MSI Crosshair 18 HX AI (2025) vs Asus ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2026) G835
66
out of 100
VS
88
out of 100
Please select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Review
Performance
System and application performance
Gaming
Performance in popular 3D games
Display
Viewing angle, color accuracy, brightness
Battery Life
Potential battery life in light and average use
Connectivity
Ports, webcam and other interfaces
Portability
Design, materials, durability and usability
Pick the usage scenario that best matches your needs
Value for money (Beta)
Key Differences
Advantages of the MSI Crosshair 18 HX AI (2025)
- Significantly easier to carry: weighs 600 grams less (around 1.32 lbs)
- Thinner bezels and 5% higher screen-to-body ratio
Advantages of the Asus ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2026) G835
- Can run popular games at about 70-96% higher FPS
- Performs significantly better (up to 2.1x) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
- Higher number of cutting-edge USB Type-C ports: 2 versus 1
- Around 30% better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench 2024 test
- Provides 140% higher max. screen brightness: 1200 vs 500 nits
- Better webcam recording quality
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
| Weight | 3.1 kg (6.84 lbs) | 3.7 kg (8.16 lbs) |
| Dimensions | 404 x 280 x 25.6-29.9 mm 15.91 x 11.02 x 1.01-1.18 inches |
399 x 298 x 23.5-35 mm 15.71 x 11.73 x 0.93-1.38 inches |
| Area | 1131 cm2 (175.3 inches2) | 1189 cm2 (184.3 inches2) |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~83% | ~79% |
| Side bezels | 8.2 mm | 5.7 mm |
| Colors | Black | Black |
| Material | Plastic | Top: Aluminum Middle: Plastic Bottom: Plastic |
| Transformer | No | No |
| Opening angle | - | 135° |
Size comparison
| Cooling system | Active | Active |
| Vapor chamber | No | Yes |
| Liquid metal | No | Yes |
| Number of fans | 2 | 3 |
| Noise level (max. load) | 58.6 dB | 54 dB |
Display
| Size | 18 inches | 18 inches |
| Type | IPS LCD | Mini LED |
| Refresh rate | 240 Hz | 240 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | - |
| PPI | 168 ppi | 168 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
| Resolution | 2560 x 1600 pixels | 2560 x 1600 pixels |
| HDR support | No | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Sync technology | No | G-Sync |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Coating | Matte | Matte |
| Ambient light sensor | No | No |
| Contrast | 1264:1 | 7640:1 |
| sRGB color space | 100% | 100% |
| Adobe RGB profile | 86.1% | 87.2% |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | 98% | 100% |
| Response time | 7 ms | 3 ms |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
| Full charging time | - | 1:30 hr |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
| Charging via USB (Power Delivery) | Yes, 100 W | Yes, 100 W |
| Charging port position | Left, Bottom | Left |
| Charge power | 240 W | 450 W |
| Weight of AC adapter | 729 grams | 1141 grams |
CPU
CPU name
| Base frequency | 2.7 GHz | 2.7 GHz |
| Turbo frequency | 5.4 GHz | 5.5 GHz |
| Cores | 24 (8P + 16E) | 24 (8P + 16E) |
| Threads | 24 | 24 |
| L3 Cache | 36 MB | 36 MB |
| Integrated GPU | Arc Graphics (4-Cores) | Arc Graphics (4-Cores) |
| Fabrication process | 3 nm | 3 nm |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)
Graphics Card
GPU name
| TGP | 115 W | 175 W |
| Nvidia Optimus | Yes, Advanced Optimus | MUX |
| Type | Dedicated | Dedicated |
| Fabrication process | 4 nm | 4 nm |
| GPU base clock | - | 975 MHz |
| FLOPS | 18.4 TFLOPS | 42 TFLOPS |
| Memory size | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| Memory type | GDDR7 | GDDR7 |
| Memory bus | 128 bit | 256 bit |
| Memory speed | ~24 Gbps | ~28 Gbps |
| Shading units (cores) | 3328 | 7680 |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 104 | 240 |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 48 | 96 |
| GPU performance | 18.4 TFLOPS | 42 TFLOPS |
GPU Benchmarks
Steel Nomad Lite Score
| Blender GPU | 3906 | 8088 |
| Solar Bay | 63603 | 116446 |
Expected FPS based on average performance across 9 popular games. Details
RAM
RAM size
| Channels | 2x8 GB | 2x8 GB |
| Clock | 6400 MHz | 6403 MHz |
| Type | DDR5 | DDR5 |
| Upgradable | Yes | Yes |
| Total slots | 2 | 2 |
| Max. ram size | 96 GB | 128 GB |
Storage
Storage size
| Bus | PCI-E Gen 5.0 (4x) | PCI-E Gen 5.0 (4x) |
| Storage type | SSD (M2) | SSD (M2) |
| Channels | 1x1024 GB | 1x1024 GB |
| Upgradable | Yes | Yes |
| Total slots | 2 | 2 |
| NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | 2.0 | 2.2 (2 tweeters and 2 woofers) |
| Power | 2x2W | 4x2W |
| Dolby Atmos | No | Yes |
| Loudness | ~84.5 dB | ~82 dB |
| Microphones | 2 | 2 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | v6E | v7 |
| Bluetooth | v5.3 | v5.4 |
| Fingerprint | No | No |
| Infrared sensor | No | Yes |
| Optical drive | No | No |
| Webcam | Above the display | Above the display |
| Webcam resolution | 1280 x 720 | 1920 x 1080 |
| USB-A | 3x USB 3.2 | 3x USB 3.2 |
| USB Type-C | 1x USB 3.2 | 2x USB 4.0 |
| Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 5 |
| HDMI | 1x HDMI 2.1 | 1x HDMI 2.1 |
| DisplayPort | No | No |
| VGA | No | No |
| Audio jack (3.5 mm) | Yes | Yes |
| Ethernet (RJ45) | Yes | Yes |
| SD card reader | No | No |
| Proprietary charging port | Yes | Yes |
Input
| Keyboard type | Island | Island |
| Numpad | Yes | Yes |
| Backlight | Yes | Yes |
| Key travel | - | 2 mm |
| Size | 13.0 x 8.2 cm | - |
| Surface | Plastic | Glass |
| Windows Precision | Yes | Yes |
Further details
Notes on Crosshair 18 HX AI (2025):
- One SSD slot supports PCIe Gen 5, the other PCIe Gen 4.
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.
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