MSI is a well-known brand in the computer market. The company has eight gaming laptop series, including Titan, Stealth, Raider, Vector, and more. The laptop we will review today belongs to the MSI Raider series with model number MSI Raider 18 HX A14V.
The MSI Raider 18 HX A14V is powered by an Intel 14th Gen Core i9-14900HX processor and an RTX 4000 series graphics, while the variant we reviewed is powered by an RTX 4090 graphics card. In short, it is a model with a top-of-the-range configuration that offers the best performance in all aspects.
The laptop also features a huge 18-inch UHD MiniLED display and a heavyweight body. It offers 4 memory slots and supports up to 192GB DDR5 memory. The laptop comes with two SSD slots, one of which also supports the PCIe Gen 5 protocol. The specifications indicate that its performance will be excellent. Let’s take a look.
Specifications
| Screen | 18” UHD+ (3840 x 2400), MiniLED, 120Hz |
| Processor | Intel Core i9-14900HX, 24 Cores (including 8 P-Cores and 16 E-Cores) and 32 Threads |
| Wireless Connection | Intel Killer BE Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Graphics card | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, 16GB GDDR6 |
| Memory | 64GB dual-channel 5600MHz RAM, up to 192GB, 4 RAM slots |
| Storage | 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD, manufactured by Samsung. 1x M.2 SSD slot (NVMe PCIe Gen4), 1x M.2 SSD slot (NVMe PCIe Gen5) |
| Ports | 1x Type-C (USB / DP / Thunderbolt 4) 1x Type-C (USB / DP / Thunderbolt 4) with PD3.1 charging 3x Type-A USB3.2 Gen2 1x SD Express Card Reader 1x HDMI 2.1 1x RJ45 |
| Battery | 99.99Wh, 4-cell Li-ion battery with 330W AC adapter |
| OS | Windows 11 Pro |
| Weight | 3.6 kg (7.94 lbs) |
Design
With an 18-inch display, the laptop’s body size will increase. The dimensions of the MSI Raider 18 HX A14V are 404 x 307.5 x 32.05 mm, and the weight is 3.6 kg. In the open state, the thickness is 24 mm. The laptop may appear slightly bulky and heavy. However, considering its ultra-high specifications and the necessary cooling requirements, this weight management is commendable.
The laptop continues the design of the MSI Raider series. The back of the body has an extended area with various ports, which is common in gaming laptops. The entire body is made of metal and has a matte finish for a delicate feel. The laptop is only available in Core Black.
The MSI logo is located in the center of the display housing. It is a shield with a dragon inside. The logo also supports RGB lighting. As a flagship gaming laptop, the MSI Raider 18 HX A14V offers the perfect blend of coolness and simplicity. It incorporates a number of hardcore, mechanical design elements while maintaining a balanced and understated appearance. Its design appeals to a wide range of users.
Display
According to the official introduction, the MSI Raider 18 HX A14V comes with the world’s first 4K (3840 x 2400) MiniLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The official also mentioned that the display supports 1000 nits of brightness, a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and is certified by SGS and DisplayHDR 1000. The other three side bezels are very narrow except for the bottom bezel.
In our display performance tests, we used the Spyder X, which showed that the display covers 79.5% of the Adobe RGB color gamut and 95.2% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. Its average Delta-E value was 0.42, which is an excellent result. We also tested the display refresh rate using the UFOTest website and found that it had a refresh rate of 120Hz, which is in line with the official specifications.
Screen Test Results |
|
| sRGB | null |
| Adobe RGB | 79.5% |
| DCI-P3 | 95.2% |
| Maximum Brightness | 1000 nits |
| Average Delta E | 0.42 |
The laptop also comes with TrueColor software, which uses proprietary color adjustment technology. It offers a variety of preset color modes, such as gaming e-sports mode, anti-blue light mode, and Display P3 mode, each optimized for different usage scenarios. The software is easy to operate and user-friendly, making it suitable for a variety of tasks and environments, such as professional visual design or casual movie-watching and entertainment.
There is an IR webcam and a microphone with 3DNR+ support at the top of the screen. It has a privacy shutter that can block the camera.
Also Read: Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 Review
Keyboard and TouchPad
This laptop comes with a “per-key RGB gaming keyboard”. Through the built-in software, users can adjust the RGB lighting for each key. This full-size keyboard features a numeric keypad with the SteelSeries logo in the bottom left corner. There are also two RGB light strips above the top of the keyboard.
The laptop is also equipped with an RGB matrix light strip on the palm rest, further enhancing its gaming elements. Under the numeric keypad, the manufacturer has included a fingerprint sensor for quick login to the Windows system. In the lower middle area, we can see a trackpad, but its size appears smaller. We think manufacturers can make the trackpad larger in this large area. However, we can ignore the quality of the trackpad, as gamers usually use an external mouse while gaming.
Ports
The MSI Raider 18 HX A14V comes with a wide range of ports. The number of ports on a laptop is crucial because gamers need to connect various peripherals for gaming. This laptop features a total of 11 ports, catering to the daily needs of both gamers and business users.
Starting on the left side of the laptop, there is a Kensington lock, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, and an SD card reader. On the rear, there is an RJ45 port, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a DC-in port. On the right side, there is a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, and two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports (one of which supports PD 3.1 charging, while DisplayPort is supported on both ports).
The HDMI 2.1 port supports a 60Hz refresh rate at 8K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate at 4K resolution. With these rich ports, users do not need to purchase an additional USB docking station.
Battery and Charging
The MSI Raider 18 HX A14V comes with a 4-cell 99.9Wh battery. MSI also includes a 330W adapter that supports fast charging.
If you lose this 330W charger, you can still charge it at 65W or 140W via PD charging. We also ran a battery test using video playback. Before testing, the performance mode was set to energy-saving mode, Windows power management was switched to optimal energy efficiency mode, Wi-Fi was enabled, and the brightness was set to 50%. After 2 hours of playing 1080p video at these settings, the battery dropped from 91% to 70%.
Also Read: MSI Stealth 16 AI Studio A1V Review
RAM and SSD
The MSI Raider 18 HX A14V has 4 memory slots. Due to the limitations of Intel, the current design restricts the maximum memory frequency to 4000 MHz. However, MSI still equipped this laptop with DDR5 5600MHz memory modules. The model we reviewed has 64GB (2 × 32GB) of RAM.
We used the AIDA64 Cache and Memory Benchmark applications. Once the tests were completed, we got the following results: 63,082 MB/s read, 60,576 MB/s write, and 63,062 MB/s copy with a latency of 96.9 ns. It is worth mentioning that the memory capacity can be upgraded to 192GB.
The MSI Raider 18 HX A14V has two M.2 slots. One of the slots also supports the PCIe Gen5 protocol, ensuring the laptop is compatible with higher-performance SSDs. The model we reviewed comes with a 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD manufactured by Samsung. Its model number is PM9A1.
In the SSD performance test, we used the CrystalDiskMark application. Once the tests were completed, we obtained the following results: sequential read speed of 6,961.97 MB/s, sequential write speed of 5,158.45 MB/s, 4K random read speed of 82.34 MB/s, and 4K random write speed of 240.53 MB/s.
CPU Benchmark
The MSI Raider 18 HX A14V is powered by an Intel Core i9-14900HX processor. As part of the HX series, it is designed to deliver powerful performance rather than prioritizing power consumption. The processor is based on the Raptor Lake architecture and has 24 cores and 32 threads. Its 24 cores include 8 P-cores (base frequency: 2.2 GHz, maximum frequency: 5.7 GHz) and 16 E-cores (base frequency: 1.6 GHz, maximum frequency: 4.1 GHz).
The processor features 36MB of L3 cache with a base power consumption of 55W, uses a hybrid heterogeneous architecture, and supports hyper-threading technology. These specifications make it highly attractive to gamers. We also conducted benchmark tests on the processor, with the following results:
CPU-Z: 893.7 on single-core and 13363.1 on multi-core
Cinebench R23: 2,136pts on single-core and 32,149pts on multi-core
3DMark CPU Profile: 1,201 on single-core and 12,936 on multi-core
GPU Benchmark
The MSI Raider 18 HX A14V has multiple graphics card options, including the RTX 4070, RTX 4080, and RTX 4090. We are reviewing the model with an RTX 4090 graphics card.
The graphics card is based on NVIDIA’s latest Ada Lovelace architecture and features 16GB of GDDR6 memory with a 256-bit memory width. This GPU has a maximum power consumption of 175W and can achieve frequencies up to 2280 MHz. This GPU not only meets the needs of high-end games but also meets the requirements of graphic designers. Here are the benchmark results for this GPU:
3DMark Time Spy: 20,812 total score, including 22,542 GPU score
3DMark Time Spy Extreme: 10,922 total score, including 10,984 GPU score
3DMark Fire Strike: 36,594 total score, including 48,045 GPU score
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme: 25,220 total score, including 27,183 GPU score
3DMark Port Royal: 13,992 GPU score
Gaming Test
The laptop we are reviewing is one of the most powerful and best options in gaming right now. Now it’s time to see how these powerful configurations perform. We conducted gaming tests on some of the most popular AAA games currently available on the market. In this test, the power mode was switched to “Best Performance” mode, the cooling mode was set to “Fury Mode”, and the default test resolution was 4K+ (3840 x 2400).
PUBG: At 4K resolution and the highest image preset quality, we get a relatively smooth average frame rate of 114fps. When the image preset quality is reduced by one level, the average frame rate reaches 145fps, which exceeds the display capabilities of the screen.
Forza Horizon 5: We set the video quality to extremely high, turned off DLSS, and achieved an average frame rate of 104fps.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: Initially, with ray tracing set to default image quality and DLSS enabled, we achieved an average frame rate of 57fps.
Heat Dissipation and Stress Testing
Turning to the bottom of the laptop, you can see a large mechanical-style grille at the bottom. To tear down the laptop, you must first remove the metal cover. Once removed, you can access the cooling system. MSI named it the “MSI Cooler Boost 5” cooling system, which uses a 3D cooling bracket, dual fans, and six copper tubes to significantly improve cooling efficiency. We also conducted stress tests on the CPU and GPU to verify the system’s cooling efficiency.
CPU stress test: We used the AIDA64 FPU. After about 15 minutes, the power consumption stabilized at 146W while the CPU temperature was 77°C. We also measured the surface temperature of the laptop and found that the keyboard area was 30.4°C, while the area above the keyboard had the highest temperature, which was 33°C. We checked the noise of the fan at a typical distance used by users. The measured noise level is 48.6 dB, indicating that the fan is relatively quiet.
GPU stress test: The test was conducted using the FurMark app. After 10 minutes of testing, the GPU power consumption was 175W (thanks to DynamicBoost technology support), the core temperature was 67.5°C, and the frequency was 1500 MHz.
CPU + GPU stress test: We conducted stress tests on both the CPU and GPU. After running the same benchmark application for 12 minutes, the CPU and GPU power consumption reached 75W (temperature: 77°C) and 175W (temperature: 72.5°C), respectively, with a total power consumption of 250W. The highest temperature measured above the keyboard area was 43.2°C, while the temperature of the keyboard area itself was 42.4°C.
The cooling system of the MSI Raider 18 HX A14V performs exceptionally well, effectively controlling temperatures even under high-load operations.
Summary:
The MSI Raider 18 HX A14V is a flagship gaming laptop powered by a 14th Gen Intel Core i9-14900HX processor and RTX 4090 graphics, making it the top model in MSI’s gaming lineup. The laptop features a massive 18-inch UHD MiniLED display with 1000 nits of brightness and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage for an immersive visual experience. Its design continues the style of the MSI Raider series, with a metal body and customizable RGB lighting.
The laptop features a per-key RGB gaming keyboard from SteelSeries, providing a comfortable typing experience, and includes a fingerprint sensor for quick login. The MSI Raider 18 HX A14V demonstrates exceptional performance, showcasing the powerful capabilities of its CPU and GPU through benchmarks. It effortlessly handles high-load games like PUBG and Horizon 5, maintaining high frame rates even at 4K resolution.
Its cooling system uses MSI Cooler Boost 5 technology, which effectively manages heat output and maintains stable temperatures even under high loads. The laptop’s fans run quietly, with a noise level of only 49.5 decibels in typical usage. This variant is priced at $3999. For users looking for a more cost-effective option, MSI also offers variants of the RTX 4070 and RTX 4080 graphics cards.