Laptop gamers , rejoice — Nvidia’sbest art cardshave last made their way to laptops . With the on-going rollout of laptop fit with theRTX 5090,RTX 5080 , and theRTX 5070 Ti , those of us who game on the go are faced with a tough choice : Do I raise now or wait for the next multiplication ?
Unfortunately , as is often the case , there ’s no leisurely answer . To make your life history easier , I ’ve face through reappraisal of laptops equipped with the RTX 5090 , and I ’ll essay to answer that doubt for you . Be warned , though , that if you ’re have a bun in the oven large generational gains , you might not find them here .
Nvidia’s RTX 5090 laptop GPU benchmarks reveal a worrying trend
Based on the first reviews of RTX 50 - series laptops , it seems like there ’s not much of an improvement — at least not unless you tap into AI - generated frames with DLSS 4 . However , it ’s not just gen - on - gen that ’s deserving search here ; we should also consider how the RTX 5090 compare between the laptop and the desktop variation .
To that destruction , it ’s not looking too good . Notebookcheckcompared the RTX 5090 Solid from Zotac to the RTX 5090 found in the Razer Blade 16 , and the publication found that the laptop interpretation was over 50 % slower in some game . InDota 2 Rebornat ultra options , the laptop have 137 frames per second ( Federal Protective Service ) compare to the 291 fps achieve by the screen background example . That ’s a 53 % drib .
PCMag , on the other hired man , gave us a comprehensive equivalence to last - gen pick . In laptop computer , it ’s hardly ever an orchard apple tree - to - apples kind of equivalence , as the other specs come into play too . However , PCMag tested the 2025 and the 2024 versions of the Razer Blade , which is perhaps the closest match up we ’re going to find .
Luke Larsen / Digital Trends
In the above bench mark , the two Razer Blades competed in a game of Cyberpunk 2077 . The RTX 5090 interpretation scored a 6 % and 11 % lead depending on preferences , which is … fine , I guess , but not too impressive given that we ’re going from one flagship to the next . Other benchmarks in PCMag ’s test cortege discover similar wads , with the great increase being 16 % if we ’re talk about in the raw frames .
thing look different when DLSS 4 is toggled on , of grade . The improvement is peculiarly notable when using 4x frame generation , or , as Nvidia calls it , Multi - Frame Generation ( MFG ) .
compare the frames just within the same laptop computer GPU , the RTX 5090 , is reasonably wild . PlayingCyberpunk 2077on the Ray Tracing Overdrive preset is nigh impossible without material body multiplication — the game runs at a measly 24 Federal Protective Service when act at 1600p . enable DLSS makes it playable , now play at 77 fps ; double the frame gen brings us to 147 Federal Protective Service , and lastly , MFG gives us a whopping 254 fps .
Nvidia
The last - gen RTX 4090 in all probability could n’t have achieved that , not without frame multiplication .
But these benchmarks only serve to fend for a theory many mass share about the RTX 50 - serial in general : The cards are riding on the back of successful AI upscaling , not so much a generational upgrade in hardware and rasterization performance .
Why is there a big difference between the laptop and the desktop RTX 5090?
look at that RTX 5090 laptops still cost an arm and a leg , you ’d bear the mobile interlingual rendition of the RTX 5090 to be able-bodied to pull its weight a trivial bit more . I ’m not saying it should be as fast as the background model — that ’d be wild . Still , I ’d have like to see it extradite at least more than just under 50 % of the performance of the desktop bill of fare .
However , there ’s a clear reason why laptop GPUs might feel like they ’re at a standstill , bound to small gen - on - gen gains than their desktop counterparts . It all comes back to total computer graphic power ( TGP ) , which is something that many user do n’t think of too much , and something that even some manufacturersneglect to remark in spec weather sheet .
Desktop cards see an increment in power standoff in fairly much every generation . The RTX 5090 has a TGP of 575 watts , with overclocked models pushing it to the 600 - James Watt maximum . Unsurprisingly , the laptop variant does n’t have anywhere close to that when it come to its power headroom ; the top contour maxes out at a 150 - W TGP .
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Laptops , unlike desktops , ca n’t keep growing bigger and bulky every year . On the opposite , some manufacturers adjudicate to make them sparse and tenuous ; this make out back on the thermal , and that , in turn , forces the GPU down to a smaller TGP .
Is there any solution to this other than to make laptops thick-skulled and heavier again ? Maybe , but there ’ll always be a performance loss between desktop and laptop computer — it ’s unavoidable .
With that said , the laptop computer version of the RTX 5090 serves up a monumental increase in VRAM over the RTX 4090 ( 24 GB vs 16 GB ) . base on that alone , I ’d have look bigger addition … but those profit just might lie in DLSS 4 more than in the GPU itself .
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Are RTX 5090 laptops worth the price?
A circle of these laptops are still yet to be useable ; some are up for preorder , with deliveries around the end of April . With that said , a laptop computer of this caliber is no impulse purchase , so lease ’s intend about whether this is a worthwhile upgrade or not .
I ’ve tattle about the Razer Blade 16 , so allow ’s stick to this model . The version with the RTX 5090 and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 price at least $ 4,500 . you’re able to add extra Aries and a full-grown SSD to make it pricier , though . That ’s a lot of money to expend on anything , but some of Razer ’s competitors will have even pricier laptops in store , such as the 18 - inch MSI laptop that costs $ 5,100 .
In damage of tender performance , I ’m not sure that it ’s worth it if you already own a laptop computer with the RTX 4090 . I ’d go as far as to say it’snotworth it unless you do n’t beware spending $ 5,000 on a minor climb . If you have an one-time laptop or you ’re running one of Nvidia ’s midrange GPUs , it ’s a different chronicle .
Nvidia
Of course , it ’s not about raw frames anymore . DLSS 4 is giving these RTX 50 - serial laptops a massive boost in frame rates , all the while preserving gamy optic fidelity . That ’s where your money plump , really , into these “ contrived frame of reference ” as match to straight up gen - on - gen upgrades .
The downside of relying on DLSS 4 is that it wo n’t be available in every secret plan . The upside is that the uplift is massive , but you likely wo n’t need a $ 5,000 laptop to bear spectator to these gains . While we ’re still waiting for bench mark , it ’s possible that many gamers should be able-bodied to get aside with an RTX 5070 Ti or an RTX 5080 laptop if DLSS 4 is the goal . You ’ll still get plenty of skeletal frame at a much lower price item .
On the other hand , RTX 4090 laptops are still useable , and they ’re still some of thebest play laptopsto bargain . The downside is that you ’ll be missing out on 8 GB of VRAM and the access to DLSS 4 , so I ’m not going to advocate buy those as an alternative . When confront with that selection , it might be best to just buy a cheesy RTX 50 - series laptop computer instead .
base on these benchmarks , one affair is unmortgaged : DLSS 4 is one of the main affair labour play performance on laptops these solar day , and I do n’t think that ’ll change anytime soon .
