The MSI Titan is just not for the faint of coronary heart—it by no means has been. It’s an 18-inch behemoth, becoming into that “desktop alternative” class of gaming laptop. This one particularly is supposed for PC players who need not simply high efficiency but additionally some bling.
You’ll be hard-pressed to discover a gaming laptop computer with this many high-end options. With a mini-LED show, a mechanical keyboard, and an invisible haptic touchpad, there isn’t any different 18-inch gaming laptop computer prefer it, and which means a flashy worth too.
Large and Lovely
The MSI Titan is huge. It’s 1.26 inches thick at its largest level and weighs practically 8 kilos. You learn that proper. Eight complete kilos. Gaming laptops aren’t identified for being significantly moveable, particularly ones with 18-inch screens, however the MSI Titan HX is sort of a full pound heavier than the Razer Blade 18.
It’s hefty and nicely crafted, although, as you’d hope for in a laptop computer north of $5,000. It’s not a single piece of machined aluminum just like the Razer Blade 18, however the magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis feels sturdy. The MSI Titan HX makes use of a thermal shelf on the again, making the laptop computer bigger but additionally offering a protrusion for further air flow and ports. MSI retains it pretty minimalist with the all-black inside and silver trim, particularly in comparison with older variations of this laptop computer. The invisible touchpad makes this really feel much more fashionable. And but, each the Razer Blade 18 and Alienware 18 Area-51 are extra savvy designs in my e book.
{Photograph}: Luke Larsen
{Photograph}: Luke Larsen
{Photograph}: Luke Larsen
Within the rear, you’ll discover the facility jack, the HDMI 2.1 port, and the Ethernet. Subsequent to some large vents, you’ll discover three USB-A 3.2. Gen2 ports on the facet, together with the 2 Thunderbolt 5 ports, the SD card slot, and a headphone jack. That’s nearly each port you possibly can think about, however the Thunderbolt 5 ports are the attention-grabbing half.
Intel despatched me a number of Thunderbolt 5 equipment to exhibit simply how a lot bandwidth the brand new spec gives. I arrange two 32-inch 4K 240-Hz OLED gaming monitors, all powered via a single USB-C cable. It’s magical seeing these two high-refresh-rate monitors being daisy-chained collectively, regardless of their 240-Hz refresh charges. Up to now, Thunderbolt 4 ports have been restricted to 2 4K displays at 60 Hz.
Even for those who don’t have two costly gaming displays to hook up with, the MSI Titan 18 HX has a extremely strong mini-LED show onboard. It might hit 414 nits of brightness in SDR and round double that in HDR. That’s not fairly pretty much as good because the OLED gaming displays on the market, nevertheless it’s definitely shiny sufficient to note the distinction in HDR. The colour saturation is nice too.
You need that 4K decision when it is unfold throughout 18 inches of display screen, even for those who might not at all times need to play video games at that native decision. It’s extremely sharp. This actually is the most effective display screen you may get on an 18-inch laptop computer proper now, as OLED is not widespread on this bigger display screen measurement but. MSI additionally gives an IPS model of this panel, in addition to a lower-resolution 2,560 x 1,600 240-Hz IPS choice.
Sadly, the audio system and webcam aren’t as premium. The 1080p digicam is noisy, and the six-speaker audio system is mediocre. The audio system are virtually irrelevant given how loud the fan noise is, no less than in relation to gaming.
Methods Up Its Sleeve
{Photograph}: Luke Larsen
The keyboard is exclusive and an absolute pleasure to kind and sport on. It’s a Cherry MX low-profile mechanical keyboard that feels chunky and tactile. It’s not like any laptop computer I’ve ever typed on in that sense, capturing the texture of a mechanical keyboard proper in your laptop computer. My solely criticism is that the numerous keys will not be mechanical, such because the arrow keys, the quantity pad, and the perform row. When you discover, it’s slightly jarring.
