If price is a major concern and you need something more lightweight for everyday tasks, the MSI GF65 Thin offers good value and is easier to carry around. However, if you're looking for top-of-the-line performance for gaming, 3D rendering, or engineering software and don't mind spending more and dealing with extra weight and potentially shorter battery life, the MSI Titan 18 HX would give you significantly more power to handle those demanding applications. Keep in mind that the Titan will be bulkier, so it's less suited for frequent travel. 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 MSI GF65 Thin
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
6.5/10
8.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
262.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
4.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
7.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is very good for general use, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
The MSI Titan 18 HX, with a more robust CPU and greater RAM, excels in demanding tasks and provides a superior screen quality for general use, but sacrifices portability and battery life due to its size and power consumption. In contrast, the MSI GF65 Thin, while still capable for everyday tasks, offers better portability and battery life, making it more suited for on-the-go users who can compromise on the highest performance and screen size.
Gaming and AI
6.8/10
9.4/10
6.1/10
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
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is excellent for gaming and AI, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
The MSI GF65 Thin offers a solid gaming experience with its respectable GPU and high screen refresh rate, providing smooth visuals and satisfactory frame rates for most games. However, the MSI Titan 18 HX, with its top-tier GPU and similar high refresh rate display, delivers superior performance and image quality, enabling it to handle more demanding games and 3D applications with greater ease.
Engineering and Design
6.7/10
9.9/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
6.1/10
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 MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
The MSI Titan 18 HX, equipped with a superior CPU, more RAM, and a high-end GPU, delivers exceptional performance and screen quality necessary for complex engineering and design tasks, though it's less portable and may have louder operating noise. In comparison, the MSI GF65 Thin, while still capable, has lower-tier components, but offers increased portability and a quieter experience, with decent keyboard and speaker quality, making it suitable for less demanding applications and on-the-go use.
Content Creation
6.8/10
9.0/10
4.6/10
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 MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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
6.3/10
8.9/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is very good for software development, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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
6.8/10
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 MSI GF65 Thin for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the MSI Titan 18 HX outshines the GF65 Thin due to its superior panel quality, higher resolution, and better brightness, providing a more vibrant and clear visual experience. In engineering and design, the Titan's broader color gamuts make it more capable of displaying accurate colors, which is essential for detailed work, whereas the GF65 has limitations in color reproduction. However, when it comes to Gaming and 3D applications, both laptops fall short with their lower refresh rates, although the high-resolution displays offer some redemption, particularly noticeable on the Titan 18 HX.
Portability
Good
Poor
15.6in
SIZE
18.0in
4.1 lbs
WEIGHT
7.9 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
1.2in
The MSI GF65 Thin has good portability, while the MSI Titan 18 HX has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.7/10
8.5/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX has very good build quality, while the MSI GF65 Thin has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,100
$4,800
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The MSI GF65 Thin has a price of $1,100 and the MSI Titan 18 HX costs $4,800.
"The MSI GF65 Thin offers a GeForce RTX 3060 on a budget. The MSI GF65 is a relatively inexpensive RTX 3060 laptop and, perhaps not coincidentally, it also comes with a slower-than-average RTX 3060 GPU. Other laptops we've tested thus far with the same GPU are about 10 to 15 percent faster. CPU performance is also slightly slower than average unless if users decide to enable Cooler Boost mode. Colors, black-white response times, Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort are either average or completely omitted. Gamers who want to maximize performance-per-dollar without sacrificing RAM or SSD upgradeability will find the lightweight MSI GF65 attractive."
"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 MSI GF65 Thin or the MSI Titan 18 HX
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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