CES 2026: MSI Announces Next-Gen Raider, Stealth and Crosshair Gaming Laptops

CES 2026 has brought a tide of caller gaming laptops, with MSI updating a information of their lineup with caller Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, portion each models spot plan changes. The Taiwanese steadfast has besides taken the accidental to simplify its heretofore analyzable lineup, with each models present sitting wrong 3 chiseled families - the high-end Raider series, the workhorse Crosshair bid and office-friendly Stealth series. MSI has besides unveiled a caller variant of its Claw A8 AI+ gaming handheld.

High-end gaming laptops: Raider 16 Max HX B2W, Raider 16 HX B2W and Raider A16 HX B9W

MSI's top-drawer Raider laptops are its astir almighty gaming and contented instauration options, with the best-equipped exemplary drafting down a robust 300W of power, divided betwixt a 175W RTX 5090 oregon RTX 5080 graphics paper and a 125W Intel Core Ultra 200HX processor. (Intel has yet to denote precocious show third-gen Core Ultra processors, truthful second-gen Core Ultra remains the champion prime present for all-out gaming performance.) That benignant of powerfulness requires hefty cooling, and MSI is pinning their hopes connected a three-fan solution with six vigor pipes and a phase-change thermal compoun wrong a comparatively heavy 26mm chassis.

Inside, MSI has prioritised upgradeability with a bottommost sheet that tin beryllium removed toollessly to upgrade the DDR5 representation oregon instal an SSD into the 2 disposable slots, 1 each for PCIe 5.0 and 4.0. (If existent RAM and SSD terms trends continue, past opting for a meagre archetypal setup and upgrading it aboriginal erstwhile prices are amended mightiness beryllium a sensible way forward.)

High-end graphics request a performant display, and the 16 Max HX B2W tin beryllium equipped with a 2560 x 1600 240Hz OLED – a spec that offers a bully equilibrium of ocular prime and responsiveness without requiring much show than mobile hardware tin provide. An IPS sheet with the aforesaid solution and refresh complaint is besides an option.

The non-Max Raider 16 HX B2W looks a tad much affordable, topping retired astatine an RTX 5080 graphics paper with a akin scope of Core Ultra 200HX processors and the aforesaid OLED and IPS screens offered. It's logical to presume that its full strategy powerfulness is proportionately smaller too, truthful its identical 90Wh artillery ought to past longer than its Max brother. Otherwise, the different quality that flies disconnected the spec expanse is the 24-zone RGB keyboard, versus the per-key RGB SteelSeries keyboard connected the Max.

If you similar AMD processors, the A16 HX B9W is your prime of the lineup, with up to a Ryzen 9 9955HX CPU, up to an RTX 5090 graphics paper and the aforesaid dual-SSD setup arsenic the Intel-based Raiders. However, lone an IPS surface is offered connected this variant, truthful that means nary OLED option.

Portability and AI: Stealth 16 AI B3W

The Stealth 16 AI B3W is meant to present much of a blend of performance, portability and longevity than its one-sided Raider counterparts, truthful it's not astonishing to find that it's the lone MSI gaming laptop to travel with a third-gen Intel Core Ultra processor, the Core Ultra 9 386H. Despite measuring a scant 20mm astatine its thickest point, the instrumentality tin inactive beryllium equipped with up to an RTX 5090 graphics card, backed with the aforesaid 16-inch 2560 x 1600 240Hz OLED arsenic the Raider and akin DDR5 RAM counts. However, retention is downgraded from 1 PCIe 5.0 SSD and 1 PCIe 4.0 SSD to 2 PCIe 4.0 SSDs. Still, for a instrumentality that weighs conscionable nether 2 kilograms, the spec expanse inactive looks performant. That extends to the larboard study too, with 2 USB-A ports, 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI 2.1 and gigabit ethernet, a acold outcry from what you'd find connected a MacBook Pro these days.

Value contender: Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W and Crosshair 16 HX E14W

The Crosshair bid is the amended worth option, and the Crosshair 16 Max looks to present up to 200W of full strategy powerfulness to a acquainted setup: Core Ultra 200HX CPUs and GeForce RTX GPUs. This time, the mid-range RTX 5070 is the apical graphics option, but you inactive get a tenable 2560 x 1600 OLED surface rated up to 165Hz, dual SSD slots and the enactment for much DDR5 than you tin apt afford, owed to the caller DRAM terms hikes.

The vanilla Crosshair 16 is alternatively built astir a last-gen Core i9 14900HX processor, but different looks akin with a maximum RTX 5070 graphics card, up to 96GB of DDR5 and dual SSD slots. Another worth concession is the screen, with OLED dropped for IPS - albeit astatine a higher refresh complaint of 240Hz and with the aforesaid 2560 x 1600 resolution. The Crosshair 16 is besides a shadiness chonkier than its stablemate, measuring 25mm astatine its thickest constituent versus 24mm for the Crosshair 16 Max.

New shade: Claw A8 AI+ Glacier Blue Edition

Finally, MSI's gaming announcements reason with a elemental message: the MSI Claw A8 AI+, its Intel-based gaming handheld, is present disposable successful a fetching glacier bluish colorway. This handheld has gone against the tide successful an AMD-dominated space, but it's inactive to spot a spot of ocular diverseness successful a abstraction that's typically constricted to shades of grey.

Will is lawman tech exertion for IGN, specialising successful PC hardware, sim racing and show tech. He has been publishing astir games and exertion since 2001 (age 12). Will was formerly Deputy Editor astatine Digital Foundry. He is presently playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.