YouTube channel, 修电脑的张哥, roughly translated to Zhang the Computer Repairman, has posted a video this morning because of the sheer volume of Nvidia GPUs they have had sent in for repair in just the past two days alone. And they're all because of burnt interfaces between the 12+4-pin power cable and the card itself.

Seven cards in total have come in for repair (via Uniko's Hardware), mostly RTX 5090 cards, along with Asus and MSI RTX 4090. They all come from various manufacturers; as well as Asus and MSI there is also a Gainward card in the mix as well as a Founders Edition RTX 5090, too.

You can see in the video that either the socket interface is burned, sometimes blackening the PCB, or the 12+4-pin power connector itself has melted into the socket and the user has had to snip the cable off in order to be able to send the card in for testing.

Zhang makes the necessary repairs to each of the cards—removing the interface, cleaning the contacts, and soldering on a new 12+4-pin socket—and then goes ahead and tests each one of them. With the new sockets in place, the repaired cards are back in action and while the GPUs run through some 3DMark benchmarks he checks the temperatures on the cards and the cables.

Some still run a little hot, with the cables at the PSU also running pretty toasty, but nothing particularly worrying at this point.

But still the fact remains that this is a really high volume of cards coming into a single repairshop, all presenting the same symptoms and all from different manufacturers, too. He does also note the users are not necessarily running weak PSUs, and some are even from lab computers (though these might also get hammered more than a card someone is using to game on at home).

It might be that it's a very popular repair channel on BiliBili and YouTube, so potentially he might get sent more than other shops, but it's obvsiously still an issue. It feels like, on a long enough timeline, a whole lot of RTX graphics cards using a 12+4-pin connector are going to suffer from this problem.

One thing Zhang does note is that during use, if you touch the back of your finger against the power cable, maybe an inch or so above the GPU connector, you should feel it being a little warm. But if it's notably too hot to touch then there's likely an issue.

Likewise he suggests keeping an eye on the power draw via GPU-Z, and particularly the 12+4-pin voltage readout. With failing cards, he notes that if the 12+4-pin voltage drops well below 12 V—to 11.3 or 11.4—then there is likely an issue and you should check the temperature by hand at that point.

What's clear though is this issue isn't going away, isn't purely down to dodgy vendor adaptors or old PSUs, or even miss-aligned cables. The amount of power being drawn by these beefy cards is melting cables and connectors, and if you have one of these GPUs it's worth monitoring it on the regular.

That said, if you want a little more peace of mind, there are new gadgets that can offer some. If not complete protection, then some forewarning of an issue before it becomes a melty mess. Such as this new OCP dongle from Super Flower.

Never fear, though—if you have slightly less deep pockets but still want a 50-series prebuilt gaming PC, I've found two more deals with 32 GB of RAM for your consideration. Picking between the two, however, might be a touch difficult.

Quick list

• Skytech Gaming PC Desktop | RTX 5070 | $1,700 (save $200)
• MSI Codex R2 Gaming Desktop | RTX 5070 | $1,700

RTX 5070 gaming PC deal #1

The first machine that piqued my keen was a Skytech Gaming prebuilt. This bad boy boasts an RTX 5070, 1 TB of SSD storage, and even 32 GB of RAM for $1,700 from Amazon. Obviously, that's not the full story and the bigger picture is not without caveats.

Let's get this out of the way: that's 32 GB of DDR4. That's still not awful given these times of memory supply crisis, but it's still not DDR5. Such an offering is perked up a bit by the inclusion of the Intel Core i7 14700F processor, which remains great for gaming.

RTX 5070 gaming PC deal #2

Moving swiftly on to my second suggestion: the MSI Codex R2, which is also going for $1,700 at Walmart. This is another prebuilt machine rocking an RTX 5070, 1 TB of SSD storage, and 32 GB of DDR5. So, what's the catch?

It's the processor, which is the Intel Core i5-14400F. A successor to the Core i5 13400F, it's by no means a terrible processor but it is very much a budget option. For sure, many more reasonably priced prebuilts keep costs down by choosing this very CPU.

That means you've got the option to upgrade the chip down the line, which may be a more cost-effective strategy for some than planning to upgrade to DDR5 in the future (unfortunately, it doesn't appear the memory supply crisis and its runaway prices will be ending any time soon). But the choice is up to you: while gaming PC prices are soaring in general, are you willing to compromise on memory or the CPU?

Truly, there are some spectacular deals this year when it comes to gaming monitors. It's almost bizarre when you consider that memory chips are basically now worth their weight in gold.

AI will tell you that monitors use different supply chains from chips, that there's actually overcapacity in the display panel industry and that tariffs can be sidestepped by conducting final assembly in countries that attract relatively low tariffs like Mexico and Vietnam. But still, a 4K high-refresh model for $250, a price that wouldn't secure the feeblest gaming graphics card? It's hard to compute.

• We're curating all the best Prime Day PC gaming deals here

Whatever, I've also been wondering when OLED monitors would get affordable. Well, that's happened this year with several models under $300. As I write these words, the cheapest is the Acer Nitro VG277U Xbiip at just $270.

Granted that uses Samsung's budget QD-OLED panel that isn't the brightest. But the AOC Agon Pro AG276QZD2 can be had for a whisker over $330 which has the proper 1,000 nit panel and 240 refresh Hz.

Meanwhile, it really wasn't long ago that high-refresh 4K was very much a premium monitor configuration. Now you can get the 144 Hz 27-inch MSI MAG 275UPD for $220. It even has a 288 Hz 1080p dual mode for esports versatility and IPS panel tech. What a bargain.

The slight snag is that you'll need about $5,000's worth of GPU to drive a 4K panel optimally. OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration. An RTX 5070 does a surprisingly good job at 4K thanks to the magic of DLSS upscaling. But the broader point holds. The cost of gaming monitors is out of sync with the rest of the PC, right now, in a good way.

Another of my favourite categories for gaming is 34-inch ultrawide. The 3,440 by 1,440 native resolution doesn't make for the best pixel density. But it is less demanding on the GPU and the size and panoramic scale of 34-inch ultrawides makes for such fantastic in-game immersion.

So, here's the good news. You can get a high-refresh 34-inch ultrawide for just $220 this Prime Day in the MSI MAG 346CQ. The bad news is that, for whatever reason, 34-inch ultrawide OLEDs are actually pretty pricey. The cheapest I can find is this AOC for $599, well over double the price of the most affordable 27-inch 1440p OLED.

Indeed, you can get a 32-inch 4K OLED for less in the $571 MSI MAG 321UP. Heck, even the magisterial Alienware AW3926QW, all 39 inches and 5,120 by 2,160 pixels of it, "only" goes for $1,100.

So, those 34-inch OLED ultrawides are the one segment of the monitor market that doesn't look that appealing price-wise, this year. But there's amazing value to be had just about everywhere else.

As for what I would pick, well, if my budget stretched to it, the obvious choice is that 39-inch Alienware. It's not actually on sale, but the $1,100 launch price was a lot lower than most expected.

Back in the real world, I think a 34-inch ultrawide for a whisker over $200 is hard to overlook. That's a really premium, highly immersive gaming experience at a truly affordable price point.

So, if a new GPU isn't a realistic option in 2026 and, more generally, the cost of a full PC upgrade has ballooned to nightmarish proportions, thank goodness we at least have these remarkably cheap gaming monitors provide one fairly attainable option for improving your gaming experience this year. Be sure to check out all the Prime Day gaming monitor deals.

👉Shop all of Amazon's gaming monitor deals here👈

If you're looking for the most immersive gaming experience around $200 will buy, I doubt you'll do better than the MSI MAG 346CQ. This 34-inch ultrawide hits 180 Hz and even though it's not the brightest, the inherent contrast of its VA panel should make for pretty vibrant visuals.

Key specs: 34-inch | 3440 x 1440 | 180 Hz | 1 ms | VAView Deal

Memory chips and GPUs may be silly money these days. But, if anything, gaming monitors just keep getting cheaper. How about a 34-inch ultrawide with 180 Hz refresh a 1 ms response for $220?

Personally, I'm totally sold on ultrawide panels for both gaming and daily computing. I love the immersion in games and the multi-tasking versatility back on the desktop. So, $220 for that fantastic experience? Yes please.

Our cut-price ultrawide muse for Prime Day 2026 is the MSI MAG 346CQ, yours for $220 from Best Buy. Along with the 34-inch 21:9 proportions and obligatory 3,440 by 1,440 resolution, headline specs include 300 nits brightness, 180 Hz refresh and 1 ms response.

• We're curating all the best Prime Day PC gaming deals here

Inevitably given the punchy pricing, this is a VA panel. That doesn't always translate into the very best pixel response. But the 1 ms rating means the MSI MAG 346CQ ought to have tolerable response. ANd the 180 Hz refresh rate certainly means decently low latency.

On the other hand, VA offers easily the best static contrast of any LCD technology, as implied by the 4,000:1 contrast ratio. That's miles better than any IPS panel and generally means VA monitors seem more vibrant and immersive than IPS.

That contrast performance will also help this monitor punch a little above its peak brightness rating. 300 nits is a little on the low side, after all.

Look, I'm not going to pretend that this thing is going to teach a cutting-edge OLED panel some new tricks. You've got to accept a few compromises at this kind of price point.

But this year's Prime Day deals are, unfortunately, a bit pants when it comes to 34-inch ultrawide OLEDs. The absolute cheapest I can find is this $600 AOC. And as much as I'm a big fan of OLED, almost three times the price is very hard to stomach.

👉Shop all of Amazon's gaming monitor deals here👈

It's "only" 165 Hz, but the MSI MAG 321UP is otherwise a very premium 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor for less than half the price these things used to go for in 2024. I can't think of a better way to spend about $500 on your gaming setup.

Key specs: 32-inch | 4K | 165 Hz | 0.03 ms | QD-OLEDView Deal

Ignoring 39-inch 5K2K monsters, I generally flip-flop between 34-inch ultrawide and 32-inch 4K when it comes to OLED gaming monitors. Today, I'm leaning 32-inch 4K, and I'm very much eyeballing this great Prime Day deal on an MSI model for well under $600.

There's also an intriguing 27-inch 4K option, but we'll come to that in a jiffy. First, the MSI MAG 321UP, yours for $571 on Amazon. It's a familiar unit, but none the worse for that. When this format of monitor based on Samsung's QD-OLED panel tech originally appeared in 2024, you were looking around $1,200. Now it's yours for less than half the price.

This particular model runs at a "mere" 165 Hz rather than the 240 Hz of more expensive variants. But then the idea that you're going to be running demanding games at 240 fps-plus at 4K is pretty implausible.

• We're curating all the best Prime Day PC gaming deals here

What you don't lose out on with this cheapest of 4K OLEDs is the bananas 0.03 ms response time, the perfect per-pixel lighting, the incredibly punchy colours of QD-OLED tech, all enhanced by the elevated pixel density of 4K.

Inevitably, this is a first-gen 4K QD-OLED panel with 250 nits full-screen and 1,000 nits peak HDR brightness. The latest 32-inch 4K QD-OLEDs are a touch brighter. And the USB-C input is limited to 15 W of power delivery. But make no mistake, this remains one of the great PC gaming experiences.

That said, if desk space is at an absolute premium or pixel density is a major priority, you might just prefer a 27-inch model. Not a problem, because there's an MSI 27 incher that's actually slightly cheaper.

The MSI MAG 272UP has had a haircut for Prime Day to $549 on Newegg. Again, it's a 165 Hz model to help bring the price down. Actually, the specs are pretty much the same across the board, including the 250 nit full screen and 1,000 nit peak HDR ratings. Indeed, the USB-C interface is again limited to 15 W.

So, the appeal here is the smaller panel but with the same 4K native resolution that makes for a tighter pixel pitch and even sharper image. For the record, if you really do desire the highest possible refresh rate, the Acer Predator X27 X1bmiippruzx is a very similar 27-inch 4K QD-OLED option that runs at 240 Hz for a $30 premium.

I'd personally sacrifice a touch of pixel precision for a larger 32-inch panel and both the gaming immersion and extra day-to-day elbow room that it allows. But the choice is yours, and any 4K OLED is going to be a fabulous experience.

👉Shop all of Amazon's gaming monitor deals here👈

In ol' blighty, in the realm of the surprisingly good cooking and cheap dental care, it's a whole other story. What you get for a meagre £1,300 first looks quite solid. And although, yes, that's probably three days of heating this coming winter, if you forgo the soothing warmth of your radiators for a bit you can net yourself an RTX 5060, Core i7 14650HX, and 16 GB of (gloriously dual-channel) 5,600 MT/s DDR5 RAM, all paired nicely with a crisp 2560x1440 "IPS-level" display flickering along 165 times every single second.

For that outlay, I wouldn't blame you in thinking that this is a surprisingly tempting proposition, especially as Black Friday is right around the corner. But it's not without fault, and there's some curious side-effects as a result of the cooling design, that you need to be aware of before you pull the trigger and tell grandma to grab another coat to keep warm.

MSI Katana 15 HX - Features

So, we've covered the basics already, chunky GPU that kinda pairs nicely with the 2560 x 1440 "IPS-level" display, 115 W TGP which should give the card a bit of leg room to clock-up nice and high. Should. You get WiFi 6E, and Bluetooth as standard. As well as three USB Type-A ports, a USB-C, Ethernet, 3.5 mm audio, and HDMI out too. That's not a huge amount of connectivity; you may need a USB hub or dongle if you're going to spin this up as your main rig with a few extra periphs, but it's a comfortable enough experience if you're on the move, and I've seen worse recently. Razer's Blade 16, doesn't even come with ethernet and that thing costs a staggering five grand or thereabouts (although to be fair it is very good).

The SSD is a bit underwhelming mind you. It's one of Samsung's… well, I'm not going to reel off the serial code because it's one of those cryptic OEM-only designations that makes no sense to any human that reads it, but in short its an OEM PM9C1b, PCIe 4.0 SSD, that should top out at 7 GB/s on the read and 5.7 GB/s on the writes. It's based on Samsung's in-house Piccolo controller, and taps into 236-layer TLC V-NAND, it's not too dissimilar to the 990 Evo Samsung launched a couple of years back at this point. So y'know, eh…

As for the chip, that's Intel's Raptor Lake Core i7 14650HX. Again a little dated, but you do get eight performance cores and eight efficient cores for fully 24 threads, and a max turbo clock speed of 5.2 GHz at full tilt. But it's hot, real hot, and that is I think the biggest issue that the B14W currently has. Certainly if we compare it to something like Asus' TUF Gaming A16.

MSI Katana 15 HX - Value

Alright, yep let's talk value. Ahem... It's a bit of a double-edged sword. Something that ironically a traditional Katana isn't, and it's mostly dependent on which part of the globe you sit. If you're in the US $1,800 for this kit-out is absurd. Particularly when you have laptops like the Lenovo Legion 5 available for a near identical spec, but with a far better OLED screen for less than that.

And it's that screen that really lets down the whole affair. MSI has it listed as "IPS-level", and to be frank, it doesn't look anything like an IPS. I've got it sat next to two separate IPS monitors right now, and the brightness is dull, the contrast underwhelming, and the color difference between the three genuinely astounding. If you'd have told me this was a TN panel, I'd believe you, and even then go "man, it's a bit rough by modern TN standards, aint it?" Like yes, it's great it's got that 165 Hz refresh rate, and a 16:10 aspect ratio, and a pixel density that puts 4K 32-inch monitors to shame, but it just absolutely pulls you out of the immersion when you see just how dull it looks by comparison to most modern offerings.

That's almost excusable at the £1200 - £1300 mark, and unconscionable at $1,800 (I have seen this cheaper during my time testing, but let's not assume it's always on offer). Even so, it just leaves a bit of a sour taste in your mouth, particularly when compared to that A16, or the Lenovo Legion 5.

MSI Katana 15 HX - Sound

I'll talk more about this momentarily, but the fans are not particularly that noisy under load. They are spinning and going at what I assume is full-tilt, but compared to the likes of the Lenovo, it's a whole other ball game. Dare I say, you don't need a set of noise cancelling headphones to drown out the sound of this thing.

As for the speakers, they're ok. Bass is a bit muted, there's not a lot of breadth to the soundscape (perhaps unsurprising given the form factor), but clarity is up there, and there's no tinniness in the upper trebles. If you're listening to Blood in the Bayou by River Lume and Spearfisher, you can hear every single note of the banjo as clear as day. Yes it does lack the warmth and thrum you'd expect from a full setup, but again, it's two tiny tweeters.

MSI Katana 15 HX - Performance

Things don't fair particularly better in the performance department either. Although yes it does have a dual-channel RAM setup (thank god, because I don't think I could cope if it didn't), CPU performance is woefully under par compared to even the Core i7 13650HX in the Legion 5, and in-game things get considerably less impressive, even though it has that 115W TGP.

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1080p gaming performance

Running games at a normalised resolution to compare frame rates at the same level

Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra)Baldur's Gate 3 (1080p Ultra)Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (1080p High)F1 24 (1080p Ultra High)Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX

32

21

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX

29

15

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260

31

21

Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX	32 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX	29 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260	31 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX

50

27

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX

63

36

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260

63

31

Baldur's Gate 3 (1080p Ultra) Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX	50 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX	63 Avg FPS, 36 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260	63 Avg FPS, 31 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX

46

39

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX

49

42

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260

48

40

Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (1080p High) Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX	46 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX	49 Avg FPS, 42 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260	48 Avg FPS, 40 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX

60

46

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX

58

47

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260

54

43

F1 24 (1080p Ultra High) Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX	60 Avg FPS, 46 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX	58 Avg FPS, 47 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260	54 Avg FPS, 43 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX

65

22

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX

72

26

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260

59

24

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra) Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX	65 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX	72 Avg FPS, 26 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260	59 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS

Native res. gaming performance

Games run at the native resolution of the laptop's screen.

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra)Baldur's Gate 3 (Native res. Ultra)Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High)F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High)Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (Native res. Ultra)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p

20

15

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p

12

4

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p

27

19

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra) Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p	20 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p	12 Avg FPS, 4 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p	27 Avg FPS, 19 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p

47

20

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p

58

31

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p

66

35

Baldur's Gate 3 (Native res. Ultra) Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p	47 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p	58 Avg FPS, 31 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p	66 Avg FPS, 35 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p

31

20

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p

34

24

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p

47

30

Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High) Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p	31 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p	34 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p	47 Avg FPS, 30 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p

37

31

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p

30

22

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p

51

41

F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High) Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p	37 Avg FPS, 31 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p	30 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p	51 Avg FPS, 41 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p

49

33

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p

50

35

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p

56

23

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (Native res. Ultra) Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p	49 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p	50 Avg FPS, 35 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p	56 Avg FPS, 23 1% Low FPS

Native res. gaming performance

Games run at native resolution and with DLSS and frame gen enabled where applicable.

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + upscaling (quality), 2x FG)Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High + upscaling (quality, 67%))F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High + upscaling (quality), 2x FG)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p

64

35

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p

64

32

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p

82

51

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + upscaling (quality), 2x FG) Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p	64 Avg FPS, 35 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p	64 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p	82 Avg FPS, 51 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p

50

43

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p

52

45

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p

68

58

Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High + upscaling (quality, 67%)) Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p	50 Avg FPS, 43 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p	52 Avg FPS, 45 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p	68 Avg FPS, 58 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p

84

72

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p

61

73

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p

116

99

F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High + upscaling (quality), 2x FG) Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p	84 Avg FPS, 72 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p	61 Avg FPS, 73 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p	116 Avg FPS, 99 1% Low FPS

Synthetic gaming performance

Using industry standard 3DMark tests to compare performance.

3DMark Time Spy Extreme3DMark Port Royal3DMark Storage

Overall index score

GPU index

CPU index

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p

5415

5357

5776

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p

5962

5357

5776

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p

4764

4625

5751

3DMark Time Spy Extreme Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p	5415 Overall index score, 5357 GPU index, 5776 CPU index
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p	5962 Overall index score, 5357 GPU index, 5776 CPU index
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p	4764 Overall index score, 4625 GPU index, 5751 CPU index

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p

7059

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p

7059

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p

5508

3DMark Port Royal Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p	7059
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p	7059
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p	5508

Overall index score

Avg bandwidth (MB/s)

Access time (ųs)

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p

2243

388.87

81

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p

2243

388.87

81

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p

1974

338.34

91

3DMark Storage Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX | 1600p	2243 Overall index score, 388.87 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 81 Access time (ųs)
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX | 1440p	2243 Overall index score, 388.87 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 81 Access time (ųs)
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260 | 1200p	1974 Overall index score, 338.34 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 91 Access time (ųs)

Take it into Cyberpunk 2077, at 1080p with ray tracing dialed up to Ultra, and it runs only a single frame per second faster than the TUF Gaming A16. Which would be fine, if it wasn't for the fact that laptop's running an RTX 5050, not the more powerful RTX 5060. In fact the Katana behaves almost as badly as Lenovo's memory starved RTX 5060 does.

Things do improve when you turn the DLSS fun times on of course, and at the screen's native res. we saw exactly that, with the frame rate shooting up from 20 fps to 64 fps. But then logically that makes sense as we're shifting more of the load away from the CPU and onto the GPU with those interpolated frames.

And it's definitely the CPU that's the crux of the issue here too. Jump into Baldur's Gate 3, and there's an even larger discrepancy between it and the TUF. At 1080p again, the MSI managed just 50 fps, versus that plucky little RTX 5050's 63 fps. In fact you can go down the entire list of benchmarks, and at every single 1080p level, the Asus TUF Gaming A16 is either close, or beating it. For a lower model GPU, and a card that scores lower in every synthetic test we can run. It's astounding.

Creator and system performance

Testing the non-gaming performance of the laptops.

7zip 24.07Cinebench 2024Blender 4.2.0 (junkshop)Procyon

Compressing (GIPS)

Decompressing (GIPS)

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX

100.46

105.57

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX

66.83

113

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260

82.31

119.91

7zip 24.07 Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX	100.46 Compressing (GIPS), 105.57 Decompressing (GIPS)
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX	66.83 Compressing (GIPS), 113 Decompressing (GIPS)
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260	82.31 Compressing (GIPS), 119.91 Decompressing (GIPS)

Multi-core index score

Single-core index score

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX

832

112

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX

956

105

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260

920

102

Cinebench 2024 Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX	832 Multi-core index score, 112 Single-core index score
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX	956 Multi-core index score, 105 Single-core index score
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260	920 Multi-core index score, 102 Single-core index score

CPU (samples/min)

GPU (samples/min)

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX

77.88

1044.62

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX

89.16

1085.56

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260

79.28

930.53

Blender 4.2.0 (junkshop) Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX	77.88 CPU (samples/min), 1044.62 GPU (samples/min)
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX	89.16 CPU (samples/min), 1085.56 GPU (samples/min)
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260	79.28 CPU (samples/min), 930.53 GPU (samples/min)

Overall index score

Duration (Sec)

Sec/image

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX

1349

74.11

4.632

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX

1412

70.81

4.425

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260

1285

77.79

4.862

Procyon Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX	1349 Overall index score, 74.11 Duration (Sec), 4.632 Sec/image
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX	1412 Overall index score, 70.81 Duration (Sec), 4.425 Sec/image
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260	1285 Overall index score, 77.79 Duration (Sec), 4.862 Sec/image

That hypothesis on the chip is drawn entirely from observing both the temperature testing, and the GPU clock-speeds. Of the three budget laptops I've tested here, the CPU ran the hottest both on max and on average, and the GPU clocked in the lowest at 2,305 MHz, only drawing on 68 W of total graphical power. Telling.

System performance

Testing power and thermal performance of the laptops.

Gaming temperaturesGPU statsSystem temperatures

Avg CPU (°C)

Max CPU (°C)

Avg GPU (°C)

Max GPU (°C)

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX

77

95

77

82

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX

76

91

81

85

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260

71

87

60

85

Gaming temperatures Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX	77 Avg CPU (°C), 95 Max CPU (°C), 77 Avg GPU (°C), 82 Max GPU (°C)
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX	76 Avg CPU (°C), 91 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 85 Max GPU (°C)
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260	71 Avg CPU (°C), 87 Max CPU (°C), 60 Avg GPU (°C), 85 Max GPU (°C)

Avg GPU freq. (MHz)

Avg GPU power (W)

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX

2305

68

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX

2678

85

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260

2680

75

GPU stats Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX	2305 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 68 Avg GPU power (W)
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX	2678 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 85 Avg GPU power (W)
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260	2680 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 75 Avg GPU power (W)

Max CPU temp (°C)

Max GPU temp (°C)

MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX

96

75

Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX

99

74

Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260

95

68

System temperatures Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX	96 Max CPU temp (°C), 75 Max GPU temp (°C)
Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX	99 Max CPU temp (°C), 74 Max GPU temp (°C)
Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260	95 Max CPU temp (°C), 68 Max GPU temp (°C)

MSI Katana 15 HX - Aesthetics

From a visual standpoint, this is very much a gaming laptop. It's not bad, but if you're a grown professional that blends a bit of work in the day, and gaming in the evening (or on your lunchbreak, who am I to judge on whether or not you fancy some midday WoW Forever dopamine), it might not be the best fit. You've got that hexagonal shaped bezel lining the display, housing the integrated webcam. The same design language along the base near the trackpad. Bold ostentatious keycaps, some of those semi-transparent—for the WASD, and power keys, along with some gaudy arrow keys as well—and it does all feel a bit plasticky too.

It's a shame because, there's no need for it in the modern era, not really, when the humble square and rectangle exist. It's not particularly abrasive, but if you're in the middle of a presentation and the new hire zones out staring at the RGB rainbow gliding across your keys, you can blame it on that, and not your 23 slides on the implementation of the new agentic optimised structured data markdown system you're rolling out for site content in Q3 2027.

MSI Katana 15 HX - Software

Perhaps suprisingly, MSI's software suite is genuinely impressive. It's one of the better ones out there once you get past the myriad terms and conditions, scroll boxes, and update windows. There's multi-profile setups, mystic light control, hardware monitoring, GPU switches, recovery modes, all in a singular centralised hub, that doesn't feel that intrusive. You can live without it of course (the profiles don't seem to do that much from my own testing), but it's there for those that really want to tinker and dive into the software settings.

As always these things come with pre-installed after market antivirus (that yet again stopped me from installing the pre-requisite benchmarks and games I needed), and as always I recommend uninstalling that pronto to free up system resources. Windows Defender is still one of the best native antivirus platforms out there, and as long as you're clued up and internet savvy, you shouldn't have any major issues relying on just that.

MSI Katana 15 HX - Battery life

As for the battery, in an amazing twist of fate, that slightly dull screen doesn't exactly help on the battery front. In PC Mark's gaming benchmark—at 50% brightness, with WiFi disabled—the Katana netted just 71 minutes from 100% down to 3% charge. That's not a lot, and only slightly better than Lenovo's Legion 5 (which scored 64 minutes).

I've got beef with that, particularly because the TUF Gaming A16, has somehow crammed in a 90 WHr battery, in the same form factor, kept the entire device cooler, runs the GPU at higher frequency, performs better, and does it for a similar price (if not cheaper in the States). That's the problem. Is 71 minutes enough if you're stuck on a train without a socket? Maybe, but it could be better, and that's the theme for the entire review. It could be better. Should be better.

Battery life

Testing the long term gaming life of the laptops using the industry standard PCMark 10 gaming test.

PCMark 10 Gaming test

MSI Katana 15 HX

71

Lenovo Legion 5

64

Asus TUF Gaming A16

112

PCMark 10 Gaming test Data

Product	Value
MSI Katana 15 HX	71
Lenovo Legion 5	64
Asus TUF Gaming A16	112

To that end, I shall solider on and deliver the best gaming PC deals I can find to your doorsteps, even if they're expensive compared to last year's market. And right now, just as I reported a few weeks ago, RTX 5070 gaming PCs look to be where it's at for value below $2,000.

• Take a look at the other discounted PCs we've spotted or follow us on WhatsApp.

None of the previous RTX 5070 PCs I highlighted are available at those prices anymore, but I've found a couple more, and in fact one of them is even cheaper at $1,399 at B&H Photo—though you have to be willing to compromise on the CPU. Or, if you'd rather compromise on the RAM than the CPU, there's another option for you, for $1,600 at Amazon.

Quick links

• MSI Codex Z2C | Ryzen 7 8700F | $1,399 @ B&H Photo
• Skytech Blaze 5 | Core i7 14700F | $1,600 @ Amazon

RTX 5070 gaming PC deals

Considering 2026 prices, this is the build I would be going for. The thing to highlight from the very start is that CPU is not fantastic. It's actually a repurposed mobile chip, which means it has a low maximum TDP and has just 16 MB of L3 cache. That nerfs it pretty significantly for many uses, however the PC should still be fine for gaming, especially in more GPU-bound games.

What makes the CPU caveat not such a big deal is that it's socket AM5, meaning you can replace it with a decent Ryzen chip and perhaps even an X3D one. Importantly, CPUs are one one kind of component that hasn't seen such a dramatic price increase over the past few months, despite declining sales and yes, murmurs of slight price increases.

And apart from the CPU, you're getting a complete, ready-to-go system with a graphics card that's very capable of 1440p gaming, and some DDR5 RAM to boot.

This option is less appealing to my eyes, but if you're certain you won't want to upgrade any of your new PC's components any time soon, it might be a better choice than the MSI one. That's because the CPU here is much more capable than the 8700F in the MSI.

The caveat in this case is you're getting DDR4 RAM rather than DDR5, which means if you do decide you want to upgrade this memory in the future, you'll have to swap your motherboard and CPU out to boot. In other words, you're locking yourself in a bit, here.

You're also paying $200 extra for the privilege, putting it in the range of what I've seen some RX 9070 XT gaming PCs going for recently, which will perform much better and be worth it if you can catch one on sale. So, I'd say this Skytech build is primarily for if you can't stretch your budget much higher and you're sure you won't want to touch it for upgrades any time soon. If that describes you, you'll do fine with this build and will net some great 1440p performance out of most modern games.

👉 Check out all of Amazon's gaming PC deals 👈

The MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W is in many ways the polar opposite of the other MSI laptop I recently tested, the Stealth 16 AI+ B3W. The latter is an ultra-expensive, sleek and subtle machine that limits its power for the sake of thermals, efficiency, and form factor. Not so with the Crosshair: it's a gaming laptop, and it knows it.

I could tell as much as soon as I unboxed it, thanks to its glossy—and I would later discover, RGB-lit—embossed MSI logo on the lid, plus the general thickness, key styling and so on. It's not particularly obnoxious and still has some subtlety to it, but it's not hiding the fact that it's a gaming laptop.

Nor does it hide this fact when it comes to performance, eking as much as it can out of the RTX 5070 GPU and Core Ultra 7 251HX processor, saying to hell with thermals and battery life. I can certainly respect that, but it has to deliver in other respects, too, including price. And in other respects this laptop is not quite so pretty.

MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W features

The particular Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W that I tested came with an Intel Core Ultra 7 251HX, RTX 5070, and 16 GB of DDR5 RAM, but there are different versions. The ones I can currently spot online have a more powerful Core Ultra 9 290HX with 32 GB of DDR5, or the same 251HX CPU but an RTX 5060 and 32 GB of DDR5. All of those come with 1 TB of storage.

In the case of the 16 GB of RAM in the version I have, it is at least 2x8 GB of fast 6,400 MT/s memory, rather than a single stick of slow RAM. This presumably helps a bunch with CPU-intensive tasks, as I found the laptop to perform even better than some others with 'better' CPUs.

A big draw here is also the OLED panel, which is gorgeous. I'm not used to seeing OLEDs on such gamer-y gaming laptops, as I've only really seen them on gaming laptops that are going for 'sleek and refined', so it's a nice surprise to see such a great panel here. It's only 165 Hz, but it's a perfect match for the RTX 5070 mobile GPU inside the Crosshair.

At first I thought there weren't many ports on this laptop, but before long I found the rest hidden on the rear side and breathed a sigh of relief. I particularly like the inclusion of a Thunderbolt 4 port as well as a port for an Ethernet connection.

Getting to how it is to actually use the laptop, I don't have any real complaints but equally no specific praises. It's no behemoth, but it's hardly a slimline laptop, either, and its keys feel simply… fine. WASD keys are translucent and there is 24-zone RGB, again signalling to the world 'I am definitely a gaming laptop'. I do wish MSI had foregone the numpad to make things a little less cramped, though. The trackpad is quite small, but it is at least central, which is the correct choice (fight me).

The big downside is audio, just as was the case with the Stealth. However, in this case it's even worse. There's definite (but not catastrophically high) latency over the default audio device, but unlike with the Stealth I tested, this wasn't resolved by switching to a different USB-connected audio device.

As such, if you play games that really benefit from snappy and responsive audio such as shooters, and especially sensitive to a little audio delay, I'd steer clear unless and until MSI discovers what the problem is and how to fix it (the company is investigating). I tried disabling/uninstalling Nahimic as well as Norton antivirus to see if that helped, but doing the former proved difficult and the latter didn't resolve it.

The speakers themselves are nothing to write home about anyway. They're not the worst I've heard, but they've definitely got a little bit of that tinniness in them that you expect out of a lot of laptops or cheaper Bluetooth speakers.

MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W performance

The Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W performs very well for an RTX 5070 laptop, often beating other similar lappies. MSI has clearly opted for a performance-oriented machine here, and it shows.

1080p gaming performance

This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1080p resolution.

Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra)Baldur's Gate 3 (1080p Ultra)Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (1080p High)F1 24 (1080p Ultra High)Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070

46

33

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

34

24

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)

32

20

Framework 16 | RTX 5070

43

33

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Nvidia RTX 5060 (115 W)

36

24

MSI Stealth 16 AI+| RTX 5080 (125 W)

55

32

015304560

Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070	46 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	34 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)	32 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070	43 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Nvidia RTX 5060 (115 W)	36 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+| RTX 5080 (125 W)	55 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070

85

52

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

74

43

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)

63

32

Framework 16 | RTX 5070

69

41

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Nvidia RTX 5060 (115 W)

60

27

MSI Stealth 16 AI+| RTX 5080 (125 W)

68

39

0255075100

Baldur's Gate 3 (1080p Ultra) Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070	85 Avg FPS, 52 1% Low FPS
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	74 Avg FPS, 43 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)	63 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070	69 Avg FPS, 41 1% Low FPS
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Nvidia RTX 5060 (115 W)	60 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+| RTX 5080 (125 W)	68 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070

68

59

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

45

37

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)

53

30

Framework 16 | RTX 5070

64

55

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Nvidia RTX 5060 (115 W)

57

39

MSI Stealth 16 AI+| RTX 5080 (125 W)

73

47

020406080

Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (1080p High) Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070	68 Avg FPS, 59 1% Low FPS
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	45 Avg FPS, 37 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)	53 Avg FPS, 30 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070	64 Avg FPS, 55 1% Low FPS
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Nvidia RTX 5060 (115 W)	57 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+| RTX 5080 (125 W)	73 Avg FPS, 47 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070

83

57

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

62

55

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)

60

34

Framework 16 | RTX 5070

75

58

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Nvidia RTX 5060 (115 W)

65

34

MSI Stealth 16 AI+| RTX 5080 (125 W)

100

50

0255075100

F1 24 (1080p Ultra High) Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070	83 Avg FPS, 57 1% Low FPS
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	62 Avg FPS, 55 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)	60 Avg FPS, 34 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070	75 Avg FPS, 58 1% Low FPS
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Nvidia RTX 5060 (115 W)	65 Avg FPS, 34 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+| RTX 5080 (125 W)	100 Avg FPS, 50 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070

87

54

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

83

64

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)

66

20

Framework 16 | RTX 5070

82

51

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Nvidia RTX 5060 (115 W)

63

46

MSI Stealth 16 AI+| RTX 5080 (125 W)

102

42

037.575112.5150

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra) Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070	87 Avg FPS, 54 1% Low FPS
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	83 Avg FPS, 64 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)	66 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070	82 Avg FPS, 51 1% Low FPS
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Nvidia RTX 5060 (115 W)	63 Avg FPS, 46 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+| RTX 5080 (125 W)	102 Avg FPS, 42 1% Low FPS

The MSI Crosshair 16 Max performs incredibly well at 1080p, often beating other RTX 5070 laptops and almost keeping up with an (admittedly power-limited) RTX 5080 laptop.

1600p (native) gaming performance

This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p (native) resolution

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra)Baldur's Gate 3 (Native res. Ultra)Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High)F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High)Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (Native res. Ultra)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

26

19

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

9

2

Framework 16 | RTX 5070

18

8

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)

12

5

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)

34

22

010203040

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra) Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	26 Avg FPS, 19 1% Low FPS
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	9 Avg FPS, 2 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070	18 Avg FPS, 8 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)	12 Avg FPS, 5 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)	34 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

79

51

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

65

39

Framework 16 | RTX 5070

67

37

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)

54

33

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)

67

39

020406080

Baldur's Gate 3 (Native res. Ultra) Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	79 Avg FPS, 51 1% Low FPS
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	65 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070	67 Avg FPS, 37 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)	54 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)	67 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

66

57

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

94

69

Framework 16 | RTX 5070

72

62

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)

57

49

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)

57

49

0255075100

Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High) Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	66 Avg FPS, 57 1% Low FPS
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	94 Avg FPS, 69 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070	72 Avg FPS, 62 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)	57 Avg FPS, 49 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)	57 Avg FPS, 49 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

47

37

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

35

29

Framework 16 | RTX 5070

41

32

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)

34

18

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)

62

43

020406080

F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High) Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	47 Avg FPS, 37 1% Low FPS
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	35 Avg FPS, 29 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070	41 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)	34 Avg FPS, 18 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)	62 Avg FPS, 43 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

59

41

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

53

31

Framework 16 | RTX 5070

54

39

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)

45

17

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)

74

48

020406080

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (Native res. Ultra) Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	59 Avg FPS, 41 1% Low FPS
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	53 Avg FPS, 31 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070	54 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)	45 Avg FPS, 17 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)	74 Avg FPS, 48 1% Low FPS

The Corsshair 16 Max does very well at native res, offering playable frame rates in almost all of these games. In most of them, it leads other RTX 5070 gaming laptops. (Note the MSI Stealth listed here has an RTX 5080 that is power-limited compared to some other RTX 5080 laptops.)

At both 1080p and 1600p (native), the MSI performs better than other RTX 5070 mobile laptops and even comes close to the (power-limited) Stealth with RTX 5080 mobile. This is more so the case at 1080p where things are less GPU-bound and the CPU can have more of an effect, but it's still great at native.

Real-world gaming performance

This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution with Quality upscaling enabled, and frame gen where applicable

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + upscaling (quality), 2x FG)Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High + upscaling (quality, 67%))F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High + upscaling (quality), 2x FG)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

80

51

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

27

18

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)

58

35

Framework 16 | RTX 5070

75

58

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)

97

53

0255075100

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + upscaling (quality), 2x FG) Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	80 Avg FPS, 51 1% Low FPS
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	27 Avg FPS, 18 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)	58 Avg FPS, 35 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070	75 Avg FPS, 58 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)	97 Avg FPS, 53 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

75

64

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

94

69

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)

57

49

Framework 16 | RTX 5070

72

62

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)

87

74

0255075100

Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High + upscaling (quality, 67%)) Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	75 Avg FPS, 64 1% Low FPS
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	94 Avg FPS, 69 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)	57 Avg FPS, 49 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070	72 Avg FPS, 62 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)	87 Avg FPS, 74 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)

118

82

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)

52

42

Framework 16 | RTX 5070

92

70

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)

147

56

037.575112.5150

F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High + upscaling (quality), 2x FG) Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	118 Avg FPS, 82 1% Low FPS
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)	N/A
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)	52 Avg FPS, 42 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070	92 Avg FPS, 70 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)	147 Avg FPS, 56 1% Low FPS

Again, the MSI Crosshair 16 Max performs well. With upscaling and/or frame gen, expect smooth frame rates even in pretty demanding games at native resolution on max settings. (Note the MSI Stealth listed here has an RTX 5080 that is power-limited compared to some other RTX 5080 laptops.)

When upscaling and/or frame gen is enabled, even pretty demanding games become smoothly playable at native res on max settings. Saying this, you might still want to drop your settings a little just to reduce any latency incurred by frame gen, as higher starting frame rates improve this.

I'd say this laptop is ideal for gaming on high (but not max) settings at 1600p with upscaling and, in some games, frame gen. That will be how to make the best use of the 165 Hz refresh rate on offer here.

Interestingly, this one seems to perform even better in most games than the previous MSI Crosshair we tested, the Crosshair 16 HX AI (2025), which has the same GPU and a more powerful Core Ultra 9 275HX processor. That could be due to driver improvements over the past year plus the fact that this new one gets hotter, ie, allows for a bit of extra performance at the top.

System performance

The laptops are here tested against intensive benchmarks that mostly test the CPU, but also the GPU, for productivity tasks.

7zip 24.07Cinebench 2024Blender 4.2.0 (junkshop)Procyon

Decompressing (GIPS)

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)

120.254

135.177

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)

121.787

130.822

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)

77.91

87.77

Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070

108.822

128.355

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)

65.22

105.78

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)

105.399

98.828

037.575112.5150

7zip 24.07 Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)	120.254 Compressing (GIPS), 135.177 Decompressing (GIPS)
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)	121.787 Compressing (GIPS), 130.822 Decompressing (GIPS)
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)	77.91 Compressing (GIPS), 87.77 Decompressing (GIPS)
Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070	108.822 Compressing (GIPS), 128.355 Decompressing (GIPS)
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)	65.22 Compressing (GIPS), 105.78 Decompressing (GIPS)
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)	105.399 Compressing (GIPS), 98.828 Decompressing (GIPS)

Multi-core index score

Single-core index score

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)

1638

129

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)

1320

134

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)

800

78

Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070

1158

105

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)

812

101

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)

1221

124

05001,0001,5002,000

Cinebench 2024 Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)	1638 Multi-core index score, 129 Single-core index score
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)	1320 Multi-core index score, 134 Single-core index score
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)	800 Multi-core index score, 78 Single-core index score
Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070	1158 Multi-core index score, 105 Single-core index score
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)	812 Multi-core index score, 101 Single-core index score
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)	1221 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score

CPU (samples/min)

GPU (samples/min)

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)

112.66

1046.74

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)

108.15

1028.98

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)

65.55

1017.59

Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070

93.15

1026.08

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)

62.87

1014.05

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)

79.43

1691.37

05001,0001,5002,000

Blender 4.2.0 (junkshop) Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)	112.66 CPU (samples/min), 1046.74 GPU (samples/min)
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)	108.15 CPU (samples/min), 1028.98 GPU (samples/min)
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)	65.55 CPU (samples/min), 1017.59 GPU (samples/min)
Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070	93.15 CPU (samples/min), 1026.08 GPU (samples/min)
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)	62.87 CPU (samples/min), 1014.05 GPU (samples/min)
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)	79.43 CPU (samples/min), 1691.37 GPU (samples/min)

Overall index score

Duration (Sec)

Sec/image

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)

1750

57.12

3.57

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)

1508

66.27

4.14

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)

1418

70.52

4.41

Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070

1789

55.9

3.49

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)

1490

67.11

4.2

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)

2472

40.44

2.53

07501,5002,2503,000

Procyon Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)	1750 Overall index score, 57.12 Duration (Sec), 3.57 Sec/image
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)	1508 Overall index score, 66.27 Duration (Sec), 4.14 Sec/image
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)	1418 Overall index score, 70.52 Duration (Sec), 4.41 Sec/image
Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070	1789 Overall index score, 55.9 Duration (Sec), 3.49 Sec/image
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)	1490 Overall index score, 67.11 Duration (Sec), 4.2 Sec/image
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)	2472 Overall index score, 40.44 Duration (Sec), 2.53 Sec/image

The Intel Core Ultra 7 251HX in the MSI Crosshair 16 Max is better for productivity tasks than a lot of other RTX 5070 laptops

Much as with this laptop's gaming performance, its productivity performance is impressive. When allowed to run so hot, the Intel chip here can plough through tasks such as decompression and other multi-core-heavy tasks.

MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W thermals

Real-world gaming temperatures

Gaming temperature results recorded during multiple Metro Exodus EE runs

Gaming temperatures

Avg CPU (°C)

Max CPU (°C)

Avg GPU (°C)

Max GPU (°C)

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)

91

104

81

84

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)

55

98

28

69

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)

55

87

57

71

Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070

65

73

68

71

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)

58

71

59

72

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)

92

100

81

87

037.575112.5150

Gaming temperatures Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)	91 Avg CPU (°C), 104 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 84 Max GPU (°C)
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)	55 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 28 Avg GPU (°C), 69 Max GPU (°C)
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)	55 Avg CPU (°C), 87 Max CPU (°C), 57 Avg GPU (°C), 71 Max GPU (°C)
Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070	65 Avg CPU (°C), 73 Max CPU (°C), 68 Avg GPU (°C), 71 Max GPU (°C)
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)	58 Avg CPU (°C), 71 Max CPU (°C), 59 Avg GPU (°C), 72 Max GPU (°C)
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)	92 Avg CPU (°C), 100 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 87 Max GPU (°C)

The MSI Crosshair 16 Max does run very hot on Extreme Performance mode (and, as an aside, still pretty damn hot in Balanced mode). That's especially the case for its Core Ultra 7 251HX CPU.

This laptop is indeed particularly toasty. This obviously helps in the performance department, but don't expect it to win any efficiency medals. 104 °C for the max CPU temp is hot, as is 84 °C for the GPU, though the new MSI Stealth runs a little hotter on that front.

That being said, during all my time gaming, I didn't notice my fingers getting too hot on WASD, and given the performance is so good, I doubt the high temps indicate too much throttling.

The Crosshair can get pretty loud in Extreme Performance mode, which these benchmarks were taken in. However, as with the new Stealth, this Crosshair's fans don't sound grating at all. You just get a pleasant, loud whoosh. Though it will make it difficult to hear your game through the speakers if you're opting for built-in audio.

MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W aesthetics

I don't have a ton of praise for the way this laptop looks, unfortunately. It's not awful, just not my particular cup of tea. There's a splash of the old-fashioned, angular, gamer-y look to it, but it only leans kind of half-heartedly in that direction, which ultimately means it looks a little confused about what it wants to be overall.

You're getting some funky RGB lighting on the keys, including a translucent WASD if that's your jam, and you're also getting the logo on the lid which lights up and a particularly angular design on the underside, but the rest of the chassis is plain. To be honest, I'd rather it leaned in one direction or the other: gamer-y, or subtle. Still, it's far from an outrageous design and doesn't offend my aesthetic sensibilities too much.

MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W software

The main bloatware on this laptop is Norton antivirus, which I'd personally promptly uninstall just because Microsoft Defender is fine and Norton, in my historical opinion, can be a bit of a pain.

Apart from that, you get MSI Center to control all the settings such as lighting and performance modes. You can install a bunch more modules to fiddle with different settings if you wish, but I just stuck with those and the default system info and options pages. It runs well and isn't too difficult to navigate once you get used to it, but it definitely feels like a 'set it and leave it' kind of software that you don't need to load up very often.

MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W battery life

Battery life

Testing how long the battery lasts in Balanced mode, medium brightness, Wi-Fi disconnected, in the PCMark 10 gaming battery life test.

PCMark 10

MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W)

72

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI)

101

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot

109

Framework 16

131

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10

89

MSI Stealth 16 AI+

104

037.575112.5150

PCMark 10 Data

Product	Value
MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W)	72
MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI)	101
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot	109
Framework 16	131
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10	89
MSI Stealth 16 AI+	104

The MSI Crosshair 16 Max perhaps unsurprisingly doesn't do very well when it comes to battery life. It seems oriented around eking out as much performance as possible from its CPU and GPU, without much care for efficiency.

You probably already expected this given the laptop ekes out as much performance as it can from its components, not to mention that it runs mighty hot, but battery life is not great. This isn't a laptop for those of you who primarily want to game while out and about using battery power, but for short sessions or light work it's fine unplugged.

The RTX 5080-boasting MSI Stealth laptop I tested has a 90 Wh battery and lasted for 104 minutes in a gaming battery life benchmark, whereas this one has an 80 Wh battery and lasted for just 72 minutes. That's 31% less time up and running, and less than a bunch of other RTX 5070 laptops we've tested.

MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W Value

You're looking at about $2,600 for the 32 GB version of this—$2,000 on offer—and I can't see the 16 GB version that I tried for sale anywhere. Looking at some of the best deals on gaming laptops right now, that $2,600 is pretty expensive for an RTX 5070 machine.

On the one hand, this isn't a corner-cutting machine, as you're getting a lovely OLED panel and some very convincing performance that pushes the CPU and GPU as far as possible. But on the other hand, even $2,000 on sale is a lot for an RTX 5070 machine, even during a memory shortage. You can often pick similar but non-OLED gaming laptops up for well under $1,500 on sale.

As such, unless and until there are bigger discounts on it, I don't think the price tag fits what's on offer. If the normal retail price were a couple hundred lower and the discount price was a couple hundred lower, too, I would consider it for the OLED panel and great performance.

But as it stands, it's a tough sell, especially if you want any kind of battery or thermal efficiency, or just a laptop that looks a little more dashing. Not to mention one that doesn't suffer from audio latency issues. Considering performance alone it's a great machine, but the price is not quite right.