "Strix Point" processors. As we covered with the Prestige A16 AI+, these hardware updates come with a decent boost in performance and AI-powered productivity.

One of the big differences between the Prestige and Summit lines is that the Summit comes in a 2-in-1 form factor, while the Prestige line is more focused on portability.

I was able to get a look at the MSI Summit A16 AI+ in Taipei, Taiwan during Computex, the massive annual computer expo that ran from June 3-7 this year. The MSI Summit 16 AI+ Evo was trapped under glass with the Intel Lunar Lake products. While I've often wondered what the Summit line has to offer compared to the MSI Modern and MSI Prestige lines, I came away cautiously optimistic after my time with the Summit A16. But will it be good enough to earn it a spot among the best business laptops when it launches later this year?

MSI Summit A16 AI+: Specs

MSI Summit A16 AI+: Pricing and configurations

Much like the Prestige, MSI is updating the Summit lineup with multiple configuration options. The only pricing and spec information we have at this point is for the AMD powered MSI Summit A16 AI+ with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor, integrated Radeon Graphics, 32 GB of memory, 1 TB of storage space, and a 16-inch QHD+ IPS touch display. That particular configuration will cost $1,699.

Based on the units available for perusal at Computex, it seems the MSI Summit 16 AI+ Evo with an Intel Core Ultra ("Lunar Lake") processor and MSI Summit A16 AI+ with an AMD Ryzen AI ("Strix Point") processor will retain the 16-inch design.

MSI will reveal additional configuration options closer to the launch of the laptops, though the MSI Summit A16 AI+ is expected to launch in Q3 of this year while the MSI Summit 16 AI+ Evo will launch in Q4.

MSI Summit A16 AI+: Design

While the Prestige lineup is focused on delivering a light, portable chassis, the Summit is a little on the chunkier side to make up for the convertible 360-degree style hinge. But that isn't the only difference between the two laptops.

The MSI Summit also has a slightly flashier look with a contrast stripe on the sides of the keycaps and the edge of the trackpad. Those small details help give the Summit a more "premium" feel compared to the Prestige which is rather stripped down and minimalist.

MSI Summit A16 AI+: Display

While IPS displays aren’t generally as vibrant or bright as OLED panels, the MSI Summit A16 AI+ appeared to do well on both fronts, from what we could see at the expo. There was limited glare on the panel and the colors looked deep and expressive.

MSI claims a 100% DCI-P3 rating on the IPS panel, which is certainly at the top range for laptop displays. We’ll have to wait until we can run the Summit A16 AI+ through our test lab for full display analysis, but MSI has a strong track record for high-quality displays.

Naturally it's a touchscreen panel, though I didn’t get a lot of time to test how reactive the touch controls are, but it's rare for touchscreens to have difficulty with inputs these days so that’s unlikely to be an issue on the Summit.

MSI Summit A16 AI+: Performance

This will vary based on the configuration, but any of the Summit A16 AI+ models will handle web browsing, photo and video editing, or any document management tasks you’re likely to encounter during the workday.

As part of Microsoft’s Copilot+ program, it will also have access to a number of AI-powered tasks like intelligent document summaries, image generation, and live captions.

Of course, the final verdict on the Summit’s performance will have to wait until we can get the laptop into our test lab and run through our gamut of benchmarks and hands-on tests to make a full determination.

Outlook

Whether you go for the AMD-powered A16 AI+ or the Intel-powered 16 AI+ Evo, there is plenty of power behind the Summit series of laptops. The biggest difference between the Summit and Prestige lines is the design of the two laptops. The Prestige is a minimalist clamshell laptop, while the Summit is a 2-in-1 convertible.

So if you don’t mind a slightly thicker chassis to accommodate the hinge and you want the flexibility of a convertible design, the Summit is the way to go. Of course, you do have convertible laptop options from other makers, but for a fully accurate 2-in-1 on 2-in-1 comparison, we’ll have to wait until we get our hands on a review unit for a proper determination on what laptop is the Best 2-in-1.

Travel to and from and accommodation at Computex Tapei was paid for by MSI. The company did not see the contents of this article before publication.

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MSI may be best known as a gaming company, but more and more we’ve seen some impressive laptops come through on their business and creator sides as well. The MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo was one of the first Intel Core Ultra (Meteor Lake) laptops we saw in late 2023 and the performance and battery life offered by the Prestige 16 AI Evo really won our reviewer over.

On June 4 at Computex in Taipei, MSI unveiled a new series of Prestige business laptops including the AMD Strix Point-powered Prestige A16 AI+ and the Intel Lunar Lake-powered Prestige 16 AI+ Evo. The Strix Point edition of the Prestige was available to be poked and prodded by attendees while the Lunar Lake-powered Prestige lineup remained under glass.

Considering just how well the Intel Meteor Lake Prestige 16 AI Evo performed, I was excited to take a closer look at the next-gen Prestige lineup on both the Intel and AMD sides. Considering the Lunar Lake models were under glass, we’ll focus on the AMD Strix Point version, the Prestige A16 AI+.

MSI Prestige A16 AI+: Specs

MSI Prestige A16 AI+: Pricing and configurations

Pricing is only currently available for one configuration of the AMD-based Prestige A16 AI+, though other models will be available closer to launch. While $1,599 isn't cheap, with 32GB of storage, 1TB of RAM, and an OLED panel, it's not bad. The Prestige A16 AI+ will be available in Q3 of this year.

MSI will also have an Intel-based version, the Prestige 16 AI+ Evo which uses the latest Intel Core Ultra Lunar Lake processors. The Intel version will be priced similarly to the AMD models and will be available in Q4 of this year. The Intel-based Prestige will also come in 14 and 13-inch versions, we would expect slightly reduced pricing for those models, but of course no official details yet.

MSI Prestige A16 AI+: Design

The A16 AI+ doesn't change much from the chassis of the Prestige 16, though MSI does have different colorway options for the Intel and AMD versions of the laptop. It’s still a thin, light, portable design with a minimalist aesthetic intended to appeal to business professionals.

With a large touchpad and wide-spaced keyboard the Prestige A16 AI+ aims for comfort and precision control on the touchpad. You won't mistype due to cramped keys on this expansive keyboard. If anything, the keys are a little farther apart than I prefer, but nothing that would prevent me from typing comfortably on the Prestige A16. For folks with larger hands, the key-spacing and large trackpad are clear pluses to the design.

MSI Prestige A16 AI+: Display

The Prestige A16 AI+ unit at Computex had a 16-inch UHD+ (3,840 x 2,400) OLED panel. Like most glossy OLED panels there was a bit of glare on the screen, particularly with the bright expo hall lights at the MSI booth. But there was less glare than I was expecting.

The colors on the demo video looked vibrant and held a sharp contrast in will-lit and shadowed scenes. If its anything like the panel from the Prestige 16 AI Evo, it will be a quality OLED display. Naturally, we will have to wait until we get a review unit in our lab to test it with proper display testing equipment, but to my eyes, the panel looked great.

MSI Prestige A16 AI+: Performance

Currently, we only have claims from AMD regarding its performance, as no Strix Point laptops have shipped yet and the demo unit was locked to playing one promotional video during the expo.

We expect that the Strix Point processors are capable of keeping up with a variety of daily tasks including video calls, photo editing, and keeping more than 20 browser tabs open at a time during your workday. But whether it can handle some casual gaming or anything more intensive will need to wait until we can get the Prestige A16 AI+ into our test lab for benchmarking. 

Outlook

The Prestige 16 AI Evo was outpaced by a few laptops on our Laptops with the best battery life page, but its stunning display, sturdy lightweight chassis, excellent performance, and all-day battery life impressed us. So we are very much looking forward to reviewing the two next-gen versions, the Prestige A16 AI+ and the Prestige 16 AI+ Evo.

Because of the launch dates of AMD and Intel’s next-generation AI PC silicon, we will see the Prestige A16 AI+ before the 16 AI Evo, so a face-off will have to wait until the latter arrives.

MSI paid for travel and accommodations for Computex Tapei. The company did not see the contents of this article before publication.

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In some years, there hasn’t been a lot at Computex that’s truly new. 2024 is not one of those years. We got new AI chipsets from AMD and Intel and a closer look at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus silicon. In addition to the AI takeover of Computex, companies went all out in unveiling new handheld gaming PCs, and we also saw a large investment in the sim racing space from companies like Corsair and Thermaltake.

If there was ever a year to pay wrapt attention to Computex news, this was the one.

I've spent the last week speaking to every major brand and getting my hands on every product I could, so for everyone who couldn’t make it out to Taiwan, here’s our list of the top ten products from Computex this year.

Acer Predator SpatialLabs View 27

Acer has shown off the Spatiallabs 3D technology before, and we are completely blown away every single time. This year at Computex, Acer set up two Predator SpatialLabs monitors on the show floor to let fans duke it out in Street Fighter 6 in 3D. It doesn’t sound too impressive, but the Spatiallabs 3D eye-tracking has only gotten smoother since the 2022 Predator Helios Spatiallabs edition.

Asus ROG Concept Dali

The longer I looked at it, the more impressive the Asus ROG Concept Dali got. The e-ink cover display may only have six colors, but they look so much better than any e-ink I’ve ever seen. This laptop is only a concept for now, but if enough people demand it, we could see a version of the Concept Dali go into production.

MSI MEG 321URX monitor

MSI bills the MEG 321URX as the world’s first AI monitor, and it very well may be. The monitor saw some attention back at CES earlier this year, but personally I think the Monster Hunter: Rise demo at Computex made a better case for why you’d want a monitor with an NPU in it. In terms of PvP games, the enemy detection features could present an unfair advantage, but in a coop game like Monster Hunter, it just seems like a logical next step in monitor tech.

Asus ROG Harpe Aim Extreme

The Asus ROG Harpe Ace Extreme is one of those products where picking up the demo unit on the Computex show floor, I assumed it was just a dummy mouse because it was so light it didn’t even feel like Asus put a battery in it. It’s a carbon-fiber ultralight mouse designed for competitive eSports players who need quick reaction times. But its also so light it could be a very convenient travel mouse for those looking to save weight in their carry-on luggage.

Corsair Sim Racing

This is still just a prototype, so Corsair has yet to give this sim racing cockpit a name, but it is a fully customizable, modular system. The pedal block and seat can each move, the racing wheel can also be extended closer to the driver, there are slots along the outside rails to connect a shifter to either side of the cockpit, and there’s even space for your gaming and streaming accessories like an Elgato Stream Deck. The thing that really sold me on this cockpit is its height range. Supporting gamers as small as 4’8” to over 6’. The frame will also fit most existing sim racing gear, so you can bring over your favorite accessories. It can also support up to 4 monitors or a 65-inch TV.

MSI Claw 8 AI+

The Lunar Lake update to the MSI Claw was first unveiled this week alongside a Fallout-themed version of the current 7-inch Claw. While we’ve had some difficulties with the base model of MSI’s handheld, the promised updates like an 8-inch IPS display and 80-watt-hour battery coming with the new version later this year are enough to have us excited regardless.

Drop x Lord of the Rings keyboards

Drop’s customizable keyboards are an enthusiast’s dream. Not only can you swap the case materials between ultralight carbon fiber to 24-karat brass, but you can also add weights to the base, hot-swap switch plates and keycaps, and change out the gaskets. Drop recently partnered with The Lord of The Rings for a series of Elvish, Dwarvish, and Black Speech keyboards and keycaps. They even have artisan keycaps styled after The One Ring and a Barad-Dûr keycap holder. 

Acemagic X-1 dual-screen

Dual-screen laptops have kind of decided on a set design with a screen on the top and bottom of the traditional clamshell form factor. The Acemagic X-1 is different. It opens horizontally on a 360-degree hinge with a keyboard below the primary display. Controls on the keyboard’s function row allow you to mirror the display, extend the display, or display only on one screen. What makes the X-1 so interesting is that, with a 360-degree hinge, it becomes the ideal laptop for running presentations, with the second display flipped around to the back of the first.

SCUF Nomad

The SCUF Nomad is hoping to break the hold that the Backbone has on the mobile gaming community. Optimized for iPhones, the Nomad takes everything SCUF knows about gamepads and translates it into an adjustable phone controller with comfortable grips, hall-effect joysticks, and custom-mappable buttons. It’s the most comfortable phone controller I’ve held so far.

Gigabyte AI Top

Okay yes this is a desktop and normally we at Laptop Mag don’t really cover those. But the Gigabyte AI Top is a full desktop ecosystem designed to allow small developers to train their own large language models and small language models without needing to rent AI processing from a cloud computing service or buy a whole server farm. It’s a more budget and security-conscious way for small developers to create and train their own AI software, which could lead to better AI programs for the rest of us to use on our personal computers. Which makes it noteworthy all on its own.

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Value is everything in the world of gaming laptops. 

Sure, if you’re a billionaire, you can buy the most expensive hardware with the best specs. But when most people are already expected to spend thousands on a gaming laptop, what matters is a striking balance between affordability and quality.

The right balance depends on your budget, but there’s nothing like knowing your machine is worth every penny. When testing gaming laptops, we compare specs, performance, and price, giving a good sense of how much this hardware costs. And if we see a laptop that goes above and beyond in its execution yet costs less than the competition offering the same (or potentially worse), we cannot help but sing its praises.

Enter the MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG, a device that accomplishes everything a high-end gaming laptop needs to maintain a competitive price below $3,000. With a phenomenally fast processor, powerful RTX 4080 framerate, high nits of brightness, vivid panel, solid speakers, and respectable battery life, this is the best laptop you can buy right now if you need a premium rig without going over $3K.

The MSI Vector 16 is perfect for high-end gaming laptop enthusiasts 

The MSI Vector 16 gets a lot right, but three elements stand out when compared to other gaming laptops: 

1. RTX 4080 power for $2,699
2. An Intel i9-14900HX processor
3. A bright, vivid panel

The differences become clear when you compare the Vector 16 to the Alienware x16 R2. Both have 16-inch, 2K IPS panels at 240Hz refresh rate, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, high-end Intel processors, around six hours of battery life, and an RTX 4080 GPU. However, the MSI Vector 16 is $2,699, while the Alienware X16 R2 is $3,199. It’s a difference of $500, and yet the former claims superior processing performance and a better display.

With the RTX 40-series soon-to-be succeeded by the 50-series, which is speculated to launch anywhere from late 2024 to early 2025, RTX 40-series laptops are getting cheaper than they were when they first entered the market. While this is one reason why you can find other RTX 4080 laptops at this price, it doesn’t change how impressive it is that everything else about it is at a premium level.

The Vector 16’s panel reproduced 108 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut and has a maximum of 495 nits of brightness, which is fantastic for a gaming laptop. The Alienware x16’s 79 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut and 334 nits of brightness aren’t bad by any means, but the winner here shines. 

The premium gaming laptop category average for DCI-P3 coverage is 89 percent, while the average for brightness is 439 nits. Again, the Vector makes a clean sweep of both. We typically recommend anything above 80 percent for DCI-P3 but higher is better. For nits of brightness, you won’t need the most luminescent panels for gaming, but they’re useful if you’re in a bright place caked in sunlight.

The Vector 16 is built with an Intel Core i9-14900HX processor, while the Alienware x16 features an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H. Both are i9 chips, but the former did far better in our performance tests.

On the Geekbench 6.2 benchmark, the Vector 16 managed a multi-core score of 18,055, while the Alienware x16 was behind at 13,874. When converting a 4K video into 1080p through the Handbrake app, the Vector accomplished this task in two minutes and 31 seconds, while the Alienware x16 was one minute and 12 seconds slower.

While the Vector 16’s battery life is 19 minutes shorter than that of the Alienware x16, and it has a slower SSD, these are minor differences for most and don’t justify a $500 price difference when both laptops have similar specs.

Amazed by this laptop that can do so much for so little, we asked MSI how the magic happened. MSI tells Laptop Mag that the laptop is a "good alternative for the audience who value performance, industrial aesthetic design, build quality, and pricing. Our team did a lot of the research and spent a lot of effort trying to find the balance between these elements."

Need an RTX 4080 laptop? Buy the Vector 16 

The Vector 16 outperforms competitors for less. Compared to the already great Alienware x16, it crushes it in processing performance, color depth, and brightness for less money. The importance of colorful screens on gaming laptops cannot be understated, as they’re the windows into the worlds we explore while playing, making the Vector 16 an absolute treat to look at.

An RTX 4080 gaming laptop for less than $3,000 isn’t necessarily rare. Still, one that makes no sacrifices in its battery life, processing performance, display resolution, color depth, and brightness makes it one-of-a-kind. The Vector 16 is stunning to behold.

My jaw dropped when I saw the Vector 16's price point.

Exceptional power doesn’t need to cost a fortune, and the MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG is a prime example. We’re not arguing it’s affordable by any means, as its $2,699 price tag is absolutely not cheap for a laptop. But if you’re looking for a high-end gaming laptop, you should buy this one.

With incredible productivity and gaming performance, a gorgeous 2K display, respectable battery life, a tactile keyboard, and solid speakers, few gaming laptops can reach these highs for under $3,000. But it also has some flaws, including an SSD that couldn’t match the speed of its competitors, a flimsy trackpad, and loud fans. Keep reading to see if this is the right gaming laptop for you.

MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG: Specs

MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG: Price and configuration

The Vector 16 we reviewed is available at the MSI store for $2,699. It claims a powerful Intel i9-14900HX processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 graphics card, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and a 16-inch, 2,560 x 1,600-pixel display at a 240Hz refresh rate.

If you’re looking to lower the cost, the base Vector 16, which has an RTX 4060 graphics card and 16GB of RAM, starts at $1,799 on the MSI store. 

MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG: Design

I’m a sucker for sturdy, aesthetically pleasing gaming laptops, but I’ve tested hardware over $3,000 that somehow still feels flimsy. Design is one of the many ways the Vector 16 surprised me. I thought MSI might cut costs on its exterior, considering its specs are high-end, but it’s both sturdy and sleek. Its dark gray color finish and minimalist lid with nothing more than a faded-out MSI shield logo, alongside the layered thermal shelf at the back, make it look like a beastly powerhouse.

Lifting the lid reveals two sturdy, thick hinges that leave a sizable gap between the bottom of the lid and the top of the deck. I’m impressed by how firm the hinges are, as there’s little-to-no bounce when shifting the lid. It also doesn’t collapse under its weight when dropped down to lower angles, which is a surprisingly common issue for gaming laptops. Squeezing the deck along the bottom reveals the material is slightly malleable, but it still feels sturdy.

The Vector 16 weighs 6 pounds and measures 14.05 x 11.18 x 1.12 inches. Competitors like the Alienware x16 R2 (5.9 pounds, 14.4 x 11.4 x 0.7 inches), Razer Blade 16 (5.3 pounds, 14 x 9.6 x 0.87 inches), and HP Omen 16 (5.3 pounds, 14.5 x 9.7 x 0.91 inches) are all 16-inch laptops yet are thinner and lighter. This laptop is perfect if you’re okay with a bit more bulk. 

MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG: Ports

Built with more than enough ports to suit any gamer’s needs, alongside a Thunderbolt 4 in case you need a docking station to expand, the Vector 16 won’t disappoint.

It has one Thunderbolt 4 with DP compatibility on the left side, an audio jack, and an SD 7.0 slot. On the right is one USB Type-C with DP compatibility and Power Delivery, alongside a USB 3.2 Gen 1 and Gen 2. There’s a HDMI 2.1 port and USB Type-C with DP on the back.

MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG: Display

I thought I might be dreaming when I basked in this display. Featuring a 16-inch, 2,560 x 1,600-pixel screen at a 240Hz refresh rate, the Vector 16 offers more than enough color and brightness to make it well worth the investment for any individual who is picky about great-looking panels. Considering its amazing hardware, I would’ve expected it to do the bare minimum, but it exceeds all expectations and adds to why I couldn’t believe this laptop costs under $3,000.

I watched the trailer for the upcoming Disney animated film Moana 2 and was impressed by how well it represented the deep blue waters and stunning golden beaches of its Polynesian islands. At maximum brightness, the beautiful scenery is both brilliant and vivid.

I launched Helldivers 2 and flew to the Meridia system after receiving a notification that it had turned into a black hole. It was stunning to look down at the shimmering purple sphere vacant of light while debris flew towards it. I then moved onto the desert planet Erata Prime. I was impressed by an ever-present blue mist across the landscape overwhelmed with orange sand, as the display represented its diverse hues wonderfully.

The Vector 16 did great on our color tests, reproducing 108 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which makes a clean sweep of its competitors. This is more colorful than the gaming laptop average of 89 percent, Alienware x16 R2 (79 percent), Omen 16 (78 percent), and Blade 16 (78 percent).

It did excellent on our brightness tests, hitting a peak of 495 nits on average, again better than the 439 nits average. It even puts it way beyond the Alienware x16 R2 (334 nits), Omen 16 (305 nits), and Blade 16 (378 nits).

MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG: Audio

Testing a speaker’s quality in films, games, and music is essential, as each requires different balancing to sound appealing. Thankfully, when the Vector 16 is put through each test, its bottom-firing speakers are powerful. Songs and films can sound grainy and unclear, but there’s enough weight and volume to satisfy most.

When testing its film audio through Moana 2’s trailer, it lacks the weight and punchiness of more complex speaker systems but offers a clear and balanced sound to ensure you won’t get a headache while watching. 

I listened to queer pop anthem “PAIN” by King Princess and was impressed by how loud the Vector 16’s speakers sounded in my office. At its worst, the speaker system isn’t the clearest, which is especially audible in the song’s opening, where the vocalist repeats “tu tu tu” without any instrumental accompaniment. Otherwise, it’s loud, punchy, and satisfying, making it more than good enough for listening to music.

I was impressed while playing Helldivers 2, as each piece of triumphant music, bug growling, and explosive gunfire sounded punchy, clear, and loud. However, the laptop's noisy fans only spring into action when gaming, which causes subtler sounds to get lost against the whirring of the blades. 

MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG: Keyboard and trackpad

The Vector 16’s per-key RGB keyboard is built with a dedicated number pad, but some sacrifices are made to fit it on the deck. The right shift key is small, while the arrow keys are shrunk beside it. The number pad keys are also tiny and will be challenging to use while focused on a game, which can be annoying if you’re an MMO player who needs the number pad for additional macros and inputs. There also isn’t a left function key, which is what I’m used to using.

I took the 10fastfingers typing test and managed 114 words per minute with a 98 percent accuracy. This is in the range of what I usually score on my mechanical keyboard, and leaping between keystrokes felt comfortable while I did so. I was pretty surprised by how loud and clicky the Vector 16’s keyboard is, providing a satisfying, tactile sensation with every press.

The 5.1 by 3.2-inch trackpad is dreadful, with the bottom section of the clickable space feeling loose. It’s difficult to tell when it’s pressed or not, as the trackpad will sink downwards before properly registering a click. It’s also sluggish while browsing the internet, and holding down yields far too much friction when dragging files. If you’re a serious gamer, though — and even if you’re not — investing in a great gaming mouse is something you already might be doing, so a finicky trackpad may not be a dealbreaker.

MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG: Gaming and graphics

Built with an RTX 4080 graphics card with 12GB of vRAM, the Vector 16 does better than competitors with the same GPU in many instances. You can’t go wrong with an RTX 4080 laptop, and unless you’re willing to splurge on something premium like an RTX 4090, this is a great pick.

I launched Helldivers 2 with the graphics and render quality at the “Ultra” setting and managed a consistent 95 frames per second while walking around the interior of the spaceship. Once launching down on the desert planet Erata Prime, I managed 74 fps while searching for enemies to battle. However, in the heat of gunfights with tons of bugs swarming me at once, the framerate drops to around 60 fps.

We played Borderlands 3 at 1080p on Badass graphics settings, and it achieved an average of 136 frames per second, crushing the gaming laptop average of 97 frames per second. While it did better than the Omen 16 (110 fps, RTX 4080), the Blade 16 (165 fps, RTX 4090) took no prisoners. However, it was close to the Alienware x16 R2 (139 fps, RTX 4080).

During the Red Dead Redemption 2 test at 1080p on Medium graphics settings, it achieved an average of 104 frames per second, better than the category average of 97 fps. The Alienware x16 R2 (90 fps) and Omen 16 (85 fps) weren’t quite up to the task, but unsurprisingly, the Blade 16’s (121 fps) RTX 4090 landed solidly in first place.

The Cyberpunk 2077 test at 1080p on maximum graphics settings was tight, achieving an average of 54 frames per second. This is close to the category average of 55 fps and the Alienware x16 R2 (52 fps). Whereas the Omen 16 (41 fps) was left behind in the dust, the Blade 16 (63 fps) could not be stopped.

Far Cry 6 at 1080p on maximum graphics settings was the Vector’s worst showing thus far, with it achieving an average of 111 frames per second. While this is better than the 104 fps category average, it just barely outperforms the Omen 16 (110 fps). Meanwhile, the Alienware x16 R2 (139 fps) and Blade 16 (165 fps) are in a whole different league.

MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG: Performance

Like the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16, the Vector 16 is built with an Intel Core i9-14900HX processor, 1TB of SSD storage, and 32GB of RAM, making it a powerhouse capable of running the most demanding tasks. Intel’s latest i9 processors are no joke, and the Vector 16 has some of the best performance we’ve seen in any laptop.

On the Geekbench 6.2 overall performance test, the Vector 16’s multi-core score of 18,055 is staggering and puts it way above the category average of 10,740. The Alienware x16 R2 (13,874, Intel Core Ultra 9 185H) and Omen 16 (14,515, Intel Core i7-13700HX) couldn’t even get close, but the Blade 16 (17,461, Intel Core i9-14900HX) is at least within the ballpark, albeit lesser.

While converting a 4K video into 1080p using the HandBrake app, the Vector 16 accomplished the task in 2 minutes and 31 seconds, faster than the category average of 3 minutes and 21 seconds. The results for its competitors are pretty diverse, with the Alienware x16 R2 (3:33) being a minute slower, the Omen 16 (4:29) two minutes slower, and Blade 16 (2:48) just barely falling behind by 17 seconds.

The Vector 16 duplicated 25GB of multimedia files in 20 seconds at a transfer rate of 1,353 megabytes per second, which is far slower than the 1,978MBps category average. This is the only category in which the Vector 16 truly falls behind, as the Alienware x16 R2 (1TB SSD, 1,776MBps), Omen 16 (2TB SSD, 1,990MBps), and Blade 16 (2TB SSD, 1,833MBps) all have faster SSDs.

MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG: Battery life

Power this good with a panel so colorful had me expecting lesser longevity, but the Vector 16 proved otherwise. On the Laptop Mag battery life test, which involves continuous web browsing over wifi at 150 nits, the Vector 16 lasted 6 hours and 13 minutes. While gaming laptops last as long as eight hours and over, this is still pretty good, especially for a laptop packed with an RTX 4080.

It’s impressive considering the category average of 4 hours and 38 minutes, alongside the Omen 16 (4:08) and Blade 16 (4:41), are nearly two hours shorter. The Alienware x16 R2 (6:32) is the only one that came ahead, but only by 19 minutes.

MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG: Webcam

With a grainy 720p webcam that won’t do much to satisfy you unless you’re looking for the bare minimum, the Vector 16 doesn’t stand out in the sea of lousy laptop webcams. 

My eyebrows looked like an unkempt fuzzy mess, while the details of my room in the background were indiscernible. At the very least, the color is pretty decent, maintaining the hue of my office’s pink walls and white ceiling. If you want something better, buy one of the best webcams, which will be fine for most gamers. 

MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG: Heat

The Vector 16 isn’t all that hot. The touchpad was cool at 75 degrees Fahrenheit, the G/H key hit 87 degrees, and its hottest was above the F8 key at 93 degrees. In our gaming tests, the touchpad was 72 degrees, while the G/H key hit 99 degrees. The underside hit 86.5, which isn’t all that bad, but prepare to deal with overly loud fans whirring while running any demanding games. 

MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG: Software and warranty

Installed with Windows 11 and MSI’s suite of software, the Vector 16 has more than enough apps to accommodate most gamer needs. Through MSI Center, users can utilize system diagnosis, Mystic Light for RGB, MSI Recovery, MSI AI Engine, AI Noise Cancellation, an MSI gaming overlay, hardware diagnosis, and performance/Wi-Fi analysis.

The Vector 16 comes with a three-year limited warranty. You can see how MSI did in our Tech Support Showdown special report.

Bottom line

The MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG exceeded my expectations, and while my jaw has come up from the floor, I’m still stunned by its best qualities, considering its relatively low price.

Excluding a few quibbles, it spares no expense in providing an all-around phenomenal gaming laptop experience while staying under the $3,000 threshold. It boasts leading productivity scores, a powerful RTX 4080 GPU, a bright and colorful display, solid audio, decent battery life, and a clicky keyboard without costing a fortune.

However, it’s not perfect, weighed down by overly noisy fans that will get annoying if you’re not wearing headphones, alongside a flimsy trackpad and SSD speed that fails to match competitors. If you’re willing to sacrifice its i9 processor and phenomenal panel for a slightly cheaper RTX 4080 laptop, the HP Omen 16 is a good pick. Otherwise, we highly recommend the Vector 16 to those needing a high-end gaming laptop.

MSI is no stranger to automotive crossovers. Last year the company debuted the Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport, though it sadly never made it to the North American market. This year, MSI has updated the Stealth 16 with improved specs, alongside an 18-inch model which will be available state-side for the first time.

As you may expect, the Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport has a ton of Mercedes-Benz and AMG Motorsport branding. Between the logos on the top cover, underside, along the sides, and above the keyboard you definitely can’t forget which laptop you’re using.

But the bit that really put me over the edge on the Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport was a combination of the “Start Engine” label on the power button and the Mercedes orange color on the “W”, “A”, “S”, and “D” keys.

There’s so much detail in the design from a branding perspective for both MSI and Mercedes-AMG, it’s honestly rather impressive. There are even signatures from the CEOs of both companies on the bottom of the laptop.

MSI also offers several MSI and Mercedes-AMG branded accessories to pair with the laptop. One is a scale model of an AMG GT car with MSI branding all over it — which is, honestly, a good representation of the laptop itself. The Stealth 18 AMG almost looks like a NASCAR vehicle it has so many brand badges.

MSI Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport: Specs

MSI Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport: Pricing and configurations

The MSI Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport is designed to match a luxury sports car and has the price to match. Starting at $3,899, you definitely need to set aside some real funds to afford it. But then, it wouldn’t be a Mercedes-AMG crossover if it wasn’t a premium performance machine.

MSI Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport: Design

MSI and Mercedes-AMG Motorsport co-designed this laptop and it really shows. There’s an abundance of branding, from the very obvious logos along the top lid and sides to both CEO's signatures on the underside of the laptop. The heat vents above the keyboard read “AMG” and even the power button has been relabeled to read “Start Engine.”

The Stealth 18 also has a speaker array on the edges of the palm rest, a generous touchpad, and a satisfyingly reactive keyboard. That fact the whole laptop is under one inch thick and weighs only 6.4 pounds is shocking. The Stealth line has always been MSI’s premium thin and light gaming laptop lineup, but knowing how much is crammed into the Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport makes it almost impossible to comprehend.

MSI Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport: Ports

The Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport features one Thunderbolt 4 port with Power Delivery, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port with DisplayPort, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, a 3.5 mm audio combo jack, and an SD express card reader.

MSI Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport: Display

The 18-inch UHD+ (3,840 x 2,400) IPS panel on the Stealth 18 AMG also supports refresh rates up to 120Hz and Vesa HDR 1000. That’s enough display quality to make the Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Edition a worthy desktop replacement laptop.

While we’d have to test the display in our labs to be certain, the quality of the Stealth 18 AMG's panel looked impressive enough to me, even on the crowded Computex floor.

MSI Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport: Gaming and graphics

With an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU, there aren’t many games that the Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport would struggle with. While it isn’t quite as powerful as the RTX 4090, few games really need the increased VRAM of Nvidia’s highest-level gaming graphics card. So a 4080 saves the Stealth 18 AMG a bit of weight while still providing crisp, high-fidelity graphics.

For more specifics on the Stealth 18’s gaming and graphics performance, we will have to wait until we can get one in our lab to put it through our standard gaming benchmarks. However, based on my hands-on experience at Computex, it seems like it would be more than enough.

MSI Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport: Performance

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor in the Stealth 18 AMG isn’t the most powerful gaming processor out there right now, but it is a very good CPU regardless. Plus, it does give you access to the Intel Meteor Lake NPU so it is an AI PC.

That can give it a bit of hardware acceleration that may make up for the lack of raw power in the Core Ultra 9 185H compared to the more traditional Core i9-14900HX.

As usual, we can’t make any concrete claims about the performance of the Stealth 18 until we can get it into the Laptop Mag testing lab. But things do look promising.

Outlook

The MSI Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport will be available around August or September 2024. It commands a premium price, so you need to really love MSI Stealth laptops, Mercedes-AMG cars, or both to go for this one. But from what we’ve seen, it will be worth the price.

And hey, having a laptop that matches a model car on your desk is definitely a flex. It just needs the right audience.

Travel to and from and accommodation at Computex Tapei was paid for by MSI. The company did not see the contents of this article before publication.

Handheld gaming PCs are having a moment this year. Between the Asus ROG Ally X and the MSI Claw 8 AI+, we're as excited as ever about the emergent category.

Of course, we will have to wait for the Claw 8 AI+, but MSI has a different handheld that’s grabbed our attention.

MSI brought two new versions of its Claw handheld gaming PC to Computex in Taipei: The Intel Lunar Lake-powered Claw 8 AI+ and the Claw x Fallout edition.

Handheld gaming PCs have taken off since the Steam Deck was first announced in 2022, with more companies taking a stab at the hybrid hardware. Between the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and MSI Claw we’ve seen plenty of things that work and things that don’t when it comes to this new gaming form factor. 

Of course, all of these handheld gaming PCs are reminiscent of Nintendo's hybrid game console the Switch and Switch OLED and going back even further, the Switch bares a resemblance to a more modern Sega Game Gear. 

So while the handheld realm is new space for computer manufacturers, gaming handhelds have been popular for decades now, and for good reason.

So how do the Claw x Fallout and Claw 8 AI+ stack up?

MSI Claw x Fallout

The MSI Claw x Fallout is, for now, just a concept. An MSI rep told Laptop Mag this week on the Computex expo floor that the company is still working on getting Fallout units into production, so we can't tell you when you'll see it arrive on the virtual or physical shelves of your favorite retailer.

While MSI hasn't determined if a full-release model will go into production, I hope it does. I’m not the biggest Fallout fan out there, but the game series is having a massive renaissance now thanks to the TV series on Amazon Prime Video. So if there was ever a time for a Fallout-themed Claw, it’s now.

Of course, this is just a Fallout skin on the current MSI Claw, so nothing is really new here. We had some troubles with the Claw when we reviewed it back in March, but following multiple updates it has improved and the demo units on the floor performed well. 

On the one hand, they are demo units with only Fallout 4 loaded on them. But, as anyone who has been to a trade show can tell you, demo units get handled constantly and can run into spectacular troubles, so the fact I could back out of the game, poke around in the MSI Center UI, play with the quick settings, and get back to gaming in Fallout is a point in the Claw’s favor.

The handheld is still receiving plenty of driver updates from Intel to improve performance and gaming optimization so it is constantly getting better. As the only handheld using an Intel Core Ultra Meteor Lake processor and an integrated Arc GPU, these growing pains are expected, or at least understandable. But that does mean it’s perhaps not the best product for someone who wants a handheld that just works out of the box. For that, the Steam Deck and Switch are definitely the best options. Even our beloved Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go take some getting used to and some custom button-mapping tweaks to get everything working right.

MSI Claw 8 AI+

Of course the Claw x Fallout edition was slightly overshadowed at the booth by the looming figure of the Claw 8 AI+. Announced and showcased alongside one another, the Claw 8 AI+ was the handheld most people were interested in. And I can’t say I wasn’t the same.

The Claw 8 AI+ is still in the development phase, so the version at Computex was a prototype model shown under a glass display case. Chatting with reps from MSI at the Computex booth, they seem confident that it is almost ready. But the full production version may look slightly different than the one on the floor. It will have a second Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C port so you can both power the device and connect any accessories. MSI has also added a larger 80 WHr (watt-hour) battery to the Claw 8 AI+ compared to the current Claw’s 53Whr battery.

The Claw 8 AI+’s biggest changes will be the Intel Core Ultra Lunar Lake series processor and 8-inch 120 Hz FHD (1,920 x 1,080) IPS display. MSI has also redesigned the bumpers, triggers, and joysticks. The Claw 8 AI+ also features a new “Cooler Boost Hyperflow” cooling system for decreased thermal throttling. 

Because it is a Lunar Lake product, the earliest it could be in your hands is Q4 2024. (So sometime between October and December.) 

If Intel’s claims about Lunar Lake’s power efficiency and hardware acceleration are true, the Claw 8 AI+ could be the best-performing handheld out there —  though the Asus ROG Ally X is coming soon to claim that spot as well. So we’ll have to wait to see how both fare in our lab benchmarks and hands-on testing to make a final call. But after talking with reps from MSI and Intel about the Claw 8 AI+, I can say I am rather hopeful.

Outlook

We’re excited to see what MSI can do with the Claw 8 AI+, leveraging the new Intel Lunar Lake chipset and a redesign based on feedback from the original Claw launch including redesigned bumpers. 

This could very well put the Claw 8 AI+ on our list of Best gaming handhelds. And while it isn’t a redesign, the MSI Claw x Fallout edition is incredibly compelling even with the flaws of the base Claw in mind.

While the Claw x Fallout is not currently planned for a commercial launch, if enough people are interested in it, MSI could very well put it into production. If that ends up happening, you could possibly see it hit the shelves as early as Q3 of this year.

The Claw 8 AI+ does not have a confirmed release date or price-point yet but it will likely release sometime in Q4 2024.

The current MSI Claw is available now starting at $699.

MSI paid for travel and accommodations for Computex Tapei. The company did not see the contents of this article before publication.

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The MSI Claw 8 AI Plus succeeds the MSI Claw and seems better in every way that counts.

MSI unveiled its latest handheld gaming device on Monday with The Verge detailing exclusive information about the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus' better processor, larger screen, improved battery, and other enhancements.

This comes only three months after the original Claw launched in March, and with some of the improvements we're expecting here, it's just another reason to avoid the original Claw.

I wrote the MSI Claw review and I noted its dreadful game performance, terrible design (especially in the bumpers), software issues, and uncomfortable heat. No, I'm not fond of it.

The company released BIOS updates on the hardware to improve performance, and while April's update did yield impressive results, the update launched in May didn't do much to get it into a competitive position when compared to other gaming handhelds.

Here's what the new MSI Claw 8 AI Plus offers.

Everything confirmed about the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus

The MSI Claw 8 AI Plus is confirmed to upgrade to Intel Core Ultra (Lunar Lake) processors, an 8-inch, FHD, 120Hz display, and an 80Wh battery. While we have no official images of its design, Digital Trends took some photos.

It'll also feature a second USB-C port with Thunderbolt 4 compatibility, alongside improvements to the "tactile feel of the LB/RB buttons." I noted this problem in my review, specifically claiming the bumpers are "terrible," so it's exciting to see how much different it feels to use.

The "MSI Claw 8 AI Plus" might be a mouthful of a name, especially because this is only the second iteration of the Claw, so putting an "8" in the name can be confusing. But it refers to its upgrade to an 8-inch screen, mirroring how laptops will include their screen size in the product name.

While the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus is making necessary improvements, it needs to go above and beyond to solidify itself as a reasonable option in the sea of superior gaming handheld devices.

The MSI Claw 8 AI Plus NEEDS to get competitive

Revealing the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus only three months after the launch of the original is a bold move, but the company doesn't have much of a choice.

Asus revealed the ROG Ally X on Sunday, with it set to launch in July. The Claw already had trouble competing against the original Ally, so for Asus' new-and-improved version to come so soon spells disaster if the company plans to stay competitive.

This is alongside rumors brewing about Lenovo Legion Go Lite, and while it is seemingly going to use the weaker AMD Ryzen Z1 rather than the Z1 Extreme, it'll likely be far more affordable and a great alternative when compared to the MSI Claw.

However, the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus offers a massive advantage over the Asus ROG Ally X: A new processor. While the Asus ROG Ally X is making huge improvements by offering 24GB of RAM, an 80Wh battery, 1TB of SSD storage, and physical improvements to the device, its AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor is staying the same.

If Lunar Lake's performance is fantastic enough to outperform the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, and if the Claw 8 AI Plus launches this year, MSI could have its moment in the spotlight. The Lenovo Legion Go Lite certainly won't outperform it with its lesser Z1 processor, so it could make the Claw a stronger handheld gaming device until the next proper Ally or Legion Go are launched.

On the other hand, the world of handheld gaming PCs is only getting more and more complex as additional hardware is being unveiled. Zotac, a popular graphics card manufacturer, just unveiled a new AMD-powered gaming handheld called the Zotac Zone. 

The MSI Claw 8 AI Plus isn't even the first Lunar Lake handheld, either. Weibu revealed the GP10 in May, and during Intel's Computex keynote, a mysterious new Lunar Lake-powered handheld gaming device from Inventec is at the bottom left corner. This is a space that's getting more and more packed by the minute, meaning companies need to take bolder action to remain competitive. 

The Claw will experience a tough uphill battle to fight in the coming years, but it would be great to see the Claw 8 AI Plus exceed all expectations and deliver superior performance with improved ergonomics and enhanced design. Until then, this is even more reason to avoid purchasing an MSI Claw.

MSI upgraded the Stealth and Creator laptops with AMD Strix Point and Intel Core Ultra AI processor options. The AMD Stealth and Creator laptops are part of the Copilot+ program, while the Intel Core Ultra Stealth 16 and 18 are a crossover with Mercedes-AMG Motorsport.

MSI revealed the new laptops at Computex in Taipei, Taiwan, this week. This coincides with AMD and Intel's key announcements, as their new silicon processors will power the updated MSI laptops.

Like many new laptops at Computex this year, AI and AI-enhanced gaming experiences are the focus for MSI.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+ and MSI Creator A16 AI+

MSI's new Stealth A16 AI+ and Creator A16 AI+ laptops combine AMD's latest Ryzen AI 300 laptop processors, Nvidia discrete graphics, and lightweight magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis to be the first lightweight gaming and creator laptops using next-gen AI.

Using AMD's new XDNA 2 NPU architecture, which offers up to three times the performance of previous generations, the Stealth A16 AI+ and Creator A16 AI+ run generative AI and large language models directly on the laptop. The CPU's Zen 5 architecture supports up to 12 large cores and 50 percent more on-chip memory for extra processor performance.

Both laptops also have Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs for additional graphics and AI computing power. These GeForce RTX GPUs will benefit from Nvidia's latest RTX AI advancements for enhanced power efficiency and fast gaming experiences.

MSI also launched the Summit A16 AI+ and Prestige A16 AI+ business and productivity laptops, which feature the latest AMD Ryzen AI 300 series processors.

MSI Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport and Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport

To celebrate the first anniversary of MSI's partnership with the Mercedes-AMG automotive brand, MSI is launching the Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport alongside an upgraded version of the original Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport.

Like its predecessor, both companies designed the Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport. The chassis incorporates several speed symbols, including the AMG pattern covering the palm rest, exclusive metal nameplates from MSI and AMG, and the Mercedes-AMG logo throughout the magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis.

Underneath the proverbial hood, the Stealth 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport features an Intel Core Ultra 9 185 H processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 graphics, an extensive vapor chamber cooling system, and powerful enough gaming performance to keep up with an AMG GT2.

The Stealth does get an Intel AI CPU, but not a Lunar Lake CPU

Curiously, although MSI updated the Prestige and Summit lines with AMD Ryzen AI 300 "Strix Point" processors and Intel Core Ultra "Lunar Lake" processors, the Stealth line got only a Strix Point update.

The MSI Stealth 16 and 18 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport does have an Intel Core Ultra processor, but the Ultra 9 185 H is a previous-gen "Meteor Lake" processor. This is an odd oversight, considering the Stealth is one of MSI's premier gaming laptop lines. It isn't the desktop replacement of the MSI Titan or the MSI Raider, but the Stealth has always been a premium gaming platform. It's just a premium ultrathin gaming laptop, which occasionally comes at the expense of raw power compared to its chunkier counterparts.

So you have to wonder, where is the "Lunar Lake" Stealth model?

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The MSI Claw, a debut handheld PC gaming device from Taiwanese laptop giant Micro-Star International, received a new BIOS update last Thursday, with the company promising it would deliver up to a 30% boost in gaming performance.

This comes after months of criticisms levied against the MSI Claw for its lackluster Intel Core Ultra performance — suffering from severe stuttering and a sluggish frame rate when compared to its competitors. 

I didn't recommend the MSI Claw in my review due to issues ranging from poor design to software mishaps. However, one of the Claw's biggest setbacks comes from its (at the time) awful gaming performance. However, MSI has since tried to rectify these issues, and things have been improving.

Clawing its way back

Last month, MSI launched its first performance-enhancing Claw update which promised up to a 43.5 percent boost in gaming performance. Wanting to give the Claw a chance to turn things around, I applied the update and dove back into some of the titles I'd previously tested with the device.

True to MSI's word, I found that performance did increase across a number of titles including Helldivers 2, Doom Eternal, and Elden Ring. But it still wasn't enough to draw level with the Asus ROG Ally and its powerful AMD's Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor.

MSI Claw BIOS 109 update

MSI's latest update for the Claw has since been released, and we thought it only fair to see how the company's handheld is coming along.

For MSI to promise another 30% boost in performance is pretty impressive, and if it can actually achieve a boost this significant, it might finally stand on even ground with its competitors.

Without further ado, here are our tests when comparing the MSI Claw's new "E1T41IMS.109" BIOS—which we'll refer to as BIOS 109 from here on—to the Asus ROG Ally and pre-update performance.

MSI Claw BIOS 109: Before and after

When I last updated the MSI Claw's BIOS, it had to be done manually. Now, if you need to update to BIOS 109, you can easily do so through MSI Center M. Click the MSI Center M button (the bottom left menu button) > Settings > Live Update > Scan > Update MSI Center M to 1.0.2405.1401 or 2405.1401 > Relaunch MSI Center M > Settings > Live Update > Scan > Update BIOS.

Now that the BIOS is updated, we can finally run some tests.

I launched Elden Ring with BIOS 109 and saw bizarre flickering in the shadows being cast through a forest in Limgrave. The problem didn't go away upon restarting the game. It wasn't something I'd noticed before updating the firmware, but it could have sprung up for any number of reasons.

Regardless, I managed a consistent 30 to 35 frames per second without any stutter as I traversed this forest and battled enemies, which is consistent with what we saw before the update. On the Ally, we saw an incredible 50 to 60 fps with no stutter on High settings. That's a massive improvements when compared to the MSI Claw.

Doom Eternal's framerate has always been wildly consistent, ranging anywhere from 30 to 70 fps depending on what's happening on screen, but when deep in the throes of a gunfight, it's often in the range between 40 and 50 fps. 

That's identical to what we got before the update, which paints a pretty clear picture for my expectations with Helldivers 2. As for the Ally, it hovered around 60 to 70 fps, which is way better than what the Claw could handle.

I launched Helldivers 2 and maintained a stagnant 30 fps while on the ship with occassional stutters when interacting with objects, especially when starting up the engine as the game froze for a second. I landed onto a desert planet and couldn't hit higher than 30 fps as I ran around pelting automatons with shotgun fire. And when things got intense, like lots of robots falling from dropships and tons of bullets soaring past my character, it would hover around the 25 fps range with some stutter.

That's worse than what we saw before the update, but this is likely due to the difference in terrain. Planets and locations in Helldivers 2 cycle, so we can't test the exact same location we did a month ago.

Regardless, our performance on the ship is similar, so not much has happened with this update. As for the Ally, it managed 40 to 45 fps on Low without any stutter, which is great.

MSI Claw BIOS 109: The results

Outlook

Sadly, there's not much to say on the MSI Claw's BIOS 109 update, as we saw identical performance before and after. Elden Ring, Doom Eternal, and Helldivers 2 each managed the same frame rate without it.

MSI needs to pull out all the stops and push the Claw's Intel Core Ultra 7 155H to its limit. Especially with the improved Lenovo Legion Go Lite and Asus ROG Ally X on the way.

For now, we still don't recommend the MSI Claw over alternatives like the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go.

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The MSI Claw, a machine I said no one should buy in my review, has received a BIOS update that MSI claims could boost framerate by up to 43.5%. When testing the device originally, it performed significantly worse in our gaming tests compared to the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go. It would be an impressive comeback story if the device makes a significant performance leap.

However, this isn't the first time an update for the Claw promised improvements to its gaming prowess, as we received many of these in the testing phase and it still ended in the unbelievably underpowered device we're using now.

We ran three games on the MSI Claw before and after the update to test its performance. These are Elden Ring, Doom Eternal, and Helldivers 2. But let's establish a solid control: Elden Ring on the ROG Ally managed between 50 and 60 fps on High graphics. Helldivers 2 maintained 40 to 45 fps on Low graphics. And Doom Eternal stayed around 60 to 70 fps on High graphics. This information is vital because we don't just want to see if the MSI Claw improves with this update, but whether it does enough to catch up to competitors.

MSI Claw game performance before its update

Playing Elden Ring with graphics set to high was barely playable, so I swapped it to low and managed 20-30 fps while running around Limgrave. It still stuttered frequently and I experienced massive slowdowns, like I did during my review.

I launched Doom Eternal and tried to boost the graphics to Ultra but due to a failure to allocate video memory, the game crashed. The Claw has 8GB of VRAM and Ultra only takes 5,247MB (with Doom Eternal listing the device's capacity at 6,819MB), so this should have worked. Regardless, I dropped it down to High and continued testing. In comparison, the ROG Ally had no issue going up to Ultra Nightmare graphics settings without having allocation issues.

I began the Cultist Base mission and saw little to no consistency in framerate, with it jumping anywhere between 20 and 60 fps while running around. But as soon as I'd get into gunfights with demons (and especially when using explosives), it will freeze and drop below 10fps with massive stutters. This is especially damning for a game from 2019 that's famous for running great on most hardware.

Launching Helldivers 2 yielded 20 fps just on the ship with graphics set to Medium. Putting it down to Low helped a little, with it maintaining 30 fps when standing still. But it drops between 10 and 20 fps when running around the ship. It also frequently stutters and freezes for seconds at a time when interacting with anything, as the Hell Pod caused the game to freeze for ten seconds.

But finally, I launched down, with the game freezing every half second while watching the Hell Pod drop onto a planet. Running around maintained around 30 fps, but once again, doing anything would cause massive stutters and drops. When fighting my first Automaton, I unloaded a series of shotgun shells into its chest as the game chugged along showcasing disjointed frames of the encounter until the enemy suddenly collapsed on its side. It's practically unplayable in this state.

MSI Claw game performance after its update

To download the MSI Claw's latest BIOS, simply go to the device's Drivers and Downloads page. Download BIOS version E1T41IMS.106 released on 04/16/2024 onto the claw. Extract the folder and run FLASHWIN as administrator. Windows might block the process, but if it does, select More Info and click Allow.

I launched Elden Ring with graphics set to low and noticed significant improvements. The constant stuttering I experienced in my initial tests were entirely gone, with the performance staying anywhere between 30 and 35 fps as I ran around Limgrave, fought soldiers, and got mauled by bats.

Even with Elden Ring's graphics set to High, the Claw did not stutter, although it occasionally dropped beneath 30fps. This performance is miles better than our initial tests, as it's at least playable without stutter. But the Ally still demolishes it, achieving near double the framerate on the same graphics.

I moved on to Doom Eternal and upped the settings to Ultra, but it once again had an issue allocating memory. I returned to Cultist Base on High settings and saw the framerate jumping anywhere between 30 and 60 fps. It was mostly consistent nestled between 40 and 50 while battling enemies, and once again, I experienced no stutters.

Helldivers 2 is also far more stable, maintaining 30 fps on Low in the ship with fewer stutters. It will still have a second-long freeze every once in a while, but it's night and day when compared to before, as interacting with the Hell Pods and Galactic War Map doesn't cause a massive slowdown.

I launched onto a planet and fought through tons of Automatons without issue, the performance hitting anywhere between 30-35 fps without any slowdowns. It would drop a bit below 30 fps when there are many enemies on screen at a time, but again, this is a significant improvement.

Our verdict on the MSI Claw's update

The latest MSI Claw update undeniably boosts performance, addressing major stuttering issues and improving framerate. However, it still hasn't closed the gap with its more affordable competitors, so if you already have an MSI Claw rush out and download this update immediately, but it's not enough for us to suggest buying one over the Asus ROG Ally or Lenovo Legion Go.

I got my first hands-on experience with the MSI Claw at CES 2024, and while I noted issues during my testing, I hoped these would be solved by its retail launch. As someone who has been obsessed with Windows gaming handhelds ever since the Asus ROG Ally, I’ve been looking forward to spending time with the Claw since it was revealed late last year.

But the Claw has launched blunter than expected, yielding a treasure trove of issues that take it several notches below competitors. I hoped that MSI could knock the crown off the head of the best handheld gaming devices, but it has done nothing but disappoint.

MSI Claw: Specs

MSI Claw: Pricing and configuration

The MSI Claw’s price point sits in an odd spot, as it’s currently the most expensive of the Windows gaming handheld devices. Configurations for the ROG Ally start at $599 and end at $699 (often available for $100-$200 less on sale), while the Lenovo Legion Go starts at $699 and ends at $749. Our review model of the Claw is the priciest at $799 for an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H with 1TB of SSD storage and is available on MSI’s website. 

The Claw shares the same starting point as Lenovo at $699 for its Intel Core Ultra 5 125U processor with 512GB of SSD storage. Taking up the middle-ground is a $749 model with the same Ultra 7 processor but 512GB of storage.

Steeper cost isn't a dealbreaker, but it did mean that the Claw needed to do extra legwork to convince us that it’s worth the price. Its competitors are more affordable, so the fact that it misses the mark is disappointing. Beyond processor and storage, the MSI Claw comes with 16GB of RAM, a 7-inch, 1920 x 1080-pixel resolution IPS display with a refresh rate of 120Hz, and Windows 11 Home. 

MSI Claw: Design

The MSI Claw’s name comes from its ergonomics, and while that’s a facet most handheld tech should consider, it’s especially important for gaming. If you're going to hold a device for hours at a time, it better be comfortable. That's where one of the Claw’s most exciting features comes to life, as it’s built with two controller-like grips at the back.

My hold of the device was firm and the subtle contours on each side allowed my fingers to support the system. The Ally would numb my arms after hours of use and I sometimes found myself supporting its bottom with my pinkies, although it does benefit from being lighter. While both have controller grips, the Claw’s are more pronounced and I can hold onto them without the need for extra support.

Elsewhere, the Claw’s design greatly resembles that of the ROG Ally, with the face buttons, D-Pad, and joy sticks taking the same layout as a traditional Xbox gamepad. Differences include its black finish and back triggers with Hall Effect sensors, meaning no physical contact is required for input to go through. However, the design of the Claw makes it nearly impossible to see its buttons in the dark, as the buttons and engravings are dark.

Its two Macro Key buttons, which sit at the back and can record keys, are nudged too closely against each grip. I kept clicking them by accident while playing Elden Ring. Although the Claw’s curved bumpers are novel, I prefer a traditional straight bumper design—it doesn't help that they have a noticeable squishiness rather than a satisfying click. And its clickable portion does not fully extend through the bumpers, meaning it cannot be pressed down at the edge closest to the center of the device. This is a huge criticism I had of Xbox One controllers, and it’s why I avoided using them.

The MSI Claw sits in the middle compared to other handheld gaming devices in weight and size, coming in at 11.6 x 4.6 x 0.85 inches and 1.48 pounds. The Asus ROG Ally (11.02 x 4.37 x 0.83-1.28 inches, 1.34 pounds) is lighter and smaller, but the Lenovo Legion Go (11.8 x 5.15 x 1.61 inches, 1.9 pounds) is the largest and heaviest by a significant margin. 

MSI Claw: Ports

The Claw has a mostly expected selection of ports for a gaming handheld, featuring a microSD, 3.5mm audio jack, and a power button with a fingerprint sensor, but it surprises us with Thunderbolt 4 implementation.  

The Ally is similar except it has a USB-C 3.2 Gen2 port, while the Legion Go has two USB-C 4.0 ports, but neither device has Thunderbolt 4. What's especially impressive about the Claw is that it comes with Wi-Fi 7, which makes it one-of-a-kind when it comes to gaming handhelds.

MSI Claw: Display

The Claw is built with a 1920 x 1080-pixel resolution, IPS touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate panel. This is pretty standard for a gaming handheld, so we can at least be glad that it’s not trapped to a 720p display. 

I launched Elden Ring and traversed Volcano Manor, engulfed in its stunning blend of gothic architecture submerged into pools of roaring lava. The display did a good job presenting the bright oranges of this area in contrast to the everpresent red hue, but don’t expect an overly colorful machine here. Especially in contrast to my experience testing this game on OLED displays, it sincerely makes me hope a Windows handheld gaming device incorporates an OLED panel in a future model. At the very least, the screen got bright enough to accommodate playing in a harshly lit room.

The Claw performed below average on our color tests, reproducing 72.5% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. To no surprise, it's less colorful than the mainstream gaming average of 90%. It’s also worse than the ROG Ally (76.9%), while the Legion Go (107.5%) absolutely crushed it in vividness.

It did better on our brightness tests, hitting a peak of 429 nits on average, which is superior to the 379-nit mainstream gaming average. Even though it did well, this still puts it below the Asus ROG Ally (465 nits) and Legion Go (476 nits). 

MSI Claw: Audio

Quality audio in a handheld device is important, as a poor speaker system can easily ruin a gaming experience and force the player to keep a pair of headphones around. That’d be far too inconvenient for my tastes, but I can confirm that the Claw’s speaker system sounds solid enough for mobile gaming. This is one thing the device absolutely does better than the ROG Ally. The Claw’s speakers are far louder and more intense.

I played Elden Ring and was impressed by how the menu music reverberated through my fingers, giving me chills as I launched into it and explored the snake-infested halls of Volcano Manor. The general hum of its bubbling pools of lava surrounding the tall castle walls sounded crisp and satisfying, while the uncomfortable droning of its atmospheric soundtrack sent shivers down my spine. 

MSI Claw: Gaming and graphics

The MSI Claw is unique in the realm of Windows gaming handhelds. Unlike the Ally and Legion Go, it's built with an Intel processor rather than AMD. It sports the latest Meteor Lake CPUs, with the base model offering an Intel Core Ultra 5 125U CPU and the higher-end model packing an Intel Ultra 7 155H. Beyond that, it's outfitted with 16GB of RAM and either 512GB or 1TB of SSD storage. 

I ran around Elden Ring with the graphics set to high and it was too choppy to enjoy, so I swapped everything to low at 1080p. This kept things at around 32 frames per second, but there were frequent stutters and freezes, alongside slowdowns dropping it down to 20 fps. Unplugging the Claw made the framerate drop further, averaging 20 to 25 fps with more frequent slowdowns. This may sound fine for a lightweight gaming PC, but when playing Elden Ring on the ROG Ally (AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme) at 1080p with graphic settings on high, it maintained 50 to 60 fps.

I also tried running Helldivers 2, but it wasn’t stable enough to enter the graphics settings and make changes, beyond the issues I had with game controls. Trying to move the camera made the game freeze, and when it was in motion it dropped below 10 fps.  

Thanks to the power of Intel’s latest processors, the Claw will utilize Intel XeSS to boost framerates in select games through AI upscaling. This catalog features over 50 titles, including Forza Horizon 5, Dying Light 2, Call of Duty Warzone, Hi-Fi Rush, Death Stranding, Returnal, Ghostwire: Tokyo and more. 

We put the Claw through several gaming tests, but we had a bit of trouble. It wasn’t capable of running our typical titles of choice at their highest graphics setting. However, we were able to get it to run Borderlands 3. 

During the Borderlands 3 test on Badass graphics settings at 1080p, the Claw managed an average of 23 frames per second. This matched the Asus ROG Ally (23 fps), which is shocking considering the Ally was capable of running a majority of other games far better.

Otherwise, these tests stand alone and can’t be compared to other devices due to different graphic settings. Assassin’s Creed Mirage at 720p achieved 49 fps on medium graphic settings, while Far Cry 6 on Ultra at 1080p yielded 29 fps. However, Cyberpunk 2077 with Ray Tracing on Medium at 1080p managed a solid 30 fps.

MSI Claw: Performance

The Claw is built with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, 1TB of SSD storage and 16GB of RAM. On paper, this should yield absolutely spectacular performance metrics when compared with AMD competitors, but the real answer might surprise you.

On the Geekbench 6.2 overall performance test, the Claw’s multi-core score of 10,209 is a good bit beyond the mainstream gaming laptop average of 8,383. However, the Asus ROG Ally’s AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme CPU (11,041) put it ahead, while the Legion Go’s AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme CPU (9,627) was left behind. 

When converting a 4K video into 1080p using the HandBrake app, the Claw accomplished the task in 6 minutes and 22 seconds, which is slower than the 4:35 category average. The Asus ROG Ally (4:56) is thrust into first place again, while the Legion Go (9:24) is by far the slowest.

The Claw duplicated 25GB of multimedia files in 29 seconds at a transfer rate of 920 megabytes per second, which is lower than the 1,481MBps category average. The Asus ROG Ally (512GB SSD, 769MBps) is at the bottom of the barrel, but the Legion Go (1TB SSD, 1,432MBps) claimed the top spot and got closest to the average.

MSI Claw: Software

Any good gaming handheld needs excellent software to support it. Windows is frustrating on a gamepad, and a dedicated app to tidy up your game library is a necessity. The Claw’s solution to this problem comes in the form of MSI Center M, an application that updates with installed games, features shortcuts to game launchers, and offers extensive settings for the Claw.

MSI Center M thrives with the inclusion of a game bar that automatically adds vital launchers, including Steam, Xbox App, Epic Games, Ubisoft Connect, Battle.net, and EA Play. This provides easy access to certain applications, potentially minimizing how much you’d need to use Windows 11. 

The Claw also features a Quick Settings button that accesses necessary settings like performance and control modes. However, unlike the ROG Ally—which features a smart Auto option that detects which is needed when—the only two options available are GamePad and Desktop. Otherwise, MSI Center M is customizable, offering useful shortcuts like showing a digital keyboard or returning to the desktop.

MSI Center M has its fair share of bugs, though. When I launched Helldivers 2, I was unable to proceed through the menus until I realized I was still on Desktop mode. I pressed the Quick Settings button to access it, but whenever I clicked on the option to swap from desktop to gamepad, it exited me out of the tab. I had to click on it with my fingers to get it to swap modes. When I finally went into the game with gamepad mode, I tried modifying other settings in the Quick Settings menu, but a shadow cursor was hovering over the Performance setting. Every time I selected the setting I wanted, it would instead click into where that phantom cursor haunted the screen.

In order for desktop operations to work properly, you need to go to the MSI Center M, select Control Mode at the bottom, open Desktop Mode, and swap from Macro Keys to Combination keys. Otherwise, you won’t be able to use vital shortcuts like lifting the keyboard to type into a field, taking screenshots, or quickly returning to the desktop.

Because the default shortcuts for returning to desktop and performing other useful tasks are disabled out of the box (as it prioritizes its potential Macros), you can easily find yourself trapped when nothing is working properly. I just haphazardly swiped up on the bottom of the screen until I was able to leave the game when it froze on me.

Beyond that, the Claw features a media gallery for saving photos and videos, Macro Key recording, AI-powered battery saving, and MSI App Player for easy access to Android applications.

MSI Claw: Battery life

With a 53Whr battery, MSI claims that the Claw will last two hours while gaming at maximum load. It's certainly at an advantage when compared to the Ally and Legion Go since the former has a 40Whr battery while the latter has a 49.2Whr battery, making the Claw the strongest of the group on paper. 

However, battery life isn't that simple. The Intel Meteor Lake processor series is a whole different beast when compared to the Ally and Legion Go’s AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme. Considering the industry is abuzz about the power efficiency of Intel’s latest chipsets, does MSI actually deliver?

On the Laptop Mag battery test, which involves continuous web browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits, the Claw lasted 6 hours and 8 minutes. This does beat the category average of 5 hours and 38 minutes. It also surpassed the Asus ROG Ally (5:51) and Legion Go (4:06).

However, what really matters is how long these devices can last while gaming, and with MSI’s two-hour promise, the Claw dies first at 1 hour and 22 minutes. The ROG Ally (1:43) and Legion Go (1:59) lasted a little longer, closer to the two-hour mark.

MSI Claw: Accessories

The only Claw peripheral currently available is the Nest Docking Station, which costs $79, but it seems to be out of stock. We haven’t been able to test the proper model, but we went hands-on with a prototype at CES 2024. By clicking its front panel and sliding it out, you can place the handheld device in the dock and enable access to additional ports. The prototype model we saw featured an HDMI port, three USB-C ports, two USB-A ports and an Ethernet port. 

MSI Claw: Heat

Since the Claw isn’t a traditional laptop, we measured its heat a bit differently. After streaming a 15-minute video, its directional D-Pad on the left hit 88.5 degrees Fahrenheit, while the underside measured 86 degrees. The hottest point was 93 degrees at the top edge center. Things got a little more intense after gaming for only 15 minutes. The directional D-Pad (87 degrees) stayed relatively cool, but the underside (98 degrees) and the top edge center (104 degrees) were a bit toasty.  

Heat on paper doesn’t matter as much as how it feels in your hands, and I can confirm that the Claw does not feel great to hold. If you keep your fingers at the grips and don’t travel much beyond them, you’ll feel only a slight but present heat, but if you rest your fingers against the back plate it’ll get too hot for comfort.

I’ve played on my ROG Ally for hundreds of hours and never had issues with heat discomfort, but this issue was immediately prominent on the Claw. The obvious problem is that vents exist on the lower section of the backplate, meaning your fingers will feel the heat in a resting position. It even makes the grips a bit steamy.

Bottom line

The Claw is a nightmare. Even if you can forgive its software issues, design flaws, and uncomfortable levels of heat, it boasts the highest price point of the Windows gaming handheld devices ($799), yet delivers the worst performance by far. 

I couldn’t believe my eyes when running Elden Ring—the game delivered nearly half the framerate on a significantly lower graphical settings when compared to the cheaper Ally. That should be all you need to know. The Claw is a shocking misstep for MSI, and we’d recommend checking out the Asus ROG Ally or Lenovo Legion Go for worthwhile alternatives. 

If you're aiming to score the most powerful gaming laptops, you better be prepared to sell a soul and a baby because this is one costly endeavor. You don't need an expensive gaming laptop to get the most out of gaming, as we've previously discussed in our columns about buying an RTX 4080 laptop and not spending more than $3,000 on a gaming laptop.

However, that doesn't change the fact that if you want the best, you'll have to get the best. The most powerful gaming laptops that we've reviewed in 2024 so far are the MSI Titan 18 HX and Asus ROG Strix Scar 18. These monsters are as expensive as one would imagine when talking about the most powerful.

But if you're about to take out a second mortgage to get a new gaming laptop, you better choose the right one. The MSI Titan 18 HX and Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 have broken our benchmarks and our wallets, so what does it look like if we throw them in the proverbial ring against one another?

MSI Titan 18 HX vs. Asus ROG Strix Scar 18: Specs compared

MSI Titan 18 HX vs. Asus ROG Strix Scar 18: Price

When we're talking about 18-inch, RTX 4090 gaming laptops — there's no escaping that intense gulp and wave of financial stress. Let's run down exactly what we're working with here.

For $5,399, the MSI Titan 18 HX offers an Intel Core i9-14900HX processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU with 16GB of VRAM, 128GB of RAM, two 2TB NVMe SSDs, and an 18-inch, 4K, 120Hz Mini LED display.

For $3,899, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 offers an Intel Core i9-14900HX processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU with 16GB of VRAM, 32GB of RAM, one 2TB SSD, and an 18-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz display.

If we're just talking about cost, it makes sense to go with the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18. But if you consider value, for an additional $1,500 you get 4 times the amount of RAM, double the SSD space, and a bump in display resolution. Which is a considerable bonus (for a considerable amount of money).

However, if you're just trying to get to that RTX 4090-level of power, settle for the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 and save yourself a wad of cash.

Winner: Asus ROG Strix Scar 18

MSI Titan 18 HX vs. Asus ROG Strix Scar 18: Design

I can scream and shout about black, boring gaming laptops until I die from lack of oxygen. I'm not going to waste time doing that with the MSI Titan 18 HX and Asus ROG Strix Scar 18. Let's talk about portability instead.

The MSI Titan 18 HX comes in at 7.9 pounds and 15.9 x 12.1 x 1.3 inches, while the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 weighs in at 6.8 pounds, 15.7 x 11.6 x 0.9 inches.

I won't go into ports selection, but I will warn you about port placement. The MSI Titan 18 HX features ports on its sides as well as its back, while the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 offers its ports only on the sides.

If portability is important to you, this is a simple choice. Get the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18.

Winner: Asus ROG Strix Scar 18

MSI Titan 18 HX vs. Asus ROG Strix Scar 18: Display

In this humble journalist's opinion, the most important feature you get out of a premium gaming laptop is the display. The MSI Titan 18 HX is rocking an 18-inch, 3,840 x 2,400, 120Hz, Mini LED display, while the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 offers an 18-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz display.

Let's talk specs first. What's more important to you — sharper graphics or smoother gameplay? If it's the former, you'll want to go with the Titan's 4K+ panel, but if it's the latter, you'll want the Strix's 240Hz refresh rate. However, both are sharp and smooth enough to carry you through all current AAA titles and still look great.

Now let's talk benchmarks. The MSI Titan 18 HX covered 112.4% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and averaged 559 nits of brightness. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 covered 84.30% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and averaged 427 nits of brightness.

Thanks to the Titan's Mini LED display, it effortlessly dominated the Strix.

Winner: MSI Titan 18 HX

MSI Titan 18 HX vs. Asus ROG Strix Scar 18: Keyboard and touchpad

We typically don't go over the keyboard and touchpad experience when facing off gaming laptops, but there are significant differences between the MSI Titan 18 HX and Asus ROG Strix Scar 18.

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 offers your standard-fare keyboard and touchpad experience. It features a bouncy keyboard, a wide deck, and a pleasantly smooth touchpad.

The MSI Titan 18 HX, however, is anything but standard. It features a fully mechanical keyboard that is arguably one of the best keyboards I've tested on a gaming laptop. It also comes with a haptic-touchpad that is flat against the deck — I much prefer a standard touchpad in this instance, but I could get used to it with time.

Despite that, I'm pulling out a discrete gaming mouse if I'm playing, but I'd still be using the laptop's keyboard. With this logic, the choice is easy.

Winner: MSI Titan 18 HX

MSI Titan 18 HX vs. Asus ROG Strix Scar 18: Graphics

Both the MSI Titan 18 HX and Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 are packing an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU with 16GB of VRAM. You'd be surprised how much regular ol' RAM impacts graphics performance. Titan is sporting 128GB, while the Strix has 32GB. Let's see how they match up.

On the “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla” benchmark (Ultra, 1080p), the Titan nailed 169 frames per second, scoring 15 fps over the Strix (154 fps). The Titan got 73 fps at 2400p, while the Strix averaged 119 fps at 1600p (those are their native resolutions).

The MSI Titan 18 HX was 4 frames ahead of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 on the “Far Cry 6” benchmark (Ultra, 1080p). The former achieved 120 fps, while the latter settled for 116 fps. At their native resolutions, the Titan and Strix hit 71 fps and 106 fps, respectively.

In “Borderlands 3” (Badass, 1080p), the Titan came in at 181 fps, dominating the Strix (141 fps) — 40 frames is enough space to fit a playable game. At their native resolutions, the Titan and Strix scored 64 fps and 114 fps, respectively.

If we're raiding tombs, the MSI Titan 18 HX shot up to 190 fps on the “Shadow of the Tomb Raider” benchmark (Highest, 1080p), sliding past the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18's 167-fps. At their native resolutions, the Titan and Strix hit 65 fps and 118 fps, respectively.

Numbers don't lie.

Winner: MSI Titan 18 HX

MSI Titan 18 HX vs. Asus ROG Strix Scar 18: Performance

Similar to the graphics situation, both the MSI Titan 18 HX and Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 are sporting the new Intel Core i9-14900HX processor. However, the former is powering through with 128GB of RAM and two 2TB SSDs, while the latter features only 32GB of RAM and one 2TB SSD.

On the Geekbench 6.1 overall performance test, the Titan scored 16,501, which is excellent. However, the Strix managed to slide on by with 17,300.

When the machines transcoded a 4K video to 1080p on our HandBrake benchmark, the Titan completed it in 2 minutes and 33 seconds while the Strix did it in 2 minutes and 48 seconds.

The MSI Titan 18 HX's two 2TB SSDs clocked in a transfer rate of 2,664 megabytes per second, while the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18's singular 2TB SSD managed 2,259 MBps.

Both gaming laptops are incredibly powerful. I'd lean toward giving this to the Titan since it bested the Strix two out of three times. The Strix did beat the Titan in overall performance, and it was a tight race on the other two. However, with more RAM, you'll naturally be able to take on more tasks.

Winner: MSI Titan 18 HX

MSI Titan 18 HX vs. Asus ROG Strix Scar 18: Battery life

Now this section is going to be pitiful. Gaming laptops can have great battery life occasionally, but not the ones flaunting an RTX 4090.

The MSI Titan 18 HX lasted only 2 hours and 40 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery test, which is nearly 2 hours shorter than the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18. The Strix lasted 4 hours and 23 minutes.

When gaming, however, the Titan lasted 1:36, whereas the Strix survived 1:20. However, both are abysmal, and you should be plugged in if you want to use the GPU to its full extent.

Winner: Asus ROG Strix Scar 18

Overall winner: MSI Titan 18 HX

This was a battle of titans — and at least one literal Titan. The MSI Titan 18 HX and Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 are the most powerful gaming laptops that I've reviewed in 2024 so far. I gave both of them 4 out of 5 stars, but I did give only one of them an Editor's Choice award. It just so happens to be the victor of this very bout.

That's right — the MSI Titan 18 HX takes it away. If we're talking about power, there is no equal. It's muscles aren't the only thing it has going for it, either. The Titan wowed me with its gorgeous Mini LED display and crunchy mechanical keyboard. It's a gaming laptop at its peak.

However, the Titan's victory does not take away from the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18's successes. It's cheaper, sleeker, and lasts a hell of a lot longer unplugged (relatively). If you want amazing performance without feeling like you're hauling around a brick's worth of paperweights, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is the one for you.

That doesn't change that the MSI Titan 18 HX is the victor. This is the only choice that makes sense if you're pining for absolute power. I would say you don't have to worry about buyer's remorse, but if you can afford a $5,399 gaming laptop, I don't think you have much to worry about.

Winner: MSI Titan 18 HX

I’ve made it no secret that I’m obsessed with the recent handheld gaming revival. The idea of a portable device running Windows with enough power to comfortably game is near perfect, yet the execution can leave a bit to be desired. Still, with more and more major laptop manufacturers announcing their own versions of this concept, my hype only grows. 

With the new MSI Claw, I’m full of excitement and desperately waiting to see if the company can launch the best avenue towards handheld gaming on Windows. While we haven’t had the chance to test it ourselves, I’ve had the pleasure of playing with it for a bit at CES 2024 and we have tons of information on its hardware and software. So, naturally, we’re going to pit it against my beloved Asus ROG Ally.

There’s no way we can come to a definitive conclusion without running tests and having a good chunk of time with the Claw. However, based on what we know so far, here’s how the two weigh up.

MSI Claw vs Asus ROG Ally: Price and configurations 

The Claw is at a disadvantage against the Ally with its steeper price point, but it’s not so egregious that we’d instantly recommend one over the other. The base model of the Ally starts at $599 and offers an AMD Ryzen Z1 processor, while the $699 model comes with a AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme.

This is a bit cheaper than the Claw, which starts at $699 for an Intel Core Ultra 5 125U processor with 512GB of SSD storage, and $799 for an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H with 1TB of SSD storage. The Claw benefits from the greater SSD storage space of its higher-end model, but the Ally is more affordable. If the latter ends up dominating with its AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme performance, the winner here is clear. On the other hand, if Intel’s Meteor Lake processors prove to be that much stronger than AMD’s offering then it’ll be more than worth the price difference. Until then, the Ally takes the cake thanks to its lower cost.

Winner: Asus ROG Ally

MSI Claw vs Asus ROG Ally: Specs overview 

MSI Claw vs Asus ROG Ally: Design 

The announcement of the Claw makes many references to its ergonomics and how it is a vital aspect of its inception. I was even told at the MSI booth during CES 2024 that the name “Claw” comes from its grip. Two protruding bumps that resemble the grips on a gamepad sit at the left and right, behind the handheld.

During long sessions with the Ally, not only do my arms get numb but I find myself lowering my pinkies and having them support the device by placing them at the bottom. While I still find the Ally to be comfortable, it isn’t perfect, and MSI offering such a firm grip at the back of the Claw could fix these issues.

But the Claw isn’t faultless, as during my hands-on at CES 2024 I was confused by its awkwardly positioned menu buttons. The one found at the top left is the View button, the bottom right is the Menu button, the top right opens Quick Settings and bottom left opens MSI Center M.

I was unsure which of the four buttons did what during my hands-on, whereas the Ally is immediately understandable since the top two are used while gaming, while the bottom row are where the Armoury Crate-adjacent buttons rest. To add another unfortunate layer to the mix, MSI has told me it’s currently not modifiable. Though, it’s possible this could still change in the future, as what I used during the hands-on was merely a prototype.

The Claw also differs from the Ally in its bumpers and triggers. I got a chance to briefly test how the Claw’s bumpers feel, and I wasn’t a fan. The Ally offers a satisfying click with the press of the bumper, but the Claw’s is a bit too squishy. The Claw also has its Macro Key button nudged right up against the grips at the back, as I was accidentally pressing them with worrying regularity while running around in Assassin’s Creed: Mirage. 

The Claw could thrive with its grip, but due to some flaws I noticed during the hands-on, it’s hard to say whether it can outmatch the Ally in design just yet.

Winner: Draw 

MSI Claw vs Asus ROG Ally: Graphics  

While the Ally and Claw do have some differences, the biggest comes via their processors. It’s an age old tale of Intel vs AMD and, depending on the time and place, either can come on top. In this instance, we’re seeing the AMD Ryzen Z1 and Z1 Extreme in the Ally going toe-to-toe with the Intel Core Ultra 5 125U and Intel Core Ultra 7 155H in the Claw.

Both companies do excel in their own ways, but AMD has been on the top in gaming for a long time now. Intel has an uphill battle to fight in this quest to prove itself to lovers of play, but considering all of the excitement surrounding the gaming capabilities of Intel’s Meteor Lake processors, we’re hopeful. We don’t have benchmarks for the Claw just yet, so neither will take the prize for now, but we can’t wait to test it.

Winner: Draw

MSI Claw vs Asus ROG Ally: Display 

On paper, the Ally and Claw have similar displays, and the only way to know which is superior is by testing its nits and coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut. Both feature a 7-inch 1920 x 1080-pixel resolution IPS display at a 120Hz refresh rate, and they’re also similarly advertised as having 100% sRGB coverage and 500 nits of brightness. 

In our tests of the Ally, it managed an average of 465 nits and covered 76.1% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which is pretty close to what the company advertised. Until we get to test the Claw ourselves, we won’t know which device is better.

Winner: Draw

MSI Claw vs Asus ROG Ally: Software 

Software is an underrated aspect of any gaming handheld, yet it’s vital. Many of the issues faced by gaming handhelds come from Windows being a nightmare to use on a gamepad. And, of course, it’s not like MSI or Asus can just redesign Windows with a gamepad-friendly UX, so the next best thing is to have the company incorporate their own apps to make navigation smoother.

In this case, Ally’s Armoury Crate is going up against Claw’s MSI Center M. I have months of experience with Armoury Crate now and, although it’s immensely useful, it has tons of little issues. It has crashed on me, suffered extreme slowdowns, and sometimes freezes. To be fair, my hands-on with the Claw’s MSI Center M had a similar level of jankiness, but since the software is in its prototype phase and certain features weren’t fully working yet. So I won’t judge it too harshly until we get a commercial model in our hands.

MSI Center M is especially exciting because it has a dedicated section for the biggest gaming apps and platforms like Steam, EA Play, Xbox, Epic Games, Battle.net and Ubisoft Connect. However, the company told me that the selection is modifiable depending on which apps you prefer. Armoury Crate’s game library selection is great, but I have always wished it had a dedicated menu for launching downloaded applications, as having games and launchers in the same pile is a tad bit inconvenient.

Otherwise, both devices have similar software, allowing for macro recording, and swapping between Gamepad and Desktop modes, alongside a quick menu to access specific settings at the press of a button. With the Claw, I also noticed there was no Auto mode for control modes, which is another plus for the Ally, as it can detect if a cursor or gamepad is needed depending on which app is in use.

The MSI Center M keybind section also claims holding one of the menu buttons is a quick way to swap between Desktop and Gamepad mode, but it apparently only works when MSI Center M isn’t activated. I’m desperate for one of these gaming handhelds to incorporate a hotkey for swapping modes, as it would make navigation snappier, so hopefully the Claw can do that by its launch.

Overall, MSI Center M has plenty of potential, but until I can see how well it works in testing, it will remain at a standstill with Armoury Crate.

Winner: Draw 

Bottom line 

It’s no surprise that we cannot definitively state which gaming handheld device is superior when we haven’t properly tested one of them. However, it’s still great to compare the two based on what we know so far and see how they differ.

At present, it’s clear there’s a pretty huge gap in physical design, processing power, and software. But ultimately, what will make or break the Claw and Ally is how each of these elements feel in the moment.

Can the Claw be as consistently comfortable, easy to use, and powerful as the Ally? I’m certainly optimistic, and I would love to find myself a new favorite in MSI’s handheld, but until then, a winner cannot be decided.

Winner: Draw

Nostalgia for the 1990s has been running high for years, but finally we have what we’ve been missing: transparent tech. MSI’s new Cyborg 14 has a transparent chassis in a gray-blue shade that is immediately reminiscent of Nintendo’s translucent Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advanced handhelds. 

As far as budget gaming laptops go, this may be the only exciting entry into that space due to its style and surprising amount of computing power for FHD gaming. 

Let’s dig in and see if it’s destined to find a spot among our best budget gaming laptops.

MSI Cyborg 14: Price and availability

The high-end version of the Cyborg 14 with an Intel i7-13620H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 will retail for $1,099. MSI has not finalized pricing for the lower configurations which could come with an Intel Core i5 13th gen processor and an NVIDIA 2050, 3050, or 4050 GPU. However, it’s safe to say the Cyborg will start below $1,000.

The Cyborg 14 doesn’t have a set date to hit the shelves as of press time.

MSI Cyborg 14: Design

Positioned as the new entry level in the Cyborg line-up, the 14 exchanges the Cyborg 15’s red and black colors for a blue and gray scheme which gives it a unique look among gaming laptops, especially in the budget gaming space. The transparent chassis and WASD keys pair well with the bright blue keyboard lights for a slick cyberpunk design. It is very much the kind of 90s design throwback that Millennials have been hoping for.

The Cyborg 14 also weighs just 3.5 lbs (1.6 Kg) so it is very light, which is also a nice touch on a gaming laptop.

MSI Cyborg 14: Display

The Cyborg 14 features a 14-inch FHD+ (1920 x 1200) display with a 144Hz refresh rate. The IPS panel will hit 100% on the sRGB color gamut, so you’ve got a decent bit of color accuracy for gaming and web surfing.

MSI Cyborg 14: Performance

Topping out at $1,099, the Cyborg 14 packs a surprising amount of power in its small chassis with a 13th gen Intel i7-13620H CPU and NVIDIA RTX 4060 GPU. As the 14-inch display tops out at FHD+ resolution, you should have all the power you need with that top end configuration. Obviously, we’ll need to confirm that in our labs in the future.

MSI Cyborg 14: Battery

The Cyborg 14’s Achilles’ heel may very well be its 53.5 Whr battery which is a small power supply for any gaming laptop. MSI’s AI Engine will be working hard to keep the machine going for as long as possible, but we’ll need to test it out in our lab to be sure of exactly how much leverage the new AI Engine gives to battery life.

Outlook

Budget gaming laptops are rarely exciting. In fact, they’re usually the kind of laptops I dread dealing with because of the compromises they need to make to hit that low price point. But the RTX 4060 is a powerhouse of a GPU and while the i7-13620H isn’t the flashiest or most powerful CPU, but it can absolutely keep up with the demands of 1200p gaming.

Maybe it's my 90s nostalgia hitting, but I am actually excited about the Cyborg 14. And that honestly might be the most impressive thing about it.

Gaming computers have kept to the same black and bright RGB styling for years, which is admittedly a pretty slick aesthetic. But sometimes you don’t want all of your tech to scream “gamer” at the top of its lungs, and that is exactly the scenario MSI is banking on with the MSI Raider 18HX redesign. For all your RGB needs, there’s still the Titan 18HX, and if you need a business or studio laptop that can also game, the Stealth AI Studio 18 is a great fit.

But if you want a gaming laptop that you can take to class or a meeting without embarrassing yourself with a massive RGB light bar below the keyboard, the Raider 18HX offers a slimmer RGB light strip and lighted logo for a more understated look that still has that gamer flare.

MSI Raider 18HX: Price and availability

The Raider 18HX does not have a price or release date just yet, but that information will be released sometime in the near future. The updated Raider GE78 and GE68 do have pricing information, but MSI is holding out on us for the Raider 18 HX because it’s got that even-number rizz.

We do know that MSI expects the Raider 18HX to retail for over $3,000, so it won’t be appearing on our best cheap gaming laptops, but the exact figure has not been decided on. 

MSI Raider 18HX: Design

MSI has made the Raider 18HX a bit thinner and lighter than previous versions, and therefore even more portable. Weighing in at 7.9 lbs it isn’t the lightest gaming laptop on the market, but it will be light enough that you can carry it without risking a spinal injury.

Other than the revamped light bar, MSI has also redesigned the bottom of the Raider chassis with some nice accents.

The subtle single-strand light bar is a very nice touch. It’s less distracting than the previous two iterations like the massive milky-white Mystic Light bar on the MSI Raider GE76, while still providing that fun RGB style accent so you aren’t entirely missing out on the gamer aesthetic.

MSI Raider 18HX: Display

The MSI Raider 18HX has an 18-inch display with a 240Hz refresh rate which is a large, fast panel for a gaming laptop. The QHD+ (2560 x 1600) mini-LED display boasts a 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, so it isn’t just fast, but also highly color-accurate, making it well-suited for gaming and non-gaming purposes.

MSI Raider 18HX: Performance

With an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics on board, the Raider is a (relatively) lightweight powerhouse of a machine that can go with you wherever you need. MSI’s new AI Engine software can even optimize itself on the fly so you get power when you need it and save battery when you don’t — which we hope will do wonders for the Raider’s battery life.

There is a lot of power in that chassis, which is why the thin and light design is such a surprise. You do have less venting for thermal management compared to the Titan 18HX with its newly enhancedvapor chamber, so you will have some throttling on the GPU and CPU — but not as much as the Stealth AI Studio 18 (which is focused more on being a business laptop that can game).

With the Stealth’s powerful components and AI Engine optimization, we expect some impressive performance from MSI’s more modest gaming laptop. However, we won’t know for sure just how bright the pairing of Intel’s Meteor Lake processor and Nvidia’s RTX 40-series GPU will shine (or how much that lack of vapor chamber may hold them back) until we officially put all of MSI’s updated gaming laptops through their paces in our lab.

Outlook

The Raider 18HX feels like it may have finally found its lane. Previous iterations always felt outshined by MSI’s Stealth and Titan lineups, which were typically better options for business or gaming. This has resulted in the Raider trying to make up for its lack of purpose with even more RGB lighting — which is less of a solution, and more of a very colorful bandaid.

Being lumped in as the safe-for-work gaming laptop may not be the fanciest job, but it is a niche that hasn’t been explored much. Many business and gaming laptops like the Stealth — an Ultrabook chassis with a high-end GPU thrown in — suffer from some serious thermal issues because of it. But the Raider has gaming-quality cooling with an understated style, which should give it a nice edge.

CES 2024 is taking over the tech industry this week and the list of laptop announcements is ever-growing. This year, MSI is refreshing its Crosshair, Pulse, and Vector HX series of 16-inch and 17-inch AI gaming laptops with hardware upgrades.

For instance, the MSI Vector 17 employs MSI Overboost technology to deliver a whopping 250 Watts of power to achieve unmatched gaming performance. Gamers know all too well that high performance gaming laptops have a tendency of overheating during intense gameplay. MSI addresses this common nuisance with an overhaul of MSI's new Crosshair HX and Pulse AI laptops for 2024. Featuring six exhaust and two intake ports, MSI's innovative cooling system enhances airflow to ensure superb performance during gameplay. 

The MSI Crosshair HX offers 16-inch and 17-inch QHD+ (2560x1440) 240Hz display options for those who prefer gaming on a big screen. Each laptop rocks the latest 14th Gen Intel Core i7-14700HX 20-core CPU alongside up to 64GB of RAM. Graphics handling is done by Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4070 GPU with 8GB of VRAM and 1TB of NVMe M.2 SSD PCIe Gen5 storage.

Similarly, the MSI Pulse series will be available in both 16-inch and 17-inch QHD+ (2560x1440) 240Hz panels. Hardware configurations include Intel's Core Ultra 9 CPU, up to 64GB of RAM, and Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4060 GPU with 8GB of dedicated memory an 1TB of M.2 SSD PCIe Gen4 storage.

Lastly, for gamers who want a meaner machine for their battle station, the latest MSI Vector HX series aims to tick all the boxes. Prices start at $1,899 and range up to $3,299. These particular models will arrive in both 16-inch and 17-inch QHD+ 2.5K (2560x1600) 240Hz display variants and run on Intel's latest Intel Core i9-14900HX 24-core CPU and up to 64GB of RAM. Nvidia's powerful GeForce RTX 4080 series GPU with 8GB of dedicated memory takes care of graphics. Potential owners can choose from NVMe M.2 SSD PCIe Gen5 and NVMe M.2 SSD PCIe Gen4 configurations.

Gamers will appreciate the MSI's new Crosshair, Pulse, and Vector HX AI gaming laptops' new stylish looks with 24-zone RGB back-lit keyboard illumination. Show off your unique style with the Crosshair HX's outer-worldly spacecraft appeal or the electromagnetic pulse pattern of the aptly named Pulse series. All feature an HD camera (30fps@720p) with 3D Noise Reduction (3DNR) for twitch streaming and zoom calls.

Pricing and availability for the Crosshair and Pulse series AI laptops remain unknown at this time. We expect MSI to reveal more information within withing the coming days.  

MSI unveiled the Cyborg 14 at CES as an updated, entry-level model in the Cyborg family of laptops. The Cyborg 15 had its debut last year at CES 2023, toting cyberpunk aesthetics and a mechanized exterior with translucent panels. The Cyborg 14 is a smaller, thinner, and lighter model that features similar design aesthetics and updated hardware.

We're on the scene in Las Vegas to check out the latest tech at this year's CES 2024 showcase. Be sure to tag along on our CES 2024 journey by following Laptop Mag on TikTok, Twitter/X, Instagram, Flipboard, and Facebook for the most up to date hands-on impressions and news coming from the convention floor.

CES 2024: MSI Cyborg 15

The Cyborg 15 was already a budget gaming laptop with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 configuration retailing for under $1,000 while the RTX 4060 edition required a slight increase in budget.

With the Cyborg 14, you get a more portable form factor with similar aesthetics and the power of MSI’s AI Engine. This laptop is designed to be useful for both gaming and productivity, as something of an all-in-one laptop solution.

Even still, you can still expect the Cyborg 14 to adhere to that budget-friendly pricing, with configurations starting at just $1,099.

Powerful hardware with a budget mindset

MSI's Cyborg 15 was one of the better budget gaming laptops, even if it didn't make it to our list of favorites. MSI has a number of lower-end gaming laptop lines and the Cyborg 15 seemed to get lost in the crowd. The Cyborg 14 may fair a bit better this year as its designed to hit that sweet "even numbers only" trend, while also providing a more accessible entry into the Cyborg family.

The Cyborg 14 offers configurations outfitted with up to a 13th gen Intel Core i7-13620H, 64 GB of DDR5 RAM, and 2TB of SSD storage. Configurations for the Cyborg 14 also feature Nvidia GeForce RTX 40-series graphics, maxing out with an RTX 4060 GPU with its Ada Lovelace architecture, DLSS 3.5, and panoramic ray-tracing.

The laptop comes with WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity. The 14-inch 16:10 IPS display panel boasts FHD+ (1920 x 1200) resolution, a 144Hz refresh rate, and 100% gamut volume on the sRGB color space.

Perhaps the largest selling point of the Cybrog 14 is its size. The laptop reportedly weighs only 3.5 lbs (1.6 Kg) and features a 14-inch display, making it a decent bit smaller than its 15-inch counterpart.

The Cyborg 14 also features a single-color blue keyboard backlight, so you lose some customization options in favor of the smaller form factor. The blue does keep to the laptop’s Cyberpunk themes, so the laptop stays stylish enough. The 14 also ditches the “MSI True Gaming” etching from the bottom cover of the Cyborg 15.

The Cyborg 14 also leverages MSI’s new AI Engine software to optimize laptop settings for increased performance and immersive entertainment. Settings that may be altered by the AI Enginge software include display, audio, power profiles, and keyboard backlight.

From Intel's Core Ultra to 14th Gen HX CPUs, MSI's lineup of Creator laptops will have you covered for a range of intensive computing tasks — be it number crunching or video editing. If you need more than the Integrated Intel Arc GPUs, MSI made sure you have Nvidia GeForce RTX 40-series GPU options to choose from.

If my recent review of the Prestige 16 AI Evo is any indication, these 17, 16, and 14-inch laptops are going to challenge Apple's MacBooks for the hearts and dollars of content creators the world over.

We're on the scene in Las Vegas to check out the latest tech at this year's CES 2024 showcase. Be sure to tag along on our CES 2024 journey by following Laptop Mag on TikTok, Twitter/X, Instagram, Flipboard, and Facebook for the most up to date hands-on impressions and news coming from the convention floor.

MSI's new wave of creator class laptops dazzle at CES 2024

This evening, MSI flex its creative muscle with a refreshed lineup of content creation laptops. Each machine is a finely tuned instrument designed to empower your vision from concept to reality.

At the apex of this refreshed catalog sits the Creator Z17 HX Studio: a vapor-chamber-cooled behemoth built for unbridled performance. For those who demand precision and clarity, the Creator 16 AI Studio boasts a stunning 16:10 OLED display, a portal to pixel-perfect perfection.

Need a lightweight powerhouse? The Creator M16 clocks in at under 4.5 pounds, packing a pro-caliber punch in a surprisingly portable package. And for those who crave choice, the Creator M14 and M16 HX expand the spectrum, catering to diverse workflows and aesthetics.

Let's take a quick look at what MSI brings to the table at CES 2024. 

CES 2024: MSI Creator Z17 HX Studio

With its 14th Gen Intel Core i9 and i7 HX processors, the Creator Z17 HX is an absolute content-creating beast. You also get to choose from Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4050, 4060, and 4070 GPUs for impeccable graphical performance — showcased gloriously on the Z17's immersive 17-inch QHD+ (2560x1600), 16:10 Touchscreen, with its speedy 165Hz Refresh Rate.

You can get the Z17 HX loaded with up to 64GB of RAM and 2TB of SSD storage. It arrives with 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports, a USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A, an HDMI port, and an SD Express Memory Card Reader. 

The whole experience is enhanced with the exclusive Intel Application Optimizer for thread optimization in gaming. These MSI laptops offer unparalleled performance for captivating gaming experiences and demanding content creation. Overall, the Z17 HX looks to be the monster truck of content creation and one I can't wait to get my hands on. 

CES 2024: MSI Creator 16 AI Studio

The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is powered by the AI-infused Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU. While the Ultra Core 9 packs an already potent Arc iGPU and NPU, the Creator 16 AI Studio can also be augmented with either an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 or 4090 GPU to maximize this machine's graphical potential. When you add up to 2TB of SSD storage and 64GB of RAM, you get to experience prodigiously powerful performance with Intel Core Ultra efficiency aiding a solid battery life. 

All that power is flaunted across the laptop's 16-inch 4K (3840x2400) miniLED display with its immersive 16:10 aspect ratio through which you can expect silky smooth imagery thanks to its 120Hz refresh rate. In regards to ports, you enjoy one Thunderbolt 4 port, one 3.2 USB Type-C port, 1 3.2 USB Type-A port, a combo audio jack, an HDMI port, and one microSD port. 

The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio should bring with it the kind of balanced performance content creators search for, with enough kick when editing those 6K and 4K video projects while enjoying all-day battery life. 

CES 2024: MSI Creator M14

I personally love the 14-inch format, and the MSI Creator M14 is a sleek, content creator laptop that features a 14th Gen Intel Core i7-13620H Processor, you choice of Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 or 4060 GPU, upto 64 GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage. 

It comes with a 14-inch 2.8K (2880x1800), 16:10 aspect ratio display, with one USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports, one HDMI 2.1 port, a combo audio jack and an ehternet port.

This sleek laptop is meant for fearless mobile content creators. 

CES 2024: MSI Creator M16 HX

The MSI Creator M16 HX is a 14th Gen Intel Core i9 HX powered monster, that offers you Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 and 4070 GPUs, up to 64 GB of RAM and upto 2TB of SSD Storage. It comes with a 16-inch QHD+(2560 x 1600), a 16:10 aspect ratio, and a blazing 240Hz refresh rate.

It comes with a ton of ports: one USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C port, three USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, one HDMI 2.1, a gigabit Ethernet port, a 3.5mm combo audio jack, and a  Kensington lock for anti-theft security. 

MSI isn't just pushing pixels here. They're also pushing boundaries. This refresh marks a bold step into the AI era of computing, with brand-new AI laptops and exclusive AI features that empower creators like never before.

The M16 HX should begin shipping in late February and early March 2024. 

CES 2024 is pumping out a wave of new laptops, CPUs, and exciting tech that we'll see flow in throughout the year. MSI is breaking backs out here like Bane to Batman with all-new Titan, Raider, and Stealth laptops coming through.

The MSI Titan HX is launching with a whopping $4,999 starting price, while the Raider GE68 HX and Stealth 16 AI Studio start at $2,499 and $2,099, respectively. They're slated to release sometime in 2024.

Here's what we know so far.

We're on the scene in Las Vegas to check out the latest tech at this year's CES 2024 showcase. Be sure to tag along on our CES 2024 journey by following Laptop Mag on TikTok, Twitter/X, Instagram, Flipboard, and Facebook for the most up to date hands-on impressions and news coming from the convention floor.

CES 2024: MSI Titan, Raider, Stealth specs & features

If there's anything MSI is good at, it's gaming laptops and their many configurations. Let's run through what we can expect from the latest Titan, Raider, and Stealth.

Kicking off with the king, a.k.a the MSI Titan 18 HX, you can configure this machine with up to an Intel Core i9-14900HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, 128GB of RAM (yes, seriously), a 4TB SSD, and an 18-inch, 4K+, Mini LED display clocked at 120Hz. What a beast.

At the middle of the pack in terms of size, we've got the MSI Raider GE68 and GE78 — the difference being a 16-inch or 17-inch display, respectively. However, they both can get up to an Intel Core i9-14900HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, 64GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD. The 16-inch display is a Mini LED at 4K+, 144Hz, while the 17-inch panel is also Mini LED, but clocked at 2.5K+, 240Hz.

And the slimmest of the bunch is the Stealth 16 AI Studio and 18 AI Studio, both of which offer up to the Intel Core 9 Ultra 185H CPU, RTX 4090 GPU, 64GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD. The former features a 16-inch, 4K+, Mini LED display at 120Hz, while the latter comes in a 18-inch, 2.5K+ panel at 240Hz.

These are some expensive and feature-packed machines that we're more than excited to get our hands on. And we're doubly excited to see where these pieces of tech land in the lab.

I've made it no secret that I'm obsessed with the latest trend of bringing Windows PC to gaming handheld devices, and deep inside my heart, I've waited excitedly for every laptop company to take the plunge. The next to do so is MSI, and at CES 2024, it has unveiled the MSI Claw.

I've previously wrote about how the the Asus ROG Ally is my new favorite gaming “laptop,” but I ended that article saying this excitement isn't exclusive to the Ally, as the concept itself has snatched my heart. And frankly, I cannot wait to get my hands on the MSI Claw and see if it's good enough to become my newest obsession.

We're on the scene in Las Vegas to check out the latest tech at this year's CES 2024 showcase. Be sure to tag along on our CES 2024 journey by following Laptop Mag on TikTok, Twitter/X, Instagram, Flipboard, and Facebook for the most up to date hands-on impressions and news coming from the convention floor.

MSI Claw could be my new favorite gaming handheld

Unlike the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, and Lenovo Legion Go, the MSI Claw is an Intel powered Windows gaming handheld, boasting an Intel Core Ultra processor. It has a 7-inch 1920 x 1080 touch display at a 120Hz refresh rate, alongside 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM.

The Asus ROG Ally benefits from its great implementation with Armoury Crate, and MSI has done the same by given the device an exclusive interface optimized for handheld use through MSI Center M. It features a quick launch bar, alongside platform implementation with Steam, EA, Epic Games, Xbox, Battle.net, Ubisoft Connect and more.

We won't know how well it works until we get our hands on it, but I cannot wait to see how the company has implemented the software. It'll also have an App Player to launch Android mobile games, alongside a macro key function, allowing the user to record their own key binds.

MSI has strived for an ergonomic design that fits the palm comfortably, and has taken thousands of data samples from across the globe to ensure it fits the grip. While that sounds excellent on paper, it's just another thing I can't wait to test.

The button placements are strikingly similar to the Asus ROG Ally, with the joysticks, D-Pad and face buttons positioned like a traditional Xbox controller. Even its menu buttons, which include two at the top left and at the top right of the screen, are similar to the Ally. Quick Settings allows the user to access a slew of convenient options without interrupting gameplay, while a swap between Desktop and Gamepad control modes also exists.

Of course, it has a two bumpers and two triggers, alongside two Macro Keys at the back that allow for alternate commands. It includes an audio jack, micro SD card reader, and Thunderbolt 4 cable, volume button and fingerprint power button all at the top.

It also supports Intel XeSS technology, which is available only for some games, but can significantly boost frames per second in demanding titles like Forza Horizon 5, Dying Light 2, Returnal, Hogwarts Legacy, Death Stranding and more.

Thankfully, the MSI Claw will be launching with a Perfect Pair exclusive dock that easily connects with the Claw and allows it to be connected to a TV like a Nintendo Switch.

With both the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally boasting a 40Whr battery, we're hoping the MSI Claw can outdo both in battery life with its 53Whr battery. The Lenovo Legion Go featured 49.2Whr battery and still didn't do wonderfully on these metrics, but maybe MSI can be the first.

The MSI Claw looks promising, and time will tell if it manages to outdo its competitors in ergonomics, battery life, performance, and software when we finally get our hands on it.

MSI briefly set the world ablaze ahead of CES 2024 yesterday when it teased an upcoming announcement of a handheld gaming PC of its own. In a short video appearing on Instagram, we were treated to brief glimpses of the device up close and a shot of the RGB rainbow illumination of its thumbsticks.

However, the teaser (by design) failed to give us a clear shot of the unit leaving us with little else to go on ahead of its expected CES announcement. Until the internet went about exposing it regardless, that is.

The MSI Claw: 

Firstly, the MSI handheld would be exposed in a tweet by Twitter/X user @wxnod, who posted a promotional image meant for the Chinese market. The image not only shows MSI's handheld console in full, but it also reveals its name: the MSI Claw.

The MSI Claw, bears a striking resemblance to the ROG Ally — if you took a bit of sandpaper to the latter's crisp lines and gave it a fresh coat of black paint. Everything from button placement, branding, and general shape would appear to show MSI copying Asus' homework on this one. However, there is one key difference that would be unearthed just hours later.

The MSI Claw: Powered by Intel

Owing to the previous leak's naming of MSI's new handheld gaming console, some people (such as Twitter/X user, @Olrak29_) were able to dig up Geekbench results linked to the Claw, which revealed what the device is packing under its hood. As suspected by Intel's appearance in the Twitter replies of MSI's teaser post, the MSI Claw won't make use of AMD's Ryzen Z1 Extreme, but will instead come outfitted with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU and up to 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM.

The adoption of the Meteor Lake processor would also indicate that MSI's Claw will feature integrated Intel Arc Xe-LPG graphics offering raytracing support and frame-boosting Xe Super Sampling.

The Core Ultra 7 CPU scores results similar to that of Asus' ROG Ally in the leaked benchmarks, further painting it as an Intel clone of ROG's popular AMD-powered portable. However, until we get a clearer word from MSI on the final specs of this device, we can't say for sure if there are any further benefits to MSI's console.

Today, MSI joins the next generation of computing after announcing the release of its latest Prestige 16 AI Series and Prestige 13 AI Evo laptops. It’s the same top-flight MSI experience that millions around the world have come to expect — featuring the brand’s signature premium aesthetics and cutting-edge components that promise impressive performance and luxurious style. However, these laptops take things a step further, 

The future is AI, and that’s not me saying we’re all marching headlong into a dystopian landscape where Microsoft Bing Chat rules over us with an ion fist. Instead, AI is primed to transform the tech-space with its hardware boosting and software enhancing capabilities.

The rise of generative AI is unleashing a wave of new software that can open up entirely new experiences for users. While entirely attainable, gaining results similar to what AI can produce in mere seconds would previously have taken users hours, if not days, weeks, months, or even years depending on how much learning and practice would be required. AI is changing the landscape of computers, and that’s why an AI-capable PC is an absolute must-have heading into 2024.

MSI Prestige 16 AI Series 

Calling the Prestige 16 AI Evo/Studio cutting-edge, is no understatement thanks to its adoption of Intel’s latest Intel Core Ultra 9 processor. It’s the very same processor offering both integrated Intel Arc graphics and a Neural Processing Unit (NPU).

Intel’s NPU inclusion is an exciting development that affords the acceleration of AI and machine learning tasks along with a more efficient computing pipeline that draws less power for previously CPU/GPU intensive AI-related tasks. To take advantage of this new NPU further, Intel has been hard at work collaborating with the developers of over 100 applications to ensure maximum performance across workflows.

MSI has also developed a new MSI AI Engine for its AI laptops which will automatically adjust the hardware settings of the machine based on current usage. This allows the Prestige 16 to intuitively switch between “intelligent” modes for gaming, work, meetings, and entertainment to target optimal performance and user experience at all times.

Not content with providing us with the performance and efficiency enhancements of Intel’s new Ultra 9 processor, MSI have also brought sweeping upgrades across the board with the Prestige 16 including Wi-Fi 7, a 99.9 WHr battery life, and USB Type-C charging with Power Delivery 3.1, which allows up to 140W of charge.

Need a laptop with a little more kick? Configurations allow you to take your Intel Evo certified Prestige 16 up a notch with an OLED panel, up to 32GB of RAM, and bolstered graphical performance by way of Nvidia’s powerful GeForce RTX 4070 GPU.

Configurations for the new Prestige 16 AI EVO are available now on Newegg for a starting price of $1,399 — with availability at Costco, Best Buy, B&H, and Micro Center coming soon.

If you're looking for something a little more portable and lightweight, then MSI have also just released configurations of the Prestige 13 AI EVO with the same Intel Core Ultra processor, and a 75WHrs battery life that's just 990 grams in weight! Pricing starts from $1,049 at Newegg.

What is an NPU?

An NPU, or Neural Processing Unit, might sound alien and new. However, it’s a similar technology to that which you may have previously encountered within Apple Silicon devices featuring the Apple Neural Engine (ANE), or even Google’s Pixel phones with their Tensor (TPU) chipsets.

The job of an NPU is to improve the execution of machine learning duties, taking much of the heavy lifting away from a device’s CPU/GPU. Having a dedicated microprocessor to rely on for handling the number crunching of these specific tasks can result in dramatically improved performance and efficiency. This means a faster, more responsive, and more energy efficient chipset — which is exactly why NPUs have more commonly been found in mobile devices thus far.

Common NPU duties can include everything from implementing the background blur on your Microsoft Teams/Google Meet calls to powering the facial, fingerprint, or iris recognition of security features like Windows Hello. They’re also ideal for improving the performance of generative AI features in software like Adobe Photoshop, Stable Diffusion, and more.

UPDATE: Black Friday has come and gone, but Cyber Monday is keeping these deals going strong! Time is running out, thought. You'll only have a limited time to snag these incredible savings on MSI tech, so don't delay!

Black Friday is so close you can reach out and touch it. On your calendar, anyway. Black Friday arrives on Nov. 24 this year, and that's where you're likely to catch some of the hottest deals on top-tech all year. However, in the meantime, online retailers have flipped the switch early and let the deals flow free.

Its deals mayhem out there. I don't know if you've looked out of your browser window lately but its raining cats and dogs on the old interwebs, except the cats are cheap laptops and the dogs are discounted smartwatches. It's madness, but the good kind that leaves cash in your pocket and a new TV on your wall.

Latest to join the fray? MSI, or Micro Star International if you want to get all formal about it. MSI's bread and butter is high quality laptops, and that typically means expensive laptops. However, it's Black Friday week. That means retailers have begun using inverted controls on their pricing guns. Up is down, down is up, and your insides are now your outsides (you should probably get that seen to, chap).

In layman's terms, expect incredible savings on MSI laptops, monitors, and accessories all across this glorious World Wide Web of ours, savings that you can take advantage of this very minute. I've included them below so you can dive right in. Have at it readers, spend responsibly.

MSI Black Friday deals: MSI laptops

MSI Black Friday deals: MSI monitors

MSI Black Friday deals: MSI accessories

The last time Tech Support Showdown rolled around, MSI’s scores left us wanting — finding itself among our three worst-scoring brands. It seems that MSI’s greatest strength is also its biggest weakness. The same consistency that routinely impresses us with outstanding laptops has also seen each Showdown ending with MSI’s tech support dropping the ball.

However, MSI has taken steps to improve its customer service, showing a large step up in the availability of support in the last year — but is it enough, and has the brand finally managed to drag itself out of a support slump? I’ve been hard at work trying to answer that question as I donned a cloak of anonymity and put MSI’s tech support to the test.

• Best MSI laptops

MSI tech support

Oh, the joys of technical support. The painful process of one person of dubious knowledge attempting to tell a stranger of equally dubious knowledge about how to fix a problem likely neither of them is sure how to resolve.

Is that an unfair statement? Possibly. However, I have had the displeasure and first-hand experience of being on both sides of this charade as a former technical support agent myself — therefore I feel I bring a certain level of credibility to that claim.

The following are the questions I had in mind to test if the technical troubleshooters at MSI’s help desk were up to the task:

• How do I make a system backup?
• How do I turn my laptop’s fan down?
• MSI Companion isn’t working, how do I fix it?
• How do I use my laptop with the lid closed, and is this safe?
• My MSI Dragon Center apps won’t install, how do I fix this?
• How do I overclock my laptop with MSI Dragon Center?

Social Media

X/Twitter

MSI’s social media presence points you in two directions: straight to the web ticketing system or to the Twitter/X account for MSI USA Technical Support (@msiUSA_Tech). You’re invited to message MSI tech support on the platform for them to help with any issues you may face. However, after sending my message I didn’t catch wind of a reply for an entire week.

In fact, at the time of writing my message still hadn’t even been read — though it’s entirely what I’d expect from an account that seemingly hasn’t been active since early January 2023. Why this is still pointed to as a valid point of contact for customers, I don’t know. It’d be wise to either deactivate the account or at the very least stop linking to it through other official social media profiles such as MSI Gaming USA (@msiUSA).

Web

Last year, MSI expanded its tech support toolkit to include a live chat option alongside support forums, Twitter/X social media contacts, and a web ticketing system. That’s a fair many ways to reach out to MSI in times of need without the need to pick up a phone — a welcomed prospect by those who find the anxiety of dialing into businesses too much to bear. But how well do these support options perform when you’re in a pinch?

MSI’s live chat service is available around the clock from its dedicated support site. There you’ll find a button in the bottom right of your browsing for live chat. You won’t need to log in with your MSI account to engage with this service so it’s quick and easy to dive into. After clicking on live chat you’ll be taken to the MSI Online Assistant, where you can choose from talking to a person, checking some support articles before talking to a person, or watching a number of video tutorials to guide you through solutions to common issues.

If you want to talk to a live agent about your laptop, desktop, or all-in-one PC then the online chat is open 24 hours a day, closed only for public holidays. However, if you’re looking for support with your graphics card, motherboard, peripherals, components, or with networking issues then you’ll need to make use of MSI’s Online Assistant between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. PST, Monday to Friday.

I was connected to a live agent within three minutes, seeking to know how to use MSI’s desktop app to overclock my system. Not only was my answer provided within the first message, politely delivered by a mysteriously named “MSI Agent.” But the same agent was then happy to stick around and answer follow-up questions about how safe it was to perform this and if any damage to my laptop through adjusting these settings would be covered by my warranty (heads up: it won’t). The live chat lasted approximately ten minutes in total, giving me all the information I’d asked for and more. Top stuff.

The agent was polite, knowledgeable, quick to provide a solution, and made the limits of their knowledge apparent — suggesting I file an online ticket for advanced instruction on the overclocking procedure. I appreciated this, while it would’ve meant contacting MSI twice for one issue, it was reassuring to know that the agent wasn’t willing to pluck something out of thin air to appease me, especially with the risk of my warranty being voided and my device becoming damaged.

My next issue was with feature sets failing to install within MSI Center, for that I decided to file a web ticket through the MSI website. This requires you to make an MSI account and fill out a brief form. I created my ticket bright and early on a Monday morning at 8:17 a.m., receiving a reply the same day just short of three hours later at 11 a.m. Did MSI offer me a solution that solved my issue? Yes, they did.

MSI’s solution involved uninstalling and reinstalling the MSI Center app using a custom tool linked for download within the reply. The process didn’t take too long, and I installed an array of feature sets afterward without hassle. Once again, top stuff.

How about MSI’s support forum? It’s a fairly active forum with a number of helpful members hopping in to pitch ideas on how to solve problems. My own, how to turn the loud fans of my laptop down, was answered a day after posting by a user named ‘drek4’. Not only did this forum user, fourth of the clan drek, offer me advice on how to reduce the noise of my fans, but they also linked me to another forum post containing information on how to set up my fan speed using MSI’s desktop app.

I was impressed with MSI’s online community in its forums, which featured a good selection of posts about how to fine-tune gaming laptops of all ranges and tackle commonly-faced issues. It was another breeze of an experience and while I knew how to fix the issue already, I felt like I’d have been comfortable getting to the root of my problem after advice from the forum.

Phone

MSI’s phone support is expansive, offering on-call support for customers the world over. For those in the U.S. and Canada (1-888-447-6564), MSI offers 24/7 phone support for laptop, desktop, all-in-one, and monitor queries — closing only on Public holidays. Remote assistance is also available in these regions between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on a weekday and 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on a weekend.

I reached out to MSI’s U.S. support team twice. The first call began with a prerecorded message thanking me for calling and giving me the usual spiel about calls being recorded for training purposes. I navigated through a simple number menu and was told to stay on the line while I was connected to an available agent. At this point, I was met with complete silence for over two minutes. There was no hold music, no repeating message letting me know how far along in a queue I was, nothing. And it remained that way until my call randomly disconnected.

Believing it may have been a technical issue, I called MSI back. However, I was once again met with complete silence after being placed in the queue for technical support for over two minutes. The silence was eventually broken by another prerecorded message advertising the online chat tool. I was prompted to stay on the line to talk to an agent, and then finally, hold music! Which lasted all of 15 seconds before another 90 seconds of silence.

I was then asked if I’d like to leave my contact information and MSI would get back to me within one business day. With the call nearing six minutes and most of that being spent in deathly silence I took MSI up on their offer, though over seven business days later I’ve still to receive a call back.

As I live in the U.K., I decided to reach out to MSI’s U.K. support team by phone instead. My first call was placed on October 9 at 8:53 a.m., and after getting through the automated menu system I was connected to an agent named Kamil in less than 10 seconds. I asked Kamil how I could make a backup of my system, knowing that the MSI Center app had such a feature ready to be taken advantage of. Within 30 seconds Kamil had explained to me that there was a simple guide I could follow and that he would happily send it through to my email so that I could follow along in my own time.

Warranty

MSI’s current limited warranty protects your devices for 24 months against hardware defects (motherboard, LCD panel, hard drive, CPU, memory, and network equipment) and includes 12 months of battery and power adapter service beginning from the manufacture date of the device, and onboard (pre-installed) software is subject to a 1-month warranty.

You can upgrade the RAM and hard drive of your MSI device without voiding your warranty (According to one agent, even if you remove the warranty sticker this is fine — which sounds dubious, but OK), though any damages from such an upgrade will not be covered by your warranty.

MSI’s limited warranty also does not apply to products damaged by accident, improper use, environmental factors, or acquired from non-authorized MSI retailers — with no “one-time” accidental damage cover on offer. However, MSI does allow you to extend your warranty over time for between $80 and $144 for one to three years of additional cover.

Not only that, Kamil stayed on the call until he was sure that my email arrived, passing the time by briefly explaining what the guide covers. Before the call ended, Kamil made sure I could access the guide and asked if there was anything else they could help me with that day. As there wasn’t, I let Kamil get on with his day once more. In total, the call lasted roughly 5 minutes and 44 seconds, with the supplied guide handling my request and giving me a hard copy of that guide to easily access in the future if I ever wanted to repeat the process. Great stuff.

My second call took place at 9:06 a.m., where I was connected to an agent called Lucas within five seconds of the automated menu being passed. I asked Lucas how I could close the lid of my behemoth MSI Stealth 17 Studio laptop and put it in a stand, making use of an external monitor and keyboard instead to save space on my desk. There’s a setting within the MSI Center app to adjust this setting directly, however, Lucas instead walked me through changing the Windows setting.

Lucas had the matter resolved within two minutes and was then happy to answer follow-up questions as to whether it was safe to do this with my particular model of laptop. Lucas assured me that overheating wouldn’t be an issue, but he did point out that it could result in my laptop draining the battery while not in use. He offered me some advice on making sure I was correctly turning off my laptop and I was shortly on my way again. The call lasted roughly six minutes in total, with my settings accurately changed, my queries answered, and my laptop good to go in its stand. Once again, impressive stuff!

I’d try calling MSI’s technical team on and off throughout the rest of my day — hilariously making it through to the same two agents repeatedly. I gave the helpline a break for a while, returning at 2:05 p.m. for my final question: Why isn’t MSI Companion working when I press the Windows key + G? I was greeted once again by Kamil (who I didn’t hang up on this time after seeking someone new).

My first call with Kamil went pretty smoothly, so I expected him to deliver the answer fairly easily and send me on my way. To explain, the MSI Center enables a shortcut of pressing the Windows key + Function to disable the Windows key + G shortcut to the MSI Companion — all I would need to do is press those two keys together and I’d be good to go.

However, this one seemed to stumble Kamil, as he instead decided to take me the long route by reinstalling the MSI Center entirely, making use of the same custom removal software mentioned in my web ticket reply. Would it have worked? Yes, but knowing that there is a shortcut within the app to disable MSI Companion I was slightly puzzled that this wasn’t part of the troubleshooting process. Interestingly, even after providing me with a solution, Kamil then went on to inform me I might need to update my BIOS.

This prompted Kamil to ask me for my laptop’s serial number, the first time I’d been asked for any information other than my laptop’s model in my entire time spent communicating with MSI technical support. Kamil would once again send the information I needed in guide form to my email, staying on the line with me until the email had arrived.

At which point I was good to head out and waste more time than needed forcefully reinstalling software and updating my BIOS instead of the far simpler, less than one-second, solution available within the MSI Center App itself. The call took approximately 8 minutes and 40 seconds and, for the second time, I was left feeling slightly underwhelmed by the support shown — though I had plenty of praise for both Lucas and Kamil’s efficiency and overall phone manner.

Bottom line

With everything I’d heard about MSI’s tech support, I was expecting far worse than I’d gotten. However, much of that was down to me not using the U.S. number for support. I’d tried the same number a few other times only to be met by silence and eventual disconnections, so switching to my local number seemed to be the wisest thing to do.

The phone team and live chat teams are very good, though their knowledge of MSI’s own software could help them (and customers) keep call times lower and reach a solution in just a few clicks or keypresses as opposed to following a lengthy guide.

MSI’s web support was substantial, and there are a ton of video tutorials on YouTube to get to grips with alongside a sizable frequently asked questions vault in the Online Assistant to quickly help customers with common issues.

However, MSI’s tech support is practically a ghost on social media, providing little to no use other than to act as a support dead end for many. Something that echoed in my initial calls to the MSI US team.

• Scorecard and Winners
• Apple
• Razer
• Lenovo
• Dell
• Asus
• Microsoft
• Acer
• Samsung
• HP
• MSI

If you’ve ever been hunting for a new gaming laptop, you’ll no doubt have come across the name MSI before. The brand is synonymous with power and performance, reflected in the supercar-esque emblem adorning the hoods of some of the best gaming laptops around. However, MSI is no one-trick pony, and its reputation for crafting quality machines stretches across multiple categories that focus on everything from supercharged workstations to premium mainstream notebooks.

After a three-year pandemic induces hiatus, this year’s Computex 2023 gave MSI a platform to impress the world — and it did just that. The most impressive thing of all? It did it five times over. MSI’s all-new Creator, Stealth, Commercial, Alpha, and Prestige laptop lines have finally arrived, and each looks ready to challenge for pole position in its category.

MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport

If you’re a brand like MSI, you’re in constant pursuit of technological innovation — it’s what gives MSI’s laptops the cutting edge in terms of performance. So, if you want the world to know your laptop is the fastest and most powerful, then, of course, you’d partner with motorsports legends Mercedes-AMG.

Crossover events are sometimes more about cashing in than anything else, but the MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport isn’t just wearing the famous Mercedes star for name recognition. The brand known for its ultimate driving performance is partnering with the brand driving for ultimate performance — and the results are one of the most luxurious laptops around.

The all-new Stealth 16 is as supercharged as its motorsport partner’s four-wheeled offerings, kitted out with the latest 13th Gen Intel Core i9 processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 40-series graphics. The limited edition laptop also packs an incredible 16-inch, 4K OLED display to ensure every drop of power is backed up by stunning pictures.

Not only is the MSIxAMG Stealth 16 fantastic in its own right, but it will also come with an exclusive premium bundle pack that features everything you need to put pedal to metal, including an MSIxAMG branded mouse, mousepad, accessories pouch, and USB flash drive.

Our Laptop Mag Content Editor, Jason England, got an up close look at the MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport at this years Computex 2023, check out the three reasons why he loved it.

MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport specifications

MSI Creator Z17 HX Studio

Computex Best Choice Award 2023 winner, and the taker of our very own Best in Show award, the MSI Creator Z17 HX Studio is a workstation of Herculean might. Labeled as the point where tech meets aesthetic, the Creator Z17 indeed packs powerful performance alongside premium build and design.

The power in question is supplied by the latest 13th Gen Intel Core i9 HX processors with up to 64GB of DDR5-5600 RAM and the blazing power of Nvidia GeForce RTX 40-series GPUs. The Nvidia Studio verified laptop is a portable powerhouse, and its increased 16:10 True Pixel display will offer even more screen real estate across a blazingly fast 165Hz, 17-inch IPS screen to maximize your productivity.

MSI Creator Z17 HX Studio specifications