For a balance of performance and portability with a midrange price, the Gigabyte Aorus 15X is a strong contender, offering a high-performance Intel i9 processor and Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU that are well-suited for engineering tasks and gaming, while maintaining a lighter weight and longer battery life. Its 15.6-inch IPS display with a 2560 x 1440 resolution and 240Hz refresh rate is excellent for fast-moving visuals, though it lacks touch capability.
In contrast, the MSI Raider 18 HX is a powerhouse designed for the most demanding tasks, featuring top-tier components like an Intel i9-14900HX processor and Nvidia RTX 4080 GPU, making it ideal for 3D rendering, machine learning, and high-end gaming. Its larger 18-inch Mini LED display with 3840 x 2400 resolution and touchscreen offers unparalleled visual quality and color accuracy, but at the cost of increased weight and reduced battery life, making it less portable.
If you prioritize superior performance and display quality over portability and price, and require a laptop that can handle the most intensive tasks without compromise, the MSI Raider 18 HX is the way to go. However, if you need a more versatile and affordable option that still delivers excellent performance with better battery life and portability, the Gigabyte Aorus 15X would be the better choice. 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 Gigabyte Aorus 15X
Good portability
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
Good battery life
Very good speakers
Key differences
General Use
7.8/10
8.8/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
301.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
5.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is very good for general use, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15X 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.
Engineering and Design
8.6/10
9.6/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.9/10
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 Gigabyte Aorus 15X is very 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
8.0/10
9.1/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
2560 x 1440
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 Gigabyte Aorus 15X is very 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
7.7/10
8.8/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15X 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
8.2/10
9.4/10
15.6in
SIZE
18.0in
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
301.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
The MSI Raider 18 HX has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aorus 15X 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
5.5 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X has 5.5 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
Good
Poor
15.6in
SIZE
18.0in
5.7 lbs
WEIGHT
7.9 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.2in
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X has good portability, while the MSI Raider 18 HX has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,600
$3,999
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X has a price of $1,600 and the MSI Raider 18 HX costs $3,999.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Raider 18 HX to be excellent for gaming and AI, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15X is very good.
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.
Build Quality
7.4/10
7.4/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 15X and MSI Raider 18 HX both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Gigabyte Aorus 15X and the MSI Raider 18 HX compare to other laptops
"The Gigabyte Aorus 15X is a strong showing of Raptor Lake and RTX 4000 series. While the Aorus had trouble keeping up in older games like Grand Theft Auto V, it nudged past the competition in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. It also flexed its next-generation muscle in Far Cry 6 and Borderlands 3. While we were impressed with the overall build quality and design of the Aorus 15X, the keyboard lacked good tactile feedback. The display performed well in real-world testing despite its on-paper shortcoming with brightness, but the speakers are lackluster at best."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aorus 15X or the MSI Raider 18 HX
About Gigabyte
Gigabyte is a Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer. While Gigabyte mainly focuses its business on desktop hardware, Gigabyte is known for its value-oriented G series laptops, thin and light Aero series, and performance-oriented Aorus series. Gigabyte laptops offer a strong value proposition to compete with mainstream alternatives.
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
99,195
Recommendations made
21,493
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.