MSI's "no holds barred" $5k gaming laptop will drain your wallet fast

CES 2024 has brought no shortage of flashy, over-the-top gaming laptops. But MSI may have outdone them all with the unveiling of its outrageous new Titan 18 HX A14V — a hulking $5,000 powerhouse aimed at the most hardcore and deep-pocketed of PC gamers.

At first glance, the Titan 18 checks all the expected boxes for a premium gaming laptop in 2024. It sports an expansive 18-inch 16:10 Mini LED display rocking a sharp 3840 x 2400 resolution and buttery smooth 120Hz refresh rate. Under the hood, it packs Intel’s screaming new 14th Gen Core i9-14900HX CPU, along with NVIDIA’s flagship RTX 4080 / 4090 GPU, both promising face-melting frame rates thanks to DLSS 3.5 enhancement. And with up to a downright gluttonous 128GB of DDR5 RAM and three blazing-fast M.2 SSD slots (one of which is PCIe Gen 5), this machine is built to devour AAA titles without breaking a sweat.

But playing the latest shooters and RPGs with max settings isn’t all the Titan offers. MSI has loaded it with niceties like a six-speaker audio system, a mechanical keyboard decked out in customizable per-key RGB lighting, and an advanced vapor chamber cooling array. Even connectivity is overkill, with two Thunderbolt 4 or USB-C ports, three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, HDMI 2.1, full-size SD card reader…you get the idea.

Now, such opulence doesn’t come cheap. And tipping the scales at nearly 8 pounds, the Titan 18 certainly isn’t designed for mobility. This is a machine meant primarily for well-to-do enthusiasts who just want desktop-class power in a semi-portable form factor.

But the real showstopper feature — and what sets the Titan apart from other gaming behemoths – is its wildly unique RGB trackpad. Spanning edge-to-edge across the palm rest, illuminated in any color you desire, it immediately grabs your attention. The matte glass surface maintains a pleasant clicky feel thanks to haptic feedback — similar to what Apple employs on MacBooks. And combined with the per-key RGB keyboard backlighting, it gives the Titan a captivating, almost Tron-like aura.

Understandably, such ostentatious design isn’t for everyone. But you can’t help but admire MSI for just going for it and delivering what is likely the most tricked-out, tech-laden gaming laptop of 2024 so far.

Does a $5,000 portable need a hypnotic RGB trackpad? Of course not. Will that stop the most dedicated RGB enthusiasts from drooling over the Titan 18 anyway? Most definitely not. And that’s perfectly okay with MSI.