If you're looking for a cost-effective laptop for everyday tasks and light gaming, the HP Victus 15 is a sensible option that's easier to carry around. On the other hand, the MSI Titan 18 HX, while much heavier and more expensive, offers top-tier performance for demanding software, 3D rendering, machine learning, and high-end gaming, along with a larger screen but at the expense of battery life and portability. Choose the HP for savings and mobility or the MSI for power and advanced features if budget and weight are less of a concern. 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 HP Victus 15
Good portability
Advantages of the MSI Titan 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 overall build quality
Excellent speakers
Best in class keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.3/10
8.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
262.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
5.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
7.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is very good for general use, while the HP Victus 15 is good.
The HP Victus 15 offers balanced performance with enough CPU power and RAM for everyday tasks, a decent screen, and reasonable portability, making it suitable for general use, but its battery life may be shorter, affecting mobile usage. The MSI Titan 18 HX, on the other hand, boasts superior CPU and RAM capacity, exceptional screen quality for vivid visuals, but is less portable and has a significant impact on battery life, making it more ideal for stationary use where power and display are prioritized over mobility.
Gaming and AI
6.4/10
9.4/10
3.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is excellent for gaming and AI, while the HP Victus 15 is only fair.
The HP Victus 15, with its modest GPU, provides adequate gaming and 3D performance for casual users, and while its screen is of decent quality, it might not have the high refresh rate desired by competitive gamers. In contrast, the MSI Titan 18 HX boasts a top-tier GPU and a high refresh rate display, ensuring exceptional gaming and 3D experiences, although at a higher cost and possibly with reduced portability due to its size and weight.
Engineering and Design
6.7/10
9.9/10
8.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
The MSI Titan 18 HX is best in class for engineering and design, while the HP Victus 15 is only fair.
The HP Victus 15 offers solid CPU, RAM, and GPU capabilities suitable for engineering tasks, with a decent screen quality for design work, but the MSI Titan 18 HX exceeds in performance with top-tier CPU and GPU, more RAM, and superior screen quality, making it a better choice for more demanding engineering and high-end design needs. However, the MSI Titan 18 HX is less portable due to its size and weight, and while both have quality keyboards and speakers, the larger chassis of the Titan may result in lower operating noise.
Content Creation
7.2/10
9.0/10
8.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The MSI Titan 18 HX is excellent for content creation, while the HP Victus 15 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
7.0/10
8.9/10
8.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is very good for software development, while the HP Victus 15 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
6.9/10
9.2/10
15.6in
SIZE
18.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
262.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
The MSI Titan 18 HX has a better screen than the HP Victus 15 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
When considering the HP Victus 15 for general use, its balanced resolution and brightness may offer a comfortable viewing experience, but it lacks the wide color gamut that professionals in engineering and design may need for precise color work. The MSI Titan 18 HX, with its superior panel quality, excels in both resolution and color accuracy for engineering and design tasks, ensuring that intricate details are rendered correctly and colors are vibrant and true to life. However, for gaming and 3D, both laptops fall short due to lower refresh rates, which means on-screen action may not be as smooth as desired by gamers who often prioritize fluid motion and rapid response times.
Battery
5.5 Hours
4.0 Hours
The HP Victus 15 has 5.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Titan 18 HX has 4 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
5.0 lbs
WEIGHT
7.9 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
1.2in
The HP Victus 15 has good portability, while the MSI Titan 18 HX has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
8.5/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX has very good build quality, while the HP Victus 15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$650
$4,949
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The HP Victus 15 has a price of $650 and the MSI Titan 18 HX costs $4,949.
Olivier Martin, Ryan Lim, and Yannick Khong | March 2023
"The HP Victus 15 is great for gaming. It's available with Intel 12th Gen. CPUs and NVIDIA discrete graphics, which are powerful enough to provide a smooth gaming experience in demanding AAA titles at 1080p. It has a nice keyboard and a fast SSD, as well as Wi-Fi 6 and Ethernet connectivity for low-latency online gaming. Unfortunately, its 144Hz display has a slow response time causing noticeable ghosting, and it doesn't support variable refresh rate to reduce screen tearing."
"With no new Nvidia GPU this year for laptops, MSI had to refresh everything surrounding the graphics card to make up for it. Users are getting a new 18-inch chassis design, new 14th gen Intel HX CPU, new AC adapter, larger keys, and a new 120 Hz HDR1000 mini-LED 4K display to accompany the high price tag. Most of these changes are a step up from last year's GT77, but users are ultimately getting the same gaming performance out of both models."
Get a great deal on the HP Victus 15 or the MSI Titan 18 HX
About HP
HP, also known as Hewlett-Packard, is an American technology company that develops personal computers and computer peripherals. In the laptop industry, HP is known for its entry level Essential series laptops, its mid-range Pavilion, Envy, and Victus series, and high-end Omen and Spectre series, in addition to its business-oriented EliteBook, ProBook, and Dragonfly series laptops. HP laptops generally undercut other mainstream competitors in terms of price, placing itself as the value-oriented mainstream brand.
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
100,695
Recommendations made
21,818
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.