MSI is a brand that has been pulling no punches with its Gaming laptop this year. Their latest entry, which comes out swinging, is the new Vector GP68 HX 12V Gaming Laptop. While I was thoroughly impressed with the Cyborg 15 we reviewed back in July, I have to confess that the Vector GP68 HX 12V is the undisputed champion of gaming laptops reviewed this season. 

Packing a 12th generation Intel Core i9- 12900HX Processor and a GeForce RTX 4080 12 GB GDDR6 GPU, the Vector GP68 HX 12V is ready to tackle anything thrown at it before jumping too far into specs. However, it’s important to highlight some of the design features and build quality of this newest entry from MSI.  

Weighing in at a hefty 5.89 lbs, the HX12V is a solid 16-inch gaming laptop. Premium plastic comprises the outer shell with the Cosmos Gray finish, giving the unit a sleek look. Two exceptionally thick hinges help prop up the aforementioned 1920×1200 (16:10 aspect) display. At first, there was a slight concern about the display being propped on nothing more than these two hinges, but after two weeks of use and testing, those fears have all but vanished. The display feels secure and solid, with the hinges providing ample support for the display.  

Speaking of the display, the Vector GP68 HX 12V boasts a beautiful 144Hz refresh with 16:10 FHD image quality with 100% DCI-P3 colour support. For those new to monitor colour definitions, in short, it means that the colour produced from this display is of high quality and used to support the included HDR capabilities of the Vector GP68 HX 12V. In practice, it means that colours look rich, sharp and beautiful in all their HDR glory. Every game and movie viewed is a beautiful spectacle, and with that 144Hz refresh rate, everything is buttery smooth with no ghosting or screen tearing. 

“…I have to confess that the Vector GP68 HX 12V is the undisputed champion of gaming laptops reviewed this season.”

At the top of the display is an IR HD-type webcam. While it does a great job at facial recognition with Windows Hello support, that’s about all it’s good for. The 30FPS@720p camera won’t get you through a stream by any stretch and doesn’t do a great job at handling lighting. However, at this point in laptop development, there seems to be a shift to prioritizing Windows Hello and other facial recognition software response time over actual webcam usage. As mentioned, in that arena, the IR HD webcam has no problem keeping up and is quick to recognize your face and unlock the computer.  

MSI found an interesting partnership for the Vector GP68 HX 12V in the form of peripheral manufacturer SteelSeries. Leaning on SteelSeries’s vast experience with all things gaming peripherals, the Vector comes equipped with per-key RGB support powered by the SteelSeries GG engine. This allows for unparalleled RGB customization along with full macro support. As for the keyboard itself, you’ll find it in line with most gaming-level laptop boards. While nothing stands out from a performance perspective, the keys are responsive and functional for gaming and productivity alike. 

Another interesting way that MSI has partnered with SteelSeries is with the latter’s Nahimic software suite. This audio-centric software is designed from the ground up to give you ultimate control over the audio experience. Allowing you to customize most parts of the audio experience, Nahimic even goes so far as to allow you to output two different profile settings to two separate sets of headphones. This, along with EQ presets and surround sound customization, creates one of the most powerful and easy-to-use audio suites I’ve tested and used to date.  

The Vector GP68 HX 12V is also set up to support Hi-Res-enabled devices, allowing you to output lossless-level audio on the fly. While the 2-watt internal speakers won’t blow you away, the ability to output to Hi-Res-enabled devices means you’ll be able to push the boundaries of your audio experience without an additional third-party Hi-Res amp. 

“In regard to connections, the Vector GP68 HX 12V comes packed with ports to connect all your peripherals.”

The final piece of software to highlight is MSI’s own OMEN gaming Hub as well as the MSI App Player that comes stock with the Vector GP68 HX 12V. The OMEN gaming hub allows for some customization, optimization and monitoring of the system. While it doesn’t necessarily do anything different from other programs of a similar nature, it is laid out well and offers some easy-to-use UI features to manage the aforementioned options.  

As for the App Player, it is essentially a skinned version of Bluestacks, an Android emulator that allows you to play Android titles on your PC. It even features a console mode with full controller support for games with controller support on Android. While it’s an interesting idea, it’s quite buggy and crashed several times during testing. It’s a case of great ideas and bad execution. This really is more of an issue with Bluestacks as opposed to MSI. Bluestacks historically has some buggy elements, which is unfortunate considering it’s a highlighted software suite on the Vector GP68 HX 12V page.   

In regard to connections, the Vector GP68 HX 12V comes packed with ports to connect all your peripherals. Multiple USB-C Gen 2 ports, as well as a Thunderbolt 4 port, means you’ll have no problem with data connections or peripheral management. 2 Type-A USB3Gen.2 ports (1x Gen1 and 1x Gen2) and an SD Express card reader also offer great options for data management. Along with a HDMI 2.1 port, you’ll also find 1 RJ45 port for those that absolutely need the fastest network connection. In fact, the included RJ45 port supports up to 2.5G LAN connections.  

For those still wanting wireless freedom, you’ll be happy to know that the included Wi-Fi 6E card has no issue keeping up to even the most competitive gaming situations with no noticeable lag during testing. Additionally, the Bluetooth 5.3 card has no issues supporting and managing the many Bluetooth devices tested without issue.  

“In testing, the Vector GP68 HX 12V has no issue crushing anything thrown its way from DOOM Eternal to Diablo 4.”

The Vector GP68 HX 12V is built from the ground up for speed and response time. This is no more evident than in the storage options available. The motherboard comes equipped with both an M.2 SSD slot (NVMe PCIe Gen3) as well as an additional M.2 SSD slot (NVMe PCIe Gen 5). These are some of the fastest storage speeds available on the market and make moving data around the system seamless and insanely fast.  

Continuing the theme of a need for speed, the Vector GP68 HX 12V model reviewed comes with 32 GB of DDR5 RAM with support for up to 64 GB. This, coupled with the aforementioned Core i9-12900HX processor and the RTX 4080 12 GB DDRR6, make this a serious powerhouse of a laptop.  

In testing, the Vector GP68 HX 12V has no issue crushing anything thrown its way from DOOM Eternal to Diablo 4. The Vector easily maintained frame rates of over 200 on the highest settings. Even with ray-tracing and HDR enabled, the Vector GP68 HX 12V easily handles every test I put it through.  

The included 4080 is hands down the most powerful GPU I’ve tested in a laptop. It pulls no punches and holds nothing back when spinning up and managing games. MSI hasn’t stopped there, though. The Vector GP68 HX 12V includes a resizable bar feature that essentially allows the CPU access to all of the GPU’s frame buffer at once. This allows the CPU to pull more power and improve the experience in many games. 

Speaking of the CPU, the new Core i9 HX processor has been redesigned and offers two sets of cores, 8 performance or P-cores as well as 8 Efficient or E-cores. This essentially allows the CPU a pretty impressive boost in both multitasking for productivity while also pushing performance in games to the next level. It seems to be Intel’s attempt at having your cake and eating it too.  

In testing, the Vector GP68 HX 12V had no issues whatsoever in either of these realms. Multitasking and productivity were both responsive and lightning fast, and as mentioned, gaming on the Vector GP68 HX 12V is some of the smoothest and most beautiful I’ve experienced. While this is all quite impressive, it is also worth mentioning the design and functionality of the cooling system. With this much horsepower under the hood, cooling is as important as the hardware itself.  

“At the end of the day, the Vector GP68 HX 12V is a laptop built for gamers who want the most out of their system.”

To help manage the high demands of the hardware, MSI has implemented what they call the Cooler Boost 5. Featuring a shared pipe design, the GPU and CPU essentially share six heat pipes. These heat pipes are supported by a dual air intake fan system, optimizing flow and cooling for the entire system. 4 exhaust vents located on the sides and back of the laptop help dissipate heat quickly and efficiently. In testing, this means less heat around the keys and hand placement areas and cooler overall temperatures on the system itself.  

The only minor downside is that the system is quite loud when running in high-performance mode. The reality is that this is an issue for most gaming laptops with decent GPUs and par for the course with gaming on a laptop. However, when measured against the cooling that is being achieved with the system, it’s a small price to pay for superb performance. 

At the end of the day, the Vector GP68 HX 12V is a laptop built for gamers who want the most out of their system. It is a powerhouse wrapped in premium packaging. It offers top-tier performance in a fairly compact form factor and will have no issue handling whatever you throw at it. At the same time, there are a few minor critiques, such as the App Player software and the loud cooling system. These pale in comparison to all that the Vector GP68 HX 12V has to offer. While it does have a fairly steep price point for most gamers, the value packed into this gaming laptop makes the price point at least something to consider if you’re in the market for a performance machine.