MSI Raider A18 HX A9WIG-082US / MSI Stealth 18 HX AI A2XWJG-035US

175 W is the highest GPU power MSI gives in this chassis; CPU and GPU together can draw up to 260 W (OverBoost Ultra). The desktop RTX 5080 is a separate card.

The laptop RTX 5090 is not the same card as the desktop RTX 5090. 150 W is the ceiling MSI sets for this thin chassis, so slightly lower GPU performance than thicker 175 W models is expected. MSI quotes 1824 AI TOPS.

The processor’s stacked extra cache, called 3D V-Cache, keeps frequently used game data close, which helps frame rates especially in large open-world games.

Arrow Lake-HX generation 24-core processor (8 performance, 16 efficiency) on the Intel HM870 chipset. There is no Hyper-Threading, so each core runs one thread.

The Mini LED backlight dims zones individually for high HDR brightness and deeper blacks; DisplayHDR 1000 is the tier certifying 1,000-nit peak brightness. Because of the high resolution, refresh is limited to 120 Hz.

The 16:10 panel is an LCD lit from behind by many small LED zones; local dimming gives high brightness and contrast in HDR content, though halos can appear around bright objects in dark scenes. MSI’s family page describes the panel as "IPS-Level".

Both slots come filled; reaching 96 GB means fitting two 48 GB modules.

Both slots come populated, so an upgrade means replacing the modules. MSI lists support up to DDR5-6400; the actual speed depends on the memory combination and the CPU.

The second M.2 slot runs at Gen4; an added SSD there tops out at Gen4 speed.

There is no second SSD slot; MSI advises consulting a service centre before upgrading the SSD.

The USB4 ports are listed as compatible with Thunderbolt 4 accessories, but MSI does not state separate Thunderbolt certification; PD 3.1 allows USB-C charging, while full gaming power needs the 400 W adapter.

Thunderbolt 4 carries 40 Gbit/s data and video over the USB-C shaped port. This model has no Thunderbolt 5.

UHS-III gives faster reads than UHS-II with compatible cards; the full-size slot reads camera cards without an adapter.

The IR camera enables Windows Hello face sign-in; the physical shutter blocks the camera.

99.9 Wh is just under the limit for laptop batteries allowed on planes.

99.9 Wh is just under the common airline carry-on battery limit. Full GPU performance needs the 280 W adapter.

The weight excludes the 400 W adapter.

SD Express uses a PCIe/NVMe interface for much faster transfers with compatible cards; ordinary SD cards are still read.

The IR camera enables Windows Hello face sign-in.