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Updated June 22, 2024·
The MSI Raider 18 HX is a powerhouse designed for the most demanding tasks, offering unparalleled performance for engineering and intensive gaming with its top-tier CPU and GPU, and a stunning Mini LED display with high refresh rate and resolution. However, it's bulkier, heavier, and comes with a premium price tag that reflects its high-end specs. Its battery life is shorter, and it's less portable, making it more suitable for stationary use. On the other hand, the Razer Blade 15 is more balanced, providing excellent performance for general use, gaming, and 3D tasks with its capable CPU and GPU, while being more compact and having better battery life. It's also significantly less expensive, making it a more practical choice for users who need a combination of power and portability without breaking the bank. The display, while not Mini LED, is still of high quality with a QHD resolution and a fast refresh rate, suitable for gaming and general use. If ultimate performance and a top-of-the-line display are your priorities and you're less concerned with portability or cost, the MSI Raider 18 HX is the way to go. However, if you want a blend of performance, portability, and battery life at a more accessible price point, the Razer Blade 15 is the smarter 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 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
Advantages of the Razer Blade 15
- Very good overall build quality
- Good portability
- Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
8.8
7.9
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
1000.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
271.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
5.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.7/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is very good for general use, while the Razer Blade 15 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
9.0
8.0
9.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.0/10
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Razer Blade 15 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.
Engineering and Design
9.6
8.5
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
9.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.0/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI Raider 18 HX is best in class for engineering and design, while the Razer Blade 15 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
9.1
8.0
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Raider 18 HX is excellent for content creation, while the Razer Blade 15 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
8.8
7.7
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX is very good for software development, while the Razer Blade 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
9.4
8.2
18.0in
SIZE
15.6in
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
1000.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
271.0 nits
The MSI Raider 18 HX has a better screen than the Razer Blade 15 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
9.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The MSI Raider 18 HX has 9 hours of battery life. The Razer Blade 15 has 5 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
Poor
Good
18.0in
SIZE
15.6in
7.9 lbs
WEIGHT
4.4 lbs
1.2in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Razer Blade 15 has good portability, while the MSI Raider 18 HX has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4
8.5
The Razer Blade 15 has very good build quality, while the MSI Raider 18 HX has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$3,999
$2,500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The MSI Raider 18 HX has a price of $3,999 and the Razer Blade 15 costs $2,500.
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How the MSI Raider 18 HX and the Razer Blade 15 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| MSI Raider 18 HX | Razer Blade 15 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$3,999 | $2,500 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | March 1, 2024 | January 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.9'' x 12.1'' x 1.26'' | 14'' x 9.3'' x 0.67'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 7.94 lbs | 4.4 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.91" | 13.98" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 12.09" | 9.25" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i9-14900HX | Intel i7-12800H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 32 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 4 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 1024 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 9 Hours | 5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 99.9 Wh | 80 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 18" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | Mini LED | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 3840 x 2400 | 2560 x 1440 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 120Hz | 240Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 1000 nits | 271 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.4/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 5.1/10 | 7.7/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 8/10 | 7/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 7/10 | 9/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 8/10 | 8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 3 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 3 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | 4 | |
Shopping
Razer Blade 15
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Allen Ngo | March 2022
"The 2022 Blade 15 offers roughly 15 to 25 percent faster graphics performance and 20 percent faster CPU performance over last year's Core i7-11800H and RTX 3080 model. Thankfully, the system doesn't need to run noticeably louder or warmer to achieve faster results, but both power consumption and battery life take a hit. The higher consumption in particular appears to be a trend amongst many 12th gen Core laptops including the Schenker Uniwill Technology GM7AG8P or MSI Vector GP66 when compared to their previous generation counterparts. We're also glad to not see below-average CPU performance which was the case for the 10th gen Core i7-10875H model."
Get a great deal on the MSI Raider 18 HX or the Razer Blade 15
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.
About Razer
Razer is an American-Singaporean technology company. Razer is best known for their Blade series laptops, well known for their strong performance and sleek design. Although Razer charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a stealthy laptop with clean fit and finish and strong performance. All of their models offer great portability and build quality compared to other gaming laptops.
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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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