MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XW (2025) 16" VS MSI Vector 18 HX AI A2XW (2025) 18"

The MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XW (2025) and MSI Vector 18 HX AI A2XW (2025) are both gaming laptops with similar design elements, but they differ in size and weight. The Vector 16 weighs 2700 g, while the Vector 18 is heavier at 3600 g. This weight difference is expected given the larger screen size of the Vector 18, which has an 18″ display compared to the 16″ display of the Vector 16.

Both models feature a backlit keyboard, making them suitable for gaming in low-light environments. Neither laptop uses a fanless design, ensuring active cooling for performance-heavy tasks. In terms of physical size, the Vector 16 measures 357 mm in width, 284 mm in height, and 22 mm in thickness, while the Vector 18 is larger with a width of 404 mm, height of 307 mm, and a thickness of 24 mm.

As for other design features, neither model is weather-sealed (splashproof) or has a rugged build, meaning they are not designed to withstand harsh environmental conditions. The total volume of the Vector 16 is 2230.536 cm³, while the Vector 18 is larger, with a volume of 2976.672 cm³, reflecting its bigger size.

The MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XW (2025) and MSI Vector 18 HX AI A2XW (2025) both feature a 2560 x 1600 px resolution with an LCD, LED-backlit, IPS display type, which ensures vibrant colors and wide viewing angles. However, the screen sizes differ significantly, with the Vector 16 offering a 16″ display and the Vector 18 providing a larger 18″ screen.

In terms of pixel density, the Vector 16 has a slightly higher value at 188 ppi, compared to the Vector 18's 167 ppi. This means the Vector 16 may provide slightly sharper visuals, especially at close viewing distances. Both models support a 240Hz refresh rate, making them suitable for smooth gaming experiences, and neither has an anti-reflection coating, which could affect visibility in bright lighting conditions.

Both products support up to 4 displays, allowing for multi-screen setups, and neither has a touchscreen capability, which is typical for gaming-focused laptops.

The MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XW (2025) and MSI Vector 18 HX AI A2XW (2025) share several high-performance features but differ in some key specifications. Both laptops are equipped with 32GB (Vector 16) and 64GB (Vector 18) of RAM, both running at a speed of 6400 MHz. The RAM configuration is one of the main distinctions, with the Vector 18 offering more memory, potentially benefiting users with demanding tasks or multitasking needs.

In terms of storage, both models use flash storage and an NVMe SSD. The Vector 16 has 1024GB of internal storage, while the Vector 18 doubles that to 2048GB, providing significantly more space for large files or game installations. The CPUs are identical, with both featuring an 8-core processor running at 2.7 GHz and 16 additional threads running at 2.1 GHz, offering a total of 24 threads. They also share the same turbo clock speed of 5.4 GHz and a GPU turbo speed of 1515 MHz, providing strong processing and graphics capabilities.

Both laptops feature the same VRAM (24GB), floating-point performance (31.8 TFLOPS), GDDR7 memory, texture rate (496.9 GTexels/s), and pixel rate (193.9 GPixel/s), indicating similar graphical performance. Other shared features include support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, multithreading, and PCIe 4.0. Both also have a maximum memory capacity of 96GB, DDR5 memory version, and a 4nm semiconductor size. Neither model includes XeSS (XMX) support, but both support 64-bit computing.

Both the MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XW (2025) and MSI Vector 18 HX AI A2XW (2025) have identical benchmark results, according to the PassMark scores. Each laptop achieves a total PassMark result of 56426, which indicates the overall performance rating for each system. For single-threaded performance, both models also share the same score of 4723, meaning they perform equivalently in tasks relying on single-core processing power.

As the benchmark results are identical, this suggests that despite the size and weight differences between the two models, their core processing and overall performance in typical tasks are virtually the same.

Both products thus offer the same level of performance based on these specific benchmarks, with no differentiation in their PassMark scores.

The MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XW (2025) and MSI Vector 18 HX AI A2XW (2025) share a very similar set of connectivity features. Both models offer the same number of USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (2 USB-A), USB 4 40Gbps ports (2), HDMI output (1), and support for Wi-Fi 7 and other Wi-Fi standards. Neither model provides USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports or USB 4 20Gbps ports, and both lack Thunderbolt 3 and 4 ports. Additionally, both laptops feature Bluetooth 5.4 and support AirPlay.

Both laptops have an HDMI version 2.1 output, but they do not include RJ45 ports or DisplayPort outputs. There is also no mini DisplayPort output or VGA connector on either model. They both include an external memory slot, allowing for additional storage expansion.

In summary, the connectivity features are identical across both models, with no differences in USB ports, wireless capabilities, or video output options.

The MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XW (2025) and MSI Vector 18 HX AI A2XW (2025) have similar battery features but differ slightly in battery size. The Vector 16 is equipped with a 90 Wh battery, while the Vector 18 offers a larger 99 Wh battery. This suggests the Vector 18 may provide slightly more runtime, although both models feature sleep-and-charge USB ports, allowing for convenient charging of devices even when the laptop is in sleep mode.

Neither laptop comes with a MagSafe power adapter, which is important for users seeking that specific magnetic charging connection.

In summary, the key difference between these two models in terms of battery is the size, with the Vector 18 having a slightly larger battery than the Vector 16. Otherwise, their battery-related features are identical.

The MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XW (2025) and MSI Vector 18 HX AI A2XW (2025) are both equipped with stereo speakers and a 3.5 mm audio jack, ensuring good audio connectivity. They also support ray tracing and DLSS, making them suitable for high-quality gaming experiences. Neither model includes Dolby Atmos, a stylus, or a fingerprint scanner, and both have a front camera and one microphone. Both also lack an optical disc drive, gyroscope, GPS, accelerometer, compass, and S/PDIF Out port.

The main difference between the two models lies in the facial recognition feature: the Vector 16 supports 3D facial recognition, while the Vector 18 does not. Both models feature 1080 x 30 fps video recording for their main cameras.

In summary, these two laptops are nearly identical in features, with the exception of the facial recognition capability available on the Vector 16, which is not present on the Vector 18.

The MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XW (2025) and MSI Vector 18 HX AI A2XW (2025) share many technical features, with only a few key differences. Both laptops offer the same number of Thunderbolt ports (2), USB ports (4 for the Vector 16 and 5 for the Vector 18), and support multi-display technology and 3D. They also feature the same GPU architecture (Blackwell), maximum memory bandwidth (811.5 GB/s), and effective memory speed (25400 MHz). Both models also have unlocked CPU multipliers, use big.LITTLE technology, and support ECC memory.

In terms of processing, both models share identical CPU specs, with a clock multiplier of 27, a CPU temperature of 105°C, and similar cache sizes: 36 MB for L3 and 40 MB for L2. They also have the same instruction sets, including AVX2, SSE 4.2, and AES. The GPUs in both models have the same number of render output units (128), texture mapping units (328), and shading units (10496). Additionally, both laptops have integrated graphics and support for Double Precision Floating Point (DPFP).

One difference between the two models is that the Vector 18 has one additional USB port, bringing its total to 5 USB ports, while the Vector 16 has 4. However, other than that, their specifications align closely across all other areas, including GPU memory speed (2000 MHz), thermal design power (95W), and the same maximum RAM speed of 6400 MHz.