For a balance of performance and portability, the Razer Blade 18 is a strong contender. It's notably less expensive than the MSI Raider 18 HX and offers a high-quality display with a 240Hz refresh rate, making it excellent for gaming and general use. The Razer's sleek design and slightly smaller form factor enhance its portability, though it's still a large laptop. While the MSI Raider 18 HX boasts a more powerful GPU and a Mini LED display with higher resolution and PPI, these benefits come with a significant price premium and reduced battery life. The Raider's performance is tailored for intensive tasks like 3D rendering and machine learning, but unless you need that top-tier performance, the Razer Blade 18 strikes a more practical balance for most users. 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
Best in class for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Excellent for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Good battery life
Advantages of the Razer Blade 18
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
Screen Quality
9.4/10
8.9/10
18.0in
SIZE
18.0in
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
1000.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
524.0 nits
The MSI Raider 18 HX has a better screen than the Razer Blade 18 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation, while the Razer Blade 18 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
9.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The MSI Raider 18 HX has 9 hours of battery life. The Razer Blade 18 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
Poor
Fair
18.0in
SIZE
18.0in
7.9 lbs
WEIGHT
6.6 lbs
1.2in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Razer Blade 18 has only fair portability, while the MSI Raider 18 HX has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
8.5/10
The Razer Blade 18 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
$3,749
$3,999
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The MSI Raider 18 HX has a price of $3,749 and the Razer Blade 18 costs $3,999.
The MSI Raider 18 HX and Razer Blade 18 are both very good for general use.
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
9.0/10
8.9/10
9.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.9/10
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.2/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Raider 18 HX to be excellent for gaming and AI, while the Razer Blade 18 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
9.6/10
9.3/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
9.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.9/10
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Raider 18 HX to be best in class for engineering and design, while the Razer Blade 18 is excellent.
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
9.1/10
8.6/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Raider 18 HX to be excellent for content creation, while the Razer Blade 18 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
8.8/10
8.5/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
3840 x 2400
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Raider 18 HX and Razer Blade 18 are both very good for software development.
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.
Give feedback
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How the MSI Raider 18 HX and the Razer Blade 18 compare to other laptops
"Razer made a powerful laptop in the Blade 18, showing off a beautiful and fast display and the same high-quality build we’ve come to expect from this product line. It’s also quite expensive, which is hardly a surprise, but bears repeating even in this price range. It’s pricier than the Scar 18 despite an inferior GPU and half the storage, so you really have to want the Blade 18’s design to justify the cost."
Get a great deal on the MSI Raider 18 HX or the Razer Blade 18
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.
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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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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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.
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