MSI has long held the position of 'most powerful' in my best gaming laptop recommendations, at with the new Raider 16 Max HX, it's looking to take that title even further.
Announced at CES 2026, the latest addition to MSI's sprawling gaming laptop lineup brings 300W of total power to the 16-inch form factor, with 175W dedicated to the RTX 5080 or RTX 5090 under the hood. Both of those configurations come equipped with Intel's Core Ultra 200HX processors, themselves being fed 125W of juice. This is a premium, power-focused machine for those going all out on the latest generation - but the brand wants its new contender to last as well.
The MSI Raider 16 Max HX also comes equipped with an easily accessible panel for swapping memory (though good luck finding decently priced DDR5 RAM) and PCIe Gen 5 SSD storage. All that comes with a QHD+ 240Hz OLED display, contrary to last year's larger MSI Raider A18 HX A9W's Mini LED panel.
MSI has also unveiled even more of its 2026 lineup at CES, with the new Stealth offering a more portable form factor than its predecessor while still adding an additional 20W of power to its GPU.
The Crosshair range is also seeing the Max treatment this year. The 16 Max HX model brings Intel Core Ultra 200HX processors to the cheaper range, with RTX 50-Series GPUs in tow as well. This is a more value-oriented rig, but the new generation is still pushing up to 200W of total power (30W more than last year), while a 24-zone RGB keyboard into the mix.
A lot of these rigs are following the main trends set out in 2025. Aside from those new generation graphics cards, we're looking at thinner, more efficient machines with faster OLED displays. Intel's new processors will hopefully give these slimmer machines an edge in their power handling, with many previous-generation options struggling to maintain composure without a cable.
However, where the Raider's concerned, this is the year for going all out on the RTX 5090. While only the Max model is fully configurable up to the RTX 5090, it's looking to follow in the footsteps of its larger predecessors with its no-nonsense approach to framerates.
MSI is keeping its lips sealed around shelf dates and pricing, so I expect more details to follow in the coming weeks.
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I'm also hunting down all the best Razer laptops and the best Asus gaming laptops on the market. Or, take a look at the best Alienware laptops I've tested so far.
