MSI TITAN 18 HX - The MOST Expensive laptop I have EVER tested!

Hidevolution sent me the 2024 MSI Titan 18 HX and it retails for a whopping $5400. It is worth this eye watering sum??
Specs:
i9 14900HX CPU
175W RTX 4090 GPU
18" 3840 x 2400 Mini LED HDR 1000 panel
128 GB DDR5 5600 RAM
4TB SSD RAID 0
FHD Webcam
99wh battery
No Gsync, or advanced optumus
Windows Hello IR camera
Timeline:
00:00 Intro
00:20 Specs and Pricing
01:08 Build quality
01:34 Chassis temps
01:45 Keyboard
02:02 RGB
02:40 Power modes
03:15 No Gsync
03:28 Issues
04:01 Windows hello and webcam
04:55 Trackpad
05:48 Panel
06:12 Ghosting
07:28 Tearing?
07:47 Battery life
08:09 Ports
09:13 RAM, SSD's and speakers
10:18 Fan noise
10:51 Extreme performance vs balanced more - framerate and temps
11:08 Gaming temps and watts
12:06 Thermal paste
12:26 Benchmarks
18:00 Audio latency
18:10 Power brick
18:20 Weight
18:34 Summary
Subscribe: bit.ly/OWNorDisown
Buy from Hidevolution:
www.hidevolution.com/msi-tita...
Hidevolution Tuning Optimization Package:
bit.ly/3TBIEf1
Hidevolution testing procedures:
bit.ly/49TswLo
Hidevolution FAQ's
bit.ly/3wOrAt4
#titan

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thanks to Hidevolution for sending me the MSI Titan 18HX. Is it a laptop that is on your short list? If you liked the video perhaps consider subscribing, thanks for the support! bit.ly/OWNorDisown

[@ipf]

64 gb 4000 mhz works, what is the situation when there is only 32 gb, I would be very happy if you answer

[@vidfinnx]

At this rate they will be 10000$ next year

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Lol. The only way to bring these prices down is vote with your wallet. Apart from the extra ssd slot and ability to have 128GB RAM I don't see any benefit over the Asus Strix Scar 18.

[@jenilynoldan6963]

​@@OWNORDISOWNthe 4k screen from the msi titan,18 hx?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

​@@jenilynoldan6963For gaming I see no benefit for the screen, nor watching videos. For photo work yes. Perhaps also where you want more info on the screen.

[@Pentax67]

It’s called inflation. Check prices in 2016. And adjust them to now.

[@Dandystillioniumbatamdatam1234]

If you get the best out of the best specs on this laptop it will cost you $12,000

[@becaliteodora3285]

My favorite tech youtuber for sure. Its always a pleasure to watch it and just keep in touch with the new tech and cool laptops.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thanks, appreciate you stopping by again👍

[@becaliteodora3285]

@@OWNORDISOWN how have u been Stephen?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

​@@becaliteodora3285I've been OK thanks. Finally my channel seems to have stopped bleeding subs so I'm getting my mojo back. The economy is still pretty poor so my regular job is still quiet. How are things your end?

[@becaliteodora3285]

@@OWNORDISOWN things got better but inflation makes it not that great I remember when we used to talk you we're about 35k subs If I remember corectly and now you're double that. Congrats!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

@@becaliteodora3285 Thanks mate! Hope 2024 is a good one for you 👍

[@half_empty_soul6534]

Someone at MSI smokes too much weed

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Lol, I agree, it's madness!

[@leophoenix1452]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂❤

[@robinxd6491]

😂

[@LCJammer]

thats not stock from msi. hidevolution made some pricey addons to bump the price to $5k.

[@MrHunterCarr]

Ordered one today for work. Travel a lot and need the power for video editing. Working grown-ups don't even notice the price.

[@marlongamingnation]

I was waiting patiently for this video thank you

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@baz69er13]

Yeh me too.....

[@kennysponto6568]

Good that you put the chapters back in your video

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thanks. Yeah, if the video is about 20 minutes long it makes sense.

[@Cray2TheZ]

Great video! Thank you for your amazing work! Subbed!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Great! Glad you liked my video and thanks for the support 😀👍

[@Cray2TheZ]

@@OWNORDISOWN My pleasure, Sir! Have yourself a FANTASTIC day! Cheers :)

[@siyzerix]

Previous titans: Cooled two 150w gtx 1080's + 75w OC'd i7 7820hk for a total of 350w+ wattage. New titan: Barely cools 175w on GPU and uselessly has 200w for CPU. I love how nvidia is going backwards.

[@greebj]

Us in the Clevo crowd used to laugh at one of them, GT83VR iirc, that was hobbled with a bargain bin level 1080p60 panel.

[@siyzerix]

@@greebj Oh yes, clevo always produced top end killer machines. Ironically they were more upgradable and repairable than most, if not all gaming laptops and some even were cheap. Wonder why the right to repair crowd didn't jump on them like they do for framework... hypocrisy at its finest.

[@homes892]

Great video!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thanks!

[@MauroMarcenaro]

Great video, thank

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Glad you liked it!

[@doudoucover]

Hope you can try also the m18 r2 from alienware. Great video !!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I will try!

[@AbrarAhmed-fi5sm]

I'm looking forward to your review of 👽 Alienware M18 R2 4090 as well

[@OWNORDISOWN]

​@@AbrarAhmed-fi5sm I'll have to work out how to get one for free. They don't send me any review units.. I told them I refuse to buy another Dell laptop after I bought about 15 already, lol

[@vlone_slatt3504]

@@OWNORDISOWNthey need to send them to you for free because 15 is a lot of laptops and money they got from you but I’m guessing they think you will tear them down over the CPU temps hitting 100c lol 😆

[@OWNORDISOWN]

​@@vlone_slatt3504lol. They did send one once, I did a Bios update and it got bricked. Perhaps that's why they never sent me one again. That was years ago. They did tell me that one reviewer took one apart and couldnt put it back together so they got it returned in pieces, lol. Years ago I asked their CEO if they would ever go back to making 18" laptops and he laughed, saying that people only want small and light machines. Well, look what's coming back, lol.

[@tomgjonaj9965]

I had the Titan 18 and just returned it for the new 2024 Blade 18 with the 300hz mini led panel. I liked the Titan 18 but couldn’t stand 120hz with no gsync

[@kasico]

Hi Stephen!! Nice vid! You don't see very happy with it, and costing 5.4k!! I think that I will stick with my Legion 5 a bit longer hahaha

[@ApplePie1529]

i have the same laptop! Legion 5 rtx 2060 i7. Personally mine is reaching it's 5th year and showing that it's going backward. If you need to switch to a new laptop eventually, i'd say the acer predator helios 16, with 2tb rtx4080 and 36 ram! Ofcourse there's also other models of those with less gb and specs that are also way cheaper and come closer to the release price of the legion 5 (1300 euro for me). The acer helios is 3000 euro 🥲. but i'd say worth it? Saving up for it atm 😅

[@mauriziotiso6231]

Hello. Thank you.. I was waiting for a review of this laptop. I am lucky that I can buy this machine, but for some reason there is a voice inside me saying" No, donʻt do it!" I get the noise if one is gaming hard, but say that I am using Excel or something like that. Do I still have to put up with the fan noise. On my current MSI WT73 when I use if for "civilian uses" in ECO mode, I cannot even hear a noise from the fans. Your review does seem to suggest that I will not get that behavior from this machine. Or will using a 4080 allow for that? Also not having a slim form power brick like for Alienware does not make me too happy either. Thank you for your review. Now I feel that my sixth sense is not just imagination. Do you think that pasting CPU and GPU (like HID Evolution does) will improve the heat dissipation and allow the machine to stay a bit cooler? At this point I am really not happy with any recent laptop. I want the power and the silent fans when using the machine for everyday tasks. Cheers.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Thanks for watching my video! Yes, you can use the GPU for less intense tasks and even with the 4080 in silent mode it will be quiet. The GPU will downclock to its minimum frequency. I do think if you have both the CPU and GPU repaste with liquid metal the thermals will come down. The Asus Strix Scar 18 I just reviewed was pasted that way and it was much cooler.

[@jiawenxian3785]

Thank you for the great video. I really wanted to purchase an 18in laptop, so my choices are Alienware, Msi, and Asus. I personally don't like alienware that much because I had 3 laptops with them and had to return 2. Now the 3rd one is having issues as well. As with this MSI, it's just too expensive but not much performance advantage, I do really like the design though. Asus, I used to really like them but I hate that they change their materials to plastic. Wonder if Lenovo will have an 18in laptop, if not then guess I'll pick from either the 7i pro or 9i.

[@destin5103]

you mention performance advantage then go on to complain about similar products that are cheaper, but with drawbacks.... those drawbacks are why its more expensive haha. It's metal not plastic, its not the thinnest thing in the world but its thin enough to be impressive for its specs and thermals. Looking at the 9i its way too thin I can't imagine its getting the full 95W/175W out of its pieces and has so many compromises, small touchpad, bad keyboard, bad audio, severe lack of ports/inputs

[@jiawenxian3785]

@@destin5103 True, but I actually don't mind Asus being more expensive if the Scar 18 has metal exterior. I would 100% go for it. Still remember the good old s17 they had. But you're right, even the 7i pro is plastic, guess we have to accept some compromises. .

[@ApplePie1529]

i am going to be studying at a game visual artist school and i can invest in a good laptop. Had this one on mind for a long while until i saw this video, thank you so much for saving me 2k. Now i have the Acer predator helios 16 in mind with rtx 4080, 32RAM, i9 and 2tb. I did some comparing and for 3k (the helios is 3k euro) I can have the same, if not better, performance compared to the titan which is insane. For anyone looking for a beast of a laptop but not need to pay 5k, i'd say the acer predator helios is a good alternative. If you don't need 32gb of ram i'd even say the helios neo!

[@hooda24ma]

were the games tested in extreme mode? any kind of gpu overclock?

[@davidsz.horvath3357]

did you test it in max fan mode? Because with other videographers, the processor was at about 90w at such a high temperature while playing.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Unless stated otherwise I used turbo mode with max fan. I mentioned that the GPU was running upto 166W and the CPU around 90 watts at 11:23. Perhaps you missed me saying that.

[@davidsz.horvath3357]

@@OWNORDISOWN Ok, thank you. I think I missed this part of your video. I only checked when I saw the game, and then it was only about 65-75w. :)

[@OWNORDISOWN]

​@@davidsz.horvath3357no problem 👍

[@EdwardPh.D.]

What do you think of the new 2024 Acer Helios 18 with the 4090? It has a 1000 Nit screen, 1080p webcam, WiFi7 (most other computers still have WiFi6), SD card reader, two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the back instead of on the side like a lot of companies. It is also priced a lot less than the Scar 18 4090 and the MSI Titan 18HX.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I reviewed the 4080 model and really liked it. I'll have to ask them for the 2024 model. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYLGdJmjm9h0oqMsi=ziM-xGcZZ8i9lzch

[@EdwardPh.D.]

Does the MSI Titan or the Scar 18 have that rubberized soft touch coating where you rest your palms on the inside of the laptop? My Dell has that and it is scratching off after just two years. Second question, do you think the Scar 18 is the best 18" laptop in 2024 when compared to MSI Titan HX, Acer Helios 18, and Alienware 18? The only drawbacks to the Scar 18 from my perspective are the 720p webcam, no SD card slot, a 90wh battery instead of 99wh, and a membrane keyboard.

[@Pentax67]

No

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Neither has the rubberized coating you see on the Alienware. I do prefer the build quality on the Titan over the Scar 18, mainly because the Asus looks dirty with that translucent plastic over it. But I much prefer the way it performed over the Titan I had. There was one commenter who said he bought a Titan 18 HX from Microcenter and he had to return it but the replacement was much better, performing better than mine. So I'm inclined to think something was wrong with mine too. But that begs the question that for about $5k one would expect it to be flawless. I did review the Helios 18 last year and it looks to have been improved for 2024 so I'm going to ask for one to review. You get a 250hz mini Led panel so that is nice. You typically don't get any undervolting options with Asus but their turbo mode is always quite aggressive so I expect performance to be good. I've never had a problem with any Acer laptop, always been reliable so I would chose that or the Asus. Alienware always run hot, last year they had options in the bios to help mitigate this which they removed via a Bios update. They still had the option of limiting the max CPU temperature to 85 degrees C but this of course limits performance. For gaming it is fine though.

[@EdwardPh.D.]

@@OWNORDISOWN Thank you for the very detailed response. I really hope you can test the 2024 Acer Helios 18. If you visit the Acer site and read the specs and the price for the 4090 model, it seems like a much better value than the Scar 18. You can basically get a 4090 Acer Helios 18 for the same price as a Scar 4080. And, the Acer Helios 18 has a 1080p webcam, a microSD card slot, and WiFi 7 instead of WiFi 6E like the Scar 18. Last year Acer released the Triton 17x which was a 4090 but all of the people who texted it said it performed more like a 4080 because of the compact size of the aluminum chassis. I watched some reviews of the 2023 Acer Helios 18 4080 last year and the battery life was terrible and the performance for most games was far below the Scar 18. I'm hoping the 2024 Acer Helios 18 4090 will be close to the performance of the Scar 18 4090. Both machines have a 1000 nit screen. Acer hasn't released information about how many dimming zones the laptop has. The Scar 18 in 2024 has 2000 dimming zones. I'm really hoping the Acer screen will be just as good, but I kind of doubt it since they haven't bragged about that in any of the literature that I have read. I just hate to buy the Scar 18 4090 for $3600 when I can get the Helios 18 4090 for $3000 with a better webcam, WiFi 7, and an microSD card reader. If you review the 2024 Acer Helios 18, please compare it to the Scar 18 4090. No one has done a review of these two yet, and think they have to be two of the best 18 inch laptops in 2024, especially given the high price of the MSI Titan.

[@hooda24ma]

Do you test with the in-game benchmark test for cyberpunk, AC Valhalla and WD Legion ?? I mean the test segment

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Yes, I use the inbuilt benchmark tool

[@hooda24ma]

@@OWNORDISOWNlatest Nvidia drivers?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

​@@hooda24maused latest drivers at time of testing

[@ipf]

titan 64 gb 4000 mhz works, what is the situation when there is only 32 gb, I would be very happy if you answer

[@EdwardPh.D.]

@ownordisown Why do you think the Acer Helios 18 with a 90WHrs battery has battery life that is so terrible when compared to the 2024 Scar 18 which also has a 90WHrs battery?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

The increased resolution probably plays a part. Also it is brighter than the Asus. I would have measured the brightness but Data color banned my Spyder5pro becuased I had used it 110 times. But it definitely looked a bit brighter and some one told me it measured 1300 nits VS 1000 nits on the Asus at 100%

[@mba849]

Please review the framework laptop :D

[@prabhatkiranchaulagain1095]

The design of last year was much cooler especially the rear.

[@sunnycheung5172]

The raid 0 thing, can you turn that off? Just use normal mode ? I don't want to run in this high risk mode. I have seen so many 18 inches laptop use raid 0 ssd

[@Pentax67]

Easy .. reinstall windows and don’t use raid 0 .

[@AozenDreyar]

is there no bypass to this reauthentication every time we reboot? should i just leave it at gpu mode?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

There is no advanced Optimus so yeah, you need to reboot each time you change GPU. You can leave it in Hybrid mode...

[@eric131313]

4090 laptop prices are simply crazy not that 4080s are great or anything but 4090s are just robbery

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Totally 👍

[@sean666777888]

5Gs. Good God that's expensive

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Yeah, makes no sense to me.

[@danehague1]

Raid 0? Is this one of the first laptops to try this?

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I don't think so, I'm sure I've seen it before.

[@Jalalaburas1979]

Great videos usually , but I would retest with another unit . I bought one from microcenter and returned it , second one runs night and day difference don’t know what’s going on I get 175 on the GPU and 90 on the CPU . Also your tests are way below of what I achieved and also what shows in Jarrod’s review . You either have a unit that has something going in its bios ? Don’t know but definitely not what scores I’m getting .

[@OWNORDISOWN]

What was wrong with your initial unit? For this type of money it should be 100% OK, especially if Hidevolution claim to 100% stress test the machines in their QA process. The issues I was having when switching GPU mode suggests to me that this unit wasn't up to snuff. I only had two weeks to work on both the Asus Strix Scar 18 and this Titan. If I had longer I would have tried to solve it. Still, for $5400, I would expect the machine to be flawless.

[@markdove5930]

Yah sorry it never arrived the shipping guy must have taken it ... Oh the one on my desk it's another one don't worry about it I got you il still do the review 😅

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Yours got stolen by the shipping guy? That's always may greatest fear. Normally I have to sign for the things but sometimes they leave it outside my front door, even when it rains...

[@2Kmultiplayer]

Good

[@br4kecheckd]

I would be scared to use this.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I was! Lol. That's why I was scared to rip off the aluminum shroud over the Ram in case I bent it.

[@thatwasonce]

I think they make these to be marked down or for people to expense to work

[@translateme9352]

Not even a full sized mechanical keyboard like older models have. I loathe this half assed chiclet keys with passion

[@BridgeTROLL777]

4090 laptop is good if you can find one around 3k otherwise not worth it over 4080. Where I am legion 7i pro 4080 for instance is 2600 eur and 9i is 5000e.. Not unusual to see laptop 4090 go for over 1k more than 4080 variant.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I agree. Before CES Lenovo had their 4090 7i pro for about $2800 in a sale. Shows how much skin they have on the margins. I feel sorry for the system integrators like Hidevolution as their margins must be getting slim on these things

[@greebj]

might be good deals around on last years "outdated" 13th gen / 4090 models, as if the 14th gen HX CPUs arent just rebadging the same bits of silicon that once would have been called 13th

[@davidg8014]

I agree with you. Such a high price tag and mediocre performance. It's unbelievable how they keep adding a crappy 1080p camera to a 5k dollar laptop.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Yeah, for this price I would want a better camera but also a socketed CPU so it could be upgraded, although Intel aren't very good in this regard. I bet, within a year, this laptop will be about $3500

[@kamm3021]

Desktop 4090 is like 80% more powerful than laptop 4090 A PC with 4090 + 4K monitor will not reach that crazy price Such a waste of money

[@OWNORDISOWN]

100% agree mate.

[@dragonstorm9968]

For this price you only get a 1 gig ethernet port. And the ram speed is limited to 3600 MHz MAX do to a bad intel memory controller.

[@greebj]

4 slots its 3600. DDR5 tracing is too sensitive. It's a niche if you need 128-192Gb of RAM for something. Otherwise it's silly to sacrifice bandwidth and latency for unused capacity

[@dragonstorm9968]

@@greebj Thats right

[@schnaz22]

Try Acer Helios 18 they come with rtx 4090 in 2024

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Yes, that's a nice laptop too

[@wilpang20]

I gather not much improvement compared to the GT77 as Scar 18 (2024) has a better screen now.

[@cueball981]

I paid $2699 for my Alienware M18r1 with a i9 13900HX, RTX4080, 32gb RAM, 1TB SSD. There is no way this is worth 2X my purchase!

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Totally agree!

[@jenilynoldan6963]

Idk if this is better than the asus scar

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I did prefer the Scar, apart from the build quality. Slap the Scar in this chassis and have the 240hz panel and lower the price to $3k then I'm sold.

[@becaliteodora3285]

Overpriced but still a beast

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Yeah totally!

[@Starfall_ultra]

not tech disitions made easy he did'nt say if it's worth it or not

[@oviandre]

[@apoorvappychoudhary392]

The only question that comes to my mind is why do these OEMs even make such laptops? Do they sell a lot and who are these people that actually buy them...? 😂😂

[@OWNORDISOWN]

There is one guy on the comments who bought one. There must be a use case I guess but if bought this and my wife found out I would be sleeping on the couch for at least a year!

[@apoorvappychoudhary392]

@@OWNORDISOWN hahhaha. At least you get the couch..

[@greebj]

someone with more money than f's to give will just assume the most expensive is the best

[@kennysponto6568]

Puff The Neutered Dragon... :\

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Lol 😂

[@jos_iah14]

bro you lost me $5400

[@youssefadamnasr2151]

Asus rog strix scar 18 smokes the Msi titan 18 hx the scar is cheaper and stronger

[@OWNORDISOWN]

I agree

[@Dr.D00p]

I think if I clicked on 'buy' for this I'd be physically sick with buyers remorse for days afterwards.

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Yes, I would too. I don't know what MSI has been smoking to charge so much. Microcenter has it for $4600 but that is still a crazy price.

[@ACE112ACE112]

OOF. $5k for not best performance

[@OWNORDISOWN]

Yes, agree. If I had more time I would have tried undervolting it more, but I had two weeks for both the Scar 18 and this Titan.