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A true desktop replacement. That's what MSI's Titan range has always represented, and some new components and a fresh coat of paint haven't changed that. It's an 18-inch gaming laptop built for maximum power, delivering 270 watts to flagship hardware from Intel and Nvidia. It has the grunt to be a true desktop replacement, not a portable gaming companion that forces you to sacrifice performance. You should use it as a desktop replacement, too, because most of the elements that make the MSI Titan 18 HX AI a laptop aren't very good.
The Titan 18 HX AI can outclass even seemingly high-end desktops, not only in its CPU and GPU performance, but also its support for up to 96GB of DDR5 memory and quad M.2 SSD slots. Everything else? That's a different story. The unique trackpad design feels cheap and unresponsive, the cooling system is robust enough to cosplay as a jet engine, and the gorgeous mini-LED screen (previously a high point for a Titan) falls short with its 120Hz refresh rate in an era of Multi-Frame Generation (MFG).
This is a desktop replacement, and that's the main reason you should buy it. If you want to use the Titan 18 HX AI as a laptop, you're in for a rude awakening.
MSI sent us the Titan 18 HX AI for review. It had no input on the contents of this article.
MSI Titan 18 HX AI (A2XW)
The MSI Titan 18 HX AI is a true desktop replacement, and it better be, considering the aspects that make this PC a laptop aren't worth asking price.
Pros & Cons
- Uncompromised performance
- Bright and vibrant mini-LED display
- Built like a tank
- Also feels like a tank
- Display is limited to 120Hz
- Ungodly expensive
MSI Titan 18 HX AI (A2XW) pricing and availability
I have to start with the price because the Titan 18 HX AI is one of the most expensive gaming laptops money can buy. The configuration I reviewed comes with an Intel Core Ultra 285HX, RTX 5090, dual 2TB SSDs, and 64GB of DDR5-6400 memory. I managed to track down this configuration at Micro Center for $5,000 (on sale from $5,400), while a fully tricked-out version with 96GB of memory and a total of 6TB of storage is on backorder at ExcaliberPC for $6,600. MSI will eventually offer configurations with an RTX 5080, as well, but you don't buy a Titan to make compromises on hardware.
Even among flagship desktop replacements, the Titan 18 HX AI is expensive. The Alienware 18 Area-51 with almost an identical configuration comes in at just over $4,000. Lenovo is working on its next version of the Legion 9i, and although we don't have pricing for the laptop yet, it'll likely clock in below $5,000. The MSI Titan 18 HX AI works in a space where price starts to become a vague number. I mean, the two configurations I mentioned above are separated by $1,600 in price, and the only difference in hardware is an extra 32GB of memory and 2TB of storage. Those are Apple Mac Studio prices for upgrades.
You're not going to find many laptops more expensive than the Tian 18 HX AI, and that's a reality you'll need to accept if you're remotely interested in this laptop. For the vast majority of buyers, you're wasting money.
MSI Titan 18 HX AI (A2XW)
CPU Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX
GPU Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 mobile
Display type Mini-LED
Display (Size, Resolution) 18-inch, 3840 x 2400
RAM 64GB DDR5-6400
Storage 2x2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD
Battery 99Whr
Ports 2x Thunderbolt 5, 3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI 2.1, RJ45, SD card reader
Operating System Windows 11 Pro
Webcam 1080p at 30 fps
Wi-Fi connectivity Wi-Fi 7
Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.4
Form factor Clamshell
Dimensions 15.9 x 12.1 x 1.3 inches
Weight 7.9 pounds
Speakers 4x 2W speaker, 2x 2W woofer
When a laptop feels like a brick
You don't want to put this in your backpack
The latest Titan design from MSI looks great. It's still super thick and plenty heavy, but MSI no longer uses the somewhat bulbous shell that used to be a staple in this range. Instead, the latest Titan 18 HX AI uses a familiar clamshell design with just a little extra room at the back for exhaust. MSI now uses a two-tone design, mixing together a matte black finish with a silver bottom shell. This is the classiest MSI's Titan range has ever looked, even if it's still a RGB-ridden 18-inch laptop that screams its use case from the rooftops.
It's built like a tank, too. MSI uses a magnesium alloy shell and metal hinges, and the build quality, at least when it comes to the shell, is immediately apparent. It's also immediately apparent in the size and weight. This is a massive 18-inch laptop, sure, but it also clocks in at 1.3 inches thick at its thickest point and weighs nearly 8 pounds. That's before you factor in the 400W power adapter, which weighs over 2 pounds on its own. Carrying the Titan 18 HX AI is quite literally like throwing a 10-pound dumbbell in your bag.
The rear ports do wonders for keeping critical cable bulk out of the way.
There's power delivery available via the two included Thunderbolt 5 ports, but it's a bit of a moot point considering how bulky the Titan 18 HX AI is on its own. In addition to the Thunderbolt connections, MSI packs in a full-size SD card reader, an HDMI 2.1 output, RJ45, and a trio of USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports. Wireless connectivity is equally cutting-edge with support for Bluetooth 5.4 and WI-Fi 7, not to mention 2.5 Gigabit LAN through the RJ45 jack.
The way the ports are situated around the laptop is great. All of your USB connections are located on the sides, with the USB-A ports favoring the left side and Thunderbolt ports going to the right. Your HDMI 2.1, RJ45, and power adapter connections are all located in the rear of the laptop, however. It's a small design choice, but it does wonders for keeping critical cable bulk out of the way when you're using the Titan 18 HX AI as a desktop replacement.
A gorgeous screen with a lacking refresh rate
Watch that resolution, too
The mini-LED display on this laptop is a killer, which is a shame because it looks fantastic. The top-end configuration for the Titan 18 HX AI comes with a 3840 x 2400 display that tops out at 120Hz. You also have the option of going with the same resolution with a faster 220Hz refresh rate, but you'll need to settle for a standard IPS panel. In years past, this would be a great laptop display. Now, with the RTX 5090 at the helm and MFG available in the most demanding games, that 120Hz refresh rate stings.
As the gaming results below show, you can easily push past the 120Hz refresh rate with the RTX 5090 and MFG, even when playing games at demanding graphics settings. If you're picking up the Titan 18 HX AI, I'd recommend pairing it with an external monitor with a high refresh rate so you can get the most out of the hardware inside.
Looking at the color performance, it's excellent. You get 99% of DCI-P3, 100% of sRGB, and 89% of AdobeRGB, along with pre-calibrated color profiles that you can swap between.
A mediocre "mechanical" keyboard and a confusing trackpad
The worst part of the Titan 18 HX AI
For years, MSI has partnered with Cherry to deliver a "mechanical" keyboard inside its Titan laptops, and this latest version is no different. The key travel is deep and inconsistent, and a lack of keycap stabilization makes the typing experience feel wobbly. There's also a hollow, metallic ping that surfaces as some keys reset. All the worse, only some of the keys use this mechanical design. The included numberpad and arrow keys use a traditional membrane design, which, ironically, outshines the main mechanical keyboard.
I don't love the keyboard design, but it really comes down to preference. Something that's truly awful on the Titan 18 HX AI, however, is the trackpad. It's horrid. Rather than a mechanical trackpad, MSI uses haptics. And, instead of a dedicated cutout for the trackpad, the entire bottom half of the laptop is finished with a smooth matte black coating. You can find the trackpad by hunting around this area, or you can flip on the RGB lights to illuminate under the trackpad area. It's this futuristic design that would be cool if it weren't for the poor, often inconsistent trackpad performance.
The haptics are terrible. Inputs consistently feel delayed, clicks will often not reset until you try again, and tapping the trackpad too hard won't register an input at all. If I wasn't reviewing this laptop, I'd never touch the trackpad. It feels terrible, and no amount of sleek finishes or RGB lighting will change the fact that even a basic mechanical trackpad would've worked better.
Performance that can put desktops to shame
No compromises, ever
The reason you buy the Titan 18 HX AI is uncompromised performance, and I'm happy to report that it delivers exactly that. However, the Titan 18 HX AI also shows what diminishing returns look like. As you can see from my results below, CPU and synthetic performance are only a touch faster than the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, which is a 16-inch laptop with weaker hardware that also clocks in at thousands of dollars less than the Titan 18 HX AI. You're spending a lot of extra money here for a little extra performance.
|
138 / 2,268 |
135 / 2,079 |
126 / 1,508 |
|
3,090 / 22,200 |
3,072 / 19,467 |
2,961 / 17,488 |
|
22,209 |
21,368 |
19,684 |
|
12,030 |
11,054 |
10,653 |
|
9,397 / 5,850 |
N/A |
8,583 / 5,971 |
The Titan 18 HX AI doesn't shine in the mundane. Single-core performance and even lighter gaming tests like base Time Spy only show marginal advantages over weaker (and cheaper) hardware. You have to push the hardware inside to see clear advantages, namely in the demanding multi-core run of Cinebench and in Time Spy Extreme. Spending potentially thousands of dollars more over a high-end 16-inch laptop like the ROG Strix Scar 16 won't net you thousands in extra performance. You spend more to be at the top.
Gaming performance is the star of the show, unsurprisingly, with the Titan 18 HX AI easily climbing into the triple digits in some of the most demanding games today with DLSS enabled. More importantly, it's doing so at a resolution that's higher than 4K. That's performance even most desktops can't match, let alone lesser gaming laptops.
|
75 fps |
No DLSS |
|
121 fps |
DLSS Quality + Frame Gen |
|
44.9 fps |
No DLSS |
|
94.8 fps |
DLSS Quality + Frame Gen |
|
99.3 fps |
DLSS Balanced + 4X |
|
77 fps |
DLSS Quality + Frame Gen |
|
104 fps |
DLSS Balanced + 4X |
I'm just not sure that this is the best experience. The 4K display is stunning with its pixel density, but it's also extremely taxing on your hardware. The Titan 18 HX AI is capable of meeting that demand, but it does so with heavy thermal overhead. The keydeck gets plenty warm under load, and the fans are audible even at idle. When pushed, I measured the noise at about 63 decibels, up from the 38 decibels of noise in my room ambiently. It's not as loud as a vacuum cleaner, but it's about as loud as the noise when you're driving inside a car.
The battery life isn't great, either. The efficiency of the Arrow Lake chip inside the Titan 18 HX AI still shows up when you disable the GPU, providing about three and a half hours of life with a light workload. Start pushing the GPU, though, and you can easily chew through the battery within an hour and a half, and go down to as little as an hour with a bright screen and RGB running.
Should you buy the MSI Titan 18 HX AI?
You should buy the MSI Titan 18 HX AI if:
- You plan to use it with an external monitor and accessories
- You're willing to spend extra money for the highest performance, no matter how marginal
- You have a good pair of headphones to block out the fan noise
You should NOT buy the MSI Titan 18 HX AI if:
- You want a laptop to travel with
- You already have a desktop
- You're willing to drop a bit of performance to save a ton of money
I can't recommend the Titan 18 HX AI in good faith. This is really only a laptop you should buy if you're well aware of the trade-offs it makes, and you're willing to accept them. If something rubs you the wrong way, it's much better to drop a bit of performance and potentially save thousands of dollars.
You'll come out with a nicer laptop, too. For as powerful as the Titan 18 HX AI is, a lot of the elements that make it up don't feel as premium as its price would suggest. The build quality is stellar, but the trackpad feels ripped from the bargain bin. The screen is gorgeous, but its 120Hz refresh rate can't display how powerful the hardware inside is. If you plan on picking up the Titan 18 HX AI, use it as a desktop first and laptop second.
MSI Titan 18 HX AI (A2XW)
The MSI Titan 18 HX AI is a true desktop replacement, and it better be, considering the aspects that make this PC a laptop aren't worth asking price.
English (US) ·