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MSI is finally going all-in on AMD

MSI Stealth laptop placed on a desk
MSI
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Updated less than 2 hours ago

MSI is bringing an army of new power-packed gaming laptops this year at CES 2025. Surprisingly, most of its new models come with the option of using AMD chips, which is a pivot from what we have seen in the past, as the company has favored Intel. MSI is also betting big on large laptops, as there are a total of five 18-inch models, alongside 17-inch and 16-inch models.

Most of the high-end models, including the Titan, the Raider, and Vector laptops, will be getting PCIe 5.0 support, along with a dedicated hea sink connected directly to the CPU and GPU cooling hardware. The company also mentions improvements to the rubber used in its speaker drivers that notably reduce resonance and improve sound quality. Let’s dig into the different laptops that MSI has just unveiled.

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MSI Titan

A presentation slide of the 2025 MSI Titan 18 HX
MSI

The Titan series continues the legacy of offering top-of-the-line hardware with the latest Titan 18 HX. This year the laptop comes in a Dragon Edition inspired by Norse mythology and featuring a dragon head and rune-etched lid. The design includes a textured metal finish and a Norse-themed coin embedded in the palm rest, framed under glass with elements of the Norse tree of life, known as Yggdrasil.

The flagship also comes with a large RGB haptic touchpad, RGB-lit Cherry mechanical switches, and powerful hardware. This includes Intel’s Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU and Nvidia’s latest RTX 50-series GPUs. Beyond that, MSI decked it out with advanced vapor chamber cooling to tame the mind-boggling 270-watt power consumption (CPU 95W + GPU 175W), as well as up to 96GB DDR5-6400 RAM and up to four SSDs.

For the display, MSI has gone for an 18-inch UHD+ (3,840 x 2,400) mini LED panel that supports a 120Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, and VESA Display HDR 1000 certification. Connectivity options include two Thunderbolt 5 ports, three USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports, a 2.5GbE LAN, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and HDMI 2.1.

The laptop weighs a hefty 7.9 pounds and packs a 99.9 watt-hour battery unit that is charged via a massive 400W power supply. MSI hasn’t revealed the pricing, but considering how last year’s model retailed for over $5,000, we won’t be surprised to see the latest Titan 18 HX surpassing its predecessor.

MSI Raider and Vector

A picture of the MSI Raider laptop over a galaxy-themed background.
MSI

The Raider series has also been updated with a new 18-inch model that is more or less similar to the Titan 18 HX in terms of features as well as dimensions. Available with Intel’s Core Ultra 9 275HX (Raider 18 HX A2XW) or AMD’s new Ryzen 9 9955HX3D (Raider A18 HX A9W) processors, the laptop will also serve up Nvidia’s RTX 50-series graphics cards.

The laptop also comes with the same 18-inch mini-LED panel as its premium sibling, up to 96GB of DDR5 RAM, and dual-M.2 SSD slots. The connectivity options are similar, including dual Thunderbolt ports (v4 on the AMD model), 2.5Gbe LAN, Wi-Fi 7, a per-key RGB keyboard by SteelSeries, and a 400W power adapter.

The new Vector series is a small step down from the Raider, but it still features impressive hardware. The 18-inch Vector 18 HX AI A2XW will be available with up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, while the Vector A18 HX A9W gets up to an AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX. The GPU is still an Nvidia model, but may not be as high-end as the Raider. Meanwhile, the 18-inch IPS display on the Vector series features a QHD+ (2,560 x 1,600) resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut.

Notably, MSI lists the AMD model as featuring a 99.9Whr battery with a 400W power adapter, while the Intel variant will come with a 90WHr battery and a 330W adapter.

MSI Stealth

A presentation slide of MSI Stealth 18 HX
MSI

The Stealth series, known for its relatively thinner profile, gets an 18-inch variant available with either the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (Stealth 18 HX AI A2XW) or the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (Stealth A18 AI+ A3HW). Both models will let you pick either a high-end Nvidia RTX 50-series GPU, 96GB of DDR5 memory. There’s also a single NVMe M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD slot, a per-key RGB keyboard by SteelSeries, and a six-speaker system by Dynaudio system.

MSI will be offering the option of an 18-inch UHD+ (3840×2400), 120Hz mini-LED panel or a QHD+ (2560×1600), 240Hz IPS panel. Both variants also come with a 99.9Whr battery and a 280W power adapter.

There is also a 16-inch variant (Stealth A16 AI+ A3HW) exclusively powered by AMD, specifically the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor. The smaller variant will be available with up to an RTX 5090 GPU, 64GB of onboard LPDDR5x memory, an NVMe M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD slot, and a similar keyboard and speaker system as the 18-inch variant. As for the display, MSI is offering a 16-inch QHD+ (2560×1600) OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 600 certification.

MSI Crosshair, Cyborg and Venture

The company is also launching midrange gaming laptops: the Crosshair 18 HX AI A2XW and the Cyborg A17 AI B2HW. The Crosshair 18 model, as the name suggests, is once again an 18-inch notebook available with up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, a QHD+ 240Hz IPS display, dual NVMe M.2 SSD slots, up to 96GB of DDR5 memory, and a 240W power adapter.

The Cyborg A17 AI B2HW seems to be more of a budget offering and will be available with up to an AMD Ryzen 7 260 processor, RTX 50-series GPUs, DDR5 memory of up to 96GB, and an NVMe PCIe Gen 4 SSD slot. The 17.3-inch display makes use of an FHD (1,920 x 1,080) IPS panel with a 144Hz refresh rate. Other features include a measly 55.2Whr battery and a 150W power adapter.

A presentation slide of the MSI Crosshair 18 HX
MSI

As for the Venture series, the lineup targets everyday computing with various models available in 14-inch, 16-inch, and 17-inch form factors and the option of Intel Core Ultra and AMD Ryzen 300 CPUs.

Kunal Khullar
Kunal Khullar is a computing writer at Digital Trends who contributes to various topics, including CPUs, GPUs, monitors, and…
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