MSI Launches A Monster Gaming Laptop With Ryzen 9 7945HX3D And RTX 4090 Firepower
While the fervor over new hardware releases is experiencing a bit of a new lull in the gaming laptop space, there are interesting items appearing still. To wit, MSI has launched the Titan 18 Pro AMD Edition aimed squarely at the high-end enthusiast. As the name suggests, the leading role is played by AMD's Ryzen 9 7945HX3D. This 16-core 3D V-cache CPU is the fastest mobile Ryzen CPU available for laptops, and builds on the popularity of the desktop 3D V-cache chips.
Not to be outdone by the CPU, NVIDIA's mobile GeForce RTX 4090 is another big selling point for most enthusiasts who might be considering this laptop. Armed with 16GB of VRAM and performance nearing a desktop RTX 4070 Ti, it is currently the most powerful laptop GPU you can buy.
It also comes with an impressive 18-inch screen, boasting a mini LED panel with a 4K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Similar to competing laptops such as the Razer Blade 18, it is a nice change to have the high-end panel with the 18-inch size for the refresh.
Not to be outdone by the CPU, NVIDIA's mobile GeForce RTX 4090 is another big selling point for most enthusiasts who might be considering this laptop. Armed with 16GB of VRAM and performance nearing a desktop RTX 4070 Ti, it is currently the most powerful laptop GPU you can buy.
It also comes with an impressive 18-inch screen, boasting a mini LED panel with a 4K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Similar to competing laptops such as the Razer Blade 18, it is a nice change to have the high-end panel with the 18-inch size for the refresh.
AMD Ryzen CPUs with 3D V-cache such as the Ryzen 7 7800X3D have been dominant and popular on desktops, and the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D looks to continue that trend in laptop form. The flagship (for laptops) Ryzen 9 7945HX3D packs 16 cores and 32 threads, but will lose Thunderbolt support compared to the Intel competition. This may be an issue for content creators, but as the CPU is gaming-centric, it may not matter to the gamers all that much.
With a total supported 250W between the CPU and GPU, this laptop can also make use of NVIDIA's excellent DLSS 3 with frame generation to boost frames while saving power usage. While battery life is understandably modest as is commonplace with most gaming laptops, power savings is more of a boon to the thermals of such a powerful laptop.
With a total supported 250W between the CPU and GPU, this laptop can also make use of NVIDIA's excellent DLSS 3 with frame generation to boost frames while saving power usage. While battery life is understandably modest as is commonplace with most gaming laptops, power savings is more of a boon to the thermals of such a powerful laptop.
The new generation of MSI Titan laptops have gone through a visual transformation, most notably with the rear exhaust pipes not being as pronounced as the MSI Titan 17 previously had. A healthy layering of RGB is still present, of course, along with an excellent Steel Series mechanical keyboard.
Recent laptop releases have been primarily focused on AI and productivity workloads, such as Microsoft's Surface Pro and Copilot+ PCs. A notable limitation of this new ilk of AI PC is currently in its lack of graphical horsepower, which is where the MSI Titan 18 Pro shines with the GeForce RTX 4090 GPU.
While we are late into the release cycle of laptops for this generation, the NVIDIA RTX 50 series that's coming likely won't arrive in mobile form until next year. For now, this refresh with modest improvements is the best-in-class for gaming laptops with the current technology.
Recent laptop releases have been primarily focused on AI and productivity workloads, such as Microsoft's Surface Pro and Copilot+ PCs. A notable limitation of this new ilk of AI PC is currently in its lack of graphical horsepower, which is where the MSI Titan 18 Pro shines with the GeForce RTX 4090 GPU.
While we are late into the release cycle of laptops for this generation, the NVIDIA RTX 50 series that's coming likely won't arrive in mobile form until next year. For now, this refresh with modest improvements is the best-in-class for gaming laptops with the current technology.
