Best MSI Gaming Laptops, From the Cheapest Up

About $1,350 on MSI’s US store buys the Cyborg A15 AI, the MSI gaming laptop we would pick on a tight budget: a Ryzen 9 270 processor, GeForce RTX 5060 graphics and a 144Hz screen. About $1,750 gets the Crosshair 16 HX AI, with a sharper and faster 16-inch screen and twice the memory. For carrying around, take the Stealth 16 AI, about $1,900; the Vector 16 HX AI with the RTX 5080, about $2,600, is the next step in graphics. Above $3,000, look at the Raider A18 HX before a Titan.

MSI is not the cheapest route into gaming: nothing on its own store was under about $1,250, even with an offer applied. The lowest-priced laptop from each maker is set out under cheap gaming laptops.

Some links on this page go to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

MSI’s seven gaming series

MSI’s own guide to its gaming range lists six series, from Titan at the top to Cyborg at the bottom, and says to pick by use, then budget. A seventh, Vector, is missing from that guide but still on sale in MSI’s US store. Processors and graphics are the highest MSI lists for each series. Prices are the lowest list price on MSI’s US store, rounded, and the store marked many of these down by $100 or more as limited-time offers.

Cyborg and Katana, the cheapest lines

Cyborg

Cyborg is the bottom of MSI’s range, and MSI describes it as an entry-level laptop for students and everyday gaming. The Cyborg 15, about $1,300, has an Intel Core 7 240H, an RTX 5050, a 15.6-inch full HD screen at 144Hz, 16GB of memory and a 1TB drive. The Cyborg A15 AI, about $1,350, has an AMD Ryzen 9 270 and an RTX 5060 with the same screen, memory and drive. The Cyborg A17 AI puts those chips behind a 17.3-inch screen, for about $1,550 with 16GB of memory or $1,600 with 32GB.

Buy the A15 AI, because $50 moves you from the RTX 5050 to the RTX 5060. Both 15-inch models showed as out of stock on MSI’s store, with a button to be notified, while the 17-inch with 16GB could be ordered. The screen is the weak point on all of them: MSI lists it at 45% NTSC, a narrow colour range, which matters if you also edit photos. MSI Cyborg A15 AI on Amazon

Katana

MSI calls Katana its most popular gaming line. The Katana 15 HX is listed with up to an Intel Core i9-14900HX, up to an RTX 5070 and an optional 15.6-inch QHD screen at 165Hz. MSI’s US store carried no Katana, so MSI shows no price of its own. Retailers sell it, and the price depends on which configuration a shop stocks. Compare it with the Cyborg only on the exact processor and graphics card in the listing. MSI Katana 15 HX on Amazon

One older name is still around. MSI’s site keeps a page for the Thin 15 with a 13th-generation Core i7 and RTX 4050 graphics. That is older hardware than anything else here, so it only makes sense well below the price of a Cyborg.

Crosshair, Stealth 16 and Vector in the middle

Crosshair

Crosshair is where the screen improves. The Crosshair 16 HX AI on MSI’s store has an Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX, an RTX 5060, 32GB of memory, a 1TB drive and a 16-inch QHD+ screen at 240Hz covering 100% of the DCI-P3 colour range, for about $1,750. It showed as out of stock. The 18-inch Crosshair A18 HX, with a Ryzen 9 8940HX and an RTX 5070, is about $1,950. MSI Crosshair 16 HX AI on Amazon

MSI’s guide to the newest 16-inch models, the Crosshair A16 HX, 16 HX and 16 Max HX, says each has two memory slots and two drive slots, so they can be upgraded later. The 16 HX AI on its store is the version before those, so check the listing before you count on that.

Stealth

Stealth is the thin one. The Stealth 16 AI pairs an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H and an RTX 5060 with a 16-inch QHD+ OLED screen at 240Hz, 32GB of memory and a 1TB drive, for about $1,900. That is about $150 more than the Crosshair for an OLED screen and a slimmer metal body. MSI is frank about the cost of thinness: its guide says the trade-off against a Raider or Titan is less cooling headroom for the longest, heaviest sessions. MSI Stealth 16 AI on Amazon

Vector

Vector is the cheapest way to faster graphics on MSI’s store. The entry Vector 16 HX AI has an RTX 5070 Ti for about $2,000, but read the rest of the line: a full HD+ screen at 144Hz with 45% NTSC colour, 16GB of memory and a 512GB drive. Skip it unless the graphics card is all you care about. The version with an RTX 5080 and a QHD+ 240Hz screen is about $2,600 with 16GB and 1TB, or $3,000 with 32GB and 2TB. MSI Vector 16 HX AI on Amazon

Raider and Titan at the top

Raider

Raider is MSI’s high-end gaming line, the one with the RGB light bar. The Raider A18 HX on its store has an AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D, an RTX 5080, 32GB of memory, a 2TB drive and an 18-inch QHD+ screen at 240Hz for about $3,300. The same laptop with a 4K Mini LED screen at 120Hz is about $3,550. The newer 16-inch Raider 16 Max HX is listed with up to an RTX 5090 and a panel that opens for memory and drive upgrades. MSI Raider A18 HX on Amazon

Titan

Titan is the 18-inch flagship: a Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, an RTX 5090 with 24GB of its own memory, a 4K Mini LED screen at 240Hz and a mechanical keyboard on the current Titan 18 HX. The Titan on MSI’s store with an RTX 5080 and 64GB of memory is about $4,100. That is $800 more than the Raider A18 HX with the same graphics card, though the Titan has twice the memory. The 40th anniversary Dragon Edition Draco Epic is about $7,000. A Titan only makes sense if you want the most MSI makes and the price is not the question. MSI Titan 18 HX on Amazon

How to read an MSI model name

The name is the series, then the screen size in inches, then one or more tags. This is as far as MSI’s own pages explain them.

• The number is the screen size. A Raider 16 has a 16-inch screen and a Titan 18 an 18-inch one.
• An A before the number means an AMD processor. MSI’s Crosshair guide calls the Crosshair A16 HX the AMD-powered model and the Crosshair 16 HX the Intel-powered one.
• HX marks what MSI calls HX-class processors, such as the Core i9-14900HX, the Core Ultra 9 275HX and the Ryzen 9 8940HX. The letters are part of the chip’s own name.
• Max is the better-equipped version of the same laptop. MSI rates the Raider 16 Max HX at 300W of total system power and the plain Raider 16 HX at 250W. The Crosshair 16 Max HX adds an OLED screen option and more memory capacity.
• AI+ appears on the models MSI’s store sells as Copilot+ PCs, such as the Stealth A16 AI+.

The letters on older names such as the GS66 Stealth and GE66 Raider have been dropped. They survive only as headings in MSI’s store: Titan GT, Stealth GS, Raider GE, Vector GP, Crosshair and Pulse GL, Sword and Katana GF.

MSI does not explain the code at the end of a name, such as B14W or E2W. Treat it as a model number and match it exactly when you compare prices, because two laptops with the same series name can have different processors. MSI’s Crosshair guide says processors, graphics memory, screens and storage vary by model and market, and tells buyers to confirm the exact code.

Then read the rest of the line. The cheap panels are full HD at 144Hz with 45% NTSC colour, and the better ones are QHD+ at 240Hz with 100% DCI-P3. The same series is sold with 16GB or 32GB of memory, and with 512GB, 1TB or 2TB of storage. Outside the US, the prices here do not apply: MSI’s sites for other countries list their own configurations.

On a sofa, a laptop this size wants a firm surface, and gaming lap desks you can still buy provide one.