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Nvidia RTX laptops will challenge the AMD-powered PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X for gaming supremacy

The first RTX laptops started appearing in January 2019. (Image source: Nvidia)
The first RTX laptops started appearing in January 2019. (Image source: Nvidia)
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has never been shy about bigging up the company he is in charge of, but his latest claim will certainly raise some eyebrows among console fans. The executive reckons that gaming laptops fitted with Nvidia RTX GPUs will defeat the AMD-based PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X in the upcoming next-gen console clash.

It seemed that for all intents and purposes, AMD was going to win the next-generation console contest simply by having its components present in the two main contenders: the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X. However, while everyone has been focusing on the details of these two strong rivals, Jensen Huang has decided to throw a spanner in the works by stating that it will be RTX gaming laptops that will become “the largest gaming console in the world.”

Comments like that are instantly going to create considerable discussion and even argument between console fans and laptop lovers. However, there is no denying that the rapid technological advancements over the last couple of years have seen gaming laptops more than rival their console counterparts. For instance, you can purchase an Alienware Area-51M laptop with a powerful Intel Core i9-9900K processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 GPU inside it for some serious mobile gaming sessions – but the trade-off in this case is the price. You would pay over US$4,000 for this particular notebook, whereas the PS5 and Xbox Series X are expected to cost in the region of US$500.

Of course, it is possible to get RTX laptops for much cheaper than the Alienware example. You can find laptops in Dell’s Gaming range for less than half the price of the Alienware Area-51M that come with an Nvidia RTX 2060, and it's possible to pick up an MSI GL63 with the same GPU for under US$1,300 – but that’s still a long way off the expected next-gen console prices.

The fact is that the PS5 and Xbox Series X will not see their market share destroyed by RTX laptops upon their release, but the advantage Nvidia does have here is the modular nature of its product. RTX laptops that can currently rival the next-gen consoles for performance and power will see their prices fall as new components are released on the market, and it could be then when Huang’s words become reality. Or GeForce Now will simply conquer the gaming world.

Source(s)

Seeking Alpha (Nvidia earnings call transcript)

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2020 02 > Nvidia RTX laptops will challenge the AMD-powered PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X for gaming supremacy
Daniel R Deakin, 2020-02-19 (Update: 2020-09-30)