MSI Raider GE78 HX review: Old-school design, state-of-the-art gaming performance

In caller months, there's been a inclination towards slimmer, lighter gaming laptops that connection a grade of portability alternatively than simply spending their full beingness indoors.

In contrast, MSI's 17-inch Raider GE78HX takes a overmuch much old-school approach. It's large and heavy, built similar a tank, and is simply a desktop replacement laptop that volition apt walk astir of its clip sitting connected a (rather sturdy) table and plugged into the mains.

But, escaped from the request to travel the latest fashions, the Raider is capable to spell all-out connected offering high-end gaming performance. The 17-inch show provides a 240Hz refresh complaint and is driven by high-end HX processors from Intel, on with Nvidia's GeForce 4000-series graphics cards.

MSI adjacent goes overboard with features specified arsenic the six-speaker audio strategy and a wildly gratuitous array of lighting effects. The drawback, of course, is that specified a heavyweight performer comes with an arsenic heavyweight price, weighing successful astatine implicit $3000 / £3000, truthful it's precise overmuch a no-compromise enactment for the hardcore gamer who is prepared to walk what it takes to execute gaming nirvana.

MSI Raider GE78 HX

Recommended

The Raider isn't going to triumph immoderate awards for stylish plan - oregon portability either. But it gets the the halfway worldly close with high-end CPU and GPU performance, backed up by a smoothly immersive 240Hz display. Battery beingness isn't the best, but it should inactive fto you ticker a mates of films if you request to instrumentality the Raider travelling from clip to time.

Pros

• High-end gaming performance
• 240Hz display
• Six-speaker audio system
• Good connectivity

Cons

• Big and heavy
• Poor webcam
• Loud cooling system

Price, specs and availability

Unfortunately, MSI doesn't marque it casual to find your desired exemplary and configuration. The company's website successful the US lists respective configurations with a assortment of i7 and i9 processors, GeForce RTX 4070, 4080 and 4090 graphics cards, and antithetic representation and retention options. However, fewer of these tin beryllium bought straight from MSI itself, and there's nary enactment to "build your own" PC by specifying the required features. All you get is simply a database of links to a assortment of third-party online retailers, who whitethorn connection antithetic configurations and antithetic prices, truthful it's up to you to bash the legwork and find the terms and options that you require.

The exemplary tested present costs $3299.99 with an i9-13950HX processor, RTX 4080 graphics card, 32GB of representation and 2TB solid-state drive, and a 17-inch show with 2560x1600 solution and maximum 240Hz refresh rate.

Customers successful the UK are capable to acquisition a fistful of models from MSI's website, though pricing is beauteous high, with the exemplary tested listed astatine £3599.00 (around $4,390.00). Thankfully, if you store around, you tin get amended prices from online stores specified arsenic Amazon successful the UK, which lists the aforesaid exemplary astatine astir £3000.

Design

Old schoolhouse looks

The Raider GE78HX does look alternatively similar a blast from the past. It measures 28.75mm heavy on the backmost edge, with ample cooling vents moving on the backmost and sides. It weighs successful astatine a hefty 3.1kg, too, truthful this is not a laptop that you tin conscionable gaffe into your backpack erstwhile heading to your section java shop.

The powerfulness proviso is beauteous large arsenic good and adds different 1.2kg to the wide weight, truthful the Raider is precise overmuch an old-school desktop replacement laptop that volition lone occasionally task distant into the large outdoors.

It is sturdily built, though, with a steadfast keyboard that feels similar it tin instrumentality a pounding successful the vigor of conflict - though I find the determination of the Function key, acold implicit connected the close of the keyboard, a small irritating astatine times. I'm not keen connected having immoderate of the ports and connectors moving on the backmost of the laptop either, portion others are besides located connected some the close and near sides too. This forced maine to prime up the laptop and equilibrium it connected its beforehand borderline for elemental tasks specified arsenic plugging successful the powerfulness supply.

But portion the Raider isn't peculiarly elegant, its plan does supply plentifulness of country for a bully assortment of connectivity features. There's an HDMI larboard connecting an outer show and a Thunderbolt 4 larboard providing video output. And, randomly, scattered on the near and close edges are 2 USB-C ports, 2 USB-A, an SD paper slot and an audio In/Out connector, truthful you tin surely plug successful a bully enactment of peripherals erstwhile the Raider takes up residence connected your desk. Networking is good, too, with 10Gb Ethernet for a wired connection, on with WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

Of course, determination are the compulsory lighting effects that we've travel to expect from gaming laptops. As good arsenic the accustomed enactment of pulsating lights connected the keyboard, the Raider besides has a 'light bar' that runs on the beforehand borderline arsenic well, making the laptop look much similar an over-exuberant Christmas histrion alternatively than a state-of-the-art gaming rig.

More usefully, MSI besides includes an app called MSI Centre that allows you to fine-tune the laptop's performance, adjusting some gaming show and the sound of the cooling system. And, unusually for a gaming laptop, there's adjacent a 'super battery' enactment designed to maximize artillery beingness if you bash determine to caput into the large outdoors with it successful tow.

More than meets the eye

The Raider's 17-inch show is thing of a mixed bag. Its 2560x1600 solution mightiness look comparatively humble for specified a ample and costly laptop, but it boasts a 240Hz refresh rate, which helps make precise creaseless motion.

I find that it adds to the consciousness of immersion arsenic I trek done the lush forests of Rise Of The Tomb Raider, with writer swaying mildly successful the breeze each astir me. Somewhat oddly, MSI doesn't punctuation a brightness level for the display, but portion it's not outstandingly bright, it does look perfectly capable for gaming and streaming video, and I'm capable to crook the brightness down to 50 per cent rather comfortably during my artillery tests arsenic well.

The show besides supports the DCI-P3 colour modular utilized for nonrecreational video editing and different graphics tasks, truthful it tin crook its manus to much superior enactment erstwhile it needs to.

The dependable strategy proves to beryllium a pleasant surprise, too, arsenic the ample chassis is capable to accommodate nary little than six abstracted interior speakers. Admittedly, the bass is inactive a small weak, but the precocious and mid frequencies dependable afloat and detailed. And, with 12W full output, the six-pack of speakers are adjacent almighty capable to screen up the - reasonably large - dependable of the fans erstwhile the laptop is moving successful its 'extreme performance' mode.

The lone disappointment present is the webcam, which provides 1080p solution but inactive looks a small grainy, and - successful the mediate of Storm Ciarán successful November - doesn't execute precise good successful low-light conditions. It's a comparatively insignificant complaint, but inactive annoying, fixed the precocious outgo of the Raider - particularly for Twitchers and streamers who mightiness privation to usage the webcam during late-night gaming sessions.

Performance and artillery

A gamer's dream

The Raider's i9 spot packs person nary little than 24 cores, with 8 show cores and 16 power-efficient cores for moving connected artillery power. This scores a coagulated 2,580 for single-core show successful GeekBench 6, but the multi-core show shows what it tin do. Its multi-core people of 17,290 pulls up of astir of the laptops I've reviewed recently, with lone the Ryzen 9 7945HX of Asus' much costly Zephyrus Duo coming adjacent astatine 15,850.

Backed up with its RTX 4080, the Raider breezes to 196 frames per 2nd successful the Unigine Valley trial for 3D graphics show - lone beaten successful caller reviews, erstwhile again, by the 200fps achieved by the RTX 4090 of the Zephyrus Duo. When moving Rise Of The Tomb Raider with its highest graphics settings and maximum 2560x1600 resolution, the Raider managed to transverse the enactment to deed 202fps.

The Raider ne'er showed signs of overheating during my tests, but those scores were produced with the laptop moving successful 'extreme performance' mode, producing a just magnitude of sound from the fans and cooling system. As mentioned, the talker strategy is large capable to drown the sound out, but a bully headset volition astir apt travel successful handy, particularly if you're playing precocious astatine night.

Unsurprisingly, MSI is simply a spot coy astir artillery life, but switching the Raider into 'super battery' mode allowed it to past for 5 hours and 3 minutes erstwhile streaming video via WiFi. That's not atrocious for specified a large, almighty laptop, truthful it volition astatine slightest fto you ticker a mates of films connected a agelong travel by bid oregon plane.

Verdict

The Raider GE78HX is precise overmuch a desktop replacement system, truthful - possibly unsurprisingly, fixed its people assemblage - it whitethorn not beryllium suitable for radical who request a laptop that they tin transportation astir with them connected a regular basis.

There are besides 1 oregon 2 unsmooth edges, specified arsenic the sub-par webcam. But, if you privation powerfulness alternatively than portability, past the Raider truly delivers the goods with awesome show and a 240Hz show that immerses you with its smooth, realistic motion.

The old-school plan besides means that the Raider spends its wealth wherever it counts, delivering awesome show astatine a comparatively competitory terms for specified a high-end gaming system.