We managed to get hands-on experience with Framework's new "MacBook Pro for Linux users" just last week, and we were mighty impressed with it. If you, too, were impressed and placed your preorders for its June release, I have some bad news. It's now going to be released one month later.

In an email sent to PC Gamer and those who have preordered the device, Framework says it has discovered two issues that have made the company push back the release from late June to late July.

The first issue is with the haptic touchpad. Supposedly, Framework engineers spotted a bug with the touchpad where it would "rarely" reset itself after repeated clicking. An investigation discovered that this is partly caused by an electrical issue in the PCB, so now Framework are awaiting the testing period of the new PCB to make sure it is ready to ship en masse.

The second issue is with the display. Framework says that the 13.5-inch 2880x1920 custom display ran into a bug with the current panel, which took a firmware update to solve. Should you want to buy the display by itself, that has also been delayed until July.

One thing that hasn't been delayed is the 13 Pro Mainboard shipments. You can still buy both the Ultra Series 3 and Ryzen AI 300 variants, and if you already have a preorder, you can expect that to arrive by June. Unfortunately, though, Framework clarifies that press reviews of the laptop will go live in July, so those who have preordered mainboards won't be able to catch full reviews before it's in their hands.

The Framework 13 Pro can be selected from Framework with either Windows or Linux, is designed to give strong battery life, has a full CNC aluminium chassis, and has a "power-optimised" display with touch support. The haptic trackpad, as we were told last week, is supposedly a bridge gap for Mac users looking to make the swap. Our Dave said, "They [Mac users] want to be able to touch any part of the trackpad to actuate a click and that's exactly what the new trackpad enables."

Notably, the Linux pre-loaded version of the laptop was actually outselling the Windows configuration when we spoke to CEO Nirav Patel last week. On one hand, that's a good sign of how far Linux has come recently. On the other hand, Framework devices do tend to be a bit more involved due to their breadth of customisation options, so the ultra casual Windows users might not have the 'Framework MacBook Pro' on their wishlist.

We'll have to get even more hands-on time with the 13 Pro to see if the wait and cost are worth it, but we've certainly been pretty into what we've seen so far.

Computex is both a proving ground for newly released tech and an excuse for companies to throw stuff at the wall and hope enough people like it. As such, we tend to see a lot of weird tech (here's looking at you, ferrofluid case and GPU with Swarovski crystals in it). However, while laptops have been a little dry this year, MSI has somehow made my favourite and least favourite devices.

Starting with my favourite, I love the Prestige 14 Flip AI+, and its Vincent Van Gogh-themed look. One version is based on Starry Night, and the other is based on Starry Night Over the Rhône. They are more or less just the artwork put on the back of a laptop, with a similarly coloured keyboard, but that's good enough for me, as it's still gorgeous art that would look lovely any time it's pulled out of a backpack.

They also come with a themed mouse pad, box, Bluetooth mouse, and even an ID badge. It's a bit over the top, as one would expect from MSI's Prestige collection, but lovely nonetheless. You're getting Intel Core Ultra processors and no dedicated GPU, so it's not quite a fully-fledged gaming laptop, but it should still handle some games, and it's got an OLED display to back that all up.

It's definitely a bit much for watching YouTube or messing with Excel spreadsheets, but it'll be the nicest laptop in your local cafe. The last MSI artisan laptop (Ukiyo-e edition) was also gorgeous looking. We don't yet have a price, but the Ukiyo-e edition sits around the $1,500 to $2,000 mark.

If you are looking for a gaming laptop to stand out in… other ways, let me introduce you to the MSI Titan 18 HX Dragon Edition Draco Epic (yes, that's its full legal name). It comes with an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor and an RTX 5090 mobile. MSI has truly thrown everything at it, with a 240 Hz Mini-LED display, Cherry MX mechanical keys, a dedicated vapour chamber cooler, and a premium box with limited edition coins, a mousepad, and a gaming mouse.

It's even got super speedy SSD storage, with a total of four M.2 slots that can be linked together as a SuperRAID 5 array, plus a 6-speaker surround sound system, and a wealth of ports (including Thunderbolt 5, USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A and C, plus an SD card reader).

Unfortunately, though, I simply don't like the chunky backplate or the RGB trackpad, and the dragon design is too much for my tastes. It looks impressive in a lot of ways, but I think I'd feel actively embarrassed for just a moment taking it out in a public space. In fairness, those specs imply a very high price point, so I don't think I'd ever feel comfortable taking it out of the house anyway.

I can see the level of artistry on show here, and perhaps if I were on the Computex show floor and saw it in person, my perspective would change. But I don't think I've ever longed for a big RGB-infested, dragon-displaying gaming laptop before, and I don't know if MSI could change my mind.

I caught up with Framework CEO, Nirav Patel at Computex this week, and got my hands on the new Framework 13 Pro for the first time. I've been eager to get hold of what it calls 'the MacBook Pro for Linux users' since it was first announced and, while we'll have to wait just a little longer for our review sample to arrive, my first impression is that it's everything you'd want a premium Framework 13 to be.

And everything about that Apple-baiting tagline makes even more sense now I've got to touch the device and talk about exactly what Patel means by it. Though I'm super-excited to get the 13 Pro in and start throwing some games at the Panther Lake Core Ultra 7 and its integrated B390 GPU core, obviously the target is not specifically gamers, it's software developers.

And, more precisely, the volume of software developers Framework has been talking to who are growing increasingly frustrated at the Mac operating system. Nirav Patel explains that the Linux operating system is the preferred platform for software developers, but the struggle has been that folk coming over from Apple hardware don't want to give up on the feel of that hardware.

Part of it is the premium chassis, and Framework has absolutely nailed that with the new black anodised aluminium surrounds it has created for the Framework 13 Pro. I've been using the standard 13-incher for years, and the laptop chassis is fine, but you wouldn't call it premium. The 13 Pro, however, feels incredibly solid, sturdy, and serious very much like a MacBook or the Razer Blade I'm typing on right now.

Framework hasn't given up any of the repairability, nor has it lost the compatibility, either. You could fit this shell around any Framework 13 device from the past five years or so.

But one of the key things for Patel has been the introduction of the haptic touchpad. He notes that while it might not be a huge thing for PC folk shifting over to the 13 Pro, for MacBook users he saw it as essential to making that shift as smooth as possible for those who want to move away from MacOS but don't want to change how their machines feel to use. They want to be able to touch any part of the trackpad to actuate a click and that's exactly what the new trackpad enables.

The Framework 13 Pro releases later this month, and already the preloaded Linux versions are outselling the Windows options in the pre-orders. "It's actually outselling the Windows configuration," Patel tells me, "which is crazy to see."

Gaming might only be the third pillar of the 'who is RTX Spark for?' foundations, but that doesn't mean it's been an afterthought. Especially not when Nvidia's developer relations team is going out and helping the likes of Remedy make a completely native version of Alan Wake 2—one of the most graphically intensive DX12 games out there—and making it run great on Nvidia's RTX Spark.

I've been playing this native Arm build of Alan Wake 2 on a pre-release version of Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra and, while I'm under careful watch so I don't go digging around in the settings, the experience is smooth and the game looks great. And crucially I'm not seeing the telltale smearing of text, input lag, and fine detail screwiness that would tell me it's using a ton of multi frame gen just to get the game running at the 2560 x 1600 resolution I'm playing at. Though I'm confident it is running some level of frame gen in there to get this game running so smoothly on this machine.

Microsoft has been working on this laptop with Nvidia for about three years, Nvidia has been working with MediaTek for two and a half years to make the silicon. And that would suggest Remedy's had ample time to get working on the native Arm port for Nvidia hardware, but Nvidia currently won't be drawn on exactly how long it has taken to get this fully native version up and running.

But it looks damned good to my eyes, and plays well either on keyboard and mouse or with a controller plugged in. Obviously though, this is a tightly controlled demo, and I can't dig in to see what the specific settings are inside the game, but this is still a DirectX 12 game, with a native Arm port running smoothly on this thin-and-light gaming laptop without blowing a gale out the back.

During my time prodding and poking every single RTX Spark laptop and desktop that has made it up to Nvidia's demo floor—from Microsoft, to Dell, Lenovo, Asus, and MSI—I've also had a chance to play with emulated versions of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Pragmata. Not new beta versions, but simply downloaded from Steam and running on these 64 GB versions of the RTX Spark chip.

"What we're showcasing here is, if you're a developer and your game is running through an emulator, we're going to work with you to make sure it's a good experience," says Jo Vivoli, senior manager in Nvidia's tech marketing team. "If you want to make a native arm build, we're going to work with you to make sure it's a good experience."

And it's something a Microsoft engineer, who has been working on RTX Spark for the past three years echos as I step up to play Indiana Jones.

"It's running through emulation," he says, "and so we wanted to highlight the deep investment that Nvidia and Microsoft has made to make sure that gaming is truly an activity that you can participate on an RTX Spark, and it delivers the expected performance and visuals that you would get out of an RTX graphics card."

And it's all working. I also inexpertly bashed through Pragmata, though this is actually the first time playing the game so I had zero idea what the hell I was doing, why there was a little bot-girl on my back, and why this other robot-with-a-sword wanted to chop us into itty bitty bits. But the game ran super smoothly, even if my gaming skills did not.

Now, this is surely not going to be the universal experience for every game, no matter how commited to the experience either Microsoft or Nvidia are—there is simply too large a back catalogue of games in the PC's long library and there will surely be titles that do not play ball.

But it has been focused on at least what it sees as the biggest games. "We've been looking at the 200 largest, most used creative applications, most used games," another Microsoft representative tells me. "And we're on track to have those working in time for launch."

Maybe suspiciously, this is an Nvidia demo suite and there's no hint of Cyberpunk 2077. Will that work for launch? I'm told they think it does, but I guess we'll find out in the autumn.

Nvidia's first full SoC for the PC, RTX Spark, is finally here. But could it form the basis of a killer gaming handheld? Superficially, that seems like a bit of a no-brainer, what with Nvidia's dominance in gaming graphics. But comments from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang yesterday make that appear unlikely.

Speaking after his Computex keynote, Huang responded to a question about the possible use of RTX Spark in a handheld.

"If somebody wants to do it, you know, we'll work with them on it. But right now we're really focused on doing something that is just such a big deal, reinventing the PC after 40 years," Huang said.

He went on to explain what a "gigantic project" it is for Nvidia just to launch a PC chip. "Remember all of these applications in the Windows world, the x86 world, we have to prove that they work fantastically, and all the games they have to have anti cheat turned on. And so all of that stuff is really, really hard," Huang explained.

"It took us three years working with Microsoft and two and a half years working with MediaTek to get here, hundreds of people, that's how hard it is, and that's why everybody's so excited about it," Huang says of RTX Spark.

It's all part of his plan, it seems, to reinvent the PC in the age of AI. "Can we help reinvent the PC? And, boy, if you get a chance to reinvent the single most important instrument, the single most important tool of humanity, what you and I grew up with defined just about everything about our lives, and we have an opportunity after 40 years to go reinvent it for the age of AI. Wow, we're not going to sit around, not let it get done," Huang said.

In that context, you can see how making a gaming handheld out of RTX Spark is a bit, well, tangential. Is it yet another indication that gaming is now a very low priority at Nvidia? Possibly.

Of course, the full RTX Spark Chip is probably not a goer for handhelds. It's got 20 Arm cores and a GPU with pretty much identical specs to a desktop RTX 5070 GPU. That's surely too big and too powerful for a handheld, even if Nvidia is claiming its battery life will be "much better than anything you've seen before on RTX laptops."

As I understand it, however, there is a smaller version of RTX Spark coming with fewer CPU cores and a GPU less than half the size, codenamed N1 as opposed to N1x for the full-size RTX Spark chip. And that could be a much better candidate for a gaming handheld.

The thing is, if Nvidia was actively working with partners on an RTX Spark-based gaming handheld, you'd think Huang would have answered that question quite differently. As it is, he's clear that's not where Nvidia's "focus" is right now. Which probably shouldn't be a surprise, as gaming really doesn't seem to be a high priority at Nvidia of late.

So Nvidia has announced the RTX Spark chip, its first CPU—or should that be APU—for the PC. Except the chip is basically a rebadge of the GB10 superchip in the DGX Spark desktop AI box that it launched in October last year. And it uses pretty ancient CPU cores licensed from Arm. So when might we see a true Nvidia CPU in the PC?

Actually, it looks a lot like Nvidia answered that question in its Computex keynote. CEO Jensen Huang revealed a roadmap for RTX Spark stretching a further two generations and out to 2030. And here's the really important bit: Nvidia plans to launch an RTX Spark using Nvidia's Vera CPU in 2028.

As Nvidia has already announced, Vera is the company's first CPU with cores designed in-house. The CPU in the first generation RTX Spark has Nvidia's Grace chiplet, which was designed in a collaboration with Mediatek and has CPU cores licensed from ARM.

What's more, those CPU cores aren't even Arm's latest designs. Grace has two different Arm cores, one is a generation old, the other two generations old. But Vera is Nvidia's first in-house CPU design using its new Olympus cores and when Nvidia initially announced it as a processor for AI servers, we hoped and wondered if those Olympus cores would ever come to the PC.

Well, now this roadmap seems to indicate that they are and even when they're coming, in 2028. Exactly how good Vera's Olympus cores are isn't totally clear. We've only just had the first third-party benchmarks, albeit with workloads somewhat dictated by Nvidia.

One caveat here is that Nvidia hasn't explicitly called out "Olympus" cores for the Vera Rubin Spark chip. But it would certainly be odd if the company used the same "Vera" codename to describe two very different CPU architectures.

For what it's worth, in the Computex keynote, Huang said Vera's single-threaded performance "has to be world class, absolutely the best," which obviously bodes well. Where things get more complicated is software support.

Nvidia is unsurprisingly making lots of positive noises about game support on RTX Spark. But the problem is that the next-gen Vera CPU in 2028 will inevitably be very different from the Arm-licensed cores in the first-gen RTX Spark's Grace CPU. So, it's not clear that any work done for the first Grace-based RTX Spark making game ports or optimising Windows' Prism emulation layer for x86 applications running on Arm CPUs will automatically benefit the next-gen Vera CPU.

You could argue it's a little odd that Nvidia is launching the whole RTX Spark thing with the Grace Blackwell generation. In many ways, it would seem to make more sense to wait for the Vera Rubin generation in 2028 with Nvidia's own CPUs, which will presumably form the basis of future RTX Spark CPUs, including the Rosa Feyman generation which Huang also revealed is due in 2030.

As it is, RTX Spark is launching with some relatively ancient licensed CPU cores which will duly be dropped in favour of Nvidia's surely far superior cores in 2028. Perhaps all this generation of RTX Spark is supposed to do is get the ball rolling in terms of relationships with hardware vendors for laptops, with Microsoft regarding x86 emulation and with game devs for porting x86 titles.

But at least now we know when the first true Nvidia CPU for the PC is arriving. And it's 2028. Here's hoping those Olympus cores are still "absolutely the best" by then.

It's been a long time coming, but we finally have sight of Nvidia's very own Arm-based CPU. And as if to remind us it's not all a fever dream, we have sight of some actual laptops that will feature the chip, like the MSI Prestige N16 Flip AI+.

The first thing you've probably noticed is that this thing looks thin. And that's kind of the point, here. There's no discrete RTX GPU to fatten it up, rather Nvidia's all-in-one N1X-based "superchip" called RTX Spark, which seems to want to meld the gaming and AI spheres together (from Nvidia? Who'd have thunk it).

That permits a gaming-capable laptop to have such things as a "16-inch UHD+ Tandem OLED display, 99.9Wh battery, MSI Nano Pen, MSI Action Touchpad, and a versatile flip form factor for mobile productivity and entertainment."

Make no mistake, though, it's a gaming PC. And with RTX Spark machines all signs point towards that meaning some actual gaming performance. We'd heard rumours of RTX 5070-level frame rates from an upcoming Nvidia processor for a very long time, and now Nvidia confirms that this was correct, although it will depend on the game.

That game-dependent caveat exists in large part because the RTX Spark isn't a standard x86 CPU. It's Arm-based, meaning it runs Windows-on-Arm and will have to emulate some apps through Microsoft's Prism layer. So you probably shouldn't expect a standard experience in all respects from this MSI machine. But thus is the penalty for progress.

It's certainly an exciting prospect now we can see just how thin an RTX 5070-level laptop can be. The two-in-one flip design we see here (use it as a tablet or laptop, or in between in 'tent' format) would certainly have seemed a stretch to combine with such gaming performance on more traditional hardware with a discrete GPU.

There's no mention of price, though, and on that front I can't imagine anything other than a sharp sting.

The new Nvidia RTX Spark is an Arm-powered system-on-chip (SoC) set to be the heart of new super thin-and-light gaming laptops and mini PCs. It comes packing up to 20 Grace CPU cores and up to 6188 CUDA cores in its GPU, alongside up to 128 GB unified LPDDR5x memory. And one of the most tantalising things of having an Arm chip powering a genuinely gaming-capable skinny laptop is the promise of unprecedented gaming battery life.

During our pre-Computex briefing on the introduction of the new "superchip" product marketing lead, Mark Aevermann was careful not to make any definitive promises of extreme battery life, despite calling it "the most efficient pc chip ever built". But he did note that we "should expect it to be much better than anything you've seen before on RTX laptops."

Which is certainly promising. While we're expecting all-day battery life for standard non-gaming workloads, when you're really pushing gaming workloads it's going to stress the battery a whole lot more.

"Gaming battery life... it's going to vary on a whole lot of factors," says Aevermann. "Just like any laptop out there, literally any laptop, if you pull the maximum you can out of a battery you're only going to get 45 minutes to an hour. That's true of every laptop on the market. So it very much depends on if things like frame rate targets, the settings of an individual game, what the laptop's battery capacity is, so on and so forth."

But with frame rate targets and such, Intel's G3 Extreme handheld chips are getting up to five hours of gaming battery life in intense 3D gameworlds, and up to 11 hours in something less-intense, such as Team Fortress 2. Maybe we won't get up to that level with a super-thin RTX Spark gaming laptop, but maybe with the right settings we could get close.

One of the issues that gaming on Linux has right now, and one of the main reasons why Windows is still the dominant platform for gaming, is because there are still games that resolutely will not work on SteamOS or any other Linux-based distro. And one of the main reasons for that is a lack of support for some of the biggest anti-cheat software in use today, specifically the kernel-level ones.

That means you get no Fortnite, you get no Battlefield, you get no Valorant, you get no FC26 (okay, that one's just for me). Nvidia gets this and has been explicit in the announcement of the new Arm-powered RTX Spark "superchip" for Windows on Arm that is working hard with all the leading anti-cheat developers to ensure the software works out of the box on its systems.

Nvidia has told me that: "We are working closely with game developers to ensure all the top games run great. Our ongoing collaborations are bringing Fortnite, VALORANT, League of Legends, PUBG and more to run on RTX Spark.

"One of the biggest challenges is native ARM anti-cheat that online games rely on. We are working with developers to bring support for major anti cheats like Easy Anti‑Cheat, BattlEye, and Denuvo among others. We'll have even more game news to announce over the coming months."

Nvidia's also told us that devs are working on both Prism-optimised versions of their games as well as wholly native game versions for RTX Spark and Windows on Arm.

RTX Spark is its new family of Nvidia SoCs, targeted at creators, AI devs, and gamers, and the top chip has the same level of graphics power as an RTX 5070. Well, depending on whether you're talking about emulated games or native versions, so actual performance could be above, below, or the same as an RTX 5070. Though Nvidia has noted that GPU-bound games will likely be less impacted by Microsoft's Prism emulation layer, which is kinda promising at least.

We're expecting RTX Spark laptops and mini PCs in the autumn this year, though don't expect the full 20-core CPU, 6188 CUDA core GPU, with 128 GB of unified memory to be cheap. Though we've been told there will be smaller versions of the chips, potentially more gaming-focused versions, from 16 GB all the way up to the top 128 GB versions. Watch this space, I guess.

After a lot of leaks, a whole lot of rumours, and me boring the crap out of Nvidia's PRs about it many times over the years, the N1X CPU, now incorporated in the RTX Spark SoC, has finally been unveiled. It's been one of the most well-known secrets in the industry—that Nvidia would one day release a laptop SoC, pairing a MediaTek Arm chiplet with an Nvidia GPU core, to create its own notebook platform and here we are.

With the full RTX Spark "superchip", codenamed the N1X, users can expect up to 20 Grace CPU cores and 6144 RTX Blackwell GPU cores, alongside up to 128 GB of unified LPDDR5x memory. And I think the 'up to' parts of that statement are doing a lot of heavy lifting here, because this isn't just a single laptop processor but a full lineup of notebook SoCs starting in the autumn of this year.

And that's welcome news, because in a RAMpocalypse world of ever-increasing hardware prices, a chip that's wedded to 128 GB of any kind of memory is going to be prohibitively expensive. But, while Mark Aevermann, consumer product marketing lead of RTX Spark, wouldn't be drawn on details of the different chips we might expect to see, he did note that "RTX Spark is going to be a family of products that are going to attack a lot of different price points" and that "across the entire family you'll see configurations from 16 GB all the way up to 128 GB."

Not that I expect a 16 GB RTX Spark laptop to be cheap but at least that will be a far more affordable SKU, and likely a more gaming-oriented chip, too. Though I wouldn't necessarily expect to see laptops using those lower-end chips at launch in the autumn, as right now Nvidia has only shown off six very premium machines from Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, and MSI.

"Over time," says Aevermann, "you can expect over 30 laptops and over ten or so desktops initially planned."

But with Nvidia promising wattage figures from up to 80 W down to the "low, low single digits" that does make me think about handhelds, especially after Intel's announcement of the G3 Extreme in the past week. Aevermann introduced the RTX Spark as "the most efficient PC chip ever built… a new type of SoC that is both built for the future of computers as agents, as well as a fantastic creation and gaming experience on a single device with exceptional portability." If that doesn't get jammed into a new Shield handheld my ghast will be utterly flabbered.

Though Nvidia was also very careful in the briefing ahead of today's announcement to note that it was not making any comments about handhelds.

Laptops are not the only form factor Nvidia has been talking about, though, as it's also said that mini PCs, along the same lines as the Linux-powered DGX Spark, will also be releasing in the autumn with the RTX Spark chip inside. The likes of Acer, Asus, Dell, Gigabyte, HP, MSI, and Lenovo will have systems ready to roll, which could make for a real interesting comparison with the Steam Machine whenever that does arrive.

The biggest issue for the RTX Spark as a gaming SoC, however, is the fact that it's running a custom Arm and not an x86 CPU core. That means running Windows-on-Arm as the operating system, and that means leaning heavily on the Microsoft's Prism emulator. This is the layer which translates x86 code for WoA devices right now, such as those from Qualcomm, and Nvidia seems pretty confident that it's worked out a lot of the kinks.

Though Aevermann does also note that, while you can theoretically get RTX 5070-level performance out of the RTX Spark's GPU core, that is heavily dependent on the application. And I think you can translate that to mean it's completely dependent on how well a given application copes with that emulation layer.

Nvidia has a lot of skin in the game here, but also a lot of deep contacts with the gaming world, and it has noted that developers are running the gamut from purely optimising their games for Prism, to porting existing games to Arm, to coding entirely natively for the Arm ecosystem.

The company is also engaged with developers to ensure the ecosystem supports all the current anti-cheat software around, something that's been a struggle for Linux gaming.

"We are working closely with game developers to ensure all the top games run great," an Nvidia rep tells me. "Our ongoing collaborations are bringing Fortnite, VALORANT, League of Legends, PUBG and more to run on RTX Spark.

"One of the biggest challenges is native ARM anti-cheat that online games rely on. We are working with developers to bring support for major anti cheats like Easy Anti‑Cheat, BattlEye, and Denuvo among others. We'll have even more game news to announce over the coming months."

Here's hoping Nvidia's confidence in both the Prism emulation and the game developers proves warranted when the RTX Spark systems see the light of day towards the end of the year.

Hunting for fresh news of Nvidia's long-awaited, yet-to-be-announced N1 and N1X laptop chips is pretty difficult these days. Reports earlier this year suggested the new chips would be out by March, but here we are in May with not a lot to go on beyond rumour and speculation.

Other than a Lenovo login page mention, of course. That's new (via Videocardz). A dropdown menu on the Lenovo ADFS login page has two entries noting the fabled chip, one labelled "Nvidia N1X Portal PROD" and the other "Nvidia N1X Portal Test."

It's not the first time Lenovo has been linked to potential Nvidia-chipped laptop models. At the start of this year, the "Legion 7 12N1X11" appeared as a supported model for its Legion Space software, while a dataminer also found mention of several upcoming Lenovo models with N1 and N1X designations.

So as secrets go, it's not a particularly well kept one. And in all honesty, test portals being prepared for upcoming laptops using the chips is no great surprise.

But it's been a long time coming, and if the cadence of these leaks is anything to go by, we may be tantalisingly close to an official reveal. Computex 2026 kicks off next week, and if I were a betting man, I'd put good money on at least some mention of the near-mythical Nvidia laptop chip line being made then—if not a full-blown announcement.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has confirmed that the new offerings will be based on the GB10 "Superchip" found in the DGX Spark, although how that manifests in practice is yet to be officially revealed. Previous rumours have suggested the N1X is a 20-core CPU with a large Blackwell-based GPU, potentially with as many CUDA cores as the RTX 5070.

If that's even close to accurate, the Nvidia beasties may well be one of the biggest and most interesting hardware releases of the year—if the X86 emulation is all fine and dandy, of course. Or we could be left waiting once more. Tune in next week to find out?

Last month I reported on tech YouTubers Jakkuh and Zip Tie Tech modding an Apple MacBook Neo with external custom water loop cooling to achieve world record benchmark scores on the budget laptop. Now, YouTuber Salem Techsperts has outdone them in at least some benchmarks with the help of dual-sided chip cooling and a giant industrial air blower.

The previous record-holders said "come at me bro" with a 3DMark Solar Bay Extreme score of 1,450 and Salem Techsperts apparently beat that score the very next day, but only by one point. He then set out to break that record: "I am determined to have the fastest MacBook Neo in the world, and no one is going to beat it after today. (I really hope JayzTwoCents doesn't do a liquid nitrogen build.)"

The Apple MacBook Neo has garnered attention thanks to its cheap price tag in an increasingly inflated market. And while its six-core A18 Pro chip is little more than an iPhone processor, it runs surprisingly well, especially using Apple's optimised software. But there's always more headroom that can be cranked out of a chip with enough effort, as Salem Techsperts finds out.

He sets about achieving this with "PTM 7950, 30-degree air, an industrial air blower, a heat sink, a Peltier cooler... and Upsiren thermal putty."

The PTM 7950 is a phase change thermal pad, and the latter putty is designed to replace thermal pads, which is useful in the case of the MacBook Neo, because such a pad is exactly what is slapped on top of the chip by default. And finally, a Peltier cooler is a kind of thermoelectric cooler that uses an electric current to encourage heat transfer from one side to the other.

To begin, the YouTuber put the putty on top of the integrated circuits (ICs) on either side of the chip, laid the regular sticker on top, and had two copper shims sitting next to the chip with a heatsink on top of it, using a PTM 7950 thermal pad as the conductor between the two. However, he did eventually swap out the PTM 7950 for some Upsiren thermal putty to crank the score up as it ended up working better.

The final trick was to put the Peltier cooler underneath the chip to sandwich it, which involves disconnecting the logic board and removing the display. And then using the giant industrial air blower to churn a load of air from the window to cool the top-side of the chip down. The Peltier cooler underneath has to be blocked off from the flow of air, though, as that could interfere with the thermoelectric cooling process. The result is getting things down to a nice and chilly 10 °C at idle

After all this, the A18 Pro consistently hits 11 W of power consumption; by default it should max out at about 10 W and stay much lower than this over extended periods.

The chip managed to beat the previous-highest Cinebench scores, with a score of 2,076 in the multi-threaded test and 639 in the single-threaded one, which is only slightly below what an M4 Max chip scores. However, for some reason the chip in the modded setup wouldn't beat the 3DMark (ie, the GPU) score, hitting different scores between 1,400 and 1,450; apparently the score was higher before all the modding.

With the sandwich cooling method, the Neo achieved 50 fps in Cyberpunk, although that was at 1080p on low settings with resolution scaling and FSR 3.1 frame gen turned on.

Salem Techsperts even gets pretty decent results putting the chip and board back into the case with just the pads and putty mods, achieving 28% higher multi-core and 25% higher single-core score. So although he notes the keyboard does get a little warmer, that might be a mod that's worth actually trying at home, if you're feeling adventurous.

While there's no chance that it was developed because Apple had chosen to do something similar, one can't help but draw parallels to the MacBook Neo. The newly announced Googlebook has your phone and AI at the heart of it all, and will supposedly bring "the best of Android…and ChromeOS", utilising hardware from Intel under the hood.

That's pretty much it as far as details go, other than some swooping imagery of glossy-looking laptops, a short tweet from Intel on the collaboration, and a statement about "working with industry leading partners like Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Lenovo."

Naturally, Gemini AI is going to be at the forefront of what the Googlebook can do, but if you have an Android phone, you'll be able to cast apps and access files directly from the phone without having to wire things up or install them. How well all this will work in reality is anyone's guess at this stage, but if it works as seamlessly as suggested, a Googlebook might be a good choice of laptop for work-on-the-go.

The real question of importance, however, is precisely what hardware is going to be underneath the hood. Since Intel is involved, the most obvious pick is either a small Panther Lake chip or even smaller Wildcat Lake. Both options are going to be very nice to have, though they really need fast LPDDR5 memory to shine.

Given how expensive DRAM is at the moment, if Google takes a leaf from Apple's MacBook Neo and goes with something like 8 or 12 GB, then it's unlikely that you're going to see any Googlebook topping a benchmark chart. That said, Wildcat Lake is light on power demand but strong on single-core performance, so you never know.

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Googlebook is the legacy of Chromebooks. These have been around for many years now, and while generally very cheap, they've accrued a reputation for being slow and of limited capability. Google's new devices are unlikely to be at the bottom end of the price scale, but the spectre of the Chromebook is going to be hard to exorcise.

We'll know for sure when the first models appear later this autumn.

We got our first look at Alienware's first budget gaming laptop at CES earlier this year, and now, nearly half a year later, the Alienware 15 is here, and you can go buy it over at Dell.com right now.

But before you go rushing off to throw your money at one, there are some things you ought to know about. I'm not necessarily blaming Dell here, but the specifics of this new machine tell you all you need to know about the PC gaming hardware market. In short, it's in real trouble.

For a start, the Alienware 15 is not a new mega value proposition in the same way the new Alienware AW2726DM OLED gaming monitor is. That's a brand new OLED gaming monitor, using a quality Samsung panel that is still very competitive with the current generation of OLED gaming displays, but for an affordable price brand new that you'll only otherwise see from OLEDs on special offer.

That's not the case with the Alienware 15 laptop. This is a brand new gaming laptop that Dell is determined to point out is still sporting the Alienware DNA and build quality, just with some judicious cuts here and there, and a potentially dubious specs sheet.

One thing to note is maybe a little trite, but this looks far more like a Dell Gaming laptop (a brand now seemingly defunct) than anything with the traditional style and aesthetic of an Alienware machine. It sure does look like a corporate slab. But that's not necessarily a terrible thing.

What kinda might be is that it's 2026 and this is a gaming laptop that is launching with an RTX 3050 configuration from the off. Now, that config is not available in every territory—in the US, the bottom rung will be the RTX 4050, and only RTX 5050 and RTX 5060 options are available today—but in the UK, we're treated to the full last-last-gen horrors. It's not even that cheap; the RTX 3050 system is still £979 😱

It's also restricting its GPUs to a total graphics power (TGP) of 85 W, which is going to hold back your new RTX Blackwell graphics chips if you can stretch your wallet that far. Given the impressively thin chassis, that's maybe okay, and the same as the Alienware 16 Aurora machines.

What I struggle with a little more is the way Dell is resolutely going with single channel memory across the board for its new machine. I predicted we'd see more vendors doing this very thing with the RAMpocalypse forcing manufacturers' hands in terms of dealing with ludicrous memory pricing, and lo, it has come to pass.

But it's not just at the bottom end of the configuration scale, because despite having a pair of SODIMM slots in the back of the Alienware 15, the 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB configurations include just one single stick of RAM. Alienware said "we're doing our best to hold to" its pricing in the face of memory volatility, and that meant that "out of the box it was best for us to go with single channel."

Sure, you're getting the same raw capacity, but going with single channel over standard dual channel memory (basically using two discrete sticks) means you are halving your memory bandwidth. I will say, that doesn't make a whole lot of difference in most games—Alienware estimates about a 5% performance hit—but in general use, it does affect what you can do with your system.

None of this would be that painful if it weren't for the price. I will say again, this is not a cheap laptop, even if Dell wants to call this an entry-level Alienware machine. The RTX 4050 version in the US, with an AMD CPU, is going to start at $1,300, and right now, you're looking at $1,500 for the RTX 5050 system with 16 GB single channel memory and a 512 GB SSD. Worse still, you cannot configure an Alienware 15 with an RTX 5060 for less than $2,290, with 32 GB of single channel memory and a 1 TB SSD.

For comparison, you can buy an RTX 5050 version of the Alienware 16 Aurora for $1,200 with 16 GB of dual channel DDR5 memory and a 512 GB SSD. Or, y'know, you could buy an actual budget gaming laptop with an RTX 5050 inside it for $799 instead.

It's not all bad, because the Alienware 15 will be a genuinely good machine, just not a budget option. At least not until the sales really bite into it. The rounded chassis looks good, it has ditched the big bum of the Area-51 machines, and it comes with a full numpad. Dell has also ensured that its 15-inch screen is still a 16:10, 1200p option, not the more traditional 15-inch 16:9 panel.

So, it'll be a quality machine, though it's not really the super-affordable, entry-level Alienware you might have hoped for post-MacBook Neo.

Modular laptop company Framework has some good news and some bad news. The good news is that memory costs from suppliers have reportedly remained steady over the past few months. The bad news is that it's all outta storage and has to buy new stuff at inflated prices.

"We’ve seen memory costs on DDR5 suppliers remain fairly stable over the last few months," Framework says in a regular blog post on the memory crisis. "We consumed the inventory of 8GB that we had brought in earlier at lower cost, and have had to adjust the pricing upwards to reflect the costs of newly sourced modules.

"As we have been through this memory crunch, we are only adjusting the pricing as much as is needed to cover increases in cost. For the other memory capacities, we’ve been able to hold the prices the same as last month."

Unfortunately, this has been countered by an increase in storage costs. The company says it has now nearly fully consumed its older inventory for most capacities and is in the process of buying new stock. Since this new stock is sold at a higher price by suppliers, thanks to the memory crisis and heaps more demand, it's looking to raise costs.

"On SSDs, the pricing story is unfortunately not as positive," Framework says. "Over the last few months, we’ve been able to keep our storage prices pretty substantially below market by selling modules we had in inventory from 2025. We’ve now consumed much of that inventory across a number of different module capacities and are starting to bring in new inventory at costs that are multiples of times higher."

Today, this means prices are a weighted average of both the new and old inventory—so a smaller increase—but Framework says next month it expects to have to increase them by the full margin.

Framework used to sell a DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM kit for $80. This is now $320.

The company is also sourcing SSDs from further afield. It used to rely solely on Sandisk, which makes some of the best SSDs for gaming in our estimations, but it's now buying from Adata and Phison as well. It says these are run through "extensive validation" to ensure they meet performance but there is sure to be some variance between controllers and NAND chips, depending on the models.

You've probably heard or been affected by the memory crisis now: increasing costs for memory and storage as a large quantity of these all-important chips are gobbled into the open maw of AI datacentres. For us gamers, that means higher prices at the checkout as anyone downstream of memory manufacturers wrestles with securing stock and paying more for it.

A 32 GB DDR5 kit can be anywhere from $300-$400 at the moment, marking a huge increase over where they were just six months ago. Then, you could pick up a kit for under $100 and not worry too much about the timings. Though we have also seen a slight levelling off in prices since the explosion at the end of last year: this Corsair Vengeance 32 GB DDR5 kit is pretty spiky and hasn't dropped in price but, similarly, has not increased much beyond the rapid four-fold increase we saw heading into the year. That's not much of a mercy, admittedly.

For memory companies, it's a huge win. Sandisk's share price is currently up 500% since the start of the year. SK hynix's has increased 191%. Micron's has shot up 143%. Unless something drastic happens with AI demand or otherwise reducing memory demand, we may see this continue for a long time. A sorry state of affairs.

The MacBook Neo is an impressive machine in many respects. Beyond the fact that it starts at $599 and makes for a very good productivity laptop (although not so much for gaming), the cheap-but-cheerful machine's popularity appears to have taken even Apple by surprise.

In the Q&A section of the company's recent Q2 2026 earnings call, in which the company reported 17% revenue growth year-over-year, CEO Tim Cook confirmed that the Neo is currently supply-constrained. "We were very bullish on the product before announcing it," said Cook. "But we undercalled the level of enthusiasm."

The outgoing Apple chief highlighted that the device's aim was "focused on getting the Mac to even more people than we were reaching before," which certainly explains the very competitive price tag. "We're very focused on customers new to the Mac and customers that have been holding on to their Mac of a very long period of time."

Beyond regular consumer uptake, Cook said the company was also "seeing school systems like the Kansas City Public Schools" switching from ageing Chromebooks and Windows PCs to the new Neo.

"I'm hearing anecdotally more and more of those kind of stories, both happening at the school system level and at the individual consumer level. And so we could not be happier with how things are going at the moment."

Still, supply constraints appear to be a fly in what is otherwise an excellent-looking ointment for the Cupertino-based giant.

Although reports say the company now aims to produce 10 million units of the affordably-priced machine, Cook's later comments suggest Apple is not entirely immune from the memory crisis affecting the rest of the industry—despite its Unified Memory Architecture tech making the most of smaller RAM amounts.

"In the December quarter, we really had a minimal impact due to memory, and you can kind of see that in the gross margin results," said Cook.

"We said it would be a bit more in the March quarter, and we did see higher memory costs... and they were partially offset by benefits from carry-in inventory that we had," he continued. "For the June quarter... we expect significantly higher memory costs. They are also partly offset by the benefit of carry-in inventory.

"I can tell you that beyond the June quarter, we believe memory costs will drive an increasing impact on our business. And we'll continue to evaluate this," the Apple CEO concluded.

So, despite the very strong financial figures overall and huge demand for its new budget laptop darling, Apple is still managing supply issues like the rest of its competitors. In the meantime, though, it's looking like a bit of a red letter day for the company.

And while it's too early to get the precise sales figures of the newly-launched Neo, they sound like they're going to be very impressive—providing supply can catch up with demand.

Even we've been impressed by Apple's MacBook Neo, and we're called PC Gamer. It's essentially an iPhone 16 Pro wearing a laptop suit, and makes for a pretty tempting lappy when you take into account the lovely chassis design, decent screen, and the fact it starts at $599.

It's a laptop that seems destined to capture the market for those who need a stylish, functional machine for minimal amounts of cash. Reports indicate that Apple has ramped up production to 10 million units in response to strong demand, and new market research suggests it will help propel Apple's position in the laptop space to new heights.

According to Techpowerup, a report from market research firm Sigmaintell projects that Apple is set to become the third-largest laptop vendor by the end of 2026. The company is anticipated to sell roughly 28 million MacBooks this year, which would represent around a five million unit increase over 2025.

That would put Apple ahead of computing giant Dell, and behind Lenovo and HP, with projected sales of 43 million and 36 million units respectively.

With the MacBook Neo now taking care of the lower end of the market, and Apple's higher-end machines filling out the rest of its laptop product stack, the company now looks to be in an enviable position .

And that's before we take into account the company's approach to memory usage. Its Unified Memory Architecture, in which components share the same limited pool of RAM (instead of separate chips for the CPU and GPU), means that its laptops are not as reliant on the memory supply chain as others. In the middle of the RAMpocalypse, Apple's all-in-one approach may well be an ace in the hole.

Plus, the company doesn't need to use providers like AMD, Intel, or Nvidia for its internal hardware needs, which helps to keep its costs low and its output uninterrupted. Time will tell as to whether these projected figures prove out in practice for the Cupertino titan, but it certainly seems to be a rosy outlook as things stand.

As I stared bleary-eyed at my monitor this morning, I noticed a new Game Ready Nvidia driver update in my system tray. Better check the notes, I thought. Ah, it's mostly some optimisations for Conan Exiles Enhanced, a game I'm unlikely to play. Also, further down the page, the announcement of the "GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU 12 GB configuration." Wait, what?

Yep, a previously-leaked 12 GB version of the RTX 5070 mobile GPU has finally been unveiled, albeit with a surprising lack of fanfare. According to Nvidia:

"Demand for GeForce RTX GPUs remains strong, and memory supply is constrained. In order to maximize memory availability, we are releasing the GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU 12 GB configuration with 24 Gb G7 memory."

"This gives our partners access to an additional pool of memory to complement the 16 Gb G7 supply that currently ships with most GeForce GPUs," the company continues. "The 12 GB configuration will exist alongside the current 8 GB configuration, and allows our partners to bring a broader range of GeForce RTX 5070 laptops to consumers."

Fair enough. The new GPU configuration will make use of 3 GB (24 Gbit) GDDR7 modules, as opposed to the 2 GB versions used in the standard 8 GB variant, hence the 12 GB total.

There are two main things to unpack here. One, the use of 3 GB modules means Nvidia can sidestep the current demand for the 2 GB variants and spread out its GDDR7 needs across different module types, hence the "maximise memory availability" quote.

And two, having spent my time recently testing 8 GB vs 16 GB graphics cards, I can tell you that the 12 GB variants have the potential to perform a fair bit better than the 8 GB versions in certain games.

There's no hint from Nvidia of any other changes to the RTX 5070 itself for these mobile-ready chips, so presumably the new modules will be running over the same 128-bit bus as the current version, along with the same shader counts, etc etc. That's speculation, of course, but a straight module swap is where the info points for now.

Still, extra VRAM capacity in some RTX 5070 gaming laptops is a welcome thought, and if it means laptop manufacturers can pump out more machines with Nvidia's mid-tier mobile graphics chip at the helm, that's a pretty good deal, too.

It'll be interesting to see how manufacturers price lappys using the new GPU configuration, though. According to laptop provider XMG, "Under normal market conditions, this new option would also be a viable way to close the price gap."

"However, the current situation makes the assessment more complex," the company continues. "Due to increased graphics memory prices, the 12GB RTX 5070 will approach the price level of the existing RTX 5070 Ti very closely."

Well, it couldn't all be good news, could it? As for desktop cards, the long-rumoured RTX 50-series Super GPUs were said to have increased VRAM figures, too, likely due to the use of 3 GB GDDR7 modules.

However, the scuttlebutt has gone very quiet on that front, so I wouldn't hold your breath just yet. Reports earlier this year suggested that no new RTX graphics cards for gamers would arrive in 2026—although this mobile GPU variant would run contrary to that info.

There's been talk of an RTX 5050 9 GB (be still my beating heart), but that's about where we're at. If a range of Super-variant RTX 50-series desktop cards do break cover, though, I wonder if they too will turn up in a driver update announcement. Something tells me they'd be more of a big deal, but I'll keep an eye on my system tray just in case.

In what's looking to be The Year of Linux (TM) as well as the year of the RAMpocalypse and future market uncertainty, it's perhaps not surprising that some would try to get their hands on a solid, performant, and most importantly modular and upgradeable laptop that plays well with Linux. Though I will admit to still being a little surprised to see that, according to Framework, those who are ordering the new Framework 13 Pro are buying more of the Ubuntu-flavoured version than the Windows ones.

The official Framework account posted on X:

"Framework Laptop 13 Pro is selling far above our forecast, and we've sold out of the first six batches already. Also nice validation of our approach, the Ubuntu configurations are outselling the Windows ones!"

The company describes the Framework 13 Pro as the "MacBook Pro for Linux users", and I can see why. Judging from the specs, it has a great screen that shines at up to 700 nits, has tons of battery life thanks to the Panther Lake chips and 74 Wh battery, and fits everything inside a sleek and premium aluminium chassis.

We've already seen lots of love for the laptop from the Linux community. GloriousEggRoll of Proton GE and Nobara Linux fame, for instance, said he's enjoying it and its "freakishly good battery life." CachyOS, too, posted that "it finally feels like a genuinely premium Framework."

Admittedly, there's likely to be a disproportionate weighting towards Linux lovers to begin with, at least compared to your average laptop, given Framework machines are known to have great out-of-the-box Linux compatibility. It also makes sense that Linux users, who tend to like having more control over their operating system than in Windows, would like the modular and upgradable Framework approach.

Setting aside the weighting towards Linux, that the Framework is apparently selling out in general might also be a little surprising given it's far from a cheap machine. But the market might have something to do with that. With PC, laptop, and component prices being so expensive and the future looking so uncertain, some might want to get in with a purchase as soon as possible, not willing to risk future price hikes or stock issues. We've already seen signs of this with PC purchases, for instance.

And if there were ever a safe bet to get in the world of laptops it would be a Framework machine which you can upgrade once all this shortage malarkey has blown over—in theory, anyway.

As a fan of gaming on the go—whether that be handhelds or yearning for the good old days when my ancient gaming laptop actually worked—I can tell you that the spectre of 'low battery' haunts me. So when modular laptop aficionados Framework announced the Framework 13 Pro earlier this week, touting both its battery life and gaming performance, I was cautiously optimistic.

The hardware team hasn't yet had the pleasure of going hands-on with what's pitched as a "MacBook Pro for Linux users," but the early word on the street is glowing. Red Hat engineer GloriousEggRoll shared on X that Framework sent them a unit to test, and that he's "Happy to report Nobara runs beautifully on it, and Kernel 7 runs great."

You might be familiar with that name if you're already into Linux gaming or use a Steam Deck, because that's the same GloriousEggRoll of Proton GE fame. For those who don't know, Proton GE often helps Steam games run better and more smoothly on Linux than they do using the default Proton versions.

Basically, this is the developer of the most popular unofficial Proton build for gamers, and he's also made the gaming-oriented distro Nobara Linux. In other words, when it comes to gaming on Linux, GloriousEggRoll knows his stuff.

When asked by another X user if he liked it enough to make it his main laptop, the engineer replies that he "already did." For Linux gamers, that's high praise indeed.

This isn't the only satisfied Linux user to date. The official X account for CachyOS, an Arch-based Linux distro, also praised the Framework 13 Pro laptop. Besides highlighting the machine's build quality, they also write that "battery life has been the biggest surprise."

GloriousEggRoll also praised the machine's "freakishly good battery life," but CachyOS goes on to make an astounding claim. The official account shares, "On CachyOS, after some extra tuning with Intel-LPMD, we’ve been getting around two days of normal work out of it—mostly programming, chatting, browser use, and terminal work. That’s honestly incredible."

'Incredible' is the word if these assessments are correct, though again I should reiterate that the Framework Pro 13's gaming endurance remains to be tested by us on the hardware team.

CachyOS shares that its own hardware humans "now reach for this over [the] MacBook Air for mobile work," before going on to conclude, "for the first time it really feels like Framework has combined its repairability and upgradeability with a properly premium experience."

While us mere Earth-dwellers are stuck in the middle of the RAMpocalypse, those bourgeoise folks up on the International Space Station have no such worries. The current crew are reviewing plans to replace network servers on the gigantic floating tin can—and discussing when they can activate their new laptops.

And what magnificent machines they appear to be (via The Verge). The crew's new computers are custom HP ZBook G9 Fury models, and they've got specs sheets that would make many modern gaming rigs weep.

With Intel Core Ultra 9 processors and Nvidia RTX Pro Blackwell mobile GPUs nestled inside, the new HP machines [PDF] certainly have processing and graphics needs covered—along with a serious dose of AI crunching power. Each also comes with 128 GB worth of DDR5 ECC SODIMM memory, and "multiple NVMe SSDs." Must be nice.

Actually, ECC memory is more of a requirement than a luxury. ECC stands for Error-Correcting Code, and memory modules with such a system are used to ensure data integrity within machines operating in high-stakes scenarios.

On Earth, they might be used for crucial servers in a data center setup, or within certain industrial systems. In space, they're used because... well, you're in space. Data is kind of the reason we're going in the first place, and NASA loves a dose of extra redundancy.

Do the astronauts really need that much of it, though? I only ask because we're sort of struggling down here on terra firma. Oh they do. Never mind. Forget about it. Important space stuff, I understand.

HP says that its new machines have also undergone extensive battery and radiation testing, including "bombardment with neutrons in specialised radiation chambers." I'd imagine that isn't on the list of tests for most of our best gaming laptop picks, but I'm prepared to be surprised.

Even the glass of the LCD screens has had a thorough going over, as broken glass in zero gravity can leads to some very unfortunate results.

The HP mega lappys have received the NASA seal of approval, and are deemed fit for the challenge of operating in one of the most unorthodox environments you could possibly think of. The first batch of laptops were launched back in October, and they should be coming online sometime soon.

Once they're up and running, may I suggest a quick game of Kerbal Space Program, just as an extra testing procedure? It'd be rude not to, given the circumstances—and someone's got to be the first to try it out in zero G.

From the initial internal desire to build the "MacBook Pro for Linux users" Framework has created something that truly feels like a next generation version of its 13-inch notebook. The new Framework 13 Pro looks like the culmination of six years of regular releases from one of the most considered manufacturers in the space.

But while it is using a whole new a chassis—for the first time fully machined out of extruded blocks of aluminium—and comes with a brand new Panther Lake mainboard, uses a whole new kind of memory module, has a bigger battery, a fully-custom display, and a brand new haptic trackpad, Framework hasn't departed from its original long-term, repairability focused ethos.

Every single one of the new elements is backwards compatible with every Framework 13 laptop that has come before it. You could be sitting on an old 11th Gen Tiger Lake machine from four or five years ago, and simply pick up the new Panther Lake mainboard, with its LPCAMM2 memory modules and PCIe Gen5 SSD support, and have an incredible laptop upgrade that will take just 15 minutes and one screwdriver.

Or maybe you're happy with your current machine and just want that shiny new 700 nit screen. I've personally swapped out a Framework 13 screen in maybe five minutes in the past, and this promises to be just as straightforward to do.

I'll admit when I first saw it was making the 13 Pro I thought we would be looking at the first departure from the original Framework 13 laptop in terms of design compatibility.

"Even while overhauling the entire product," Framework notes in a blog post shared with us covering today's Next-Gen event, "we focused on cross-generation compatibility.

"The new Mainboard and Display Kit follow the same form factors and interfaces as our earlier generations, which means you can drop them directly into your existing system. We have the new chassis parts available in a Silver anodization option as well, and you can pick up a Bottom Cover Upgrade Kit that includes the new battery, new Input Cover Kit with haptic touchpad, or even an entire new Chassis to get every one of the improvements."

The core of the new Framework 13 Pro is based around "a massive leap in battery life". Much of that is down to the efficiency of Intel's new Panther Lake architecture, but there's also a larger 74 Wh battery (up from 61 Wh), that new power-optimised display, and LPCAMM2 memory to factor in, too.

The use of Micon-made LPCAMM2 is interesting, especially at a time when memory prices are at a premium, and I can't believe it's cheaper than standard SODIMMs right now. But Framework is going to offer 16, 32, and 64 GB modules from the Marketplace to support it. Just figure out which of your kidneys you can do without.

I'm a PC gamer, so the fact that Framework is offering the Core Ultra 5 as well as the Core Ultra X7 and Core Ultra X9 chips inside the new mainboards is big news for me. The X7 and X9 both get the 12 Xe core B390 integrated GPU, which absolutely slays when it comes to games. That means you're getting close to entry-level discrete GPU performance out of it.

To be able to run those chips for a long time, however, the bigger battery isn't just so in terms of capacity, it's physically larger, too. That means the bottom cover of the Framework 13 Pro has been redesigned to house the larger cells, making the 13 Pro just that little bit thicker at the front edge. That also means if you want the bigger battery for your standard Framework 13 you'll need the expanded housing. Luckily that all comes as a kit from the Marketplace.

The biggest weakness of all the Framework laptops I've used has been the screen. Even the updated 120 Hz version and the 16-inch panel share the same slightly ghosty experience in use. The new touchscreen panel being introduced with the 13 Pro is the first time Framework is bringing a totally custom panel to its devices, and I'm hoping that means it will have been able to clean that experience up.

The core specs sound great, with a 2880 x 1920, 3:2 resolution, 1800:1 contrast ratio, 30–120 Hz VRR, and the capability to go up to a full 700 nits in terms of brightness. We don't have any response time figures, so we'll have to see how it runs when review units turn up later in the summer.

But it's not just the components that have changed, Framework has also introduced a new haptic trackpad. "Touchpad feel is an area where Windows and Linux laptops have historically fallen behind Macs," says Framework, "so this is where we’re putting a lot of our focus across our mechanical, electrical, and firmware teams to deliver the best experience possible."

The first shipments of the Framework 13 Pro will be going out in June this year, with prices starting at $1,199 for the DIY edition and $1,499 for the full pre-built config.

If that were all Framework was going to announce today I would be happy. The new black chassis looks great and makes those colourful I/O modules really pop, and I am incredibly excited to see both the gaming performance and battery life of this tiny wonder.

But that isn't everything; it's also revealed a new wireless touchpad keyboard, updates to the Framework 16 and a new OCuLink Dev Kit to allow you to add desktop GPUs to an eight-lane OCuLink PCIe interface to its big boi 16-inch laptop.

The Framework 13 Pro and Wireless Touchpad Keyboard aren't the only new techie toys coming out of the Next-Gen event today, Framework is also working on upgrades for the Framework 16. And specifically one that will allow you to connect a full desktop GPU to the rear of the big boi laptop.

The key feature of the Framework 16 laptop is its large Expansion Bay on the rear. This is what allows you to plumb a full discrete mobile GPU into the machine via the Graphics Module and realise the dream of genuinely upgradeable graphics cards for gaming laptops. Well, up to a point anyway. So far we've had only two discrete GPUs available for the Framework 16—the Radeon RX 7700S and the GeForce RTX 5070—but it at least delivers on the premise better than the failed Alienware idea.

But the new OCuLink Dev Kit means that you'll now be able to connect an eGPU to the rear of the device, or even fully fledged desktop graphics cards plumbed in via an eight-lane PCIe connection enabled by the OCuLink interface. This upgrade provides 128 Gbps of bidirectional throughput across the link.

And it comes in three distinct parts. At the heart is the OCuLink Adapter Board that goes into the Framework 16's Expansion Bay Shell and exposes the PCIe interface via a connection on the rear of the laptop. Then Framework has developed a dock designed to house the discrete mobile GPU that would otherwise be installed inside the Framework 16 so that it can be housed externally on the desktop and connected via OCuLink.

For me, that's the least interesting bit, after all, I'd rather either have that mobile GPU installed or not at all.

The third part, however, has me sold. The PCIe OCuLink Dock is a wee board that allows you to take a normal desktop graphics card, pair it with a PSU to power it, and plug it directly into the laptop for a pretty minor performance hit. Certainly less than you will traditionally see with Thunderbolt or USB4, anyways.

Sure, it has a jury-rigged look to it, but that sort of science lab feel kinda works for me. I'll take having my big ol' graphics card floating about on the desktop if I can get that performance into my laptop from a single plug.

Though it is a dev kit and is actually designed so that Framework is just giving you the core electrical components; you supply the PSU, GPU, and surrounds to stop it looking so ludicrous.

It's not often that I write about a refresh of a vendor's gaming laptop portfolio, and it's simply because there's rarely anything new to report. A slightly better screen here, a mildly faster processor over there: small changes are pretty much par for the course. But in an announcement for its new Raider and Crosshair models, MSI has targeted the thing that I dislike most about gaming laptops: how noisy their fans are.

"Performance has always been the hallmark of MSI gaming laptops, and that remains true with the all-new Raider and Crosshair", begins Derek Chen, vice president of laptop sales and marketing. "Beyond delivering stronger performance, we have also optimized thermals and fan acoustics across all models, ensuring a quieter and more comfortable experience even under load."

That alone is nothing to get excited over, but don't worry, MSI does explain exactly what it's done differently to get a handle on fan noise. Well, for the Raider model, at least.

"To ensure the Raider keeps fan noise below 50 dBA even during gaming, MSI’s R&D team redesigned the motherboard to a more compact layout, creating space for larger fans inside the chassis. With bigger fans, the system can maintain strong airflow at lower RPMs—effectively reducing overall fan noise.

"In addition, MSI further optimized the laptop’s fan curve, allowing fan speeds to scale smoothly and consistently with system load. This prevents unnecessary RPM spikes during light workloads, eliminating sudden and distracting noise for a quieter, more refined experience."

That does sound encouraging, and even if it's only half as effective as MSI claims it to be, the fresh design should go a long way into giving my, and every other laptop gamer's, ears some blessed relief.

And it's not the only thing that MSI has addressed: "The reduced motherboard size also allows for a slimmer chassis depth, making the Raider easier to fit into standard 16-inch laptop backpacks and more convenient to carry on the go."

Well, huzzah and huzzah again, because MSI's full-on gaming laptops have always had a bit of a problem with chonk. The new Crosshair is also slimmer than before, and if we're really getting the changes MSI's laptops have been crying out for—better portability and decreased fan noise—without any reduction in performance, then we could see some genuine contenders for the top slot in our guide to the best gaming laptop.

If you mosey on over to Microsoft's Surface store, you might spot something a little alarming, but not in the least bit surprising. Yes, that's right: the prices for every model have increased, with some variants now starting at $500 more than they did at launch. And if you want to point the finger of blame at something, you can join Microsoft in gesticulating wildly at the global memory supply crisis.

The hefty price hikes were spotted by our chums over at Windows Central, and if you're a fan of Microsoft's laptops and tablets, it won't make for pleasant viewing. How about a starting price of $1,500 bar a cent for the base 13-inch Surface Pro, with 16 GB of memory and a 512 GB SSD? Err, no thank you.

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with my 11-inch Surface, which I use exclusively for work trips. It's very compact and lightweight, making it perfect for stuffing into a carry-on bag when flying. It's also rather slow, a tad prone to overheating, and has a battery life that's underwhelming, if I'm being generous.

The closest current-generation Surface laptop that I could replace it with, should I feel the urge, is a 12-inch model, powered by an eight-core Snapdragon X processor. It has 16 GB of memory and a 256 GB, which is better than what I have to use at the moment, but Microsoft wants me to hand over $1,150. That's around $250 more than at launch.

It's also nearly double the price of the base Apple MacBook Neo. Sure, that only has 8 GB of memory, and it's basically an iPhone stuffed inside a laptop shell, but for doing simple work on the go, I know where my money would be going.

Now, we all know why this has happened, because tech news is pretty much all directly related to it: the global supply shortage of DRAM and flash memory, caused by the insatiable appetite (and copious wallet) of the AI industry. There are relatively few sectors unaffected by this in the PC market right now, and while it has taken a few months for computer vendors to ramp up their prices, we've only just started to see the hikes take hold.

Give it another six to eight months, and it's likely to be even worse. Some vendors may well find themselves priced right out of the market. Even Microsoft, with all its money and gravitas, can't escape the fact that there simply aren't enough memory and storage chips going around, and they're being priced accordingly.

It is perhaps rather ironic that Microsoft itself has played a role in all of this, because it's been at the forefront of the rise in generative AI, and has banged that drum hard for well over a year. It's also spent billions of dollars on data centers and AI accelerators, to push Copilot into every nook and crevice of Microsoft's portfolio.

Under different circumstances, I could be pushed to smile wryly if all of this resulted in the collapse of the Surface. But instead, I'm just feeling an ever-increasing sense of gloom that the entire PC industry seems hell-bent on self-destruction, all because a handful of tech giants can see nothing but the dollar signs that AI is waving in front of them.

It's fair to say that Apple's new MacBook Neo has given the Windows-based laptop market something to think about. Powered by the same chip used in the iPhone 16, the $599 computer has reportedly been selling very well. That's despite it only having 512 GB as the best storage option. But if you're as handy as one YouTuber is at electronics work, doubling that amount is a distinct possibility.

The 'tuber in question is dosdude1, and their latest video is pretty simple in premise: take the base Neo model, with 256 GB of storage, yoink out the original NAND flash chip, and stick a beefy 1 TB module in there.

Dosdude1 begins by checking that the new flash chip is completely blank, using a dedicated device and piece of software, before kitting it out with a full array of solder balls. None of what I've just described is a trivial task, even if one has all of the necessary equipment, but it's certainly a lot easier to do than the next stage.

Like many low-cost laptops, the MacBook Neo uses a single, soldered NAND flash chip to store data. Normally, removing such chips is quite easy: You simply heat the component to the point that the solder balls melt and gently prise the chip away from the circuit board. However, in this instance, the flash chip is surrounded by lots of surface-mounted devices (SMDs) and the underside is jammed with 'underfill'.

Not that this seems to deter dosdude1 in any way, but with judicious shimmying with a tool, and plenty of heat, the original flash chip comes off with nary an issue (though one SMD had to be removed first, to allow for the tool to get into the underfill).

Interestingly, the mounting area on the circuit board has more pads than the flash chip does, so it's possible Apple designed the Neo to use a physically larger flash device to have bigger storage options. Given how expensive SSDs have become, it was probably dropped due to cost reasons.

Anyway, the old chip gets swapped for the new one in a matter of moments, and then it's time for the final stage: Getting the Neo to run in DFU mode, and then use another Apple device to transfer the operating system and other files to the 1 TB drive. Dosdude1 has clearly done this many times before, because the whole process seemed to run without a hitch.

And voila! They're now the proud owner of a 1 TB MacBook Neo. The only question I have about all of this concerns the fiscal element. The 512 GB Neo costs $699—$100 more for double the storage—so if you already have the electronic gubbins and expertise required to do the flash lobotomy, it would seem to be a very sensible thing to do if you could get a 1 TB flash module for less than $200.

Alas, a quick browse of Ali Express suggests that such chips are more expensive than that, but I'm sure a savvy electronics shopper could get one for less. Apple demands around $200 more for a 1 TB 13-inch MacBook Air than the base 512 GB model, and the same price gap on the Neo could make it look like a rather poor option.

Then again, you've got little chance of picking up a 1 TB gaming laptop for $899, so perhaps not. Looks like dosdude1 knew exactly what they were doing.

Apple's new MacBook Neo is reportedly selling so well that the company may soon run out of A18 Pro chips to stick in it. Which has got me thinking: Why can't we have more similarly simple but appealing and affordable PC gaming devices? Ya know, like the Steam Deck?

Tim Culpan, a tech journalist based in Taipei, Taiwan, says his sources are telling him that sales of the MacBook Neo have surpassed Apple's expectations to the point of creating a "massive dilemma."

That dilemma is centred on the A18 Pro chip at the heart of the Neo. Famously, it's basically just an iPhone chip. But Cuplan's basic contention is that Apple had only planned to make so many MacBook Neo, which was intended to essentially be built using leftover A18 Pros.

Apparently, the plan was to sell around five to six million units. In the medium term, Apple intended to switch the Neo to the newer A19 chip. The problem, as Culpan has it, is that the Neo is selling so fast, stockpiles of the A18 Pro will run out before the new A19-based Neo is due to launch.

That puts Apple in a tricky position of deciding whether to commission TSMC to spool up more A18 Pro wafers, which would be much more expensive than the original batch of chips. Partly, Culpan says, that's because the A18 Pro chips in the Neo are binned down to five GPU cores from the six actually in the die, and many would otherwise have been thrown away, making them effectively free.

Whatever, there are two or three interesting-ish issues to ponder here. First, the MacBook Neo proves that even in this weirded-out tech market, you can have a smash hit at the budget end of the market if you get the product right.

The second is how the Neo makes the gaming PC market look rather obsessed with performance and specs. For me, one of the most appealing PCs of recent years has been the Steam Deck.

It's a polished but unpretentious and price-conscious PC gaming device, and we need more of them. That's why I've found the broader PC handheld market a bit disappointing. There are too many premium-priced models that are so expensive, all they're really good for is making gaming laptops look like good value. And that takes some doing in the current climate.

All of this also feeds into the gaming console sector, which seems to be in a state of acute stress, with Xbox's very existence in question and Sony seemingly pushing the PlayStation ever more upmarket.

There, too, the appeal of a simpler and more affordable device seems pretty obvious. The sector probably needs more Switch 2s, not a move further up market.

Anywho, maybe one of the big boys in the PC gaming industry could come up with something. Nvidia could easily do it in technical terms, and of course, has its own PC chip coming out soon. But if Nvidia was ever about making gaming more mainstream, it's hard to see evidence for that in recent years.

I think a lesser-known brand would struggle to get traction with such a device, so what this all comes down to is probably predictable enough. I'm going to have to make do with the Deck for now and wait for Deck 2, whenever that arrives, or see how low Valve can go with the Steam Machine, all the while the memory crisis makes everything so much more expensive. I can't see any other company making an impact.

There's been a decent level of buzz around Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite chip for a while now. That's for good reason. It popped up on Geekbench last month, beating its x86 laptop competition by over 30% in single-core performance, and early tests beat out AMD, Intel, and Apple in power. Now we've finally seen it tested by someone other than Qualcomm, and the results are positive, though largely just with similar showings to what Intel and AMD are offering.

Our friends over at Tom's Hardware are among the most critical, though much of that critique lies at the feet of Asus for the build quality and software of the Zenbook A16. For gaming, they say the X2 Elite Extreme is impressive on paper, with 3DMark Steel Nomad scores higher than the M5 MacBook Air and Intel Core Ultra 7 355 Dell XPS 14, but less than the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H Acer Swift.

Tom's Hardware reports struggling to even open Resident Evil Requiem, which they chalk up to Microsoft's Prism emulation.

This is a common complaint. Not all PC games are supported on Arm (though it seems like Arm is finally getting in the arena to take on x86), with Engadget noting Arc Raiders also wouldn't open. Engadget does, however, say that it got up to 80 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 on medium settings in 1080 with the help of FSR frame generation.

In their review, Hardware Canucks has put the chip through its paces in Baldur's Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Rainbow Six Siege X and more. They get average FPS figures around 60 in Cyberpunk 2077, which is around 10 less than the Ultra X9 388H and X7 258H, but higher than Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and Intel Ultra 9 288V. In Baldur's Gate 3, it about matches the Panther Lake chips, blowing past Lunar Lake and AMD's chips (though the M5 MacBook Air beats everyone here).

Hardware Canucks says: "When everything from software to game optimisation aligns just right, the X2 Elite series hits frame rates that place them somewhere between the 288V, HX370, and Ultra X7 Series."

Yet, they note the X2 Elite performs significantly worse in the likes of Dota 2, with "a huge variation between averages and 1% lows, which leads to very, very inconsistent on-screen motion."

Hardware Canucks finishes off its analysis of gaming on X2 Elite, saying, "in many ways, it just feels like the best is yet to come for Qualcomm's Snapdragon series and gaming."

Reviewers seem split on whether the 10-12 hours of battery life is good enough, with Tech Spurt calling it fantastic and Stuff noting it as better than the M5 MacBook Air, whilst Tom's Hardware says, in its testing, the Snapdragon X2 Elite doesn't quite match its competition.

One thing is certainly clear from reviews: Its CPU is a beast. PC Mag registers a standout score in Cinebench (only being beaten by the Ryzen AI Max + Pro 395) and placing at the top of the pile in Geekbench Pro 6. Hardware Canucks testing put it well above Panther Lake, Lunar Lake, and the M5 MacBook Air in Cinebench multithread testing and second place behind the M5 MacBook Air in single-thread testing.

Windows Central argues that the X2 Elite-equipped Zenbook A16 "showcases all the terrific advancements of Windows on Arm64", and the laptop does make a strong argument for this.

All things considered, the Snapdragon X2 Elite has had a strong first outing, with great performance, though Arm still doesn't seem ready to replace my gaming rig. That being said, I don't know if we're that far off from that either. These next few years will be really important for Arm with the Steam Frame helping bring SteamOS to Arm, and a certain green team all set to release a consumer-facing mobile Arm chip.

I am not a prepper per se. But I certainly have prepper sympathies. Maybe the sort where, if I thought I could get it past my partner, I could see myself spending many thousands digging out a bunker in the back garden and filling it with canned goods and a year's supply of drinking water, fuel, and toilet roll. And a toilet. Of course.

But I am also a damned computer nerd, so when I saw Project NOMAD pop up I knew I had to get in on it. Project NOMAD (Node for Offline Media, Archives, and Data) is an entirely offline repository of knowledge, giving you access to a vast library of otherwise net-based goodness without any network availability necessary.

Y'know, just in case the grid goes down for reasons.

These sorts of collections have been doing the rounds on different reddits and forums for a while, but the thing which really sings to me and my nerdy sensibilities is the fact that it's an easy one-shot install that lives locally on your system, and has a straightforward front end you can access via a localhost URL on any browser, whether you're connected to the net or not.

It also sings to me because it's free, where other prepper-facing repos can cost hundreds of dollars for the privilege. I also like the fact it is unashamedly high-end. It's not designed to run on a low-end machine, it's built for precisely the sort of system I'm running it on; a high-end gaming laptop.

And I am also into it because it includes AI. Now, no eye-rolling at the back. Hey, those cries of 'of course it does' are not helpful. But the AI actually is.

The thing with Project NOMAD is that it's been designed to give the user the chance to download a knowledge repository to their own devices, and that can range from a few texts, to a swathe of Project Gutenberg books, medical guides, and the entirety of Wikipedia. Parsing that much knowledge is not easy, especially if you're looking for something very specific, but packaging a local LLM (or multiples if you want to download different models) allows you to use the knowledge base it sets up—as well as add other documents to that knowledge base yourself—and then use the LLM to query it.

But it's not just about having an offline internet of data at your disposal when the WWIII comes home to roost, it gives you the chance to learn in a more structured way, too. By including an education platform, powered by Kolibri—a deliberately offline-first learning platform. You'll need to import your channels online first, but once you've downloaded the entire curriculum you can set up your own little post-apocalyptic school.

Now, I know that I'm still going to need some power source to keep the battery on my Blade 14 rolling, but some good solar panels (if you can still see the sun) or a wee generator would do the job. And I've already queried my NOMAD about how to build my own gasifier already so I can easily generate my own fuel for it.

I've gone big with my install and so, even before downloading the entire US curriculum Khan channel, I've got a setup that's around 500 GB in size. Though that is the entirety of Wikipedia and a ton of survivalist and medical text, too. As well as a detailed Google Maps-esque download covering the entire of the UK. Though I did have to go to Open Labs to download that specific pmtiles file myself as Project NOMAD only gives you the option to download US regions during the setup process.

It does have a tendency to jealously hoard resources like some Capital Wastelander, especially if you have an LLM installed, and it will run automatically when you boot up your machine unless you explicitly tell it not to. Right now, I've got a few Chrome tabs open and the Project NOMAD Command Center open, and it's yomming 12 GB of the 32 GB available to my system.

It also has to be installed on Linux, too. Oh, did I not mention that? Yes, the whole project needs to be installed on a Debian-based Distro, ideally Ubuntu. I've got it running on my PopOS install after a little messing around with Docker, but there's no hope for you if you're running Windows.

Well, if you're persisting with trying to run Windows after the apocalypse then there's really no hope for you anyways, amirite?

But now I, a Linux-user and prepper sympathiser, will be able to continue to read episode breakdowns of old seasons of Survivor on Wikipedia in case I forget who won the immunity challenge in one vital episode of the Cook Islands season. I will also still be able to read The Complete Book of Cheese (with such wonderful passages of prose as, "connoisseurs use gingerbread as a mouth-freshener; and I, too, that sunny day among the Edams, kept my gingerbread handy") and watch videos from The Urban Prepper about the vital 72 hour water supply.

And all because I have loaded a laptop up with a healthy dollop of the interweb tubes.

Now, I just need to figure out how to keep Steam running offline for time immemorial...

Hardware Canucks has tested the latest Dell XPS 14 laptop with a Panther Lake Core Ultra 7 355 chip at its heart, and the battery life appears to be nothing short of astonishing. The channel recorded a 43-hour+ result when performing a Chrome web browsing test, beating out the latest MacBook Air 15 by roughly 28 hours.

Hardware Canucks attributes the result to a combination of the laptop's variable refresh rate display and a high-density 70 Wh battery. The MacBook has a more conventional 66 Wh unit, along with a more standard-spec display. Given the power efficiency of Intel's latest mobile efforts, I'd say the chip itself would likely have a large part to play as well.

In the YouTube video playback test, the Dell machine also managed to pull massively ahead of its Apple competitor. The XPS 14 delivered 20 hour, 21 minutes worth of video playback, while the MacBook 15 Air managed a still-impressive 14 hour and two minute score.

In the gaming test, however, the MacBook Air 15 managed to gain a significant lead with a four hour and ten minute maximum, compared to the Dell's two hour 38 minute battery life. That's a shame, especially as the Core Ultra 355 has the standard Intel Graphics iGPU, and not the surprisingly-punchy Arc B390.

From my own Panther Lake battery life testing with that particular iGPU, I can say that it feels pretty revolutionary to be playing games on the train at high frame rates without being plugged into the wall or worrying too much about the remaining charge. What can I say, I'm used to traditional gaming laptop battery life, which is usually far from impressive.

Even having had some personal experience with a PTL laptop, though (albeit one with a more powerful, top-of-the-line chip under the hood), I wouldn't have predicted a browsing battery life result for the lesser-chipped version of nearly two days.

It looks like the variable refresh rate display really is doing some heavy lifting here, alongside the efficiency gains of Intel's new silicon. What's next, gaming headsets that last for weeks? Oh yeah. We've been there for a while already. Never mind.

Although it's not designed for it, the MacBook Neo user might naturally wonder: Is there a way to crank even more performance out of the laptop for gaming? To that end, tech YouTubers Jakkuh and Zip Tie Tech are here to help. Happy birthday, Apple.

After noticing the cheap and cheerful Apple MacBook's GPU tends to run at 105 °C "under basically any load", Jakkuh enlisted tech YouTuber Zip Tie Tech to help him set up some water cooling with the Neo.

One reason the Apple MacBook Neo has garnered so much attention, even from non-Apple folk, is undoubtedly because the PC market is so expensive right now. At just $599, the Neo is a bit of a breath of fresh air considering the usual price for Apple laptops. However, it's not got the best specs, and while it does run standard MacOS apps very well, and our Ian's review shows that it's not the worst at gaming, it's certainly far from being the best.

By default, the laptop only has what looks like a thin graphene pad to keep its six-core A18 Pro cool. Before getting things set up for the full water-cooled solution, the duo swapped out this thin pad with a spare M.2 thermal pad. The results were already impressive with just that change, moving from a 1257 to a 1430 score in 3DMark Solar Bay Extreme (14% higher).

The solution they ultimately end up cooking up involves a copper plate and acrylic water block sitting on top of the chip, with tubing connecting things up to a smart home plant watering pump and a Hayden Automotive 1011 power steering oil cooler that's designed for, umm, a steering wheel.

To start with, though, the waters were tested (pun intended) with a 3D printed plate rather than a copper one, which was then fitted to a 3D printed water block, later to be replaced with an acrylic one. The latter required some complicated and expensive measuring and CNC milling to replicate the 3D print design. This was not just to make the overall design and the holes, but even the threads for the holes, which is obviously a very precise and intricate task.

The CNC mill was also used to fashion the copper plate, including some fins: "We don't even need fins, but we're gonna make them anyway... We're gonna try." After thinning down the wrong bit because it wasn't making proper contact with the processor, the rest had to be thinned, too, and thankfully, "minty contact" was eventually achieved.

I'd probably not be too intimidated by the thought of setting stuff up in software and getting it machining, but there's also tons of finicky stuff you have to actually use your steady hands for. Including making a custom o-ring to fit between the plate and the block.

Then, of course, there are the last big pieces of the puzzle: hooking the plate-block combo up with tubes for the semi-custom loop (a water block to tube to power steering cooler).

The two DIY-ers then milled a hole in the MacBook Neo's chassis backplate for the water block to fit through. Finally, thermal paste was lathered on the processor, and after a little more filing to get the backplate cut-out to the correct size, it was all put together. This obviously added some significant thickness to the Neo, meaning a (3D printed) laptop stand was required.

The final touch was getting it set up with the tilted laptop stand, fitting the pump to one side of it and the water block to the back of the Neo's display. After some more fiddling with the tubing, the water cooling setup finally worked, though it did make the weight distribution of the laptop a little unbalanced, even on the counter-tilted stand.

Difficult though it may have been and cumbersome though the final product may be to hold and use, the results are impressive. The first benchmark result shown scores 1938 for the water-cooled MacBook Neo, which beats the base Neo's 1567, the thermal-padded Neo's 1819, and even the MacBook Air M1's 1836.

Well, on a multi-core Cinebench test, that is. 3DMark Solar Bay Extreme, on the other hand, showed a rise to 1450 from 1257 (base) and 1430 (thermal padded), setting a new world record for the A18 Pro's GPU in the process.

Still, none of this is likely to make it a very good gaming machine. For one, you're still only dealing with 8 GB of memory, and that's unified, meaning it's shared between both CPU and GPU.

And despite it beating some x86 chips in some respects (in single-core performance on its two P-cores), the laptop's A18 Pro is still just a phone chip that's running desktop apps. Not to mention the obvious limitations of the MacOS system for game compatibility, which might have improved a lot, but still isn't ideal.

Hello and welcome to another great installment of ‘why would you want to game on that?' where I try to play PC games on something that's not really designed for it. This time, it's the MacBook Neo, Apple's low-cost ($599/£599) laptop that runs on the processor from an iPhone 16 Pro. As such, it has six cores, only two of which are ‘performance' cores, as well as a five-core GPU and just 8 GB of RAM.

All of that sounds like we're going to be in for a poor gaming experience here, and if you're expecting 4K and ray-tracing you're out of luck. However, it's possible to get a lot of games to run on this little machine, and surprisingly successfully too. Not only does it run a selection of titles from Steam, but there are games all over Apple's App Store, and it will run iPad and iPhone games too.

On the outside, the MacBook Neo looks like a standard compact laptop: the one I've got here is bright metallic green—called ‘Citrus'—but there's a nice 'Indigo', a pinky ‘Blush', and plain old silver available too. It has a 60 Hz, LED-backlit, IPS screen and a battery that will last all day.

But the thing that's going to attract most people to the Neo is its price. Apple gear has a reputation for being expensive, and this is just... not. It's true that there aren't a lot of upgrades available: you can double the SSD capacity to 512 GB, which also nets you the fingerprint reader that's missing from the base model, but that's your lot. There's no way you're expanding the RAM capacity on this laptop, and as 8 GB is starting to look tight for dedicated VRAM, having that much as a unified pool is going to be a problem once you want to run more than just a web browser.

Elsewhere, the system's roots in a smartphone make themselves apparent when you look at the ports on the side of the laptop. The iPhone 16 Pro had a single 10 Gbps USB-C port, and that's present here too, joined by a USB 2.0 companion. Both ports can be used for charging, and the USB 3.2 is also a video output, so it's easy to see the Neo spending its life with a charger in the slow port and a USB hub in the faster one. There's no way to tell the ports apart before you've learned which is which, and even after that you'll probably still mix them up, but the OS is clever enough to flash up a warning if you plug a USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt accessory into the wrong port.

The SSD is another obvious bottleneck for the Neo. A 256 GB drive just isn't enough these days, and if you've already got it stuffed with productivity apps and streaming downloads, there's not much room left for games unless you invest in one of the best external SSDs. You're only looking at read speeds of 1,547 MB/s from the drive too, which is PCIe 2.0 speed. The iPhone 16 used a custom NVMe controller rather than UFS for its storage, so the Neo might be running the same thing here. And one final gripe: there's no backlight on the keyboard.

How does it do in benchmarks? It's not great, but it can run them. Wild Life Extreme is 3D Mark's cross-platform graphics workout for phones and notebook PCs, and the Neo ran it at 23.3 fps. Things were looking good for the little laptop until I pulled out Steel Nomad, a much more demanding test. This saw the framerate drop to just 3.7 fps, though the benchmark software still told me this was ‘good'. You can get 90 fps out of Steel Nomad with the right RTX 5080 system, at which point it runs out of superlatives to tell you how amazing your PC is.

On to the games. Cyberpunk 2077 is a great benchmark, and the MacBook Neo can play it at 30 fps! The downside is that to get this, you need to dip below Steam Deck settings, using the Low graphics profile, with the resolution at 720p, and with MetalFX upscaling in performance mode. That's not great, and looks a little soft thanks to all the upscaling going on, but at least it is technically playable.

Over in our old friend, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, medium settings are the order of the day. To get to 30 fps you need to reduce the resolution slider to 75% and turn on FidelityFX CAS, but the game plays in 900p and for a title that's approaching ten years old looks pretty good.

It's then that I hit a little bit of a problem. I really wanted to benchmark a Total War game, and while they install quite happily from Steam, both Warhammer III and Three Kingdoms do the same thing when they launch, which is nothing. The app seems to run, but no actual game appears beyond the launcher window. This is most odd, as the latest MacBook Pro can happily play Warhammer III at 50 fps.

Casting around for something else to test, my eye falls on Civilization VI, another ten-year-old title. At 800p, the Neo can squeeze 50 fps out of this game, which isn't bad but it's hardly a graphical colossus. Just for funsies, I installed the same game on an AMD Ryzen 5 7530U mini-PC that also costs £599 (though you'll have to spring for a monitor and keyboard as well), and ran it using DirectX 12 at 820p, where it produced 34 fps. That's got to be a big win for the Neo.

So is the MacBook Neo a serious gaming device? Hell no. Is it good enough for a few rounds of Civ in between typing sessions and video conferences? Yup. The fact that this 13-incher is built to Apple's usual high standards, provides decent if decidedly low-end performance (its single-core score in Geekbench 6 is higher than that of some Ultra 9 chips, however)—and costs just $599/£599, remember—could well put the wind up some PC manufacturers.

Hopefully we'll see a spate of copycats that use the stronger integrated graphics solutions we're starting to see to make a generation of low-cost laptops that you really can play games on. Wouldn't that be nice?

We've already reported how Apple's new MacBook Neo is putting the frighteners on PC laptop makers. Now comes news that early benchmarks show the chip beating every single x86 CPU currently available when it comes to single-core performance in Cinebench 2024. Yep, that includes desktop monsters like AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X and Intel's Core Ultra 9 285HX.

Notebookcheck ran the new budget laptop, which goes for $599 full retail or $499 with an education discount, through its paces. With a score of 147 points in the Cinebench 2024 rendering test, it beats every x86 out there and is only bested by other Apple CPUs.

For the record, Notebookcheck puts the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X at 139 points and the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX on 135 points. Incredible for a phone chip? Yup. But arguably not surprising.

That's because the A18 Pro iPhone chip used in the MacBook Neo is closely related to the Apple M4 used in various Mac computers. In short, it has the same Performance and Efficiency cores as the M4, just fewer of them with a lower power budget and clock speeds.

Where the basic M4 has four P and six E cores, the A18 Pro has just two P cores and four E cores. But, again, they're the same cores. So, that iPhone chip has the same single-thread IPC or instructions-per-clock capability as any M4 chip.

Officially, the A18 Pro's P cores max out at 4.04 GHz, while the basic M4 can hit 4.46 GHz on its P cores, the Pro and Max Variants very slightly more. For what it's worth, the newer M5 chip is another animal again, and hits 200 points in Notebookcheck's Cinebench 2024 testing.

While one could dismiss this as just one benchmark, given that the A18 Pro chip is a known quantity and understanding how it relates to Apple's M silicon, the result is highly plausible. Apple makes extremely powerful CPU cores, that's for sure, even if, for pure performance, the one application type where you might still lean towards a high-clocked x86 CPU with a dollop of extra cache, AMD X3D-style, is gaming.

In many ways, perhaps more remarkable than the fact that Apple's newest and cheapest-ever laptop is so competitive with x86 CPUs for single-core performance is the knowledge that you get the same grunt in an iPhone. OK, the thermal realities of an iPhone mean that it won't sustain that performance for very long.

But still, the A18 Pro isn't even Apple's newest iPhone chip. The A19 Pro on the latest iPhone 17 Pro is even faster. Bananas, really.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one a bit shocked by Apple using the worst memory crisis in recent history to put out the most affordable MacBook it has ever launched. The Asus CFO, Nick Wu, seems similarly surprised. In a recent earnings call, he was asked about the MacBook Neo and had quite a bit to share.

As spotted by PCMag, Wu said: "Given Apple's historically very premium pricing, launching such an affordable product is certainly a shock to the entire market."

He does clarify that its rather low 8 GB of un-upgradable memory does limit its applications. He argues that, as a product, it is one more focused on content consumption. Wu clarifies that the Neo is a tad different to standard MacBooks, whose silicon M chips are capable of powerful video/audio/image editing, and even some gaming. "The Neo feels more like a tablet," he says, "because tablets are mostly for content consumption."

The MacBook Neo is an interesting device. Looking like a traditional MacBook (though with a few neat colourways), it's kitted out with the A18 Pro chip that found in the iPhone 16, plus 8 GB of what Apple calls 'unified memory'.

That's to say it's got specifically designed memory that implements software/hardware handshakes to get a little more performance out of the specs. The base model (available for $599) comes with 256 GB of SSD storage, and the 512 GB device costs $100 more.

Though we haven't got our hands on it, our pals over at Tom's Hardware say it's a "budget-priced game changer", praising its design and feel. Despite its relatively low specs, it seems like a bit of a home run for Apple, and it arriving in the middle of the RAMpocalypse must catch the attention of manufacturers. Wu says, "I believe all PC vendors, including upstream vendors like Microsoft, Intel and AMD, they're all taking this very seriously, seriously discussing how to compete with this product in the entire PC ecosystem."

One thing worth noting with the MacBook Neo is the convenience of it all. I think, if I were given $600 and told to pick up a device, I'd likely hold out for a refurbished M chip MacBook, or even a Mac Mini, which I contend is one of the best hardware packages out there for the price right now.

Otherwise, we've seen recent Snapdragon-based laptops come down to similar prices. But the fact that you can buy a pretty, new MacBook directly from the Apple store, without having to shop smart or worry about stock, is certainly part of the charm here.

Wu reckons "the entire PC system will launch corresponding products to compete with Apple", but Apple is a company that gets away with lower specs like no other. The M4 MacBook Air (from March 2025) was the first MacBook to launch with a base 16 GB of memory. Before that, base models of MacBook came with 8 GB.

The M3 MacBook also came with a base storage of 256 GB, which would be almost unheard of for comparably priced devices. It will be interesting to see how companies plan on competing with that price point, and what compromises they will make themselves.

Though it may be a shock, Wu doesn't know if it will be enough to tear people away from their beloved Windows / AMD-based laptops.

"Apple's faction versus the Intel faction have a somewhat segmented customer base due to software differences. It's not as easy for users to switch between these 2 ecosystems," Wu says. "Is the price of that product entering the mainstream sufficient for incentive? That really remains to be seen."

"If you’re looking to order a Framework Laptop or Desktop with a lot of storage, now is the time to do that." So says Framework CEO Nirav Patel in the latest update to the company's ongoing blog post about the memory crisis.

We've reported previously on numerous occasions on how Framework is handling spiralling RAM and SSD prices. The latest update does indeed announce further broad price increases, more on which in a moment. But it also calls time on Framework rigs configured with larger SSDs and benefitting from what you might call legacy pricing.

"We’ve started to deplete our earlier, lower-cost inventory of SSDs, and have needed to re-price some capacities to reflect the costs we are now paying for new orders. Like with memory, we’re passing through as close as we can to our actual costs from suppliers and using a Weighted Average Cost model. There are still some models and capacities like 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB SN850X for which our pricing is substantially below market while we sell through inventory. If you’re looking to order a Framework Laptop or Desktop with a lot of storage, now is the time to do that," Patel said.

Patel doesn't say exactly how much prices will rise once current stocks of 2, 4, and 8 TB drives are depleted. Framework is charging $265, $469 and $899, respectively, for those drives right now when you configure a Framework 16 system.

On Newegg, you'd be looking at $422, $669 and $1,345 respectively. So, Framework's current pricing comes at a significant discount to market rates. A fairly hefty step up once drives sell out seems pretty likely.

As for the rest of Framework's announcement, the general gist is that prices are going up again for system memory, but not by as much as previous months. That said, the company also couldn't rule out further increases.

"The cost increase is smaller this month than in previous months, but we don’t yet have the visibility to determine if this is a new stable cost level," Patel said.

Framework is also slightly increasing the pricing of some configurations of pre-built Framework Desktop and Framework Laptop 16 and says that, "in upcoming months, we will need to do this on the remaining pre-built configurations of Framework Laptop 13, Framework Laptop 16, and Framework Laptop 12."

Anywho, if you were thinking about a Framework in any case, its current pricing on larger WD SN850X drives certainly makes them that much more appealing. For now.

Even the most casual of PC users will surely know by now that the whole computer market is under considerable pressure from the global shortage of memory. But that's not the only component to experience price rises, and one research report suggests that the combined cost of CPUs, DRAM, and SSDs will climb so high that mainstream laptops could end up becoming 40% more expensive.

The report in question comes from TrendForce, which keeps a very close eye on all things PC component-related, and many of its reports of late have focused on the exponential rise in DRAM and NAND flash prices.

However, in this latest post, TrendForce notes that "Intel has already raised prices on certain entry-level and older-generation notebook CPUs by more than 15%, and is planning further price increases for mainstream and mid-to-high-end platforms in 2Q26."

This is important to note because "Under normal conditions, DRAM and SSD account for roughly 15% of a notebook’s BOM [bill of materials] cost. However, after several quarters of sharp increases in memory prices, that share is projected to exceed 30% in 1Q26."

So if everything does all increase in price, and it certainly looks like it will, then since "CPUs already represent one of the largest cost components in a notebook’s BOM, these increases will further drive up overall system costs. For a $900 notebook, if both memory and CPU prices rise, their combined share of BOM costs could climb from approximately 45% to around 58%.

"These cost pressures could translate into retail price increases approaching 40% higher if brands and distribution partners maintain their existing margins."

The real question to ask here is whether companies such as Dell, HP, Asus, et al. will be willing to accept lower profit margins to ensure that revenue flows will continue. If the answer is no, then the next question is one for you to answer: Would you be willing to pay $1260 for a $900 laptop, or 40% more for any gaming laptop?

Well, if one looks carefully at recent history, it would seem that there are likely to be more people saying yes, rather than no. Take what happened to graphics cards during the Covid pandemic, which skyrocketed in price (and haven't really come back down since), yet GPUs still flew off the shelves in droves.

Of course, there was an important driving force behind that and with lockdown keeping millions of people at home for work and play, desktop and laptop computers sold in vast quantities. That's certainly not the case now, and the general cost of living in many countries has reached a point where spending 40% more on a non-essential item just wouldn't be considered.

PC gaming enthusiasts might, though, given we're already used to paying through the nose to support our painfully pricey hobby, but they could increase in price even further, if Nvidia decides to hike the price of its mobile GPUs.

So while it might seem that memory prices have plateaued of late, TrendForce is suggesting that its findings all point to it being nothing more than the calm before the storm. Let's just hope that its gloomy forecast turns out to be a considerably milder affair.

If you're looking to buy a cheap and cheerful laptop on Amazon, make sure you really look through that specs list first. That's because one third-party seller is advertising its HP laptop with 1.1 TB of storage, when it's actually 128 GB on-device, and 1 TB in the cloud.

As spotted by Videocardz, seller Smarisan Tech has advertised the 15.6-inch laptop, with 32 GB of memory, plus a free pair of wireless 'PlusEra' earphones and a one-year subscription to Microsoft Office, for a 'limited time deal' of $500. The latter 'free item' is where that storage comes from.

A subscription to Microsoft Office gets you 1 TB of storage via OneDrive. That means, not only is the majority of your storage with this HP laptop not on-device, but it lasts for just a single year, then you'd have to pay more or live with the 128 GB onboard.

The laptop in question comes with an Intel N100 CPU, no dedicated GPU (which is fairly common at this price point), and a Natural Silver colour.

I couldn't find much on the PlusEra wireless earphones, but a quick Google search returns AliExpress listings, so I'd hazard a guess that they aren't of the absolute highest quality. The storage, plus the free earphones, are all ways that the company can make potential buyers think they're getting a better deal than they are.

The fact that the 16 GB memory model is cheaper than the 8 GB one, and both are in 'limited time deals', also implies it's a listing worth paying attention to. Spoiler alert, it's not. Though doubling the memory for $70 is certainly notable.

The $500-600 price point isn't lacking in decent alternatives. Even just last week, Apple announced the $599 Apple MacBook Neo, which would be a much better pick. If you go Apple, though, my money would be on a refurbished M chip MacBook or a Mac Mini. We've also seen solid deals on Snapdragon-based laptops, too, coming down to a similar price.

Though the laptop is by HP, this listing isn't. On HP's website, similarly specced rigs list the actual storage specs, so it doesn't seem to be HP's fault. However, as listed over on Reddit, HP laptops are particularly vulnerable to this kind of false advertising, likely due to their habit of bundling Microsoft Office subscriptions with Chromebooks.

Naturally, cloud storage and internal storage are very different things, and one would assume advertised storage is what you physically have in your hands. That's because you can lose access to the cloud, be it through not paying your subscription or through a lack of internet.

I, for one, don't even tend to redeem free trials for Microsoft Office. I don't use any of its other apps, especially when the likes of Libre Office exist, and I don't much like the idea of getting cloud storage for free, using it, then feeling like I can't cancel my subscription for fear of losing my data. I've already made that mistake once. I pay a few dollars a month for Google's cloud storage, and I've been very tempted to set up a physical storage space to free myself from Google as well.

As always, even on official marketplaces like Amazon, sellers can use sneaky marketing tactics in listings, so make sure to check who you are buying tech from, and if those specs really check out.

Even if you've sufficiently managed your expectations and aren't going for the flashiest bit of kit, hardware is still expensive. Full desktop rigs are bad enough, but even mid-range gaming laptops can come at an eye-watering premium—and don't even get me started on just how much an Apple alternative would set you back by.

MacBooks are expensive and their gaming performance still isn't what you'd want, right? Well, for one thing Apple is a better PC gaming platform than people give it credit for, and now the just announced MacBook Neo is presenting an affordable inroad to its very shiny walled garden, for only $599.

Powered by the A18 Pro mobile chip and paired with 8 GB of RAM, the MacBook Neo is still far from the most powerful laptop out there. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro in 2024, so it's hard not to think of this as an oversized phone with a keyboard and a pretty swish 13-inch Liquid Retina display.

The very competitive phone-like pricing does little to argue against that notion either. For $599, I wouldn't be surprised if this became the student device of choice over, say, an iPad or a similar tablet device—the fun colours certainly help.

That said, someone on a student budget could potentially still net something with a little more grunt. For instance, the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge enjoys the power of the Snapdragon X chip and 16 GB of RAM for close to $700—or you could scoop up the same chip and generous helping of RAM in the Asus Vivobook 14 for only $500. If you're deadset on Apple, there's also the very reasonably priced Mac Mini (the M4 Pro chip inside makes it a decent gaming option).

Apple are pitching the MacBook Neo as 'a powerful platform for AI with Apple Intelligence built right in,' but only 8 GB of RAM is a pretty meagre offering for anyone really wanting to throw down with larger generative models.

It's fair to say Apple has more lightweight AI-use in mind, claiming the Neo is "3x faster when running on-device AI workloads like applying advanced effects to photos, compared to the bestselling PC with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5."

Unfortunately, whatever battery gains Apple could have made with the mobile chip are somewhat squandered by the 36.5 Whr battery on board. Apple claims you'll still get about 16 hours out of it—but I doubt that's 16 hours of playing Kpop Demon Hunters on repeat and at full volume. 'So sweet, so easy on the eye, but hideous on the inside—' What? It's still a banger.

You know, it's been quite refreshing reviewing a laptop for once that doesn't have any major flaws. Acer's Nitro V 16 AI, is genuinely pretty good. I have few complaints, which is rare given the current state of affairs. Is it the best gaming laptop ever? No, not quite, but what it aims to do right, it does so remarkably well.

This modern-day PC gaming world we inhabit is a bloody mess. I don't need to tell you that. Long gone are the days of just being able to read a laptop review or two and know exactly what you're getting if you do decide to add the thing to cart.

Instead, nowadays, we're graced with a myriad of region specific skus. Reviewer models that make no sense. Gaming performance that varies wildly, dependent on TGP rather than what the graphics card's actually called. SSD capacities that you'd wince at back in 2014, and old RAM configurations brushed off as the modern-day must-haves. As if the "DDR5's really important for gaming bro, trust me bro, also buy these rainbow lights" comments that manufacturers were forcing on us lot since 2022, were in fact a mad fever dream we all shared instead.

Although the Nitro V 16 does fall foul of a few of them, in terms of what it is and what you're getting, it's actually fairly well thought out. This thing has a solidly clean design overall, with thin bezels, a beautiful high-refresh IPS panel (albeit you can get it in two different resolutions 2560x1600 @ 100 Hz, and 1920x1200 @ 180 Hz), packed with a decent complement of hardware, and a surprisingly broad I/O configuration too. It is a gaming laptop. That's very much apparent.

You've got that sharp Nitro embossing, the cut edges, and jagged overall feel, along with that sorta mid-range satin black finish that's been in the industry for as long as I have. And of course, the old "gamer" typeface engraved onto those remarkably comfortable keys... though don't expect this to rival a mechanical keyboard by any means.

The trackpad is large enough too, the speakers surprisingly boisterous, and yes, there's the usual cornucopia of added extras thrown into the OS for your chagrin and/or leisure, including three months of free Game Pass etc, etc, but for the love of god please uninstall McAfee. Windows Defender is fine.

Connectivity is generous too, with three USB 3.2 Type A ports, a Micro-SD card reader, Ethernet out, headphone jack, and a HDMI 2.1 and USB4 Type C port popped out back behind the screen as well.

It's the performance, though, that really stands out for me. At least in this model. Now I should preface this with a slight caveat. There are so many different models and skus of the Acer Nitro V 16 AI, that it's genuinely terrifying. I spent hours trying to source a price for this thing, even going back and forth with Acer's PR team.

You've got GPUs ranging from the RTX 5050 to the 5070, 16 GB to 32 GB of DDR5 RAM, different CPUs, from Intel to AMD, and storage capacities from 1 TB to 2 TB. Plus, two different panels as well, which, as I've mentioned, can stack all the way up to the 2560x1600 model I have here, or that more entry-level and more palatable 1920x1200 one instead.

The one I'm testing is the absolute top-of-the-line edition. One that's only possible to actually buy if you find a system integrator willing to do it for you. There's 32 GB of RAM (instead of the usual 16 GB) and an extra 1 TB SSD fitted as well. Although, to be perfectly clear, neither of those additions massively affects performance in our testing suite, bar perhaps 7-Zip's compression tests. The core hardware, the Ryzen AI 7 260, and the RTX 5070 95 W, you can find across a wide range of them too, so spot that, and the screen res and you're good to go.

Speaking of numbers. The good news is that compared to Gigabyte's Aero X16 (which also featured an RTX 5070 and a 2560x1600 display), it absolutely mops the floor with it. Scores are 5-10% higher across pretty much every title tested, regardless of resolution.

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1080p gaming performance

Baldur's Gate 3 (1080p Ultra)Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (1080p High)Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra)F1 24 (1080p Ultra High)Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

67

39

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

63

32

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

69

41

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

60

27

020406080

Baldur's Gate 3 (1080p Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	67 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	63 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	69 Avg FPS, 41 1% Low FPS
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	60 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

58

50

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

53

30

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

64

55

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

57

39

020406080

Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (1080p High) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	58 Avg FPS, 50 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	53 Avg FPS, 30 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	64 Avg FPS, 55 1% Low FPS
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	57 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

39

24

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

32

20

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

43

33

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

36

24

015304560

Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	39 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	32 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	43 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	36 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

69

59

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

60

34

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

75

58

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

65

34

020406080

F1 24 (1080p Ultra High) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	69 Avg FPS, 59 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	60 Avg FPS, 34 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	75 Avg FPS, 58 1% Low FPS
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	65 Avg FPS, 34 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

74

27

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

66

20

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

82

51

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

63

46

0255075100

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	74 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	66 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	82 Avg FPS, 51 1% Low FPS
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	63 Avg FPS, 46 1% Low FPS

Upscaling performance at native resolution

Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High + upscaling (quality, 67%)Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + upscaling quality, 2x FG)F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High + upscaling quality, 2x FG)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

75

64

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

57

49

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI HX 370

72

62

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

83

50

0255075100

Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High + upscaling (quality, 67%) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	75 Avg FPS, 64 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	57 Avg FPS, 49 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI HX 370	72 Avg FPS, 62 1% Low FPS
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	83 Avg FPS, 50 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

67

37

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

58

35

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI HX 370

75

58

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

102

54

037.575112.5150

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + upscaling quality, 2x FG) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	67 Avg FPS, 37 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	58 Avg FPS, 35 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI HX 370	75 Avg FPS, 58 1% Low FPS
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	102 Avg FPS, 54 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

84

69

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

52

42

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI HX 370

92

70

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

139

62

037.575112.5150

F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High + upscaling quality, 2x FG) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	84 Avg FPS, 69 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	52 Avg FPS, 42 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI HX 370	92 Avg FPS, 70 1% Low FPS
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	139 Avg FPS, 62 1% Low FPS

Synthetic gaming performance

3DMark Time Spy Extreme3DMark Port Royal (ray tracing)3DMark Storage

Overall index score

GPU index

CPU index

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

5780

5790

5726

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

5087

5131

4853

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

6489

6316

7689

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

5536

5593

5235

02,0004,0006,0008,000

3DMark Time Spy Extreme Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	5780 Overall index score, 5790 GPU index, 5726 CPU index
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	5087 Overall index score, 5131 GPU index, 4853 CPU index
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	6489 Overall index score, 6316 GPU index, 7689 CPU index
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	5536 Overall index score, 5593 GPU index, 5235 CPU index

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

4447

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

7062

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

8368

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

7519

02,5005,0007,50010,000

Overall index score

3DMark Port Royal (ray tracing) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	4447
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	7062
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	8368
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	7519

Overall index score

Avg bandwidth (MB/s)

Access time (ųs)

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

2054

354.22

88

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

1062

180.76

168

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

1939

333.66

93

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

1766

303.54

102

07501,5002,2503,000

3DMark Storage Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	2054 Overall index score, 354.22 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 88 Access time (ųs)
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	1062 Overall index score, 180.76 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 168 Access time (ųs)
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	1939 Overall index score, 333.66 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 93 Access time (ųs)
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	1766 Overall index score, 303.54 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 102 Access time (ųs)

Both of these laptops are 16-inch models, with a 76 WHr battery life. In Baldur's Gate 3, average fps for the Nitro V 16 AI was 5 fps ahead at their native resolution. Metro Exodus 50 fps vs 45 fps, and in Cyberpunk 2077, 20 fps versus 12 fps. You get the picture. The contrast is even more stark if you enable DLSS and upscaling as well, where the Nitro V 16 climbs even higher.

Two "identical" cards, but with one running at 95 W and the other at 85 W. One (the Acer) managed an average clock speed of 2,217 MHz, and the other (the Gigabyte) managed only 1,740 MHz. It's fascinating, too, because there's not a huge difference here in temperature either, yet the difference is dramatic. Yes, the Acer's hotter but only by 5-6 degrees, and it's still well below the 80 centigrade mark across all of our testing, but with that, you get a healthy dose of extra performance as a result.

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System performance

Battery life | PCMark 10 GamingGPU statsGaming temperaturesSystem temperatures

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

140

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

109

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

131

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

89

037.575112.5150

Battery life (minutes)

Battery life | PCMark 10 Gaming Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	140
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	109
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	131
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	89

Avg GPU freq. (MHz)

Avg GPU power (W)

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

2217

75

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

1740

53

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

2421

77

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

2473

71

07501,5002,2503,000

GPU stats Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	2217 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 75 Avg GPU power (W)
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	1740 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 53 Avg GPU power (W)
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	2421 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 77 Avg GPU power (W)
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	2473 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 71 Avg GPU power (W)

Avg CPU (°C)

Max CPU (°C)

Avg GPU (°C)

Max GPU (°C)

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

69

81

74

79

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

55

87

57

71

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

65

73

68

71

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

58

71

59

72

0255075100

Gaming temperatures Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	69 Avg CPU (°C), 81 Max CPU (°C), 74 Avg GPU (°C), 79 Max GPU (°C)
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	55 Avg CPU (°C), 87 Max CPU (°C), 57 Avg GPU (°C), 71 Max GPU (°C)
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	65 Avg CPU (°C), 73 Max CPU (°C), 68 Avg GPU (°C), 71 Max GPU (°C)
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	58 Avg CPU (°C), 71 Max CPU (°C), 59 Avg GPU (°C), 72 Max GPU (°C)

Max CPU temp (°C)

Max GPU temp (°C)

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

92

75

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

90

69

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

87

73

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

64

60

0255075100

System temperatures Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	92 Max CPU temp (°C), 75 Max GPU temp (°C)
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	90 Max CPU temp (°C), 69 Max GPU temp (°C)
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	87 Max CPU temp (°C), 73 Max GPU temp (°C)
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	64 Max CPU temp (°C), 60 Max GPU temp (°C)

Creator performance

Cinebench 2024Blender 4.2.0 (junkshop)Procyon7zip 24.07

Multi-core index score

Single-core index score

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

887

103

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

800

78

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

1158

105

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

812

101

03757501,1251,500

Cinebench 2024 Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	887 Multi-core index score, 103 Single-core index score
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	800 Multi-core index score, 78 Single-core index score
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	1158 Multi-core index score, 105 Single-core index score
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	812 Multi-core index score, 101 Single-core index score

CPU (samples/min)

GPU (samples/min)

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

70.02

1031.76

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

65.55

1017.59

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

93.15

1026.08

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

62.87

1014.05

03757501,1251,500

Blender 4.2.0 (junkshop) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	70.02 CPU (samples/min), 1031.76 GPU (samples/min)
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	65.55 CPU (samples/min), 1017.59 GPU (samples/min)
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	93.15 CPU (samples/min), 1026.08 GPU (samples/min)
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	62.87 CPU (samples/min), 1014.05 GPU (samples/min)

Overall index score

Duration (Sec)

Sec/image

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

1608

62.16

3.89

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

1418

70.52

4.41

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

1789

55.9

3.49

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

1490

67.11

4.2

05001,0001,5002,000

Procyon Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	1608 Overall index score, 62.16 Duration (Sec), 3.89 Sec/image
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	1418 Overall index score, 70.52 Duration (Sec), 4.41 Sec/image
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	1789 Overall index score, 55.9 Duration (Sec), 3.49 Sec/image
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	1490 Overall index score, 67.11 Duration (Sec), 4.2 Sec/image

Compressing (GIPS)

Decompressing (GIPS)

Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260

92.12

115.02

Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350

77.91

87.77

Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

108.822

128.355

Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250

65.22

105.78

037.575112.5150

7zip 24.07 Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 (95 W) | Ryzen 7 260	92.12 Compressing (GIPS), 115.02 Decompressing (GIPS)
Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W) | Ryzen AI 7 350	77.91 Compressing (GIPS), 87.77 Decompressing (GIPS)
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 (100 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	108.822 Compressing (GIPS), 128.355 Decompressing (GIPS)
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | RTX 5060 (115 W) | Ryzen 7 250	65.22 Compressing (GIPS), 105.78 Decompressing (GIPS)

The biggest criticism I had of that Aero X16 was that it performed poorly against Lenovo's LOQ 15 Gen 10, despite that coming with an RTX 5060. The reason purely came down to the LOQ's maddeningly high 115 W TGP, but here, even though there's still a 20 W difference between the two, the RTX 5070 in the Nitro still beats it as you'd hope it would (although barely).

On the computational side, performance is similarly competitive too, although there's not a huge difference between the three (the LOQ 15 utilises the Ryzen 7 250, and the Aero X17 the AI 7 350). Yet what's more impressive is how Acer's managing that battery life. 140 minutes, that's how long it lasted in PC Mark 10's battery gaming test. That's wild, as the X16 only managed 109 minutes, and the LOQ 15, just 89 minutes total (although it does have a 60 WHr battery).

The Nitro V 16 is a bit of a saving grace in my eyes. Certainly, compared to Acer's Nitro V15 that I recently took a gander at. Ignore the AI nonsense and copilot slop added onto the marketing fluff. Uninstall it when you get this thing, and you'll genuinely have a remarkably affordable gaming laptop, at a decent price, that delivers solid performance in-game and out. Just make sure you get the right spec.

With all indications being that the AI-fuelled memory crisis will get worse before it gets better and will also be upon us until at least 2028, fair to say there's a legitimate concern whether affordable PCs will be viable at all. We may not even get to ask the question about how much memory or storage to expect. But here comes Apple with a new MacBook Air with double the storage of the previous model.

There is a catch. The new MacBook Air M5 base model with 512 GB of storage costs an extra $100 over the outgoing MacBook Air M4 with 256 GB. But then the MSRP of the base MacBook Air was $999 since forever until this M5 model jumped to $1,099. Factor in generally heightened inflation in recent years, and the MacBook Air M5 today with 512 GB is comfortably cheaper in real terms than its equivalent with half the storage from a few years ago.

Of course, you're also getting the new M5 chip and some other upgrades. But in the current context of the memory crisis and the general sense that we're going to have to do more with less when it comes to PC memory and storage, not to mention most PC makers putting prices up, it's a pretty remarkable turn of events.

As to how Apple can seemingly buck the trend, well, there are various candidate explanations. Most obviously, Apple is widely regarded as having some of the best margins in the business. So, it can absorb increased component costs more easily than most.

Apple also operates on a much larger scale than most of the competition. When Apple is buying RAM and storage, it's not just buying it for MacBook Airs. It will have long-term contracts for iPhone, iPads, Watches and more, all of which use both memory types. And that adds up to a lot of memory.

Without being at all privy to any of Apple's commercial deals, it's safe to assume that when Apple comes knocking, even in this crisis, suppliers pay attention. Get on the wrong side of Apple in the hope of some short-term profiteering over the memory crisis, and that could spell long-term pain well after the current AI bubble pops, or at least normalises.

Put another way, if any company making regular old computers for us normies, as opposed to chips for AI servers, is in a position to get a vaguely reasonable deal right now for RAM and storage, it's Apple. It's also true that Apple has always charged absolutely ridiculous amounts of money for memory and SSD upgrades. In that regard, Apple absolutely has plenty of margin to work with.

That obviously doesn't apply quite so directly for base configurations without a premium added for upgrades. But it underlines that earlier point about Apple's fat margins.

Anywho, it will be interesting to see how this develops. If memory prices do generally keep going up with the consequence that even basic PCs become prohibitively expensive, we could end up, at least for a time, in the bizarre situation where the cheapest option is Apple.

The problem with that, unfortunately, is gaming. The one application type for which a MacBook is undeniably suboptimal is gaming, largely due to software compatibility. But heck, maybe if the only reasonably priced computers out there for a while are Macs, the games industry might take a bit more notice. Or not. OK, probably not.

This is the Nitro V 15, a modern entry-level gaming laptop from Acer. Hot off the factory line. It comes with an RTX 5050, an Intel Core i7-13620H, high refresh rate IPS panel, a luscious chassis, and is backed up by no less than 16GB of RAM. DDR4 RAM. Yeah… you read that right.

Not the modern DDR5 kits that have been injected into some of the best gaming notebooks we've tested in the last four years. No, it's that ageing memory standard, which first debuted in this particular portable form factor all the way back in September of 2015. Almost as old as my entire career. Yikes.

I wonder why that is... Well, as you probably already know, the pricing of memory in recent months has absolutely catapulted skywards. As manufacturers and fabs pivot their supply lines to feed the burgeoning beasts that are the "trust me bro, it's very green", AI datacenters, the limited stock heading to the consumer field (i.e. us lot looking for a good laptop deal), is quite rapidly evaporating.

As a result of that, we're seeing a dramatic shift in just how these particular budget laptop SKUs are spinning up. From all manufacturers, too, not just Acer. Drops from 32 GB down to 16 GB on memory have become commonplace. SSD capacity has trended downwards too, dropping from the usual complement of 1-2 TBs of the PCIe good stuff, all the way to the lowly slums of just 512 GB in some cases. That leaves you with a little under 370 GB once Windows is installed. Yet this may well be the first time we've seen a manufacturer backtrack onto an older memory standard entirely. And it does not do the Nitro V any favors, that's a fact.

Now, perhaps I am being a bit harsh here, the V 15 clearly does have a target audience, that much is clear. Market conditions are a thing, and Acer is likely struggling to source parts at a reasonable price, much like the rest of the industry is.

This laptop is aimed at trying to hit that $1,000 price point. I get it, I do, the angle is to provide an option for gamers who aren't quite as willing to drop two grand on a laptop now, because Grandma needs her AI-powered data harvesting ChatGPT caricature to share on her Insta feed. Certainly not when there are other, more pressing bills to pay anyway.

I mean It doesn't quite manage to hit that $1,000 mark, at least not in the US, where it retails at $1,079 (it slides under at £925 in the UK), but there is at least some justification as to why these hardware concessions are there. Though there's a chance you might see it drop below that mark if there are any good sales this year.

There are some positives in the spec sheet, too. The Nitro V 15 comes equipped with a pretty impressive 165 Hz IPS panel, which is beautifully clean to look at. In my particular unit, backlight bleed was non-existent, and ghosting was contained nicely. There have been reports online of some inconsistency with the panels from other reviewers, so do bear that in mind, but it should be covered under warranty if you do have any issues like that. Gaming on it, though, and desktop use, buttery smooth. It's awesome to see these kinds of panels at this price point. Perhaps the only good news in the PC industry right now.

The actual internal hardware is overall just alright, in the very British sense of that word. It's okay. Not amazing, not terrible. Acer's picked the RTX 5050 for the Nitro V 15's GPU solution, and that comes with 8 GB of VRAM, and a 75 W TGP allowing it to clock up to around 1,651 MHz, at least in my testing. It's not quite on par with something like the RTX 5060 found in other versions of the Nitro V 15 with their 85 W TGP, or the Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen 10, with its ridiculous 115W TGP, but it does okay at 1080p, at least with some help from DLSS anyway.

As for the CPU, that's Intel's somewhat ageing Core i7 13620H, and another reason we're sat on DDR4 memory. It's a 10-core chip split across six performance cores and four efficiency cores, delivering a grand total of 16 threads (the performance cores are hyperthreaded here). Technically, it's capable of ramping up to 4.9 GHz at full tilt, but expect performance to be lower than that thanks to the, err, I'll call it "thermal limitations of the form factor".

The only other major bugbear I have with this thing is the storage setup. It comes with a single 500 GB SSD, Kingston's OM8PGP4512Q-AA OEM drive. That's a PCIe 4.0 solution, not too dissimilar to Kingston's own NV2, albeit a bit faster on the sequentials. It's a TLC drive running off the back of Phison's E21T controller sans DRAM cache, and it's kinda slow, with max sequentials topping out at the 4,700 MB/s mark, or at least advertised anyway.

That 500 GB capacity, though, once Windows is installed, leaves you very little room to hoard any games or other programs for that matter, so you will be playing the delete and re-download shuffle quite often. I'd highly recommend swapping it out for something a bit more substantial later on, or heavily investing in some form of chunky external drive if you can afford the bank loan required for that. At this point, I am starting to wonder when we'll end up back on 2.5-inch SSDs again, given the way things are going.

So then, the big elephant in the room, performance. The good news is that DDR4 might not matter that much for gaming, but the extra bandwidth available thanks to those higher frequencies found on its successor does have quite the dramatic impact on overall computational performance.

Creator performance

7zip 24.07Blender 4.2.0 (junkshop)Cinebench 2024

Compressing (GIPS)

Decompressing (GIPS)

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | Core i7 13620H)

48.44

86.88

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | Core i7 13620H)

49.803

88.068

Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 ( RTX 5050 | Ryzen 7 260)

88.349

122.404

Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | Core i7 13620H)

80.62

84.56

037.575112.5150

7zip 24.07 Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | Core i7 13620H)	48.44 Compressing (GIPS), 86.88 Decompressing (GIPS)
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | Core i7 13620H)	49.803 Compressing (GIPS), 88.068 Decompressing (GIPS)
Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 ( RTX 5050 | Ryzen 7 260)	88.349 Compressing (GIPS), 122.404 Decompressing (GIPS)
Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | Core i7 13620H)	80.62 Compressing (GIPS), 84.56 Decompressing (GIPS)

CPU (samples/min)

GPU (samples/min)

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | Core i7 13620H)

58.98

796.51

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | Core i7 13620H)

53.7

944.69

Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 ( RTX 5050 | Ryzen 7 260)

73.07

877.28

Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | Core i7 13620H)

56.46

912.96

02505007501,000

Blender 4.2.0 (junkshop) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | Core i7 13620H)	58.98 CPU (samples/min), 796.51 GPU (samples/min)
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | Core i7 13620H)	53.7 CPU (samples/min), 944.69 GPU (samples/min)
Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 ( RTX 5050 | Ryzen 7 260)	73.07 CPU (samples/min), 877.28 GPU (samples/min)
Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | Core i7 13620H)	56.46 CPU (samples/min), 912.96 GPU (samples/min)

Multi-core index score

Single-core index score

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | Core i7 13620H)

689

100

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | Core i7 13620H)

687

106

Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 ( RTX 5050 | Ryzen 7 260)

949

105

Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | Core i7 13620H)

738

102

02505007501,000

Cinebench 2024 Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | Core i7 13620H)	689 Multi-core index score, 100 Single-core index score
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | Core i7 13620H)	687 Multi-core index score, 106 Single-core index score
Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 ( RTX 5050 | Ryzen 7 260)	949 Multi-core index score, 105 Single-core index score
Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | Core i7 13620H)	738 Multi-core index score, 102 Single-core index score

Take a look at 7-Zip's compression figures there. Compared to something like Gigabyte's Gaming A16 with its (admittedly 32 GB of) DDR5 clocked at 5,200 MT/s, and even with the same processor, percentage change is around 66% by comparison. That sucks. Particularly as this spills over into other tasks as well. If you're looking at doing some light video rendering or dabbling in Photoshop, you're going to be held back significantly compared to its DDR5 alternatives. That wouldn't be an issue if it wasn't for the fact that you can still get the Gigabyte A16, for only a little more.

Cinebench's multi-core figures are also lower compared to the same chip in the Gigabyte laptop, although that could be chalked up to Acer's poorer cooling solution, as the CPU topped out at 102 degrees, compared to the A16's 89. Likewise, GPU temps weren't exactly low either, with both gaming and system temperature scenarios being considerably higher than their Gigabyte counterparts. Not ideal, particularly given that that setup was running an RTX 5060 with an 85W TGP in a very similarly designed chassis.

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1080p gaming performance

Baldur's Gate 3 (1080p Ultra)Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (1080p High)Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra)F1 24 (1080p Ultra High)Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)

45

22

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)

48

20

Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)

69

38

Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85W)

65

36

020406080

Baldur's Gate 3 (1080p Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)	45 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPS
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)	48 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)	69 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85W)	65 Avg FPS, 36 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)

33

17

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)

64

31

Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)

49

41

Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85W)

52

29

020406080

Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (1080p High) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)	33 Avg FPS, 17 1% Low FPS
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)	64 Avg FPS, 31 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)	49 Avg FPS, 41 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85W)	52 Avg FPS, 29 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)

19

10

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)

29

14

Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)

32

20

Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85W)

33

24

010203040

Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)	19 Avg FPS, 10 1% Low FPS
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)	29 Avg FPS, 14 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)	32 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85W)	33 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)

36

28

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)

52

18

Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)

54

25

Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85W)

50

20

015304560

F1 24 (1080p Ultra High) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)	36 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)	52 Avg FPS, 18 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)	54 Avg FPS, 25 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85W)	50 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)

38

13

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)

58

19

Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)

61

20

Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85W)

59

34

020406080

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)	38 Avg FPS, 13 1% Low FPS
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)	58 Avg FPS, 19 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)	61 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85W)	59 Avg FPS, 34 1% Low FPS

Upscaling performance

Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High + upscaling quality)Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + upscaling quality, 2x FG)F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High + upscaling quality, 2x FG)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)

50

31

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)

85

60

Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)

75

60

Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)

51

28

0255075100

Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool (Native res. High + upscaling quality) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)	50 Avg FPS, 31 1% Low FPS
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)	85 Avg FPS, 60 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)	75 Avg FPS, 60 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)	51 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)

55

25

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)

78

43

Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)

87

33

Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)

82

40

0255075100

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + upscaling quality, 2x FG) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)	55 Avg FPS, 25 1% Low FPS
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)	78 Avg FPS, 43 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)	87 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)	82 Avg FPS, 40 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)

82

64

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)

112

35

Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)

111

42

Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)

100

44

037.575112.5150

F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High + upscaling quality, 2x FG) Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 | 75 W)	82 Avg FPS, 64 1% Low FPS
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)	112 Avg FPS, 35 1% Low FPS
Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 | 115 W)	111 Avg FPS, 42 1% Low FPS
Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 | 85 W)	100 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS

In-game, that RTX 5050 sort of delivers. At 1080p, it does struggle with the big flagship titles, certainly when ray tracing is enabled. Cyberpunk, for instance, only averaged 19 fps (although that did boost to 55 fps with DLSS set to quality and frame-gen on), and although sort of playable, Black Myth Wukong settled in at 33 fps, and F1 2024 at 36 fps, respectively as well. Both of which are still a far cry from the heady heights of that 60 fps sweet spot the vast majority of us know and love.

System performance

Battery life | PCMark 10 gamingGPU statsGaming temperaturesSystem temperatures

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 75 W | Core i7 13620H)

141

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)

123

Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260)

74

Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)

183

050100150200

Battery life (minutes)

Battery life | PCMark 10 gaming Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 75 W | Core i7 13620H)	141
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)	123
Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260)	74
Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)	183

Avg GPU freq. (MHz)

Avg GPU power (W)

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 75 W | Core i7 13620H)

1651

45

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)

2256

57

Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260)

2718

42

Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)

1710

42.35

07501,5002,2503,000

GPU stats Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 75 W | Core i7 13620H)	1651 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 45 Avg GPU power (W)
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)	2256 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 57 Avg GPU power (W)
Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260)	2718 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 42 Avg GPU power (W)
Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)	1710 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 42.35 Avg GPU power (W)

Avg CPU (°C)

Max CPU (°C)

Avg GPU (°C)

Max GPU (°C)

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 75 W | Core i7 13620H)

83

99

86

89

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)

81

100

79

85

Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260)

75

81

69

74

Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)

68

93

58

72

0255075100

Gaming temperatures Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 75 W | Core i7 13620H)	83 Avg CPU (°C), 99 Max CPU (°C), 86 Avg GPU (°C), 89 Max GPU (°C)
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)	81 Avg CPU (°C), 100 Max CPU (°C), 79 Avg GPU (°C), 85 Max GPU (°C)
Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260)	75 Avg CPU (°C), 81 Max CPU (°C), 69 Avg GPU (°C), 74 Max GPU (°C)
Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)	68 Avg CPU (°C), 93 Max CPU (°C), 58 Avg GPU (°C), 72 Max GPU (°C)

Max CPU temp (°C)

Max GPU temp (°C)

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 75 W | Core i7 13620H)

102

88

Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)

94

61

Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)

89

61

037.575112.5150

System temperatures Data

Product	Value
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5050 75 W | Core i7 13620H)	102 Max CPU temp (°C), 88 Max GPU temp (°C)
Acer Nitro V15 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)	94 Max CPU temp (°C), 61 Max GPU temp (°C)
Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 (RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260)	N/A
Gigabyte Gaming A16 (RTX 5060 85 W | Core i7 13620H)	89 Max CPU temp (°C), 61 Max GPU temp (°C)

The Nitro V 15 is a casualty of its time. At any other point, I'd expect this laptop to retail at probably $800 - 900. But because it's in this warped bubble of SSD and memory pricing, it loses out compared to laptops that are already available, already on the market, sitting in retailers' warehouses. That Gaming A16 that I so lovingly keep referring to is only $220 more, and it's in stock now. That's not a lot when you consider you're almost doubling performance in-game, getting twice as much storage, and twice as much memory on a more modern standard.

It's a shame because on the surface, the Nitro V 15 is a lovely thing. It's got a crisp, clean design, beautiful screen, good selection of ports, a great keyboard and trackpad, and if the price was right, a solid entry-level spec. But for the money, it's just not worth it.

German PC gamers might struggle to pick up Acer or Asus gaming laptops and desktops for the foreseeable future, as a court ruling out of Munich has put a pause on direct sales. This is the latest development in a patent suit filed by Nokia against the two companies, as well as Chinese electronics company Hisense last year.

The lawsuit alleges that Acer and Asus’ PCs plus Hisense’s smart TVs infringe upon three of Nokia's patents relating to the H.265 (HEVC) video codec standard (via Juve Patent). HiSense sought to settle in January and, following a license agreement, Nokia has since withdrawn its lawsuit against the company. Acer and Asus are still fighting it out in the courts.

This latest Munich court ruling is an injunction against Acer and Asus, but not retailers. That means German gamers won't be able to buy directly from either company, but should still be able to find Acer and Asus machines elsewhere. Acer assured German-language outlet PC-Welt that its other products, from monitors to even e-scooters, were unaffected by this ruling.

Acer did not want to comment on ongoing legal proceedings, but it's worth noting the company has also filed its own separate suit against Nokia at the Munich Regional Court, though this instead regards wireless communication tech.

Legal proceedings between the three companies are not confined to the German court system either. Back in December, the UK High Court awarded Acer and Asus interim licenses, though Nokia has also filed a separate suit in the US alleging infringement of its Standard Essential Patents (SEPs). Basically, this is far from the end of it.

Aside from patent proceedings, Nokia has most recently earned headlines with 4G projects that shoot for the moon—literally.

On the other side of the suit, Asus has most recently been in the news for announcing an 'immediate internal review' of its 800-series motherboards following 'recent reports concerning Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPUs.' To elaborate on the company's vaguely worded statement on the issue, some PC gamers allege that popping a Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU into an AM5 socket motherboard has caused a whole host of issues, up to and including the death of the CPU itself.

Perhaps hitting the pause button on planned Asus purchases is not the worst thing a consumer could do right now.

As the memory crisis continues to rage, and the cost of hardware only gets more expensive, the notion of renting out gear may start to feel a tad more natural. Enter HP as one of the first major manufacturers to step into the ring.

Though this has actually been around for a few months now (according to a post about it on Reddit), it's actually Linus Tech Tips which brought it to my attention. In their latest video, they explore both the gaming and non-gaming subscription, and my eye was caught by the first.

Importantly, the subscription (unlike many phone contracts) does not allow you to own the gaming laptop once you have paid enough to cover the MSRP. In return, you can upgrade your rental every year, plus you get better support, quick replacement, and the option to add accessories for a monthly fee.

At the low end, you can rent an HP Victus 15-inch laptop, with an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS, RTX 4050, 16 GB of memory, and 1 TB of SSD storage for $50 a month. Right now, on sale, that exact laptop will cost you $950. That means 19 months of the subscription charge would actually pay for the model.

Up at the very high end, you can go for an HP Omen Max 16, with an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, RTX 5080, 32 GB of memory, and 1 TB of SSD storage for $130 a month. That same laptop is currently $2,110 on the HP store, which means just over 16 months of $130 would buy you the laptop outright. The HP site includes a table explaining what each payment plan can get you. You can find it below.

Pricing up the other two subscriptions ($80 for the currently $1,500 RTX 5070 Omen 16 and $70 for the $1,300 RTX 5060 Omen 16) shows similar periods of less than 20 months before paying the full price of the machine. Admittedly, all of the laptops available are currently on sale, and end up around the 25 months at MSRP.

Though you can end your subscription within 30 days and send the gear back without having to pay for your return, there is a pretty hefty cancellation fee should you opt out after that. If you cancel the Victus 15 contract in month two, you are hit with a $550 fee. If you choose to cancel the Omen Max 16 contract in the second month, you will have to pay $1,430 and send the laptop back. If, however, you want to cancel during or after your 13th month of the subscription, doing so is free.

Moving over to the accessories, you can rent the $126 ($200 MSRP) HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless for $8 a month, or the $131 ($200 MSRP) HyperX QuadCast 2 S for the same amount each month.

I don't much like the idea of paying monthly for hardware that I will never own, and the longer I stay subscribed, the less that investment becomes worth it, in my eyes. As well as this, the big cancellation fees also mean there's no point taking the laptop for a spin for a couple of months.

When the likes of Amazon (and even HP) offer some 0% financing contracts, I would struggle to justify an HP subscription to myself (or my partner). Still, it's technically a way of getting a beefy gaming rig without having to pay all that cash up front.

In the FAQ for the HP subscription service, when asked 'Is the OMEN Gaming Subscription worth it?', it replies:

"For many gamers, the answer is yes. The traditional upgrade cycle keeps most gamers perpetually one step behind. But with access to a new laptop every year, your OMEN Gaming Subscription breaks that cycle completely, ensuring your hardware evolves as rapidly as the latest games do."

I suppose, with gaming rigs only continuing to get more expensive, gaming hardware subscriptions may be set for a heyday until everything comes back down again, hopefully before 2028.

Fast, feisty, fabulous. That's how I described the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H in my review, and I stand by it. It's got an Arc B390 iGPU that crushes all the others we've tested for gaming performance, and that's a remarkable technical achievement given the size of the graphics tile relative to the rest of the chip.

But there's a significant caveat hanging over the Intel Arc B390, and it goes like this: it's very, very quick—for an iGPU. Sure, it's capable of delivering gaming laptop-like performance, but compare it to any discrete mobile GPU of the current generation and the little graphics tile's limits are quickly revealed.

Now, none of this is meant to cast shade upon the considerable achievement of Intel's engineers. No one was expecting its new mobile graphics hardware to compete with, say, anything from the RTX 50-series.

In fact, Intel claims the Core Ultra X9 388H is 10% faster at gaming (on average) than a lappy with an RTX 4050 mobile. And, if you squint closely at those claims, you'll see that they were made in reference to a 60 W gaming laptop, with '2x upscaling' enabled.

Again, that's still fairly impressive for an iGPU, particularly as the Core Ultra X9 388H machine was claimed to be using 45 W for the whole shebang during those tests. But in reality, a low-wattage RTX 4050 mobile isn't particularly quick by modern standards.

Intel Arc B390 1080p gaming benchmarks

No upscaling

Cyberpunk 2077 (Medium)Black Myth Wukong (Medium)F1 24 (Medium)Horizon Zero Dawn (Original)Metro Exodus Enhanced Ed. (High)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

64

52

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

41

35

Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)

33

27

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

81

56

0255075100

Cyberpunk 2077 (Medium) Data

Product	Value
Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)	64 Avg FPS, 52 1% Low FPS
Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)	41 Avg FPS, 35 1% Low FPS
Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)	33 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)	81 Avg FPS, 56 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

39

31

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

23

20

Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)

17

14

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

53

44

015304560

Black Myth Wukong (Medium) Data

Product	Value
Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)	39 Avg FPS, 31 1% Low FPS
Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)	23 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)	17 Avg FPS, 14 1% Low FPS
RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)	53 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

113

100

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

74

65

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

155

108

050100150200

F1 24 (Medium) Data

Product	Value
Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)	113 Avg FPS, 100 1% Low FPS
Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)	74 Avg FPS, 65 1% Low FPS
Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)	N/A
RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)	155 Avg FPS, 108 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

82

58

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

54

12

Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)

37

20

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

111

60

037.575112.5150

Horizon Zero Dawn (Original) Data

Product	Value
Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)	82 Avg FPS, 58 1% Low FPS
Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)	54 Avg FPS, 12 1% Low FPS
Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)	37 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)	111 Avg FPS, 60 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

49

33

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

27

7

Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)

27

18

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

43

30

015304560

Metro Exodus Enhanced Ed. (High) Data

Product	Value
Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)	49 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)	27 Avg FPS, 7 1% Low FPS
Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)	27 Avg FPS, 18 1% Low FPS
RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)	43 Avg FPS, 30 1% Low FPS

And if you up the GPU wattage to something you might find in a regular entry-level machine (75 W, in the case of our Acer Nitro V 15 test laptop), Nvidia's last-gen lowest-tier graphics hardware pulls significantly ahead in most of our benchmarks.

We don't include frame generation in our iGPU test suite, but we do run the numbers again with Quality upscaling enabled. And yes, the Intel iGPU is remarkably quick compared to its direct competition, particularly with some XeSS enhancement. But stick it up against a budget, previous-gen gaming laptop with a half-decent dose of juice, and it does have a tendency to come unstuck.

Intel Arc B390 1080p upscaled gaming benchmarks

Upscaling set to Quality

Cyberpunk 2077 (Medium)Black Myth Wukong (Medium)F1 24 (Medium)Horizon Zero Dawn (Original)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

92

60

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

53

45

Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)

40

33

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

110

63

037.575112.5150

Cyberpunk 2077 (Medium) Data

Product	Value
Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)	92 Avg FPS, 60 1% Low FPS
Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)	53 Avg FPS, 45 1% Low FPS
Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)	40 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)	110 Avg FPS, 63 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

57

43

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

36

29

Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)

30

23

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

81

63

0255075100

Black Myth Wukong (Medium) Data

Product	Value
Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)	57 Avg FPS, 43 1% Low FPS
Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)	36 Avg FPS, 29 1% Low FPS
Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)	30 Avg FPS, 23 1% Low FPS
RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)	81 Avg FPS, 63 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

141

126

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

80

65

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

150

85

037.575112.5150

F1 24 (Medium) Data

Product	Value
Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)	141 Avg FPS, 126 1% Low FPS
Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)	80 Avg FPS, 65 1% Low FPS
Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)	N/A
RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)	150 Avg FPS, 85 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

94

67

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

77

12

Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)

37

20

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

116

83

037.575112.5150

Horizon Zero Dawn (Original) Data

Product	Value
Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)	94 Avg FPS, 67 1% Low FPS
Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)	77 Avg FPS, 12 1% Low FPS
Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)	37 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)	116 Avg FPS, 83 1% Low FPS

Again, this isn't to cast doubt against Intel's claims, nor do I aim to put too much of a dampener on all the excitement surrounding Panther Lake's performance. Believe me, I'm excited too. But it is important to view the Arc B390 iGPU in context. And it must be said, when compared to most modern mobile graphics chips, it's still off the pace for the most part.

But the advantages of gaining a genuine dose of graphics grunt in a single chip are, nonetheless, legion. It means that productivity-style, slim and sleek gaming laptops making use of high-end Panther Lake chips can realistically be called gaming laptops in their own right, even without any dedicated, off-chip hardware to handle the demanding stuff.

Never mind the power efficiency gains. I spent a day at the office with a charger-less Panther Lake test machine, and came away massively impressed. Without a dGPU onboard, and with huge efficiencies made to the way the new Intel chips handle their power load, I managed roughly 11 hours away from the wall socket, with 18% battery left to spare. And yes, that included some light gaming on the train.

The Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chips are made of remarkable stuff, that's clear to see. I can't wait to see what happens when one (or something similar to what we've currently seen) ends up in a gaming handheld, as this sort of performance in combination with its low-power tendencies seems like a recipe for a truly excellent handheld gaming machine.

But should you want one in your next gaming laptop? Perhaps not, if cutting-edge performance is your aim. And I haven't even mentioned price yet.

My Asus Zenbook Duo test machine will likely retail for $2,000+ (US pricing is yet to be confirmed, although the UK version starts at $2,300). Granted, it's a dual-OLED equipped marvel, so traditional lappys featuring Intel's new B390-equipped chips will likely be cheaper. But even if that knocks $500, perhaps even $800 off the price, anything from our under-$1,000 gaming laptop deals list is likely to run rings around it for raw gaming performance.

Once more, for good measure: I am thoroughly impressed with Intel's new chip. But if you're on a budget, or you're not too fussed about all-day battery life and still want high frame rates in the latest games, it's still a discrete GPU-equipped machine that should be near the top of your shopping list.

Traditional gaming laptops don't have too much to fear from Panther Lake, I reckon—but they do have some new competition in town with some clear benefits, and that's worth celebrating. I'll stop being too much of a downer now, I promise.

AMD's 'Strix Halo' (ie, Ryzen AI Max 300) chips have been a bit of a damp squib for gaming. Despite some initial and possibly naïve hopes that it could deliver fantastic integrated graphics for mainstream gaming laptops and handhelds, in reality it's been out for a year and has delivered only a little. Instead, it's primarily been found in weird hybrid tablets, ridiculously expensive handhelds, and a select few similarly expensive workstation laptops. It looks like that might soon change, though.

Lenovo has been cooking up some new gaming laptops, some of which it showed off for CES 2026 (including one with a rollable screen), and it's just hinted that a Strix Halo laptop might be in the works. Specifically, a 'Lenovo Legion 7 15ASH11', which was for a while listed as a supported model for its Legion Space software (via VideoCardz).

Note the 'ASH' there, which presumably stands for 'AMD Strix Halo.' It's noteworthy that although VideoCardz shows this model listed in a screenshot, it looks like Lenovo has now deleted this entry in addition to a couple of others, including the 'Legion 7 15N1X11'. This model presumably refers to a laptop featuring N1X, a long-anticipated Arm-based Nvidia CPU that's rumoured to launch very soon.

The thing is, though, based on what we've seen of Strix Halo so far, if Lenovo does launch a gaming laptop featuring the chip, we can expect it to be very expensive. And that was the case even before the memory shortage and resultant apocalyptic prices.

Saying that, though, there's a chance the new laptop could feature the similarly new Strix Halo chip that was just announced at CES 2026. We're all hoping that one will be cheaper than the other, beefier Strix Halo chips that are already out there, because it gets rid of half of the CPU cores but keeps all the GPU cores. Which might not be so great for workstations but would be ideal for gaming.

At any rate, there's no official word on even the existence of this laptop, let alone its specific configuration.

If Lenovo does indeed bring out a Strix Halo laptop, it might offer some fresh challenge to Intel's recently launched Panther Lake chips. On the performance front, that is; battery life would be another story entirely. It wouldn't be apples to apples though, of course, as PTL is much lighter, more moderate and efficient. Though that hasn't stopped these two companies comparing them anyways.

You've read my breakdown on the architecture behind Intel's new Panther Lake processors. You've gone through every graphics benchmark that Andy has done with the range-topping Core Ultra X9 388H. Between the two of them, you've now decided that your next gaming laptop is going to be Panther Lake-powered and sport a big GPU from Nvidia, to go with Intel's big Xe3 tile. You're possibly going to be disappointed, then, to know that you're almost certainly not going to see any such lappies coming to market.

The reason why is quite simple: it all comes down to the number of available PCIe lanes in the platform controller tile. Intel has two variants of this chiplet: one with 12 lanes (four are Gen 5, eight are Gen 4) and the other with 20 lanes (eight Gen 4, twelve Gen 5). The important thing, though, is that every Core Ultra 300-series processor that has the big 12-core Xe3 iGPU uses the 12-lane platform controller tile.

AMD and Nvidia's mobile GPUs are designed to use at least eight PCIe lanes. That doesn't mean you can't fit a discrete GPU alongside a 12-lane PTL chip; it's just that it will leave just four for everything else inside the laptop. The majority of NVMe SSDs require four lanes, and you obviously need a storage drive, so that's all the lanes gone.

While those dGPUs can operate with fewer, it's not something that laptop vendors are likely to explore, because it would be leaving performance on the table. Not very much, granted, but you wouldn't have the issue with the 4-core Xe3 PTL variants, or Intel's Arrow Lake mobile chips, or AMD's Ryzen processors, either.

Even if you used all eight Gen 4 lanes for a dGPU, that would leave just four lanes behind, which an NVMe SSD would swallow up. With no other PCIe lanes available, there would be scope for a second M.2 slot, and more importantly, no Thunderbolt 4 ports in the laptop (as these also use four PCIe lanes each).

However, Panther Lake does offer quite a bit of flexibility when it comes to the configuration of the 12 PCIe lanes in the Core Ultra X9 388H. The four Gen 5 can be used as x4 or two lots of x2. Those eight Gen 4 lanes are actually two bundles of four, and each of those can be set up as one x4, two x2, or four x1.

Which means, theoretically, one could have a dGPU using the four Gen 5 lanes, and then having the M.2 slots and Thunderbolt ports just get by with two lanes. But that's far too messy to be dealing with, when a laptop manufacturer can just go with a 4-core Xe3 PTL processor, a discrete GPU, and still have plenty of lanes left over.

I think Intel has missed a trick here. If it used the 20 PCIe lane platform controller tile across all Panther Lake SKUs, then these pocket rockets would be on par with the obvious competition: AMD's Ryzen AI 300 and 400-series.

These all sport an iGPU of varying sizes and are happy to be paired with a discrete graphics chip. Leaving Strix Halo aside for the moment, the top-of-the-pack Ryzen AI 9 HX 475 has a Radeon 890M iGPU, with 16 RDNA 3.5 compute units, roughly 33% fewer shaders than the 12-core Xe3 tile, and it sports 16 Gen 4 PCIe lanes.

Eight of those will be taken up by a dGPU, of course, but that still leaves plenty of lanes left over for two M.2 slots. Since the APU itself natively hosts two USB4 ports, you don't need to worry about having some spare lanes to attach fast peripherals.

Admittedly, with every gaming laptop I've ever used, I've never once felt the need to use the iGPU if it had a decent dGPU. Some laptops will switch between the two to save power in desktop mode, but you don't need a 12-core Xe3 iGPU to watch a movie or do battle with a large spreadsheet.

So while a daring laptop manufacturer could shoehorn a Core Ultra X9 388H together with a mobile RTX 5080, you're probably just going to see a horde of 'little Xe3' variants instead. When AMD is able to offer you the best of both worlds, it's a shame that Intel can't or won't as well.

Gaming laptop battery life is, by and large, rubbish. Or rather, trying to use a gaming-capable machine for a full day of work without charging it is, err, rubbish. I've hauled many discrete GPU-equipped lappys into the office for a spot of real-world testing, and most of them are usually begging to be plugged into a wall socket by lunchtime.

Upon hearing Intel's battery life efficiency claims for its new, Panther Lake-based, Core Ultra Series 3 chips, I knew what needed to be done. Top up my Asus Zenbook Duo review sample overnight, take it on my round trip from my Southampton home to PC Gamer Towers in Bath (a roughly 126 mile jaunt), use it for a regular day, and record when it conks out.

It's a dGPU-less machine, which means all the graphics hardware is contained onboard the single Core Ultra X9 388H chip at its heart. Despite this, the built-in Arc B390 iGPU delivers some impressive gaming performance for its size, meaning that laptops powered by Intel's new mobile chips (the ones with chonky iGPUs, anyway) can now reasonably be called gaming laptops.

Intel says that Core Ultra Series 3 machines can boast up to 27-hour battery life, but my Asus sample is a bit different. It's got dual OLED displays for a start, which means my testing had to take into account the uniqueness of the particular design. I resolved myself to only use the extra screen for demonstration purposes and the odd photo shoot, to try and gain an indicative figure of what you might expect from a more regularly-formatted laptop.

Which, according to Asus, should give me a maximum battery figure of 18 hours+ under ideal conditions. Setting off on the train that morning, though, I wasn't too confident. I'd initially planned to leave the tiny USB-C charging brick at home, but a last minute panic meant I threw it in the bottom of my bag anyway. Call if a lack of faith, if you will.

I started out by checking my emails using the terrible on-train Wi-Fi, along with a news search for our regular coverage. This involves multiple tabs, browser windows, and the odd bit of YouTube watching. Arriving at the office around two hours later, I anxiously checked the battery indicator.

92%. A pretty good start for the Panther Lake lappy, although roughly what I expected. Brandishing the shiny new machine in front of my colleagues, it was then briefly handed around the group for some cooing and cawing. The dual screens were flipped open and fiddled with, and the magnetically-attached keyboard was enthusiastically pulled on and off—causing the OLED displays to power up and down in quick succession.

More doubts entered my mind. I still had a full eight-hour working day in front of me, and I was planning to finish off with some light gaming on the journey home. Could this power-efficient machine, even with a 99 Whr battery system, really run the distance?

As is the way when you get your head down at work, I soon forgot about my battery anxiety. I set to work typing up my performance testing piece, attending video meetings, and juggling multiple windows and tabs. While I wouldn't describe myself as a power user in the traditional sense (I'm not 3D modelling or spending all day in Photoshop, for example), my role involves a whole lot of multitasking—and the PTL chip cruised through every demand I asked of it with ease.

By lunchtime, after roughly four hours of near-constant usage, I was down to around 70%. My mood improved immensely at this point, as it was clear that the lappy's battery was relatively unbothered with my usual work routine. Merrily, I skipped into Bath for an overpriced sandwich.

However, my post-lunch afternoon was about to provide a more demanding test. Heading down to our studio, I used the Asus machine as a note provider for a chat with my hardware overlord, Dave, about the new Panther Lake chips, before capturing some B-roll footage and photos with our peerless video team.

Again, those dual OLEDs were booted into life, with the brightness boosted for an accurate capture. I thought about all the tech running inside my charger-denied sample.

Twin 1800p OLEDs, blazing away in front of me as the laptop rotated on a motorised plinth. 16 CPU cores, albeit with Low-Power Efficient versions taking the lead on battery power alone. Perhaps I should start closing some tabs and background apps to even the odds a little?

I resisted. This was a real-world test, and while the dual-screen design of this laptop skews the data a little, I was still curious as to the capabilities of the Asus machine itself.

Back to the office, and back to my review. More tabs, more multitasking, more heads-down typing. A glance out the window revealed darkness, which meant my journey back on the train was soon to begin. Finishing up my day, I slipped the laptop into my backpack with just over 40% battery remaining. Pretty good going, but the gaming test was yet to come.

The Arc B390 iGPU is a very capable little graphics cruncher, but I knew that booting up something truly demanding, like Cyberpunk 2077, would likely be a battery-draining mistake. There's no room for a mouse and keyboard setup in most seats on a British train, anyway, so I went for an old, trackpad-friendly favourite—Civilisation VI.

What do you mean there's a new one? I hadn't heard. Anyway, Civ's relatively undemanding needs were well-catered for by the Panther Lake chip, even at 1800p, and the battery life needle barely moved. No great surprise there. Norland was much the same. I began to wonder if my gaming testing was really representative.

Lightweight games are the sort of thing I usually play while travelling, but most iGPUs would cope without tanking the battery too hard.

So I booted up Hitman World of Assassination instead. Wandering around the streets of Marrakesh and making a nuisance of myself, I kept an eye on the battery indicator. At 1080p Medium settings, some rough maths revealed a loss of 5% battery life every 10 minutes.

Gulp. Still, I kept playing the bald-man-goes-wild simulator until my journey was over, snapped the lid of the Asus machine shut, and stuffed it into my bag for the walk home from the station. Returning to my digs, I opened the laptop with a heavy heart. Surely my 3D gaming excursions had left it with nothing but a blank screen and a desperate need for a top up?

Nope. I was left with 18% battery remaining. I could have kept playing Hitman for another half an hour, or easily got some more work done once I'd returned home without reaching for the charging plug.

For those of you with ultra-efficient, productivity-style laptops in your possession, the idea of all-day battery life is far from a new one. But from a gaming laptop, it's a rare sight. It's also an impressive indication of just how efficient Intel's new chips are when subjected to all the rigours one might throw at them over a long day, and how well the Core Ultra X9 388H handles its power management.

I could have realistically left the Asus machine's power brick at home, and not worried once about making it back with battery life to spare. And while we're not quite at the point where laptops are capable of delivering truly phenomenal gaming battery life, I think my testing is a pretty good indication that we're well on our way.

My usage adds up to around 11 hours total, give or take. And while that might not seem too impressive at first glance, the fact I had nearly 1/5th of the battery remaining after a full day, including nearly two hours of gaming time, has made me rethink what I expect from a gaming machine's portable potential.

Intel's Arc B390-equipped chips will rightly gain plenty of accolades for their iGPU gaming performance—but when it comes to legacy, it might be the battery life that cements their place in the hardware hall of fame.

This review is, if I can read a spreadsheet correctly, the first time this site has assessed a laptop containing the Ryzen 9 9955HX. So if you’ve ever wanted one of AMD’s thundering 16-core Zen 5 chips in your portable(ish) PC, this is your chance. It’s fast, though not 9950X3D fast. An unfair comparison considering the desktop chip doesn’t have to deal with the constrained thermal envelope and limited power draw of a laptop, and the 3D V-Cache really does make a difference.

Despite the rainbow keyboard and presence of an RTX 5080 GPU, you’ll be surprised to hear this this isn’t a gaming laptop. MSI positions it as “engineered for the demands of STEM professionals,” which probably doesn’t mean gardeners, and then takes a puff on some burning leaves to huskily exhale the phrase “it operates like a high-tech brain”.

Yeah, man.

The Vector A18 HX may well “deliver the performance and reliability engineers need to excel in every challenge,” but luckily for us it also delivers the kind of frame rates that make PC gamers very happy, and is so obviously a gaming laptop in an unconvincing disguise with its 240 Hz display, seven heat pipes, and two fans to keep it all cool. We’d be amazed if any actual work gets done if someone pulls it out at a meeting about building a bridge or some other towering concrete structure.

Being an 18-inch laptop, the Vector A18 HX is a bit of a towering concrete structure itself. You’re not going to want to pass it one-handed to your engineering colleague, even if it is their turn to play Kerbal Space Program. At 3.6 kg it weighs the same as an adult sloth or about a dozen mangoes, and if you’ve ever tried lugging either of those around with you you’ll know how heavy they can get.

The enormous 400 W power brick only adds to the burden, though luckily it has a reasonably long cable attached, and the laptop can happily charge from one of its USB4 ports as long as you can feed it enough juice. Once it’s charged, however, you’ll only get about an hour of use out of it before you’re heading back to the plug socket.

It’s also very expensive, and there's a version with a Mini-LED 4K-adjacent display that will probably push the price up to truly eye-watering levels. The one we’ve got here has a normal IPS attached, with a 16:10 WQXGA resolution.It’s capable of 500 nits of brightness, and the fact it’s relatively modest in pixel density allows the RTX 5080 to really stretch its legs.

At native resolution it doesn’t take much DLSS for Cyberpunk 2077 to hit 60 fps or higher in its Ray Tracing Ultra mode, and once you start messing with frame-gen you can push that much further. CPU-intensive games such as Baldur’s Gate III just love that 16-core chip, pumping out 90 fps without resorting to any upscaling.

It does all this without making too much noise, suggesting the extra size of an 18-incher is really helpful to cooling system engineers. You can use the MSI Center app to spin the fans up to full all the time, in which case you’ll definitely know it’s there, but in general use the system is intelligent enough to keep the noise down compared to some 16-inch or smaller machines. There's no grinding or whining from the fans, and the peak temperatures from the Vector’s chips are very reasonable, hitting just 74 °C from the GPU after a gaming session, with the CPU a little higher.

A few laptops have scored higher than the Vector A18 in our CPU tests, and they all use the Core Ultra 9 275HX, a 24-core, 24-thread chip. The Ryzen’s 16 cores are all the equivalent of P-cores, plus it has Hyper-Threading, and it absolutely dominates in things like Zip file decompression and CPU rendering in Blender.

It would be very interesting to see what this chip could do if paired with a 5090, but the 5080 does an excellent job. The GPU power measurement of 132 W is beaten by other 5080 laptops such as MSI’s own Vector 16 HX AI A2XW (with the Ultra 9 275HX), but the frame rates from the AMD-powered 18-incher are a smidgen higher.