The Dell Inspiron 14 7425 is a versatile 2-in-1 laptop with a lower midrange price, offering decent performance for general use and light engineering tasks with its AMD Ryzen 7 processor and 16GB of RAM. Its 14-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 and an IPS panel is suitable for everyday tasks and provides good color accuracy, though it may not satisfy demanding gamers or professionals needing high refresh rates. With a weight of 3.61 pounds and a battery life of around 7.5 hours, it's quite portable, making it a good choice for users who value mobility and flexibility.
On the other hand, the MSI Raider 18 HX is a high-end gaming laptop with a price to match. It boasts a powerful Intel i9-14900HX processor and an Nvidia RTX 4080 GPU, which deliver exceptional performance for gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning tasks. The 18-inch Mini LED display with a resolution of 3840 x 2400 and a 120Hz refresh rate is top-notch, offering excellent brightness, color accuracy, and smooth visuals for intensive gaming sessions. However, its large size and weight of 7.94 pounds significantly reduce its portability, and with a battery life of approximately 9 hours, it's less suited for users who need to work on the go.
In summary, if you prioritize portability, versatility, and value for money for general use and some light professional work, the Dell Inspiron 14 7425 is the better choice. However, if you're looking for a powerhouse machine specifically for high-end gaming, 3D rendering, or machine learning, and you don't mind the reduced portability, the MSI Raider 18 HX will serve you well with its superior performance and display quality. 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 Dell Inspiron 14 7425
Very good portability
Very good keyboard
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
7.5/10
8.8/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
260.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
7.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
8.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is very good for general use, while the Dell Inspiron 14 7425 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
6.2/10
9.0/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Dell Inspiron 14 7425 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
6.9/10
9.6/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3.6/10
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 Dell Inspiron 14 7425 is only fair.
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
7.3/10
9.1/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1200
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 Dell Inspiron 14 7425 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
7.3/10
8.8/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is very good for software development, while the Dell Inspiron 14 7425 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
6.2/10
9.4/10
14.0in
SIZE
18.0in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
260.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
The MSI Raider 18 HX has a better screen than the Dell Inspiron 14 7425 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
7.5 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Dell Inspiron 14 7425 has 7.5 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
Very Good
Poor
14.0in
SIZE
18.0in
3.6 lbs
WEIGHT
7.9 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.2in
The Dell Inspiron 14 7425 has very good portability, while the MSI Raider 18 HX has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$800
$3,999
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Dell Inspiron 14 7425 has a price of $800 and the MSI Raider 18 HX costs $3,999.
"Overall, this Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 offers a lot to like, especially at its oft-discounted price of $800. It’s a sturdy laptop with strong performance, a convertible touchscreen, loud speakers, and a convenient fingerprint reader. But the trade-offs you’ll make in pursuit of that lower price—most notably the dim display and stiff trackpad—might just keep you from outright loving it."
Get a great deal on the Dell Inspiron 14 7425 or the MSI Raider 18 HX
About Dell
Dell is a highly recognizable American technology company, and is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. Their laptops are very popular for both personal and professional use, and they also own the Alienware brand which makes mid to high end gaming laptops. Their premium XPS range of laptops offer great build quality and portability, while Latitude and Precision laptops are known for reliability, repairability and performance for business users.
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
127,095
Recommendations made
27,538
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.