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We've tested 15 gaming laptops with GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q graphics thus far and the Razer Blade Pro 17 is the fastest

We've tested 15 gaming laptops with GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q graphics thus far and the Razer Blade Pro 17 is the fastest
We've tested 15 gaming laptops with GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q graphics thus far and the Razer Blade Pro 17 is the fastest
On the bottom end of the spectrum is the Gigabyte Aero 15-Y9 which offers approximately 20 to 30 percent slower performance than the Razer despite carrying the same GPU by name. Power consumption, however, is also highest on the Razer system.

CPUs and GPUs are not created equal and this is especially true on laptops where thermal ceilings, cooling solutions, Turbo Boost levels, and TDP ranges can vary widely between models from even the same manufacturer. This fact makes shopping more difficult for enthusiasts because it's almost impossible to know how a certain laptop would actually perform just by looking at its specifications sheet.

To show how wide the performance gap can be for a single GPU, we've gathered all the GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q laptops we've tested thus far and compared their 3DMark scores as shown below. The latest Razer Blade Pro 17 is the fastest of the bunch at 28 percent to 39 percent faster than the slowest laptop with the same RTX 2080 Max-Q GPU — the Gigabyte Aero 15-Y9. When compared to the average GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, The 17.3-inch Razer system is still around 13 percent faster in raw graphics horsepower.

The higher performance comes at a slight cost. Perhaps not by coincidence, the Blade Pro 17 draws more power from the outlet when gaming at 183 W compared to just 130 W on the Aero 15-Y9 for an increase of 40 percent. In fact, the Razer system is the most demanding laptop with RTX 2080 Max-Q graphics in our database. Nvidia GPUs are designed to run at certain Graphics Subsystem Power (GSP) ranges meaning that OEMs can choose to run the RTX 2080 Max-Q at its slowest state, fastest state, or anywhere in between to fit the laptop design. In this case, it looks like the Razer Blade Pro 17 is exploiting the performance potential of the RTX 2080 Max-Q more so than any other manufacturer as of this writing.

If you're in the market for a Blade Pro 17, be sure to enable High Performance mode which is an option that's annoyingly buried deep within the Synapse software. Competing laptops with Core i9 CPU options like the Alienware m17 can still outperform the Razer when targeting very high frame rates well above 60 FPS where performance can become CPU bound.

3DMark
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2080 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
23032 Points
Alienware m15 R2 P87F
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
21758 Points
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
21515 Points
Asus Zephyrus S GX531GX
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
21237 Points
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2080 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
20718 Points
Acer Triton 500
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
20703 Points
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
  (18048 - 23032, n=19)
20658 Points
SCHENKER Key 16
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
20565 Points
Origin PC EVO16-S i7-9750H RTX 2080 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
20466 Points
Alienware m17 P37E
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i9-8950HK
20323 Points
MSI GS75 Stealth 9SG
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
20119 Points
MSI GS75 8SG Stealth
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
19875 Points
MSI GS65 Stealth 9SG
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
18962 Points
Lenovo Legion Y740-17ICH
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
18520 Points
Gigabyte Aero 15-Y9
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i9-8950HK
18048 Points
2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2080 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
8844 Points
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
8512 Points
Alienware m15 R2 P87F
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
8342 Points
Asus Zephyrus S GX531GX
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
8171 Points
Origin PC EVO16-S i7-9750H RTX 2080 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
8153 Points
MSI GS75 Stealth 9SG
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
7923 Points
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
  (6464 - 8844, n=19)
7903 Points
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2080 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
7840 Points
SCHENKER Key 16
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
7775 Points
Acer Triton 500
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
7733 Points
MSI GS75 8SG Stealth
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
7587 Points
Alienware m17 P37E
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i9-8950HK
7446 Points
MSI GS65 Stealth 9SG
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
7266 Points
Lenovo Legion Y740-17ICH
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
7202 Points
Gigabyte Aero 15-Y9
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i9-8950HK
6464 Points
2560x1440 Port Royal Graphics
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2080 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
5148 Points
Alienware m15 R2 P87F
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
5006 Points
Origin PC EVO16-S i7-9750H RTX 2080 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
4685 Points
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
4655 Points
MSI GS75 Stealth 9SG
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
4545 Points
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
  (3698 - 5295, n=19)
4531 Points
SCHENKER Key 16
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
4521 Points
Asus Zephyrus S GX531GX
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
4495 Points
MSI GS65 Stealth 9SG
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
4275 Points
Acer Triton 500
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
4268 Points
MSI GS75 8SG Stealth
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
4193 Points
Alienware m17 P37E
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i9-8950HK
4100 Points
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2080 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
4032 Points
Lenovo Legion Y740-17ICH
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
4009 Points
Gigabyte Aero 15-Y9
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i9-8950HK
3698 Points
3DMark 11
1280x720 Performance GPU
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2080 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
30910 Points
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
29453 Points
Asus Zephyrus S GX531GX
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
28997 Points
Alienware m15 R2 P87F
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
28369 Points
Acer Predator Triton 500
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
28083 Points
Alienware m17 P37E
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i9-8950HK
28083 Points
Acer Triton 500
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
27863 Points
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
  (23386 - 30910, n=20)
27852 Points
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2080 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
27762 Points
Origin PC EVO16-S i7-9750H RTX 2080 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
27732 Points
MSI GS75 Stealth 9SG
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
27204 Points
SCHENKER Key 16
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
26822 Points
MSI GS75 8SG Stealth
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
26449 Points
Lenovo Legion Y740-17ICH
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
25765 Points
MSI GS65 Stealth 9SG
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
24926 Points
Gigabyte Aero 15-Y9
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i9-8950HK
23386 Points
1280x720 Performance Combined
MSI GS75 Stealth 9SG
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
12785 Points
MSI GS65 Stealth 9SG
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
12732 Points
Alienware m17 P37E
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i9-8950HK
12538 Points
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2080 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
12460 Points
Gigabyte Aero 15-Y9
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i9-8950HK
12249 Points
Razer Blade Pro 17 RTX 2080 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
12170 Points
Origin PC EVO16-S i7-9750H RTX 2080 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
11829 Points
Asus Zephyrus S GX701GX
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
11825 Points
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
  (9212 - 14894, n=20)
11726 Points
Lenovo Legion Y740-17ICH
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
11670 Points
Asus Zephyrus S GX531GX
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
11561 Points
SCHENKER Key 16
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
11233 Points
Acer Predator Triton 500
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
11099 Points
Acer Triton 500
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
10936 Points
MSI GS75 8SG Stealth
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-8750H
10893 Points
Alienware m15 R2 P87F
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, i7-9750H
10230 Points
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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2019 09 > We've tested 15 gaming laptops with GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q graphics thus far and the Razer Blade Pro 17 is the fastest
Allen Ngo, 2019-09-20 (Update: 2019-09-20)