The Razer Blade 18 took its place on my list of the best gaming laptops on the market last week, after making it out off the test bench with a 4/5 review score. It wasn't the dual 4K / 1200p resolution display or the slimmer 18-inch chassis that put it there, though, it was the fact that the Razer Blade 18 nearly beat the MSI Raider A18 HX's performance.
That's a big deal considering no gaming laptop has managed to near that beast's benchmark records since I reviewed it last year. Of course, time has moved on for the MSI Raider, and the numbers today tell a different story where value is concerned. With an extra 12 months under its belt, the RTX 5090 MSI Raider A19 HX A9W is a little harder to find on the shelves. Instead, you're more likely looking at an RTX 5080 model (16GB vs 24GB), which isn't going to give you the same payoff for 4K gaming. The invoice is far kinder, though.
Right now, the RTX 5090 model is only available at Excalbur PC on backorder, but its age means it still undercuts the Blade 18 at $4,499.99. So what does that mean in real-world play?
At full 4K resolution, the two machines are tying. The Blade 18 bookends its runs, with wins in the lightest title, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and the most demanding, Cyberpunk 2077 (though only just), while the Raider scores higher in Total War: Three Kingdoms and Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered. These are still neck and neck scores, though, a trend that continues further down the resolution ladder.
In FHD and QHD+, we've got a similar situation, though the Blade takes a lead in QHD performance overall.
Numbers match up once more when we looked at synthetic benchmarks, though, with MSI taking the more demanding Steel Nomad test alongside the easier Fire Strike run.
It all comes down to Geekbench 6, then, and the MSI Raider A18 HX A9W's higher average single-core test. This is a machine using the abominably powerful AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D, after all - even the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus inside Sneki's rig can't quite compete. The Blade scored 3,053 in its single-core test, while the Ryzen 9 typically averages at around 3,186. This is the only test in which a winner is decided.
Does that mean big spenders should buy the MSI Raider A18 HX A9W? Not quite.
The Razer Blade 18 has still made its way to my top list, now sitting as the best luxury gaming laptop I've tested so far. That's because, while it just whiskers out of the performance race against the MSI Raider it does so in a far sturdier chassis, with a much better keyboard, a higher refresh rate display, and a surprisingly solid battery life.
If I had $5,500 to spend on a gaming laptop, the lack of OLED or Mini LED display would be the only turn off here. Razer's decision to instead fit a dual-resolution 4K (240Hz) / FHD (440Hz) screen up top means you're not getting the more immersive contrast, color profile, and impact of a more luxurious panel. It's also unlikely that most players will be looking to fully take advantage of the top end of that 440Hz refresh rate - outside of elite competition, the vast majority of us will be able to get along just fine with framerates coming out of that RTX 5090 in 4K. The dual screen is an added expense that doesn't serve the majority of the market and cuts the Blade 18 off from the kinds of premium upgrades readily available in much cheaper machines.
That being said, there are very few 18-inch 4K gaming laptops on the market right now, and if that high-end build quality, excellent performance, and 240Hz refresh rate are worth more to you than color contrast it's a difficult one to beat.
- See all gaming laptop deals at Best Buy
I'm also hunting down all the best Asus gaming laptops and the best Razer laptops on the market. For something a little chunkier, check out the best Alienware laptops I've tested so far.
