MSI Vector A18 HX (2025) vs Stealth 18 HX AI (2026)
72
out of 100
VS
69
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 Vector A18 HX (2025)
- Includes an old-school USB-A port
- Performs better (up to 34%) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
- Can run popular games at about 10-14% higher FPS
Advantages of the MSI Stealth 18 HX AI (2026)
- Significantly easier to carry: weighs 710 grams less (around 1.57 lbs)
- Thinner bezels and 7% higher screen-to-body ratio
- Around 20% better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench 2024 test
- Smaller footprint: 7% more compact case (179.6 vs 192.5 square inches)
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
| Weight | 3.6 kg (7.94 lbs) | 2.89 kg (6.37 lbs) |
| Dimensions | 404 x 307.5 x 24-32.05 mm 15.91 x 12.11 x 0.94-1.26 inches |
399.99 x 289.67 x 19.9-23.99 mm 15.75 x 11.4 x 0.78-0.94 inches |
| Area | 1242 cm2 (192.7 inches2) | 1159 cm2 (179.6 inches2) |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~75.6% | ~81.1% |
| Side bezels | 8.2 mm | 6.1 mm |
| Colors | Gray | Black |
| Material | Top: Aluminum Middle: Plastic Bottom: Plastic |
Aluminum |
| Transformer | No | No |
| Opening angle | 145° | 170° |
Size comparison
| Cooling system | Active | Active |
| Vapor chamber | No | Yes |
| Liquid metal | No | No |
| Number of fans | 2 | 2 |
| Noise level (max. load) | - | 63 dB |
Display
| Size | 18 inches | 18 inches |
| Type | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
| Refresh rate | 144 Hz | 144 Hz |
| 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 | No |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Coating | Matte | Matte |
| Ambient light sensor | No | No |
Battery
Capacity
| Full charging time | - | 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, 140 W |
| Charging port position | Right, Bottom | Right, Bottom |
| Charge power | 400 W | 280 W |
| Weight of AC adapter | - | 723 grams |
CPU
CPU name
| Base frequency | 3.0 GHz | 2.4 GHz |
| Turbo frequency | 5.2 GHz | 5.2 GHz |
| Cores | 12 | 20 (8P + 12E) |
| Threads | 24 | 20 |
| L3 Cache | 64 MB | 30 MB |
| Integrated GPU | Radeon 610M | Arc Graphics (4-Cores) |
| Fabrication process | 4 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 | 140 W | 115 W |
| Nvidia Optimus | MUX | MUX |
| Type | Dedicated | Dedicated |
| Fabrication process | 4 nm | 4 nm |
| FLOPS | 31.2 TFLOPS | 26.2 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 | 4608 |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 184 | 144 |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 80 | 48 |
| GPU performance | 31.2 TFLOPS | 26.2 TFLOPS |
GPU Benchmarks
Steel Nomad Lite Score
| Blender GPU | 5896 | 4748 |
| Solar Bay | 90309 | 67471 |
Expected FPS based on average performance across 9 popular games. Details
RAM
RAM size
| Channels | 2x16 GB | 2x16 GB |
| Clock | 5600 MHz | 6400 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 4.0 (4x) |
| Storage type | SSD (M2) | SSD (M2) |
| Channels | 1x1024 GB | 1x1024 GB |
| Upgradable | Yes | Yes |
| Total slots | 2 | 2 |
| NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | 4.0 | 2.4 (2 tweeters and 4 woofers) |
| Power | 4x2W | 2x2W, 4x2W |
| Dolby Atmos | No | No |
| Loudness | - | ~90 dB |
| Microphones | 2 | 2 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | v7 | v7 |
| Bluetooth | v5.4 | v5.4 |
| Fingerprint | No | Yes |
| Infrared sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Optical drive | No | No |
| Webcam | Above the display | Above the display |
| Webcam resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 |
| 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 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 type | Island | Island |
| Numpad | Yes | Yes |
| Backlight | Yes | Yes |
| Size | 13.0 x 8.2 cm | 13.5 x 9.0 cm |
| Surface | Plastic | Plastic |
| Windows Precision | Yes | Yes |
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.
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Total votes: 5