Verdict
The MSI Crosshair 16 HX D14V (2024) is a solid, if quite expensive gaming laptop. Its 14700HX and RTX 4060 power core offer decent 1080p and 1440p, although feel underpowered relative to the fantastic 16-inch QHD+ 240Hz panel. The ports here are solid, as is battery life, although you can get a more compelling overall package for a little more.
Pros
- Fantastic display
- Solid performance
- Excellent port selection
Cons
- Expensive for an RTX 4060-powered laptop
- Meagre battery life
-
Intel Core i7-14700HX & RTX 4060:The Crosshair 16 HX D14V comes with a decent bout of power, with a 14-core/20 thread CPU and an okay GPU for 1080p/1440p workloads. -
16-inch QHD+ 240Hz display:It also comes with a large screen, complete with fantastic detail and smooth motion. -
90Whr battery:The Crosshair 16 HX D14V also comes with a large 90Whr battery to offer sensible longevity.
Introduction
The MSI Crosshair 16 HX D14V (2024) may be a beautiful 16-inch gaming laptop, although it leaves me questioning how a laptop with an RTX 4060 inside can cost as much as this one does.
At £1599, it’s one of the more expensive laptops with this GPU inside, although it also comes with a beefy Intel Core i7-14700HX, as well as 16GB of DDR5 RAM, a 1TB SSD, solid ports and a large 16-inch QHD+ 240Hz screen.
I’ve been testing the Crosshair 16 HX D14V to see if it’s one of the best gaming laptops we’ve tested.
Design and Keyboard
- Chunkier frame
- Intriguing looks, and excellent ports
- Larger keyboard and trackpad
The Crosshair 16 HX D14V is one of the more ‘gaming laptop’ style gaming laptops I’ve looked at in recent times. It leans further into the traditional, chunky aesthetic that gaming laptops have seemingly been bereft of this year.
At 2.5kg, it’s quite a hefty unit and features a big, thick metal frame that goes a way in justifying this laptop’s cost. There’s an interesting pattern on the lid for some extra flair, as well as a seemingly iridescent MSI logo, which is a nice touch.
As is customary with gaming laptops, most of the Crosshair 16 HX D14V’s ports aren’t contained on the sides, but actually on the back. There you’ll find a DC jack for power, as well as an HDMI 2.1 port, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A and an Ethernet port.
The left-hand side houses a further USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C that supports power delivery and DisplayPort. On the right hand side, there’s the third Type-A and a headphone jack.
The Crosshair 16 HX D14V’s keyboard, with this being a larger chassis, is more of a full-size option, going for a 96 percent or 1800 style layout. This features proper arrow keys, a decent function row and a number pad. The num pad is a tad condensed, though.
The keyboard is RGB-backlit, with the WASD keys almost completely transparent. It can make them a tad difficult to see, while the keys themselves are reasonably tactile and satisfying to press. With this in mind, the trackpad is on the larger side, giving your fingers lots of room to move, and its buttons are tactile and satisfying.
Display and Sound
- Detailed with smooth motion
- Seemingly overpowered for the internal specs
- Thinner speakers
Arguably a big reason for the higher price tag of the Crosshair 16 HX D14V’s cost is the fact it comes with quite a stacked display in terms of specs. This is a 16-inch IPS panel with a 2560×1600, or QHD+, resolution and a 240Hz refresh rate.
It doesn’t necessarily match up with the under-the-hood power of this laptop but is nonetheless a bright and colour-accurate panel with decent blacks and contrast, alongside fantastic motion handling and marvellous detail from that uprated resolution.
This was backed up when using my colorimeter with 100% sRGB coverage, which means this panel is displaying perfect mainstream colours for games and productivity tasks. The 98% DCI-P3 and 87% Adobe RGB results are also excellent, and mean you could conceivably use the Crosshair 16 HX D14V’s display for more colour-sensitive workloads if you wished.
A peak brightness of 455.6 nits is fantastic, and means displayed images are especially vibrant, although at that peak level, the 0.40 measured black level can leave them looking quite grey. Dialling the brightness down yields much better blacks with a 0.15 level, while a 1220:1 contrast ratio is reasonable and a 6900K colour temperature is okay.
The speakers here are on the thinner side, lacking much in the way of a rounded sound. They’re okay for casual, infrequent listening, although you will want to invest in a proper set of headphones or external speakers for much clearer audio.
Performance
- RTX 4060 feels underpowered at this price
- Reasonable 1080p and 1440p gaming results
- Solid SSD for capacity and speed
Inside, the Crosshair 16 HX D14V packs in a decent combination of CPU and GPU, with an Intel Core i7-14700HX and an Nvidia RTX 4060. This means it can handle games at both 1080p and at this laptop’s native 2560×1600 resolution, although you are perhaps better off at 1080p with that mobile 4060 in mind.
The 14700HX is a competent chip, packing in 20 cores and 28 threads, as well as a boost clock of up to 5.5GHz. In the Geekbench 6 and Cinebench R23 benchmark tests, it proved to be a capable processor in both single and multi-threaded workload, and was zippy in real world testing, too.
The RTX 4060 GPU inside offered reasonable oomph for 3D Mark Time Spy, and the combination of the 14700HX and that GPU allowed the Crosshair 16 HX D14V to garner some solid results in the likes of Returnal and Cyberpunk 2077. At 1080p, we saw respective results of 82fps and 84.34fps, while pushing up to 1440p yielded 52fps and 55.62fps. More eSports-oriented titles such as Rainbow Six Extraction will fare better, with the benchmark test showcasing 131fps at 1080p and 85fps at 1440p.
Ray-traced performance isn’t this laptop’s strong point, though. At the Crosshair 16 HX D14V’s native 2560×1600 resolution in Cyberpunk 2077 at its RT: Ultra preset, it resulted in a 18.16fps average. Results were much stronger in enabling DLSS and Frame Generation and putting the resolution down to 1080p, which resulted in a 59.72fps average.
This MSI laptop comes with 16GB of reasonably speedy DDR5-5600 RAM, as well as a 1TB SSD for storing files. It’s of a decent capacity and is also quite speedy, with tested read and write speeds of 5018.57MB/s and 3526.78MB/s respectively. Under load, the fan’s cooling system spins up quite a lot, and it gets quite loud.
Software
- Reasonably clean Windows 11 install
- Some handy system apps included
MSI’s Crosshair 14 HX D14V comes running full-fat Windows 11, although the only sign of Copilot here is with the prompt key on the bottom row of the keyboard. Otherwise, it’s a largely AI-free experience.
There is some bloatware here that you may wish to uninstall, such as the omniscient Norton Antivirus and Battlenet. Otherwise, it is a reasonably clean Windows install that comes with a couple of useful MSI-specific programs, including MSI Center where you can check on all of your system’s vitals and fiddle with settings including the laptop’s MUX switch for selecting discrete graphics and whether your display shows an on-screen crosshair for FPS titles, for instance. Overall, it’s a clean UI, although its update process can take some time.
Battery Life
- Lasted for 4 hours 25 minutes in the battery test
- Capable of lasting for half a working day
The Crosshair 16 HX D14V doesn’t spring any surprises with its battery life. As a gaming laptop with a discrete GPU, endurance is never a strong point, although the 4 hours 25 minutes result it got with the panel at 150 nits and with default RGB keyboard backlighting in the PC Mark 10 test seems reasonable.
It means you’ll be able to use this laptop for half a working day away from the mains, although for full power, you’ll want to keep it firmly plugged in. At least recharging the large 90Whr cell doesn’t take too long with its 240W DC charger. Going from zero to 50% took 29 minutes, while from zero to full took 66.
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
You want a big, detailed display
The Crosshair 16 HX D14V comes with a sublime display that’s wonderfully bright for an LCD, offers marvellous colour accuracy and fantastic motion. If a top display is a priority in this price range, this is worth a look.
You want more power for a £1599 laptop
For a laptop at this price point, the RTX 4060 GPU inside can leave a bit of performance on the table against similarly-priced rivals. If you want more power at this price, you’re better off looking elsewhere.
Final Thoughts
The MSI Crosshair 16 HX D14V (2024) is a solid, if quite expensive gaming laptop. Its 14700HX and RTX 4060 power core offer decent 1080p and 1440p, although feel underpowered relative to the fantastic 16-inch QHD+ 240Hz panel. The ports here are good, as is battery life, although you can get a more powerful package for a similar price.
For instance, the HP Omen 17 (2024) ups the screen size by an inch and utilises an RTX 4070 while having the same asking price, although makes a sacrifice by offering a Full HD panel and while the Gigabyte Aorus 17H pushes further towards the £2000 mark, it offers an RTX 4080 and beefier performance. For more options though, check out our list of the best gaming laptops we’ve tested.
How we test
Every laptop we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to gauge key factors, including build quality, performance, screen quality and battery life.
These include formal synthetic benchmarks and scripted tests, plus a series of real-world checks, such as how well it runs popular apps.
We use as our main laptop for at least a week.
We test the performance via both benchmark tests and real-world use.
We test the screen with a colorimeter and real-world use.
We test the battery with a benchmark test and real-world use.
FAQs
The MSI Crosshair 16 HX D14V (2024) weighs 2.5kg.
Trusted Reviews test data
PCMark 10
Cinebench R23 multi core
Cinebench R23 single core
Geekbench 6 single core
Geekbench 6 multi core
3DMark Time Spy
CrystalDiskMark Read speed
CrystalDiskMark Write Speed
Brightness (SDR)
Black level
Contrast ratio
White Visual Colour Temperature
sRGB
Adobe RGB
DCI-P3
PCMark Battery (office)
Battery discharge after 60 minutes of online Netflix playback
Battery recharge time
Cyberpunk 2077 (Quad HD)
Cyberpunk 2077 (Full HD)
Returnal (Quad HD)
Returnal (Full HD)
Verdict
The MSI Crosshair 16 HX D14V (2024) is a solid, if quite expensive gaming laptop. Its 14700HX and RTX 4060 power core offer decent 1080p and 1440p, although feel underpowered relative to the fantastic 16-inch QHD+ 240Hz panel. The ports here are solid, as is battery life, although you can get a more compelling overall package for a little more.
Pros
- Fantastic display
- Solid performance
- Excellent port selection
Cons
- Expensive for an RTX 4060-powered laptop
- Meagre battery life
-
Intel Core i7-14700HX & RTX 4060:The Crosshair 16 HX D14V comes with a decent bout of power, with a 14-core/20 thread CPU and an okay GPU for 1080p/1440p workloads. -
16-inch QHD+ 240Hz display:It also comes with a large screen, complete with fantastic detail and smooth motion. -
90Whr battery:The Crosshair 16 HX D14V also comes with a large 90Whr battery to offer sensible longevity.
Introduction
The MSI Crosshair 16 HX D14V (2024) may be a beautiful 16-inch gaming laptop, although it leaves me questioning how a laptop with an RTX 4060 inside can cost as much as this one does.
At £1599, it’s one of the more expensive laptops with this GPU inside, although it also comes with a beefy Intel Core i7-14700HX, as well as 16GB of DDR5 RAM, a 1TB SSD, solid ports and a large 16-inch QHD+ 240Hz screen.
I’ve been testing the Crosshair 16 HX D14V to see if it’s one of the best gaming laptops we’ve tested.
Design and Keyboard
- Chunkier frame
- Intriguing looks, and excellent ports
- Larger keyboard and trackpad
The Crosshair 16 HX D14V is one of the more ‘gaming laptop’ style gaming laptops I’ve looked at in recent times. It leans further into the traditional, chunky aesthetic that gaming laptops have seemingly been bereft of this year.
At 2.5kg, it’s quite a hefty unit and features a big, thick metal frame that goes a way in justifying this laptop’s cost. There’s an interesting pattern on the lid for some extra flair, as well as a seemingly iridescent MSI logo, which is a nice touch.
As is customary with gaming laptops, most of the Crosshair 16 HX D14V’s ports aren’t contained on the sides, but actually on the back. There you’ll find a DC jack for power, as well as an HDMI 2.1 port, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A and an Ethernet port.
The left-hand side houses a further USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C that supports power delivery and DisplayPort. On the right hand side, there’s the third Type-A and a headphone jack.
The Crosshair 16 HX D14V’s keyboard, with this being a larger chassis, is more of a full-size option, going for a 96 percent or 1800 style layout. This features proper arrow keys, a decent function row and a number pad. The num pad is a tad condensed, though.
The keyboard is RGB-backlit, with the WASD keys almost completely transparent. It can make them a tad difficult to see, while the keys themselves are reasonably tactile and satisfying to press. With this in mind, the trackpad is on the larger side, giving your fingers lots of room to move, and its buttons are tactile and satisfying.
Display and Sound
- Detailed with smooth motion
- Seemingly overpowered for the internal specs
- Thinner speakers
Arguably a big reason for the higher price tag of the Crosshair 16 HX D14V’s cost is the fact it comes with quite a stacked display in terms of specs. This is a 16-inch IPS panel with a 2560×1600, or QHD+, resolution and a 240Hz refresh rate.
It doesn’t necessarily match up with the under-the-hood power of this laptop but is nonetheless a bright and colour-accurate panel with decent blacks and contrast, alongside fantastic motion handling and marvellous detail from that uprated resolution.
This was backed up when using my colorimeter with 100% sRGB coverage, which means this panel is displaying perfect mainstream colours for games and productivity tasks. The 98% DCI-P3 and 87% Adobe RGB results are also excellent, and mean you could conceivably use the Crosshair 16 HX D14V’s display for more colour-sensitive workloads if you wished.
A peak brightness of 455.6 nits is fantastic, and means displayed images are especially vibrant, although at that peak level, the 0.40 measured black level can leave them looking quite grey. Dialling the brightness down yields much better blacks with a 0.15 level, while a 1220:1 contrast ratio is reasonable and a 6900K colour temperature is okay.
The speakers here are on the thinner side, lacking much in the way of a rounded sound. They’re okay for casual, infrequent listening, although you will want to invest in a proper set of headphones or external speakers for much clearer audio.
Performance
- RTX 4060 feels underpowered at this price
- Reasonable 1080p and 1440p gaming results
- Solid SSD for capacity and speed
Inside, the Crosshair 16 HX D14V packs in a decent combination of CPU and GPU, with an Intel Core i7-14700HX and an Nvidia RTX 4060. This means it can handle games at both 1080p and at this laptop’s native 2560×1600 resolution, although you are perhaps better off at 1080p with that mobile 4060 in mind.
The 14700HX is a competent chip, packing in 20 cores and 28 threads, as well as a boost clock of up to 5.5GHz. In the Geekbench 6 and Cinebench R23 benchmark tests, it proved to be a capable processor in both single and multi-threaded workload, and was zippy in real world testing, too.
The RTX 4060 GPU inside offered reasonable oomph for 3D Mark Time Spy, and the combination of the 14700HX and that GPU allowed the Crosshair 16 HX D14V to garner some solid results in the likes of Returnal and Cyberpunk 2077. At 1080p, we saw respective results of 82fps and 84.34fps, while pushing up to 1440p yielded 52fps and 55.62fps. More eSports-oriented titles such as Rainbow Six Extraction will fare better, with the benchmark test showcasing 131fps at 1080p and 85fps at 1440p.
Ray-traced performance isn’t this laptop’s strong point, though. At the Crosshair 16 HX D14V’s native 2560×1600 resolution in Cyberpunk 2077 at its RT: Ultra preset, it resulted in a 18.16fps average. Results were much stronger in enabling DLSS and Frame Generation and putting the resolution down to 1080p, which resulted in a 59.72fps average.
This MSI laptop comes with 16GB of reasonably speedy DDR5-5600 RAM, as well as a 1TB SSD for storing files. It’s of a decent capacity and is also quite speedy, with tested read and write speeds of 5018.57MB/s and 3526.78MB/s respectively. Under load, the fan’s cooling system spins up quite a lot, and it gets quite loud.
Software
- Reasonably clean Windows 11 install
- Some handy system apps included
MSI’s Crosshair 14 HX D14V comes running full-fat Windows 11, although the only sign of Copilot here is with the prompt key on the bottom row of the keyboard. Otherwise, it’s a largely AI-free experience.
There is some bloatware here that you may wish to uninstall, such as the omniscient Norton Antivirus and Battlenet. Otherwise, it is a reasonably clean Windows install that comes with a couple of useful MSI-specific programs, including MSI Center where you can check on all of your system’s vitals and fiddle with settings including the laptop’s MUX switch for selecting discrete graphics and whether your display shows an on-screen crosshair for FPS titles, for instance. Overall, it’s a clean UI, although its update process can take some time.
Battery Life
- Lasted for 4 hours 25 minutes in the battery test
- Capable of lasting for half a working day
The Crosshair 16 HX D14V doesn’t spring any surprises with its battery life. As a gaming laptop with a discrete GPU, endurance is never a strong point, although the 4 hours 25 minutes result it got with the panel at 150 nits and with default RGB keyboard backlighting in the PC Mark 10 test seems reasonable.
It means you’ll be able to use this laptop for half a working day away from the mains, although for full power, you’ll want to keep it firmly plugged in. At least recharging the large 90Whr cell doesn’t take too long with its 240W DC charger. Going from zero to 50% took 29 minutes, while from zero to full took 66.
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
You want a big, detailed display
The Crosshair 16 HX D14V comes with a sublime display that’s wonderfully bright for an LCD, offers marvellous colour accuracy and fantastic motion. If a top display is a priority in this price range, this is worth a look.
You want more power for a £1599 laptop
For a laptop at this price point, the RTX 4060 GPU inside can leave a bit of performance on the table against similarly-priced rivals. If you want more power at this price, you’re better off looking elsewhere.
Final Thoughts
The MSI Crosshair 16 HX D14V (2024) is a solid, if quite expensive gaming laptop. Its 14700HX and RTX 4060 power core offer decent 1080p and 1440p, although feel underpowered relative to the fantastic 16-inch QHD+ 240Hz panel. The ports here are good, as is battery life, although you can get a more powerful package for a similar price.
For instance, the HP Omen 17 (2024) ups the screen size by an inch and utilises an RTX 4070 while having the same asking price, although makes a sacrifice by offering a Full HD panel and while the Gigabyte Aorus 17H pushes further towards the £2000 mark, it offers an RTX 4080 and beefier performance. For more options though, check out our list of the best gaming laptops we’ve tested.
How we test
Every laptop we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to gauge key factors, including build quality, performance, screen quality and battery life.
These include formal synthetic benchmarks and scripted tests, plus a series of real-world checks, such as how well it runs popular apps.
We use as our main laptop for at least a week.
We test the performance via both benchmark tests and real-world use.
We test the screen with a colorimeter and real-world use.
We test the battery with a benchmark test and real-world use.
FAQs
The MSI Crosshair 16 HX D14V (2024) weighs 2.5kg.
Trusted Reviews test data
PCMark 10
Cinebench R23 multi core
Cinebench R23 single core
Geekbench 6 single core
Geekbench 6 multi core
3DMark Time Spy
CrystalDiskMark Read speed
CrystalDiskMark Write Speed
Brightness (SDR)
Black level
Contrast ratio
White Visual Colour Temperature
sRGB
Adobe RGB
DCI-P3
PCMark Battery (office)
Battery discharge after 60 minutes of online Netflix playback
Battery recharge time
Cyberpunk 2077 (Quad HD)
Cyberpunk 2077 (Full HD)
Returnal (Quad HD)
Returnal (Full HD)
