MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW

A punchy display and audio combo ensure this laptop feels premium, but MSI asks too much for 5080 graphics

- MADELINE RICCHIUTO

PRICE As reviewed, £3,500 (£4,200 inc VAT) from scan.co.uk

Powerful gaming laptops command premium prices, and the MSI Raider is no different. This RTX 5080 system costs £4,200, but you can buy an RTX 5090 version for £4,499 from Amazon.

Both models feature a generous 4TB of storage spread across a pair of 2TB drives, and the result is excellent speed: 2,252MB/sec in our real-world file-copy tests. Of the other systems here, only the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i breached 2,000MB/sec.

And this laptop is all about speed, with the Raider hitting a maximum operating power of 260W thanks to MSI's OverBoost Ultra technology. This led to atrocious battery life in our light-use test, 2hrs 33mins, but it lasted for a more respectable 1hr 46mins when we switched to gaming.

More importantly to most, it easily hit over 100fps at 1080p in most games, although more difficult titles such as Black Myth: Wukong and Cyberpunk 2077 proved a challenge. This is where DLSS 4 and frame generation come in. With DLSS 4 enabled at the 18in panel's 2400p resolution and High settings, I was easily able to keep a stable 47fps in Monster Hunter Wilds. That jumped up to 70fps with frame generation enabled. I saw similar improvements in Avowed, going from 77fps at 2400p on High settings with only DLSS 4 to 115fps with frame generation also toggled on. Without either, the game was hitting 46fps.