The ASUS Zenbook Flip S13 is a versatile 2-in-1 with a high-resolution OLED touchscreen, making it excellent for general use and casual entertainment with its vibrant display. It's also more portable and has a longer battery life, ideal for on-the-go tasks. However, its performance is better suited for everyday productivity rather than demanding tasks like gaming or intensive engineering work.
In contrast, the MSI Raider 18 HX is a powerhouse designed for high-end gaming and professional workloads with its top-tier CPU and GPU, ensuring superior performance for 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering applications. It has a larger, high-refresh-rate Mini LED display that's great for fast-motion content and color-critical tasks. Despite its excellent performance, it's less portable due to its size and weight, and it has a significantly higher price point.
Choose the ASUS for its portability, versatility, and suitability for general use, or opt for the MSI if you prioritize raw performance and display quality for intensive tasks and gaming, and you're willing to compromise on portability and cost. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the ASUS Zenbook Flip S13
Excellent portability
Very good battery life
Advantages of the MSI Raider 18 HX
Very good for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Excellent for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Very good speakers
Key differences
General Use
7.7/10
8.8/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
372.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
10.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
9.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is very good for general use, while the ASUS Zenbook Flip S13 is good.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
9.0/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is excellent for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Zenbook Flip S13 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
7.4/10
9.6/10
5.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Raider 18 HX is best in class for engineering and design, while the ASUS Zenbook Flip S13 is good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
7.8/10
9.1/10
5.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The MSI Raider 18 HX is excellent for content creation, while the ASUS Zenbook Flip S13 is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.6/10
8.8/10
5.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is very good for software development, while the ASUS Zenbook Flip S13 is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
7.9/10
9.4/10
13.3in
SIZE
18.0in
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
372.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
The MSI Raider 18 HX has a better screen than the ASUS Zenbook Flip S13 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
10.5 Hours
9.0 Hours
The ASUS Zenbook Flip S13 has 10.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Raider 18 HX has 9 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Excellent
Poor
13.3in
SIZE
18.0in
2.6 lbs
WEIGHT
7.9 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
1.2in
The ASUS Zenbook Flip S13 has excellent portability, while the MSI Raider 18 HX has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,400
$3,999
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The ASUS Zenbook Flip S13 has a price of $1,400 and the MSI Raider 18 HX costs $3,999.
"The Asus Zenbook S 13 Flip is an ultra-sleek 2-in-1 convertible. A gorgeous OLED screen and lightweight magnesium chassis make this convertible a traveller’s dream. Its SSD isn’t fast, but it won’t hold you back in everyday use. Its battery life also isn’t class leading, but it’s hardly off the pace. Overall, the Zenbook S 13 Flip OLED holds its head high in the premium convertible category and is a smaller alternative to the Spectre x360 13.5 and the Yoga 9i Gen 7."
Get a great deal on the ASUS Zenbook Flip S13 or the MSI Raider 18 HX
About ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
About MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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