MSI Titan 18 HX AI (2025) vs Dell Alienware m18 R2

Please select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Display
CPU
GPU
RAM
Storage

Review

Evaluation of MSI Titan 18 HX AI (2025) and Dell Alienware m18 R2 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
NanoReview Score
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Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

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Currency
VS
17.3
(Bad)
Value Index
32.3
(Mediocre)

Key Differences

What are the key differences between the notebooks
Advantages of the MSI Titan 18 HX AI (2025)
  • Significantly easier to carry: weighs 630 grams less (around 1.39 lbs)
  • Can run popular games at about 52-71% higher FPS
  • Around 2x better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench 2024 test
  • Performs significantly better (up to 93%) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
  • Thinner bezels and 6% higher screen-to-body ratio
Advantages of the Dell Alienware m18 R2
  • Higher screen refresh rate: 480 versus 144 Hz
  • Higher number of cutting-edge USB Type-C ports: 3 versus 2

Tests and Specifications

Comparison table of test results and technical specs

Case

Weight 3.6 kg (7.94 lbs) 4.23 kg (9.33 lbs)
Dimensions 404 x 307.5 x 24-32.05 mm
15.91 x 12.11 x 0.94-1.26 inches
410.3 x 319.9 x 24.1-25.1 mm
16.15 x 12.59 x 0.95-0.99 inches
Area 1242 cm2 (192.7 inches2) 1313 cm2 (203.3 inches2)
Screen-to-body ratio ~75.6% ~71.6%
Side bezels 8.2 mm 11.3 mm
Colors Gray Black
Material Aluminum Aluminum
Transformer No No
Opening angle 145° 135°
Size comparison
Cooling solution
Cooling system Active Active
Vapor chamber Yes Optional
Liquid metal No Yes
Number of fans 2 4
Noise level (max. load) 58.9 dB 56.6 dB

Display

Size 18 inches 18 inches
Type IPS LCD IPS LCD
Refresh rate 144 Hz 480 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No -
PPI 126 ppi 126 ppi
Aspect ratio 16:10 16:10
Resolution 1920 x 1200 pixels 1920 x 1200 pixels
HDR support No No
Sync technology No G-Sync
Touchscreen No No
Coating Matte Matte
Ambient light sensor No No
Display tests
Contrast - 1000:1
Adobe RGB profile - 100%
Response time - 3 ms
Max. brightness

Battery

Capacity
Voltage - 11.4 V
Full charging time 2:00 hr 2:00 hr
Battery type Li-Po Li-Ion
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 280 / 360 W
Weight of AC adapter 860 grams 1076 grams

CPU

CPU name
Base frequency 2.7 GHz 2.2 GHz
Turbo frequency 5.4 GHz 5.2 GHz
Cores 24 (8P + 16E) 16 (8P + 8E)
Threads 24 24
L3 Cache 36 MB 30 MB
Integrated GPU Arc Graphics (4-Cores) Intel UHD Graphics (16EU)
Fabrication process 3 nm 10 nm

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

Graphics Card

GPU name
TGP 140 W 140 W
Nvidia Optimus MUX MUX
Type Dedicated Dedicated
Fabrication process 4 nm 5 nm
GPU base clock - 2295 MHz
GPU boost clock - 2370 MHz
FLOPS 31.2 TFLOPS 16 TFLOPS
Memory size 12 GB 8 GB
Memory type GDDR7 GDDR6
Memory bus 192 bit 128 bit
Memory speed ~28 Gbps ~16 Gbps
Shading units (cores) 5888 3072
Texture mapping units (TMUs) 184 96
Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) 80 48
GPU performance 31.2 TFLOPS 16 TFLOPS

GPU Benchmarks

Steel Nomad Lite Score
Blender GPU 5755 3566
Solar Bay 98053 53453
Expected FPS based on average performance across 9 popular games. Details

RAM

RAM size
Channels 2x16 GB 1x8 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 3 4
NVMe Yes Yes

Sound

Audio chip - Realtek ALC3254
Speakers 4.2 (4 tweeters and 2 woofers) 2.0
Power 4x2W, 2x2W 2x2W
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Loudness ~87.4 dB ~82.5 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 3x USB 3.2
USB Type-C 2x USB 4.0 3x USB 4.0
Thunderbolt Thunderbolt 5 Thunderbolt 4
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
Keyboard type Mechanical Mechanical
Numpad Yes Yes
Backlight Yes Yes
Key travel - 1.8 mm
Touchpad
Size 13.0 x 8.2 cm 13.1 x 8.0 cm
Surface Glass Glass
Windows Precision Yes Yes
Further details
Notes on Titan 18 HX AI (2025):
    - One NVMe slot supports PCIe Gen 4, while the other supports PCIe Gen 5.
Notes on Alienware m18 R2:
    - A 32GB memory option supports 6400 MHz via XMP, while others max out at 5600 MHz.
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.

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Total votes: 3

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