MSI Titan 18 HX review: the powerhouse laptop that will have gamers drooling

Money might not be able to buy you happiness but it can sure buy you power.

MSI Titan 18 HX
(Image: © Future)

Our Verdict

The MSI Titan 18 HX is for gamers who couldn't care less about money. If you just have to have unbelievable power no matter the cost, then MSI's gaming beast of a laptop is by far your best option. At the top end, for a penny under £5K, you get an Intel 14th Gen Core i9 HX processor, a Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, and 192GB of memory. My jaw has dropped while writing that sentence. Beyond the realms of power, there's also a 4K 120Hz mini LED display that looks gorgeous. Because the Titan 18 HX hits all the right notes for gamers, it also makes it a formidable machine for all types of creatives.

For

  • Unbelievable performance
  • Ideal for gamers
  • 4K 120Hz display to die for

Against

  • So expensive
  • Big and bulky
  • Limited battery life

Why you can trust Creative Bloq Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Here at Creative Bloq we love all types of laptop but with a special focus on machines for creatives and gamers. The laptop going under the spotlight today is the MSI Titan 18 HX. It has game-changing specs that enable it to compete with the best laptops for graphic design and best laptops for photo-editing.

Beyond the obvious performance abilities of this laptop, the next thing that punches you in the face is the unbelievable price tag. At the time of writing, the Razer Blade 17 held the position of most expensive in our best laptops for gaming guide. That title could be about the fall with the release of the Titan 18 HX. With models beginning at around £3,000 you'll need to take out a small loan to afford one.

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Specs as tested

CPU

Intel Core i9 processor HX series

Graphics

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

Memory

128GB

Screen size

18-inch , MiniLED

Resolution

UHD+ 3840 x 2400 px

Refresh rate

120Hz

Storage

1TB NVMe SSD

Connectivity

2x Type-C, 3x Type-A, HDMI, SD Express Card Reader, 3.5mm audio jack

Dimensions

404 x 307.5 x 24-32.05 mm

Weight

3.6 kg

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MSI Titan 18 HX: Benchmark scoring

Geekbench 6:

CPU single-core: 2,899

CPU multi-core: 16,392

Row 1 - Cell 0

GPU OpenCL: 184,184

Row 1 - Cell 2

Cinebench 2024:

CPU single-core: 124

CPU multi-core: 1,674

Row 3 - Cell 0

GPU: 22,167

Row 3 - Cell 2

Handbrake:

2m47s @72fps

Row 4 - Cell 2

Blender:

Monster 187 (Samples per min)

Row 5 - Cell 2
Row 6 - Cell 0

Junkshop 128 (Samples per min)

Row 6 - Cell 2
Row 7 - Cell 0

Classroom 87 (Samples per min)

Row 7 - Cell 2
Acer Predator Helios 18

Acer Predator Helios 18

A little less outrageously expensive, but still great if you want the ideal gaming monster (and don't mind the ear-splitting fan noise).

Dell Precision 7780

Dell Precision 7780

Another creative powerhouse, this one has a big 17.3-inch screen, not much littler than the Titan's titanic 18 inches. It's mucho heavy though, mind.

MSI Vector 16 HX

MSI Vector 16 HX

This bulky gaming-first laptop is slightly smaller than the Titan 18 HX, but only slightly. You gotta fit all those components somewhere, after all.

The Verdict
9

out of 10

MSI Titan 18 HX

The MSI Titan 18 HX is for gamers who couldn't care less about money. If you just have to have unbelievable power no matter the cost, then MSI's gaming beast of a laptop is by far your best option. At the top end, for a penny under £5K, you get an Intel 14th Gen Core i9 HX processor, a Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, and 192GB of memory. My jaw has dropped while writing that sentence. Beyond the realms of power, there's also a 4K 120Hz mini LED display that looks gorgeous. Because the Titan 18 HX hits all the right notes for gamers, it also makes it a formidable machine for all types of creatives.

Paul Hatton
Writer

Paul is a digital expert. In the 20 years since he graduated with a first-class honours degree in Computer Science, Paul has been actively involved in a variety of different tech and creative industries that make him the go-to guy for reviews, opinion pieces, and featured articles. With a particular love of all things visual, including photography, videography, and 3D visualisation Paul is never far from a camera or other piece of tech that gets his creative juices going. You'll also find his writing in other places, including Creative Bloq, Digital Camera World, and 3D World Magazine. 

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