Review Summary
Expert Rating
MSI celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, but they weren’t the only ones. Monster Hunter, the fantasy-themed role-playing video game franchise also celebrates 20 years this year. It probably makes sense then for both MSI and Monster Hunter to come together in what is called the MSI Crosshair 16HX Monster Hunter Edition laptop. Not only does this laptop boast an awe-inspiring design, but it also delivers exceptional performance. If you are a fan of the Monster Hunter franchise, this piece of hardware will surely make you fall in love. So, what exactly does this ‘monster’ have to offer? Here is the review of the MSI Crosshair 16HX Monster Hunter Edition.
This device was originally reviewed by Florence George, and this article is based on his evaluation.
Here is a video review of the MSI Crosshair 16 HX Monster Hunter edition:
Table of Contents
Pricing
First, let’s get the pricing out of the way. This laptop costs Rs 1,67,990 for the limited edition run, whereas the vanilla variant sells for around Rs 1,40,990.
Design and Build Quality
The top lid of the laptop is metallic, on which you can see Rathalos being beautifully represented, on the bottom left, you can see the MSI X Monster Hunter logo. On opening the lid, you can go all the way to 180 degrees for easier sharing. The keyboard deck is well-built and offers a ton of easter eggs. The dragon totem on the trackpad looks stunning. The theming continues in the software, where the MSI software Center has also been themed to match the laptop.
Display
The display on the MSI Crosshair is a flagship-grade one, with a 16-inch IPS display with QHD+ resolution, 100 per cent DCI-P3 colour gamut, 16:10 aspect ratio, and a refresh rate of 240 Hz. So, for hardcore gaming sessions, or binge-watching shows, this display is going to deliver without any hiccups.
Coming to audio, the speakers on this machine are seriously very impressive. They are loud and crisp, which you can even customise further using the Nahimic audio application that is preinstalled on this laptop.
Keyboard, Trackpad and I/O
In terms of the keyboard, you get a full-size keyboard with great keys, a travel distance of 1.77mm, and 24 zones of RGB backlighting, and looks good. Coming to the trackpad, every time we looked at the dragon totem, our thoughts on the trackpad withered away. However, this was not a glass surface, which could have been splendid if it had been included with the laptop.
In terms of I/O, this laptop is loaded. You get a 3.5mm audio combo jack a USB Type-A port with USB 3.2 Gen 1 speeds, and a Kensington lock on the right side. On the left, you get another USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port. On the rear, you get the complete setup with an HDMI 2.1 PORT, RJ45 LAN port, DC input, and another USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port.
Performance
Coming to performance, this laptop is powered by the latest and greatest Intel Core i7 14700HX CPU with 8 performance and 12 efficiency cores, giving 20 total in number. In terms of RAM, you get 16GB of DDR5 RAM with a frequency of 5600 MHz, 1TB of PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD, and an RTX 4060 GPU with 140W of TGP. In terms of upgradability, you can upgrade the RAM and add an SSD with the given empty SSD slot.
Coming to the software, the MSI Crosshair HX comes with the same MSI Center software with a dedicated MUX switch, and four performance modes, Extreme Performance, Balanced, Silent and Super Battery mode.
We ran a good chunk of benchmarks, and the 14th-gen CPUs deliver with some great numbers. Here are the benchmarks:
In terms of gaming, since this laptop has a fat RTX 4060 with some insane TGP, here are the gaming results. Keep in mind all these games were tested at the native 1600p resolution:
Game | DLSS with Frame Generation | Ray Tracing | Average FPS |
Valorant | Not applied | Not applied | 426 |
Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra Preset) | Not applied | Ultra | 59 |
Forza Horizon 5 (Extreme Preset) | OFF | Not applied | 83 |
GTA 5 (Very High preset) | Not applied | Not applied | 96 |
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Max preset) | OFF | Not applied | 53.5 |
Ghost of Tsushima (Very High preset) | ON | Not applied | 79 |
Horizon Forbidden West (Very High preset) | ON | Not applied | 51 |
Alan Wake 2 (High preset) | ON | OFF | 53 |
Alan Wake 2 (High preset) | ON | ON | 26 |
Battery
In terms of battery, the MSI Crosshair 16HX comes with an 88 Whr battery which ran for around 6 hours and 37 minutes in our PCMark video playback test, which is frankly quite decent for a gaming laptop of this prowess.
Verdict
If we set aside the limited edition aspect and focus on the broader picture, this is a solid gaming laptop. It both looks and performs like a true gaming machine. For fans of Monster Hunter, this laptop is not only a functional powerhouse but also a collectable piece, embodying the essence of the game in all the key areas.|
Editors Rating: 8.5 / 10
Pros
- Impressive display
- Decent battery life
- Good performance
Cons
- A glass trackpad could have been better