The first laptops with GeForce RTX 5090 graphics are set to ship before the end of March and we have already benchmarked two as of this writing: The 2025 Razer Blade 16 and Asus Strix Scar 18 G835LX each with >150 W TGP graphics. Results, however, can be impressive or disappointing depending on your expectations.
From the glass half full perspective, the mobile RTX 5090 is roughly 15 to 30 percent faster than the mobile RTX 4080 before applying any DLSS features. Once applied, the gap becomes even wider as multi-frame generation is only officially supported on the RTX 50 series.
From the glass half empty perspective, the raw 15 to 30 percent percent boost is rather minor for a GPU generation three years in the making. This means that Nvidia is relying heavily on DLSS features and the new transformer model to separate the new mobile RTX 50 series from the outgoing mobile RTX 40 series. Furthermore, laptop gamers will want to keep their expectations in check as the mobile RTX 5090 can be 50 percent slower than the desktop counterpart as shown by our benchmarks below.
The enormous gap between the mobile RTX 5090 and desktop RTX 5090 and the somewhat disappointing leap over the outgoing mobile RTX 4080 can be mostly attributed to TGP. Whereas desktop GPUs have been growing more power-hungry over time, laptop GPUs have been steady at ~150 W maximum even after all these years. The limited power envelopes of laptops are arguably becoming a huge wall for the target gaming enthusiast.
Allen Ngo - Lead Editor U.S. - 5349 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2011
After graduating with a B.S. in environmental hydrodynamics from the University of California, I studied reactor physics to become licensed by the U.S. NRC to operate nuclear reactors. There's a striking level of appreciation you gain for everyday consumer electronics after working with modern nuclear reactivity systems astonishingly powered by computers from the 80s. When I'm not managing day-to-day activities and US review articles on Notebookcheck, you can catch me following the eSports scene and the latest gaming news.
