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MSI Stealth 18 HX A2W
MSI's 2026 Stealth 18 HX A2W pairs the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus with an RTX 5080 Laptop GPU, the only combination on MSI's spec sheets. This record covers the 32GB DDR5, 2TB SSD version with a 3840x2400 120Hz Mini-LED screen and a 99.9Wh battery. It follows the 2025 Core Ultra 9 275HX Stealth 18 HX AI. No US price; from about 4,050 euros in Germany.
Pros
- 18-inch 3840x2400 Mini-LED panel at 120Hz with VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification and 100% DCI-P3 (typical)
- Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (8 P-cores, 16 E-cores, up to 5.5GHz) with an RTX 5080 Laptop GPU with 16GB GDDR7 and up to 150W graphics power
- 2.89kg and 19.9-23.99mm thick in a magnesium-aluminum chassis, with a 99.9Wh battery
- Two DDR5 slots (up to 96GB), two Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI 2.1, an SD Express card reader, 2.5G Ethernet and Wi-Fi 7
- IR webcam with a privacy shutter, fingerprint reader and a six-speaker Dynaudio system
Cons
- Only one M.2 SSD slot, so more storage means replacing the 2TB drive
- Two Thunderbolt 4 ports rather than Thunderbolt 5
- Needs a 280W adapter, and graphics power tops out at 150W for the RTX 5080
- No US launch price found; about 4,050 euros and up in Germany
Good
Computed from specs & benchmarks via our public methodology.
Performance uses the published results of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, because we have no benchmark result for this device itself yet.
Full specifications
Everything we track for the MSI Stealth 18 HX A2W
Display
- Screen size
- 18 ″
- Panel type
- Mini-LED
- Resolution
- 3840x2400
- Refresh rate
- 120 Hz
Performance
- Processor
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- Graphics
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU (16GB GDDR7, up to 150W)
- RAM
- 32 GB
- RAM type
- DDR5-6400 (2 slots, up to 96GB)
- Storage
- 2,048 GB
- Storage type
- PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD (1 M.2 slot)
Benchmarks
- 3DMark Time Spy Graphics (GPU)
- 22,099Top 9%
Battery
- Capacity
- 99.9 Wh
- Charging
- 280 W
Design
- Weight
- 2.89 kg
- Thickness
- 24 mm
- Material
- Magnesium-aluminum alloy
Connectivity
- Ports
- 2x Thunderbolt 4 (DisplayPort, Power Delivery 3.1), 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI 2.1, SD Express card reader, 2.5G Ethernet (RJ45), 3.5mm combo jack, Kensington lock
- Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi 7 (Intel Killer BE1750)
- Bluetooth
- 5.4
- Webcam
- 1080p IR with privacy shutter and HDR
- Biometrics
- Fingerprint reader, IR camera for Windows Hello
Software
- Operating system
- Windows 11 Home
Quick answers
Is the MSI Stealth 18 HX A2W good in 2026?
The MSI Stealth 18 HX A2W earns an Inno Score of 65.6/100 (“Good”) based on its specs and benchmark results. MSI's 2026 Stealth 18 HX A2W pairs the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus with an RTX 5080 Laptop GPU, the only combination on MSI's spec sheets. This record covers the 32GB DDR5, 2TB SSD version with a 3840x2400 120Hz Mini-LED screen and a 99.9Wh battery. It follows the 2025 Core Ultra 9 275HX Stealth 18 HX AI. No US price; from about 4,050 euros in Germany.
What are the key specs of the MSI Stealth 18 HX A2W?
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus · RAM: 32 GB · Screen size: 18 ″ · Weight: 2.89 kg
What are the closest alternatives to the MSI Stealth 18 HX A2W?
Its closest rivals on InnoReviews are Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition Gen 10 (16IAH10), Dell XPS 16 Creator Edition, Lenovo Legion Pro 5 Gen 10 AMD (16AFR10) — open the comparison pages for a spec-by-spec breakdown.
