Maingear ML-16 MK2 laptop review: GeForce RTX 4070 performance for a decent price
Much like Schenker or Eurocom, Maingear is a reseller of high-performance white label laptops designed to attract gamers and professionals. This approach is in contrast to more well-known PC makers like Dell, Lenovo, or HP who design their laptops in-house. The latest model from Maingear is the ML-16 MK2 equipped with the latest Intel Meteor Lake CPU and Nvidia GPU.
Our test unit has been fully configured with the Core Ultra 7 155H, 105 W GeForce RTX 4070, and 240 Hz 1600p IPS display for approximately $2000. Lesser SKUs come with the RTX 4060 instead, but the CPU and display remain fixed.
Competitors to the ML-16 MK2 include other ultra-thin 16-inch gaming laptops like the Razer Blade 16, Alienware x16 R2, Asus ROG Zephyrus G16, or the Lenovo Legion Pro 7 16.
More Maingear reviews:
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Version | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80.9 % | v8 | 09 / 2024 | Maingear ML-16 MK2 Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU | 2.1 kg | 19.9 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | |
| 85.9 % | v8 | 08 / 2024 | Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU | 1.8 kg | 17.2 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | |
| 84.3 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 05 / 2024 | HP Victus 16 (2024) i7-14700HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU | 2.4 kg | 23.9 mm | 16.10" | 1920x1080 | |
| 88.4 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 05 / 2024 | Alienware x16 R2 P120F Ultra 9 185H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU | 2.7 kg | 18.57 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | |
| 89.3 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 03 / 2024 | Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 i9-14900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU | 2.5 kg | 26.95 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | |
| 91.1 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 02 / 2024 | Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 i9-14900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | 2.5 kg | 22 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 |
Note: We have recently updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7. More information is available here .
Case — Thin And Sharp
The chassis can be traced back to Clevo (V560TNE-S) based on the manufacturer of origin. It consists mostly of aluminum metal for the outer lid and bottom while the black keyboard deck is plastic. The two contrasting colors work well together to help visually distinguish the model from the usual all-black or matte white gaming laptop.
Chassis quality, however, doesn't reflect the high asking price. Surfaces warp more readily and don't feel as rigid as competitors like the Razer Blade 16 or Alienware x16 R2. For example, pressing down on the keyboard center or outer lid with a finger will noticeably depress the surfaces.. The lid teeters more readily as well when adjusting the angles. You'll want to be more careful when handling the ML-16 MK2 or you might risk damaging the small hinges.
Weight and thickness are lighter and thinner than major competitors including the Blade 16 or Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9. The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is even thinner and lighter than our Maingear, but it also retails for hundreds of dollars more.
Connectivity
Ports are plentiful although there are a couple missing. The Blade 16, for example, includes more USB-A ports while the Alienware x16 R2 includes a mini-DisplayPort. Port positioning is good and not too crowded unlike on the aforementioned Alienware system.
SD Card Reader
While we appreciate having a small MicroSD reader instead of no SD reader at all, the one here is slow especially for a 16-inch gaming laptop. Transferring 1 GB of pictures from our UHS-II test card takes about 25 seconds compared to just 6 seconds on the Blade 16.
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
Communication
The Intel AX211 comes standard for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity. We experienced steady transfer rates and no issues when paired to our AXE11000 test router.
Webcam
A 2 MP webcam with IR and an electronic shutter come standard to be comparable to rivals.
Maintenance
The bottom panel requires some patience to remove as it's secured by 13 Phillips screws. It otherwise pops off without much resistance for easy access to two M.2 PCIe4 x4 2280 bays, two SODIMM slots, battery, and the removable WLAN module. These options are comparable to the Razer Blade 16 while being better than the Alienware x16 R2 which has no user-upgradeable RAM at all.
Sustainability
Maingear advertises no recycled materials used to manufacture the laptop.
The packaging consists of cardboard, plastic wrapping, and unrecyclable LDPE.
Accessories And Warranty
There are no extras in the box other than the AC adapter and paperwork. The usual one-year limited manufacturer warranty applies if purchased in the US.
Input Devices
Keyboard
The typing experience is louder than on most other laptops due to the high-pitched clatter of the main QWERTY keys. Loud clatter typically means firmer and more satisfying feedback, but that is not the case on the ML-16 MK2 as travel is still shallow while the soft feedback doesn't quite match the sharp noise level. The keyboards on the Legion Pro 5 16 or Victus 16 which feel more familiar in comparison and easier to become accustomed to.
A single-zone RGB backlight comes standard with no per-key RGB or even quad-zone options.
Touchpad
The clickpad (12.2 x 8.3 cm) is smaller than the one on the Blade 16 (17 x 9.7 cm) but bigger than on the Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 (12 x 7.5 cm). It's spacious with firm and clicky feedback when pressed. Gliding, however, is almost too smooth especially at lower speeds which makes precision clicks or drag-and-drop actions more difficult. In comparison, the finger tends to stick when moving at slower speeds on most other laptops to aid in precision.
Display — Gaming IPS
The ML-16 MK2 is the first model in our database to ship with the TL160ADMP11-0 240 Hz IPS panel. It's comparable to the BOE B160QAN panel on the Alienware x16 R2 in terms of refresh rate, contrast ratio, and resolution, but it can't quite match the Dell display when it comes to color reproduction or response times. The ML-16 MK2 display can be considered midrange as a result which is still very well suited for gaming and most amateur graphics editing.
More advanced features like G-Sync or HDR are not supported.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 90 %
Center on Battery: 518.2 cd/m²
Contrast: 1296:1 (Black: 0.4 cd/m²)
ΔE ColorChecker Calman: 1.88 | ∀{0.5-29.43 Ø4.83}
calibrated: 1.42
ΔE Greyscale Calman: 3.3 | ∀{0.09-98 Ø5.1}
69.2% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 3D)
98.2% sRGB (Argyll 3D)
67.3% Display P3 (Argyll 3D)
Gamma: 2.24
CCT: 7081 K
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 TL160ADMP11-0, IPS, 2560x1600, 16", 240 Hz | Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV ATNA60DL04-0, OLED, 2560x1600, 16", 240 Hz | HP Victus 16 (2024) Chi Mei CMN163E, IPS, 1920x1080, 16.1", 144 Hz | Alienware x16 R2 P120F BOE B160QAN, IPS, 2560x1600, 16", 240 Hz | Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 BOE NE160QDM-NYC, IPS, 2560x1600, 16", 165 Hz | Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 Samsung SDC41AB (ATNA60DL03-0), OLED, 2560x1600, 16", 240 Hz | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 30% | -38% | 25% | 2% | 29% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 67.3 | 99.9 48% | 41.3 -39% | 98.3 46% | 69.3 3% | 99.1 47% |
| sRGB Coverage | 98.2 | 100 2% | 61.7 -37% | 100 2% | 99.4 1% | 99.9 2% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 69.2 | 96.9 40% | 42.7 -38% | 88.8 28% | 70.1 1% | 95.6 38% |
| Response Times | 98% | -117% | 42% | 4% | 97% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 12.5 ? | 0.22 ? 98% | 28.6 ? -129% | 3.9 ? 69% | 11.9 ? 5% | 0.24 ? 98% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 9.1 ? | 0.25 ? 97% | 18.7 ? -105% | 7.8 ? 14% | 8.9 ? 2% | 0.4 ? 96% |
| PWM Frequency | 960 | 960 | ||||
| PWM Amplitude * | 55 | |||||
| Screen | 11% | -79% | -3% | 14% | 193% | |
| Brightness middle | 518.2 | 416 -20% | 287 -45% | 348.4 -33% | 384 -26% | 418 -19% |
| Brightness | 487 | 418 -14% | 288 -41% | 340 -30% | 366 -25% | 420 -14% |
| Brightness Distribution | 90 | 96 7% | 86 -4% | 90 0% | 91 1% | 98 9% |
| Black Level * | 0.4 | 0.19 52% | 0.33 17% | 0.35 12% | 0.02 95% | |
| Contrast | 1296 | 1511 17% | 1056 -19% | 1097 -15% | 20900 1513% | |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 1.88 | 1.6 15% | 5.46 -190% | 2.68 -43% | 0.97 48% | 1.07 43% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 4.96 | 2.1 58% | 20.36 -310% | 4.14 17% | 3.57 28% | 4.04 19% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 1.42 | 3.52 -148% | 0.42 70% | 0.77 46% | 1.07 25% | |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3.3 | 2.7 18% | 4.8 -45% | 3.4 -3% | 1.5 55% | 1.12 66% |
| Gamma | 2.24 98% | 2.16 102% | 2.108 104% | 2.41 91% | 2.24 98% | 2.29 96% |
| CCT | 7081 92% | 6331 103% | 6442 101% | 6083 107% | 6709 97% | 6417 101% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 46% /
32% | -78% /
-76% | 21% /
10% | 7% /
10% | 106% /
144% |
* ... smaller is better
Although the display isn't factory calibrated, average grayscale and color DeltaE values are otherwise quite good out of the box at 3.3 and 1.8, respectively. Color temperature is slightly too cool at almost 7100, but calibrating with our X-Rite colorimeter addresses this to improve average deltaE values slightly. Users can apply our calibrated ICM profile above for free.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 9.1 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 5 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 4.1 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows fast response rates in our tests and should be suited for gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 23 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 12.5 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 5.6 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 6.9 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 24 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8320 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Outdoor visibility is better than most other 16-inch gaming laptops due to the relatively bright 500 nit backlight. The Victus 16, Alienware x16 R2, and Blade 16, for example, top out at only 400 nits or even just 300 nits to be noticeably dimmer. You'll still want to avoid direct sunlight to preserve colors as much as possible.
Performance — Meteor Lake Instead Of Raptor Lake Refresh
Testing Conditions
We set Windows and Control Center to Performance mode prior to running the benchmarks below. Owners should become familiar with the pre-installed Control Center software as it is the hub for adjusting key features including fan behavior, the electronic camera shutter, RGB keys, and the manual GPU MUX switch. Note that the latter is annoyingly hidden under a submenu that requires additional clicking to access.
Only standard Optimus and MUX are supported with no Advanced Optimus. Thus, a reboot is required when switching between dGPU and MSHybrid modes.
Processor
The Core Ultra 7 155H succeeds the Core i7-13700H, but the performance boost is relatively marginal at just 5 to 15 percent. This is because the new Meteor Lake platform reserves much of its die space for the new integrated NPU and so the raw performance benefits have taken a backseat this year. The Core i7-14700HX would have boosted raw performance much more significantly than the Core Ultra 7 155H, but it is also a more power-hungry processor.
The integrated NPU is unfortunately of very limited use as it is not compatible with Co-Pilot+; the Microsoft service requires at least a Lunar Lake processor or the AMD/Qualcomm equivalent. Most games do not yet utilize the NPU, either.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 6.4: Multi-Core | Single-Core
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| CPU Performance Rating | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS -2! | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX -3! | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx -2! | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| Cinebench R23 / Multi Core | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (9769 - 19007, n=52) | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| Cinebench R23 / Single Core | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (1496 - 1815, n=52) | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core) | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (3798 - 7409, n=50) | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core) | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (601 - 696, n=50) | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (1932 - 2880, n=56) | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (99.6 - 268, n=52) | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (175 - 381, n=47) | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (41739 - 70254, n=50) | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (4594 - 5621, n=50) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Geekbench 6.4 / Multi-Core | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (7732 - 13656, n=55) | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| Geekbench 6.4 / Single-Core | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (1901 - 2473, n=52) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (10017 - 13556, n=52) | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (1462 - 1824, n=52) | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (9.93 - 21.2, n=50) | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (37.5 - 79.2, n=49) | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| HP Victus 16-r0077ng | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (0.4457 - 0.53, n=49) | |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16APH8 | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 | |
| MSI Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport A13VG | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 6.4: Multi-Core | Single-Core
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
| Performance Rating | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (6670 - 18470, n=50) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (40905 - 93181, n=50) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (1940 - 4436, n=50) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (64698 - 94181, n=50) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (5639 - 10647, n=50) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (18236 - 47685, n=50) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (45713 - 152179, n=50) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (557 - 1250, n=50) | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (3569 - 9802, n=50) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (32719 - 54223, n=50) | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
Stress Test
The CPU would boost to 3.2 GHz, 100 C, and 85 W when initiating Prime95 stress. After a few seconds, however, the CPU would drop to 2.6 GHz and 69 W and then eventually stabilize at 2.1 GHz and 57 W. Core temperature would cycle between 73 C and 100 C with thermal throttling detected according to HWiNFO. These high core temperatures are warmer than on the Razer Blade 16 under similar conditions and they're responsible for the very warm surface temperatures as well.
When running Cyberpunk 2077 on Performance mode, the GPU would stabilize at 2160 MHz, 85 C, and 80 W compared to 2010 MHz, 80 C, and 74 W when on the quieter Balanced mode. If your game is not CPU heavy, then running on Balanced mode may be preferable since the GPU is not heavily impacted. Note that Nvidia Control Panel lists a TGP of 105 W, but we're only able to reach a maximum of 80 W when gaming according to GPU-Z.
Overall core temperatures when gaming are much warmer than alternatives like the Blade 16. Our CPU and GPU would stabilize at 101 C and 85 C, respectively, compared to 78 C and 75 C on the Razer. Enabling Maximum fan mode would only reduce core temperatures by just a few degrees C without improving performance.
| Average CPU Clock (GHz) | GPU Clock (MHz) | Average CPU Temperature (°C) | Average GPU Temperature (°C) | |
| System Idle | -- | -- | 48 | 40 |
| Prime95 Stress | 2.1 | -- | 73 - 101 | 53 |
| Prime95 + FurMark Stress | 1.1 - 1.4 | ~1785 | 75 - 95 | ~70 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 Stress (Balanced mode) | 1.2 | 2010 | 79 | 80 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 Stress (Performance mode w/ Max fan off) | 1.4 | 2160 | 101 | 85 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 Stress (Performance mode w/ Max fan on) | 1.5 | 2055 | 98 | 82 |
System Performance
PCMark scores are comparable to competing machines like the HP Victus 16 or Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 to show that most day-to-day tasks don't run significantly faster or slower on the Maingear despite their specification differences. However, CrossMark and AIDA64 memory results are both lower than expected owing to our comparatively slower raw CPU performance and DDR5-4800 RAM. Competitors like the Blade 16 or Alienware m16 R2 ship with faster DDR5-5600 or LPDDR5-7467, respectively.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
WebXPRT 3: Overall
WebXPRT 4: Overall
Mozilla Kraken 1.1: Total
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (7084 - 7761, n=4) | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (10038 - 10393, n=4) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (9192 - 9518, n=4) | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (10100 - 13035, n=4) | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| CrossMark / Overall | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (1687 - 1848, n=4) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (1589 - 1750, n=4) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (1860 - 2014, n=4) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (1424 - 1683, n=4) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| WebXPRT 3 / Overall | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (264 - 294, n=4) | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| WebXPRT 4 / Overall | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (247 - 257, n=4) | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 / Total | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (546 - 568, n=3) | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
* ... smaller is better
| PCMark 10 Score | 7704 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (62397 - 96791, n=50) | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (60544 - 90647, n=50) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (58692 - 93451, n=50) | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (116.2 - 233, n=50) | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
LatencyMon reveals larger-than-expected DPC issues related to ACPI drivers even when on MSHybrid mode. Furthermore, we're able to record 33 dropped frames during a 60-second 4K60 test video when there should be zero especially considering the Meteor Lake-H CPU inside. These dropped frames manifest as stuttering when streaming 4K video and they suggest an underlying driver issue or poor management of background activities which can interrupt the main window.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
The Maingear is one of the few systems to ship with 4 TB WD Black SN850X PCIe4 x4 NVMe options. Transfer rates are excellent at nearly 7000 MB/s with no throttling detected when stressed. We appreciate that the heat sink and thermal pads come standard to help dissipate heat.
| Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
The mobile GeForce RTX 4070 performs a few percentage points slower than the average laptop in our database with the same GPU option. Overall performance is only 5 to 15 percent better than the base RTX 4060 option or roughly 15 percent better than the older RTX 3070 Ti. The gap becomes much wider when comparing the mobile RTX 4070 to the mobile RTX 4080, but the latter is not configurable on this model.
Keep in mind that the mobile RTX 4070 is much slower than its desktop counterpart by roughly 35 to 40 percent.
| Power Profile | Graphics Score | Physics Score | Combined Score |
| Performance mode | 28464 | 26897 | 9495 |
| Balanced mode | 28238 (-0%) | 16060 (-40%) | 8049 (-15%) |
| Battery power | 5539 (-81%) | 12186 (-55%) | 1715 (-82%) |
Running on Balanced mode instead of Performance mode impacts CPU performance significantly while graphics performance remains unaffected according to our Fire Strike results table above. This aligns with our observations in the Stress Test section above. Running on battery power further impacts overall performance even when set to Performance mode.
| 3DMark Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 -1! | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16IMH9 -1! | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) -1! | |
| HP Omen 16-b0085ng -1! | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 -1! | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603Z -1! | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| HP Omen 16-n0033dx | |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | |
| Lenovo Legion C7 15IMH05 82EH0030GE -1! | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 31266 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 57717 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 23552 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 10759 points | |
| 3DMark Steel Nomad Score | 2329 points | |
Help | ||
* ... smaller is better
Gaming Performance
The mobile RTX 4070 is powerful enough to run modern titles on maximum settings at the native QHD+ resolution. More demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077 is possible as well albeit it will require DLSS to reach 60 FPS or greater. Running the in-game benchmark with Ultra RT settings and native 1600p, for example, would return an average frame rate of just 20.2 versus 63.1 with DLSS 3 Balanced enabled.
| Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F -1! | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) -1! | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| GTA V - 1920x1080 Highest Settings possible AA:4xMSAA + FX AF:16x | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark - 1920x1080 High Quality | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Strange Brigade - 1920x1080 ultra AA:ultra AF:16 | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Dota 2 Reborn - 1920x1080 ultra (3/3) best looking | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| X-Plane 11.11 - 1920x1080 high (fps_test=3) | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Far Cry 5 - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T | |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV | |
| Baldur's Gate 3 | |
| 1920x1080 High Preset AA:T | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16IMH9 | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (72.7 - 129.3, n=28) | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16IMH9 | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (66.7 - 128.5, n=30) | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| 2560x1440 Ultra Preset AA:T | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16IMH9 | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (54.4 - 89.6, n=25) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| Tiny Tina's Wonderlands | |
| 1920x1080 High Preset (DX12) | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (74.3 - 151.4, n=15) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| 1920x1080 Badass Preset (DX12) | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (58.6 - 115.9, n=18) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A16 FA617XS | |
| 2560x1440 Badass Preset (DX12) | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (49.8 - 79.5, n=17) | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| Cyberpunk 2077 2.2 Phantom Liberty | |
| 1920x1080 Medium Preset (FSR off) | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (81.6 - 124.5, n=31) | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16IMH9 | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| 1920x1080 High Preset (FSR off) | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (74.7 - 103.6, n=32) | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16IMH9 | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Preset (FSR off) | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (30.7 - 90.7, n=40) | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16IMH9 | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| HP Victus 16 (2024) | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
| 2560x1440 Ultra Preset (FSR off) | |
| Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 | |
| Alienware x16 R2 P120F | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (24.8 - 57.1, n=37) | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16IMH9 | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 | |
| CSL GameStar Notebook VenomGamer G16 | |
Cyberpunk 2077 ultra FPS Chart
| low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA V (2015) | 183.3 | 180.4 | 175 | 115.1 | 90.6 |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 173.4 | 152.8 | 145.3 | 139.2 | |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 187.6 | 146.3 | 110.6 | 80 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 139.9 | 124.4 | 89.8 | ||
| Far Cry 5 (2018) | 125 | 125 | 114 | 101 | |
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 477 | 284 | 224 | 192.8 | 127.9 |
| Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (2022) | 218.7 | 180.9 | 119.4 | 92.9 | 62.7 |
| F1 22 (2022) | 252 | 250 | 206 | 69.2 | 42.9 |
| Baldur's Gate 3 (2023) | 152 | 125.9 | 108.2 | 106.8 | 70.6 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 2.2 Phantom Liberty (2023) | 130 | 106.1 | 88.1 | 76.4 | 44.3 |
Emissions — Hot And Loud
System Noise
Fan noise when browsing or video streaming tends to top out at 27 dB(A) against a silent background of 23 dB(A) to be noticeable but tolerable when set to Quiet mode. If gaming on Performance mode, fan noise would become very loud at just over 55 dB(A) to be louder than competitors like the Victus 16, Alienware x16 R2, or Legion Pro 5 16. Enabling Maximum fan noise would increase fan noise even further to almost 58 dB(A).
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 24.1 / 24.1 / 25.6 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 44.3 / 57.8 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 23 dB(A) | ||
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, Ultra 7 155H | Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, Micron 2400 MTFDKBA1T0QFM | HP Victus 16 (2024) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, i7-14700HX, Kioxia XG8 KXG80ZNV512G | Alienware x16 R2 P120F NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, Ultra 9 185H, WDC PC SN810 1TB | Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-14900HX, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL21T0HCLR | Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-14900HX, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL22T0HBLB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | -4% | -10% | 2% | -3% | 3% | |
| off / environment * | 23 | 24.6 -7% | 25 -9% | 23.4 -2% | 23.9 -4% | 23 -0% |
| Idle Minimum * | 24.1 | 28.6 -19% | 28 -16% | 23.8 1% | 24.3 -1% | 23 5% |
| Idle Average * | 24.1 | 28.6 -19% | 29 -20% | 28.5 -18% | 24.3 -1% | 23 5% |
| Idle Maximum * | 25.6 | 28.6 -12% | 33 -29% | 28.5 -11% | 28.9 -13% | 27.66 -8% |
| Load Average * | 44.3 | 42.8 3% | 45 -2% | 28.8 35% | 45.8 -3% | 43.76 1% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra * | 55.4 | 48.3 13% | ||||
| Load Maximum * | 57.8 | 48.3 16% | 48 17% | 54.2 6% | 56.6 2% | 50.37 13% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 43 | 49.5 | 51 | 46.81 |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
The very warm running temperatures as mentioned above lead to warmer-than-average surface temperatures. Hot spots when gaming can reach over 54 C and 56 C on the top and bottom, respectively, compared to just 40 C on the Blade 16 or 47 C on the Legion Pro 5 16IRX9.
Furthermore, the asymmetric cooling solution means that the right half of the chassis or keyboard will be a lot warmer than the left. This is in contrast to most other gaming laptops where symmetrical cooling solutions are common. This isn't a huge issue as most games utilize only the WASD keys on the left half of the keyboard, but you can expect a sweaty palm if the game demands inputs from the numpad.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 45.2 °C / 113 F, compared to the average of 40.5 °C / 105 F, ranging from 21.2 to 68.8 °C for the class Gaming.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 48.8 °C / 120 F, compared to the average of 43.3 °C / 110 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 31.9 °C / 89 F, compared to the device average of 33.9 °C / 93 F.
(-) 3: The average temperature for the upper side is 40 °C / 104 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F for the class Gaming.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (34.6 °C / 94.3 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.9 °C / 84 F (-5.7 °C / -10.3 F).
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU | Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU | HP Victus 16 (2024) Intel Core i7-14700HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU | Alienware x16 R2 P120F Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU | Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 Intel Core i9-14900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU | Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 Intel Core i9-14900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | 8% | 12% | -4% | 0% | 12% | |
| Maximum Upper Side * | 45.2 | 48.2 -7% | 50 -11% | 51 -13% | 43.8 3% | 45 -0% |
| Maximum Bottom * | 48.8 | 51.3 -5% | 50 -2% | 50.8 -4% | 55.4 -14% | 45 8% |
| Idle Upper Side * | 34.8 | 28 20% | 25 28% | 36.6 -5% | 32.8 6% | 29 17% |
| Idle Bottom * | 38.2 | 28.8 25% | 26 32% | 35.2 8% | 36 6% | 30 21% |
* ... smaller is better
Speakers
Maingear ML-16 MK2 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.5 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 16.1% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.9% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (5.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (13.7% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 21% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 73% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 18%, worst was 132%
Compared to all devices tested
» 14% of all tested devices were better, 4% similar, 83% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(+) | good bass - only 3.8% away from median
(+) | bass is linear (5.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 1.3% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (2.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.9% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (4.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 0% of all tested devices in this class were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 0% of all tested devices were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Energy Management
Power Consumption
Power consumption when idling ranges between 7 W to 27 W depending on GPU setting and brightness level which is a wider range when compared to competitors. This would also explain the relatively short battery life in the next section below. Simply enabling dGPU mode and maximum display brightness causes consumption to jump from 7 W to 23 W and so it is recommended to run on MSHybrid mode if battery life is important.
Gaming demands about 179 W on average from the medium-sized (~14.4 x 7.5 x 2.3 cm) 180 W AC adapter. This means that the charge rate will slow to a crawl if running games simultaneously and it also suggests that performance might have been faster had the model shipped with a larger 230 W AC adapter. In fact, we're able to record a maximum draw of 203 W when the CPU and GPU are at full utilization to prove that the system can demand more than what the AC adapter can safely provide. This is similar to what we observed on the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 G9 where we found its 170 W AC adapter to be too small for the Core Ultra H CPU and RTX 4070 GPU.
| Off / Standby | 0.28 / 1.2 Watt |
| Idle | 7.7 / 22.9 / 26.7 Watt |
| Load |
77.5 / 202.6 Watt |
   
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Metrahit Energy | |
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, , IPS, 2560x1600, 16" | Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, Micron 2400 MTFDKBA1T0QFM, OLED, 2560x1600, 16" | HP Victus 16 (2024) i7-14700HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, Kioxia XG8 KXG80ZNV512G, IPS, 1920x1080, 16.1" | Alienware x16 R2 P120F Ultra 9 185H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, WDC PC SN810 1TB, IPS, 2560x1600, 16" | Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 i9-14900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL21T0HCLR, IPS, 2560x1600, 16" | Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 i9-14900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL22T0HBLB, OLED, 2560x1600, 16" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 24% | -9% | -20% | -29% | -39% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 7.7 | 6.9 10% | 9 -17% | 9.9 -29% | 12.5 -62% | 16.9 -119% |
| Idle Average * | 22.9 | 12.6 45% | 15 34% | 14.5 37% | 24.6 -7% | 17.8 22% |
| Idle Maximum * | 26.7 | 13 51% | 23 14% | 33.5 -25% | 24.8 7% | 19.6 27% |
| Load Average * | 77.5 | 84.1 -9% | 123 -59% | 97.5 -26% | 109.6 -41% | 128 -65% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra external monitor * | 178.9 | 124.5 30% | ||||
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra * | 178.6 | 127.2 29% | ||||
| Load Maximum * | 202.6 | 177.6 12% | 241 -19% | 315.2 -56% | 284.9 -41% | 328 -62% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 143.7 | 230 | 218 | 243 |
* ... smaller is better
Power Consumption Cyberpunk / Stress Test
Power Consumption external Monitor
Battery Life
The 80 Wh battery capacity is average for the 16-inch screen size. Runtimes, however, are below average for a gaming laptop. We're only able to record just over 3.5 hours of real-world WLAN browsing even when set to the Balanced power profile with MSHybrid active compared to over twice that on the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 or HP Victus 16.
Charging from empty to full capacity is relatively fast at 1 to 1.5 hours. The system can also be recharged via third-party USB-C AC adapters albeit at a slower rate. Keep in mind that only one of the two USB-C ports supports recharging.
| Maingear ML-16 MK2 Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, 80 Wh | Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605WV Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, 90 Wh | HP Victus 16 (2024) i7-14700HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, 83 Wh | Alienware x16 R2 P120F Ultra 9 185H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, 90 Wh | Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 i9-14900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, 80 Wh | Razer Blade 16 2024, RTX 4090 i9-14900HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, 95.2 Wh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 62% | 134% | -11% | -13% | 16% | |
| Reader / Idle | 651 | 403 -38% | ||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 218 | 478 119% | 511 134% | 193 -11% | 290 33% | 329 51% |
| Load | 98 | 103 5% | 65 -34% | 79 -19% | ||
| H.264 | 824 | 456 |
Pros
Cons
Verdict — Surprisingly Light, But A Little Too Hot
The Maingear ML-16 MK2 has a few things going for it when compared to big name competitors. Most notable are its light weight and relatively bright display to help users who aren't always gaming at home. Meanwhile, the integrated numpad can prove useful for certain types of games and spreadsheet work while the easy serviceability is always appreciated amongst enthusiasts.
Unfortunately, the model suffers from a longer list of drawbacks. For one, its cooling solution is relatively small and not as proficient as the ones in competing 16-inch gaming laptops. Core temperatures, surface temperatures, and fan noise are therefore warmer and louder than alternatives like the heavier Razer Blade 16 or Lenovo Legion Pro. Chassis rigidity is also weaker than said competitors for poorer first impressions. These setbacks can be partly attributed to the lighter weight as cut corners were made to the chassis and cooling solution as a result. In other words, you'll be making some key sacrifices for that lighter and more portable weight.
The Maingear ML-16 MK2 is lighter and brighter than we expected. However, it lacks several advanced features while temperatures and fan noise could have been better.
Further advanced features like Optimus 2.0, HDR, OLED, per-key RGB lighting, vapor chamber cooling, and liquid metal interface are all unavailable on the ML-16 MK2. Such omissions may be acceptable in the $1500 range, but we expected a bit more considering the $2000 asking price for our RTX 4070 configuration.
Price and Availability
Maingear is now shipping the ML-16 Mark 2 for $1800 with the GeForce RTX 4060 or $2000 with the RTX 4070 as reviewed.
Note: We have recently updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7. More information is available here .
Maingear ML-16 MK2
- 09/17/2024 v8
Allen Ngo
Total Sustainability Score: 
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was provided to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of this review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
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