The laptop I’m currently holding in my hands is the MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V. This is the latest gaming laptop from the Taiwanese brand. As with most of the other laptops recently tested on this site, such as the Aorus 16X ASG 2024, it’s packed with powerful components to ensure smooth, trouble-free gaming sessions.
To give you a taste of what’s on offer, let me tell you that it’s equipped with an i9 14900HX, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 (laptop) and a 16-inch QHD+ screen with a 240 Hz refresh rate. Enough to make you want to buy one, but it’s time to see what it’s really worth.
MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V design
As with most computers of this type, it’s immediately clear that this is a gaming-oriented computer. What I mean by this is a rather aggressive shape, especially on the rear edge, which houses a number of connectors and air vents.
When I first saw the MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V, it was closed, which makes sense. I’ll start by describing the rear of the screen. The latter is rather simple, featuring only the MSI logo, which is backlit once the machine is switched on, on the top of its surface.
The computer comes in black and red, the brand’s flagship colors. Personally, I think they match perfectly, and I’m used to seeing them, so there’s nothing really noteworthy here.
Just below the back of the screen, you’ll find the support for pivoting the screen. The latter is made up of several raised eyes, which might lead us to think that it’s an air vent, but in fact it’s not. This detail is there simply for aesthetic purposes, nothing more. For my part, I find that it reinforces the “aggressive” side of the MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V, which is rather good.
A closer look at the rear edge of the computer reveals a number of convenient connectors to make life easier for users. These include two USB-C ports, a USB-A port, an RJ45 port and an HDMI port. What’s more, I noticed that there are two huge air vents on either side of the PC. An additional aesthetic touch is the gold piping just above all these modules.
Since we’ve been talking about the rear edge, why not continue with the front? It’s not the kind of part of a laptop I dwell on, but here, it’s important to talk about it. Indeed, its entirety is covered by a large LED bar backlit in RGB when the MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V is switched on. I think this may be the first time I’ve seen this, and I confess it came as something of a surprise. On the other hand, I still don’t know if I think it’s pretty, or if it’s too much. I don’t really have an opinion on this point.
The right-hand side of the computer also offers a few additional connectors. There are two more USB-A ports and the USB-C power port. In addition, another ventilation outlet is fitted on this side, with the aim of optimizing the beast’s cooling. A sound output is also present underneath all of the above. The sound outputs on this computer are by Dynaudio.
On the left-hand side, there’s a USB-C port, an SD card slot and a 3.5 mm jack for connecting any audio device, from headphones to speakers. An additional sound and ventilation outlet has also been added.
Now it’s time to open up the beast and reveal its screen, keyboard and trackpad. I’m going to start by telling you about the 16-inch screen on the MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V. I’m not going to talk about the technical specifications here, just the physical appearance. The latter has very slim sides, which is appreciable. The bottom edge displays the “MSI” iscription in silver, and the top is dedicated to the webcam, capable of 30 fps 1080p filming. I also noticed the presence of a latch to hide your webcam when you’re not using it.
Let’s move on to the keyboard. You’ll immediately recognize the MSI style when you look at it, particularly in terms of the font used. It is, of course, backlit, and the Z, Q, S and D keys are transparent to make them even more visible in the dark, given that these are the keys most often used in games, especially for moving around. The ignition key is also transparent.
As for the trackpad, it couldn’t be more classic, if I do say so myself. In fact, it’s of standard size and offers nothing out of the ordinary. Mind you, this is not a criticism, just a fact. Two additional sound outputs are located on either side of the trackpad, to optimize sound spatialization.
Finally, because it wasn’t enough, the underside of the PC features a third sound output, which is much more extensive, even revealing the transducers. If you have a good eye, you’ll notice the “MSI” lettering on the wire mesh covering the whole thing.
MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V specifications
| Model | MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V |
| PC type | Gaming |
| Processor | Intel Core i9 14900HX |
| Number of processor cores | 24 cores |
| Number of threads | 32 threads |
| RAM | 32 GB DDR5 |
| RAM frequency | 5600 MHz |
| Storage | 2 TB PCIe NVMe |
| Graphics card | Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop |
| Resolution | 2560 x 1600 pixels |
| Diagonal | 16-inch |
| Display frequency | 240 Hz |
| Touch screen | No |
| Keyboard type | Per-Key RGB Gaming Keyboard by SteelSeries |
| Battery | Lithium-Polymer |
| Charging power | 330 W |
| Backlit keyboard | Yes |
| Trackpad | Yes |
| Speaker | – 2 speakers – 2 woofers (subwoofers) |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 7 |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Connectivity | – One HDMI port – Three USB-C ports – Two USB-A ports – One 3.5 mm jack port – One RJ45 port – One SD port |
| Webcam | 1080p / 30 fps |
| Weight | 2.75 kg |
MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V performance
The MSI Raider GE68 is equipped with an Intel Core i9 14900HX processor – in other words, the most powerful laptop processor on the market, just like the Razer Blade 16 2024. With this, 32 GB of RAM in DDR5, which is very decent, even if we could have had 64 GB, I’m not convinced it’s really of any use for gaming.
With this, the machine is equipped with a 2TB SSD, in PCIe 4, but nothing dramatic, as PCIe 5 is not mandatory for gaming, far from it. Finally, the configuration is completed by an RTX 4080, a high-performance card from Nvidia, in laptop version here.
The processor is powerful, both single-core and multi-core, and it has to be said that it’s well ventilated. In fact, the computer’s ventilation is efficient, but I regret that it’s activated at every turn.
Here, the M1 Ultra chip is left at a short distance, but is less efficient. In any case, while Apple’s processor part is very good, in terms of graphics card performance, it’s clearly not as good as an RTX 4080.
The performance score on GeekBench is also excellent, thanks to the machine’s good cooling. We can complain about fans that blow easily, but at least it works!
As for RAM, the MSI Raider GE68 comes with 32 GB of DDR5 RAM. The latter is clocked at 5600 MHz, a typical speed for a laptop.
Throughputs are very good, with somewhat high latencies, but nothing dramatic.
Throughputs are very good, with nearly 7,000 MB/s sequential read and over 5,000 MB/s sequential write.
Finally comes the graphics card, in this case an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 laptop edition, a high-performance model all the same.
Performance is excellent, as always with impeccable cooling, giving way to impeccable fluidity on all games.
MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V screen
As you’ll have seen several times earlier in the review, the screen measures 16 inches, which isn’t huge, especially when compared to the Alienware m18 R2. Personally, I prefer smaller screens for laptops, as they greatly enhance portability.
When switched on, the screen in question is very bright, with 1000 nits (the amount of light distributed over a square meter). As well as being bright, it’s also very good in terms of color, which is a considerable advantage when playing a game, or watching a film or video, for example.
Its matte surface eliminates annoying reflections on OLED screens, while the mini-LED backlights enable performance very close to absolute black, which is remarkable. It’s also compatible with Windows HDR, which not only reveals detail in bright and dark areas, but also ensures that bright lights pop off the screen for enhanced immersion, while avoiding banding during color and monochromatic transitions. The result is excellent multimedia performance and a crisp, clear Windows interface.
The screen also boasts a maximum refresh rate of 240 Hz, which is more than enough for gaming in the best possible conditions. I would add that I didn’t notice any blurred movements, which is a good point. All in all, this is an excellent screen, although not the best available on the market. So unless you’re a particularly demanding gamer, it should be more than adequate for everyone.
Keyboard and trackpad
I think it’s important to pay attention to the keyboard and trackpad of the MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V. Although I always connect external peripherals to this kind of device, some people will still see the point and wonder whether they’re any good or not.
Honestly, the keyboard is a pleasure to use. It’s very comfortable as well as precise, and will suit anyone who wants to play for long sessions. What’s more, you can assign numerous shortcuts to it, which is a plus. Personally, I never use keyboard shortcuts, but I know that many people do.
I’d like to talk about the arrow keys, which are quite small compared to conventional keyboards. That’s a fact, but it doesn’t bother me at all, as they’re still perfectly usable. As for the trackpad, it’s wide and smooth, and the buttons are pleasantly quiet.
MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V audio quality
I was particularly impressed by the audio quality of this laptop. Yes, because in general, all those I’ve been able to test are good in this respect, but without any extravagance. Here, the sound is really good, and it’s no coincidence that MSI really hasn’t neglected this aspect of the PC.
The MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V is equipped with two speakers and two woofers. I find that the balance between the two is perfect, giving us a very good audio performance. It’s powerful in terms of sound output, without being saturated, and very pleasant to listen to.
The fact that the audio outputs are strategically placed on the laptop allows for optimized sound spatialization, with the aim of covering as many places as possible, which is, from my user experience, quite successful.
MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V connectivity
You’ve been informed of this in the product design and specifications section, but I thought it would be worthwhile to review the computer’s overall connectivity, in order to provide a reminder.
So it has just about every kind of wired connector you could need, but also boasts state-of-the-art wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. I was particularly keen to carry out our Wi-Fi tests (as part of another job), which involve downloading large video files from a fast NAS connected to the router via a 10 Gbps Ethernet cable: we achieved a record speed of 161 Mbps!
This is faster performance than many wired connections, which means you can work on large multimedia files over a wireless network.
MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V battery life
When you invest in a laptop, it’s usually because you know you’re likely to be on the move a lot, or at least that’s the logical reasoning. So it’s vital that it has a decent battery life, to last at least a day without recharging.
As a reminder, the battery is 99.9 Wh, which is actually quite strategic on MSI’s part. Indeed, beyond 100 Wh, a PC battery cannot be taken on board an airplane. Which would be a problem in our case, because the whole point of having a laptop is to be able to take it with you wherever you go when you travel.
The MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V is capable of lasting around 7 hours when not on the mains. That’s decent battery life, though not incredible either. This is due in part to the many technologies on board, such as the mini-LED display, which is quite power-hungry. Generally speaking, though, you don’t buy this kind of laptop with the intention of working with it all day, which is why I’m remaining fairly passive on this point.
MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V : Reviews
The MSI Raider GE68 HX 14V is undeniably a computer designed for gaming. Whether it’s its design, full of aggression and RGB, or its performance, which is clearly optimized for gaming.
Despite its battery life, which is far from the best, it’s still a very good PC overall. But then, I have to admit that for 3750 euros, I personally find it more advantageous to build a tower myself. But it’s true that if you’re interested in a laptop, it’s certainly with the aim of taking it everywhere with you, something impossible with a tower.