MSI Raider 18 Max HX (2026) vs Dell Alienware 18 Area-51
86
out of 100
VS
62
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 Raider 18 Max HX (2026)
- Can run popular games at about 157-215% higher FPS
- Performs significantly better (up to 2.2x) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
- Around 33% better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench 2024 test
- Provides 100% higher max. screen brightness: 1000 vs 500 nits
- 50% sharper screen – 252 versus 168 pixels per inch (PPI)
Advantages of the Dell Alienware 18 Area-51
- Higher screen refresh rate: 300 versus 120 Hz
- Significantly easier to carry: weighs 450 grams less (around 0.99 lbs)
- Thinner bezels and 17% higher screen-to-body ratio
- Better webcam recording quality
- Much smaller footprint: 15% more compact case (164.1 vs 192.5 square inches)
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
| Weight | 3.6 kg (7.94 lbs) | 3.15 kg (6.95 lbs) |
| Dimensions | 404 x 307.5 x 24-32.05 mm 15.91 x 12.11 x 0.94-1.26 inches |
365 x 290 x 21.6-28.5 mm 14.37 x 11.42 x 0.85-1.12 inches |
| Area | 1242 cm2 (192.7 inches2) | 1059 cm2 (164.1 inches2) |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~75.6% | ~88.7% |
| Side bezels | 8.2 mm | -11.3 mm |
| Colors | Black | Black, Green |
| Material | Top: Aluminum Middle: Plastic Bottom: Plastic |
Top: Aluminum |
| Transformer | No | No |
| Opening angle | 145° | 140° |
Size comparison
| Cooling system | Active | Active |
| Vapor chamber | No | Yes |
| Liquid metal | No | No |
| Number of fans | 2 | 4 |
| Noise level (max. load) | - | 55.9 dB |
Display
| Size | 18 inches | 18 inches |
| Type | Mini LED | IPS LCD |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 300 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes | - |
| PPI | 252 ppi | 168 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
| Resolution | 3840 x 2400 pixels | 2560 x 1600 pixels |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | Yes, HDR10 |
| Sync technology | No | G-Sync |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Coating | Matte | Matte |
| Ambient light sensor | No | No |
| Contrast | - | 1200:1 |
| sRGB color space | 100% | 100% |
| Adobe RGB profile | - | 89.7% |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | 100% | 96.1% |
| Response time | - | 3 ms |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
| Voltage | - | 11.7 V |
| Full charging time | 2:10 hr | 2:00 hr |
| 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 | Right, Bottom | Bottom |
| Charge power | 400 W | 360 W |
| Weight of AC adapter | 1371 grams | 1045 grams |
CPU
CPU name
| Base frequency | 2.7 GHz | 2.4 GHz |
| Turbo frequency | 5.5 GHz | 5.2 GHz |
| Cores | 24 (8P + 16E) | 20 (8P + 12E) |
| Threads | 24 | 20 |
| L3 Cache | 36 MB | 30 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 | - |
| Nvidia Optimus | MUX | Yes, Advanced Optimus |
| Type | Dedicated | Dedicated |
| Fabrication process | 4 nm | 4 nm |
| FLOPS | 37.4 TFLOPS | 9.7-16.6 TFLOPS |
| Memory size | 12 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | GDDR7 | GDDR7 |
| Memory bus | 192 bit | 128 bit |
| Memory speed | ~28 Gbps | ~24 Gbps |
| Shading units (cores) | 5888 | 3328 |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 184 | 104 |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 80 | 48 |
| GPU performance | 37.4 TFLOPS | 9.7-16.6 TFLOPS |
GPU Benchmarks
Steel Nomad Lite Score
| Blender GPU | 5794 | 2769 |
| Solar Bay | 92990 | 40627 |
Expected FPS based on average performance across 9 popular games. Details
RAM
RAM size
| Channels | 2x16 GB | 1x16 GB |
| Clock | 6400 MHz | 6400 MHz |
| Type | DDR5 | DDR5 |
| Upgradable | Yes | Yes |
| Total slots | 2 | 2 |
| Max. ram size | 128 GB | 96 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 | 1x512 GB |
| Upgradable | Yes | Yes |
| Total slots | 2 | 3 |
| NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Audio chip | - | Realtek ALC3329 |
| Speakers | 4.2 (4 tweeters and 2 woofers) | 2.2 (2 tweeters and 2 woofers) |
| Power | 2x2W, 4x2W | 2x2W, 2x2W |
| Dolby Atmos | No | Yes |
| Loudness | - | ~87.9 dB |
| Microphones | 2 | 2 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | v7 | v7 |
| Bluetooth | v5.4 | v5.4 |
| Fingerprint | Yes | No |
| Infrared sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Optical drive | No | No |
| Webcam | Above the display | Above the display |
| Webcam resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 3840 x 2160 |
| USB-A | 3x USB 3.2 | 3x USB 3.2 |
| USB Type-C | 2x USB 4.0 | 2x USB 4.0 |
| Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt 5 | 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 | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary charging port | Yes | Yes |
Input
| Keyboard type | Island | Mechanical |
| Numpad | Yes | Yes |
| Backlight | Yes | Yes |
| Size | 13.0 x 8.2 cm | 13.1 x 8.0 cm |
| Surface | Plastic | Glass |
| Windows Precision | Yes | Yes |
Further details
Notes on Raider 18 Max HX (2026):
- The first NVMe SSD slot supports PCIe Gen 5, the second Gen 4.
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.
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