This review is, if I can read a spreadsheet correctly, the first time this site has assessed a laptop containing the Ryzen 9 9955HX. So if you’ve ever wanted one of AMD’s thundering 16-core Zen 5 chips in your portable(ish) PC, this is your chance. It’s fast, though not 9950X3D fast. An unfair comparison considering the desktop chip doesn’t have to deal with the constrained thermal envelope and limited power draw of a laptop, and the 3D V-Cache really does make a difference.
Despite the rainbow keyboard and presence of an RTX 5080 GPU, you’ll be surprised to hear this this isn’t a gaming laptop. MSI positions it as “engineered for the demands of STEM professionals,” which probably doesn’t mean gardeners, and then takes a puff on some burning leaves to huskily exhale the phrase “it operates like a high-tech brain”.
Yeah, man.
The Vector A18 HX may well “deliver the performance and reliability engineers need to excel in every challenge,” but luckily for us it also delivers the kind of frame rates that make PC gamers very happy, and is so obviously a gaming laptop in an unconvincing disguise with its 240 Hz display, seven heat pipes, and two fans to keep it all cool. We’d be amazed if any actual work gets done if someone pulls it out at a meeting about building a bridge or some other towering concrete structure.
A18 HX specs
(Image credit: Future)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9955HXGPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080RAM: 32 GB DDR5-5600Storage: 2 TB SSDScreen: 18-inch IPS, 2560 x 1600Networking: Wi-Fi 7Connectivity: 2x USB 4, 1x USB 3.2 Type-A, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x EthernetDimensions: 404 x 307.5 x 32 mmWeight: 3.6 kgPrice: $3,000/£3,199
Being an 18-inch laptop, the Vector A18 HX is a bit of a towering concrete structure itself. You’re not going to want to pass it one-handed to your engineering colleague, even if it is their turn to play Kerbal Space Program. At 3.6 kg it weighs the same as an adult sloth or about a dozen mangoes, and if you’ve ever tried lugging either of those around with you you’ll know how heavy they can get.
The enormous 400 W power brick only adds to the burden, though luckily it has a reasonably long cable attached, and the laptop can happily charge from one of its USB4 ports as long as you can feed it enough juice. Once it’s charged, however, you’ll only get about an hour of use out of it before you’re heading back to the plug socket.
It’s also very expensive, and there’s a version with a Mini-LED 4K-adjacent display that will probably push the price up to truly eye-watering levels. The one we’ve got here has a normal IPS attached, with a 16:10 WQXGA resolution.It’s capable of 500 nits of brightness, and the fact it’s relatively modest in pixel density allows the RTX 5080 to really stretch its legs.
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At native resolution it doesn’t take much DLSS for Cyberpunk 2077 to hit 60 fps or higher in its Ray Tracing Ultra mode, and once you start messing with frame-gen you can push that much further. CPU-intensive games such as Baldur’s Gate III just love that 16-core chip, pumping out 90 fps without resorting to any upscaling.
It does all this without making too much noise, suggesting the extra size of an 18-incher is really helpful to cooling system engineers. You can use the MSI Center app to spin the fans up to full all the time, in which case you’ll definitely know it’s there, but in general use the system is intelligent enough to keep the noise down compared to some 16-inch or smaller machines. There’s no grinding or whining from the fans, and the peak temperatures from the Vector’s chips are very reasonable, hitting just 74 °C from the GPU after a gaming session, with the CPU a little higher.
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A few laptops have scored higher than the Vector A18 in our CPU tests, and they all use the Core Ultra 9 275HX, a 24-core, 24-thread chip. The Ryzen’s 16 cores are all the equivalent of P-cores, plus it has Hyper-Threading, and it absolutely dominates in things like Zip file decompression and CPU rendering in Blender.
It would be very interesting to see what this chip could do if paired with a 5090, but the 5080 does an excellent job. The GPU power measurement of 132 W is beaten by other 5080 laptops such as MSI’s own Vector 16 HX AI A2XW (with the Ultra 9 275HX), but the frame rates from the AMD-powered 18-incher are a smidgen higher.
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Gaming benchmarks
Baldur’s Gate 3 (1080p Ultra)Baldur’s Gate 3 (1440p Ultra)Baldur’s Gate 3 (Native res. Ultra)Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (1080p High)Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (1440p High)Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High + upscaling (quality, 67%))Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High)Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra)Cyberpunk 2077 (1440p RT Ultra)Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + upscaling (quality), 2x FG)Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra)F1 24 (1080p Ultra High)F1 24 (1440p Ultra High)F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High + upscaling Quality, 2x FG)F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High)GPU statsGaming temperaturesMetro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra)Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1440p Ultra)Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (Native res. Ultra)3DMark Time Spy Extreme3DMark Port Royal Avg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX9155MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX10146Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX7641Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H6941037.575112.5150
Baldur’s Gate 3 (1080p Ultra) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX91 Avg FPS, 55 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX101 Avg FPS, 46 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX76 Avg FPS, 41 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H69 Avg FPS, 41 1% Low FPSAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX9557MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX10052Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX64390255075100
Baldur’s Gate 3 (1440p Ultra) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX95 Avg FPS, 57 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX100 Avg FPS, 52 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX64 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HN/AAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX9149MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX7159Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX3927Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H66360255075100
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Native res. Ultra) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX91 Avg FPS, 49 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX71 Avg FPS, 59 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX39 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H66 Avg FPS, 36 1% Low FPSAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX10079MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX9580Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX6433Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H88640255075100
Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (1080p High) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX100 Avg FPS, 79 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX95 Avg FPS, 80 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX64 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H88 Avg FPS, 64 1% Low FPSAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX7142MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX7161Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX6250020406080
Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (1440p High) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX71 Avg FPS, 42 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX71 Avg FPS, 61 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX62 Avg FPS, 50 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HN/AAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX7351MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX3924Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX2311Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H5144020406080
Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High + upscaling (quality, 67%)) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX73 Avg FPS, 51 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX39 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX23 Avg FPS, 11 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H51 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPSAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX11086MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX6758Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX4428Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H7655037.575112.5150
Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX110 Avg FPS, 86 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX67 Avg FPS, 58 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX44 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H76 Avg FPS, 55 1% Low FPSAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX7050MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX6635Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX3922Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H5044020406080
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX70 Avg FPS, 50 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX66 Avg FPS, 35 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX39 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H50 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPSAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX4534MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX4233Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX2416015304560
Cyberpunk 2077 (1440p RT Ultra) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX45 Avg FPS, 34 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX42 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX24 Avg FPS, 16 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HN/AAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX12548MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX6147Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX5834Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H8548037.575112.5150
Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + upscaling (quality), 2x FG) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX125 Avg FPS, 48 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX61 Avg FPS, 47 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX58 Avg FPS, 34 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H85 Avg FPS, 48 1% Low FPSAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX4232MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX1811Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX119Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H2821015304560
Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX42 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX18 Avg FPS, 11 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX11 Avg FPS, 9 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H28 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPSAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX12246MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX12073Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX7752Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H9360037.575112.5150
F1 24 (1080p Ultra High) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX122 Avg FPS, 46 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX120 Avg FPS, 73 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX77 Avg FPS, 52 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H93 Avg FPS, 60 1% Low FPSAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX8038MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX7660Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX5131020406080
F1 24 (1440p Ultra High) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX80 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX76 Avg FPS, 60 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX51 Avg FPS, 31 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HN/AAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX18075MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX8963Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX4127Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H13066050100150200
F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High + upscaling Quality, 2x FG) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX180 Avg FPS, 75 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX89 Avg FPS, 63 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX41 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H130 Avg FPS, 66 1% Low FPSAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX7235MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX3527Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX2319Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H5744020406080
F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX72 Avg FPS, 35 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX35 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX23 Avg FPS, 19 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H57 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPSAvg GPU freq. (MHz)Avg GPU power (W)MSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX2335132MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX2236131Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX130671Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H16709807501,5002,2503,000
GPU stats Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX2335 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 132 Avg GPU power (W)MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX2236 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 131 Avg GPU power (W)Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX1306 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 71 Avg GPU power (W)Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H1670 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 98 Avg GPU power (W)Avg CPU (°C)Max CPU (°C)MSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX8191MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX8294Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX5982Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H74810255075100
Gaming temperatures Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX81 Avg CPU (°C), 91 Max CPU (°C)MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX82 Avg CPU (°C), 94 Max CPU (°C)Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX59 Avg CPU (°C), 82 Max CPU (°C)Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H74 Avg CPU (°C), 81 Max CPU (°C)Avg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX13238MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX13076Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX8346Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H9450037.575112.5150
Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX132 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX130 Avg FPS, 76 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX83 Avg FPS, 46 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H94 Avg FPS, 50 1% Low FPSAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX10020MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX9659Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX63400255075100
Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1440p Ultra) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX100 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX96 Avg FPS, 59 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX63 Avg FPS, 40 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HN/AAvg FPS1% Low FPSMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX9321MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX5239Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX3324Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H68410255075100
Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (Native res. Ultra) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX93 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPSMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX52 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPSLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX33 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPSAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H68 Avg FPS, 41 1% Low FPSOverall index scoreGPU indexMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX1113411004MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX1066810334Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX70426973Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H8257835403,7507,50011,25015,000
3DMark Time Spy Extreme Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX11134 Overall index score, 11004 GPU indexMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX10668 Overall index score, 10334 GPU indexLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX7042 Overall index score, 6973 GPU indexAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H8257 Overall index score, 8354 GPU indexMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX15168MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX13773Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX9245Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H1108205,00010,00015,00020,000Overall index score
3DMark Port Royal Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX | RTX 5080 | Ryzen 9 9955HX15168MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285HX13773Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX9245Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 285H11082
Performance-wise, you’re getting as much as a laptop at this price-point can possibly manage, and the only way to get more is to pay another $1,000 more for a 5090 in something like the Alienware 18 Area-51. I have no idea what engineers earn, but I hope it’s lots.
The Vector A18 HX is well supplied with ports. It’s good to see USB4 in a laptop rather than old-fashioned 3.2, even though the 10 Gbps speed of that connector still hasn’t been saturated by anything other than SSDs. It means you can plug whatever you like into it and expect to get great performance without having to worry about flavours of Thunderbolt, and the HDMI port is a 2.1 model so you can output VRR to a TV that supports it.
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System benchmarks
3DMark Storage7zip 24.07Blender 4.2.0 (junkshop)Cinebench 2024PCMark 10System temperatures Overall index scoreAvg bandwidth (MB/s)MSI Vector A18 HX1946332.57MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW1589272.43Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 (STOCK/QUIET Profile)2070351.51Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025)2162370.0607501,5002,2503,000
3DMark Storage Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX1946 Overall index score, 332.57 Avg bandwidth (MB/s)MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW1589 Overall index score, 272.43 Avg bandwidth (MB/s)Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 (STOCK/QUIET Profile)2070 Overall index score, 351.51 Avg bandwidth (MB/s)Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025)2162 Overall index score, 370.06 Avg bandwidth (MB/s)Compressing (GIPS)Decompressing (GIPS)MSI Vector A18 HX181.257241.164MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW176.834184.258Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 (STOCK/QUIET Profile)120.68135.81Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025)108.39104.167075150225300
7zip 24.07 Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX181.257 Compressing (GIPS), 241.164 Decompressing (GIPS)MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW176.834 Compressing (GIPS), 184.258 Decompressing (GIPS)Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 (STOCK/QUIET Profile)120.68 Compressing (GIPS), 135.81 Decompressing (GIPS)Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025)108.39 Compressing (GIPS), 104.167 Decompressing (GIPS)CPU (samples/min)GPU (samples/min)MSI Vector A18 HX176.71842.72MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW154.351865.75Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 (STOCK/QUIET Profile)109.31425.58Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025)73.561575.2805001,0001,5002,000
Blender 4.2.0 (junkshop) Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX176.7 CPU (samples/min), 1842.72 GPU (samples/min)MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW154.35 CPU (samples/min), 1865.75 GPU (samples/min)Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 (STOCK/QUIET Profile)109.3 CPU (samples/min), 1425.58 GPU (samples/min)Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025)73.56 CPU (samples/min), 1575.28 GPU (samples/min)Multi-core index scoreSingle-core index scoreMSI Vector A18 HX1510129MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW2156130Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 (STOCK/QUIET Profile)125479Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025)117112507501,5002,2503,000
Cinebench 2024 Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX1510 Multi-core index score, 129 Single-core index scoreMSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW2156 Multi-core index score, 130 Single-core index scoreLenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 (STOCK/QUIET Profile)1254 Multi-core index score, 79 Single-core index scoreAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025)1171 Multi-core index score, 125 Single-core index scoreMSI Vector A18 HX63MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW93Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 (STOCK/QUIET Profile)73Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025)112037.575112.5150Battery life (minutes)
PCMark 10 Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX63MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW93Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 (STOCK/QUIET Profile)73Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025)112Max CPU temp (°C)Max GPU temp (°C)MSI Vector A18 HX9370MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW10272Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 (STOCK/QUIET Profile)8354Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025)10476037.575112.5150
System temperatures Data
ProductValueMSI Vector A18 HX93 Max CPU temp (°C), 70 Max GPU temp (°C)MSI Raider 18 HX AI A2XW102 Max CPU temp (°C), 72 Max GPU temp (°C)Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 (STOCK/QUIET Profile)83 Max CPU temp (°C), 54 Max GPU temp (°C)Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025)104 Max CPU temp (°C), 76 Max GPU temp (°C)Buy if…
✅ Size matters: An 18-inch laptop isn’t for the faint-hearted, and you’ll need a comparable wallet volume to even think about it, but it gives you fearsome power and fast frames at the highest graphical settings, which is BRILLLIANT.
Don’t buy if…
❌ Literally anything else will do: Happy with a 14-incher? Merely ‘high’ graphics settings? A desktop PC? Get that instead, your bank manager will thank you and you can spend the difference on tuition fees at engineering school.
It’s also positioned next to the Ethernet and charging sockets on the back edge of the laptop casing, which is ideal in a desktop replacement machine (you’re not going to be throwing this into a bag to take to the coffee shop, but it’s perfect as a powerful machine that can be tidied out of the way into a cupboard) as it keeps the cables from snaking across the desk.
The 18-inch screen is probably good enough by itself for many uses, but being able to hook it up to something bigger, maybe an OLED or Mini-LED for extra vibrancy, is always going to be helpful if you’re spinning large models around in CAD (or maybe playing Battlefield 6). Elsewhere, the keyboard and trackpad are both a good size, and while the latter has a good amount of movement and a solid click when you press down on it, the keys themselves are nothing special.
This isn’t a bargain laptop, and it’s not the kind of thing you’ll buy hoping it will punch above its weight. Both its weight and its punch are considerable, but then so is the price, and so you’ll need to weigh up whether to get an 18-inch laptop or a desktop machine. They’re basically the same thing once you’ve added an external monitor into the equation. Pick this one from MSI, and you’ll have the warm fuzzy feeling of knowing you’ve got one of the best-performing RTX 5080 laptops (until the next one comes along) and you can cosplay as an engineer at the weekends too.
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