A high-end Gaming laptop that doesn’t reach the stratospheric heights of MSI’s own titanic Titan series, but it provides a fantastic gaming experience thanks to its strong components and brilliant display. It’s a very chunky unit, though – don’t expect to be carrying this around all day.

MSI RAIDER GE67 HX: TWO-MINUTE REVIEW

The Msi Raider GE67 HX is monstrous.

Not quite as obscenely powerful and bulky as the MSI GT77 Titan (which lives up to its name), but still, a chunky, heavy gaming laptop that promises top-tier performance and, I’m happy to report, delivers in spades, able to compete with the best gaming laptops on the market.

With over two kilograms and a 15.6-inch display, the Raider GE67 HX is unquestionably a ‘desktop replacement’ laptop – this device is both lightweight and portable. The computer derives a portion of its moniker from its powerful Intel Core i9-12900HX processor and up to an RTX 3080 Ti graphics card for high-definition, sharp gaming.

The MSI Raider GE67 HX feels durable and robust, with a premium design that sets it apart from some of MSI’s more affordable products. When you turn it on, the thick RGB lightbar along the front edge spills rainbow lighting across your desk, revealing the display’s superior quality.

I’ll dig into the details further down in this review, but the screen is the obvious selling point of this laptop: colorful and offers a crazy-fast 240Hz refresh rate, perfect for esports gaming. The keyboard, designed with gaming keyboard experts SteelSeries, is a standout feature since it features per-key RGB backlighting.

Regarding performance, the RTX 3080 Ti in this review model more than holds its own: the screen resolution is 1440p, so you’re nearly assured of reaching 60fps in any game, and higher if you employ Nvidia’s DLSS upscaling software. While messing with (sorry, testing) the GE67 HX, I discovered that it ran all of the games I played smoothly and looked good.

I did have some complaints about the Raider GE67 HX, but they are minor in light of its superb performance and sturdy physical construction. The weight and battery life are not major flaws. Even the best gaming laptop will need help with these issues. The only major problem I had with the GE67 HX was how loud the fans were. Still, if you’re going to use this laptop at home with a gaming headset on your head, you shouldn’t have any issues at all – this is an excellent heavyweight option, deserving to be among the best laptops we reviewed so far in 2018.

MSI RAIDER GE67 HX REVIEW: PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

The MSI Raider GE67 HX is not exactly inexpensive, with a starting price of $2,499.99 (about £2,030 / AU$3,730) for the RTX 3070 Ti model and a price tag of $3,499.99 (approximately £3,099 / AU$5,220) for the high-end RTX 3080 Ti variant I’m reviewing today. Yet, that is not the only thing to consider in this instance.

The majority of gaming laptops in the same weight class as the GE67 HX include standard Intel laptop CPUs, marked by the letter ‘H’ at the end of the device’s name, as opposed to the HX variation featured in this model. The HX chips are effectively desktop processors with more cores crammed into a laptop form factor, therefore the CPU performance of this Raider will be superior to that of many of its competitors. You’ll also have to pay a premium for that magnificent display, but I’d argue it’s worth it; nevertheless, those on a budget should consider the best inexpensive laptops instead.

As this is an MSI product, it cannot be purchased directly from the manufacturer in North America or Europe. The MSI 3070 Ti model of this laptop is available on Amazon for just $1,999, which is a phenomenal price.

MSI RAIDER GE67 HX REVIEW: SPECS

There are three primary variants of the MSI Raider GE67 HX, each of which utilises the RTX 3080 Ti, 3080, or 3070 Ti. The latter two models are available with a somewhat less expensive 12800HX processor as opposed to the 12900HX processor found in my review unit. All models come standard with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and up to a 2TB SSD, depending on the model.

MSI RAIDER GE67 HX REVIEW: DESIGN

First and foremost, that is a stunning screen. The 1440p OLED panel utilised in the MSI Raider GE67 HX is remarkable, including VESA-certified TrueBlack 600 HDR with outstanding contrast and colour reproduction, coupled with a response time of 0.2ms and a refresh rate of 240Hz. I was continuously pleased by how great the display looked in a range of games, with vibrant colours and realistic blacks.

The RTX 3080 Ti GPU is capable of performing double duty for content creators such as digital artists and video editors, in addition to enhancing the visual quality and responsiveness of fast-paced games. This is an excellent choice if you’re searching for a gaming computer that can also support your hobbies (or professional work).

Physically, the chassis has a great, sturdy finish that virtually screams “gaming.” From the huge MSI logo on the lid and the large heat vents to the RGB lightbar and keyboard, this device is designed specifically for gamers. In other words, if you’re searching for a laptop that won’t stand out in an office setting, you may want to seek elsewhere.

Three USB-A ports and two USB-Cs (one of which is Thunderbolt 4-enabled) are complemented by two USB-Cs (one of which is Thunderbolt 4-enabled), HDMI video output, an Ethernet port, and an SD card reader – the latter of which is a rarity on gaming laptops and will undoubtedly appeal to photographers. These ports are evenly distributed along the computer’s left, right, and back borders, with the charging port situated on the back edge, so it doesn’t get in the way when you’re using it – as you’ll want to keep it plugged in whenever feasible.

The keyboard created by SteelSeries is fantastic, with good key travel and no sponginess or discernible input latency, making it suitable for both typing and gaming. The per-key RGB lighting is also easily synchronizable with other SteelSeries devices, so if you’re planning on connecting one of the finest gaming mice or any other SteelSeries peripherals, your entire setup may look fly as all get out.

It’s not horrible, but if there’s one area in which the Raider GE67 HX’s appearance could be better, it’s this. Compared to its 720p counterpart, the webcam’s 1080p resolution significantly impacts video conversations. The trackpad is less amazing; it is not as huge as I would want for a laptop this size, and the click seems fragile and disappointing. Thankfully, the ‘Dual Wave’ speakers produce loud and clear audio, an area where many gaming laptops must catch up.

Also Read : MSI Raider GE67 HX (2022) Laptop Review

MSI RAIDER GE67 HX REVIEW: PERFORMANCE

The MSI Raider GE67 HX breezed through our test suite, which is unsurprising given its potent internal components. The RTX 3080 Ti makes 1080p and 1440p gaming a breeze, and DLSS is available for games like Cyberpunk 2077 that support ray-tracing.

Our typical testing benchmarks games at 1080p resolution as a baseline, but I also tested all three games at 1440p to match the screen resolution of the GE67 HX, and all three reached 60 frames per second at Ultra settings without requiring DLSS. This obviously excellent performance proves that even though the RTX 3080 Ti is now a generation behind, this gaming laptop is still quite future-proof.

This HX-series CPU excels in multi-core benchmarks, as evidenced by its excellent scores in GeekBench 5 and Cinebench R20. Performance in simulated graphical tests such as 3DMark Time Spy was also quite good. As demonstrated by its strong performance in the PCMark 10’modern office’ benchmark, this system should also be able to handle routine tasks with ease.

Back to the topic of future-proofing for a moment, it’s important to note that the RAM and SSD included in the MSI Raider GE67 HX are user-upgradable, so you may swap out your memory and storage for higher-capacity alternatives in the future if you so choose. I can testify that the 32GB of DDR5 RAM in our review model is more than plenty, but 1TB of storage may not be enough for some users, so it’s wonderful to see that an upgrade is available.

While the overall performance of the GE67 HX was quite impressive, I did have one complaint about its volume. Twin fans and seven heat pipes appear to perform a decent job of cooling the laptop (it gets a touch warm, but not as hot as some gaming laptops I’ve reviewed), but the fans sound like a pair of miniature helicopters stuffed into a plastic case when playing the greatest PC games.

Modern gaming laptops typically have loud fans, so this is hardly a deal-breaker, but it does not make me any less annoyed. It’s doubly aggravating because the performance is so amazing and the speakers are so good; the only way to use this laptop, honestly, is to purchase one of the finest PC gaming headphones to block out the fan drone.

MSI RAIDER GE67 HX REVIEW: BATTERY LIFE

• Giant battery doesn’t really salvage the battery life
• Less than two hours of gaming
• Less than five hours of light use

The MSI Raider GE67 HX falls short despite the fact that gaming laptops are not renowned for their battery life. Despite having a massive 99.9Whr battery (just below the legal limit allowed on airlines! ), it cannot last an entire eight-hour workday, even with the brightness set to 50% and a light workload of web browsing and word processing.

Gaming is predictably even worse; I played Apex Legends with the volume at 50% and the brightness at 100% on a fully charged battery for just under 90 minutes before it died. Admittedly, most of its competitors are in the same predicament, but it’s disappointing to see MSI promote the Raider’s gargantuan battery in marketing materials.

Finally, the battery life is comparable to other gaming laptops in the same price range: neither the worst nor the greatest. Obviously, it is important to remember that the lower-spec models of the GE67 HX have the same internal battery, therefore they should have a longer battery life. Despite its bulky AC adapter, it takes about two and a half hours to fully charge the device.

SHOULD YOU BUY THE MSI RAIDER GE67 HX?