Why is the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D processor so fast?
AMD set-out to make the world’s fastest mobile gaming processor and tests show it succeeded: Intel’s rival is 44 per cent behind in some games and the Ryzen even beats its own previous champion by up to 65 per cent when playing at 4K.
The boosted performance comes courtesy of AMD’s combination of several technologies. These include its Zen 5 architecture, 4nm manufacturing process and 16 cores (running 32 threads) that operate between 2.5GHz and 5.4GHz. Arguably the prime innovation, however, is AMD’s special 128MB of V-Cache: 64MB of which is arranged in 3D. If those terms bamboozle you, know that this manifests in the form of higher-performance and more-consistent framerates. The combo is also the primary reason that the MSI Raider A18 HX A9W recently came first in every single one of our general computing and processor-based tests which include Ai and rendering workloads!
The MSI Raider A18 HX A9W is so powerful, that it’s even being used to power SLM Ai solutions in office environments. There it can help with Edge computing tasks like meeting summarisation, presentation optimisation, interactive learning, semantic analysis in videos plus, writing assistance.
What Happens When You Add Nvidia’s Top GPU?
The new Raider A18 backs-up the processor’s potency with Nvidia’s top-tier GeForce RTX 5090 graphics processor (with its 24GB of rapid GDDR7 RAM) – something that some other manufacturers are not able to deliver due to marketing deals with Intel! The combination of the two destroyed the joint when it came to even the toughest 4K game tests (with full detail settings and ray-tracing eye-candy activated). On top of that, Nvidia’s DLSS 4 technology further boosts framerates by up to 1.9x at 4K resolutions and its Reflex 2 tech can reduce input latency by 75 per cent, for improved responsiveness.
How MSI Mixes It All Together
While any laptop manufacturer can potentially throw together the best components and make them work together, doing it well, in a relatively thin chassis, by making them operate consistently at their maximum potential (without overheating-based stability issues), is a completely different story.
MSI’s mature Cooler Boost technology, which utilises two fans and seven, shared heat pipes (there’s even a dedicated one for an SSD), plus a bespoke ‘3D-Stand’ vent configuration, ensures the Raider A18 HX A9W rarely gets more-than warm – even when under heavy load. It also enables MSI’s OverBoost Ultra technology to stably deliver (higher-than-normal) 260-Watts of power to both the CPU and GPU simultaneously.
This background tech is all activated using the intuitive MSI Center application which lets you set ‘Extreme Performance Mode’ to automatically push both the CPU and GPU clocks beyond their stock ceiling. You can even manually tinker with the settings to push things even further.
What’s the MSI Raider A18 HX A9W Like To Use?
We weren’t too surprised to see that the latest Raider also achieved top scores for features, usability and design. It looks sophisticated and classy with its black chassis’ aggressive-yet-understated lines, vents and red accents. But, when you fire-up the RGB, you’ve suddenly got a gaming beast that will turn heads at the glitziest LAN party thanks to the glowing, colourful Dragon logo, per-key-lit keyboard and awesome Mystic Light bar, at the front.
The super-bright (1,000-nit) 18-inch UHD+ (3,840 x 2,400 resolution) Mini LED screen is one of the best we’ve ever tested, thanks to its vibrant colours, amazing HDR (2,000,000:1 contrast ratio), reflection-free finish and high colour accuracy (it supports 100 per cent of the tricky DCI-P3 colour gamut which creators will like). There’s plenty of screen real estate for working with multiple documents simultaneously. More importantly, games run smooth and blur-free thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate and fast pixel response time. Multimedia looks phenomenal.
It sounds amazing too, thanks to its four(!) 2-Watt speakers and two, 2-Watt subs!
The steelseries keyboard is very comfortable and accurate to type upon. It also features full-sized arrow keys, a full-sized number pad and multiple useful shortcuts.
Other features include a full complement of the latest, wired and wireless connections (including Wi-Fi 7). Plus, there’s a Full HD webcam and infrared camera that (along with a fingerprint reader) supports Window Hello log-on.
In addition to all that, there’s a max-size 99.9Wh battery which can be used in conjunction with Nvidia’s MUX switch (which disables the discrete GPU) to extend battery life. While, it’s not light (for a laptop), at 3.6KG, it’s dramatically smaller than an equivalent desktop PC and can be locked securely in a drawer when not in use. The sturdy Magnesium-Aluminium alloy chassis means it can survive being transported, too.
Where Can You Find An MSI Raider A18 HX A9W?
Ultimately, the MSI Raider A18 HX A9W is the supremely powered desktop-replacement laptop that’s worthy of being your next computer. Find out where to buy one, here!
Related:Â Read our full MSI Raider A18 HX A9W review.
Related: Check out MSI’s other 18-inch laptop options.
This article originally appeared, here.