The best gaming laptops in 2025 usher in a new generation of GPUs, led by Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 50 series. While we haven’t tested every model yet, some early standouts with these powerful GPUs are starting to join our top picks — alongside excellent RTX 40 series laptops that still deliver incredible performance.

Every laptop on this list runs the latest AAA games like a dream. Your budget will determine just how good those games look, but I’ll help you find a machine that plays your favorites smoothly and reliably.

I’ve reviewed laptops for Laptop Mag for over seven years, including more than 90 gaming laptops. I can spot the pros and cons of a gaming rig within hours, and after a week of hands-on time, I can confidently tell you if I'd buy it myself.

Of course, my expertise is just one part of the process. To find the best laptops, we put each one through a gauntlet of performance, graphics, display, and battery life benchmarks. Some games are poorly optimized (looking at you, Monster Hunter Wilds), while others are just brutal (Cyberpunk 2077), but the best laptops survive both.

After testing, the laptops spend real time with our reviewers—gaming, working, and everything in between. Lab scores matter, but how a laptop feels in daily use is just as important. We evaluate everything from the thermals and keyboard to the software and webcam.

If you're shopping for the best gaming laptops in any category — budget, premium, or somewhere in between — this is the list to trust. If you're looking for the cheapest RTX 50-series gaming laptops, you won't have to wait long, since the RTX 5060 and RTX 5050 might be launching soon.

Update Log

6/4/25: Added another entry: Alienware 16 Area-51 as the best looking gaming laptop.

The Quick List

The best gaming laptops of 2025

Each gaming laptop on this list has been painstakingly tested and received the hands-on time necessary to review it. You can rest assured that any choice you make will equip you to run the games you love the most.

Best overall

Looking for the best? The MSI Raider 18 HX AI with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 with 16GB VRAM is the answer. It not only supports epic performance but also a bright MiniLED display, a pleasant keyboard experience, and some bangin' audio.

Madeline Ricchiuto writes, "For a premium desktop replacement laptop like the Raider, the miniLED panel is more than just a utility feature; it’s a key selling point," in our review of the MSI Raider 18 HX AI.

Ready to watch an RTX 5080 do some work? Bouncing across rooftops in Assassin's Creed: Mirage (Ultra, 1080p), the Raider scored 153 fps, defeating the Razer Blade 16 (120 fps) and the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 (145 fps). The Raider 18 spread chaos across Night City in Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra, 1080p) at 64 fps, defeating the Aorus (62 fps) and falling shortly behind the Razer (66 fps).

Jumping in with an 18-inch, 4K, 120Hz, MiniLED display, the MSI Raider 18 HX AI covered 83.1% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and averaged 668 nits of brightness. That's some decent color and a hell of a lot of brightness. You'll have the best chance of survival when suffering poor lighting conditions in video games.

The full-size keyboard is bouncy. And thanks to the Raider's well-spaced keys on a large deck, typing is an overall pleasant experience. "Your fingers won’t bottom out while frantically typing directions in your raid chat."

It's no secret that gaming laptops get hot as the nine layers of hell (yes, this is a D&D reference). Despite its very loud fans, the Raider still outputs spicy levels of heat (so maybe avoid putting this in your lap).

Then there's the short battery life, coming in at a measly 2 hours and 33 minutes. Not to mention that the Raider costs more than most people's rent.

However, the MSI Raider 18 HX AI is a beast of a gaming laptop that shines in the era of Nvidia's new RTX 50-series GPUs.

See our full MSI Raider 18 HX AI review.

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Best budget

I haven't been able to champion a budget gaming laptop in quite some time. At the risk of sounding like an old man, they just don't make them the way they used to... until now. Let me introduce you to the Dell G16 (7630), a sub-$1,000 gaming laptop with $2K+ gaming features.

Rami Tabari writes, "If I wanted to jump into battle with my friends on a budget, this is the gaming laptop I’d take with me," in our review of the Dell G16 (7630).

The Dell G16 (7630)'s Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 8GB GPU puts in the strong effort you'd expect. Navigating Night City in Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra, 1080p) was a breeze, with the G16 averaging 33 fps. That surpassed the Asus TUF Gaming A14 (30 fps) and Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 (32 fps) while just coming short of the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 (37 fps), which is natural due to its RTX 4070 GPU. The G16 then took a leap of faith in Assassin’s Creed Mirage (Ultra, 1080p) at 88 fps, matching the Helios Neo 16 (88 fps) and sliding past the TUF Gaming A14 (87 fps), but lagged behind the Legion Pro 5 (103 fps).

One of the premium features I'd mentioned is its 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz display. First, its specs are high-quality but so are its benchmarks. It covered a stunning 114% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. While it is dim, at 310 nits of brightness, that's a problem solved by turning off the lights (I apologize to your eyes in advance).

Then there's the keyboard. There are $2K+ premium gaming laptops that don't even support a keyboard this good, our best overall gaming laptop included. The Dell G16 (7630) features a Cherry MX tactile mechanical keyboard. You won't find these punchy, clicky keys in any other budget gaming laptop.

The battery life is even decent. The Dell G16 (7630) clocked in 5 hours and 4 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery test. It's no TUF Gaming A14 (10:04), but its battery life outlasts the average budget gaming laptop by a whole hour.

This budget gaming laptop does come with caveats. There's the hollow, harsh speakers, which basically force you to buy a discrete gaming headset. Then there's the tiny touchpad. I mean, any gamer was going to use a gaming mouse anyway, but it makes general use frustrating.

Despite that, I wouldn't buy any other gaming laptop under $1,000.

See our full Dell G16 (7630) review.

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Best 40-series

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (Gen 9) ushered in the previous age of gaming laptops with its powerful Intel Core i9-14900HX processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU with 12GB of VRAM. That performance isn't the only head-turning feature. Its vivid display, loud audio, and satisfying keyboard wrap this beauty in a bow.

Madeline Ricchiuto writes, "The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is a gamer’s gaming laptop," in our review of the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (Gen 9).

Let's start with performance. The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i averaged 105 frames per second on the Far Cry 6 (Ultra, 1080p) benchmark, keeping pace with the MSI Vector 16 HX (98 fps) while dominating the Alienware X16 R2 (88 fps) and its last-gen model (97 fps). The Legion and its competitors landed in similar positions on the Red Dead Redemption 2 (Medium, 1080p) benchmark, with the Pro 7i at 96 fps, the Vector 16 at 104 fps, the X16 R2 at 90 fps, and the Gen 8 at 69 fps.

Then there's the display. A gorgeous 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz panel clocking in 108.7% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and 456 nits of brightness. Translation: it's vivid and vibrant enough to immerse you in your favorite games.

With widely spaced keys and an actuation force that feels crisp and springy, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i's keyboard puts off the notion that you need a mechanical keyboard to get serious gaming done.

Same goes for sporting a gaming headset (outside of playing games online, of course), as the Legion Pro 7i supports the Harman Super Linear Speaker System. That equates to two woofers and two tweeters, which are supported by a smart amp. If you want big, immersive sound, this is it.

Unfortunately, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is on the heavier side for a gaming laptop. And the battery life falls short, at 4 hours and 29 minutes. Even for a gaming laptop, we expect more.

But overall, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is the champ of the RTX 40-series era.

See our full Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (Gen 9) review.

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Best lightweight

Razer is the Apple of gaming laptops, offering premium thin-and-light machines through its Razer Blade series, and the Razer Blade 16 now leads the charge with Nvidia's latest RTX 50-series GPUs. Spending over $4,000, even for a top-tier gaming laptop, is a tall order, but for that proverbial arm and a leg, you get an absolute powerhouse that shrugs off almost everything you can throw at it.

Madeline Ricchiuto writes, "The Blade 16 is a fantastic laptop, offering a gorgeous OLED display, impactful audio, over 7 hours of web surfing battery life, a bouncy keyboard, and plenty of ports while weighing just 4.6 pounds," in our review of the Razer Blade 16 (2025).

The Blade's Nvidia RTX 5090 with 24GB of VRAM cut through frame rates like a hot knife through butter, smoothly and immensely satisfying. It crushed most of its competitors in the battle for frame rates. On the Red Dead Redemption II benchmark, the Blade nailed 87 fps. With the RTX 4090 GPU, the previous Razer (61 fps) was no match. Meanwhile, the Alienware x16 R2's RTX 4080 GPU got only 44 fps.

The notebook breezed through our overall performance tests with its AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU and 32GB of RAM. Its 2TB SSD configuration posted a blistering 1,730 megabytes per second in our file transfer test. However, it gets so hot it may singe a finger.

It even supports strong battery life, surviving 7 hours and 22 minutes on our battery test. That's unprecedented for a gaming laptop with a max-tier GPU. It even survived 2 hours and 28 minutes on the PCMark 10 gaming test. Again, this may not be the longest battery life, but it's hella impressive and adds to its portability quality.

Are you ready to hear about this monster's gorgeous 16-inch, 2560 x 1600 OLED display clocked in at 240Hz? This baby has a decent 372 nits of brightness and covers an intense 144.6% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. You will experience a level of immersion to rival a mini-LED display (and I don't say that lightly).

There's not much we can do about the price or heat, but if you stay tuned to our best gaming laptop deals, you might see the Razer Blade for a discounted price (eventually).

See our full Razer Blade 16 (2025) review.

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Best looking

Alienware rocked some slick designs in the past, but the Alienware 16 Area-51 is on another level. It's also among the new wave of Alienware gaming laptops to feature the latest RTX 50-series GPU. And it's also much cheaper than the $4K+ competition we've seen pop up. You can get the Alienware 16 Area-51 for around $3K depending on the deal.

Rami Tabari writes, "This thing looks like it’s about to blast the thrusters and head to outer space."

The best part about its spaceship aesthetic is the light bar on the hinge. It straight up looks like an aurora borealis. The curves and vents give off the thrusters vibe. And there's RGB lighting practically everywhere, including the touchpad and fans. There's also a glass window on the underside where you can get a look at the internals. Will you be seeing it much? No. Is it cool? Yes. The only issue with the design is one that comes with its power, and that's a 7.13-pound chassis.

The Area-51 pops off with the new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 16GB GPU, sending even RTX 5090 gaming laptops quaking in their proverbial boots. It jumped to 149 fps in Assassin's Creed Mirage, flying past the HP Omen Max (137 fps, RTX 5090), Razer Blade 16 (120 fps, RTX 5090), and Aorus Master 16 (145 fps, RTX 5080). Then in scored 121 fps in Far Cry 6, surpassing the Omen (109 fps), Blade (97 fps), and Aorus (120 fps).

With an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor and 32GB of RAM, the Alienware 16 Area-51 also dominated its competition in overall performance. It's the only gaming laptop that broke the 20K bracket in Geekbench 6. Not by much, as the Omen Max (19,822) was nipping at its heels. Its 1TB SSD did make it over a 1-GBps transfer speed, but it wasn't nearly as fast as the Blade (1,730 MBps).

Now, the Area-51's 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz, LED display is super bright, at 516 nits, but it's no where near as colorful as an OLED display. For comparison, it covered 81.6% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, whereas the Razer Blade's OLED display covered 144.6%. That's nearly double.

Also, since this is such a monster, you're not getting the best battery life, as it scored only 4 hours and 10 minutes. Around 5 hours is about average for modern day gaming laptops, so we hoped for something a little better. But when gaming you can nearly squeeze in 2 hours of play time (1:50). Although, I don't see why you'd ever have this immovable object unplugged.

The Area-51 is a great price already, but you can stay tuned to our best gaming laptop deals to see if it gets a deeper sale.

See our full Alienware 16 Area-51 review.

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Best battery life

I haven't seen a gaming laptop with double-digit battery life in years. The Asus TUF Gaming A14 is rocking an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 and it still hit 10 hours and 4 minutes on our battery test. The average time for gaming laptops is still around 5 hours, much to my own disappointment. However, with the TUF Gaming A14, you can go about your day normally until you get a break to plug in and game.

Claire Tabari writes, "The TUF Gaming A14 is a sturdy, lightweight miracle designed to withstand accidental drops and extreme conditions," in our review of the Asus TUF Gaming A14.

Loaded up with AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, the Asus TUF Gaming A14 tore through our benchmarks. It clocked in most titles at or over 60 fps, like Assassin's Creed Mirage (87 fps), Far Cry 6 (77 fps), and Red Dead Redemption 2 (61 fps). And despite how chunky Cyberpunk 2077 can be, it managed 30 fps, achieving the minimum for playability.

Again, shockingly, its display didn't hinder its battery life. Its 14-inch, 2560 x 1600, IPS, 165Hz panel performed quite well for the price, covering 82% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and averaging 411 nits of brightness. (I don't want to hear excuses again, manufacturers). With an RTX 4060 GPU, you can still experience immersive play thanks to this stunning display.

All that battery and performance is packed into a light and thin chassis. I'd argue the numbers were wrong if we didn't review it ourselves. The TUF A14 measures 3.2 pounds and 12.24 x 8.94 x 0.67~0.78 inches. Between its size and battery life, it makes for the optimal gaming laptop to be used on the go.

Despite that, we recommend using a gaming mouse most of the time, as the touchpad experience was less than ideal. It's The sluggish, offering too much resistance when in use.

Regardless, the Asus TUF Gaming A14 the champion of battery life in gaming laptops. We even included it in our laptops with best battery life ranking. And if you're wondering what the best gaming laptop for coding/programing would be, this is likely it due to its long battery life. It would also be the best gaming laptop for work for the same reason.

See our full Asus TUF Gaming A14 review.

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Benchmark comparisons

Recently reviewed

We deliberately make our best gaming laptops list short so you don't suffer from indecision. However, if you like having all of your options open to you, we have quite a few gaming laptops that we've also tested. Get ready to go swimming.

These can range from excellent to subpar, but each has its own pros and cons. Here's our list.

How to find the right gaming laptop

When shopping for a gaming laptop, there's a lot to consider. We wrote a detailed piece about the nine most important factors for buying a gaming laptop. But to simplify the process of choosing a system, here are seven key points to keep in mind.

Budget: How we split cost categories

Money is getting tight. There was a time when you could find a good gaming laptop for under $1,000, but those are few and far between. If you're looking for a quality gaming laptop and are trying to budget yourself, try aiming for at least $1,300. If you have a larger budget, you can push for a more powerful mainstream gaming laptop, which is often priced between $1,500 and $2,000.

Premium systems typically cost more than $2,000 and come stacked with many high-powered goodies such as high-powered specs and tricked-out software. Remember that the bigger the GPU, the bigger the gaps in price points. So, list the games you play and start checking the PC requirements. Almost any gaming laptop with a 40-series GPU can play an indie game, but if you're dabbling in AAA titles, you have to decide which settings you're comfortable playing on.

Screen Size: 14 and 16 inches are the go-to

You'll rarely find a 13-inch gaming laptop nowadays, and 15.6-inch laptops have taken a backseat to the hyped-up 14-inch and 16-inch laptops. Those 17-inch gaming laptops also feel like a thing of the past. Well, now we have 18-inch gaming laptops. Yeah, they're beasts, but what all these sizes have in common is that they're getting more compact.

If you're looking for a gaming laptop to take on the go and even use as a school or work laptop, 14-inch gaming laptops are the perfect fit. Smaller gaming laptops also tend to have longer battery life as well. 16-inch gaming laptops are more manageable in size than 17 or 18-inch machines without sacrificing any power. But if you're looking for true desktop replacements, you'll probably want to go all out with a larger size. They tend to be the most powerful but require you to always be near an outlet.

Screen Resolution: 1080p (high refresh rates), 4K (detail), 1440p (sweet spot)

Regarding gaming laptop displays, you want to balance frame rates and aesthetics. And if you're planning to get a truly mobile system, battery life also deserves consideration. A 1080p resolution is the bare minimum you'll find, which isn't great unless you're trading resolution for a high refresh rate. Panel makers now serve up screens with a 360Hz refresh rate and a three-millisecond response time. But I don't count out 4K screens yet, as many laptops with 4K displays are clocked at 120Hz. Remember that laptops with lower resolutions tend to have longer battery life overall.

Are you looking for a sweet spot between the two? More and more gaming laptops are shipping with 1440p displays, which provide high refresh rates and a sharp panel. This strikes an outstanding balance between the two without charging a premium price.

Refresh rate: 120Hz is a minimum

Depending on the kind of games you're playing, particularly first-person shooters and MOBAs, you'll take anything that enhances accuracy. Surprisingly, the higher a display's refresh rate is, the more accurate your shot becomes. We've experienced this firsthand during many demos. At this point, 60Hz is unacceptable for a gaming laptop, so we recommend investing in a panel with at least a 120Hz refresh rate.

You also have to balance graphics performance with resolution and refresh rate. Sometimes, a laptop is paired with a low-performing GPU and a high resolution and refresh rate. The math doesn't add up. If your gaming laptop cannot take advantage of the sharp screen or high refresh rate, then what's the point? Make sure you check the benchmarks.

Intel or AMD?

A couple of years ago, the answer to this question would have been undoubtedly Intel. However, AMD has made a furious comeback with its new Ryzen CPUs, which deliver outstanding overall performance and battery life. Thanks to the new Ryzen chips architecture, they're super power efficient without sacrificing productivity. The Ryzen 8000 series CPUs have consistently impressed with its performance versus battery life.

Not to be outdone, Intel's latest Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake chips are nothing to sneeze at. These powerful chips are catching up with AMD in their battery life game.

Gaming laptops have been balancing performance with battery life, changing the use case for these rigs for the better.

Battery Life: At least 5.5 hours

Unless it's plugged in, a gaming laptop's battery life tends to be very short, especially when gaming. However, the battery life of gaming laptops has increased over the years. So much so that anything under 5.5 hours is considered below average. We've reviewed several gaming laptops that last a whole workday and jump into the double digits. With results like that, we expect gaming laptops will match their non-gaming counterparts sooner rather than later. Our most recent power-efficient gaming laptop is right on this page (Asus TUF Gaming A14), lasting over 10 hours.

Specs: 1080p / Core i5 / 16GB are a minimum

You can spend a lot of time delving into specs, but here are the key components. If you want decent mainstream performance, go for a Core i5 CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 1080p screen.

FAQs

Do I really need an RTX 4070 / RTX 4080 / RTX 4090?

That entirely depends on what you're looking to get out of a gaming laptop. If you just want to game, period, then you can get away with an RTX 4060 gaming laptop. It's a powerful GPU, and thanks to its 8GB of VRAM, there's no AAA game you cannot play on the lowest settings. But as you may have seen with our testing, an RTX 4060 can get you 60+ fps in select AAA games on Ultra, 1080p settings.

Now, the good and bad of gaming laptops nowadays is that they don't often feature 1080p displays anymore, so you're never really making full use of those panels. Meanwhile, an RTX 4070 could carry you to reliable frame rates at higher resolutions. It can also make use of high refresh rates and low resolutions.

Then there's the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 GPUs, which elevate both aspects to their extremes. If you want to game in 4K at Ultra settings at high fps, these are the GPUs you need.

Should I get an RTX 50-series gaming laptop instead?

Great question! Yes and no. If you want the latest and greatest in tech, and want to experience all those slick new DLSS 4 features, then RTX 50-series gaming laptops are right for you.

Yes, RTX 50-series gaming laptops are stronger and better than some of the laptops currently on this list thanks to DLSS 4. However, the laptops on this list will eventually drop in price because of their siblings jumping into existence. These gaming laptops are amazing, so if you want to save money and get an excellent rig, be on the lookout for those best gaming laptop deals.

Gaming laptop vs. desktop

I wrote a whole article about the gaming laptop vs. gaming PC debate, which will give you a more in-depth explanation. However, in brief, it entirely depends on your circumstances.

Gaming desktops are cheaper and more powerful, while gaming laptops are more portable and offer everything you need in one clean package.

I prefer a gaming desktop experience, but that's because I have a dedicated desk and I am not traveling anywhere. However, it is nice to cuddle up in my bed with a gaming laptop at two in the morning.

Can I use a gaming laptop for school or work?

A gaming laptop can definitely work for school, the option we recommend in our best student laptops guide is the Asus TUF Gaming A14, which is the best battery life pick on this page. It lasted over 10 hours in our testing, an important feature for most students and the Achilles' heel for most gaming laptops. It's also not too heavy at 3.2 pounds, so you won't regret hauling it around campus if you're in college.

Whether a gaming laptop is right for your work is going to depend on a lot of factors. In all likelihood, it will be able to handle whatever your workload might be, but whether it is the right look for your work could differ. The Asus TUF Gaming A14 is again a potential candidate for the reasons above that make it a good student pick. Additionally, once you remove the stickers and turn off the RGB lighting on the keyboard, it's a fairly minimalist design that doesn't scream gaming laptop as you set it down at a meeting room table. However, depending on whether you regularly meet with clients or are in a very professional work setting, one of the best business laptops may be the better choice.

How we test gaming laptops

When we bring a laptop into our lab, we aim to see how it would work if you brought it into your home or office. While we use industry-standard benchmarks such as Geekbench and 3DMark, we focus heavily on real-world tests that we have developed in-house.

To test endurance, the Laptop Mag Battery test surfs the web at 150 nits of brightness until the system runs out of juice. We use a giant spreadsheet macro that matches 65,000 names with their addresses to judge pure processing power, a video transcoder that converts a 4K video to 1080p, and the Geekbench 5/6 synthetic test.

We ramp up our 3DMark testing to also include Fire Strike Ultra and Time Spy Extreme, which determine how well the laptop copes with DX11 and DX12 4K graphics workloads. If the laptop is equipped with a graphics card that supports DirectX ray-tracing, we also use the 2560 x 1440 Port Royal test. (We don’t bother with Night Raid here—who cares about integrated graphics on a gaming laptop?) For the best-equipped laptops on the market, we may also run Speed Way, which plies the deepest and most demanding features of DX12 Ultimate.

We run all of the gaming benchmarks in full-screen mode with vertical sync disabled, always at least at 1920 x 1080 (1080p) resolution, as well as the laptop's native resolution. Games include: Red Dead Redemption 2, Assassin's Creed Mirage, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Borderlands 3, Far Cry 6, and more.

When we're testing gaming laptops with the same GPU, sometimes there are only a handful of frames that decide a victory. Now, we're not saying you should pick your gaming laptop based on a couple of fps. However, there are some gaming laptops with the same GPU that perform much worse than others, so be sure to see our testing.

We use a colorimeter to measure screen brightness and color gamut, while other instruments help us determine a laptop's key travel and ambient heat.

Following these tests, the laptop is given to our expert reviewers for extensive hands-on testing. Our reviewers will spend days using the laptop as part of their typical workflow to get a sense of the real-world performance and live with the laptop to come away with a thorough understanding of the hardware and software experience. This blended lab testing and hands-on approach allows us to offer you a clear and comprehensive view of every laptop that comes through Laptop Mag.

See this page on How We Test Laptops for more details on our benchmarking procedures.

Why Trust Laptop Mag

Laptop Mag has been testing and reviewing laptops for over two decades. We test over 150 different models per year, subjecting each system to a series of rigorous benchmarks that provides a complete picture of performance, battery life and usability.

Our expert reviewers also use each product to see how it looks and feels in everyday situations. Because we see so many different notebooks, we can compare each to its direct competitors and give you an idea of how it stacks up to the average laptop in its price band.

The best 4K laptops are designed with graphic designers, video editors, animators, and sticklers for color accuracy in mind. Laptop Mag spends hundreds of hours testing and reviewing 4K laptops that can produce the accurate and rich color palettes you crave.

These laptops have four times the number of pixels as a laptop with a 1080p (FHD) display, so they're much better at capturing the finer details of an image, making it appear clearer and more dramatic. The best 4K displays also have great color accuracy.

We measure the display's color reproduction along the DCI-P3 color gamut, the color space used in professional digital cinema. It's 25% wider than the more common sRGB color space, capturing more color variations. As a general guideline, almost anything on a 4K laptop display will appear colorful and vibrant if it covers at least 85% of the DCI-P3 gamut.

Many displays with 4K resolution also feature OLED technology, which delivers rich contrast and vivid colors. After reviewing my first 4K OLED laptop, I immediately added "4K OLED display" to my list of must-haves. My Lenovo Yoga 9i is still going strong with a beautiful 4K display.

Not sure if you need a 4K display? Check out Laptop Mag's guides for the best video editing laptops, best laptops for graphic design, or best gaming laptops.

This page is constantly updated based on our latest reviews to reflect Laptop Mag's current picks for the best 4K laptops in 2025.

Update log

6/3/2025: Swapped the MSI Titan 18 HX for the MSI Raider 18 HX AI and updated benchmark comparisons accordingly; updated FAQ section

The Quick List

Best overall

This is the best laptop with a 4K display: period. It's performance hasn't lost its luster, even compared to Intel's new Lunar Lake chips. It still has one of the most color-rich and sharpest 4K OLED displays we've ever tested. Its battery life still fares well against its rivals. It's still one of the lightest 16-inch laptops we've tested in the last year — and I've seen it go for a couple hundred dollars less than when it originally released.

And it's still a MacBook (M2 and M3) challenger "PC laptop enthusiasts have longed for," as Mark Anthony Ramirez wrote is his review for Laptop Mag.

Performance-wise, this laptop still earns high marks for its multicore performance. In our Geekbench 6 test, the Prestige 16 AI Evo scored 13,310, higher than the mainstream laptop average of 10,435. Even with a last-gen chip, its Intel Core Ultra 7 155H has much faster multicore performance than Intel's current-gen laptop chips, Lunar Lake. The Core Ultra 7 258V in the Acer Swift 14 AI (11,009) I recently reviewed is 18% slower by comparison. (Ouch!)

The Prestige 16 AI Evo's 4K OLED display produces sharp, vibrant images and deep, inky black contrasts. It's no wonder the display is one of the best you'll find in a laptop. Is covers 137.9% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, well beyond the average mainstream laptop (81.5%).

It gets great battery life, too: 13 hours and 4 minutes, about 2 hours longer than the average mainstream laptop. It's not the longest we've tested, but its battery lasts longer than other thin and light 16-inch laptops.

See our full MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo review.

Best gaming

A laptop that fits the requirements needed for smooth AAA gaming performance and has a gorgeous 4K display, unfortunately, isn’t going to be cheap. But once you experience this laptop’s sharp resolution and buttery smooth performance, you’ll realize that the MSI Raider 18 HX AI is basically a god-like, portable desktop tower.

With a mini-LED panel, this laptop’s display was able to reach an impressive average of 668 nits brightness, much higher than the average gaming laptop. This exceptional brightness, mixed with decent DCI-P3 color gamut coverage and crisp 4K resolution, delivered a display that didn’t disappoint. Laptop Mag’s Madeline Ricchiuto describes the corals in Avowed as “simply stunning in how bright and crisply detailed they appeared” on this laptop’s display.

Backing up those gorgeous visuals with smooth performance is what really makes the Raider 18 HX AI a favorite of ours. Equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX processor, an Nvidia RTX 5080 GPU, and a whopping 64GB of RAM, this laptop had no problems delivering impressive performance results on all the benchmarks we threw at it.

On the Geekbench 6 overall performance test, the Raider 18 HX AI earned a score of 21,851, wildly outpacing its competitors. In our Handbrake video transcoding test, this laptop took a mere 2 minutes and 7 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p.

With visuals that make your heart sing and performance results that leave your jaw on the floor, MSI’s Raider 18 HX AI understandably has lackluster battery life and gets pretty hot during use. This laptop lasted only 2 hours and 33 minutes on our web surfing battery life test and reached 104.3 degrees Fahrenheit at its hottest point. When gaming, the hottest point jumps even higher to 115.3 degrees Fahrenheit. That said if you plan to have this laptop plugged in and on a desk at all times, you may not even notice its two biggest faults.

See our full MSI Raider 18 HX AI review.

Best for creators

For the editor, graphic designer, or photographer who is loyal to Windows, the "Asus ProArt P16 is a stellar example of what a creator laptop should be," as our reviewer, Stevie Bonifield said. It's a powerful and reliable laptop with a beautiful design that's just as easy on your eyes as it is your wallet — and you don't have to pay MacBook Pro prices to get it.

While I'd normally recommend a laptop with a wider color gamut for creatives, the ProArt P16 covers enough of the DCI-P3 gamut (85.5%) to be serviceable for most people. Even the most die-hard film enthusiasts. The display also reaches a maximum brightness of 356 nits, which isn't awful, but it does mean your environment can't have too much light. Otherwise, the OLED display could reflect too much glare and you won't get to see all the rich, sharp detail it produces.

The ProArt's AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, 32GB of RAM, and Nvidia RTX 4070 powers it to a Geekbench 6 multicore score of 15,286, way beyond the average premium laptop. That stellar performance also played out in Laptop Mag's Handbreak benchmark, transcoding a 4K video to 1080p in 3 minutes and 15 seconds, much faster than the average premium laptop (7:58).

Those specs run games pretty well, too. No Man's Sky ran a smooth and consistent 30 fps without sacrificing much visual fidelity, and the laptop's top-firing speakers made all its sound effects and music sound full and rich.

The ProArt P16's biggest let down is its 9 hours and 32 minutes of battery life. While charging your laptop every night before bed is not a big deal, other laptops in its class are much more competitive in that area.

See our full Asus ProArt P16 review.

Best workstation

For anyone looking for a powerful rig that can quickly and flawlessly mock up blueprints in AutoCAD or create 3D models, the HP ZBook Studio 16 G11 is more than capable. It’s decked out with a great display, speedy processor, discrete GPU, and multiple RAM and storage combinations to fit your unique needs.

This laptop’s 16.2-inch display is bright, offers a high refresh rate, and most importantly, delivers stellar color accuracy. Whether you’re editing videos or working on a work presentation, the display renders a sharp, accurate picture that’s hard to beat. In our testing, it covers 113% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, reaches up to 398 nits of brightness, and scores a great Delta-E color accuracy score of 0.26.

In addition to its vibrant 4K display, the ZBook Studio 16 G11 comes with specs ready to tackle the toughest workload. Laptop Mag’s Madeline Ricchiuto said in her review, “There was practically nothing I could throw at the Studio that it couldn’t handle, between editing my latest travel photos and blazing through video editing.”

The only performance-related concern to be aware of is how hot it can get, reaching temps up to 107.9 degrees Fahrenheit, but if you plan to set up this workstation on a desk, it shouldn’t be that big of an issue. Other than that, expect stellar performance, with a Geekbench 6 multi-core score of 13,754 and its ability to convert a 4K video file to 1080p in just 3 minutes and 50 seconds.

It’s also worth noting that, while this laptop is quite the workhorse, it’s not a travel-friendly companion. It lasted a mere 4 hours and 43 minutes on our battery life test, so don’t expect to stray far from an outlet while you’re working.

See our full HP ZBook Studio 16 G11 review.

Best 14-inch

For the budget-minded artist in need of both a 4K laptop and drawing tablet, there's the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1. It's the most portable option on this list that features a display with a kaleidoscopic range of colors, too, making it a great choice for students and frequent travelers alike.

Our reviewer, Claire Tabari, was "speechless" when she watched the Gladiator II trailer, from the first moment a "flickering torch paints Paul Mescal’s face in a warm glow" to the "contrast from the darkest corners" of the dungeon. It's no wonder everything looked fantastic; the OLED display covers 136% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which is much higher than the average premium 4K laptop.

The Yoga 9i 2-in-1 is potent enough to handle more than drawing and sketching. Its Intel Ultra 7 155H processor with integrated Arc graphics and 32GB of RAM provide enough performance for light to moderate video editing or 3D modeling. Its speakers make everything sound loud and clear, too, especially music, balancing the vocals and instruments without washing one or the other out.

This laptop would have been near-perfect if it wasn't for its awful battery life: 7 hours and 24 minutes. (In her review, Claire noted the previous Yoga 9i 2-in-1 model lasted 10 hours longer than this latest one.) Not only is that shorter than the average workday, but also laptop batteries lose their ability to hold a charge over time — depending on how often and how much you charge it.

See our full Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 9 review.

Best almost 4K laptop

Laptop Mag's managing editor, Sean Riley, described this laptop best in his review: "It's almost simultaneously the most powerful premium laptop we've reviewed while also offering the second-longest battery of any laptop we've tested." For anyone (especially creatives) who needs a personal machine that can also handle heavy video and 3D rendering workloads, or analyze massive databases, the MacBook Pro 16 M4 Pro is a stellar option.

Our benchmark numbers mostly speak for themselves. With 20 hours and 46 minutes of battery life, it lasts 7 hours longer than the average premium laptop. It also outshines its main competitors in the Geekbench 6 multicore benchmark with a score of 22,822 — that's over 100% more than the average premium laptop (10,492). Compared to the M3 Max (21,182), that's an 8% speed increase; remember that the 16-inch Max configurations start at $3,499.

While its display gets close to a 4K resolution (3456 x 2234), it isn't technically one — but it's too good of a display in too good of a laptop to leave off this list. Its Mini-LED panel hits an SDR brightness of 565 nits, which is much higher than the average OLED display with an actual 4K resolution. Its peak HDR brightness is 1,116 nits, and even with a DCI-P3 color accuracy of just over 81%, the display still produces vivid colors in exquisite detail.

Everything else about this MacBook Pro is just as good or better than previous generations. It's still expensive, but it's our best "almost 4K laptop" pick for a reason.

See our full Apple Macbook Pro 16 M4 Pro review.

Benchmark comparisons

Recently reviewed

We test a lot of laptops here at Laptop Mag, and it's simply not possible for every laptop to earn a spot on this list. Here are a few laptops we've reviewed recently that didn't make the cut in this post, either because it lacks a 4K display or it pales in comparison to the six laptops we deemed the best 4K laptops.

How to choose a 4K laptop

Choosing the best 4K laptop for you ultimately goes beyond the display, but it's the best place to start if you know you need a high-resolution screen.

Aspect ratio

The two most common aspect ratios you'll find on a 4K laptop are 16:9 and 16:10. While the latter provides more vertical space for reading documents and other general productivity tasks, 16:9 is the gold standard for television, film, and gaming. If you need a 4K laptop for video editing, creating cutscenes for video games, or similar, then you'll most likely use that ration by default.

Color accuracy

If your flair for color pallets is on par with Wes Anderson, color accuracy is probably a crucial feature you need in a 4K laptop — especially if you need to work with a wide gamut, like DCI-P3, the standard for digital cinema. Most visual artists might be able to get away with a display that covers 85% of that gamut, but that's as low as we generally recommend. Professionals should, ideally, go for a laptop that covers around 100%.

Brightness

Screen brightness can vary wildly from laptop to laptop, as we've seen in our testing. 350 max nits of brightness is generally a good level for working in well-lit or darker environments, but you may need something brighter based on your personal situation.

OLED vs. IPS

The max nits of brightness also depends on the display panel in a laptop. IPS (and Mini-LED) panels can get a lot brighter than OLED panels, sometimes by hundreds of nits — which makes them better at combating lighting glare and can make colors appear more vibrant (especially if they don't have a wide color gamut).

But if your visual style leans toward shadows or moody, dramatic lighting, OLED panels have a better contrast ratio. Black spaces on an IPS panel usually have a grey fuzz over them, while black spaces on an OLED panel look like an endless abyss.

Hardware

If you make 16-bit games, edit videos or photos as a hobby, then you could get away with a laptop without a separate graphics card and 16-32GB of RAM. But if heavy workloads come with your profession, then you'll need something much more powerful with a lot more RAM.

FAQs

Q: Is 4K the same as UHD?

A: 4K is technically a professional digital cinema standard (4096 x 2160 pixels) but it's used interchangeably with consumer products like laptops — confusing, I know!

When we're talking about a laptop display, 4K is synonymous with Ultra High Definition (UHD). Like 4K, UHD has the same 16:9 ratio but it has fewer horizontal pixels, making it a 3840 x 2160 resolution.

Q: What about a 3840 x 2400 resolution?

A: That means it has a display ratio of 16:10 (more vertical pixels), but you can still call it UHD or 4K.

Q: What's the difference between OLED and Mini-LED?

A: The main difference between these display panels is how they emit light. OLED panels can light up and dim individual pixels, which is why they are generally known for their color accuracy (and deep, inky blacks).

A Mini-LED panel uses a backlight with thousands of tiny LED bulbs. Unlike OLED, they light up and dim in zones rather than pixel-by-pixel but this allows Mini-LED panels to get much brighter than OLED.

Q: Who should buy a 4K laptop?

While everyone can appreciate the clarity of a beautiful 4K display, there are a few groups of people who would benefit more than most by having a laptop display with 4K resolution. If you’re a content creator, do a lot of photo- or video-editing in your daily work, use CAD software, or simply enjoy consuming video content in 4K, it’s worth the premium to pay for the extra pixels.

If all you plan to do on your laptop is browse the web, manage emails, and other simple tasks, you won’t benefit as much from splurging on a 4K display, but that doesn’t mean you won’t benefit at all. A lot of 4K displays feature OLED panels, which will help colors come through brighter and blacks come through richer.

Q: What laptop resolutions exist between 1080p and 4K?

There are multiple laptop resolutions between 1080p and 4K, as the specific amount of pixels also depends on the laptop’s screen size and aspect ratio. However, there are a few resolutions that stand out as popular options between 1080p and 4K.

Slightly above 1080p, which is generally 1920 x 1080 pixels, there’s WUXGA resolution, which is 1920 x 1200. The big difference between these two is that 1080p screens have an aspect ratio of 16:9, while the aspect ratio for WUXGA screens is 16:10.

Then, there’s QHD resolution, which is 2560 x 1440 pixels with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and sometimes referred to as 2K resolution as well. The 16:10 alternative to this resolution is 2560 x 1600 pixels.

Finally, we’ve got QHD+ resolution, which is sometimes also referred to as WQXGA+ resolution or 3K resolution, and features 3200 x 1800 pixels with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The 16:10 alternative here is 3200 x 2000 pixels.

Q: Do 4K laptops typically have bad battery life?

A: Generally, a 4K display will drain a laptop’s battery faster than a 1920 x 1080-pixel display simply because it requires more power to operate with more pixels. It’s more common for a 4K display to have an OLED panel as well, which can be an even bigger battery drain.

However, as tech improves, we’re starting to see 4K laptops with decent battery life. The MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo and the Apple MacBook Pro 16 M4 Pro, both of which landed a spot on this list, lasted for 13 hours and 4 minutes and 20 hours and 46 minutes, respectively.

How we test 4K laptops

We put each laptop through extensive benchmark testing—both synthetic and real-world—before we send it to our reviewers. We evaluate each aspect of the laptop, including its performance, battery life, display, speakers, and heat management.

In our benchmark testing, we use a Klein K10 colorimeter to detect the laptop's display's brightness and DCI-P3 color gamut. For performance testing, we run the computer through a gauntlet of benchmarks, including Geekbench 6 and 3DMark professional graphics tests.

To determine real-world performance, we task the laptop to convert a 4K video to 1080p resolution and duplicate a 425GB multimedia file. Our real-world graphics test is Sid Meier's Civilization 6 Gathering Storm benchmark with medium settings at 1080p resolution. For gaming laptops, we test Red Dead Redemption 2, Assassin's Creed Mirage, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Borderlands 3, Far Cry 6, and others.

We also run heat tests by playing a 15-minute full-screen video and measuring temperatures in different areas of the laptop. Last but not least, our battery test consists of continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. For MacBooks and premium Windows 11 laptops, a runtime of over nine hours is considered a good result, whereas gaming laptops and workstations that can stay powered longer than five hours deserve praise.

After completing the lab tests, each laptop is handed off to our expert reviewers for in-depth, hands-on evaluation. They integrate the device into their daily workflows, using it extensively to assess real-world performance and develop a thorough understanding of both the hardware and software experience. By combining rigorous lab analysis with practical, everyday use, we deliver a clear and comprehensive perspective on every laptop we review at Laptop Mag.

See this page on How We Test Laptops for more details on our benchmarking procedures.

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Why trust Laptop Mag

Laptop Mag reviews over a hundred laptops yearly, from paperweight ultralights to everyday workhorses to lumbering gaming notebooks that scorch the frame rates of even the hottest AAA games. We're not just experts in the laptop field, as we go one step further by meticulously testing smartphones, tablets, headphones, PC accessories, software, and even the latest in gaming.

We are 100% independent and have decades of experience to help you buy with confidence. In fact, Laptop Mag has been testing and reviewing products for three decades and continues to deliver trustworthy reviews you can rely on.

Our experienced team of writers and editors scour the available information about the laptop and put it through its paces to determine which is best for you. But before they start, the testing team subjects each system to a rigorous regimen of synthetic and real-world tests to see how a system handles the type of work and games you’re most likely to throw at it.

One of the world's largest technology publishers, Future Publishing, enforces our editorial trustworthiness. As a company, we have unrivaled experience across every tech sector — and we're the group's specialist for all things mobile tech.

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Fantastic summer savings on our favorite Dell products start now with the Dell Black Friday in July sale. Now's a great time to beat the pinch of inflation with sitewide discounts on everyday laptops, gaming laptops, business notebooks, monitors, and PC accessories.

For a limited time, save up to $400 on the new Dell Plus laptop series starting at $699, up to $600 on Dell XPS laptops from $1,099, and up to $250 off Dell Inspiron laptops from just $499.

Browse: Dell's entire Black Friday in July sale

Or save big on professional-grade productivity and performance with up to $330 off Dell Pro and Dell Pro Max business laptops. Prices start from $719.

If you're a gamer or creator looking for a price break on a gaming-specific laptop, brace yourself for this one. Right now, you can score huge savings of up to $900 on Dell and Alienware gaming laptops.

Complement your new laptop, existing workspace, or gaming setup with Dell and Alienware monitors from $145 and PC accessories from $19.

Whether your daily driver or peripherals are in dire need of a refresh or you want to beat the back-to-school shopping rush, don't miss Dell's Black Friday in July sale.

Dell's limited-time deals typically sell out fast, so if you see something that catches your eye, act now. Keep scrolling to see my recommended Dell Black Friday in July deals starting from $19.

Dell Black Friday in July sale deals — Quick links

• Browse: Dell Black Friday in July deals
• Dell USB Slim DVD +/- RW Drive: was $40 now $19 at Dell
• Alienware Wired Gaming Headset: was $79 now $69 at Dell
• Dell 27 Plus QHD Monitor: was $219 now $179 at Dell
• Alienware 32 4K QD-OLED Monitor: was $1,199 now $849 at Dell
• Alienware S5000 Gaming Chair: was $419 now $339 at Dell
• Dell 15 Laptop: was $549 now $399 at Dell
• Dell Inspiron 14 Laptop: was $749 now $499 at Dell
• Dell G15 RTX 3050 Laptop: was $899 now $599 at Dell
• Dell 14 Plus Laptop: was $1,099 now $699 at Dell
• Dell Pro 16 Laptop: was $839 now $719 at Dell
• Dell 16 Plus Laptop: was $1,299 now $899 at Dell
• Dell Pro 16 Plus: was $1,299 now $1,159 at Dell
• Dell XPS 14 Laptop: was $2,061 now $1,561 at Dell
• Alienware 16X Aurora RTX 5060 Laptop: was $1,649 now $1,499 at Dell
• Alienware 18 Area-51 RTX 5070 Ti Laptop: was $3,299 now $2,799 at Dell

Dell Black Friday in July sale deals

Laptops

Gaming laptops

PC accessories

It's a new Nvidia GPU generation, which means new Nvidia GPU tech, and for gamers, this one is worth sitting up and taking notice.

We hear a lot about Nvidia's DLSS updates whenever a new generation is introduced, and while Nvidia's new multi-frame generation has taken up a lot of space in the Blackwell discussion, DLSS 4's biggest update may be its transformer upscaling model, rather than the AI-powered frame generation smoothing.

On June 5, the Nvidia transformer model left beta, so Nvidia RTX laptop and desktop GPU owners can take advantage of the latest tech without needing to opt in.

But what is the transformer model, and why should you use it?

What is Nvidia's new Transformer Model

Nvidia announced the new DLSS 4 transformer model at CES 2025 in January with the official unveiling of the RTX 50-series. The transformer model replaces the current DLSS convolutional neural network model for clearer graphics upscaling.

This not only provides faster framerates, but also improves image quality when using Nvidia's Deep Learning Super Sampling, which should alleviate some issues with visual degradation associated with DLSS upscaling.

Nvidia has been working on the Transformer Model since 2022 and released the model in beta for early adopters in January 2025. The transformer model uses a "vision transformer" to evaluate the relative importance of each pixel across the entire frame, over multiple frames. This employs double the parameters of the old neural network to generate pixels with better stability, reduced ghosting, higher detail, and smoother edges.

Don't care about the technical details? What it boils down to is that upscaled frames and generated frames in DLSS 4 with the transformer model should be clearer and smoother than ever.

How much better is the Transformer Model?

As a former lab nerd and hardware enthusiast, I will take any excuse to do some hands-on testing.

So I broke out the Razer Blade 16 (2025) and kicked up a few of my favorite test games, Cyberpunk 2077, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail to see how the games handled the different DLSS models.

Both Cyberpunk and Monster Hunter are rather notorious for being difficult benchmarks. Cyberpunk 2077 is already DLSS 4 enabled, while Monster Hunter Wilds is only rocking DLSS 3.7 by default. Meanwhile, Final Fantasy XIV is notorious for performing worse with DLSS enabled.

To ensure the new transformer model doesn't slow down framerates during the upscaled image process, we reran the benchmarks to assess its impact on benchmark scores. In most cases, the transformer model performed comparably to the old convolutional neural network model, within 3-5 fps.

The DLSS transformer model isn't just RTX 50-series exclusive

I tested the transformer model on an RTX 5090 laptop in order to see how it handles with the new multi-frame generation software which is 50-series exclusive, however, the transformer model is available on all Nvidia RTX GPUs from the RTX 20-series up to the RTX 50-series.

To enable the transformer model, simply install the latest Nvidia drivers.

And if your game of choice doesn't offer DLSS 4 as an option, you can force the game to use DLSS 4 by using the Nvidia app. Just go to Graphics, select your game, and select the transformer model in "DLSS Override Model Presets."

The transformer model alone isn't going to drastically improve your GPU performance any more than the convolutional neural network in DLSS 3 did, but it will make games look far better, which is nothing to sneeze at. Particularly if you're trying to hold out for another GPU generation before upgrading your desktop or laptop.

If you have an RTX 50-series laptop or are planning to get one from among the best gaming laptops, you can get all the benefits of prettier frames and multiframe generation for even smoother gaming experiences.

Truly, there's no reason NOT to opt for the transformer model if you own an Nvidia RTX GPU.

More from Laptop Mag

• GeForce RTX 5050 brings next-gen gaming to the masses with Blackwell laptops starting at $999
• Steam users are flocking back to this once-hated game in huge numbers — and it's only $4
• AI is making your games better — a new Steam tool convinced me to stop hating GPU upscaling.

The Steam Summer Sale is underway, and there are a lot of great games with big discounts.

This year's sale could arguably be considered the first sale where a gamer could buy a title that can be played on their home computer or laptop, a portable consoles such as a Steam Deck or ROG Ally, and thanks to cloud gaming services like GeForce Now, it can also be played on their phone, tablet, or directly on their TV with no cables or console needed.

Still, when it comes to PC gaming, a laptop is the best choice all-around as you can hook it up to a monitor to feel like you're at a desktop or take it with you on the go without losing graphics fidelity or needing good Wi-Fi.

Picking the right gaming laptop really comes down to what you're looking to play on the laptop. Do you want a machine that will play practically every game out there just fine, or do you want a monster of a computer to run any title at the highest settings without a single frame dropped? For me, I would pick these three laptops, but for different reasons.

For power and portability at a low price, there's the Asus TUF Gaming A14 

The Asus TUF Gaming A14 is the laptop to go with if I wanted to play a lot of games well, that's easy to carry and comes with great battery life.

It has solid gaming performance, a decently colorful display that can reach high nits of brightness, and a satisfying keyboard. With its portable 14-inch size, light weight at around 3 pounds, durable military grade toughness, and the best battery life we’ve seen on a gaming laptop in years.

Some of the games the Asus TUF Gaming A14 is able to play at the highest settings that are currently on sale in the Steam Summer Sale are Baldur's Gate 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, and all those games with deep discounts dropping them below $10.

If I didn't worry much about price but want portability then I would need to buy the Razer Blade 16

Razer continues to offer a lot of power in a small package. The Razer Blade 16 (2025) is an expensive laptop with various options, and the RTX 5090 gaming performance being very smooth. There is an option to go with an RTX 4090 or RTX 5080 to save on money while still being able to play games on the highest settings.

The Razer Blade 16 (2025) features a stunning OLED display, Razer’s superb build quality, over 7 hours of web surfing battery life, and almost 2.5 hours of gaming battery life. It’s incredibly portable at just 4.6 pounds and 0.59 inches thick.

Games like Cyberpunk 2077, Hogwarts Legacy, and Forza Horizon 5 at the highest graphics settings could bring most computers to their knees, but the Razer Blade 16 can handle them with ease.

The MSI Raider 18 HX AI is the gaming laptop to buy if price is not a concern

Saying the MSI Raider 18 HX AI is expensive is an understatement. This laptop's price is approximately the same as the two previous laptops combined at $4,000.

Still, the Raider has strong general performance, fluid gaming performance, a bright MiniLED display, a comfortable keyboard, powerful audio, and more ports than needed even with a multi-monitor setup. It has a powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 GPU with 16GB of VRAM, which offers the gaming performance one might expect from such a high-end spec. Its 18-inch MiniLED display is bright and vivid, and its 6-speaker sound system is powerful with high-quality audio. But this machine is staying home, as it weighs as much as the Asus TUF Gaming A14 and Razer Blade 16 combined.

The MSI Raider 18 HX AI is more than enough machine to take on the most graphically intense games, such as Monster Hunter Wilds and Alan Wake 2 at their highest settings.

If you've had your eye on a top-of-the-line RTX 50-series gaming laptop, you might be choosing the wrong one when you could be saving some money.

It's easy to spend more than you need to on gaming gear, especially when you have the budget for a high-end laptop. If you're spending thousands on a great gaming laptop, though, you should make sure you're spending it on the right one, and that might not be an RTX 5090 laptop.

The Asus ROG Strix G18 G815 shows just how competitive the RTX 5080 is with the RTX 5090, and it's just one of a few incredible RTX 5080 laptops that offer great bang for your buck.

See also: Best gaming laptop deals in June 2025

Do you really need to spend more for an RTX 5090 laptop? Probably not.

I get it — if you want a top-tier gaming laptop, you probably have your eye on an RTX 5090. On paper, that makes sense. An RTX 5090 could be the right choice for some people, but the RTX 5080 offers much more competitive performance than you might think.

In fact, the Asus ROG Strix G18 even outperformed an RTX 5090 gaming laptop in our testing. Not just in one test, either, but across the board:

Looking at these test results without knowing which laptop had which GPU, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Strix G18 was the one with an RTX 5090. It outpaced the HP Omen Max 16 in every game we threw at it, which is shocking considering the Omen should be the more powerful laptop.

That doesn't mean the RTX 5090 isn't a good GPU. The Omen Max 16 got a glowing review from us. However, the RTX 5090 configuration we tested costs a whopping $4,299, over $1,000 more than our review configuration for the Asus ROG Strix G18.

So, if you were to go with the Omen for that flashy RTX 5090, you would be paying over $1,000 more to get lower performance than an RTX 5080 laptop like the Strix G18 can offer. The Strix G18 isn't even your only option. It's one of a few fantastic RTX 5080 gaming laptops that offer great value for your money.

Three Editor's Choice RTX 5080 laptops you don't want to miss

I had a great experience gaming on the Asus ROG Strix G18, and I can safely say it's a good buy if you're looking for a high-end gaming laptop that also offers great value for your money. It's not the only option on the table, though. There are a few stellar RTX 5080 gaming laptops that we've recently reviewed, all of which are highly competitive alternatives to pricier RTX 5090 models.

1. Asus ROG Strix G18 (G815)

First up, of course, is the Asus ROG Strix G18. With its massive 18-inch display, this laptop is an excellent choice for gamers who require ample screen real estate. It also boasts unusually long battery life, which is a nice bonus, even if it's a bit bulky for travel.

The Strix G18 crushed our gaming tests across the board, and while it got a bit hot in our thermal tests, the heat management is designed in a way that keeps the keyboard cool even under high temperatures. The keyboard itself is also fantastic, and the RGB light strip around the keyboard deck is a nice visual touch.

2. MSI Raider 18 HX AI

If the Asus ROG Strix G18 isn't the perfect fit for you, the MSI Raider 18 HX AI could be the perfect alternative, especially if you need more storage and RAM. While the Raider is pricier than the Strix G18, it offers twice as much storage and RAM along with a higher resolution 18-inch Mini LED display and a slightly stronger processor.

This RTX 5080 laptop handily crushed the HP Omen Max 16 and even bested the Strix G18 in some of our graphics tests. It even has top-firing speakers, a rare feature I'm a big fan of.

3. Alienware 16 Area-51

The Alienware 16 Area-51 pairs a stunning design with stellar performance at a price that's hard to beat. This RTX 5080 laptop is a great alternative to the Strix G18 if you want similar performance in a smaller chassis since the Area-51 features a 16-inch display. It's still a bulky laptop, weighing even more than the Strix G18 at 7.13 pounds, but you'll have an easier time fitting it in laptop bags.

Aside from the display, the Alienware 16 Area-51 is very similar to the Strix G18, powered by the same processor and sporting the same display resolution and refresh rate. It features some seriously impressive audio, too, with top and bottom-firing speakers, making for a highly immersive gaming experience.

More from Laptop Mag

• ROG Ally X vs. Xbox Ally X: Real differences or clever rebranding?
• I played 'Dune: Awakening' on an RTX 5090 gaming laptop — I got up to 257 fps, but there was one big problem
• I played ‘Elden Ring Nightreign’ on the RTX 5090, Intel Arc 140V, and AMD Radeon 8060S — here’s what happened

When you're searching for the ultimate gaming laptop, it's easy to go for the best possible specs and assume that will deliver the best performance. You’re not wrong, but you might be wasting your money.

The Asus ROG Strix G18 is exactly the kind of gaming laptop you don't want to overlook. It's hard to miss with its enormous 18-inch display, but that's not the only thing it has going for it. While it doesn't come cheap, it offers far better value for your money than you might expect and punches way above its weight class, giving RTX 5090 laptops a run for their money.

It left me asking – why pay a premium for an RTX 5090 laptop when you can get competitive performance from an RTX 5080 laptop like the Strix G18? This might even be one of the best gaming laptops you can buy, especially if you've got your eye on a large display.

Here's a look at everything the Asus ROG Strix G18 has to offer and a few things you should know before making it your next gaming rig.

Asus ROG Strix G18 (G815): Specs and benchmarks

Asus ROG Strix G18 (G815): Price and configurations

The Asus ROG Strix G815 is available in a few configurations starting at $2,499, which includes an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 (8GB) GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage.

Our review configuration costs $3,059 and includes an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 (16GB) GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage.

That's certainly not cheap, but for a gaming laptop with these specs, that price is fairly reasonable. For context, the smaller Asus ROG Strix G16 costs a bit less at $2,499 for a configuration with an RTX 5070 Ti and 1TB of storage. The MSI Raider 18 HX AI, an 18-inch behemoth like the Strix G815, costs significantly more at $4,499 for a configuration with an RTX 5080 and 4TB of storage.

So, Asus's asking price is reasonable, especially if a large 18-inch display is a top priority for you.

Asus ROG Strix G18 (G815): Design

The Asus ROG Strix G18 is eye-catching, but more so because of its size than its design.

The plastic chassis isn't too over-the-top, sporting a dark steel-gray finish with a glossy ROG logo on the lid and a hidden RGB light strip along the bottom of the keyboard deck (which you can easily turn off if you want). The keyboard also features RGB backlighting, and a handful of keys have transparent keycaps, which not only look cool but help your WASD keys stand out.

I also appreciate that Asus separated the power button from the main keyboard and gave it a unique shape, making it unlikely you'll press the power button by accident. There are also a handful of additional media keys above the function row for quickly adjusting volume, muting your mic, swapping performance modes, and opening the Armoury Crate app.

The first thing I noticed about the Asus ROG Strix G18 was its weight. It's easily the largest laptop I've ever reviewed, an honor previously held by the enormous Acer Nitro 17. That's no surprise considering the huge 18-inch display, but you should keep the G18's bulky size in mind if you want to travel with it often, since it's too big to fit in most laptop bags.

The Strix G18 measures 15.71 x 11.73 x 1.26 inches and weighs 7.05 pounds. For context, here's how a few similar gaming laptops compare:

• Asus ROG Strix G16 (G624FR) (16-inch): 13.94 x 10.39 x 1.2 inches, 5.51 pounds
• HP Omen Max 16 (16-inch): 14.04 x 10.59 x 0.98 inches, 5.92 pounds
• MSI Raider 18 HX AI (18-inch): 15.91 x 12.11 x 1.26 inches, 7.8 pounds

Asus ROG Strix G18 (G815): Ports

The Asus ROG Strix G18 includes a pretty standard set of ports for a gaming laptop:

• 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (supports up to 10Gbps)
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (supports DisplayPort/power delivery/G-Sync)
• 1x USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 (supports DisplayPort/power delivery)
• 1x HDMI 2.1
• 1x RJ45 Ethernet/LAN
• 1x 3.5mm audio jack

That was more than enough ports for my needs, but if you find yourself needing even more variety, you can always connect the G815 to one of the best laptop docking stations or a USB Type-C hub.

Asus ROG Strix G18 (G815): Battery life

Gaming laptops are rarely high performers when it comes to battery life, and the Asus ROG Strix G815 is no threat to the laptops with the best battery life, but it's notably better than most of the competition.

It lasted 7 hours and 45 minutes in our non-gaming battery life test, significantly longer than its rivals. Of course, the irony of good battery life on an 18-inch laptop like this is that it's so bulky you probably won't want to travel with it often. Even so, it's nice that you can get almost a full day of basic tasks done on the G815 on a single charge.

Conversely, the gaming battery life for the G815 is average at 1 hour and 34 minutes, but you'll get better game performance with it plugged in anyway.

Asus ROG Strix G18 (G815): Display

The huge 18-inch display on the Asus ROG Strix G18 is arguably its star feature. It's a roomy 2.5K (2560 x 1600) IPS panel with a 3ms response time and a maximum refresh rate of 240Hz.

This display is about as big as you can get without using an external desktop display. If your top priority is more screen real estate for gaming and watching movies, the Strix G18 could be the perfect fit.

While the Strix G18 isn't exactly portable, the giant display is nice for creating an immersive viewing experience. It made episodes of Andor even more of a visual feast than usual, drawing me into the moody shots of Ferrix back alleys and capturing sweeping shots of Chandrila in crisp detail and vivid color.

The Strix G18 didn't break any records in our display tests, but it didn't perform poorly either. It covered 78% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and reached an impressive average brightness of 511.8 nits. While I would have preferred a higher color gamut score, the brightness is notably higher than most of the competition, with the exception of the MSI Raider 18 HX AI.

Asus ROG Strix G18 (G815): Keyboard and touchpad

Considering it's an 18-inch laptop, it's no surprise the Strix G18 features a full-size keyboard. It's not as satisfying as my desktop mechanical keyboard (the Lofree Block), but it feels more like a mechanical keyboard than most other laptop keyboards. The Strix G18 also features per-key RGB backlighting, which can be customized in the pre-installed Armoury Crate app.

On the Monkeytype typing test, I scored 101 words per minute with 98% accuracy on the Strix G18, which isn't record-breaking for me, but it’s not bad at all, either.

The touchpad on the Strix G18 is huge, even larger than the display on my 6.6-inch phone. It's so big that I found myself moving my mouse accidentally with my palms from time to time while typing. The touchpad surface is smooth, and clicking has a decent amount of travel and feedback. You'll probably want to use one of the best gaming mice most of the time, but for moments when you need the touchpad, this one's not bad.

Asus ROG Strix G18 (G815): Audio

The Asus ROG Strix G18 features dual speakers located at the bottom front corners of the keyboard deck. Considering the size of the keyboard deck (and the amount of empty space on it), I would have really liked to see top-firing speakers on this laptop. Even so, the side-firing speakers sound really good with music, games, and video content alike.

"Welcome to the DCC" by Nothing But Thieves sounded punchy and detailed with impressive depth and a good balance of bass, mids, and highs. The bass could be a tad stronger, but it's not bad, either. The speakers get seriously loud, too (I could hear them from the next room at just 45).

The audio in games is also solid. I had a great experience with Avowed, where the Strix G18 delivered crisp dialogue and rich background ambiance while I wandered Dawnshore. I turned the volume up a bit for games, a little over half usually, but nothing sounded muddy or drowned out, even in combat.

Asus ROG Strix G18 (G815): Performance and heat

The Asus ROG Strix G18 is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU (24 cores, 24 threads, max frequency of 5.4GHz). This chip won't have any trouble managing a couple of dozen browser tabs at once, multitasking, or running resource-intensive tasks like photo or video editing. I didn't experience any lag during basic tasks, even while running a few apps at once and downloading games on Steam.

The Strix G18 crushed our overall performance tests, although it couldn't quite top a couple of competitors. It scored 19,899 on the Geekbench 6 multi-core benchmark, just a bit behind the AMD-powered Asus ROG Strix G16. The MSI Raider 18 HX AI, powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, easily outpaced both.

While gaming laptops offer top-tier performance, it can often come with the notable drawback of high temperatures. The Strix G18 ran warm even in our non-gaming heat test, where it peaked at 94.8 degrees, just a hair below our 95-degree comfort threshold. It soared to 114.4 degrees in our gaming heat test, which isn't as hot as the smaller Strix G16 got, but still noticeably warm.

A lot of that heat is getting pushed out through the vents along the back of the hinge, so the keys stay cool most of the time. I didn't notice the heat while gaming on a desk, but you can definitely feel it if you have the Strix G18 on your lap while a game is running.

Asus ROG Strix G18 (G815): Gaming and graphics

The Asus ROG Strix G18 runs on an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 GPU with 16GB of VRAM. It offered fantastic performance in all of my hands-on testing, with seamless gameplay, quick loading times, stunning visuals, and no noticeable issues.

I played a round of Elden Ring Nightreign on the Strix G18 and had one display hiccup at first, although it wasn't due to the GPU itself. The game initially failed to recognize the G18's display resolution correctly, but everything ran perfectly after I fixed it in the settings.

After that, the moody, shadowy visuals of Limveld looked stunning, with good contrast, crisp detail, and flawless movement thanks to the high 240Hz refresh rate on the G18. I averaged 60 frames per second throughout with no lag or stuttering. I didn't win my run, but that's not the RTX 5080's fault.

Avowed ran great on the Strix G18, as well. The vibrant tropical forests outside Paradis looked flawless, and new zones loaded quickly. Combat was smooth throughout, even with many enemies and special effects on screen at once. I averaged just under 80 fps.

Considering the smooth performance I experienced in my hands-on testing, I wasn't surprised that the Strix G18 crushed our gaming tests. Interestingly, it outscored the HP Omen Max 16 across the board, despite the Omen having a more powerful RTX 5090 GPU.

The Strix G18 scored 13,074 on the 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra graphics benchmark, second only to the MSI Raider 18 HX AI (which also has an RTX 5080). The G18 bested the Raider in several games, though, including Assassin's Creed Mirage, Far Cry 6, Monster Hunter Wilds, Red Dead Redemption II, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

The MSI Raider 18 HX AI and the HP Omen Max 16 each cost nearly $1,500 more, yet the Strix G18 outperforms both (especially the Omen). If you've got the budget for a high-end gaming laptop like this, the Strix G18 could be some of the best bang for your buck out there.

Asus ROG Strix G18 (G815): AI features

While AI might not be a top concern when choosing a gaming laptop, it's worth noting that the Asus ROG Strix G18 comes with the Microsoft Copilot AI assistant pre-installed and has a dedicated Copilot key on the keyboard.

The Copilot app includes basic generative AI features like text and image generation. Copilot also powers Windows Studio Effects, which uses AI to enhance your webcam video quality.

While those AI features might be nice from time to time, many gamers will probably be frustrated that the Copilot key replaces the right control key. Luckily, there are workarounds to remap the Copilot key so it functions like a normal right control key instead, but it may still be an unwelcome change for some.

Asus ROG Strix G18 (G815): Webcam

Laptop webcams usually disappoint me, and unfortunately, that includes the Asus ROG Strix G18. The built-in 1080p FHD webcam isn't as sharp as its resolution suggests, with visibly grainy, blurry video quality that lacks detail and struggles to properly balance shadows and highlights. It's fine for casual tasks like Zoom meetings or Discord calls, but if you want to use the camera for anything more, you'll be better off with one of the best webcams.

With that said, the built-in mic is pretty good. It captured my voice well and did a good job of blocking out the background noise from my air conditioner. The quality is more than enough for in-game voice chat and other casual uses.

Asus ROG Strix G18 (G815): Software and warranty

The Strix G18 comes with Windows 11 Home and includes the standard suite of basic Microsoft apps like Microsoft Edge, the Microsoft Store, and the Xbox app. It also includes Armoury Crate, where you can see live system usage data, adjust your performance profiles and macros, and customize your RGB backlighting. The MyAsus app includes some similar features, but mainly serves as a hub for running system diagnostics and updates and viewing your settings.

The Strix G18 comes with Asus's standard limited 1-year warranty.

Bottom line

The Asus ROG Strix G18 delivers stellar performance across the board, even outpacing top-tier RTX 5090 laptops. The roomy 18-inch display and crisp audio quality make for a truly immersive gaming experience that's tough to beat at this price. Why pay $1,000 more for an RTX 5090 laptop when the Strix G18 offers competitive performance for less?

While I had a great time gaming on the Strix G18, it may not be for everyone. If you need something portable, this is not the best option. The 18-inch display is suitable for gaming and watching movies, but the G18 is too large to fit in most laptop bags and is relatively heavy, weighing over 7 pounds. A smaller 16, 15, or even 14-inch gaming laptop would be a much better fit if portability is a concern for you.

However, if you want a laptop that can effectively replace your desktop PC, the Strix G18 could be the perfect fit. You can also visit our guide to the best gaming laptops to compare it to even more alternatives.

After months of speculation, Nvidia’s most affordable Blackwell GPU is official. If you’re thinking $249 sounds like budget pricing, you’re not wrong. But the new RTX 5050 is doing more than just trimming the fat off premium features. It’s giving mobile gamers and mainstream PC builders their first real taste of next-gen graphics tech without the premium price tag.

Officially unveiled Tuesday, June 24, following earlier leaks, the GeForce RTX 5050 drops into desktops and laptops in July, offering 8GB of memory, 4th-gen ray tracing cores, and DLSS 4, all built on Nvidia’s latest Blackwell architecture. That’s a big leap from the aging RTX 3050, and a not-so-subtle flex toward AMD and Intel’s efforts in the sub-$300 GPU war.

But here’s the twist: While the desktop card offers plenty of value, the laptop version might just steal the spotlight.

Blackwell without the price tag

Nvidia isn’t simply repackaging its old silicon and slapping a new sticker on it with the RTX 5050. Both the desktop and mobile versions are built on the same Blackwell family as the flagship RTX 5090. That means tighter memory compression, more efficient compute pipelines, and a massive boost to AI-accelerated gaming via DLSS 4.

For desktops, the 5050 ships with 8GB of GDDR6 memory and a 130W TDP, making it a drop-in option for most entry-to-midrange systems. But it’s in laptops where this card starts punching above its weight.

The RTX 5050 mobile SKU swaps GDDR6 for GDDR7 — a spec usually reserved for higher-tier cards. That change gives laptops faster memory bandwidth, helping offset some of the thermal and power limitations that typically kneecap mobile GPUs.

According to Nvidia’s benchmarks, RTX 5050 laptops running DLSS 4 can hit 150fps in Cyberpunk 2077 with ray tracing enabled, something the RTX 3050 mobile could only dream of, and an impressive flex considering the starting price is just $999, with some models available immediately.

Budget gaming laptops just leveled up

If you’ve ever shopped for a gaming laptop under $1,200, you know the compromises: throttled thermals, last-gen GPUs, and chassis designs that scream 2017. Nvidia seems to be targeting that exact pain point.

The RTX 5050 laptop variant not only gets access to full Blackwell features, but it does so in a power envelope ranging from 35 to 100 watts. That opens the door to slimmer, quieter machines that can still handle ray tracing, without setting your lap on fire or turning your fan into a jet engine.

In fact, Nvidia claims that RTX 5050 laptops will outperform RTX 4050 systems in ray tracing and DLSS performance, thanks to architectural improvements and smarter memory design. That’s a quiet but important milestone: Entry-level laptops are no longer locked out of the latest graphical features.

The specs that matter

Across both platforms, the RTX 5050 comes with 2,560 CUDA cores and 4th-gen ray tracing tech, alongside 5th-gen Tensor Cores that power DLSS 4 and Nvidia’s suite of AI upscalers. Support for full AV1 encode and decode means better streaming and media playback, even on lower-end hardware.

But the real kicker here is DLSS 4. By pairing motion reconstruction with frame generation, it allows the RTX 5050 to deliver surprisingly high framerates even in visually demanding titles, and it does so while using less power.

Nvidia’s goal here isn’t just to make games run faster. It’s about enabling new features like path tracing, RTX Remix mods, and real-time lighting, all on hardware that costs less than a flagship smartphone.

Of course, the RTX 5050 isn’t going to dethrone the 4060 or 4070. And for users pushing 1440p or dabbling in content creation, 8GB of VRAM may still be a bottleneck. But that’s not the point.

This card is about accessibility; getting more people onto the Blackwell platform and letting them experience high-end features without waiting for a hand-me-down refresh. And with laptops starting at $999, Nvidia is also firing shots at Copilot+ PC makers, who have largely focused on productivity and AI over gaming.

Whether you’re building your first rig or shopping for a back-to-school gaming laptop, the RTX 5050 marks a long-overdue upgrade to the mainstream GPU stack. And this time, mobile gamers aren’t stuck with second-best.

More from Laptop Mag

• Intel's powerful 2026 Nova Lake chip could render discrete graphics obsolete, and it was just spotted in high-performance laptops.
• Nvidia RTX 5050 GPU leaks suggest a generational leap at a budget price
• The next-gen Xbox console may as well be a gaming PC, except for 1 key difference

If you're searching for the best handheld gaming PC in 2025, you might want to wait because Lenovo's next handheld gaming PC could be just a few months away.

The Lenovo Legion Go 2 made its debut at CES 2025 earlier this year, but updates have been sparse since then. That might not be the case for much longer, though, since a potential release date leaked over the weekend.

Here's a look at when the Lenovo Legion Go 2 is expected to launch, along with everything we know about it so far.

See also: Best gaming laptop deals in June 2025

Did this leak just reveal the release date for the Lenovo Legion Go 2?

Last week, a screenshot allegedly from Lenovo Latin America customer support was posted on Reddit, seemingly revealing the release date for the Lenovo Legion Go 2. The post suggests that the handheld gaming PC will be launched in September in Mexico.

Although this may be coming from an official Lenovo account, that doesn't necessarily mean it's the official release date or the global release date. At the time of writing, there has been no word from Lenovo about when the Legion Go 2 will launch or its price. Even if this release window is legitimate, it might differ from the release date for other regions.

With that said, there are a couple of reasons why this September release window could be accurate. For starters, the original Legion Go was officially unveiled on September 1, 2023, and launched almost two months later on October 31, 2023. So, it would make sense for Lenovo to announce the full details about the Legion Go 2 exactly two years later in September 2025.

Additionally, a September release date (or even an announcement in September with a proper launch in October or November) would put the Legion Go 2 ahead of the recently announced ROG Xbox Ally X. This rival handheld will likely be the Legion Go 2's biggest competitor. It's set to launch sometime in the holiday season at the end of 2025, which is roughly November through January.

A September launch for the Legion Go 2 could help Lenovo get an early edge over the Xbox Ally X.

Everything we know about the Lenovo Legion Go 2 so far

Even if the rumored September release window for the Lenovo Legion Go 2 doesn't pan out, there are a few other key details we know about it already, and there's a lot to be excited about.

For starters, the Legion Go 2 is expected to feature the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme, the sequel to the Z1 Extreme that powered the original Legion Go. Even a couple of years after its launch, the original Legion Go has held up surprisingly well compared to the other top handheld gaming PCs, which gives us a hint about the performance and longevity we can expect from the Z2 Extreme.

While we won't be able to run our in-depth benchmark tests on the Z2 Extreme until we get the Legion Go 2 to our test lab, a prototype of the handheld impressed us at CES 2025 with smooth demo performance.

featuresThe Legion Go 2 also sports an updated design, while retaining the Switch-style detachable controllers from the original. This feature is somewhat uncommon on handheld gaming PCs, but it can be convenient for people who get tired of holding the entire console in handheld mode.

Perhaps the most important design update is the display. The Legion Go 2 will have the same display size as the original (8.8 inches), but now with an OLED panel, which is a huge step up. The original Legion Go is currently Laptop Mag's pick for best display on a handheld gaming PC, but the OLED display on the Legion Go 2 will make it a strong contender to take that spot.

Those details are an exciting start, but unfortunately, there are still some blanks Lenovo hasn't filled in yet, like the price and official release date. A September release window seems like a reasonable possibility, but it isn't confirmed yet. The price is also difficult to predict considering the ever-shifting state of Trump administration trade tariffs, but the Legion Go 2 could easily cost more than the original, which would put it somewhere above $699.

We're keeping a close eye out for more details on the Legion Go 2, so stay tuned for more updates.

More from Laptop Mag

• Lenovo's Legion Go 2 hands-on: This prototype already feels like a worthy successor to the original
• Xbox Ally X aims high, but there’s one thing holding it back
• The next-gen Xbox console may as well be a gaming PC, except for 1 key difference

Amazon Prime Day generally offers epic discounts on gaming laptops that our expert reviewers have tested and rated. This year's Prime Day extravaganza is four days long, from July 8-11.

If your raggedy rig just isn't cutting it anymore, Prime Day is one of the best times of year to buy a gaming laptop. Amazon and its competitors will be slashing prices so low that it'll be like Black Friday in July.

Browse: Early Prime Day gaming laptop deals from $899

During this year's first-ever 96-hour Prime Day sale, expect unprecedented markdowns on RTX 50 laptops made by Acer, Alienware, Asus, Dell, Gigabyte, HP, MSI, and Razer. I predict especially major price slashes on previous-gen RTX 40-series laptops as retailers will be purging the last bits of inventory on last year's systems.

Whether you're a budding, competitive, or casual gamer, if you want to buy a gaming-specific notebook, you'll want to see what July's Prime Day gaming laptop deals have to offer.

As a reminder, Prime Day gaming laptop deals are scheduled to go live on July 8. However, I scanned Amazon's deals today and found plenty of early Prime Day-worthy gaming deals available now. See my recommended discounts below to save up to $400 on a new gamer laptop.

Be sure to bookmark our Amazon Prime Day 2025 hub for the best summer savings on mobile devices, gaming gear, and back-to-school essentials.

Best early Prime Day gaming laptop deals — Quick links

• Shop: Early Prime Day deals at Amazon
• Gigabyte G6X 16 RTX 4060 Gaming Laptop: was $1,349 now $949 at Amazon
• Acer Nitro 14 RTX 4060 Gaming Laptop: was $1,099 now $999 at Amazon
• Acer Nitro V RTX 4060 Gaming Laptop: was $1,129 now $1,019 at Amazon
• MSI Katana 15 RTX 4070 Gaming Laptop: was $1,399 now $1,289 at Amazon
• Asus TUF Gaming A16 RTX 4060 Gaming Laptop: was $1,599 now $1,299 at Amazon
• Asus ROG Strix G16 RTX 4070 Gaming Laptop: was $2,299 now $1,999 at Amazon
• MSI Vector A18 RTX 5080 Gaming Laptop: was $2,845 now $2,699 at Amazon

Best early Prime Day gaming laptop deals 

I wasn't going to buy the next-gen Xbox home console. The rumored Xbox VR/AR headset might get me, since I have a lot of nostalgia for the original Oculus Rift.

But the home console? Not a chance.

If the Nintendo Switch 2 is anything to go by, consoles are getting more and more expensive, so I wasn't planning to budget for a next-gen Xbox.

And then Microsoft and AMD had to announce a continuation of their hardware partnership for the next generation of Xbox consoles earlier this week.

Xbox President Sarah Bond said in the announcement, "I’m thrilled to share we’ve established a strategic multi-year partnership with AMD to co-engineer silicon across a portfolio of devices — including our next-generation Xbox consoles in your living room and in your hands."

But it's not the hardware that changed my mind. Instead, one of Microsoft's smaller tweaks to the next-gen Xbox just might mean I shell out for yet another Xbox console.

Here's what we know about the next-gen Xbox so far.

The new Xbox is powered by AMD, again

Microsoft has used AMD hardware for the last couple of generations, so seeing that partnership continue isn't much of a surprise.

The original Xbox, released in 2001, was powered by a combination Intel Pentium III processor and an Nvidia NV2A graphics card. It also featured just 8GB of internal storage and 64 MB of RAM.

The Xbox 360 launched in 2005 and used a custom 64-bit IBM XCPU (later referred to as "Xenon") and a custom ATI Xenos graphics chip. It also featured 512MB of RAM and came in 20 GB or 60 GB storage variants, with later upgrades bringing the Xbox 360 to 120 GB of "internal" storage.

The Xbox One launched in 2013 and was the first Microsoft console with an AMD processor. It featured a custom 8-core AMD APU based on the Jaguar architecture and built-in AMD Radeon graphics. The Xbox One featured 8GB of DDR3 RAM and came in 500 GB or 1 TB storage models.

The Xbox Series X and Series S first launched in 2020 and are powered by a custom AMD 8-core Zen 2 APU with built-in AMD Radeon RDNA 2 graphics. The Series S features 8 GB of GDDR6 RAM while the Series X is upgraded to 10 GB of memory. Both consoles came in multiple storage configurations from 512 GB to 2 TB.

While this week's announcement confirms AMD hardware for the next-gen Xbox console, we didn't get many details. However, we do know it will be another custom AMD APU.

Based on the expected 2027 launch of the next-gen Xbox, the custom AMD APU could be based on AMD's Zen 6 architecture and RDNA 5 graphics architecture. Depending on cost and optimization, the APU could feature a Zen 5 CPU and RDNA 4 GPU. But that's still just speculation.

It's not the hardware that changed my mind

I've got a gaming desktop. I spend my days reviewing laptops, including gaming rigs. And all of Microsoft's exclusives and first-party titles always launch on Xbox and on PC, so there's no real point.

And, okay, maybe the thing that's changing my mind about the new Xbox doesn't really break that pattern.

Since the Xbox One, Microsoft's consoles have basically just been well-optimized gaming PCs in a custom ITX case. In fact, you can indeed install the regular version of Windows 10 and Windows 11 on the XBox One and Series X|S consoles.

While the Xbox consoles have traditionally used a proprietary Xbox System Software OS, that software isn't too far from Windows 10 and Windows 11's S-Mode.

But, despite owning a high-end gaming PC, the idea that the next-gen Xbox console is "not locked to a single store," is a compelling selling point.

Despite my love for my gaming desktop, and my quality gaming chair, I’m a big fan of couch gaming, which makes consoles an attractive option.

Sure, I can obviously access my Steam library on my gaming PC. But putting my Steam library on an Xbox just feels more reasonable than moving my gaming PC onto my TV stand. The bulky ATX case just will not fit in nicely. Additionally, the Xbox System Software is far better for gamepad controls than Windows 11.

And let's be real, Windows 11 is the inferior Microsoft OS.

Plus, my gaming rig is getting up there in years. And if trends continue, it won't be able to play new games on the best settings in just a few years. So rather than overhaul my gaming PC, I may as well just wait and buy a next-gen Xbox.

Though the other option for cozy couch play without sacrificing your living room aesthetic is, of course, a quality gaming laptop.

When will the next-gen Xbox even arrive?

Microsoft is expected to launch the sixth-generation Xbox console in the fall of 2027.

Gaming hardware typically launches in the September-November range, though there are exceptions. Particularly in the mid-cycle refresh phase. So this release date is subject to change.

The fun thing about this next generation of Xbox hardware is that it won't just come in home console form. Microsoft is not launching a proprietary Xbox handheld, but the ROG Xbox Ally X is expected to launch later this year.

There are also rumors floating around of an Xbox-branded VR/AR headset, which could also see a release as early as September 2025. While the launch date is just speculation, it wouldn't be out of pocket to see an Xbox VR headset.

As Xbox President Sarah Bond said in the AMD partnership announcement, "At Xbox, our vision is for you to play the games you want with the people you want, anywhere you want. That’s why we’re investing in our next-generation hardware lineup — across console, handheld, PC, cloud, and accessories."

More from Laptop Mag

• Where to check for Nintendo Switch 2 restocks near you
• Borderlands 4's smallest controversy is its specs – wait until you hear its biggest
• A Nintendo Switch 2 survives 49 hits by “ridiculously large pliers” because this is what entertains us now

Graphics cards are getting so expensive that gamers are starting to seriously consider cloud gaming instead, and you might want to give it a try, too.

A recent survey revealed the impact rising GPU prices are having on the PC gaming community. It's even leading a significant number of gamers to take a closer look at cloud gaming as a potential solution.

The issue of latency remains a barrier, though. Gamers also have to ask themselves: Is a cloud gaming subscription actually cheaper than buying a better GPU or gaming laptop?

Here's a look at what the data shows and which cloud gaming services you should try first if GPU prices have risen beyond your reach.

See also: Best gaming laptop deals in June 2025

Survey shows GPU prices are pushing gamers toward cloud gaming

A survey conducted by Liquid Web found that 62% of gamers would "switch to cloud gaming full-time if latency were eliminated."

That's nearly 2 in 3 PC gamers. For many, the reason for this rising interest in cloud gaming is all about budget. The survey showed that 57% of gamers said they were unable to buy a new GPU due to scalping or price hikes, and nearly half (43%) said they "delayed or canceled [GPU] purchases due to other life expenses like rent and bills."

The vast majority of respondents (81%) said they prefer to keep their GPU for 3-5 years before upgrading and view Nvidia GPUs as being better value, yet most (69%) could only afford a GPU under $700.

For context, at the time of writing, you can get Nvidia's latest RTX 5060 graphics cards for less than $400, but the RTX 5070, RTX 5080, and RTX 5090 are all difficult or impossible to find for less than $700, with some cards costing thousands.

AMD graphics cards are generally more affordable, but that doesn't seem to be making a difference since 65% of the survey respondents said Nvidia GPUs hold their value the best.

Considering all this, it's not surprising that more and more gamers are starting to look to cloud gaming as hardware upgrades become unaffordable. If you're in the same camp, there are a few cloud gaming services you should try out first.

Top 3 cloud gaming services to try first

Depending on your needs, budget, and subscription tier, cloud gaming can be less expensive than buying a new GPU or even a budget gaming laptop. For instance, at $200 per year, the Nvidia GeForce Now Ultimate Plan is significantly cheaper than, say, a $1,200 gaming laptop or an even pricier desktop GPU.

Unless you're only considering sub-$1,000 budget GPUs like the RTX 5060, cloud gaming is usually more economical.

Unfortunately, latency is still a concern. Since you're streaming games from a server that could be dozens or hundreds of miles away, you're going to have higher latency compared with gaming on your own device.

I've never noticed significant latency issues or lag, but it depends heavily on what you're playing, where you're located, and what kind of internet service you have.

So, I highly recommend trying a day pass or a single-month trial to test out how well a cloud gaming service works for you, as performance can vary from one user to another.

Here's how a few of the top cloud gaming services compare to get you started:

• Nvidia GeForce Now: Arguably the best starting point for cloud gaming thanks to day passes that are currently less than $3. You can connect third-party accounts to play compatible games you already own on Steam, Epic, GOG, Xbox, and others. I've had nothing but good experiences on GeForce now so far. I've seen pretty impressive performance, too, like running Cyberpunk 2077 at 76 fps on a Chromebook.
  
• Xbox Cloud Gaming: Has some pros and cons, but definitely the best choice for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. However, you can't play games from Steam through this service, which could be a deal-breaker. I've had a pretty good experience on Xbox Cloud Gaming, but noticed a bit more lag than Nvidia GeForce Now.
  
• Boosteroid: Best for users in Europe, although also available in the US. Like GeForce Now, Boosteroid allows you to connect third-party accounts, like Steam or Epic, to play games you already own. One advantage it has, though, is that Boosteroid's Ultra plan doesn't have a session limit, unlike GeForce Now, which has a cap of 8 hours even on its most expensive plan.

If you're new to cloud gaming, it's probably worth giving all three services a spin. Nvidia GeForce Now is generally the best option for most users in the U.S. right now, although there's definitely a case for Xbox Cloud Gaming and Boosteroid, too. Plus, all three are cheaper than a new GPU.

More from Laptop Mag

• How to turn any laptop into an RTX gaming rig for only $2.39
• If you have $29, every laptop is a gaming laptop
• Budget gaming laptops are now entering the next gen with the Nvidia RTX 5060

Summer savings are ramping up at expert electronics retailer Best Buy, and it's a great time to buy a gaming laptop. If you've been holding off on upgrading to a newer RTX 50 series laptop due to price, I have good news for you today.

Right now, you can get the HP Omen 16 with RTX 5060 GPU and 32GB RAM for $1,279.99 at Best Buy. Shipped free and fast. When not on sale, this gaming-specific laptop costs $1,580, so that's a $300 markdown.

Browse: Best Buy's entire sale

Given that it's a first-time discount on the HP Omen 16, it marks a new all-time low price for this configuration. I've been tracking its price since it first launched last month, and it's one of the best gaming laptop deals I've seen all season.

Although we didn't test this exact laptop, we reviewed its powerhouse sibling, the HP Omen Max 16. Our expert praises its strong all-around performance, springy keyboard, and effective heat management.

Our review unit had an Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU and RTX 5090 graphics, which is ideal for core gamers. I expect the HP Omen laptop in this deal to be on par and offer solid gaming performance for casual gamers.

At $300 off, the HP Omen 16 is one of the best sub-$1,300 RTX 50 gaming laptops available at the moment.

With Amazon Prime Day being just around the corner, Best Buy isn't the only retailer wasting no time rolling out early deals.

If you have room in your budget to splurge, you can get the RTX 5080 HP Omen Max with RTX 5080 for $2,599 ($700 off) directly from HP. This laptop runs on an Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU alongside 32GB of RAM.

Today's best HP Omen 16 laptop deal

The RTX 5050 Mobile is Nvidia’s upcoming entry-level GPU for laptops. Based on new leaks, this GPU looks far more capable than its “budget” tier would suggest.

Though Nvidia hasn't officially announced its specs, the chip has already appeared in product pages from Acer, HP, and Lenovo, with models like the Acer Nitro 5, HP Victus 16, and Lenovo Legion 5i all slated to include it.

The RTX 5050 Mobile is built on the new Blackwell architecture, marking a clean break from the RTX 4050 Mobile’s Ada Lovelace foundation. While the RTX 5050 shares the same CUDA ("Compute Unified Device Architecture") core count as its predecessor (2,560), everything else -- from the memory configuration to the clock speeds -- suggests this new chip represents a generational leap in capability. And this generational jump is available for an affordable price.

The specs were accidentally leaked by the German IT company Kiebel (via momomo_us).

Those specs point to two distinct RTX 5050 Mobile variants. Most laptops will ship with an 8GB GDDR6 configuration running at up to 100W TGP.

However, a second version reportedly pairs the same core GPU with 8GB of faster GDDR7 memory. This version appears in a handful of higher-end laptops, including the Asus ROG Strix G16 and Lenovo Legion 5 Pro engineering builds.

It may allow for improved bandwidth and power efficiency in demanding workloads, but for now, take all that with a pinch of salt.

According to the leaked specs, which surfaced in a retailer listing, the RTX 5050 is expected to include 20 RT cores, 80 Tensor cores, 8GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, and clock speeds up to 2.52GHz.

Power draw ranges from 60W to 100W, depending on the chassis. It also gains access to Nvidia’s latest Max-Q 4.0 power optimization stack. That’s the same efficiency-boosting tech used in the higher-end 5070 and 5090 mobile chips.

Blackwell brings gains where it counts

The 50-class tier has traditionally been where Nvidia cuts corners, often stripping memory, limiting bus widths, and dialing down RT performance. That made previous “entry-level” GPUs like the RTX 3050 or 4050 tough sells, especially for gamers looking to push modern titles with ray tracing enabled or DLSS turned on.

But the RTX 5050 changes that equation. Thanks to Blackwell’s improved power management and architectural upgrades, Nvidia is delivering more performance in the same power envelope, or less. It’s a smarter GPU, not just a faster one.

Early analysis suggests the 5050 offers a ~45% uplift over the 4050 in raw FP32 compute power, aided by its wider memory bus (128-bit vs 96-bit), higher clock speeds, and more VRAM. With 8GB of GDDR6, it avoids the memory bottlenecks that hampered the 6GB RTX 4050 in some games and creative apps.

More importantly, Blackwell’s efficiency translates into real-world advantages. Frame generation, DLSS 4, ray-traced lighting, and AI-assisted game logic all benefit from the updated Tensor cores and 4th-gen RT units, even in a chip this size.

Performance expectations

While we don’t have official benchmarks yet, we know enough to put the RTX 5050 Mobile in context.

It’s faster than the RTX 4050 Mobile in nearly every metric that matters. It runs cooler, clocks higher, and offers significantly better bandwidth. Thanks to DLSS 4 and increased memory headroom, games that struggled to hold 60 fps at 1080p on the 4050, especially with ray tracing enabled, should fare far better on the 5050.

In some cases, it could even approach RTX 4060 Mobile performance levels, especially in thin-and-light laptops where the 4060 is power-constrained. When configured at 100W in larger machines like the Legion 5 or Nitro 18, the 5050 may even outperform a 4060 running at 65W.

That’s not to say it’s a 4060 killer — it isn’t. The 4060 still has more CUDA cores (3,072 vs. 2,560) and a higher theoretical ceiling. However, the gap is much smaller than the model numbers imply. And in real-world gaming at 1080p, especially with DLSS and frame generation, the 5050 could close that gap further.

Which laptops are getting it?

This is where the RTX 5050 gets interesting.

OEMs aren’t treating this like a bargain-bin GPU. Acer, HP, and Lenovo have all listed RTX 5050 configurations in laptops that span midrange to premium territory. That includes gaming-focused machines like the Nitro 5, Legion 5i, and Victus 16, but also prosumer ultrabooks like the LG Gram Pro 16 and IdeaPad Pro 5. These systems will mostly use the standard GDDR6 version, but we expect higher-tier designs to quietly adopt the GDDR7 variant as a performance differentiator.

Acer’s Nitro line-up confirms multiple RTX 5050 configurations, with some using a 60W TGP and others going as high as 100W. That’s a critical detail. The 5050’s performance will vary significantly depending on how much power it’s allowed to draw. A 60W version will struggle to match a 4060. A 100W version might trade blows with it.

Expect pricing in the $1,199 to $1,499 range at launch, though GDDR7-equipped models could push closer to the $1,600–$1,700 mark depending on CPU and chassis pairing.

The bottom line?

The RTX 5050 Mobile isn’t a cut-down afterthought. It’s not a recycled 4050. It’s a thoughtfully tuned, architecture-first evolution that delivers next-gen features in laptops that won’t require a second mortgage.

Thanks to Blackwell’s efficiency gains and smarter feature integration, Nvidia has finally given the 50-class a reason to exist beyond marketing. The RTX 5050 offers legitimate 1080p gaming chops, full ray tracing and DLSS 4 support, and enough VRAM to future-proof budget laptops. And with the GDDR7 variant waiting in the wings, this might be the most dynamic 50-class release Nvidia has ever shipped.

Buyers will still need to shop carefully. Not every RTX 5050 laptop will unlock its full potential, and some may be priced too close to 5060 models for comfort. But in the right system, the RTX 5050 Mobile could be the best value GPU of 2025.

More from LaptopMag

• The Nvidia GPU you actually want could launch next month
• AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme just brought AI to handhelds — should the competition be worried?
• I used the Asus ROG Strix G16 for a week, and it may be the best value in gaming laptops right now

The Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614) is our first system featuring the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D “Fire Range” processor, which presents a perfect opportunity for some benchmark face-offs.

AMD claims it is the “fastest mobile gaming processor,” but is that strictly true? I turned to our lab test results for some recent gaming laptops to find out.

One caveat before I dig into the results: unfortunately, the ROG Strix G16 tops out at an Nvidia RTX 5070Ti Laptop GPU. It's a solid choice for price and performance when shopping for one of the best gaming laptops, but it means we don’t have a 1:1 competitor for gaming performance.

All of the RTX 50-series gaming laptops we’ve reviewed in this generation have come with RTX 5080 or 5090 GPUs. The Strix G16 is the first laptop we’ve reviewed with a Ryzen 9 X3D CPU or an RTX 5070Ti GPU.

This means I can only accurately compare the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D to the Intel Core Ultra 9 on general performance and battery life. Those tests won’t get the most benefit from the Ryzen 9’s 3D cache.

All that aside, if you’re going to use your gaming laptop for more than just gaming, do you want AMD or Intel inside?

AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D: Performance

To keep things as even as possible, we compared the Asus ROG Strix G16’s Ryzen 9 9955HX3D to the MSI Raider 18HX AI’s Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX and the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16’s Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX.

When we compared Intel’s Arrow Lake HX systems to other CPUs of this generation, we hadn’t yet tested any AMD Fire Range systems. Now that we have the Strix G16, does Intel hold onto its performance lead?

The answer is complicated, as Intel’s two CPUs outperform their counterparts in multicore performance, video conversion, and overall performance in the Crossmark suite. However, AMD’s Fire Range 9955HX3D has the strongest single-core performance.

Specific use cases benefit from stronger single-core performance. Some Photoshop filters, specific video editing tasks, and some older games are optimized for single-core performance over multicore. However, most modern uses, including modern games, are multicore workloads.

If your main use for your laptop is gaming, it may be worth opting for the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D instead. You’ll have slightly better single-core performance for older titles while still having competitive multicore performance, and you’ll get the 3D cache benefits for newer games.

But if you're going to use your gaming laptop as your daily driver, Intel’s CPUs are faster all around. After all, it's not like either Core Ultra 9 processor is a slouch at single-core performance.

AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D: Battery life

The GPU can impact battery life. After all, the power consumption of the Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti can be lower than that of the RTX 5080. The 5070Ti requires a subsystem power of 60-115 watts, while the 5080 is an 80-150-watt GPU. So, these comparisons aren’t the ideal showcase of the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D compared to its Intel Arrow Lake counterparts.

Though, if anything, that makes the Strix G16’s battery life look worse.

After all, the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 features the power-hungry RTX 5080 but gets about 27 minutes more battery life than the Strix G16. Both Intel-powered gaming laptops last longer on battery life while running the PCMark 10 Gaming Battery Life test.

Bottom line

Thanks to AMD’s proprietary 3D CPU caching, you can often get quality performance out of the Ryzen 7 compared to the Ryzen 9. And, at least on desktop, the Ryzen 7 X3D is the top gaming CPU this generation.

Once we get an Intel Core Ultra 9 system with an Nvidia RTX 5070Ti or a Ryzen 9 X3D unit with an RTX 5080 or 5090, we’ll be able to make some gaming comparisons to really see if Fire Range’s 3D cache is worth it on a laptop.

For now, in terms of general performance and battery life, things can vary a lot by OEM implementation. However, Intel has a lead on multicore performance, while AMD has it beat on single-thread.

So, if you’re looking to use your gaming laptop for general use, content creation, or deep data analysis, it’s worth opting for Intel’s Arrow Lake chipset over AMD’s Fire Range. But for gaming, it may still be worth choosing an AMD-powered system.

We’d love to compare Intel’s Arrow Lake HX chipset against AMD’s Fire Range X3D in the same laptop with the exact same GPU. While there is a version of the Asus ROG Strix G16 with an Intel CPU, we haven’t received it yet.

We’ve done our best to compare the two chips, but as always, there is a lot of variation in benchmarks depending on how the chip is implemented into a laptop by the manufacturer. We look forward to a more direct head-to-head later this year, which just might give more weight to AMD’s claims of superiority.

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Gaming on a tight budget can feel impossible, speaking from experience.

If you have less than $1,000 to spend on a gaming PC, your options can be pretty limited in terms of both variety and computing power.

There's good news, though: I found what might be the cheapest possible way to get a great PC gaming experience.

Instead of spending thousands on the latest Nvidia GPU (or even shelling out hundreds just for a used or outdated graphics card), you can access an RTX gaming rig for just $3. It's not a scam, either. It's Nvidia GeForce Now, a cloud gaming platform you can use on even the weakest laptops.

GeForce Now's day passes are so cheap it feels too good to be true. If you don't believe me, take a look at my experience turning a Chromebook into a gaming laptop.

How I played Cyberpunk 2077 on a Chromebook with GeForce Now

Gaming might just be the last thing I'd ever want to do on a Chromebook. That's not because I dislike Chromebooks; they lack the hardware and operating system for a decent PC gaming experience. Chromebooks are designed to be affordable laptops mainly for web browsing -- they're not gaming beasts like these.

So, I knew I was facing an uphill battle when I wanted to try gaming on one.

If you're working with a similarly low-spec laptop, I have the solution. It's not the Google Play Store or even Steam for ChromeOS (which is better than you might expect thanks to the Proton compatibility layer).

The solution is Nvidia GeForce Now, which is more affordable than ever before. This cloud gaming service lets you run your games on an RTX gaming rig remotely over the cloud.

There's a free ad-supported tier, but the wait for availability can take a little while. Day passes are down to a mere $2.39, though, which is laughably cheap. The company announced the discount on Wednesday.

For less than $3, it was a no-brainer to try out GeForce Now. You can run it directly through your web browser, which means you're not limited by what operating system you're on. You simply login to your Nvidia account (or create one) and link it to whichever accounts you have your games on, such as Steam or the Epic Games Store.

Not all games are compatible with GeForce Now, but the majority of popular games are. You can check the library of compatible games before paying for a subscription or day pass if there's a specific one you're looking for.

With my Steam account connected, I could access most of my Steam library through GeForce Now. I selected Cyberpunk 2077 from my library and had a short wait, less than a minute, while my remote gaming rig booted up. From there I entered a virtual desktop environment where I logged into Steam. Cyberpunk 2077 was the only game I could access after login, but it was ready to go (i.e. no "downloading" it to my virtual gaming rig).

From there the process was effectively the same as playing Cyberpunk on my actual gaming PC. Steam started up the game with my current save file in tact. Everything ran smoothly with an average of 76 frames per second and no noticeable lag. My Xbox controller worked flawlessly, as well. I had a similar experience in other games, as well, like Avowed and Monster Hunter Rise.

For a little while, I even forgot I was gaming on a Chromebook, which shouldn't be able to run Cyberpunk, let alone at well over 60 fps. And it cost less than a cup of coffee.

Is Nvidia GeForce Now worth it for budget gamers?

Nvidia GeForce Now can be a great solution if you don't have the hardware for AAA games, but the free version is very limited. If you will use it frequently, paying for a subscription makes sense.

That raises the question: Is it cheaper to pay for a GeForce Now subscription or save your money for a more capable gaming laptop?

It depends, but I think there's a case for both. A GeForce Now subscription adds up over time, especially if you go for the Ultimate plan ($19/month or $99 per 6 months). However, if you're on a tight budget, that monthly subscription fee could be easier to afford than one large sum for a gaming laptop or PC, especially considering that a budget one can easily cost over $1,000.

Even if you went with the Ultimate plan and paid about $200 per year for six months at a time, it would take five years for those subscription fees to equal $1,000, barely enough for a budget gaming laptop.

So, if you really don't have a lot of money to spend on hardware, it could be more affordable to get a GeForce Now subscription. With that said, the big drawback is that you'll be reliant on having an internet connection to do any gaming, regardless of what you're playing. That could be a deal-breaker if you don't have a stable internet connection.

If you have the money to get a fully-fledged gaming laptop, you'll have more control over your gaming experience and have much lower latency gaming on your own device. While you're saving up, though, Nvidia GeForce Now offers a way to bridge the gap.

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The Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614FR) brings something to the table that we haven’t seen yet in this generation of gaming laptops, and it gave me high hopes as I booted it up for the first time. Powered by AMD’s X3D variant CPU, it promises boosted gaming performance thanks to the company’s clever 3D caching tech.

You may not care about the how, but you will care about the results, and when the Strix G16 testing emerged from our labs, we were pleased to see its strong overall performance and solid Nvidia RTX 5070Ti graphics. The best gaming laptops have to deliver excellent performance, but it can’t stop there, and the Strix has plenty more to back it up with a bouncy keyboard, ports aplenty, and a bright and reasonably vibrant IPS display.

If you’ve been paying attention to the early RTX 50 series gaming laptops, you're waiting for the other shoe to drop, with a price tag north of $3,000. While the Strix isn’t cheap, starting at $2,399, it’s a value among its competitors, and upgrades aren’t prohibitively expensive either.

So, is the Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614FR) one of the best gaming laptops of this generation? Let’s find out.

Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614FR): Specs and benchmarks

Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614FR): Price and configurations

Asus has multiple configurations of the Strix G16 available this year. From Intel to AMD models, with both new and older chipset variations, there is a Strix G16 that can suit your budget.

But if you’re looking for the Strix G16 (G14FR), there are two main configuration options, and they’re not too different in price.

The starting configuration costs $2,399 and gets you an AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX processor with an Nvidia RTX 5070Ti GPU with 12GB of VRAM, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 16-inch, 2560x1600, 240Hz, IPS display.

Upgrading to the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D processor variant jumps the price up to $2,499.

Our review configuration comes with the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D processor and upgraded memory to 32GB for a total of $2,499. Essentially getting the RAM upgrade for free.

Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614FR): Design

The Asus ROG Strix G16 is a thick, high-end gaming laptop with the aesthetics to match. While the Strix G16 doesn’t have the wild AniMeVision cover panel LEDs of the Strix Scar models, but it does have a flashy RGB lightbar below the keyboard deck, and full RGB on the keyboard.

The top panel and keyboard deck feature classic Republic of Gamers branding, including a darkened ROG logo and “For those who dare” tagline on the top cover and ROG badging along the top of the keyboard deck.

Outside of the aesthetics, the ROG Strix G16 is a bit on the chunky side, which, from a thermal perspective, is ideal for getting the best performance out of its hardware, but it makes it less portable than thinner 16-inch gaming laptops like the Razer Blade 16 (2025).

Measuring 3.94 x 10.39 x 0.89~1.20 inches and weighing 5.51 pounds, the Strix G16 edges into that desktop replacement class of laptops, though it still maintains the portability of a 16-inch laptop chassis. So it can fit into most laptop backpacks for transport to your next in-person gaming session.

While the Strix G16 isn’t the lightest or thinnest 16-inch gaming laptop we’ve reviewed, it fits nicely in the same size range as other 16-inch gaming laptops like:

• Alienware 16 Area-51: 14.37 x 11.41 x 0.85~1.12 inches, 7.13 pounds
• Gigabyte Aorus Master 16: 14.05 x 10 x 0.91~1.18 inches, 5.5 pounds
• Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9: 14.08 x 10.33 x 0.69 inches, 5.1 pounds

Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614FR): Ports

Asus has made sure to include plenty of ports on the Strix G16, which should be more than enough for all your gaming accessories:

• 1x USB 4 Type-C (DisplayPort, Power Delivery, Nvidia G-Sync)
• 1x USB 4 Type-C (DisplayPort, Nvidia G-Sync)
• 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
• 1x HDMI 2.1 FRL
• 1x RJ45 ethernet
• 1x audio combo jack

This should be enough ports for most people, though streamers may still want to invest in one of the best laptop docking stations or USB-C hubs to connect additional monitors, a professional webcam, a studio microphone, or a Stream Deck in addition to any gaming accessories.

Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614FR): Battery life

As we usually see with high-powered gaming laptops, the Strix G16 isn’t a threat to the laptops with the best battery life, but it does last long enough for you to work on battery power before needing to find an outlet.

I didn’t have much hope the Strix G16 would last more than a handful of hours when unplugged, at best. Just going about my usual workday meant I needed to hunt down a charger after just over three and a half hours of writing and video call meetings.

The Strix G16 lasted just 5 hours and 22 minutes on the Laptop Mag web surfing test, which is about what I expected from my hands-on testing.

Thanks to Nvidia’s investment in its BatteryBoost tech, the Strix G16 lasts a bit longer than previous generations while gaming. The Strix managed to survive for 1 hour and 22 minutes on the PCMark 10 gaming battery test, which is more competitive compared to other 50-series laptops, like the Alienware Area-51 compared to its 40-series counterparts.

Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614FR): Display

Our Strix G16 (G614FR) review unit features a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz matte IPS panel. Thanks to the Strix’s matte panel, it’s relatively glare-proof, which is ideal for gaming, so you don’t need to worry about missing your next shot because of a poorly placed lamp.

In order to test the Strix G16’s display, I booted up Avowed to see how well the Strix’s IPS panel handles the Fort Northreach beach with its broad color palette. While our lab testing indicated the display wasn’t super vibrant, I had no complaints about how well the Strix handled the corals along the shipwrecked shoreline, with bright, crisp reds and oranges bursting against the storm gray skies in a stunning contrast.

Our lab testing rated the Strix G16 at 79.7% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut, with an average peak brightness of 449 nits, which is bright and vibrant enough for most games.

While the Strix doesn’t have all the high-contrast benefits of an OLED or MiniLED display panel, its IPS-level LCD does have Pantone Validation for color, and supports Dolby HDR so it’s far from a disappointment.

Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614FR): Keyboard and touchpad

The Asus ROG laptops tend to have good keyboards, and the Strix G16 is no exception. While it is a Chiclet style keyboard, the Strix G16’s keys have a nice bounce to them and don’t feel mushy, with a satisfying level of key travel to each press, so you don’t bottom out your fingers on the keyboard.

Chiclet keyboards also tend to be quieter than mechanical switches, which can save your raid team from hearing each individual keysmash during tense encounters.

On the 10fastfingers.com advanced typing test, I averaged 86 words per minute (wpm) on the Strix’s Chiclet keyboard, which is just below my average of 88 wpm on the Apple MacBook Pro 14.

Asus has centered the touchpad on the keyboard deck, rather than on the space bar, which I prefer from an aesthetic point of view. And since the Strix’s touchpad is on the large side, measuring 5.4 x 3.4 inches, it’s got enough crossover with the spacebar that you shouldn’t have any kind of learning curve.

The touchpad offers a smooth feel with just the right amount of resistance for precise control. The very top of the touchpad isn’t clickable, though you can click just a half-inch down from the top edge, which isn’t too bad. Then again, I rarely click the top-half of a touchpad, so I didn’t notice it much in my day-to-day use of the Strix.

Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614FR): Audio

Asus equipped the ROG Strix G16 with a dual-speaker system with Smart Amplifier Technology, to get more volume out of fewer speakers. The sound system also boasts Dolby Atmos tuning, though the Strix’s Hi-Res audio certification is applicable for headphones so you might want to invest in a quality pair of the best headphones or an external sound system rather than rely on the built-in audio.

That said, the Strix’s audio is crisp. I was easily able to discern the individual string instruments that make up the orchestra behind Avowed’s title theme with perfect clarity. The volume wasn’t too explosive, but it was more than enough for some solid gaming immersion.

Though that also depends a bit on the game. Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is notorious for having a very high default volume, and I ended up having to drop the volume below 45 percent to keep the audio at a sensible level while still covering the sound of the Strix’s cooling system.

Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614FR): Performance and heat

As for all-around performance, the Strix features AMD’s most powerful gaming CPU for this generation, the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D “Fire Range” chip. Boasting desktop-quality performance, the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D processor is more than sufficient for just about any task.

As for my hands-on testing, nothing I threw at the Strix really made the fans kick on. From e-mail and spreadsheet management with 20+ Chrome tabs open to Photoshop object selection, I had no hangups of slowdowns with the Strix G16.

With its powerful Ryzen 9 and RTX 5070 Ti combo, the Strix is capable of handling any photo or video editing you might need, and it can also double as a solid choice for handling your STEM data sets if you need to use it for any engineering classes.

Once the fans do kick on, the Strix G16 can be a bit loud, but not to the same level as the MSI Raider 18 HX. But those fans are needed, as the Strix runs hot under pressure. While gaming, the Strix G16 hit a peak temperature of 127.1 degrees Fahrenheit near the F4 key while the center of the keyboard hit 92.8 degrees, which means you’ll want to be careful of your fingertips during long gaming sessions.

Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614FR): Gaming and graphics

The ROG Strix G16 is a 280W system, so it can drive plenty of power to its onboard AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D processor and Nvidia RTX 5070Ti GPU, which offers a smooth, solid gaming experience, especially at the Strix’s max resolution of 1600p.

The Strix G16 gets framerates well above 100 fps at 1080p resolution on games like Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Borderlands 3, and DiRT 5. More demanding titles like Black Myth: Wukong and Cyberpunk 2077 will see those frame rates drop to 53 fps.

With the Strix’s RTX 5070Ti GPU, you can also enable software upscaling like DLSS 4 and frame generation, which can offer a smoother experience with poorly optimized games like Avowed and Monster Hunter Wilds. This is especially useful if you’re gaming at max resolution, or if you use the Strix to power a high-res gaming monitor

With DLSS 4 enabled at max 1600p resolution and the Ultra graphics presets, I was easily able to keep a stable 85 fps in Doom: The Dark Ages. That rate jumped up to 187 fps with frame generation enabled. While 85 fps is certainly playable, it’s nowhere near as smooth as 187 fps.

I saw similar improvements in Avowed, going from 70 fps at 1600p on Epic settings with only DLSS 4 to 114 fps with frame generation also toggled on. Without either, the game was hitting about 43 fps in terms of just pure Silicon performance.

Of course, if you plan to play a lot of competitive games where super sampling tech like DLSS 4 or FSR can be problematic, dropping your game resolution down to 1200 or 1080p will get you better framerates, as will opting for more mid-range graphics presets.

Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614FR): AI features

As the Strix G16 features an AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D CPU rather than a Ryzen AI 300 series processor, it doesn’t meet the requirements for Microsoft’s Copilot+ suite of AI features. In fact, the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D doesn’t have an integrated NPU at all, so any AI you run off the Strix G16 will be using either the CPU or GPU to run the workload.

That doesn’t mean the Strix G16 can’t run AI. It has access to Nvidia’s various RTX AI features like ChatRTX and RTX Remix with its 50-series GPU after all. But it does mean the Strix won’t bother you with a chatbot unless you go out of your way to install one.

Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614FR): Webcam

The ROG Strix G16 features a 1080p webcam, so it's suitable for Windows Hello sign-in, and can handle the occasional video call or virtual meeting.

The camera feed is, as usual, on the dim and grainy side, with a tendency to drop a pink cast over skin tones, but it’s far from the worst we’ve seen. Most colors appear as they should on the webcam feed, just darker than I’d prefer.

If you plan to use the Strix for a lot of video calls or streaming, we’d recommend using one of the best webcams instead of the onboard camera.

Asus ROG Strix G16 (G614FR): Software and warranty

The Strix G16 comes with Windows 11 Home installed, which includes a number of standard Windows apps already installed, like Microsoft Copilot, Office 365, and the Xbox App. Asus has included the ArmouryCrate app to control your power profiles and settings and the MyAsus App for more general controls. Asus has also pre-installed the ROG Aura software for controlling your RGB customization, and the Aura Wallpaper Generator to create custom desktop backgrounds.

The number of pre-installed Windows applications is constantly growing, and Asus has installed a decent chunk of proprietary software. Between Microsoft, AMD, Nvidia, and Asus there are a lot of programs pre-installed. Most are utility-based, however, so this doesn’t really count as bloatware, but it’s far from a clean Windows installation.

The Strix includes a 1-year service warranty.

Bottom line

The ROG Strix G16 is the kind of gaming laptop that makes you wonder why other gaming laptops even bother. Sure, we’ve seen stronger performance from some of the other gaming laptops this gen, but many of those were nearly twice the price of the ROG Strix G16.

While the Alienware 16 Area-51 is our most affordable RTX 5080 laptop, it’s still a good $500 more expensive than the Strix G16. And the Strix weighs two pounds less, making it a much better choice if you need to travel with your gaming laptop occasionally.

Of course, if portability is your key requirement and you’ve got the cash to spare, then the Razer Blade 16 (2025) is still the way to go. After all, the Blade 16 is ultra-lightweight and sports a more powerful GPU, up to the Nvidia RTX 5090. And it gets far better battery life than the Alienware or the Strix.

But if you’re looking for the best balance of performance, price, and portability, it’s hard to do better than the ROG Strix G16 (G614FR).

Update June 27 at 9:47 p.m. ET: Dell continues to slash $300 off the Alienware Area-51 RTX 5070 Ti Gaming Laptop with 32GB of RAM and 2TB SSD.

Alienware's new RTX 50 gaming laptops are seeing first-time discounts during Dell's Summer Upgrade savings event.

One standout deal knocks huge savings off our beloved Area-51 series.

For a limited time, you can get the 2TB model Alienware Area-51 with RTX 5070 Ti GPU for $2,799 from Dell. It normally retails for $3,099, so you're saving $300 on this powerhouse gaming machine.

Browse: Dell's entire sale

This is the lowest price I've seen for this Alienware gaming laptop, which launched in April of this year. If you were hoping for a price break on an RTX 50-series laptop, this is one of the best deals available.

If you seriously want to level up your gameplay, the Alienware 16 Area-51 is the best gaming laptop to buy.

In our Alienware 16 Area-51 review, we rated it 4 out of 5 stars for its powerful performance, bright display, and satisfying mechanical keyboard with smooth touchpad.

While we wish we could've squeezed more playtime from it, we found its solid speakers and cool-looking aesthetic impressive. It's the Editor's Choice Award-winning laptop for competitive gaming.

If you have room in your budget to splurge, you can get the Alienware 16 Area-51 with RTX 5080 graphics for $3,049 ($400 off).

These Alienware gaming laptop deals are only as good as stock permits, so don't hesitate too long!

Today's best Alienware 16 Area-51 deal

Maingear is primarily known for its pre-built gaming PC business, but the company has been known to make a laptop or two over the years.

And on Wednesday, Maingear continued that tradition when it unveiled its newest gaming laptop. Unlike last year's ultra-portable ML-16, the new Ultima 18 is a high-end desktop replacement gaming laptop that lives up to its name.

Maingear's "most powerful laptop to date" boasts an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor and a discrete Nvidia RTX GPU up to the RTX 5090. With up to 4 M.2 SSD slots, up to 192GB of RAM, and an 18-inch 4K display, the Maingear Ultima 18 is undoubtedly a beast of a machine.

But what sets the Ultima 18 apart from other desktop replacement gaming laptops? Let's take a look.

Maingear Ultima 18: Specs

Maingear is currently offering just two GPU configurations for the Ultima 18, the Nvidia RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 Laptop GPUs, to keep the laptop's performance in line with its name.

Maingear Ultima 18: Features

In addition to its powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 and Nvidia RTX 5080/5090 combination, the Ultima 18 also features an impressive 18-inch display. With a max resolution of 3840 x 2400p, a 200Hz refresh rate, a rating of 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and a response time of less than 7ms, the Ultima's display is suited for high-performance 4K gaming and content creation.

Maingear packed five speakers in the Ultima for a quality sound system, featuring two drivers, two tweeters, and a subwoofer. The five-point sound system is powered by Sound Blaster Studio Pro 2.

The Ultima 18 is Maingear's first laptop with support for dual-channel DDR5 memory, PCIe Gen 5 SSDs, Thunderbolt 5 ports, and WiFi 7.

“Ultima 18 isn’t just a laptop, it’s a no-compromise desktop-class gaming rig that fits in a backpack,” Maingear CEO Wallace Santos states in the Ultima 18 press release.

“We’ve engineered this notebook to handle the latest AAA games, creative workloads, and AI-driven applications with headroom to spare. From the raw horsepower to the fine details, this system embodies everything our gamers expect from a premium Maingear gaming system.”

Maingear Ultima 18: Outlook

Not only is the Ultima 18 a powerhouse laptop from a pure tech specs perspective, but it also comes with the quality and support guarantee that backs all Maingear systems.

Maingear has a reputation for high build quality and component selection in its desktops, which also tends to hold true of its laptops. Maingear also offers lifetime support for the Ultima 18, including live assistance from its New Jersey headquarters.

The Ultima 18 is now available from Maingear, starting at $3,599. It comes in both pre-configured and custom variations, so you can get the ideal spec for your personal gaming or content creation needs.

And about the laptop's name, like any good Final Fantasy XIV player, I'm immediately reminded of spell summon chant: "From the deepest pit of the seven hells to the very pinnacle of the heavens, the world shall tremble."

Let's hope Maingear's version of Ultima is just as powerful.

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We know that Intel's upcoming chip generation will include the Panther Lake and Arrow Lake Refresh architectures.

Panther Lake will be for thin and light laptops and possibly some gaming handhelds, while Arrow Lake Refresh will hit desktops and high-performance gaming and workstation laptops. While not yet officially confirmed, these architectures are expected to go to market as the Intel Core Ultra 300 generation.

But what about the next generation after that?

Considering what we know of Intel's development roadmap, the expected Core Ultra 400 chips are being worked on under the codename Nova Lake.

But what do we know about Intel's ambitious 2026 chipset so far? Let's take a look.

Intel Nova Lake: Release date

Nova Lake is the codename for Intel's next major CPU architecture, following Arrow Lake Refresh and Panther Lake this year.

Based on Intel's usual timeline, we don't expect to see Nova Lake until 2026. It will likely be released sometime in the fall, and more details on the chipset will emerge in the summer and early fall of that year.

Intel Nova Lake: Architecture

Intel Nova Lake is an SoC (system-on-a-chip) style processor, with a CPU and GPU integrated into the tile. Intel will likely include an NPU on Nova Lake, as it did for Arrow Lake.

Nova Lake's CPU tile reportedly features up to 52 cores, comprised of Coyote Cove P (performance) cores and Arctic Wolf E (efficiency) cores.

Early details on Nova Lake's architecture imply the chipset will have a hybrid integrated GPU that combines Intel's Xe 3 and Xe 4 graphics architectures on the integrated graphics tile.

According to well-known Intel leaker Jaykihn, the Xe 3 architecture is expected to handle graphics rendering, while the Xe 4 section of the tile will be used for display and media operations.

This could offer stronger integrated graphics power to Nova Lake systems, potentially negating the need for a discrete GPU.

While Intel has made serious strides with its discrete Arc GPU business, the company has also made powerful claims about its integrated graphics performance, particularly on mobile platforms.

The split graphics architecture on Nova Lake could indicate a switch from discrete GPUs to integrated graphics, even on desktop. Though only time will tell.

Intel Nova Lake: Platforms

Nova Lake is currently expected to power desktops (-S suffix chipsets), though there are also rumors of a high-performance (-H suffix) laptop variant and potentially a more efficiency-focused (-U suffix) laptop version.

Desktop Nova Lake chipsets will likely be available immediately at launch, though it appears anyone looking to upgrade their PC with Nova Lake will also need to invest in a new motherboard. The chipset changes the socket type to LGA1954, which is different from the current Arrow Lake and Arrow Lake Refresh models.

Intel traditionally launches the desktop variant of an architecture first, so Nova Lake will likely launch on desktop in the fall, with laptops coming in early 2027.

Outlook

It's still early to know how Nova Lake will perform or to have too many confirmed details on the chipset's architecture. But we will be collating more information as it becomes available ahead of the SoC's launch.

In the meantime, Intel is expected to launch its Panther Lake and Arrow Lake Refresh chipsets later this year.

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Nvidia's RTX 50-series may offer true budget-friendly laptop and desktop options as early as next month.

Of course, Nvidia has not officially confirmed the existence of the RTX 5050, but the rumor mill has been in overdrive lately.

New details on Nvidia's entry-level RTX 5050 GPU have appeared this week and have been posted on VideoCardz. Combined with the RTX 5050 laptop specs leaked last week, we've got a pretty clear picture of the full RTX 50-series lineup.

And the RTX 5050 just might be the bargain you've been waiting for this generation.

But don't just take my word for it. Let's take a closer look at how the RTX 5050 compares to its higher-tier counterparts on both desktop and laptop.

Nvidia RTX 5050 Desktop GPU specs

Nvidia RTX 5050 Laptop GPU specs

Nvidia RTX 5050: Outlook

If Nvidia decides to opt for 8GB of GDDR7 (graphics double data rate 7) VRAM for the desktop variant, as rumors suggest, it'll be a better bargain in terms of performance and price than the RTX 5060.

The RTX 5050 laptops were already rumored to come with GDDR7 memory, so it would be a surprise if Nvidia didn't upgrade the VRAM on the desktop variant, but only time will tell.

While the RTX 5050 on both laptop and desktop will be underpowered compared to the other RTX 50-series GPUs, the 5050 does still have access to Nvidia's DLSS 4 and frame generation software, which can provide significant gains in frame rates if you're willing to use AI super sampling tech.

Most often, Nvidia's entry-level GPUs become the most popular in each generation as the -50 and -60 cards often hit the right price-to-performance sweet spot, while the higher-end cards tend to retail at astronomical prices.

As of last month, the most popular GPU on Steam is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060. Given the usual four-year upgrade cycle for computer hardware (especially gaming GPUs), it's expected that either the RTX 5050 or RTX 5060 will eventually take that slot.

The RTX 5050 desktop GPU is expected to retail in the range of $199-249.

Based on current estimations, RTX 5050 gaming laptops are expected to cost about $999.

We do not currently have exact dates for when these GPUs will be available, but if the RTX 5060 launch is anything to go by, the desktop GPUs and RTX 5050 laptops will likely go on sale around the same time next month.

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Are we about to see Nvidia’s most innovative chip yet? Or are the rumors all bluster? Because what we just heard about Nvidia’s 120W APU is a hella impressive feat, if true.

Taiwanese media outlet UDN reported that Nvidia and MediaTek will launch a gaming APU together that’s as powerful as an RTX 4070 gaming laptop. Apparently, it’ll launch early 2026 and find itself in… gaming laptops?

That’s not what I expected. But I certainly can see this or another version of Nvidia’s APU finding its way into a handheld gaming PC. I mean, Nvidia has already been jumping into handhelds, like the Nintendo Switch 2.

That’s not all — there are so many more interesting and concerning things about Nvidia’s APU.

What we know about Nvidia’s 120W APU

First things first, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 is the king of mid-range GPUs. But the best part about Nvidia’s new APU is that it’s based on Blackwell architecture, similar to the RTX 50-series. That means you’ll get access to key DLSS 4 features like Multi-Frame Generation.

However, MediaTek and Nvidia are building this APU with ARM architecture. Sigh. If you’re unaware of what that means, I have tried gaming on an ARM-based laptop before, and it was terrible. Many games do not run on ARM, so Windows needs to emulate the games you play, which can increase latency.

But the worst bit is that games with anti-cheat engines simply won’t boot up — that’s almost all multiplayer games. For me, one of the core pillars of gaming on Windows is access to PC Game Pass, and that app is not compatible with ARM whatsoever.

What's next

So, where does that leave us? Well, as exciting as an Nvidia APU might be, I do not have high hopes for it. Unless manufacturers figure out a way to make it compatible or developers offer ARM support for their games, there’s no way I’d recommend people buy a gaming laptop, or even a handheld, with an ARM-based chipset.

However, it’s possible that Nvidia’s APU could push the gaming and tech industry to finally solve that problem. Selfishly, this would mean that you could game on a MacBook, since Apple Silicon is ARM-based. Additionally, this would put Qualcomm’s renowned Snapdragon chips back in the race. So, a lot of good could come from the industry moving forward. Will it happen? Meh.

Another interesting point is that, apparently, Nvidia’s APU is set to launch alongside a Dell product. I had assumed it’d be a gaming laptop, like an Alienware. But I suppose it’s possible that this could be in the Dell Pro Max lineup, which has yet to receive its Plus and Premium models.

That would track, since those laptops are more like workstations, which are designed for intensive workloads like 8K video-editing, running complex simulations, or rendering 3D graphics. Aka not meant for gaming.

I remain highly skeptical, but we’ve seen Nvidia work some magic before, especially with DLSS 4, so I’m hoping it can make ARM work. We’ll likely see it at CES 2026.

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There’s no excuse anymore; gaming laptops need to step up their game if they want to land in my shopping cart. The best gaming laptops offer excellent gaming performance and displays, but I’m adding one more thing to my must-have list: a mechanical keyboard.

I recently reviewed the Alienware 16 Area-51, and it reinforced the idea that no gaming laptop should be without a mechanical keyboard, especially a premium one. They’re objectively better than membrane keyboards — just ask my fingers.

This needs to be the next big transition for gaming laptops, just like when phones ditched physical keyboards for touchscreens. And let me tell you why we might not be so far away from that future.

The mechanical keyboard revolution

The Alienware 16 Area-51’s CherryMX mechanical keyboard made it oh-so-satisfying to dash across the field in Marvel Rivals as Magik and swoop up a jabroni in my combo. Each keystroke sounded clicky and felt punchy.

I won’t stop screaming about mechanical keyboards until they are in every gaming laptop, and we can critique them for the types of switches they use rather than just complimenting their existence. I hope that future isn’t far away. After all, we’ve already seen mechanical keyboards in varying budget categories.

I was shocked when I saw a mechanical keyboard in the Dell G16 (7620), which at the time cost $949. The existence of that one gaming laptop is all the reason I need to criticize every premium gaming laptop that doesn’t offer a mechanical keyboard. And the Area-51 isn’t the first Alienware with a mechanical keyboard. Last year’s Alienware x16 R2 had one too.

Unfortunately, the Dell G16 is somewhat bulky at 1.01 inches thick. The Area-51 is similar, measuring 0.85~1.12 inches. So you might be thinking that the thickness of a gaming laptop certainly makes an impact on whether a mechanical keyboard is possible. But that’s not exactly the case. As I just mentioned, the Alienware x16 R2 also featured a mechanical keyboard, and it measured 0.7 inches thick.

So, in theory, no gaming laptop should be excused, including a monster like the MSI Raider 18 HX AI that comes in at 0.94~1.26 inches. Sure, its keyboard is bouncy, but it’s no mechanical keyboard. It’s weird because last year’s MSI Titan HX featured a mechanical keyboard, although that laptop was a chunky 1.3 inches thick.

Now, the Razer Blade 16 might be too thin to support a mechanical keyboard at 0.59~0.69 inches. But like a Bond villain or Batman, I’ll accept nothing less than the best from my wonderful little toys, especially if I’m paying several thousand dollars.

I can’t say what the exact cost is for adding a mechanical keyboard to a gaming laptop, but when configuring the Dell G16 and even the Alienware Area-51, the former adds $100, while the latter costs only an additional $50. That’s a massive bonus for a low price and well worth the bump unless you’re opting for one of the best gaming keyboards.

If you’re not grabbing a peripheral and you plan on emptying your wallet for a gaming laptop, make sure you get one with a mechanical keyboard. The issue isn’t just that a mechanical is better than a membrane; it’s that there are some really terrible membrane keyboards out there. You don’t want to be stuck with a dollar-store keyboard on a $ 4,000+ gaming laptop.

Sure, opting for a peripheral is always the better option, but unless you’re getting a desktop replacement, it defeats the whole purpose of portability in your gaming laptop. Do you really want to lug around a keyboard on top of a gaming laptop and a gaming mouse?

As I said, the Alienware 16 Area-51 has now reinforced what is best for a gaming laptop. After experiencing at least three other gaming laptops with a mechanical keyboard, I am putting my proverbial foot down. You won’t see a gaming laptop in my shopping cart unless it’s rocking a mechanical keyboard… and a gorgeous OLED display (but that’s a rant for another day).

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The gaming industry is notoriously volatile. And that's true of more than just software.

This week, we have a new entry for the graveyard of delayed or discontinued gaming hardware, and Microsoft is at the heart of it all.

Microsoft's rumored first-party Xbox handheld may take longer to arrive than initially expected.

According to an exclusive report from Windows Central, Microsoft has paused development on the Xbox handheld to focus instead on optimizing Windows 11 for gaming experiences.

Here's what we know so far about the delay, Windows optimizations, and the future of Xbox handhelds.

Xbox Handheld delayed indefinitely

Even though the Xbox handheld seems to be on pause, Microsoft is still working on something else.

Codenamed "Kennan," the project for a branded Xbox handheld with Asus is reportedly still underway. So we will still get an Xbox handheld — even if it's mostly just a next-gen ROG Ally with a black-and-green color scheme.

The first-party handheld that's reportedly been delayed was initially expected to launch alongside a next-generation Xbox home console in 2027.

While we understand that the Xbox Series X successor will still launch during that window, the handheld device appears to have been shelved for now.

According to the report from Windows Central, "sources have indicated ... that Microsoft is still deeply investing in developing its own Xbox gaming handheld technology in the future, but it was announced internally [Thursday] that the priorities are moving more deeply towards third-party OEM handhelds in the interim."

So it appears that Microsoft is still planning to make its own handheld gaming device, just not by 2027.

Microsoft's Xbox handheld may end up being a mid-cycle device rather than a dual-launch device for Microsoft's next console generation, but only time will tell.

Windows 11 optimization isn't a terrible trade-off

Microsoft is switching its handheld development to further support the "Kennan" handheld, which was co-designed with Asus, and to focus more on software optimization.

As Windows Central reports, "Microsoft has decided to prioritize its teams to improve Windows 11 gaming performance, specifically for devices like the ASUS partner, 'Project Kennan.'"

It's possible that the threat from SteamOS, which on paper delivers better gaming performance than Windows 11 itself, has informed these decisions."

Now that Lenovo's Legion Go S with SteamOS is available, Microsoft has some serious OS competition for gaming handhelds. Valve's Linux-based operating system tends to be less resource-intensive than Windows 11, and thus offers better battery life and smoother performance.

Of course, SteamOS isn't the best solution for everyone. Some first-party launchers don't have Linux support or may not run correctly through Proton emulation. Workarounds exist for more major launchers, like the Epic Games Store or Ubisoft Connect.

And Valve is still updating the Steam library to make more games compatible with SteamOS. The SteamOS library currently features over 17,000 games, though most are single-player.

Kernel-level anti-cheat systems seem the most significant barrier to enabling popular multiplayer games on SteamOS.

Outside of the smaller multiplayer library, SteamOS is stable, is a low-hardware-lift OS, and it doesn't get hamstrung by Windows 11's terrible touchscreen controls on the desktop. This has made the Steam Deck (and potentially now the Legion Go S with SteamOS) a more attractive gaming handheld than its Windows competitors.

Unless you're like me, and you've got an MMO you just can't put down, SteamOS is a solid solution.

However, if Microsoft optimizes Windows 11 for gaming handhelds, that could remove at least a few OS-based pain points for Windows-based gaming handhelds.

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I wouldn’t call any RTX 50-series gaming laptop cheap, but Alienware, of all brands, comes knocking with its flagship Area-51 at an alluring price point for all of its premium qualities.

For a whopping $3,249 (yes, that’s competitive in this market [insert cry GIF here]), the Alienware 16 Area-51 packs a punch with its Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080, supported by a bright 16-inch display, a punchy mechanical keyboard, and solid audio.

While its flaws are limited, they’re still flaws. The battery life could be better, the display could be OLED, and the touchpad isn’t tall enough. However, its pros make a strong case for the Alienware 16 Area-51 as one of the best gaming laptops, and it looks like a straight-up spaceship. But let’s see if it’s right for you.

Alienware 16 Area-51 (RTX 5080): Specs and benchmarks

Alienware 16 Area-51 (RTX 5080): Price and configurations

Forget about a new car; you need that down payment for the Alienware 16 Area-51. The model we reviewed costs $3,249 and is outfitted with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 16GB GPU, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz, LED display, and CherryMX mechanical keyboard.

You can start at $2,849, dropping to an RTX 5070 Ti, upgrading to a 2TB SSD, and ditching the mechanical keyboard. However, I don’t recommend this model. If you’re already paying close to $3K, you might as well get the better-performing RTX 5080.

There’s also the RTX 5090 model, which costs $3,649. It also comes with 64GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD.

The biggest issue I have with the configurations is that there are no display options outside of upgrading the webcam (which costs the same price between them, so you should get the 4K model). It would have been nice to see an OLED variant, especially since the color in this LED panel is lacking (but I’ll delve into that more later).

Overall, the Alienware 16 Area-51 is expensive, but surprisingly, it’s more affordable than other RTX 50 series gaming laptops we’ve seen on the market.

Alienware 16 Area-51 (RTX 5080): Design

I am in love with this design. It’s been said before, even I have said it, but damn does this thing look like it’s about to blast the thrusters and head to outer space. From the curved edges to the sci-fi-esque vents, the Alienware 16 Area-51 stays true to its namesake.

I’ll admit, however, I’m not a fan of the Liquid Teal color; it just doesn’t look nice. I would’ve preferred white or another lighter color. Despite that, the black on the hinge contrasts quite well with it, and opening up the lid activates the RGB light bar embedded within the hinge, producing an aurora-esque diffused light. It looks pretty sick. (The Alienware logo lights up, too.)

The interior gives off a similar vibe thanks to the numerous vents surrounding the keyboard, not to mention the RGB lighting in the keyboard, touchpad, and fans at the top of the deck. It’s straight up Christmas in here. The bezels on the display are relatively thin, with the webcam on top, but I’m disappointed that there isn’t a privacy shutter.

Another slick design feature is the underside — it features a glass window into the internals with the RGB-lit fans.

Despite the Alienware 16 Area-51 resembling a spaceship, it’s tough to call it portable at 7.13 pounds and 14.37 x 11.41 x 0.85~1.12 inches. Here’s how it compares:

• HP Omen Max 16: 5.92 pounds, 14.04 x 10.59 x 0.9~0.98 inches
• Razer Blade 16 (2025): 4.6 pounds, 13.98 x 9.86 x 0.59~0.69 inches
• Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 (RTX 5080): 5.5 pounds, 14.05 x 10 x 0.91~1.18 inches

Alienware 16 Area-51 (RTX 5080): Ports

To maintain its spaceship aesthetic, most of the ports on the Alienware 16 Area-51 are located on the back, with the exception of the SD card slot and headphone jack on the left. Overall, you should have everything you need here.

• 2x USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
• 1x USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
• 2x Thunderbolt 5 ports (for configurations with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and above)
• 1x HDMI 2.1
• 1x SD-card slot
• 1x 3.5mm headphone jack

If you really need more ports, check out our best USB Type-C hubs and best laptop docking stations pages.

Alienware 16 Area-51 (RTX 5080): Battery life

I didn’t expect the Alienware 16 Area-51 to offer great battery life, considering how much of a chunky monkey it is, but I’m still a bit disappointed.

On the Laptop Mag battery test, which sets the laptop to continuously surf the web over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, the Alienware 16 Area-51 lasted 4 hours and 10 minutes. That’s not bad per se, but the Aorus Master lasted a whole hour longer, and the Razer Blade lasted over three hours longer.

There’s a similar trend on the PCMark 10 Gaming battery life test, where the Area-51 lasted 1 hour and 50 minutes, while the Razer Blade and Aorus Master lasted 40 to 60 minutes longer, respectively.

Alienware 16 Area-51 (RTX 5080): Display

Displays designed for video games are precious to me, and if I’m paying over $3K for a gaming laptop, it better be pretty. Unfortunately, the Alienware 16 Area-51’s 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz, LED display falls a bit short. It’s plenty bright, more than its competition, and nearly as bright as the M4 MacBook Pros. However, the color is severely lacking for the price, and that’s likely due to the LED panel, whereas its top rivals use OLED.

I hopped into an expedition in Elden Ring Nightreign and bodied those nightmare Flame Chariots. While their flames were bright, and everything looked lively, the lack of boldness took me out of it a little. I think the issue is that the LED panel feels like I’m looking at a screen, whereas OLED feels like looking through a window. I’ll say this, however: I didn’t have any trouble navigating the shadowy mines.

I watched the trailer for the currently bombing Lilo & Stitch film, and the night shots were clear, which is nice because I didn’t need to squint. And although the day shots were really bright, those Hawaiian waters didn’t look as bold as I wanted them to.

According to our colorimeter, the Area-51 doesn’t meet the 100% DCI-P3 color coverage that Dell claims it does (falling to 81.6%). However, it does break its claimed 500-nit display brightness.

Alienware 16 Area-51 (RTX 5080): Keyboard and touchpad

Nothing is more satisfying than a mechanical keyboard in a gaming laptop. It still feels like a dream that laptops like the Alienware 16 Area-51 are rocking a CherryMX mechanical keyboard. This baby is clicky and punchy; bodying fools in Marvel Rivals felt as smooth as ever.

I knocked out 83 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test, which is above my usual 81-wpm average. Moving to each key felt effortless, thanks to that mechanical bounce.

The 4.4 x 2.5-inch touchpad is not only colorful, but it's also glass, so it’s silky smooth to the touch. It also features a mid-depth, sharp click, which is satisfying to navigate with. My only gripe is that I wish the touchpad were taller because it makes it more challenging to select a wide area.

Alienware 16 Area-51 (RTX 5080): Audio

With two tweeters (treble) and two woofers (bass), the Alienware 16 Area-51’s top and bottom-firing speakers made me feel like I jumped right into the thick of combat. Although the music performance could have been better.

Dashing across Limveld in Nightreign, oppressive but present strings played in the background while the Depraved Perfumer tried to murder me. I dodged and sliced through them, and got that satisfying slash sound effect when I made impact. When I popped my ultimate ability off, it sounded a bit more muted than I would’ve liked, but the overall environmental sound effects played well together. It got occasionally muddy when larger bosses started chomping at me.

Jumping into my long-lasting hyperfixation, I listened to “Wouldn’t You Like” from Epic: The Musical. The stringed instruments sounded gentle and full, and when Hermes came in, I enjoyed his soft vocals, but I realized they were maybe a bit too soft. The vocals didn’t hit the crispness I expected. While I could distinguish most of the instruments from one another, there was some muddiness, and the percussion got snuffed a bit.

But overall, it’s a strong set of speakers compared with the mediocrity we usually find in even the most expensive gaming laptops. You adjust the audio via Dolby Access, with presets for Game (which I used for gaming), Music (used for music), Movie, Voice, and Dynamic (which I experimented with but wasn’t a fan of).

Alienware 16 Area-51 (RTX 5080): Gaming and graphics

Packed into the Area-51’s thick chassis is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 GPU with 16GB of VRAM. This monster doesn't need to worry about slimming down for portability’s sake, so it even crushes RTX 5090 gaming laptops on some tests.

Trying our luck with the Gaping Jaw again, my comrades and I leapt into its chaotic purple lightning storms, and the Area-51 easily maxed out the cap at 60 frames per second on max settings at native resolution.

Up against the RTX 5080 in the Aorus Master and the RTX 5090 in the Razer Blade and Omen Max, the Area-51 either matched or took the crown on three major gaming benchmarks. So the Area-51 is better than the rest at playing Assassin's Creed Mirage, Black Myth: Wukong, and Far Cry 6.

While the Area-51 may not have taken the lead on the rest of the gaming benchmarks, it got pretty darn close across the board. You won't be disappointed with this level of performance. And keep in mind that our benchmarks don't account for DLSS 4, so if you want to get into multi-frame generation magic, you can expect a significant increase in frames.

Alienware 16 Area-51 (RTX 5080): Performance and heat

Don't think Alienware forgot about overall performance. The Area-51 is toting the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor with 32GB of RAM, and it's one heck of a powerhouse. It didn't flinch when I opened a couple dozen Google Chrome tabs and a handful of YouTube videos while Nightreign downloaded in the background.

The Alienware 16 Area-51 absolutely dominated its competition on the Geekbench 6 overall performance test and our HandBrake benchmark, which requires it to transcode a 4K video to 1080p.

However, the Area-51 lagged a bit behind on SSD speeds, coming in third on our 25GB file transfer test, but since it’s above 1 GBps, it should be good for most things.

Now, even though the Area-51 is rocking fans all over the place, it still gets a bit spicy while gaming. We clocked it at 118.7 degrees Fahrenheit between the F8 and F9 keys, which is way above our 95-degree comfort threshold. Yet, it might be safe to sit it in your lap. How? The underside only reached 93.1 degrees. However, I’d proceed with caution since the underside features a glass window, which might burn if it gets too hot.

Alienware 16 Area-51 (RTX 5080): AI features

With an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, the Area-51 supports an NPU with 13 peak TOPS (trillion operations per second). With that, you can access your usual Copilot software, like Windows Studio Effects, Cocreate, and Live Captions. Apart from potential performance gain, there isn’t any Dell or Alienware-branded software with unique AI capabilities.

Alienware 16 Area-51 (RTX 5080): Webcam

Like most laptop webcams, even the Alienware 16 Area-51’s 4K shooter isn’t great.

Despite that, the webcam handles colors decently well. My blue shirt and the ensemble of colorful outfits of the My Hero Academia crew behind me popped in the image. However, its resolution didn’t keep my face and hair from looking fuzzy. And the poor contrast overexposed the window and ceiling. If you plan on streaming, I recommend checking out one of the best webcams.

Alienware 16 Area-51 (RTX 5080): Software and warranty

The software you’ll be using the most will be the Alienware Command Center, which features settings for performance, keyboard and chassis lighting, game aggregation, and a quick link to the Dolby Access app. There’s also Dell SupportAssist, which handles your drivers, hardware scans, and warranty.

The Area-51 comes with a one-year limited warranty.

Bottom line

The Alienware 16 Area-51 is a near-perfect gaming laptop, boasting incredible performance, a bright 16-inch display, a great keyboard, strong speakers, and a beautiful design. But its display can’t beat OLED, and we’ve seen much better battery life numbers elsewhere.

A gaming laptop that supports both an OLED panel and significantly better battery life is the Razer Blade 16, although you’ll need to pay about $1,000 more to get it.

I’ll pray to Cthulhu for an OLED variant of the Alienware 16 Area-51 in the future, although right now, this gaming laptop is easily one of the best we’ve seen this year, and its price point makes it all the more compelling.

So far, Nvidia's RTX 50-series of gaming laptops have not been very wallet-friendly.

Like with most GPU generations, we got the flagship cards first, with the more mid-range and entry-level GPUs coming in later.

While Nvidia's announcement of the GeForce RTX 5060 laptop GPU at Computex last week brought a glimmer of hope that budget gaming laptops will be here soon, you may want to hold out for a better deal.

After all, there is still the rumored entry-level Nvidia gaming GPU.

Thanks to a few recent leaks like two Lenovo listings from Laptops Direct, and a laptop lineup spec list from Acer, we have some insight into the yet-unannounced Nvidia RTX 5050 Laptop GPU.

Should you get an RTX 5060 laptop or hold out a bit longer for the RTX 5050 versions instead?

Let's take a look to see if we can determine which GPU will power the best budget gaming laptops.

RTX 5050 vs RTX 5060: Specs

We don't have the full specs on the RTX 5050 yet, including the max GPU clock speed, CUDA Core count, or price.

But from what we do have, the RTX 5050 Laptop GPU seems to have the same 8GB of GDDR7 VRAM and 128-bit memory bus as the RTX 5060 Laptop GPU. The RTX 5060 and RTX 5050 laptop GPUs also have the same top-end TGP of 100W.

Granted, the RTX 5070 Laptop GPU has the same memory specs and TGP, but it has 38% more CUDA Cores.

RTX 5050 vs RTX 5060: Price to performance

We haven't tested any RTX 5060 systems yet, and the RTX 5050 gaming laptops haven't even been officially announced. We can only speculate based on what we've seen from the Nvidia Blackwell generation so far.

While our initial RTX 5090 laptop test results aren't quite as impressive as we expected, there are a few reasons for that.

Because of the high price tag attached to RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 laptops, the RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 TI are a more economical choice. We've even seen decent performance from the RTX 5070, at least based on an early preview benchmark session.

If Nvidia's starting price expectations hold for the RTX 5050, we would expect to see at least one or two RTX 5050 gaming laptops with a price tag of about $999, which was the starting price for laptops with the RTX 4050. At least on paper.

This means the RTX 5050 is poised to offer the best combination of GPU power for the price.

RTX 5050 vs RTX 5060: Bottom line

As always, my initial instinct on the performance of Nvidia's lower-tier GPUs could be entirely off-base. We'll have to wait and get some systems in for testing to make a final determination.

However.

Suppose the RTX 5050 is close to the RTX 5060 in pure silicon performance, with Nvidia's DLSS 4 and frame generation technology enabled. In that case, it's probably worth waiting for a cheaper Nvidia gaming laptop if you need to stick to a tight budget.

Alternatively, a few upcoming laptops will ship with the RTX 4050 laptop GPU if you'd like to hold out for the very best deal possible. We haven't seen much pure silicon improvement from generation to generation between the RTX 40-series and RTX 50-series graphics cards.

While the RTX 4050 won't get all the benefits of DLSS 4 and frame generation, it does have access to Nvidia's DLSS 3.7. It's not as smooth as DLSS 4, but it can come pretty close.

The RTX 4050 could also be a compelling option for a generation of incredibly expensive gaming laptops.

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If you asked me on January 1, 2025, to guess how many eGPUs we'd see this year, I'd have probably said "none" because eGPUs seemed to be a thing of the past.

We still have an old Razer Core X kicking around the Laptop Mag office, and we still have a list of the best eGPUs, but those haven't been updated in quite some time, as there just hasn't been anything new in the eGPU space.

And now here we are, just under six months into the year, and we've seen three eGPUs from major manufacturers.

Which begs the question: Is 2025 the year of the eGPU revival?

The eGPUs of 2025 so far

At CES this year, Asus showed off the ROG XG Mobile eGPU, an updated version of the company's portable eGPU with an RTX 5090 laptop GPU.

At Computex last week, the company followed up with the ROG XG Station 3, which is designed to house a full desktop GPU. However, like many eGPUs of old, the XG Station 3 requires you to bring your own GPU.

Also at Computex was Gigabyte's updated eGPU, the Aorus RTX 5090 AI Box. This eGPU comes with an all-in-one WaterForce liquid cooling system to help alleviate heat-induced throttling caused by the powerful Nvidia RTX 5090 graphics card.

Leveraging the new Thunderbolt 5 connectivity protocol, these eGPUs are more powerful than ever. With Thunderbolt 5, you'll suffer far less performance loss than you did with Thunderbolt 4, USB 4, or Thunderbolt 3. To make it work, you need a laptop with Thunderbolt 5 capabilities.

Have we finally figured out the best use of the eGPU?

There were many reasons why eGPUs didn't change the gaming laptop market for most.

While dedicated eGPU enthusiasts exist, the technology just wasn't quite at the right inflection point when eGPUs first hit the market in 2013 with the advent of Thunderbolt 2. After all, why pay for a laptop, an eGPU enclosure, and a GPU when you wouldn't get the full power of a desktop-class GPU on your laptop?

While things improved with the advent of Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 (and USB 4 on the AMD side), the transfer bandwidth just wasn't enough to make eGPUs worthwhile for most people. It was cheaper and often more convenient to just buy a gaming laptop rather than try to make your ultra-portable laptop into a gaming rig with an external GPU.

With Thunderbolt 5's 80 Gbps bandwidth, you get double the performance of a Thunderbolt 4 connection.

Most eGPUs are aimed at gamers, but they can also be useful for content creators who need extra GPU power at home and longer battery life when on the road.

Even still, I'm not sure we've hit the critical use case for eGPUs yet.

But as someone who would absolutely connect an ultra-light laptop like the Asus Zenbook A14 to the ROG XG Station 3 just for the hell of it, we may have finally have tech capable of making the eGPU worth it this year.

More from Laptop Mag

• Gamers should be ditching Windows for SteamOS — here's why
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You might want to think twice before installing Windows 11 on your gaming PC. You could be sacrificing a huge dip in performance, and we finally have proof.

The SteamOS version of the Lenovo Legion Go S debuted over the weekend, and according to tests performed by gaming YouTuber Dave2D, the Legion Go S running on SteamOS trounces in the Windows model in one of the most important areas for a handheld.

The results might just convince you it's time to finally ditch Windows 11. Here's what we know.

On Sunday, Dave2D posted a comparison video showing his side-by-side test results for two Legion Go S handhelds with the same hardware but different operating systems.

The results show a clear and significant lead for the SteamOS version, especially when it comes to battery life. The video title sums up Dave2D's assessment: "Windows was the problem all along."

A tale of two operating systems

Earlier this year, Lenovo unveiled the Legion Go S, its latest handheld gaming PC and the first handheld that can run on either Windows or SteamOS. The Windows version came out earlier this year but severely under-performed in our testing. Our Legion Go S (Windows) review ultimately found that it "fumbles the one thing it needed to get right."

SteamOS, Valve's in-house version of Linux, was previously only available on the Steam Deck, which is consistently ranked among the best handheld gaming PCs, often topping the list. But is that because it's a uniquely good gaming device, or could it be because it does not run Windows?

Laptop Mag will soon put the new SteamOS version of the Legion Go S through the same rigorous proprietary lab tests we did for the Windows model, and we'll compare the two side by side.

Where SteamOS beats Windows

The SteamOS handhelds have over two times more battery life than the Windows 11 version of the Legion Go S, according to Dave2D's testing. Keep in mind, both Legion Go S handhelds in this test have the same hardware from the same manufacturer.

The only difference to account for that huge performance difference is the Linux-based operating system on the SteamOS version.

With fewer background and telemetry processes, Linux can use the Legion Go S's hardware much more efficiently, consuming less battery life and achieving higher FPS.

That's especially impressive considering most games have to run through Steam's Proton compatibility layer, which allows Windows games to run on Linux. You'd think that would hurt performance, but Proton works shockingly well in most games (you can even check the Proton database to see how your favorite Windows games run on Linux).

It's not just gaming handhelds, either. Another YouTuber noticed similar performance gains when switching a gaming laptop from Windows to Linux. I've even seen this myself. I switched an aging laptop to Fedora Linux earlier this year and instantly got 2-3 times longer battery life compared to when the same laptop was running on Windows 10.

There's one weakness still holding back SteamOS

I love gaming on Linux, but it's not perfect. SteamOS can clearly deliver some impressive performance gains, but there's still one big weakness holding it back from being the new must-have OS for PC gaming: anti-cheat systems.

If you like games like Fortnite or Apex Legends, you won't be able to take advantage of the performance boost you'd get on SteamOS because most games that require kernel-level anti-cheat aren't supported on any version of Linux, not even with Valve's Proton compatibility layer.

There are some exceptions. For instance, I've been playing Marvel Rivals on Fedora Linux for months now and very rarely have I run into any issues.

However, as long as the majority of popular competitive multiplayer games require kernel-level anti-cheat that isn't compatible with SteamOS or Linux in general, many gamers will remain locked into Windows.

Hopefully those compatibility problems decrease, because gamers could be missing out on huge performance gains that result from switching to Linux.

We'll have more data on this soon once we complete our in-depth lab tests for the SteamOS version of the Lenovo Legion Go S, so stay tuned for more updates and our full review.

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A new, credible leak suggests Nvidia is cooking up something that could transform gaming laptops as we know them: A 120W Arm-based APU that combines CPU, GPU, and NPU into a single chip.

If early reports are accurate, this could deliver RTX 4070–level performance in a slimmer, cooler, and more efficient package and see Nvidia take pole position in laptop chip primacy.

Let’s be clear—this wouldn’t just be another performance play that we frequently see with new hardware iterations, but a potential design revolution that could change everything. Or nothing.

All eyes on Arm

The leak, first reported by YouTube channel Moore’s Law Is Dead and later verified by Notebookcheck, shows an engineering sample of the chip surrounded by eight LPDDR5X memory modules. The chip integrates a custom Arm CPU and a next-gen Nvidia GPU on the same die, likely codenamed Blackwell. There’s also a powerful NPU onboard, positioned to handle heavy AI workloads.

What’s particularly impressive is that this unified chip reportedly runs at a 120W TDP and still manages to compete with the RTX 4070 Laptop GPU in benchmarks.

Sources claim Nvidia is internally comparing its new APU to a 65W-tuned 4070, suggesting near parity in gaming performance with far better power efficiency.

According to Moore’s Law Is Dead, the chip is scheduled to hit the market between Q4 2025 and early 2026, and Nvidia is reportedly working with Dell to bring this architecture to life in future Alienware laptops.

The death of discrete?

If Nvidia’s APU lives up to its potential, the entire idea of separating CPU and GPU in a gaming laptop could become obsolete.

Combining the two allows for tighter integration, lower latency, and shared access to high-bandwidth memory. Thermal design also benefits since there’s only one hot zone to manage instead of two.

This could mean fewer fans, thinner chassis, and better battery life, all without sacrificing AAA gaming performance. Those in the know will recognize this as a similar design philosophy to Apple’s M-series chips, but unlike Snapdragon or Apple silicon, this chip might bring actual desktop-class frame rates to the table.

Nvidia’s closest competitor here is AMD, which is preparing its own monster chip: The Strix Halo APU.

AMD's APU is expected to pair up to 16 Zen 5 cores with 40 RDNA 3.5 GPU compute units, pushing as much as 120W as well. In theory, it should be a beast.

But Nvidia may have a leg up with its more efficient GPU architecture and early adoption of on-package memory. Notebookcheck notes that Nvidia’s sample includes LPDDR5X soldered around the die, enabling high memory bandwidth without a separate graphics memory pool.

That unified design is a big win for energy efficiency, which matters more than ever as gaming laptops strive to balance power and portability.

What could this mean for laptop design?

A 120W chip still requires serious cooling, so we’re not talking about fanless devices. But without the need for a separate GPU and VRAM modules, OEMs have a chance to rethink their internals. One configuration might resemble a MacBook Pro in weight but pack gaming performance that rivals today’s bulkier rigs.

Keep in mind that we’re just speculating and thinking about what could eventually be. It would be surprising to see a dedicated Nvidia gaming laptop SoC right out of the gate, but the rumored APU could well be a starting point. That said, anything can happen, and the quoted sources do directly reference the APU as being earmarked for gaming laptops.

The most likely initial application for the APU is AI. With the likes of upscaling, frame generation, real-time voice effects, and creative tools becoming more common, a strong on-chip AI engine could be the killer feature that separates Nvidia’s solution from AMD and any future moves by Intel (though Intel is conspicuously absent from the APU race at the moment, with nothing in its roadmap suggesting a full-on AI or gaming APU.)

With sources claiming that the chip includes an NPU powerful enough to run modern generative models and assist with GPU-accelerated workloads without the cloud, it’s hard to think of any applications where it wouldn’t shine, gaming or otherwise.

For Dell and other partners, this is essentially an invitation to innovate, perhaps eventually leading to the first wave of “all-Nvidia” laptops, with unified software and hardware tuned for peak efficiency.

More from Laptop Mag

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I may be in the minority among gaming laptop enthusiasts, but I’d take an ultra-portable 14-inch gaming laptop with decent performance and good battery life over a massive 18-inch desktop replacement.

Most of my favorite laptops of the last year were in the 14-inch class, so that isn’t exactly a surprise. But my preference for portable gaming power is why I was so psyched to see all the new gaming laptops last week at Computex.

Between Acer, Asus, Gigabyte, HP, and MSI, there were plenty of portable gaming rigs at the show. But the laptop I was truly in search of was the Razer Blade 14 (2025). After all, I enjoyed last year’s model so much that it's still on my home office desk.

Razer has paired an AMD Ryzen AI 9 300 series processor with an Nvidia RTX 50-series gaming GPU to help thin out the Blade 14's chassis, making it thinner than the last gen.

But what else is new with this year’s Blade 14? Let’s take a quick look.

Razer Blade 14 (2025): Specs

Razer Blade 14 (2025): Design

A Razer laptop is always going to look like a Razer laptop. It has that slick, aluminum chassis that skirts around being too Apple-esque to be a gaming laptop, with the classic Razer logo on the top lid.

The Blade 14 (2025) is a bit thinner than previous Blade 14 models, measuring just 0.62~0.64 inches thick, and it weighs just 3.59 pounds.

With dimensions like that, the Blade 14 will fit into any backpack or laptop bag you own for maximum portability.

Razer Blade 14: Battery life

Razer has packed a 72Wh battery in the Blade 14. While we don’t know exactly how much battery life the Blade 14 (2025) will get, we hope it’ll be around 8+ hours thanks to its efficient Nvidia RTX 5060-5070 GPU and AMD Ryzen AI CPU combo, even with an OLED display panel.

We have already seen the benefits of an AI PC chip powering a gaming laptop this year, thanks to the larger Razer Blade 16 (2025). As the Blade 14 features a similar set of specs, it could end up kicking the Asus TUF Gaming A14 off our list as the gaming laptop with the best battery life.

Razer Blade 14 (2025): Display

Razer has outfitted the Blade 14 with a 14-inch, 2880 x 1800, 120Hz OLED panel.

At the Nvidia press suite, I was able to take a look at the Blade 14, which was set up to demo FCB: Firebreak. From what I’ve seen, this display looks great with solid vibrancy and high contrast.

If Razer uses a similar OLED panel on the Blade 14 as the Blade 16, it's likely to be a great option for content creators and gamers who want an immersive experience.

Razer Blade 14 (2025): Performance and graphics

While I did get to play a bit of Firebreak on the Blade 14 at Computex last week, Nvidia had the game settings set to show off the RTX 50-series DLSS 4 technology, so I can’t speak too much to raw silicon power.

However, the AMD Ryzen AI series has benchmarked well for us overall, so we expect the Blade 14 to feature a similar amount of raw computing power.

That top-class CPU strength, combined with a discrete Nvidia RTX 50-series GPU, should give you impressive graphics power for a smooth gaming experience.

While we haven’t reviewed any RTX 5060 or 5070 laptops yet, based on our preview testing session with the Nvidia RTX 5070 laptop GPU on the MSI Crosshair 18, there's plenty of reason to expect solid performance from the GPU, especially with Nvidia's new DLSS 4 tech enabled.

While some gamers hate frame generation tech, it’s typically more worth using than not on a thin and light laptop, though some game types may be worse candidates than others.

Razer Blade 14 (2025): What's next

The Razer Blade 14 (2025) is available now. The RTX 5060 model starts at $2,299, while the RTX 5070 model starts at $2,699 and comes with an upgrade to the base memory to 32GB RAM.

Due to constantly shifting US foreign tariffs, these prices are subject to change. However, you can purchase a Blade 14 (2025) now.

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Memorial Day is here, which means today is a great opportunity to save hundreds on new gaming gear, and even score a free copy of DOOM: The Dark Ages!

Right now, you can take advantage of Memorial Day sales at Best Buy, Amazon, CDKeys, and Newegg to save on upgrades to your gaming setup.

For example, the Lenovo Legion Go is $100 off right now at Best Buy, bringing one of the best handheld gaming PCs down to just $599. There's a lot to love about the Legion Go, from its stunning 8.8-inch display to the detachable controllers and the speedy AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor.

Another deal you definitely don't want to miss is the chance to snag a free copy of DOOM: The Dark Ages, the latest addition to the DOOM series. Amazon is running a promotion right now where you can get Dark Ages for free with certain Asus ROG gaming devices that are also on sale, like the Asus ROG Azoth 75 Wireless gaming keyboard, down to $249.

See also: Best Memorial Day tech deals

Top 9 Memorial Day gaming deals

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Update at 10:21 am. ET: This deal expired. As an alternative, Best Buy offers the Gigabyte RTX 4060 gaming laptop with 32GB of RAM for $999 ($200 off).

Best Buy has some of the best Memorial Day gaming laptop deals going on today. One top deal drops the Dell G15 — one of the best mid-range gaming laptops to just under $1,000.

For a limited time, you can get the Dell G15 with RTX 4060 GPU for just $999 at Best Buy. Typically priced at $1,149, that's $150 in savings and the lowest price I could find for this Dell G15 configuration.

Browse: Best Buy's entire Memorial Day sale
See also: Best Memorial Day gaming laptop deals

Specs-wise, this gaming-specific laptop is outfitted with a 15.6-inch 1080p resolution display with a 120Hz refresh rate and is powered by an Intel Core i7-13650HX 14-core processor with 16GB RAM. For graphics handling and game storage, it packs Nvidia's powerful GeForce RTX 4060 GPU with 8GB VRAM and a massive 1TB SSD.

Though we didn't get to test this exact laptop, its big brother, the 16-inch Dell G16, earned our coveted Editor's Choice Award and a 4.5 out of 5-star rating. Our expert laptop reviewer praised its gorgeous display, powerful performance, and satisfying keyboard. Though the touchpad could be more spacious, its battery life was decent.

The laptop in this deal has the same CPU and GPU combo as the one we tested, so expect it to be on par.

Now $150 off, the Dell G15 is a wise choice if you're looking for a sub-$1,000 RTX 4060 gaming rig.

Today's best Dell G15 RTX 4060 gaming laptop deal

Core gamers looking for a price break on an RTX 50-series gaming laptop, have I got good news for you. While browsing this weekend's Memorial Day sales from Dell, Lenovo and Newegg, I found seven fantastic deals on the latest gaming machines.

If you can afford to splurge, Newegg drops the Editor's Choice Award-winning MSI Raider 18 HX AI with RTX 5080 GPU to $3,999 ($400 off). This first-time discount is bundled with a free game, Civilian VII (valued at $160).

That's a total of $560 in savings and one of the best RTX 50-series gaming laptop deals you can get.

See also: Best Memorial Day gaming laptop deals
See also: Best Memorial Day tech deals

If you want desktop PC rivaling performance in a laptop, the Raider 18 HX is the one you want. It's the best overall gaming laptop to buy. Period.

In our MSI Raider 18 HX review, we rated it 4.5 out of 5 stars for its strong performance, smooth RTX 5080 graphics, bright, vivid mini-LED display, and hi-fi sound.

In our hands-on Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 review, we liked how it has the same off-set touchpad and full-sized arrow keys we've become accustomed to from the series. Like its predecessor, it's primed for gaming, video editing, photo editing, and other graphics-intensive tasks.

If spending upwards of $4,000 on an RTX 50-series gaming rig is out of the question, here's a less costly deal to consider.

Lenovo currently offers the Legion Pro 5 Gen 10 with up to RTX 5070 for $1,805 ($125 off). For Memorial Day, you can take an extra $40 off when you apply coupon "BUYMORELENOVO" at checkout. That drops its price to $1,765, making it the lowest price ever for this newly launched gaming notebook.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Keep scrolling to browse even bigger Memorial Day discounts on the latest high-tier RTX 50 gaming laptops.

RTX 50-series gaming laptop deals — Quick links

• Lenovo Legion Pro 5 Gen 10 RTX 5060: was $1,960 now $1,805 at Lenovo + $40 off via coupon, "BUYMORELENOVO"
• Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 RTX 5090: was $2,909 ow $2,765 at Lenovo USA + 100 off via coupon, "BUYMORELENOVO"
• MSI Vector 16 HX AI RTX 5070: was $3,029 now $2,679 at Newegg
• Alienware 16 Area-51 RTX 5070 Ti: was now $2,849 at Dell
• MSI Raider 18 HX AI RTX 5080: $4,399 now $3,999 at Newegg

Top RTX 50-series gaming laptop deals — Quick links