MSI Raider 16 Max HX (2026) vs Gigabyte Aorus Elite 16 (2025)

Please select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
CPU
Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX
GPU
RAM
Storage

Review

Evaluation of MSI Raider 16 Max HX (2026) and Gigabyte Aorus Elite 16 (2025) important characteristics
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
Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

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Key Differences

What are the key differences between the notebooks
Advantages of the MSI Raider 16 Max HX (2026)
  • Higher screen refresh rate: 240 versus 165 Hz
  • Can run popular games at about 70-96% higher FPS
  • Performs significantly better (up to 82%) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
  • Includes an old-school USB-A port
  • Provides 25% higher max. screen brightness: 500 vs 400 nits
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aorus Elite 16 (2025)
  • Easier to carry: weighs 300 grams less (around 0.66 lbs)
  • Thinner bezels and 8% higher screen-to-body ratio
  • Features a a little bigger (~8%) battery – 99 against 91.8 watt-hours
  • Smaller footprint: 7% more compact case (140.6 vs 151.7 square inches)

Tests and Specifications

Comparison table of test results and technical specs

Case

Weight 2.6 kg (5.73 lbs) 2.3 kg (5.07 lbs)
Dimensions 363 x 269.7 x 21.95-28.85 mm
14.29 x 10.62 x 0.86-1.14 inches
357 x 254 x 20-26 mm
14.06 x 10 x 0.79-1.02 inches
Area 979 cm2 (151.8 inches2) 907 cm2 (140.6 inches2)
Screen-to-body ratio ~75.8% ~81.9%
Side bezels 9.2 mm 6.2 mm
Colors Black Black
Material Top: Aluminum
Middle: Plastic
Bottom: Plastic
Top: Aluminum
Middle: Plastic
Bottom: Plastic
Transformer No No
Opening angle - 130°
Size comparison
Cooling solution
Cooling system Active Active
Vapor chamber No Yes
Liquid metal No No
Number of fans 3 2
Noise level (max. load) 60.2 dB 61 dB

Display

Size 16 inches 16 inches
Type OLED IPS LCD
Refresh rate 240 Hz 165 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes No
PPI 189 ppi 189 ppi
Aspect ratio 16:10 16:10
Resolution 2560 x 1600 pixels 2560 x 1600 pixels
HDR support Yes, HDR10 Yes, Dolby Vision
Sync technology No Adaptive Sync
Touchscreen No No
Coating Matte Matte
Ambient light sensor - No
Display tests
Contrast 1000000:1 1055:1
sRGB color space 99.9% 99.8%
Adobe RGB profile 99.3% 72.6%
DCI-P3 color gamut 100% 100%
Response time 1 ms 3 ms
Max. brightness

Battery

Capacity
Battery type Li-Po Li-Po
Replaceable No No
Fast charging Yes Yes
Charging via USB (Power Delivery) Yes, 140 W Yes
Charging port position Left, Bottom Left, Right
Charge power 400 W 240 W
Weight of AC adapter 1335 grams 697 grams

CPU

CPU name
Base frequency 2.7 GHz 2.7 GHz
Turbo frequency 5.4 GHz 5.4 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 175 W 115 W
Nvidia Optimus MUX Yes, Advanced Optimus
Type Dedicated Dedicated
Fabrication process 4 nm 4 nm
GPU base clock 975 MHz -
FLOPS 42 TFLOPS 18.4 TFLOPS
Memory size 16 GB 8 GB
Memory type GDDR7 GDDR7
Memory bus 256 bit 128 bit
Memory speed ~28 Gbps ~24 Gbps
Shading units (cores) 7680 3328
Texture mapping units (TMUs) 240 104
Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) 96 48
GPU performance 42 TFLOPS 18.4 TFLOPS

GPU Benchmarks

Steel Nomad Lite Score
Blender GPU 7255 3900
Solar Bay 114074 58540
Expected FPS based on average performance across 9 popular games. Details

RAM

RAM size
Channels 2x16 GB 2x8 GB
Clock 6400 MHz 5600 MHz
Type DDR5 DDR5
Upgradable Yes Yes
Total slots 2 2
Max. ram size 128 GB 64 GB

Storage

Storage size
Bus PCI-E Gen 5.0 (4x) PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)
Storage type SSD (M2) SSD (M2)
Channels 1x1024 GB 1x512 GB
Upgradable Yes Yes
Total slots 2 2
NVMe Yes Yes

Sound

Speakers 2.2 (2 tweeters and 2 woofers) 2.0
Power 2x2W, 2x2W 2x2W
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Loudness ~80.8 dB ~87 dB
Microphones 2 2

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard v7 v7
Bluetooth v5.4 v5.4
Fingerprint No No
Infrared sensor Yes Yes
Optical drive No No
Webcam Above the display Above the display
Webcam resolution 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080
Ports
USB-A 3x USB 3.2 2x USB 3.2
USB Type-C 2x USB 4.0 2x USB 4.0
Thunderbolt Thunderbolt 4 Thunderbolt 5
HDMI 1x HDMI 2.1 1x HDMI 2.1
DisplayPort No 1x v2.1
VGA No No
Audio jack (3.5 mm) Yes Yes
Ethernet (RJ45) Yes Yes
SD card reader Yes Yes
Proprietary charging port Yes Yes

Input

Keyboard
Keyboard type Island Island
Numpad Yes No
Backlight Yes Yes
Key travel 1.7 mm 1.7 mm
Touchpad
Size - 13.4 x 9.0 cm
Surface - Plastic
Windows Precision Yes Yes
Further details
Notes on Aorus Elite 16 (2025):
    - Thunderbolt 5.0 port is on the left, Thunderbolt 4.0 on the right.
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.

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