The best MSI gaming laptops 2024: our pick of the gaming powerhouses

The best MSI gaming laptops cover a wide variety of portable hardware spanning all sizes across the pricing spectrum. The Taiwanese company has established a strong reputation for creating quality machines for decades now, and we can personally speak to their quality, reliability, and longevity. Below, you'll find our six top picks from entry-level offerings to leading models. 

That's because while you can find a whole host of MSI gaming laptops running the best processors and best graphics cards, that isn't going to be ideal for everyone. If you want the best value for money, then we recommend looking into the likes of the MSI Katana 15 or the MSI GF63 Thin which typically starts underneath the $1,000/£1,000 mark. We recommend checking out the best budget gaming laptops if this fits in with your price range. 

On the opposite end of the scale are the true powerhouse machines, and MSI certainly delivers in this respect. It's most apparent with the MSI GT77 Titan and MSI Titan 18 HX which are rocking powerful Intel Core i9 processors and up to Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics cards. Want to game in 4K without compromise? These rigs can do it and then some. Continue reading (or use the helpful quick guide above) to find the perfect MSI laptop for you. They are among the best gaming laptops available. 

Best MSI gaming laptops: at a glance

Written by

Written by

Allisa James

Allisa James is a Computing Staff Writer here at TechRadar who has reviewed dozens of laptops since joining the team nearly three years ago. She's passionate about all all areas of computing, be that a productivity machine or a dedicated gaming rig. 

Best MSI gaming laptop overall

The MSI Katana 15 (2023) is our number one pick for the best MSI gaming laptop for most people and we haven't made this decision lightly. It's due to the aggressive price of entry, which starts at just $999 (about £785 / AU$1,543) for a model running a 13th Gen i7 CPU and an RTX 4050 GPU. However, the top configuration is also well-priced as well at $1,899 (about £1,492 / AU$2.933) for a 13th Gen i9 CPU and RTX 4070 GPU, so you have options here. 

Unlike some other entry-level and midrange gaming laptops, the MSI Katana 15 impresses with the utilization of DDR5-5200MHz RAM instead of older and slower DDR4 memory. Regardless of price, you're also getting a full 1TB NVMe SSD instead of a lower 512GB SSD to have more space for today's demanding games. 

In our testing, we found that the cheapest model was largely able to achieve 60fps in demanding software when played natively with only a couple of exceptions. For the best possible experience, you're going to want to utilize Nvidia DLSS 3's Frame Generation and Ray Reconstruction for an added framerate boost. A good middle ground would be an RTX 4060 variant if you can stretch it to. 

The Katana 15 isn't going to win many prizes for its bulkier design than some of its competitors, but it makes up for this concession with a fast 144Hz refresh rate. This gaming laptop is ideal as a first foray into portable gaming or as an upgrade to a much older GTX version. For something a little more powerful, you may need to read further down the page, but for everyone else, this version hits where it counts. 

Read the full MSI Katana (2023) review

Best budget MSI gaming laptop

Gaming laptops that deliver on performance are hard to find, which makes the MSI GF63 Thin an excellent choice for those wanting a great balance between performance, portability, and price. The starting price is one that most gaming laptops can’t hope to match in this generation of performance behemoths, especially one that’s also so thin and lightweight. Its battery life is average, but that’s what you’d expect from a gaming laptop in the first place.

Its specs include up to an Intel Core i7-11800H CPU, though the Core i5 version is more prominent, and up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU. For the latter, you can also get the GeForce GTX 1650 GPU version for a cheaper price point, which still can handle most games just fine, but we found after testing that it’s best to pay a bit more for the 3050 Ti, as the gaming performance is more than worth it.

The display is also 1080p HD and we found that when combined with its 144Hz refresh made for a smooth gameplay experience and a clear vibrant picture quality. However, it’s not well-suited for high-demand tasks, like 4K video editing and running number-crunching scientific programs. The port selection is excellent as well, with every type you need. In fact, in comparison to many other current-gen gaming laptops we’ve tested, it surpasses them all. It does have issues with bloatware, and sometimes the charging cable can block those many ports too.

Read the full MSI GF63 Thin (2022) review

Best desktop replacement MSI gaming laptop

If you’re looking for a contender for the most powerful gaming laptop, the MSI GT77 Titan (2023) has the competition beat so far. It comes with the latest in specs, including a 13th-gen Intel Core i9-13980HX CPU and an Nvidia RTX 4080 12GB Laptop GPU. During our extensive testing, we found that it managed to beat out the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i in most of our benchmark scoring when it came to GPU performance.

Its display is a ridiculous 4K resolution with a 144Hz refresh rate, and as we tested this behemoth we found that PC games never looked and moved better. The cherries on top are that this laptop comes with a Mini DisplayPort output and, according to our tests, the battery life is okay for a gaming laptop four and a half hours. It does charge fast, so that’s another positive to add.

There are some caveats we found, however. The biggest one is the sheer size of this behemoth, which weighs over seven pounds. You will never move this laptop off your desk, it’s the truest form of desktop replacement. And thanks to its size, it sounds like a jet engine. Cost is also an issue, but if money isn’t a problem then you can’t go wrong investing in this exceptionally powerful laptop.

Read the full MSI GT77 Titan (2023) review

Best value MSI gaming laptop

Gaming laptops can get quite expensive and while the MSI Vector GP66 isn’t the cheapest on the market, for its specs it offers a surprisingly good value. Its 12th Gen CPU and 30-series GPU are primed to give you some stellar gaming performance, as we confirmed during our extensive testing. It also features a great refresh rate of 165Hz, so if you prefer first and third-person shooters or action games the experience will be butter smooth.

Its display and other configuration options are quite plentiful, so for those who prefer an even better refresh rate and higher quality screen, you can easily upgrade to what works best for you. The chassis itself is sleek with a decent weight that we barely noticed it when carrying it around, and it has a solid port selection that suits the needs of most gamers.

Unfortunately, this laptop does lack Nvidia G-Sync support, which means that during gaming you may deal with screen tearing or a desyncing of what you see on screen versus what’s actually being processed by the graphics card. Though this is a feature that will have little bearing for more casual gamers, hardcore and professional gamers will definitely notice the difference. And like many other gaming laptops, it’s best to keep this one on the charger as its battery life and charging speed are mediocre at best.

Read the full MSI Vector GP66 review

Best OLED MSI gaming laptop

The MSI Raider GE67 HX is a great choice for gamers who want a well-performing gaming laptop. Despite the specs coming from last-gen — a 12th-gen Intel Core i9-12900HX CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU —, we found after extensive testing that it’s able to keep up with the likes of the current-gen Lenovo Legion Pro 7i in terms of pure performance. Not to mention its meaty 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, which sweetens the deal.

It has a solid 15.6-inch display with a 2560x1440 resolution, meaning it can game comfortably at either 1080p or 1440p. It also sports an incredibly high 240Hz refresh rate, and an OLED screen that we found makes any PC game absolutely shine in crystal clarity. It also features a 1080p webcam. The build quality is also nice and sturdy thanks to that extra bulk, and the keyboard is SteelSeries, which has pleasant key travel and no sponginess or real input latency. We wish the touchpad was as high quality, as it’s a little flimsy.

Unfortunately, its battery life is its downfall. We found that, after testing, the battery lasts for an abysmal two hours max and less than six with normal productivity work. And if you plan on carrying this behemoth around, it’s heavy and bulky so you’ll be in for a bad time. The fans are very, very loud so be prepared for the sound of jet engines as you use this laptop.

Read the full MSI Raider GE67 HX review

Best big screen MSI gaming laptop

The MSI Titan 18 HX is about as powerful as gaming laptops come in 2024, and it certainly doesn't come cheap. Featuring top-of-the-line hardware including your choice of either an RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 combined with a 14th Gen i9 CPU, and as much as 128GB DDR5 RAM, this gaming laptop is an absolute unit with no caveats. Furthermore, the stunning 4K+ 18-inch display really sings, too. 

Starting at $4,999.99 / £4,379.98 / AU$6,999, the MSI Titan 18 HX is the most expensive option for the best MSI gaming laptops, though. Considering its specs and the performance on offer, it is undoubtedly the flagship, albeit one that's not going to be for everyone. In our testing, we found that the majority of games could hit and exceed 60fps in the 4K+ (2400p) resolution which we cannot say for many of its rivals. 

Unsurprisingly, all this power comes at the extent of battery life which is expectedly poor. You're going to want to keep the Titan 18 HX plugged in at all times anyway. Despite having a 99.9 WHr battery, it's quickly drained by the components inside. Additionally, at an unsubtle 7.93 lbs / 3.86kg, it's too big to be taken on the go regardless unless you're really committed. Factoring in that price tag, we'd be careful before commuting with it. 

How we test MSI gaming laptops

Testing a gaming laptop isn’t as easy as you might think. But, then again, neither is narrowing down your options and choosing the best one for you, which is why we take our job seriously. Even if that means gaming for hours on end – hey, someone’s gotta make the sacrifice, right?

In all seriousness, we put every gaming laptop we test through its paces to make sure it delivers as promised and is worth your hard-earned case. That means that on top of playing the latest and hottest games on it, noting things like gaming and thermal performance, we also run synthetic benchmarks like PCMark 10, 3DMark and Geekbench 5 as well as battery tests.

Because a gaming laptop is only as good as its peripherals, we take a look at how smooth and fast the display is, how comfortable and responsive its keyboard is, whether or not there are enough ports on hand, and how good its overall design is. We also test its webcam, in case users want to utilize it for game streaming. 

We then take everything we’ve learned about the gaming laptop and compare it to its price – whether or not it’s performance and features are worth that price tag, and whether or not it offers the best value to customers.

Best MSI gaming laptops: FAQs