Reviews · Updated 2026-10-16

MSI Crosshair 16 HX (E14WGK) Review: QHD+ 240Hz RTX 5070 at £1,749

The MSI Crosshair 16 HX (E14WGK) pairs the RTX 5070 with Intel's Core i7 14th Gen HX processor and a 16-inch QHD+ 240Hz display, with a 1TB SSD in the mix. Reduced to £1,749 at Currys from £2,099, it promises flagship-style display specs at a mid-range price. With RAM, weight and battery details missing from the listing, is this discounted Crosshair worth it in 2026?

Illustrative stock photo (Pexels / Unsplash)

RTX 5070

Specifications

Battery	Not stated by retailer
CPU	Intel Core i7 14th Gen HX
Display	16-inch QHD+ 240Hz
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070
Price (UK)	£1,749 at Currys (reduced from £2,099)
RAM	Not stated on fetched page — omitted; confirm with retailer before buying
Storage	1TB SSD
Weight	Not stated by retailer

Check live UK price

Verified listing.

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Design and build quality

The Crosshair 16 HX is MSI's style-led gaming laptop, with a design inspired by — as the name suggests — crosshair and sci-fi aesthetics. It sits below the Raider and Vector lines in MSI's hierarchy: you get gamer styling and solid hardware, but not the flagship cooling or materials of the top tier.

As a 16-inch HX-class machine it will be a full-size desktop replacement — expect typical gaming-laptop heft and plan for a primarily desk-bound life with occasional transport. MSI did not have weight or battery figures on the Currys listing we saw, so confirm with the retailer if either matters to your decision.

The E14WGK SKU's missing RAM specification is the notable information gap: for a £1,749 purchase, buyers deserve to know the memory capacity without having to ask. Otherwise, the Crosshair formula is familiar and likeable — bold looks, capable hardware, mid-range money.

Display

The 16-inch QHD+ 240Hz panel is the standout feature at this price: 2560x1600-class resolution for sharp detail combined with 240Hz esports-grade motion clarity. Displays this fast are usually found on machines costing hundreds more, so the Crosshair's panel is a genuine highlight.

For competitive gamers this is close to ideal — high refresh, high resolution, and an RTX 5070 capable of driving strong frame rates at QHD+ in popular shooters, especially with DLSS 4 assistance. Immersive single-player titles benefit too, with crisp detail and fluid camera movement.

Colour coverage was not stated on the listing, so creators should verify before assuming accuracy. And note the panel demands more from the GPU than 1080p-class displays — but the RTX 5070 is well suited to QHD+, making this a balanced pairing rather than a mismatch. For buyers stepping up from a 1080p laptop, the improvement in sharpness and smoothness is the kind of upgrade you notice every single day.

Gaming performance

The RTX 5070 is NVIDIA's 50-series value sweet spot: strong 1440p-class gaming performance with DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation support, comfortably outpacing previous-generation mid-range cards. At QHD+ resolution it should deliver smooth high-settings gaming in modern titles, with DLSS providing headroom for the most demanding games.

Intel's Core i7 14th Gen HX is a full-power HX-class chip — desktop-derived performance that keeps pace with the GPU in demanding scenes and handles streaming, content creation and heavy multitasking. It lacks the latest platform refinements of Core Ultra, but for pure gaming performance it remains strong.

The 1TB SSD keeps load times short, though modern libraries will fill it — budget for expansion down the line. We have not benchmarked this exact E14WGK configuration, so treat third-party frame-rate claims with caution; on specification, this is a well-balanced upper-mid-range gaming package.

Thermals and noise

Cooling an HX-class Intel chip and an RTX 5070 in a mid-range 16-inch chassis is where the Crosshair's positioning shows: MSI's cooling here is effective but a step below the elaborate systems in the Raider and Vector flagships. Expect the fans to work audibly under sustained gaming load — normal for the class, but not best-in-class.

We have not thermally tested this configuration. MSI Centre provides the usual silent, balanced and extreme performance profiles, so you can tune the noise-to-performance trade-off to your taste — quiet for desk work, full cooling for gaming sessions.

As always, keep vents unobstructed on a hard surface, and consider a cooling stand for long sessions. Given the £1,749 discounted price, the cooling just needs to be effective — and MSI's mainstream thermal designs generally are — rather than exceptional. Keeping the vents free of dust and the machine on a hard surface will keep thermals at their best over the years.

Battery life

Currys published no battery capacity or tested figures for this SKU, so we will be direct: an HX-class Intel processor and RTX 5070 in a 16-inch chassis means plugged-in gaming is the design priority, and unplugged gaming sessions will be short with reduced performance.

For everyday productivity the outlook is reasonable — hybrid graphics can idle the discrete GPU during light tasks — but without a stated cell size we will not estimate battery hours. Treat the Crosshair as a transportable desktop: it moves between desks, then plugs in.

Buyers who need long unplugged endurance should look at thin-and-light alternatives. For gamers who play plugged in, the battery behaviour will be a non-issue. As with all HX-class machines, treat the battery as backup for brief unplugged moments rather than a primary power source. If you regularly work away from the mains, a thin-and-light machine with a larger cell will serve you far better than any HX-class gaming laptop.

Price and value in the UK

At £1,749 — reduced from £2,099 at Currys — the Crosshair 16 HX occupies an interesting middle ground: £250 less than the Acer Nitro V 16 AI's £1,999 list while offering a sharper, faster QHD+ 240Hz panel, but £400 more than the HP Omen 16's £1,349 with its 2K 144Hz display and newer Ryzen AI platform.

The £350 discount is genuine value: QHD+ 240Hz displays are rare below £1,800, and the RTX 5070 plus HX-class Intel silicon is a strong hardware foundation. Against the Omen 16, you are paying £400 for the 240Hz upgrade and the Intel HX platform — worth it for dedicated esports players, less compelling for everyone else.

The caveat remains the unstated RAM configuration: verify it with Currys before buying, since 16GB versus 32GB affects the value judgement. At £1,749 with the discount live, this is a fair price for the fastest display in the sub-£1,800 RTX 5070 class.

Price at check: £1,749 at Currys (reduced from £2,099; RAM, weight and battery not stated)
Closest rivals: HP Omen 16 (£1,349), Acer Nitro V 16 AI (£1,999), Lenovo LOQ 15IRX10 (£1,599)
Value verdict: strong discounted price for a QHD+ 240Hz machine — verify RAM first

Pros & Cons

✓ What we like

QHD+ 240Hz display — flagship-grade panel at a mid-range price
RTX 5070 — strong 1440p-class gaming performance
Core i7 14th Gen HX — full-power Intel processor
£1,749 discounted from £2,099 — a genuine £350 saving
1TB SSD keeps the system responsive

✕ Worth knowing

RAM configuration not stated on the Currys listing
Weight and battery figures not published
8GB-class VRAM (check exact spec) may limit future ultra settings
Crosshair line is style-led — thermals trail MSI's flagship lines

Verdict

The MSI Crosshair 16 HX at £1,749 is a compelling discounted buy: a QHD+ 240Hz display is exceptional at this price, and the RTX 5070 with an HX-class Intel chip is a strong gaming foundation. The £350 saving over its £2,099 list price is genuine. It does not beat the HP Omen 16's £1,349 on pure value, but for esports players who want 240Hz, the £400 premium is justifiable. Verify the RAM configuration with Currys before ordering — then, at the discounted price, this is one of the better sub-£1,800 high-refresh gaming laptops in the UK.

Check live UK price

Verified listing.

View on Amazon UK

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the UK price of the MSI Crosshair 16 HX?

We saw it at £1,749 at Currys, reduced from £2,099 — a £350 saving. At that price it undercuts the Acer Nitro V 16 AI by £250 while offering a sharper, faster QHD+ 240Hz display, though the HP Omen 16 remains cheaper still at £1,349. Check the live price, as Currys promotions change regularly.

What is the Core i7 14th Gen HX processor?

The Core i7 14th Gen HX is an Intel HX-class processor — a full-power chip from Intel's 14th generation, designed for performance laptops. It delivers strong gaming and multi-core performance, comfortably keeping pace with the RTX 5070, though it lacks the NPUs and efficiency refinements of the newest Core Ultra platforms.

How much RAM does the Crosshair 16 HX include?

The Currys listing we saw did not state the RAM capacity, which buyers should verify before ordering — 16GB versus 32GB changes the value calculation. Contact Currys or check MSI's page for this exact E14WGK SKU to confirm.

Is the Crosshair 16 HX good for competitive gaming?

Yes, on paper it is excellent for esports: QHD+ resolution for sharp detail, 240Hz for motion clarity, and an RTX 5070 that can drive high frame rates at that resolution in competitive titles. If competitive shooters are your mainstay, this is one of the stronger sub-£1,800 options.