In the current landscape where ambition meets lifestyle, the mantra of “work hard, play hard” has never been more relevant. Productivity and performance may be key factors in driving professional success, but recharging through immersive entertainment is just as vital as maintaining creativity and focus. To this end, laptops that can handle intensive gaming offer a two-in-one solution for those concerned about the space constraints of a full-fledged gaming rig, and simply want a portable alternative.
Aiming to provide the best of both worlds, MSI’s refreshed series of Raider gaming laptops are designed to be a powerhouse for the most demanding of users. Powered by the latest NVIDIA RTX 50 series GPUs, the MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XWIG marks the company’s newest gaming beast, empowering those who live for the game by pushing the limits of power and performance to rival top-line desktop systems.
Extreme performance starts from under the hood, beginning with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU. Utilising NVIDIA’s latest Blackwell architecture, these laptop GPUs are equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) horsepower that triples the previous Ada architecture found in the RTX 40 Series, all while enjoying the benefits of NVIDIA’s next-generation capabilities like DLSS 4, Multi Frame Generation, full ray tracing and enhanced Ray Reconstruction, all optimised by Max-Q for the longest-lasting RTX laptops to date.
The Raider 18 HX AI’s power doesn’t just come from its GPU, though. Courtesy of the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 285HX, the 24-core (8 P-Cores + 16 E-Cores) setup provides up to a 25% increase in performance compared to previous generation processors. Even when situations require the full use of the laptop’s CPU and GPU, the device employs MSI Overboost Ultra Technology to deliver maximum combined performance to tackle even the most demanding gaming scenarios.
Despite having the option to connect to external displays, the device’s screen is more than capable of standing on its own feet, flaunting an 18-inch UHD+ resolution Mini LED Display (3840 x 2400 pixels), with its 120Hz refresh rate and VESA DisplayHDR 1000 output delivering not only vibrant colours with deep contrast for an maximum immersion, but a silky-smooth gameplay experience suitable for both high-intensity shooters and riveting role-playing games.
When running the latest triple-A games, memory and storage data transfer speeds are equally important. The Raider 18 HX AI continues to lead the charge for CPU and GPU prowess, offering support for lightning-fast DDR5 6400 memory with higher bandwidth and lower latency, resulting in a more responsive gaming experience. Additionally, MSI’s Super RAID 5 technology allows the device to combine the performance of both its Gen 5 and Gen4 SSDs for ultimate read speeds, ensuring seamless data access and speedy load times suitable for heavy workloads.
Powerful hardware may be the most important factor for uncompromised performance, but running a proper RGB setup can define the essence of a gamer by allowing them to express their personality. In this regard, the Raider 18 HX AI features a game-changing new matrix lightbar design with Mystic Light RGB, pushing the limits of aesthetics with 16.8 million colour options for gamers to personalise to their heart’s content, either for making a lasting statement or building the perfect atmosphere for a late night of intense gaming.
The laptop’s matrix lightbar design isn’t just for show either. It seamlessly blends a comprehensive array of I/O ports, including two Thunderbolt 5 ports that support DisplayPort 2.1 monitor connection with up to 120 Gbps of transmit bandwidth using Thunderbolt Bandwidth Boost, and the Power Delivery 3.1 standard, which enables USB-C cables and connectors to deliver up to 240W of power. For unparalleled flexibility, the Raider 18 HX AI also features three additional USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, an HDMI 2.1, an SD card reader, and an audio combo jack.
Starting from S$7,999 and S$9,499 for the RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 GPU, respectively, the Raider 18 HX AI pushes the boundaries of a portable system, combining top-tier CPU and GPU chipsets with a visual flair to match. For the avid gamer looking for a laptop that can come close to matching desktop-level performance, this is truly a gaming beast begging to be let out of its cage.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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