MSI Vector 17 HX: an outdated design can't stop a powerhouse laptop

MSI Vector 17 HX: Two-minute review

While the MSI Vector 17 HX isn't going to win any awards for its physical design, this portable has all the performance necessary to stand with some of the best gaming laptops on the market.

Priced at $2,299 / £2,399 / AU$3,099 for a version sporting an RTX 4070 graphics card, it's more costly than many of its rivals. And when you consider that alongside the build quality comprises here (which we'll discuss in more depth later), sadly this means this MSI notebook doesn't quite achieve top marks - but it's still a decent machine. 

That's because the MSI Vector 17 HX still largely justifies its higher-than-average price tag by including an excellent Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a superfast Gen 4.0 NVMe SSD so you've got a wealth of power at your fingertips. The bottleneck, therefore, becomes the GPU, given the laptop's native 2,560 x 1,600 resolution 16:10 display. So, while we were sent the RTX 4070 variant for review, you may want to consider the RTX 4080 model for a power boost.

The 17-inch display unfortunately lacks any kind of HDR support which is a real shame. The IPS LED screen is bright enough at 500 nits, but looks a little washed out, especially when factoring in that some of its competitors are utilizing mini-LED and even OLED. Fortunately, with its 240Hz refresh rate, it's fast enough for you not to necessarily mind all that much. 

Speaking of that refresh rate, though, you won't necessarily be able to hit frame rates that can fully take advantage of it, given the 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM on board the mobile RTX 4070 - especially at 1440p. However, if you're smart with your settings sliders in 1080p, you can expect framerates of around 100fps. 1440p hovers around the 60fps mark, although DLSS 3's Frame Generation will be able to provide a shot in the arm, at least where it's supported. 

Furthermore, the MSI Vector 17 HX doesn't buck the trend of gaming laptops having less-than-stellar battery lives. Its four-cell 99Wh battery pack is decent enough for powering around four hours of light use, but gaming is more limited to about an hour and a half. You'll need to keep the 330W charger close by, or keep the rig perennially plugged in as a dedicated replacement for one of the best gaming PCs. 

MSI Vector 17 HX: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $2,299 / £2,399 / AU$3,099 
• When is it available? It's on sale now 
• Where can you get it? In the US, UK and Australia 

The MSI Vector 17 HX is available from $2,299 / £2,399 / AU$3,099 for the RTX 4070 model. The peppier version sporting the more powerful RTX 4080 GPU is available for $2,799 / £2,899 / AU$3,399. That positions this gaming laptop in the upper mid-range, pitting it against weighty competition from premium manufacturers. 

Price-wise, that's a similar entry point to the Razer Blade 16 and the HP Omen 17 which are far from the cheapest options on the market. With its high asking price, the MSI Vector 17 HX is considerably pricier than other 17-inch RTX 4070 gaming laptops such as the Asus ROG Strix G17, MSI Sword 17 HX, and the Acer Nitro 17. It's not the cheapest RTX 4070 laptop, that's for sure. 

• Price: 3 / 5

MSI Vector 17 HX: Specs

Here are the specs for the MSI Vector 17 HX at a glance. 

MSI Vector 17 HX: Design

• Bulky plastic chassis 
• Large and fast display 
• Weighty at 6.6lbs / 3kg 

In terms of its build, the MSI Vector 17 HX is on the bulkier side even as far as mid-range laptops go. It's a deliberate and old-fashioned design with its plastic construction and thick-angled hinges that won't be for everyone, but it's at least distinct. You won't find a carefully machine-crafted aluminum chassis here, but it's serviceable enough. 

You'll feel the weight of this gaming laptop at 6.6lbs / 3kg, as the MSI Vector 17 HX is a touch heavier than some of the other 17-inch models we already mentioned above. It's still sleek enough to be portable, but its display size and heft may not be ideal if you're thinking of something for everyday use at work or school. 

Our review unit had a QHD+ resolution (2,560 x 1,600) screen at 240Hz, however, some variants may feature a 165Hz Full HD display depending on configuration and asking price. There's no support for HDR here, which is a shame, and the screen has a peak brightness of 500 nits; by no means the brightest or most vivid display, but it's good enough for gaming, and fast enough, certainly.

The keyboard on the Vector 17 HX is colorful and full of personality with its multi-zone RGB lightning and decals on each key, even if it doesn't offer the best typing experience. This extends to the trackpad as well - while functional, it feels a little cheap, but you'll likely be using one of the best gaming mice instead, so it's not too big a deal. 

A high point is the excellent port selection. You'll find a total of three USB-C ports, two USB 3.2 ports, HDMI 2.1, and Ethernet. They're spread out on both sides and the back of the machine, so you should be fully catered for when using this gaming laptop as a full-on desktop replacement, hooked up to the best gaming keyboard and best gaming monitor. 

• Design: 3 / 5

MSI Vector 17 HX: Performance

The performance of the MSI Vector 17 HX is solid thanks to the excellent Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU combined with the respectable RTX 4070, but it's actually the GPU which will be your biggest bottleneck. That's because Nvidia's mobile mid-range graphics card only features 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM on a 128-bit memory bus. 

1080p appears to be the sweet spot for this particular variant of the MSI Vector 17 HX, as seen with the gaming benchmarks. Specifically with GPU-heavy games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Cyberpunk 2077, you're getting nowhere near the 240Hz refresh rate unless you drop down to Full HD.

This is reflected in the benchmarks for Total War: Three Kingdoms, a CPU-heavy title, which can exceed the maximum refresh rate with the graphical settings reduced. Ray tracing is possible, but won't quite excel in the way that a mobile RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 can (with 12GB and 16GB GDDR6 VRAM respectively). In Cyberpunk 2077 at RT Ultra, you're getting around 70 to 80fps here.

The 13th-gen Core i9 is a powerhouse CPU and this is evident in the stress-testing conducted. Geekbench 6 delivers confident scores of 2,720 and 17,308 for single-core and multi-core respectively, with Cinebench R23 providing superb results of 1,941 and 25,624 respectively. There's nothing this processor won't be able to do, and it offers a whole load of grunt, despite lacking a dedicated NPU (as seen with its Meteor Lake successor).

The Gen 4.0 NVMe SSD inside of the MSI Vector 17 HX is excellent. Despite this tech being replaced by Gen 5.0 models, you won't need anything faster than the tested sequential rates of 6,442MB/s reads and 4,873MB/s writes respectively. Modern PC games are starting to utilize the DirectStorage API for near-instant loading times and ultra textures. Interestingly, there's a Gen 5.0 port available for even faster storage. 

The screen natively supports 1600p resolution with its 16:10 aspect ratio, and while you shouldn't experience frame rate drops that are too jarring, you'll need to be mindful of the limitations of the RTX 4070's VRAM. Even 8GB for the desktop version is starting to struggle nowadays in this resolution, and that uses far faster GDDR6X memory. We recommend utilizing Nvidia DLSS 3 Frame Generation where possible for a boost.

• Performance: 4 / 5

MSI Vector 17 HX: Battery life

• Lasts around four hours with media playback and browsing 
• Can game for around an hour and a half on battery

The MSI Vector 17 HX features a four-cell 90Wh battery which is average-sized given the 17-inch chassis of this gaming laptop. In practice, you can expect up to four hours of web browsing and media playback when prioritizing efficiency over performance. You'll need to keep the charging cable handy if you're planning on working all day or enjoying a few longer movies back to back, though. 

Gaming on battery power is expectedly poor. We got around an hour and a half from a full charge with Cyberpunk 2077. The mobile RTX 4070 has a TDP of 115W, making it more power-efficient than more powerful discrete graphics, but the battery is still a major concern. It's not a problem unique to the MSI Vector 17 HX, but it's worth noting all the same. 

Fortunately, the power cable connects at the back of the device instead of the side, delivering a constant feed of 330W. We'd recommend using a dedicated laptop riser on your gaming desk and doing a little cable management to be more comfortable. As something to carry around with you every day, this machine isn't up to the task, but that's the cost of performance like this. 

• Battery: 2 / 5

Should you buy the MSI Vector 17 HX?

Buy it if...

You want a big-screen gaming laptop

The MSI Vector 17 HX has a sharp screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio. It may not be the brightest or most vivid display on the market, but its size and fast refresh rate make it worthwhile.

You want a notebook that's a powerful performer

The MSI Vector 17 HX packs in some beefy components including a powerful CPU and a seriously impressive SSD, alongside a solid choice of GPU.

You want a gaming laptop that excels in 1080p

The RTX 4070M features 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM which is ideal for speedy frame rates in Full HD and indeed FHD+ (1200p resolution) for the 16:10 aspect ratio.

Don't buy it if... 

You want the best value for money 

Simply put, the MSI Vector 17 HX is on the expensive side for an RTX 4070-powered gaming laptop, and you can save a bundle by opting for a competitor instead. 

You want a gaming laptop that motors in 1440p 

While this machine's native 1600p screen is impressive in some ways, it's held back by the more limited VRAM of the RTX 4070M, which means it can't quite hit the frame rates we'd like to see at 1440p (or 1600p, of course).

MSI Vector 17 HX: Also consider

• First reviewed June 2024