CES 2025 is officially underway, which means new gaming laptops, including several updates to MSI's gaming line-up, with the Raider, Vector, Stealth, and Crosshair featuring Nvidia's RTX 50 series GPUs.
These are among the first laptops with Nvidia's latest graphics cards, so I know I'm not alone when I say I'm excited to see how they perform. We'll have to wait until we can run them through our rigorous lab tests to see whether any of them will make our best gaming laptops. They have some stiff competition, though.
MSI has several horses in the race. It announced a plethora of new gaming laptops this week featuring both Intel and AMD chips. So, if you want to upgrade to an MSI gaming laptop in 2025, you're spoiled for choice. Here's a look at the specs for each of the new models:
| Header Cell - Column 0 | MSI Raider A18 HX | MSI Vector A18 HX | MSI Stealth A18 AI+ | MSI Stealth A16 AI+ | MSI Crosshair A18 HX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D | AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | AMD Ryzen 8000 series |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090/5080 | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080/5070 Ti | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090/5080/5070 Ti | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090/5080/5070 Ti | Nvidia GeForce RTX 50 series |
| RAM | Up to 96GB | Up to 96GB | Up to 96GB | Up to 64GB | Up to 96GB |
| Storage | 2x NVMe M.2 SSD slots | 2x NVMe M.2 SSD slots | 1x NVMe M.2 SSD slot | 2x NVMe M.2 SSD slots | 2x NVMe M.2 SSD slots |
| Display | 18-inch, 120Hz, UHD+ | 18-inch, 120Hz, QHD+ | 18-inch, 120Hz/240Hz, UHD+/QHD+ | 16-inch, 240Hz, QHD+, OLED | 18-inch, 240Hz, QHD+ |
| Header Cell - Column 0 | MSI Raider 18 HX AI | MSI Stealth 18 HX AI | MSI Vector 17 HX AI | MSI Vector 16 HX AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX/Core Ultra 9 275HX |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090/5080 | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090/5080/5070 Ti | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090/5080/5070 Ti | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080/5070 Ti |
| RAM | Up to 96GB | Up to 96GB | Up to 96GB | Up to 96GB |
| Storage | 2x NVMe M.2 SSD slots | 1x NVMe M.2 SSD slot | 2x NVMe M.2 SSD slots | 2x NVMe M.2 SSD slots |
| Display | 18-inch, 120Hz, UHD+ | 18-inch, 120Hz/240Hz, UHD+/QHD+ | 17-inch, 240Hz, QHD+ | 16-inch, 240Hz, QHD+ |
Based on these specs, it looks like MSI will be relying on two top processors for its gaming line-up this year: the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX. Almost every model is available with any of the top three Nvidia 50 series graphics cards, so gamers will have plenty of freedom for customization.
MSI kept things fairly minimal when it comes to design this year. The Vector, Stealth, and Raider have virtually the same plain black chassis with a simple MSI logo on the lid. You still get a full RGB keyboard inside, though. So, these three could be a good pick for gamers who want a more low-key laptop. The Crosshair is a bit more creative, with a more prominent MSI logo covering the lid, but still relatively minimalistic.
We'll cover all the latest gaming announcements from CES 2025 all week, so stay tuned for more news and updates.
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